Improved algorithms in the CE-QUAL-W2 water-quality model for blending dam releases to meet downstream water-temperature targets
Stewart A. Rounds, Norman L. Buccola
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1027
Water-quality models allow water resource professionals to examine conditions under an almost unlimited variety of potential future scenarios. The two-dimensional (longitudinal, vertical) water-quality model CE-QUAL-W2, version 3.7, was enhanced and augmented with new features to help dam operators and managers explore and optimize potential solutions for temperature management downstream of...
Climate change and prairie pothole wetlands: mitigating water-level and hydroperiod effects through upland management
David A. Renton, David M. Mushet, Edward S. DeKeyser
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5004
Prairie pothole wetlands offer crucial habitat for North America’s waterfowl populations. The wetlands also support an abundance of other species and provide ecological services valued by society. The hydrology of prairie pothole wetlands is dependent on atmospheric interactions. Therefore, changes to the region’s climate can have profound effects on wetland...
Long-term plant responses to climate are moderated by biophysical attributes in a North American desert
Seth M. Munson, Robert H. Webb, David C. Housman, Kari E. Veblen, Kenneth E. Nussear, Erik A. Beever, Kristine B. Hartney, Maria N. Miriti, Susan L. Phillips, Robert E. Fulton, Nita G. Tallent
2015, Journal of Ecology (103) 657-668
Recent elevated temperatures and prolonged droughts in many already water-limited regions throughout the world, including the southwestern U.S., are likely to intensify according to future climate-model projections. This warming and drying can negatively affect perennial vegetation and lead to the degradation of ecosystem properties. To better understand these detrimental effects, we...
Simulation of the regional groundwater-flow system of the Menominee Indian Reservation, Wisconsin
Paul F. Juckem, Charles P. Dunning
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5237
A regional, two-dimensional, steady-state groundwater-flow model was developed to simulate the groundwater-flow system and groundwater/surface-water interactions within the Menominee Indian Reservation. The model was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, to contribute to the fundamental understanding of the region’s hydrogeology....
Trophic ecology of northern pike and their effect on conservation of westslope cutthroat trout.
John D. Walrath, Michael C. Quist, Jon A. Firehammer
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 158-177
Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi in Coeur d’Alene Lake, Idaho, have declined in recent years; predation by Northern Pike Esox lucius, a nonnative sport fish, is thought to be a causative mechanism. The goal of this study was to describe the seasonal food habits of Northern Pike and determine their influence on...
Timescales alter the inferred strength and temporal consistency of intraspecific diet specialization
Mark Novak, M. Tim Tinker
2015, Oecologia (178) 61-74
Many populations consist of individuals that differ substantially in their diets. Quantification of the magnitude and temporal consistency of such intraspecific diet variation is needed to understand its importance, but the extent to which different approaches for doing so reflect instantaneous vs. time-aggregated measures of individual diets may bias inferences....
Water resources of La Salle Parish, Louisiana
Vincent E. White, Lawrence B. Prakken
2015, Fact Sheet 2014-3089
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in La Salle Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the...
Update of the Graizer-Kalkan ground-motion prediction equations for shallow crustal continental earthquakes
Vladimir Graizer, Erol Kalkan
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1009
A ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) for computing medians and standard deviations of peak ground acceleration and 5-percent damped pseudo spectral acceleration response ordinates of maximum horizontal component of randomly oriented ground motions was developed by Graizer and Kalkan (2007, 2009) to be used for seismic hazard analyses and engineering applications....
A laboratory evaluation of tagging-related mortality and tag loss in juvenile humpback chub
David L. Ward, William R. Persons, Kirk Young, Dennis M. Stone, Randy Van Haverbeke, William R. Knight
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 135-140
We quantified tag retention, survival, and growth in juvenile, captive-reared Humpback Chub Gila cypha marked with three different tag types: (1) Biomark 12.5-mm, 134.2-kHz, full duplex PIT tags injected into the body cavity with a 12-gauge needle; (2) Biomark 8.4-mm, 134.2-kHz, full duplex PIT tags injected with a 16-gauge needle;...
