Sensitive environmental DNA methods for low-risk surveillance of at-risk bumble bees
Rodney T. Richardson, Grace Avalos, Cameron J. Garland, Regina Trott, Olivia Hager, Mark J. Hepner, Clayton D. Raines, Karen Goodell
2025, Molecular Ecology Resources (26)
Terrestrial environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques have been proposed as a means of sensitive, non-lethal pollinator monitoring. To date, however, no studies have provided evidence that eDNA methods can achieve detection sensitivity on par with traditional pollinator surveys. Using a large-scale dataset of eDNA and corresponding net surveys, we show that...
Land change, fire, and climate weaken carbon sink in the conterminous U.S.
Jinxun Liu, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Zhiliang Zhu, Mark A. Cochrane, Qiang Zhou, Bin Wang, Grant Domke, Paul Selmants, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Qiuan Zhu, Tamara Wilson, Kristin Byrd, Eric Ward, Terry Sohl, Todd Hawbaker, Zhen Zhang, Christopher Soulard, Kimberly Wickland, Robert G. Striegl
2025, Science Advances (11)
The land carbon sink of the conterminous United States was evaluated using a bottom-up modeling framework and 30-meter land change data from 1985 to 2020. This cross-scale, cross-landscape, and cross-system approach tracked fractional land cover changes and applied regional model calibration. Results show average terrestrial and aquatic carbon sinks of +110 ±...
Morphometric and geological characterization with statistical correlations for 33 tributary drainage basins of the San Juan River watershed in the Four Corners region, USA
K. E. Miltenberger, Zachary Shephard, Rachel Lynn Mixon, Johanna Blake, Shaleene Chavarria, Douglas Yager
2025, Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis (25)
Basin morphometry, climate and geology control how a hydrological network evolves over time, controlling the efficiency of weathering of elements from geological materials, and ultimately the input of sediment and dissolved constituents to river systems. Exceedances to the Navajo Nation surface water quality standards for trace metals have been reported...
Satellite tracking supports hypotheses of breeding allochrony and allopatry in the Endangered Pterodroma hasitata (Black-capped Petrel, Diablotin)
Yvan G. Satgé, J. Brian Patteson, Bradford S. Keitt, Chris P. Gaskin, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2025, Journal of Caribbean Ornithology (38) 59-66
Pterodroma hasitata, the Black-capped Petrel (locally known as Diablotin), is the only extant Pterodroma petrel nesting in the Caribbean. The species is listed as globally Endangered by the IUCN and was recently listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Pterodroma hasitata show a phenotypic gradient, ranging from a darker, smaller form to...
Megafaunal community structure on ferromanganese and phosphorite hardgrounds in the Southern California Borderland
Devin Vlach, Olivia S. Pereira, Francis Nguyen, Angelica Bradley, Kira Mizell, Lisa A. Levin
2025, Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (224)
The Southern California Borderland (SCB) is a topographically complex region on the active continental margin that hosts varied hardground habitats, including ferromanganese (FeMn) crusts and phosphorites, marine minerals being considered for resource extraction. The SCB is influenced by seasonal upwelling and terrestrial inputs, and has a well-defined oxygen-minimum zone (OMZ)....
Fiber-optic sensing for earthquake hazards research, monitoring and early warning
Jeffrey J. McGuire, Andrew J. Barbour, Zack J. Spica, Verónica Rodríguez Tribaldos, Zhongwen Zhan, Bradley P. Lipovsky, Robert J. Mellors, Ettore Biondi, Clara Yoon, Martin Karrenbach, Adam T. Ringler, James William Atterholt, Avinash Nayak, Theresa Marie Sawi, Loic Viens, Eileen R. Martin, Allen L. Husker, Paul Bodin, Morgan P. Moschetti, Qibin Shi, Nathaniel C. Miller, Prisha Puri
2025, Seismological Research Letters
The use of fiber‐optic sensing systems in seismology has exploded in the past decade. Despite an ever‐growing library of ground‐breaking studies, questions remain about the potential of fiber‐optic sensing technologies as tools for advancing if not revolutionizing earthquake‐hazards‐related research, monitoring, and early warning systems. A working group convened to explore...
