Manganese in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, eastern USA—Modeling regional occurrence with pH, redox, and machine learning
Leslie A. DeSimone, Katherine Marie Ransom
2021, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (37)
Study region: The study was conducted in the Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain aquifer system, eastern USA, an important water supply in a densely populated region.Study focus: Manganese (Mn), an emerging health concern and common nuisance contaminant in drinking water, is mapped and modeled using the XGBoost machine learning method, predictions...
Hierarchical clustering for paired watershed experiments: Case study in southeastern Arizona, U.S.A.
Roy E. Petrakis, Laura M. Norman, Kurt Vaughn, Richard Pritzlaff, Caleb Weaver, Audrey J Rader, H. Ronald Pulliam
2021, Water (13)
Watershed studies are often onerous due to a lack of data available to portray baseline conditions with which to compare results of monitoring environmental effects. A paired-watershed approach is often adopted to simulate baseline conditions in an adjacent watershed that can be comparable but assumes there is...
Incorporation of uncertainty to improve projections of tidal wetland elevation and carbon accumulation with sea-level rise
Kevin J. Buffington, Christopher N. Janousek, Bruce D. Dugger, John C. Callaway, Lisa Schile-Beers, Evyan Borgnis Sloane, Karen M. Thorne
2021, PLoS ONE (16)
Understanding the rates and patterns of tidal wetland elevation changes relative to sea-level is essential for understanding the extent of potential wetland loss over the coming years. Using an enhanced and more flexible modeling framework of an ecosystem model (WARMER-2), we explored sea-level rise (SLR) impacts...
Are Cisco and Lake Whitefish competitors? An analysis of historical fisheries in Michigan waters of the Upper Laurentian Great Lakes
Benjamin J. Rook, Michael J. Hansen, Charles R. Bronte
2021, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (12) 524-539
Historically, Cisco Coregonus artedi and Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis were abundant throughout the Laurentian Great Lakes, but overharvest, habitat degradation, and interactions with exotic species caused most populations to collapse by the mid-1900s. Strict commercial fishery regulations and improved environmental and ecological conditions allowed Cisco to partially recover only...
Spatial and temporal overlap between foraging shorebirds and spawning horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in the Cape Romain-Santee Delta Region of the U.S. Atlantic coast
F. Takahashi, F. Sanders, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2021, Wilson Journal of Ornithology (133) 58-72
Shorebird use of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs as food items has been well documented along the Atlantic coast of the United States at northeastern stopover sites such as the Delaware Bay. However, the relationship between migratory shorebirds and horseshoe crab eggs has not been well studied in the South...
Resource selection functions based on hierarchical generalized additive models provide new insights into individual animal variation and species distribution
Jennifer D McCabe, John Clare, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner, Jeff Cooper, Scott G. Somershoe, David Hanni, Christine A. Kelly, Robert Sargent, Eric C. Soehren, Carrie Threadgill, Mercedes Maddox, Jonathan Stober, Mark S. Martell, Thomas Salo, Andrew Berry, Michael J. Lanzone, Melissa A. Braham, Christopher J.W. McClure
2021, Ecography (44) 1756-1768
Habitat selection studies are designed to generate predictions of species distributions or inference regarding general habitat associations and individual variation in habitat use. Such studies frequently involve either individually indexed locations gathered across limited spatial extents and analyzed using resource selection functions (RSFs) or spatially extensive...
U.S. Geological Survey Karst Interest Group Proceedings, October 19–20, 2021
Eve L. Kuniansky, Lawrence E. Spangler, editor(s)
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5019
Karst hydrogeologic systems represent challenging and unique conditions to scientists attempting to study groundwater flow and contaminant transport. Karst terrains are characterized by distinct and beautiful landscapes, caverns, and springs, and many of the exceptional karst areas are designated as national or state parks. The range and complexity of landforms...
Landsat Update October 2021
Anya Hartpence
2021, Newsletter
No abstract available....
Sediment transport in the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River near Stanley, Idaho, water years 2012–19
Gregory M. Clark, Scott D. Ducar
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5111
Placer and dredging operations in the Yankee Fork Basin, Idaho, have left more than 5 miles of the lower Yankee Fork of the Salmon River (Yankee Fork) in a highly altered fluvial condition, resulting in poor habitat quantity and quality for native fish species. Since 2011, the Bureau of...
