qPCR-based phytoplankton abundance and chlorophyll a: A multi-year study in twelve large freshwater rivers across the United States
Chiqian Zhang, Kyle D. McIntosh, N. Sienkiewicz, Erin A. Stelzer, Jennifer L. Graham, Jingrang Lu
2024, Science of the Total Environment (954)
Phytoplankton overgrowth, which characterizes the eutrophication or trophic status of surface water bodies, threatens ecosystems and public health. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) is promising for assessing the abundance and community composition of phytoplankton. However, applications of qPCR to indicate eutrophication and trophic status, especially in lotic systems, have yet...
Naturalized species drive functional trait shifts in plant communities
Magda Garbowski, Daniel L. McLaughlin, Dana M. Blumenthal, Helen Sofaer, David Barnett, Evelyn M. Beaury, Daniel Buonaiuto, Jeff Corbin, Jeffrey Dukes, Regan Early, Andrea Nebhut, Lais Petri, Montserrat Vila, Ian S. Pearse
2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (121)
Despite decades of research documenting the consequences of naturalized and invasive plant species on ecosystem functions, our understanding of the functional underpinnings of these changes remains rudimentary. This is partially due to ineffective scaling of trait differences between native and naturalized species to whole plant communities. Working with data from...
Evaluating a process-guided deep learning approach for predicting dissolved oxygen in streams
Jeffrey M Sadler, Lauren Elizabeth Koenig, Galen Gorski, Alice M. Carter, Robert O. Hall Jr.
2024, Hydrological Processes (38)
Dissolved oxygen (DO) is a critical water quality constituent that governs habitat suitability for aquatic biota, biogeochemical reactions and solubility of metals in streams. Recently introduced high-frequency sensors have increased our ability to measure DO, but we still lack the capacity to understand and predict DO concentrations at high spatial...
Geomorphic change, hydrology, and hydraulics of Caulks Creek, Wildwood, Missouri
Jessica Z. LeRoy, David C. Heimann, Kyle D. Hix, Charles V. Cigrand, Tyler J. Burk
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5079
Caulks Creek is a small stream that flows through the city of Wildwood in western St. Louis County, Missouri. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Wildwood, has documented historical and recent geomorphic change along Caulks Creek, simulated the hydrologic and hydraulic response of Caulks Creek to...
A benchmark dataset and workflow for landslide susceptibility zonation
Massimiliano Alvioli, Marco Loche, Liesbet Jacobs, Carlos H. Grohmann, Minu Treesa Abraham, Kunal Gupta, Neelima Satyam, Gianvito Scaringi, Txomin Bornaetxea, Mauro Rossi, Ivan Marchesini, Luigi Lombardo, Mateo Moreno, Stefan Steger, Corrado Camera, Greta Bajni, Guruh Samodra, Erwin Eko Wahyudi, Nanang Susyanto, Marko Sincic, Sanja Bernat Gazibara, Flavius Sirbu, Jewgenij Torizin, Nick Schussler, Benjamin B. Mirus, Jacob Bryson Woodard, Hector Aguilera, Jhonatan Steven Rivera-Rivera
2024, Earth-Science Reviews (258)
Landslide susceptibility shows the spatial likelihood of landslide occurrence in a specific geographical area and is a relevant tool for mitigating the impact of landslides worldwide. As such, it is the subject of countless scientific studies. Many methods exist for generating a susceptibility map, mostly falling under the...
Survey effort and targeted landbird community metrics at Indiana lowland forest restoration sites
Benjamin M West, Mark L. Wildhaber, Nicholas S. Green, John P. Isanhart, M. Victoria McDonald, Michael J. Hooper
2024, Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (20) 1954-1968
Many sampling and analytical methods can estimate the abundance, distributions, and diversity of birds and other wildlife. However, challenges with sample size and analytical capacity can make these methods difficult to implement for resource-limited monitoring programs. To apprise efficient and attainable sampling designs for landbird monitoring programs with limited observational...
Free-roaming horses exceeding appropriate management levels affect multiple vital rates in greater sage-grouse
Jeffrey L. Beck, Megan C. Milligan, Kurt T. Smith, Phillip A. Street, Aaron C. Pratt, Christopher P. Kirol, Caitlyn P. Wanner, Jacob D. Hennig, Jonathan B. Dinkins, J. Derek Scasta, Peter S. Coates
2024, The Journal of Wildlife Management (88)
Since the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, federal agencies have been responsible for managing free-roaming equids in the United States. Over the last 20 years, management has been hampered by direct opposition from advocacy groups, budget limitations, and a decline in the public’s willingness...
Large eddy simulation of cross-shore hydrodynamics under random waves in the inner surf and swash zones
Benjamin Tsai, Tian-Jian Hsu, Seok-Bong Lee, Maria Pontiki, Jack A. Puleo, Meagan E. Wengrove
2024, JGR Oceans (129)
A 3D large eddy simulation coupled with a free surface tracking scheme was used to simulate cross-shore hydrodynamics as observed in a large wave flume experiment. The primary objective was to enhance the understanding of wave-backwash interactions and the implications for observed morphodynamics. Two simulation cases were carried out to...
