Effects of climate change on tidal marshes along a latitudinal gradient in California
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Rich F. Ambrose, Kevin Buffington, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher N. Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, James R. Holmquist, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Katherine W. Powelson, Patrick L. Barnard, John Y. Takekawa
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1125
Public SummaryThe coastal region of California supports a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries. Tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays within coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects such as sea-level rise...
Early life history and spatiotemporal changes in distribution of the rediscovered Suwannee moccasinshell Medionidus walkeri (Bivalvia: Unionidae)
Nathan A. Johnson, John Mcleod, Jordan Holcomb, Matthew T. Rowe, James D. Williams
2016, Endangered Species Research (31) 163-175
Accurate distribution data are critical to the development of conservation and management strategies for imperiled species, particularly for narrow endemics with life history traits that make them vulnerable to extinction. Medionidus walkeri is a rare freshwater mussel endemic to the Suwannee River Basin in southeastern North America. This species was rediscovered in...
The Missouri River Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) effects analysis
Robert B. Jacobson
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3057
The Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon Effects Analysis (EA) was designed to assess how Missouri River management has affected—and may affect—the endangered Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) population. The EA emerged from the recognition that the direction and focus of the Missouri River Recovery Program would benefit from an updated, thorough evaluation...
Cross-seasonal effects on waterfowl productivity: Implications under climate change
Erik E. Osnas, Qing Zhao, Michael C. Runge, G Scott Boomer
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 1227-1241
Previous efforts to relate winter-ground precipitation to subsequent reproductive success as measured by the ratio of juveniles to adults in the autumn failed to account for increased vulnerability of juvenile ducks to hunting and uncertainty in the estimated age ratio. Neglecting increased juvenile vulnerability will positively bias the mean productivity...
Broken connections of wetland cultural knowledge
Beth A. Middleton
2016, Ecosystem Health and Sustainability (2)
As global agriculture intensifies, cultural knowledge of wetland utilization has eroded as natural resources become more stressed, and marginal farmers move away from the land. The excellent paper by Fawzi et al. (2016) documents a particularly poignant case of traditional knowledge loss among the Marsh Arab women of Iraq. Through...
Ground-penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected from Long Beach Island, New Jersey, April 2015
Nicholas J. Zaremba, Kathryn E.L. Smith, James M. Bishop, Christopher G. Smith
2016, Data Series 1006
Scientists from the United States Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, and students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa collected sediment cores, sediment surface grab samples, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) data from...
Reconstructions of Columbia River streamflow from tree-ring chronologies in the Pacific Northwest, USA
Jeremy S. Littell, Gregory T. Pederson, Stephen T. Gray, Michael Tjoelker, Alan F. Hamlet, Connie A. Woodhouse
2016, JAWRA (52) 1121-1141
We developed Columbia River streamflow reconstructions using a network of existing, new, and updated tree-ring records sensitive to the main climatic factors governing discharge. Reconstruction quality is enhanced by incorporating tree-ring chronologies where high snowpack limits growth, which better represent the contribution of cool-season precipitation to flow than chronologies from...
Methods for estimating annual exceedance probability discharges for streams in Arkansas, based on data through water year 2013
Daniel M. Wagner, Joshua D. Krieger, Andrea G. Veilleux
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5081
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study to update regional skew, annual exceedance probability discharges, and regional regression equations used to estimate annual exceedance probability discharges for ungaged locations on streams in the study area with the use of recent geospatial data, new analytical methods, and available annual...
Predation on Pacific salmonid eggs and carcass's by subyearling Atlantic salmon in a tributary of Lake Ontario
James H. Johnson, Marc A. Chalupnicki, Ross Abbett, Francis Verdoliva
2016, Journal of Great Lakes Research (42) 472-475
A binational effort to reintroduce Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) that were extirpated in the Lake Ontario ecosystem for over a century is currently being undertaken by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Reintroduction actions include the release of several life stages...