Potential for continental scientific drilling to inform fault mechanics and earthquake science
Elizabeth S. Cochran, Natalia Zakharova, Brett Carpenter, Folarin Kolawole, Nicholas W. Hayman, Hiroki Sone, Douglas R. Schmitt, Peter Eichhubl, William Ellsworth, Yves Guglielmi, Stephen H. Hickman, Harold J. Tobin
2025, Seismica (4)
Our understanding of fault mechanics and earthquake processes remains limited, largely due to minimal direct observations near active faults at seismogenic depths. This lack of data restricts our ability to accurately assess and mitigate both natural and human-induced seismic hazards. However, recent advancements in drilling capabilities and...
Cosmic dust reveals dynamic shifts in central Arctic sea-ice coverage over the past 30,000 years
Frank J. Pavia, Jesse Farmer, Laura Gemery, Thomas M. Cronin, Jonathan Treffkorn, Kenneth A. Farley
2025, Science (390) 628-632
Arctic sea-ice loss affects biological productivity, sustenance in coastal communities, and geopolitics. Forecasting these impacts requires mechanistic understanding of how Arctic sea ice responds to climate change, but this is limited by scarce long-term records. We present continuous 30,000-year reconstructions of sea-ice coverage from the Arctic Ocean based on measurements...
Occurrence and surface availability of Siskiyou Mountains Salamanders (Plethodon stormi) and Scott Bar Salamanders (P. asupak) in northern California
Brian Halstead, Daniel Antonio Macias, Casey D. Moss, Patrick M. Kleeman, Jonathan P. Rose
2025, Herpetologica (81) 336-345
Estimating the distributions of cryptic species is essential for conservation, yet our understanding is hampered by animal behavior and imperfect detection. We developed and implemented a multiscale occupancy survey protocol to estimate the probability of occurrence, probability of being active on the surface, and detection probability of two range-restricted terrestrial...
Spatial distribution and relative biomass of bigheaded carps in Lake Balaton, Hungary estimated from an environmental DNA survey
Nora Boross, Ardo Laszlo, Duane C. Chapman, Gergely Boros, Zoltán Vitál, Viktor Tóth, Nathan Thompson, Katy E. Klymus, Catherine A. Richter
2025, PLoS ONE (20)
Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), bighead carp (H. molitrix) and their hybrids, collectively known as bigheaded carps, have been introduced to Lake Balaton, Hungary. The current stock sizes are difficult to assess. We investigated environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques targeted for bigheaded carps, assessed the spatial distribution of eDNA in Lake Balaton,...
Global recreational consumption of non-native inland fish: Higher economic benefits, but lower nutritional value and climate resilience
Marco Milardi, Louisa E. Wood, Elizabeth A. Nyboer, Holly Susan Embke, Sui C. Phang, Abigail J. Lynch
2025, Science of the Total Environment (1005)
Inland recreational fisheries are globally significant leisure pursuits, with well-documented benefits to human health and well-being, but also one of the principal drivers of non-native fish introductions to enhance fishing opportunities, whether for sport or sustenance. In this study, we assess the relative reliance of global inland recreational fisheries on...
U.S. Geological Survey geomagnetic variometer data: Capitalizing on seismic infrastructure
Adam T. Ringler, Andrew Holcomb, E. Joshua Rigler, Spencer Wilbur, C. Balch, Corey Beutel, Brendan Ryan Geels, J. Guerra, A. Horton, Edward Kromer, Kristen A. Lewis, Jeffrey J. Love, Yolando Root, Claudia Kristina Rossavik, N. Shavers, John Spritzer, Tyler Storm, Alexandra Nicole Wernle, David C. Wilson
2025, Seismological Research Letters
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Geomagnetism Program is collaborating with the Earthquake Hazards Program and Global Seismographic Network Program to densify magnetic field observations. This collaboration focuses on the installation of magnetometers, or magnetic variometers, at existing seismic stations. Along with improving the density of space weather observations for hazard monitoring,...