Ambient flow and transport in long-screened, sand-packed wells: Insights into cross contamination and wellbore flow
Philip Harte, Christopher Palumbo Ely, Nicholas F. Teague, Nicole C. Fenton, Anthony A. Brown
2024, Environmental Earth Sciences (83)
The presence of long-screened wells with a surrounding sand pack can have a major effect on the redistribution of contaminants in groundwater, particularly when the wells are set in low-hydraulic conductivity aquifers. Such redistribution, or cross contamination, can occur through vertical flow and advective transport or by in-well mixing via...
Estimating ungulate migration corridors from sparse movement data
Jennifer L. McKee, Julien Fattebert, Ellen O. Aikens, Jodi Berg, Scott Bergen, Eric K. Cole, Holly E. Copeland, Alyson B. Courtemanch, Sarah Dewey, Mark Hurley, Blake Lowrey, Jerod A. Merkle, Arthur D. Middleton, Tristan A. Nuñez, Hall Sawyer, Matthew J. Kauffman
2024, Ecosphere (15)
Many ungulates migrate between distinct summer and winter ranges, and identifying, mapping, and conserving these migration corridors have become a focus of local, regional, and global conservation efforts. Brownian bridge movement models (BBMMs) are commonly used to empirically identify these seasonal migration corridors; however, they require location data sampled at...
Quantifying aspect-dependent snowpack response to high-elevation wildfire in the southern Rocky Mountains
Wyatt Reis, Daniel McGrath, Kelly Elder, Stephanie Kampf, David M. Rey
2024, Water Resources Research (60)
Increasing wildfire frequency and severity in high-elevation seasonal snow zones presents a considerable water resource management challenge across the western United States (U.S.). Wildfires can affect snowpack accumulation and melt patterns, altering the quantity and timing of runoff. While prior research has shown that wildfire generally increases snow melt rates...
Climate, hydrology, and nutrients control the seasonality of Si concentrations in rivers
Keira Johnson, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Joanna C. Carey, Lienne R. Sethna, Sidney A. Bush, Diane M. McKnight, William H. McDowell, Adam S. Wymore, Pirkko Kortelainen, Jeremy B. Jones, Nicholas Lyon, Hjalmar Laudon, Amanda Poste, Pamela L. Sullivan
2024, Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences (129)
The seasonal behavior of fluvial dissolved silica (DSi) concentrations, termed DSi regime, mediates the timing of DSi delivery to downstream waters and thus governs river biogeochemical function and aquatic community condition. Previous work identified five distinct DSi regimes across rivers spanning the Northern Hemisphere, with many rivers exhibiting multiple DSi regimes...
Debris-flow monitoring on volcanoes via a novel usage of a laser rangefinder
Alexandra M. Iezzi, Emily H Bryant, Weston Thelen, Craig Gabrielson, Seth C. Moran, Matthew R. Patrick, Edward F. Younger, Maciej K. Obryk
2024, Journal of Applied Volcanology (13)
Mount Rainier has had at least 11 large lahars over the last 6,000 years, including one occurring without evidence of eruptive activity. This prompted the creation of a lahar detection system that uses a combination of seismic, infrasound, and tripwires. We test a laser rangefinder placed...
Genomic characterization of highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza viruses from Alaska during 2022 provides evidence for genotype-specific trends of spatiotemporal and interspecies dissemination
Christina Ahlstrom, Mia Kim Torchetti, Julianna B. Lenoch, Kimberlee Beckmen, Megan Boldenow, Evan J Buck, Bryan Daniels, Krista Dilione, Robert Gerlach, Kristina Lantz, Angela Matz, Rebecca L. Poulson, Laura Celeste Scott, Gay Sheffield, David R. Sinnett, David E. Stallknecht, Raphaela Stimmelmayr, Eric B. Taylor, Alison R. Williams, Andrew M. Ramey
2024, Emerging Microbes & Infections (13)
The ongoing panzootic of highly pathogenic H5 clade 2.3.4.4b avian influenza (HPAI) spread to North America in late 2021, with detections of HPAI viruses in Alaska beginning in April 2022. HPAI viruses have since spread across the state, affecting many species of wild birds as well as domestic...
Nitrogen fixation and fertilization have similar effects on biomass allocation in nitrogen-fixing plants
DNL Menge, A. P. Wolfe, J. Funk, Steven S. Perakis, K.A. Carreras Pereira
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Plants adjust their allocation to different organs based on nutrient supply. In some plant species, symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in root nodules provide an alternate pathway for nitrogen acquisition. Does access to nitrogen-fixing bacteria modify plants' biomass allocation? We hypothesized that access...
