Arsenic in groundwater in the Grand Canyon region and an evaluation of potential pathways for arsenic contamination of groundwater from breccia pipe uranium mining
Fred D. Tillman, Kimberly R. Beisner, Casey J.R. Jones
2023, PLOS Water (2)
The Grand Canyon in northern Arizona is an international tourist destination, a home or sacred place to many Native Americans, and hosts some of the highest-grade uranium deposits in the United States. Although potential contamination of water resources by uranium from mining activities is a concern,...
Dietary niche of three omnivorous turtle species in a northern Florida river: Insights from stable isotope analysis
Mathew Denton, Gerald R. Johnston, Travis M. Thomas, Hardin Waddle, Susan Walls, Kristen Hart
2023, Southeastern Naturalist (22) 359-377
Macrochelys suwanniensis (Suwannee Alligator Snapping Turtle) coexists with 2 other native large omnivorous turtle species (Chelydra serpentina [Snapping Turtle] and Trachemys scripta scripta [Yellow-bellied Slider]) in a 9-km section of the Santa Fe River in northern Florida. A major shift in dominant submersed aquatic vegetation prompted us to quantify...
Floodwater drainage assessment of Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, 2020–22
Christopher M. Hobza, Kellan R. Strauch
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5053
Offutt Air Force Base, south of Omaha, Nebraska, experienced major flooding during the March 2019 flood event because of the proximity of the base to the confluence of the Missouri River and nearby tributaries, which exceeded flood stages. Postflood, standing water remained through much of the year, attracting waterfowl and...
The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Arkansas's economy
Chris Cretini
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3018
Introduction In recent years, Arkansas has coordinated with Federal and local partners to improve the quality and availability of high-resolution elevation data for the State. With high-quality elevation data, Arkansas can improve services offered to the public and within government, resulting in better quality of life, improved public safety, and higher...
Elucidating the magma plumbing system of Ol Doinyo Lengai (Natron Rift, Tanzania) Using satellite geodesy and numerical modeling
Ntambila Daud, Sarah Stamps, Maurizio Battaglia, Mong-Han Huang, Elifuraha Saria, Kang-Hyeun Ji
2023, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Resources (438)
Ol Doinyo Lengai, located in the southern Eastern Branch of the East African Rift had several eruptive episodes with ash falls and lava flows (VEI 3) that caused damage to the nearby communities between 2007 and 2010. The volcano is remote and access is difficult. Although this volcano has been studied for...
A decade-long study of repeated prescription burning in California native grassland restoration
Jon Keeley, Robert C. Klinger, Teresa J. Brennan, Dawn M. Lawson, John La Grange, Kathryn N. Berg
2023, Restoration Ecology (31)
Native bunchgrass communities dominated by Stipa pulchra are widely distributed in California but share dominance with non-native annual grasses. Restoration of these grasslands focuses on altering the balance of native to non-native grasses to favor the former. This study investigated the impact of burning on vegetation recovery. In the first postfire year...
One Ranney well can make a difference: The impacts of a radial collector well on groundwater level and quality in the Cedar River alluvial aquifer
Adel E. Haj, Lance R. Gruhn, Stephen J. Kalkhoff
2023, Groundwater Monitoring & Remediation (43) 51-60
The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, depends on groundwater from the Cedar River alluvial aquifer for residential and industrial use. In 2020, the city completed an additional radial collector well, or Ranney well, and was concerned that pumping from the well at high rates may lower water level elevations in...
Hydrogeology of sand and gravel aquifers in the Owasco Inlet watershed, Cayuga and Tompkins Counties, New York
Paul M. Heisig
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5031
This study is a continuation of a series of hydrogeologic appraisals that have been conducted since 1980, as part of a cooperative, long-term, detailed aquifer mapping program by the U.S. Geological Survey and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. These appraisals provide a foundation for wellhead protection programs,...
Examining dynamic occupancy of gray wolves in Idaho after a decade of managed harvest
David Edward Ausband, Sarah J. Thompson, Brendan A. Oates, Shane Roberts, Mark A. Hurley, Matthew Mumma
2023, Journal of Wildlife Management (87)
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were reintroduced to Idaho, USA, in 1995–1996. The removal of Endangered Species Act protections in 2011 transferred wolf management to the state where wolves were subsequently classified as a harvested (i.e., hunted, trapped) big game species. We implemented a camera-based survey across Idaho from 2016–2021 as...
Quality of surface water in Missouri, water year 2021
Kendra M. Markland
2023, Data Report 1179
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, maintains a statewide group of stations known as the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network, which includes selected streams and springs in Missouri. During water year 2021 (October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021), the U.S. Geological Survey collected...
