Modeled ecohydrological responses to climate change at seven small watersheds in the northeastern United States
Afshin Pourmokhtarian, Charles T. Driscoll, John L. Campbell, Katharine Hayhoe, Anne M. K. Stoner, Mary Beth Adams, Douglas A. Burns, Ivan Fernandez, Myron J. Mitchell, James B. Shanley
2017, Global Change Biology (23) 840-856
A cross-site analysis was conducted on seven diverse, forested watersheds in the northeastern United States to evaluate hydrological responses (evapotranspiration, soil moisture, seasonal and annual streamflow, and water stress) to projections of future climate. We used output from four atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs; CCSM4, HadGEM2-CC, MIROC5, and MRI-CGCM3) included...
A global probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment from earthquake sources
Gareth Davies, Jonathan Griffin, Finn Lovholt, Sylfest Glimsdal, Carl Harbitz, Hong Kie Thio, Stefano Lorito, Roberto Basili, Jacopo Selva, Eric L. Geist, Maria Ana Baptista
2017, Geological Society, London, Special Publications (456) 219-244
Large tsunamis occur infrequently but have the capacity to cause enormous numbers of casualties, damage to the built environment and critical infrastructure, and economic losses. A sound understanding of tsunami hazard is required to underpin management of these risks, and while tsunami hazard assessments are typically conducted at regional or...
Using diurnal temperature signals to infer vertical groundwater-surface water exchange
Dylan J. Irvine, Martin A. Briggs, Laura K. Lautz, Ryan P. Gordon, Jeffrey M. McKenzie, Ian Cartwright
2017, Groundwater (55) 10-26
Heat is a powerful tracer to quantify fluid exchange between surface water and groundwater. Temperature time series can be used to estimate pore water fluid flux, and techniques can be employed to extend these estimates to produce detailed plan-view flux maps. Key advantages of heat tracing include cost-effective sensors and...
Collar temperature sensor data reveal long-term patterns in southern Beaufort Sea polar bear den distribution on pack ice and land
Jay W Olson, Karyn D. Rode, Dennis L. Eggett, T. S. Smith, R. R. Wilson, George M. Durner, Anthony S. Fischbach, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas
2017, Marine Ecology Progress Series (564) 211-224
In response to a changing climate, many species alter habitat use. Polar bears Ursus maritimus in the southern Beaufort Sea have increasingly used land for maternal denning. To aid in detecting denning behavior, we developed an objective method to identify polar bear denning events using temperature sensor data collected by satellite-linked transmitters...
Merging paleobiology with conservation biology to guide the future of terrestrial ecosystems
Anthony D. Barnosky, Elizabeth A. Hadly, Jason Head, Patrick Gonzalez, P. David Polly, A. Michelle Lawing, Jussi T. Eronen, David D. Ackerly, Ken Alex, Eric Biber, Jessica L. Blois, Justin Brashares, Gerardo Ceballos, Edward Davis, Gregory P. Dietl, Rodolfo Dirzo, Holly Doremus, Mikael Fortelius, Harry W. Greene, Jessica Hellmann, Thomas Hickler, Stephen T. Jackson, Melissa Kemp, Paul L. Koch, Claire Kremen, Emily L. Lindsey, Cindy Looy, Charles R. Marshall, Chase Mendenhall, Andreas Mulch, Alexis M. Mychajliw, Carsten Nowak, Uma Ramakrishnan, Jan Schnitzler, Kashish Das Shrestha, Katherine Solari, Lynn Stegner, M. Allison Stegner, Nils Chr. Stenseth, Marvalee H. Wake, Zhibin Zhang
2017, Science (355) 1-10
The current impacts of humanity on nature are rapid and destructive, but species turnover and change have occurred throughout the history of life. Although there is much debate about the best approaches to take in conservation, ultimately, we need to permit or enhance the resilience of natural systems so that...
Assessing conditions influencing the longitudinal distribution of exotic brown trout (Salmo trutta) in a mountain stream: a spatially-explicit modeling approach
Christy S. Meredith, Phaedra E. Budy, Mevin Hooten, Marcos Oliveira Prates
2017, Biological Invasions (19) 503-519
Trout species often segregate along elevational gradients, yet the mechanisms driving this pattern are not fully understood. On the Logan River, Utah, USA, exotic brown trout (Salmo trutta) dominate at low elevations but are near-absent from high elevations with native Bonneville cutthroat trout (Onchorhynchus clarkii utah)....