Missing data in ecology: Syntheses, clarifications, and considerations
Michael Dumelle, Rob Trangucci, Amanda M. Nahlik, Anthony R Olsen, Kathryn Irvine, Karen A. Blocksom, Jay Ver Hoef, Claudio Fuentes
2025, Ecological Monographs (95)
In ecology and related sciences, missing data are common and occur in a variety of different contexts. When missing data are not handled properly, subsequent statistical estimates tend to be biased, inefficient, and lack proper confidence interval coverage. Missing data are often grouped into three categories: missing completely at random (MCAR),...
Too hot for comfort: Elevated temperatures influence gene expression and exceed thermal tolerance of bigmouth shiners, Ericymba dorsalis
Ella K. Humphrey, Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Lizabeth Bowen, Robert E. Wilson, Shannon C. Waters-Dynes, Braxton M. Newkirk, Sarah A. Sonsthagen
2025, Journal of Fish Biology
Environmental and associated ecosystem change may affect the persistence of fish species based on their ability to adapt to changing conditions, including decreasing flows and rising water temperatures. Exceeding the thermal tolerances of stream fish will likely result in a loss of ability to maintain metabolic processes. We evaluated the...
Refined chronology of late Quaternary eruptions at Harrat Khaybar, Saudi Arabia, with implications for magma dynamics and regional volcanic history
Abdullah Aohali, Shanaka L. de Silva, Alejandro Cisneros de Leon, Charles Lewis, Axel K. Schmitt, Martin Danišík, Mark E. Stelten, Sujoy Mukhopadhyay, Robert Duncan, Frank C. Ramos
2025, GSA Bulletin
Determining accurate and precise ages for Quaternary volcanic centers is essential for reconstructing volcanic field histories, understanding magmatic processes, and assessing potential hazards or risk. Harrat Khaybar, western Saudi Arabia, is one of the youngest and potentially most active volcanic fields on the Arabian plate, has been active since ca....
Quantifying depuration of methylmercury from fish consumption by travelers
Ryan F. Lepak, Jean H. Mve Beh, Clotaire Moukegni-Sika, Jean N.B. Binguema, Sarah E. Janssen, Jacob M. Ogorek, Michael Tate, Peter B. McIntyre
2025, Environment and Health
During a two-week field sampling expedition in Gabon, two American scientists consumed fish daily from the Ogooué River watershed. We sampled their scalp and facial hair periodically to evaluate hair as a biomarker to track shifts in methylmercury (MeHg) exposure from diet. Each individual differed in the onset and extent...
Predicting secretive species distribution using Bayesian networks with and without expert elicitation: A case study incorporating double-blind peer review
Dustin E. Brewer, Elisabeth B. Webb, Anne E. Mini, S. Keith McKnight
2025, Ecological Solutions and Evidence (6)
1. Species that are secretive, imperilled and consequently data deficient often re-quire conservation action despite limited available information. In such scenarios, Bayesian networks (BNs) offer a versatile and intuitive approach for utilizing various information sources, including literature reviews, community science data sets and expert knowledge. Although it...
A high-resolution late Paleocene–early Eocene organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst zonation of the United States Atlantic Coastal Plain
Mei Nelissen, Appy Sluijs, Debra A. Willard, Henk Brinkhuis
2025, Journal of Micropalaeontology (44) 431-467
Over the past decades, many expanded sedimentary records from the US Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) have been studied in detail to assess causes and consequences of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ∼ 56 Ma). In ACP sections, the PETM, which is globally marked by a distinct negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE) lasting <span...