Adaptive management for improving species conservation across the captive-wild spectrum
Stefano Canessa, Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, Jose J. Lahoz-Monfort, Darren M Southwell, Doug P. Armstrong, Iadine Chades, Robert C Lacy, Sarah J. Converse
2016, Biological Conservation (199) 123-131
Conservation of endangered species increasingly envisages complex strategies that integrate captive and wild management actions. Management decisions in this context must be made in the face of uncertainty, often with limited capacity to collect information. Adaptive management (AM) combines management and monitoring, with the aim of updating knowledge and improving...
A method for examining the geospatial distribution of CO2 storage resources applied to the Pre-Punta Gorda Composite and Dollar Bay reservoirs of the South Florida Basin, U.S.A
Tina Roberts-Ashby, Brandon N. Ashby
2016, Marine and Petroleum Geology (77) 141-159
This paper demonstrates geospatial modification of the USGS methodology for assessing geologic CO2 storage resources, and was applied to the Pre-Punta Gorda Composite and Dollar Bay reservoirs of the South Florida Basin. The study provides detailed evaluation of porous intervals within these reservoirs and utilizes GIS to evaluate the potential...
Low-flow characteristics for streams on the Islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi, State of Hawaiʻi
Chui Ling Cheng
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5103
Statistical models were developed to estimate natural streamflow under low-flow conditions for streams with existing streamflow data at measurement sites on the Islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. Streamflow statistics used to describe the low-flow characteristics are flow-duration discharges that are equaled or exceeded between 50 and 95...
Changes in groundwater recharge under projected climate in the upper Colorado River basin
Fred D. Tillman, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Tom Pruitt
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 6968-6974
Understanding groundwater-budget components, particularly groundwater recharge, is important to sustainably manage both groundwater and surface water supplies in the Colorado River basin now and in the future. This study quantifies projected changes in upper Colorado River basin (UCRB) groundwater recharge from recent historical (1950–2015) through future (2016–2099) time periods, using...
First detection of bat white-nose syndrome in western North America
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Jonathan M. Palmer, Daniel L. Lindner, Anne Ballmann, Kyle George, Kathryn M. Griffin, Susan Knowles, John R. Huckabee, Katherine H. Haman, Christopher D. Anderson, Penny A. Becker, Joseph B. Buchanan, Jeffrey T. Foster, David S. Blehert
2016, mSphere (1)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging fungal disease of bats caused by Pseudogymnoascus destructans. Since it was first detected near Albany, NY, in 2006, the fungus has spread across eastern North America, killing unprecedented numbers of hibernating bats. The devastating impacts of WNS on Nearctic bat species are attributed to...
Formation of the Isthmus of Panama
Aaron O’Dea, Orangel Aguilera, Marie-Pierre Aubry, William A. Berggren, Alberto L. Cione, Anthony G. Coates, Laurel S. Collins, Simon E. Coppard, Mario A. Cozzuol, Alan de Queiroz, Herman Duque-Caro, Ron I. Eytan, David W. Farris, German M. Gasparini, Ethan L. Grosmman, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Kenneth G. Johnson, Lloyd D. Keigwin, Nancy Knowlton, Egbert G. Leigh, Jill S. Leonard-Pingel, Hailaos A. Lessios, Peter B. Marko, Richard D. Norris, Paola G. Rachello-Dolmen, Sergio A. Restrepo-Moreno, Leopoldo Soibelzon, Robert F. Stallard, Jonathan A. Todd, Geerat J. Vermeiju, Michael O. Woodburne
2016, Science Advances (2) 1-11
The formation of the Isthmus of Panama stands as one of the greatest natural events of the Cenozoic, driving profound biotic transformations on land and in the oceans. Some recent studies suggest that the Isthmus formed many millions of years earlier than the widely recognized age of approximately 3 million...
Ectoparasitism on deep-sea fishes in the western North Atlantic: In situ observations from ROV surveys
Andrea Quattrini, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos
2016, International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife (5) 217
A complete understanding of how parasites influence marine ecosystem functioning requires characterizing a broad range of parasite-host interactions while determining the effects of parasitism in a variety of habitats. In deep-sea fishes, the prevalence of parasitism remains poorly understood. Knowledge of ectoparasitism, in particular, is limited because collection methods often...