A comparison of Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager and Provisional Aquatic Reflectance science product, Sentinel–2B, and WorldView–3 imagery for empirical satellite-derived bathymetry, Unalakleet, Alaska
Sandra K. Poppenga, Jeffrey J. Danielson
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5097
Satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) based upon an empirical band ratio method is a cost-effective means for mapping nearshore bathymetry in coastal areas vulnerable to natural hazards. This is particularly important for the low-lying coastal community of Unalakleet, Alaska, that has been negatively affected not only by flooding, storm surge, and historically...
Changes in vegetation structure and gopher tortoise population structure after 17 years of restoration management
Rebecca C. Pudner, Hardin Waddle, Suzi P. Mersmann, John S. Kush, Craig Guyer, Sharon M. Hermann
2021, Natural Areas Journal (41) 273-282
We examined a study plot sampled in the Conecuh National Forest of southern Alabama in 1999 and again in 2016 after stand thinning and persistent prescribed fire were used to improve habitat quality. These management activities were designed, in part, to enhance habitat quality for the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus),...
Testing a generalizable machine learning workflow for aquatic invasive species on Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in northwest Montana
Sean C. Carter, Charles B. van Rees, Brian K. Hand, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Gordon Luikart, John S Kimball
2021, Frontiers in Big Data (October 2021)
Biological invasions are accelerating worldwide, causing major ecological and economic impacts in aquatic ecosystems. The urgent decision-making needs of invasive species managers can be better met by the integration of biodiversity big data with large-domain models and data-driven products. Remotely sensed data products can be combined with existing invasive species...
Acute mortality in California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense) and Santa Cruz long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) caused by Ribeiroia ondatrae (Class: Trematoda)
Saskia Keller, Constance Roderick, Christopher Caris, Daniel A. Grear, Rebecca A. Cole
2021, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife (16) 255-261
In early September 2019, a morbidity and mortality event affecting California tiger salamanders (Ambystoma californiense) and Santa Cruz long-toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum croceum) in late stages of metamorphosis was reported at a National Wildlife Refuge in Santa Cruz County, California, U.S.A. During the postmortem disease investigation, severe integumentary metacercarial (Class:...
The effects of ENSO and the North American monsoon on mast seeding in two Rocky Mountain conifer species
Andreas Wion, Ian S. Pearse, Kyle C. Rodman, Thomas T. Veblen, Miranda D. Redmond
2021, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (376)
We aimed to disentangle the patterns of synchronous and variable cone production (i.e. masting) and its relationship to climate in two conifer species native to dry forests of western North America. We used cone abscission scars to reconstruct ca 15 years of recent cone production in Pinus edulis and Pinus ponderosa, and used redundancy analysis...
The ecology and evolution of synchronized reproduction in long-lived plants
Mario B. Pesendorfer, Davide Ascoli, Michal Bogdziewicz, Andrew Hacket-Pain, Ian S. Pearse, Giorgio Vacchiano
2021, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (376)
Populations of many long-lived plants exhibit spatially synchronized seed production that varies extensively over time, so that seed production in some years is much higher than on average, while in others, it is much lower or absent. This phenomenon termed masting or mast seeding has important consequences for plant reproductive success, ecosystem dynamics and...
Machine learning predictions of nitrate in groundwater used for drinking supply in the conterminous United States
Katherine Marie Ransom, Bernard T. Nolan, Paul E. Stackelberg, Kenneth Belitz, Miranda S. Fram
2021, Science of the Total Environment
Groundwater is an important source of drinking water supplies in the conterminous United State (CONUS), and presence of high nitrate concentrations may limit usability of groundwater in some areas because of the...
Evolution in eruptive style of the 2018 eruption of Veniaminof volcano, Alaska, reflected in groundmass textures and remote sensing
Matthew W. Loewen, Hannah R. Dietterich, Nathan Graham, Pavel Izbekof
2021, Bulletin of Volcanology (83)
Variable eruptive style and explosivity is common in basaltic to basaltic andesite volcanoes but can have uncertain origins. Veniaminof volcano in the Alaska-Aleutian arc is a frequently active open-vent center, regularly producing Strombolian eruptions and small lava flows from an intracaldera cone within an intracaldera ice...
