Differential shortstopping behaviour in Whooping Cranes: Habitat or social learning?
Philipp Mendgen, Sarah J. Converse, Aaron T. Pearse, Claire S. Teitelbaum, Thomas Mueller
2023, Global Ecology and Conservation (41)
Many migratory bird species have begun shifting their wintering grounds closer to their breeding grounds, shortening their yearly migration distance through a behavior called shortstopping. While multiple studies have investigated possible drivers, it remains unclear why only some populations adopt this behavior.We studied the differential occurrence of shortstopping in two...
Simulating post-dam removal effects of hatchery operations and disease on juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) production in the Lower Klamath River, California
Russell W. Perry, John M. Plumb, Michael J. Dodrill, Nicholas A. Som, H. Eve Robinson, Nicholas J. Hetrick
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1106
Executive SummaryThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been considering the approval to breach four dams on lower Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California. Approval of this application would allow for Strikeouts indicate text deletion hereafter. decommissioning and dam removal, beginning as early as 2023. This action would...
Quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the Modesto, Turlock, and Merced Subbasins of the San Joaquin Valley, California
Zeno F. Levy, Mariia Balkan, Jennifer L. Shelton
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1116
Summary More than 2 million Californians rely on groundwater from privately owned domestic wells for drinking-water supply. This report summarizes a water-quality survey of domestic and small-system drinking-water supply wells in the Modesto, Turlock, and Merced subbasins of the San Joaquin Valley where more than 78,000 residents are...
Modeling coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) population response to streamflow and water temperature extremes
J. Ryan Bellmore, Christopher J. Sergeant, Rebecca A. Bellmore, Jeffrey A. Falke, Jason B. Fellman
2023, Article
Models that assess the vulnerability of freshwater species to shifting environmental conditions do not always account for short-duration extremes, which are increasingly common. Life cycle models for Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) generally focus on average conditions that fish experience during each life stage, yet many floods, low flows, and elevated water...
Vertical transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum in cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii)
Tawni B. Riepe, Eric R. Fetherman, Brad Neuschwanger, Tracy Davis, Andrew Perkins, Dana L. Winkelman
2023, Journal of Fish Diseases (46) 309-319
Vertical transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum has been well-documented in anadromous salmonids but not in hatchery-reared inland trout. We assessed whether the bacterium is vertically transmitted in cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) from a Colorado, USA hatchery, and assessed the rate of transmission from male and female brood fish. Adult brood fish were killed,...
Skinks of Oceania, New Guinea, and Eastern Wallacea: An underexplored biodiversity hotspot
Alex Slavenko, Allen Allison, Christopher C. Austin, Aaron Bauer, Rafe M. Brown, Robert N. Fisher, Ivan Ineich, Bulisa Iova, Benjamin R. Karin, Frederick Kraus, Sven Mecke, Shai Meiri, Clare Morrison, Paul M. Oliver, Mark O'Shea, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Glenn M. Shea, Oliver J. S. Tallowin, David G. Chapple
2023, Pacific Conservation Biology (29) 526-543
Context: Skinks comprise the dominant component of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna in Oceania, New Guinea, and Eastern Wallacea (ONGEW). However, knowledge of their diversity is incomplete, and their conservation needs are poorly understood.Aims: To explore the diversity and threat status of the skinks of ONGEW and identify knowledge gaps and conservation needs.Methods: We...
Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Effects of volcanic heat and other stressors on the conservation of a critically endangered plant in Hawaiʻi
Nathan S. Gill, Jeff Stallman, Linda Pratt, Jennifer L. Lewicki, Tamar Elias, Patricia A. Nadeau, Stephanie G. Yelenik
2023, Environmental Conservation (20) 108-115
Loss of local biodiversity resulting from abrupt environmental change is a significant environmental problem throughout the world. Extinctions of plants are particularly important yet are often overlooked. Drawing from a case in Hawai‘i, a global hotspot for plant and other extinctions, we demonstrate an effort to better understand and determine...
Round goby detection in Lakes Huron and Michigan— An evaluation of eDNA and fish catches
Katarzyna Przybyla-Kelly, Ashley M. Spoljaric, Meredith B. Nevers
2023, Fishes (8)
Aquatic surveys for fish in large water bodies (e.g., Laurentian Great Lakes of North America) often require a flexible approach using multiple methods, surveying different depths, and sampling across seasons, especially when the target species is elusive in its natural habitat. The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive,...