Changes in phosphorus concentration and flux from 2011 to 2023 in major U.S. tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes
Dustin William Kincaid, Matthew W. Diebel, Erin E. Bertke, Donald B. Bonville, G. F. Koltun, Dale M. Robertson, Luke C. Loken
2025, Journal of Great Lakes Research (51)
Reducing phosphorus (P) flux to the Great Lakes is critical for improving water quality and controlling eutrophication. We used 13 water years (2011–2023) of U.S. Geological Survey data from 24 major U.S. tributaries (representing 47% of the U.S. Great Lakes watershed area) to evaluate temporal changes in orthophosphate (PO4-P) and...
Evaluating Laramide orogenesis via flexural basin response in the San Juan basin, New Mexico and Colorado
Kurt Rudolph, Ryan J Leary, Tyson Michael Smith, Kristine L. Zellman
2025, Conference Paper, New Mexico Geological Society 75th annual fall field conference guidebook
A challenge in interpreting the location, timing, and magnitude of ancient orogenic events is that ongoing uplift and erosion in the hinterlands often destroys much of the primary record of these events. However, basin-thickness patterns in the sedimentary record can provide complimentary evidence of uplift via flexural effects. Here, we...
Amphibian diversity of the western Colorado canyonlands including potential threats from nonnative bullfrogs and disease
Denita M Weeks, David Pilliod, Madeline (Nikki) Grant-Hoffman, Anjelica F Quintana Spencer, Daniel Neubaum, Paul Hampton, Michaela Ray Grossklaus, Matthew B Laramie, Erin L. Muths
2025, Western North American Naturalist (85) 515-535
Throughout the canyons of the Colorado and Uncompahgre Plateaus, water is a limited resource for wildlife, with patchy distribution and seasonal availability. Tributary creeks within these canyons drain into mainstem rivers, providing habitat and breeding sites for native amphibians. Yet, little is known about the diversity and distribution of amphibians...
Landsat-derived rainfed and irrigated-area product for conterminous United States for the year 2020 (LRIP30 CONUS 2020) using supervised and unsupervised machine learning on the cloud
Pardhasaradhi Teluguntla, Prasad Thenkabail, Adam Oliphant, Itiya Aneece, Trent Biggs, Murali Krishna Gumma, Daniel Foley, Richard L McCormick, Neelam Rohitha, Emerson Long, Jake Lawton
2025, Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing (91) 703-714
Accurate maps of irrigated and rainfed croplands are crucial for assessing global food and water security. Irrigated croplands yield two to four times more grain and biomass than rainfed croplands. To meet rising food demand, the proportion of cropland that is irrigated must be increased globally. Because agriculture uses 80%...
Effects of flow on pesticides in water and zooplankton in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
James Orlando, Laura Twardochleb, David Bosworth, Michelle Hladik, Corey Sanders, Matt De Parsia, Brittany E. Davis
2025, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (23)
Zooplankton are a key food source for juvenile fishes in estuaries worldwide, including California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (hereafter Delta); both zooplankton quality and quantity are critical to ecosystem health. Zooplankton may be affected by pesticides in water and the food web, and the Delta is known to contain complex pesticide...
Drone-based radiometric surveys provide high-resolution mine waste characterization
Chloe Danielle Gustafson, Anjana K. Shah, Matthew Alexander Burgess, Josip Adams, Virginia McLemore, Evan J. Owen
2025, The Leading Edge (44) 889-900
Airborne radiometric surveys use passive geophysical techniques to characterize geochemical variations at or near earth’s surface. These methods have been used for a variety of mapping applications, including mineral resource evaluation. However, detailed characterization of smaller geologic targets, including mine waste features, requires flying at lower altitudes and with tighter...
The Mammoth magnetic anomaly, Pinal County, Arizona
Callum Andrew Walter, Daniel S. Scheirer, Carl Joseph Beno, Jackson Stone Borchardt, Dylan Mark Connell
2025, The Leading Edge (44) 879-888
A high-resolution Earth Mapping Resources Initiative airborne geophysical survey was flown in the southwest North American porphyry copper province to improve bedrock geologic maps and to identify areas that have unrecognized critical mineral resource potential. During the review of the aeromagnetic data, a distinctly monopolar-shaped, negative magnetic anomaly was observed...