Quantifying the importance of ontogeny and prey type in modeling top-down and bottom-up effects of an ectothermic predator
Melia Gail Nafus, Levi Gray
2024, Scientific Reports (14)
Dietary decisions by predators can affect prey abundance and overall food web dynamics. Many predators do not forage on the same prey at the same frequency throughout their lives. Ontogenetic shifts in prey preference are not, however, often accounted for when modeling food web relationships, despite growing literature that suggests...
Climate controls on longshore sediment transport and coastal morphology adjacent to engineered inlets
Andrew W. Stevens, Peter R Ruggiero, Kai Alexander Parker, Sean Vitousek, Guy Gelfenbaum, George M Kaminsky
2024, Coastal Engineering (194)
Coastal jetties are commonly used throughout the world to stabilize channels and improve navigation through inlets. These engineered structures form artificial boundaries to littoral cells by reducing wave-driven longshore sediment transport across inlet entrances. Consequently, beaches adjacent to engineered inlets are subject to large gradients in longshore transport rates and...
Using a time-of-travel sampling approach to quantify per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) stream loading and source inputs in a mixed-source, urban catchment
Emily E. Woodward, Lisa A. Senior, Jacob Fleck, Larry B. Barber, Angela Hansen, Joseph W. Duris
2024, ACS ES&T Water (4) 4356-4367
Understanding per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) mass distribution in surface and groundwater systems can support source prioritization, load reduction, and water management. Thirteen sites within an urban catchment were sampled utilizing a time-of-travel sampling approach to minimize the influence of subdaily fluctuations in mass from PFAS...
Synchrony of alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, year-class strength in the Great Lakes region
Les D. Warren, Andrew Edgar Honsey, David B. Bunnell, Paris D. Collingsworth, Darryl W. Hondorp, Charles P. Madenjian, David Warner, Brian Weidel, Tomas O. Hook
2024, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (81) 1456-1467
Fish recruitment is interannually variable and challenging to predict. Annual recruitment is often regionally synchronized among populations and identifying drivers of such synchrony may help shed light on recruitment dynamics. We investigated interannual variation of alewife Alosa pseudoharengus recruitment by estimating year-class strength for populations from three of the...
The value of information is context dependent: A demonstration of decision tools to address multispecies river temperature management under uncertainty
Brian D. Healy, Michael C. Runge, Michael P Beakes, Corey C. Phillis, Alexander J. Jensen, Joshua A. Israel
2024, Fisheries (49) 508-523
Trade-offs among objectives in natural resource management can be exacerbated in altered ecosystems and when there is uncertainty in predicted management outcomes. Multi-criteria decision analysis and value of information (VOI) are underutilized decision tools that can assist fisheries managers in handling trade-offs and evaluating...
An integrative paradigm for building causal knowledge
James Grace
2024, Ecological Monographs (94)
A core aspiration of the ecological sciences is to determine how systems work, which implies the challenge of developing a causal understanding. Causal inference has long been approached from a statistical perspective, which can be limited and restrictive for a variety of reasons. Ecologists...
Assessing factors related to Walleye stocking success in the Midwestern United States
Robert P. Davis, Daniel A. Isermann
2024, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (44) 1008-1024
Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate stocking success of Walleye Sander vitreus in lakes and reservoirs across the Midwestern United States to inform stocking practices for state agencies. Demand for Walleye stocking may increase if climate change limits the potential for natural recruitment in lakes. Consequently, the strategic distribution...
Genomic data characterize reproductive ecology patterns in Michigan invasive Red Swamp Crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)
Nicole E. Adams, Jared Joseph Homola, Nicholas M. Sard, Lucas R. Nathan, Brian M. Roth, John D. Robinson, Kim T. Scribner
2024, Evolutionary Applications (17)
The establishment and spread of invasive species are directly related to intersexual interactions as dispersal and reproductive success are related to distribution, effective population size, and population growth. Accordingly, populations established by r-selected species are particularly difficult to suppress or eradicate. One such species, the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)...
RE-ARMing salt marshes: A resilience-experimentalist approach to prescribed fire and bird conservation in high marshes of the Gulf of Mexico
Michelle Stantial, Auriel Fournier, Abigail Jean Lawson, Bruce G. Marcot, Mark S. Woodrey, James E. Lyons
2024, Frontiers in Conservation Science (5)
Uncertainty, complexity, and dynamic changes present challenges for conservation and natural resource management. Evidence-based approaches grounded in reliable information and rigorous analysis can enhance the navigation of the uncertainties and trade-offs inherent in conservation problems. This study highlights the importance of collaborative efforts and evidence-based decision-making, specifically implementing the Resilience-Experimentalist...
Mitigating disparate elevation differences between adjacent topobathymetric data models using binary code
William M. Cushing, Dean J. Tyler
2024, Remote Sensing (16)
Integrating coastal topographic and bathymetric data for creating regional seamless topobathymetric digital elevation models of the land/water interface presents a complex challenge due to the spatial and temporal gaps in data acquisitions. The Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project develops topographic (land elevation) and bathymetric (water depth) regional...