Comparison of community practitioner and clinical educator expectations of veterinary graduates
Amy Nichelason, Nathan Roy Bollig, Tom Bach, Molly Harris, Peggy Schmidt
2023, Journal of Veterinary Medical Education (50) 582-589
One goal of veterinary curricular development and revision is to ensure graduating veterinarians meet entry-level competencies to perform successfully in their community. Most curricula are developed by clinical educators in a university setting; therefore, we must determine whether clinical educators can predict community practitioner expectations. This article...
Gross alpha-particle activity and high 226Ra concentrations do not correspond with high 210Po in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain aquifers of the United States
Zoltan Szabo, Charles A. Cravotta III, Paul E. Stackelberg, Kenneth Belitz
2023, Environmental Science & Technology Water (3) 262-274
210Po, which is of human-health concern based on lifetime ingestion cancer risk, is indirectly regulated in drinking water through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s gross alpha-particle activity (GAPA) maximum contaminant level of 15 pCi/L (picocuries per liter). This regulation requires independent measurement of 226Ra for samples exceeding...
Intensified warming and aridity accelerate terminal lake desiccation in the Great Basin of the western United States
Dorothy K. Hall, John S. Kimball, Ron Larson, Nicolo E. DiGirolamo, Kimberly Ann Casey, Glynn Hulley
2023, Earth and Space Science (10)
Terminal lakes in the Great Basin (GB) of the western US host critical wildlife habitat and food for migrating birds and can be associated with serious human health and economic consequences when they desiccate. Water levels have declined dramatically in the last 100+ years due to diversion...
Vertical transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum in cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii)
Tawni B. Riepe, Eric R. Fetherman, Brad Neuschwanger, Tracy Davis, Andrew Perkins, Dana L. Winkelman
2023, Journal of Fish Diseases (46) 309-319
Vertical transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum has been well-documented in anadromous salmonids but not in hatchery-reared inland trout. We assessed whether the bacterium is vertically transmitted in cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) from a Colorado, USA hatchery, and assessed the rate of transmission from male and female brood fish....
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources in the Lower Saxony Basin of Germany, 2020
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Thomas M. Finn, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Phuong A. Le, Ronald M. Drake II, Geoffrey S. Ellis
2023, Fact Sheet 2022-3081
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 321 million barrels of shale oil and 435 billion cubic feet of shale gas in the Lower Saxony Basin, Germany....
Geologic map of the source region of Shalbatana Vallis, Mars
Daniel C. Berman, J. Alexis Palmero Rodriguez, Catherine M. Weitz, David A. Crown
2023, Scientific Investigations Map 3492
Xanthe Terra is a high-standing cratered plain located southeast of Lunae Planum and south of Chryse Planitia in the western equatorial region of Mars. It contains landforms shaped by diverse geologic processes, including various scales of channels and valleys, chaotic terrains, delta fan deposits, and landslides. An extensive outflow channel...
Lethal effects on flea larvae of fipronil in host feces: Potential benefits for plague mitigation
David A. Eads, Tyler Tretten, John P. Hughes, Dean E. Biggins
2023, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (59) 84-92
Plague, caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, is a zoonotic disease of mammalian hosts and flea vectors. Fipronil baits have been used to suppress adult fleas for plague mitigation. The degree and duration of flea control may increase if fipronil also kills other stages in the flea life cycle. We fed...
Tectonics, geochronology, and petrology of the Walker Top Granite, Appalachian Inner Piedmont, North Carolina (USA): Implications for Acadian and Neoacadian orogenesis
Arthur J. Merschat, Robert D. Hatcher, Scott D. Giorgis, Heather E. Byars, Russell Mapes, Crystal G. Wilson, Matthew P. Gatewood
2023, Geosphere (19) 19-46
The Walker Top Granite (here formally named) is a peraluminous megacrystic granite that occurs in the Cat Square terrane, Inner Piedmont, part of the southern Appalachian Acadian-Neoacadian deformational and metamorphic core. The granite occurs as disconnected concordant to semi-concordant plutons in migmatitic, sillimanite...
High female desert tortoise mortality in the western Sonoran Desert during California’s epic 2012–2016 drought
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Michele R. Puffer, Kristy L. Cummings, Terence R. Arundel, Michael S. Vamstad, Kathleen D. Brundige
2023, Endangered Species Research (50) 1-16
We conducted population surveys for desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii at 2 nearby sites in the western Sonoran Desert of California, USA, from 2015-2018, during the driest ongoing 22 yr period (2000-2021) in the southwestern USA in over 1200 yr. We hypothesized that drought-induced mortality would be female-biased due to water and...