The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program 2014 Annual Report
Andrea Pearl, Matthew Laramie, Casey Baldwin, John Rohrback, Pat Phillips
2017, Report
The Chief Joseph Hatchery Program is comprised of both operations and maintenance of the Chief Joseph Hatchery, located near Bridgeport, Washington and the monitoring and evaluation of natural- and hatchery-origin Chinook salmon in the Okanogan Subbasin. In 2014, the Chief Joseph Hatchery released 44,267 yearling and 186,050 subyearling integrated Chinook...
Simulation of earthquake ground motions in the eastern United States using deterministic physics‐based and site‐based stochastic approaches
Sanaz Rezaeian, Stephen H. Hartzell, Xiaodan Sun, Carlos Mendoza
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 149-168
Earthquake ground‐motion recordings are scarce in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) for large‐magnitude events and at close distances. We use two different simulation approaches, a deterministic physics‐based method and a site‐based stochastic method, to simulate ground motions over a wide range of magnitudes. Drawing...
Suppression of invasive lake trout in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park
C. R. Fredenberg, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Christopher S. Guy, Vincent S. D'Angelo, Christopher C. Downs, John M. Syslo
2017, Fisheries Management and Ecology (24) 33-48
Fisheries managers have implemented suppression programmes to control non-native lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum), in several lakes throughout the western United States. This study determined the feasibility of experimentally suppressing lake trout using gillnets in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, for the conservation of threatened...
Flood-inundation maps for the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana
Zachary W. Martin
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5179
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.6-mile reach of the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Mineral commodity summaries 2017
Joyce A. Ober
2017, Report
This report is the earliest Government publication to furnish estimates covering 2016 nonfuel mineral industry data. Data sheets contain information on the domestic industry structure, Government programs, tariffs, and 5-year salient statistics for more than 90 individual minerals and materials....
smwrGraphs—An R package for graphing hydrologic data, version 1.1.2
David L. Lorenz, Aliesha L. Diekoff
2017, Open-File Report 2016-1188
This report describes an R package called smwrGraphs, which consists of a collection of graphing functions for hydrologic data within R, a programming language and software environment for statistical computing. The functions in the package have been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to create high-quality graphs for publication or...
Colorado River fish monitoring in Grand Canyon, Arizona; 2002–14 humpback chub aggregations
William R. Persons, David R. Van Haverbeke, Michael J. Dodrill
2017, Open-File Report 2016-1177
The humpback chub (Gila cypha) is an endangered cyprinid species endemic to the Colorado River. The largest remaining population of the species spawns and rears in the Little Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Construction and operation of Glen Canyon Dam has altered the main-stem Colorado River in Glen and Grand...
Noble gas isotopes in mineral springs and wells within the Cascadia forearc, Washington, Oregon, and California
Patricia A. McCrory, James E. Constantz, Andrew G. Hunt
2017, Open-File Report 2016-1203
IntroductionThis U.S. Geological Survey report presents laboratory analyses along with field notes for an exploratory study to document the relative abundance of noble gases in mineral springs and water wells within the Cascadia forearc of Washington, Oregon, and California (fig. 1). This report describes 14 samples collected in 2014 and...
Linking dominant Hawaiian tree species to understory development in recovering pastures via impacts on soils and litter
Stephanie G. Yelenik
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) 42-52
Large areas of tropical forest have been cleared and planted with exotic grass species for use as cattle pasture. These often remain persistent grasslands after grazer removal, which is problematic for restoring native forest communities. It is often hoped that remnant and/or planted trees can jump-start forest succession; however, there...
Potential distribution of the viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus in the Great Lakes region
Luis E. Escobar, Gael Kurath, Joaquim Escobar-Dodero, Meggan E. Craft, Nicholas B.D. Phelps
2017, Journal of Fish Diseases (40) 11-28
Viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) genotype IVb has been responsible for large-scale fish mortality events in the Great Lakes of North America. Anticipating the areas of potential VHSV occurrence is key to designing epidemiological surveillance and disease prevention strategies in the Great Lakes basin. We explored the environmental features that...
Conversion of native terrestrial ecosystems in Hawai‘i to novel grazing systems: a review
Christina R. Leopold, Steven C. Hess
2017, Biological Invasions (19) 161-177
The remote oceanic islands of Hawai‘i exemplify the transformative effects that non-native herbivorous mammals can bring to isolated terrestrial ecosystems. We reviewed published literature containing systematically collected, analyzed, and peer-reviewed original data specifically addressing direct effects of non-native hoofed mammals (ungulates) on terrestrial ecosystems, and indirect effects and interactions on...