Towards a better future for biodiversity and people: Modelling Nature Futures
H. Kim, G.D. Peterson, W.W. Cheung, S. Ferrier, R. Alkemade, A. Arneth, Jan J. Kuiper, S. Okayasu, L.M. Pereira, L.A. Acosta, R. Chaplin-Kramer, E. den Belder, T.D. Eddy, J. C. Johnson, S. Karlsson-Viinkhuyzen, M.T.J. Kok, P. Leadley, D. Leclère, C. Lundquist, C. Rondini, R.J. Scholes, M.A. Schoolenberg, Y. Shin, E. Stehfest, F. Stephenson, P. Visconti, D. van Vuuren, C.C.C. Wabnitz, J.J. Alava, I. Cuadros-Casanova, K.K. Davies, M.A. Gasalla, G. Halouani, M. Harfoot, S. Hashimoto, T. Hickler, T. Hirsch, G. Kolomytsev, Brian W. Miller, H. Ohashi, M.G. Palomo, A. Popp, R.P. Remme, O. Saito, U.R. Sumalia, S. Willcock, H.M. Pereira
2023, Global Environmental Change (82)
The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) is a heuristic tool for co-creating positive futures for nature and people. It seeks to open up a diversity of futures through mainly three value perspectives on nature – Nature for Nature, Nature for Society, and Nature as Culture. This paper...
Increased aridity is associated with stronger tradeoffs in ponderosa pine vital functions
Angela Gonzalez, Ian Pearse, Miranda Redmond
2023, Ecology (104)
Trees must allocate resources to core functions like growth, defense, and reproduction. These allocation patterns have profound effects on forest health, yet little is known about how core functions trade off over time, and even less is known about how a changing climate will impact...
Dynamic population models with temporal preferential sampling to infer phenology
Michael Schwob, Mevin B. Hooten, Travis Mcdevitt-Galles
2023, Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics (28) 774-791
To study population dynamics, ecologists and wildlife biologists typically use relative abundance data, which may be subject to temporal preferential sampling. Temporal preferential sampling occurs when the times at which observations are made and the latent process of interest are conditionally dependent. To account for preferential...
Targeted metabolomics characterizes metabolite occurrence and variability in stable freshwater mussel populations
Diane L. Waller, Joel Putnam, J. Nolan Steiner, Brant Fisher, Grant N. Burcham, John W. Oliver, Stephen B. Smith, Richard A. Erickson, Anne Remek, Nancy Bodeker
2023, Conservation Physiology (11)
Freshwater mussels (order Unionida) play a key role in freshwater systems as ecosystem engineers and indicators of aquatic ecosystem health. The fauna is globally imperilled due to a diversity of suspected factors; however, causes for many population declines and mortality events remain unconfirmed due partly to limited health assessment...
Attenuation of barium, strontium, cobalt, and nickel plumes formed during microbial iron-reduction in a crude-oil-contaminated aquifer
Katherine Jones, Brady Ziegler, Audrey Davis, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
2023, ACS Earth and Space Chemistry (7) 1322-1336
We assessed the spatial distribution of 35 elements in aquifer sediments and groundwater of a crude-oil-contaminated aquifer and show evidence of the dissolution of barium (Ba), strontium (Sr), cobalt (Co), and nickel (Ni) during hydrocarbon oxidation coupled to historic microbial Fe(III)-reduction near the oil. Trace element plumes occur in the...
The relative importance of cisco (Coregonus artedi) in the diets of common loons (Gavia immer) among a set of cisco refuge lakes in Minnesota
Kevin P. Kenow, Yer Lor, Beth V. Holbrook, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Tariq Tajjioui, Brian R. Gray, Peter C. Jacobson
2023, Canadian Journal of Zoology (101) 1004-1016
Common loon (Gavia immer (Brünnich, 1764)) foraging patterns and the relative importance of cisco (Coregonus artedi Lesueur, 1818) in the diets of loons were evaluated for the Whitefish Chain of Lakes, a set of coldwater cisco refuge lakes in Minnesota, USA. Environmental DNA metabarcoding of loon fecal samples detected...
Snow surface roughness across spatio-temporal scales
Steven R. Fassnacht, Kazuyoshi Suzuki, Jessica E. Sanow, Graham A. Sexstone, Anna K.D. Pfohl, Molly E. Tedesche, Bradley M. Simms, Eric S. Thomas
2023, Water (15)
The snow surface is at the interface between the atmosphere and Earth. The surface of the snowpack changes due to its interaction with precipitation, wind, humidity, short- and long-wave radiation, underlying terrain characteristics, and land cover. These connections create a dynamic snow surface that impacts the energy and mass...