Magmatic record of changing Cordilleran plate-boundary conditions—Insights from Lu-Hf isotopes in the Mojave Desert
Keith A. Howard, S.E. Shaw, Charlotte M. Allen
2023, Geosphere (19) 1-18
Belts of Cordilleran arc plutons in the eastern part of the Mojave crustal province, inboard from the southwestern North American plate boundary, record major magmatic pulses at ca. 180–160 and 75 Ma and smaller pulses at ca. 100 and 20 Ma. This cyclic magmatism likely reflects evolving plate-margin processes. Zircon...
Natal contributions of Kokanee salmon to Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Wyoming–Utah: An evaluation using otolith microchemistry
Aaron Black, John D. Walrath, Marte Willmes, Michael Quist
2023, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (14) 90-107
In a system that uses supplemental stocking to enhance a fishery that serves a dual purpose, an understanding of the contributions from natural and hatchery-produced fish is important so that hatchery resources can be appropriately allocated. Kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka were first stocked in Flaming Gorge Reservoir (FGR), Wyoming–Utah, in 1963 and serve...
Guide for benthic invertebrate studies in support of Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration
David J. Soucek, Aida M. Farag, John M. Besser, Jeffery A. Steevens
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1110
This guide is intended to assist with characterizing injury to freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates (BMIs) in Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration (NRDAR) cases. The contents are narrowly focused on insects, crustaceans, snails, and other invertebrate fauna that are typically considered part of BMI communities and are not intended to address...
The future of ecosystem assessments is automation, collaboration, and artificial intelligence
Carmen Galaz-Garcia, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Julien Brun, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Trevor Dhu, Nicholas J. Murray, Connor J. Nolan, Taylor H. Ricketts, Heidi M. Sosik, Daniel Sousa, Geoff Willard, Benjamin S Halpern
2023, Environmental Research Letters (18)
Robust and routine ecosystem assessments will be fundamental to track progress towards achieving this decade’s global environmental and sustainability goals. Here we examine four needs that address common failure points of ecosystem assessments. These are (1) developing rapid, reproducible, and repeatable ecological data workflows, (2) harmonizing in situ and remotely...
Experimental infection of Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis) with SARS-CoV-2
Jeffrey S. Hall, Erik K. Hofmeister, Hon S. Ip, Sean Nashold, Ariel Elizabeth Leon, Carly Marie Malave, Elizabeth Falendysz, Tonie E. Rocke, M. Carossino, U. Balasuriya, Susan Knowles
2023, mSphere (8)
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus is thought to have originated in wild bats from Asia, and as the resulting pandemic continues into its third year, concerns have been raised that the virus will expand its host range and infect North American wildlife species, including bats. Mexican free-tailed...
Identifying physical characteristics and functional traits of forbs preferred or highly visited by bees in the Prairie Pothole Region
Stacy C. Simanonok, Clint Otto
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1114
Establishing and enhancing pollinator habitat to support declining bee populations is a national goal within the United States. Pollinator habitat is often created through incentive-based conservation programs, and the inclusion of cost-effective forbs within the habitat design is a critical component of such programs. U.S. Geological Survey research from 2015...
Flea control on prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) with fipronil bait pellets: Potential plague mitigation tool for rapid field application and wildlife conservation
Marc R. Matchett, David A. Eads, Jennifer Cordova, Travis Livieri, Holly Hicks, Dean E. Biggins
2023, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (59) 71-83
Sylvatic plague is a widespread, primarily flea-vectored disease in western North America. Because plague is highly lethal to endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes, BFFs) and the prairie dogs (Cynomys spp., PDs) on which BFFs depend for habitat and prey, minimizing the impacts of plague is a priority at BFF reintroduction sites....
Epistylis spp. infestation in two species of mud turtles (Kinosternon spp.) in the American Southwest
Audrey K. Owens, Jennifer A. Smith, Rebecca A. Cole, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Daniel A. Grear
2023, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (59) 167-171
The protistan genus Epistylis contains freshwater colonial species that attach to aquatic organisms in an epibiotic or parasitic relationship. They are known to attach to the epidermis and shells of aquatic turtles, but have not been reported to cause heavy infestations or morbidity in turtles....