Preliminary results from exploratory sampling of wells for the California oil, gas, and groundwater program, 2014–15
Peter B. McMahon, Justin T. Kulongoski, Michael T. Wright, Michael T. Land, Matthew K. Landon, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Avner Vengosh, George R. Aiken
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1100
Introduction In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled water wells in the Los Angeles Basin and southern San Joaquin Valley, California, and oil wells in the San Joaquin Valley for analysis of multiple chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. The purpose of this reconnaissance sampling was to evaluate the utility of tracers for assessing the effects of oil...
Barriers to and opportunities for landward migration of coastal wetlands with sea-level rise
Nicholas M. Enwright, Kereen T. Griffith, Michael J. Osland
2016, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (14) 307-316
In the 21st century, accelerated sea-level rise and continued coastal development are expected to greatly alter coastal landscapes across the globe. Historically, many coastal ecosystems have responded to sea-level fluctuations via horizontal and vertical movement on the landscape. However, anthropogenic activities, including urbanization and the construction of flood-prevention infrastructure, can...
Mihi Breccia: A stack of lacustrine sediments and subaqueous pyroclastic flows within the Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand
Drew T. Downs
2016, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (327) 180-191
The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), New Zealand, encompasses a wide variety of arc-related strata, although most of its small-volume (non-caldera-forming) eruptions are poorly-exposed and extensively hydrothermally altered. The Mihi Breccia is a stratigraphic sequence consisting of interbedded rhyolitic pyroclastic flows and lacustrine sediments with eruption ages of 281 ± 18 to at...
Relationships of three species of bats impacted by white-nose syndrome to forest condition and management
Alexander Silvis, Roger W. Perry, W. Mark Ford
2016, General Technical Report SRS–214
Forest management activities can have substantial effects on forest structure and community composition and response of wildlife therein. Bats can be highly influenced by these structural changes, and understanding how forest management affects day-roost and foraging ecology of bats is currently a paramount conservation issue. With populations of many cave-hibernating...
Coastal bathymetry data collected in June 2014 from Fire Island, New York—The wilderness breach and shoreface
Timothy R. Nelson, Jennifer L. Miselis, Cheryl J. Hapke, Kathleen E. Wilson, Rachel E. Henderson, Owen T. Brenner, Billy J. Reynolds, Mark E. Hansen
2016, Data Series 1007
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map...
Paramyxoviruses of fish
Theodore R. Meyers, William N. Batts
Frederick S. B. Kibenge, Marcos Godoy, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Aquaculture virology
The first fish paramyxovirus was isolated from normal adult Chinook salmon returning to a coastal hatchery in Oregon in the fall of 1982. Subsequently, the virus was isolated from other stocks of adult Chinook salmon and one stock of adult coho salmon in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, leading to...
Comment on "No evidence of displacement due to wind turbines in breeding grassland songbirds"
Douglas H. Johnson
2016, The Condor (118) 674-675
A recent article published in The Condor: Ornithological Applications by Hale et al. (2014) is entitled, “No evidence of displacement due to wind turbines in breeding grassland songbirds.” The conclusion stated in that title, unfortunately, is based on inappropriate statistical analysis of data collected by the authors. In fact, their data provide evidence...
North American sturgeon otolith morphology
Marc A. Chalupnicki, Dawn E. Dittman
2016, Copeia (104) 260-266
Accurate expedient species identification of deceased sturgeon (Acipenseridae) when external physical characteristic analysis is inconclusive has become a high priority due to the endangered or threatened status of sturgeon species around the world. Examination of otoliths has provided useful information to aid in population management, age and size-class analysis, understanding...
Diel diet of fantail darter in a tributary to Lake Ontario, New York, USA
Marc A. Chalupnicki, James H. Johnson
2016, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (31) 659-664
The foraging behavior of benthic fishes in streams is seldom examined but is vital to the health of the aquatic community. We examined the feeding ecology of the fantail darter (Etheostoma flaballere) in Trout Brook, a tributary of the Salmon River in central New York, USA. Of the six...