Bedrock geologic map of the Spring Valley, West Plains, and parts of the Piedmont and Poplar Bluff 30'x60' quadrangles, Missouri, including the upper Current River and Eleven Point River drainage basins
David J. Weary, Richard W. Harrison, Randall C. Orndorff, Robert E. Weems, J. Stephen Schindler, John E. Repetski, Herbert A. Pierce
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3280
This map covers the drainage basins of the upper Current River and the Eleven Point River in the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province of southeastern Missouri. The two surface drainage basins are contiguous in their headwaters regions, but are separated in their lower reaches by the lower Black River basin in...
Desertification, land use, and the transformation of global drylands
Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Gregory S. Okin, Michael C. Duniway, Steven R. Archer, Nathan F. Sayre, Jebediah C. Williamson, Jeffrey E. Herrick
2015, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (1) 28-36
Desertification is an escalating concern in global drylands, yet assessments to guide management and policy responses are limited by ambiguity concerning the definition of “desertification” and what processes are involved. To improve clarity, we propose that assessments of desertification and land transformation be placed within a state change–land-use change (SC–LUC)...
Legacy effects in linked ecological-soil-geomorphic systems of drylands
Curtis Monger, Osvaldo E. Sala, Michael C. Duniway, Haim Goldfus, Isaac A. Meir, Rosa M. Poch, Heather L. Throop, Enrique R. Vivoni
2015, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (13) 13-19
A legacy effect refers to the impacts that previous conditions have on current processes or properties. Legacies have been recognized by many disciplines, from physiology and ecology to anthropology and geology. Within the context of climatic change, ecological legacies in drylands (eg vegetative patterns) result from feedbacks between biotic, soil,...
Geochemical and petrographic data for intrusions peripheral to the Big Timber Stock, Crazy Mountains, Montana
Edward A. du Bray, Anna B. Wilson, Bradley S. Van Gosen
2015, Data Series 895
The Paleocene Fort Union Formation hosts a compositionally diverse array of Eocene plugs, dikes, and sills arrayed around the Eocene Big Timber stock in the Crazy Mountains of south-central Montana. The geochemistry and petrography of the sills have not previously been characterized or interpreted. The purpose of this report is...
A genetic discontinuity in moose (Alces alces) in Alaska corresponds with fenced transportation infrastructure
Robert E. Wilson, Sean D. Farley, Thomas J. McDonough, Sandra L. Talbot, Perry S. Barboza
2015, Conservation Genetics (16) 791-800
The strength and arrangement of movement barriers can impact the connectivity among habitat patches. Anthropogenic barriers (e.g. roads) are a source of habitat fragmentation that can disrupt these resource networks and can have an influence on the spatial genetic structure of populations. Using microsatellite data, we evaluated whether observed genetic...
Fire modulates climate change response of simulated aspen distribution across topoclimatic gradients in a semi-arid montane landscape
Jian Yang, Peter J. Weisberg, Douglas J. Shinneman, Thomas E. Dilts, Susan L. Earnst, Robert M Scheller
2015, Landscape Ecology (30) 1055-1073
Content Changing aspen distribution in response to climate change and fire is a major focus of biodiversity conservation, yet little is known about the potential response of aspen to these two driving forces along topoclimatic gradients. Objective This study is set to evaluate how aspen distribution might shift in response...
Beach ridges as paleoseismic indicators of abrupt coastal subsidence during subduction zone earthquakes, and implications for Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone paleoseismology, southeast coast of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Harvey M. Kelsey, Robert C. Witter, Simon E. Engelhart, Richard W. Briggs, Alan R. Nelson, Peter J. Haeussler, D. Reide Corbett
2015, Quaternary Science Reviews (113) 147-158
The Kenai section of the eastern Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone straddles two areas of high slip in the 1964 great Alaska earthquake and is the least studied of the three megathrust segments (Kodiak, Kenai, Prince William Sound) that ruptured in 1964. Investigation of two coastal sites in the eastern part of...
Mercury concentrations and distribution in soil, water, mine waste leachates, and air in and around mercury mines in the Big Bend region, Texas, USA
John E. Gray, Peter M. Theodorakos, David L. Fey, David P. Krabbenhoft
2015, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (37) 35-48
Samples of soil, water, mine waste leachates, soil gas, and air were collected from areas mined for mercury (Hg) and baseline sites in the Big Bend area, Texas, to evaluate potential Hg contamination in the region. Soil samples collected within 300 m of an inactive Hg mine contained elevated Hg concentrations...