Spatial variability of Chinook salmon spawning distribution and habitat preferences
Jeremy M. Cram, Christian E. Torgersen, Ryan S. Klett, George R. Pess, Darran May, Todd N. Pearsons, Andrew H. Dittman
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 206-221
We investigated physical habitat conditions associated with the spawning sites of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and the interannual consistency of spawning distribution across multiple spatial scales using a combination of spatially continuous and discrete sampling methods. We conducted a census of aquatic habitat in 76 km of the upper main-stem...
Paleomagnetism and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the Plio-Pleistocene Boring Volcanic Field: Implications for the geomagnetic polarity time scale and paleosecular variation
Jonathan T. Hagstrum, Robert J. Fleck, Russell C. Evarts, Andrew T. Calvert
2017, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (262) 101-115
Paleomagnetic directions and 40Ar/39Ar ages have been determined for samples of lava flows from the same outcrops, where possible, for 84 eruptive units ranging in age from 3200 ka to 60 ka within the Boring Volcanic Field (BVF) of the Pacific Northwest, USA. This study expands upon our previous results for the...
Tambora and the mackerel year: Phenology and fisheries during an extreme climate event
Karen E. Alexander, William B. Leavenworth, Carolyn Hall, Steven Mattocks, Steven M. Bittner, Emily Klein, Michelle D. Staudinger, Alexander Bryan, Julianne Rosset, Theodore V. Willis, Benjamin H. Carr, Adrian Jordaan
2017, Science Advances (3)
Global warming has increased the frequency of extreme climate events, yet responses of biological and human communities are poorly understood, particularly for aquatic ecosystems and fisheries. Retrospective analysis of known outcomes may provide insights into the nature of adaptations and trajectory of subsequent conditions. We consider the 1815 eruption of...
Influence of poisoned prey on foraging behavior of ferruginous hawks
Nimish B. Vyas, Frank Kuncir, Criss C. Clinton
2017, The American Midland Naturalist (177) 75-83
We recorded 19 visits by ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) over 6 d at two black–tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) subcolonies poisoned with the rodenticide Rozol® Prairie Dog Bait (0.005% chlorophacinone active ingredient) and at an adjacent untreated subcolony. Before Rozol® application ferruginous hawks foraged in the untreated and treated subcolonies...
The use of data-mining techniques for developing effective decisionsupport systems: A case study of simulating the effects ofclimate change on coastal salinity intrusion
Paul Conrads, Jr. Edwin Roehl
2017, Book chapter, Integrated environmental modelling to solve real world problems: Methods, vision and challenges
Natural-resource managers and stakeholders face difficult challenges when managing interactions between natural and societal systems. Potential changes in climate could alter interactions between environmental and societal systems and adversely affect the availability of water resources in many coastal communities. The availability of freshwater in coastal streams can be threatened by...
In situ nuclear magnetic resonance response of permafrost and active layer soil in boreal and tundra ecosystems
Mason A. Kass, Trevor P Irons, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, Dana R N Brown, Bruce K. Wylie
2017, The Cryosphere (11) 2943-2955
Characterization of permafrost, particularly warm and near-surface permafrost which can contain significant liquid water, is critical to understanding complex interrelationships with climate change, ecosystems, and disturbances such as wildfires. Understanding the vulnerability and resilience of permafrost requires an interdisciplinary approach, relying on (for example) geophysical investigations, ecological characterization, direct observations,...
Preliminary evaluation of the behavior and movements of adult spring Chinook salmon in the Chehalis River, southwestern Washington, 2014
Theresa L. Liedtke, William R. Hurst, Ryan G. Tomka, Tobias J. Kock, Mara S. Zimmerman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1004
Recent interest in flood control and restoration strategies in the Chehalis River Basin has increased the need to understand the current status and ecology of spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Spring Chinook salmon have the longest exposure of all adult Chinook salmon life histories to the low-flow and high water...
Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA
Allen C. Gellis, Michael Myers, Gregory E. Noe, Cliff R. Hupp, Edward Shenk, Luke Myers
2017, Geomorphology (278)-128
Determining erosion and deposition rates in urban-suburban settings and how these processes are affected by large storms is important to understanding geomorphic processes in these landscapes. Sediment yields in the suburban and urban Upper Difficult Run are among the highest ever recorded in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, ranging from 161...