Masting is uncommon in trees that depend on mutualist dispersers in the context of global climate and fertility gradients
Tong Qiu, Marie-Claire Aravena Acuna, Davide Ascoli, Yves Bergeron, Michal Mogdziewicz, Thomas Biovin, Raul Bonal, Thomas Caignard, Maxime Cailleret, Rafael Calama, Sergio Donoso Calderon, J. Julio Camarero, Chia-Hua Chang-Yang, Jerome Chave, Francesco Chianucci, Benoit Courbaud, Andrea Cutini, Adrian Das, Nicolas Delpierre, Sylvain Delzon, Michael Dietze, Laurent Dormont, Josep Maria Espelta, Timothy J. Fahey, William Farfar-Rios, Jerry F. Franklin, Catherine A. Gehring, Gregory S. Gilbert, Georg Gratzner, Cathryn H. Greenberg, Arthur Guignabert, Qinfeng Guo, Andrew Hacket-Pain, Arndt Hampe, Qingmin Han, Jan Holik, Kazuhiko Hoshizaki, Ines Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Valentin Journé, Thomas Kitzberger, Jean Knops, Georges Kunstler, Hiroko Kurokawa, Jonathan G. A. Lageard, Jalene LaMontagne, Francois Lefevre, Theodor Leininger, Jean-Marc Limousin, James A. Lutz, Diana Macias, Anders Marell, Eliot J. B. McIntire, Christopher Moore, Emily V. Moran, Renzo Motta, Jonathan A. Myers, Thomas A. Nagel, Shoji Naoe, Mohoko Noguchi, Michio Oguro, Robert Parmenter, Ignacio M. Perez-Ramos, Lukasz Piechnik, Tomasz Podforski, John Poulsen, Miranda Redmond, Chad Reid, Kyle C. Rodman, Fransisco Rodrigues-Sanchez, Pavel Samonil, Javier Sanguinetto, Lane Scher, Barbara Seget, Shubhi Sharma, Mitsue Shibata, Miles Silman, Michael A. Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jacob N. Straub, Samantha Sutton, Jennifer J. Swenson, Margaret Swift, Peter A. Thomas, Maria Uriarte, Giorgio Vacchiano, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, Andreas Wion, Joseph Wright, Kai Zhu, Jess Zimmermann, Magdalena Zywiec, James S. Clark
2023, Nature Plants (9) 1044-1056
The benefits of masting (volatile, quasi-synchronous seed production at lagged intervals) include satiation of seed predators, but these benefits come with a cost to mutualist pollen and seed dispersers. If the evolution of masting represents a balance between these benefits and costs, we expect mast avoidance...
Validation and comparison of age estimates for Smallmouth Buffalo in Oklahoma based on otoliths, pectoral fin rays, and opercula
James M. Long, Richard A. Snow, Daniel E. Shoup, Jory B. Bartnicki
2023, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (43) 618-627
With an increased interest in nongame fishes such as buffalofishes (Catostomidae, Ictiobus), there is a need for better foundational data on their life history. Bigmouth Buffalo I. cyprinellus, for example, have been found to live for more than a century. Age estimates for other sucker species have...
Captive breeding, husbandry, release, and translocation of sciurids
Sharon A Poessel
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5055
Captive breeding and release programs have been instrumental in preventing the extinction of some wildlife species, but these programs have been less successful for other species. Evaluating initial guidelines for procedures to start a captive breeding and release program for a particular species is an important first step in the...
Availability of groundwater from the volcanic aquifers of the Hawaiian Islands
Scot K. Izuka, Kolja Rotzoll
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3010
The islands of Hawaiʻi were built by basaltic shield volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean. These volcanoes formed aquifers that supply hundreds of millions of gallons of fresh water per day to the islands’ residents and diverse industries. Groundwater discharge from the volcanic aquifers to streams and the coast also supports...
Witnessing history: Comparison of a century of sedimentary and written records in a California protected area
R. Scott Anderson, M. Allison Stegner, SeanPaul La Selle, Brian Sherrod, Anthony D. Barnosky, Elizabeth A. Hadly
2023, Regional Environmental Change (23)
We use a combination of proxy records from a high-resolution analysis of sediments from Searsville Lake and adjacent Upper Lake Marsh and historical records to document over one and a half centuries of vegetation and socio-ecological change—relating to logging, agricultural land use change, dam construction, chemical applications, recreation, and other...
Multi-scale relationships in thermal limits within and between two cold-water frog species uncover different trends in physiological vulnerability
Amanda S. Cicchino, Alisha A. Shah, Brenna R. Forester, Jason B. Dunham, Cameron K. Ghalambor, W. Chris Funk
2023, Freshwater Biology (68) 1267-1278
1. Critical thermal limits represent an important component of an organism's capacity to cope with future temperature changes. Understanding the drivers of variation in these traits may uncover patterns in physiological vulnerability to climate change. Local temperature extremes have emerged as a major driver of thermal limits, although their effects...
The influence of large woody debris on post-wildfire debris flow sediment storage
Francis K. Rengers, Luke A. McGuire, Katherine R. Barnhart, Ann Youberg, Daniel Cadol, Alexander Gorr, Olivia J. Hoch, Rebecca Beers, Jason W. Kean
2023, Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (23) 2075-2088
Debris flows transport large quantities of water and granular material, such as sediment and wood, and this mixture can have devastating impacts on life and infrastructure. The proportion of large woody debris (LWD) incorporated into debris flows can be enhanced in forested areas recently burned by wildfire, because wood recruitment...
Application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) to simulate the streamflows and water balance of the Red River Basin, 1980–2016
Victor L. Roland II
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5105
The Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) was used to develop and calibrate a streamflow and water balance model for the Red River Basin as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Census, a research effort focused on developing innovative water accounting...