Modes of climate variability bridge proximate and evolutionary mechanisms of masting
Davide Ascoli, Andrew Hacket-Pain, Ian S. Pearse, Giorgio Vacchiano, Susanna Corti, Paolo Davini
2021, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (376)
There is evidence that variable and synchronous reproduction in seed plants (masting) correlates to modes of climate variability, e.g. El Niño Southern Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation. In this perspective, we explore the breadth of knowledge on how climate modes control reproduction in major masting species throughout Earth's biomes. We...
Active virus-host interactions at sub-freezing temperatures in Arctic peat soil
Gareth Trubl, Jeffrey A Kimbrel, Jose Liquet-Gonzalez, Erin E. Nuccio, Peter K. Weber, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Janet K. Jansson, Mark Waldrop, Steve Blazewicz
2021, Microbiome (9)
BackgroundWinter carbon loss in northern ecosystems is estimated to be greater than the average growing season carbon uptake and is primarily driven by microbial decomposers. Viruses modulate microbial carbon cycling via induced mortality and metabolic controls, but it is unknown whether viruses are active under winter conditions (anoxic and...
Understanding mast seeding for conservation and land management
Ian S. Pearse, Andreas Wion, Angela Gonzalez, Mario B. Pesendorfer
2021, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (376)
Masting, the intermittent and synchronous production of large seed crops, can have profound consequences for plant populations and the food webs that are built on their seeds. For centuries, people have recorded mast crops because of their importance in managing wildlife populations. In the past 30 years, we have begun...
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992–2014
Tanya N Petach, Robert L. Runkel, Rory M. Cowie, Diane M. McKnight
2021, Hydrological Processes (35)
This study examined water quality in the upper Animas River watershed, a mined watershed that gained notoriety following the 2015 Gold King mine release of acid mine drainage to downstream communities. Water-quality data were used to evaluate trends in metal concentrations and loads over a two-decade...
Similarities and differences between two deadly Caribbean coral diseases: White plague and stony coral tissue loss disease
Aldo Cróquer, Ernesto Weil, Caroline Rogers
2021, Frontiers in Marine Science (8)
For several decades, white plagues (WPDs: WPD-I, II and III) and more recently, stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) have significantly impacted Caribbean corals. These diseases are often difficult to separate in the field as they produce similar gross signs. Here we aimed to compare what we know...
Limited co-existence of native unionids and invasive dreissenid mussels more than 30 Y post dreissenid invasion in a large river system
S. Keretz, D. Woolnough, Edward F. Roseman, T.J. Morris, A. Elgin, D.T. Zanatta
2021, American Midland Naturalist (186) 157-175
There are serious concerns for native freshwater mussel survival (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in the Laurentian Great Lakes region after populations were seemingly pushed to the brink of extirpation following the introduction of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis) in the mid-1980s. The Detroit River was the first major...
Active neutron interrogation experiments and simulation verification using the SIngle-scintillator Neutron and Gamma-Ray spectrometer (SINGR) for geosciences
Lena E. Heffern, Craig J. Hardgrove, Ann Parsons, E. B. Johnson, R. Starr, G. Stoddard, R. E. Blakeley, Thomas H. Prettyman, Travis S.J. Gabriel, H. Barnaby, J. Christian, M.A. Unzueta, C. Tate, Alynn Martin, J. Moersch
2021, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment (1020)
We present a new SIngle-scintillator Neutron and Gamma Ray spectrometer (SINGR) instrument for use with both passive and active measurement techniques. Here we discuss the application of SINGR for planetary exploration missions, however, hydrology, nuclear non-proliferation, and resource prospecting are all...
Influence of permafrost type and site history on losses of permafrost carbon after thaw
Kristen L. Manies, Miriam C. Jones, Mark Waldrop, Mary-Catherine Leewis, Christopher C. Fuller, Robert S. Cornman, Kristen Hoefke
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences (126)
We quantified permafrost peat plateau and post-thaw carbon (C) stocks across a chronosequence in Interior Alaska to evaluate the amount of C lost with thaw. Macrofossil reconstructions revealed three stratigraphic layers of peat: (1) a base layer of fen/marsh peat, (2) peat from a forested peat plateau...