Understanding uncertainty in temperature effects on vector-borne disease: a Bayesian approach
Leah R. Johnson, Tal Ben-Horin, Kevin D. Lafferty, Amy McNally, Erin A. Mordecai, Krijn P. Paaijmans, Samraat Pawar, Sadie J. Ryan
2015, Ecology (96) 203-213
Extrinsic environmental factors influence the distribution and population dynamics of many organisms, including insects that are of concern for human health and agriculture. This is particularly true for vector-borne infectious diseases like malaria, which is a major source of morbidity and mortality in humans. Understanding the mechanistic links between environment...
Social Values for Ecosystem Services, version 3.0 (SolVES 3.0): documentation and user manual
Benson C. Sherrouse, Darius J. Semmens
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1008
The geographic information system (GIS) tool, Social Values for Ecosystem Services (SolVES), was developed to incorporate quantified and spatially explicit measures of social values into ecosystem service assessments. SolVES 3.0 continues to extend the functionality of SolVES, which was designed to assess, map, and quantify the social values of ecosystem services. Social values—the perceived,...
Geologic map of the Patagonia Mountains, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Frederick Graybeal, Lorre A. Moyer, Peter G. Vikre, Pamela Dunlap, John C. Wallis
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1023
The Patagonia Mountains contain two large porphyry Cu-Mo systems each with separate associated hypogene and supergene zones, two high-grade Cu-Mo breccia pipes, one large epithermal Ag-Pb-Zn-Mn deposit, and numerous additional areas of base- and precious-metal mineralization all zoned around a Laramide-age composite batholith of intermediate composition. Compilations and new work...
Movements of wild pigs in Louisiana and Mississippi, 2011-13
Stephen B. Hartley, Buddy L. Goatcher, Sijan Sapkota
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1241
The prolific breeding capability, behavioral adaptation, and adverse environmental impacts of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) have increased efforts towards managing their populations and understanding their movements. Currently, little is known about wild pig populations and movements in Louisiana and Mississippi. From 2011 to 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey investigated...
Lake Michigan Diversion Accounting land cover change estimation by use of the National Land Cover Dataset and raingage network partitioning analysis
Jennifer B. Sharpe, David T. Soong
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1258
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Chicago District, is responsible for monitoring and computation of the quantity of Lake Michigan water diverted by the State of Illinois. As part of this effort, the USACE uses the Hydrological Simulation Program–FORTRAN (HSPF) with measured meteorological data inputs to estimate runoff from...
Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project final report: Monitoring for evaluation of recovery and restoration of injured nearshore resources
Brenda E. Ballachey, James L. Bodkin, Kimberly A. Kloecker, Tom Dean, Heather A Colletti
2015, Report
In 2012, we completed three consecutive years of full field sampling in WPWS for EVOS Restoration Project 10100750. Nearshore monitoring was conducted in collaboration with the NPS SWAN I&M program and, beginning in 2012, as part of the EVOSTC GWA program. Data collection was done in accordance with standard operating procedures...
Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) are selective herbivores that track the flowering phenology of their preferred food plants
Bryan W. Jennings, Kristin H. Berry
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Previous studies of desert tortoise foraging ecology in the western Mojave Desert suggest that these animals are selective herbivores, which alter their diet according to the temporal availability of preferred food plants. These studies, however, did not estimate availability of potential food plants by taking into account the spatial and...
Maps showing the change in modern sediment thickness on the Inner Continental Shelf offshore of Fire Island, New York, between 1996-97 and 2011
William C. Schwab, Wayne E. Baldwin, Jane F. Denny
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1238
The U.S. Geological Survey mapped approximately 336 square kilometers of the lower shoreface and inner continental shelf offshore of Fire Island, New York, in 1996 and 1997, using high-resolution sidescan-sonar and seismic-reflection systems, and again in 2011, using interferometric sonar and high-resolution chirp seismic-reflection systems. This report presents a comparison...
