A discrete stage-structured model of California newt population dynamics during a period of drought
Marjorie T. Jones, William R. Milligan, Lee B. Kats, Thomas L. Vandergon, Rodney L. Honeycutt, Robert N. Fisher, Courtney L. Davis, Timothy A. Lucas
2017, Journal of Theoretical Biology (414) 245-253
We introduce a mathematical model for studying the population dynamics under drought of the California newt (Taricha torosa), a species of special concern in the state of California. Since 2012, California has experienced a record-setting drought, and multiple studies predict drought conditions currently underway will persist and even increase in...
Temporal expansion of annual crop classification layers for the CONUS using the C5 decision tree classifier
Aaron M. Friesz, Bruce K. Wylie, Daniel M. Howard
2017, Remote Sensing Letters (8) 389-398
Crop cover maps have become widely used in a range of research applications. Multiple crop cover maps have been developed to suite particular research interests. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cropland Data Layers (CDL) are a series of commonly used crop cover maps for the conterminous United States (CONUS)...
Compartmentalization of the Coso East Flank geothermal field imaged by 3-D full-tensor MT inversion
Nathaniel J. Lindsey, J. Ole Kaven, Nicholas C. Davatzes, Gregory A. Newman
2017, Geophysical Journal International (208) 652-662
Previous magnetotelluric (MT) studies of the high-temperature Coso geothermal system in California identified a subvertical feature of low resistivity (2–5 Ohm m) and appreciable lateral extent (>1 km) in the producing zone of the East Flank field. However, these models could not reproduce gross 3-D effects in the recorded data. We perform...
Annual changes in seasonal river water temperatures in the eastern and western United States
Tyler Wagner, Stephen R. Midway, Joanna B. Whittier, Jefferson T. DeWeber, Craig P. Paukert
2017, Water (9)
Changes in river water temperatures are anticipated to have direct effects on thermal habitat and fish population vital rates, and therefore, understanding temporal trends in water temperatures may be necessary for predicting changes in thermal habitat and how species might respond to such changes. However, many investigations into trends in...
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...
Population genetics and demography unite ecology and evolution
Winsor H. Lowe, Ryan Kovach, Fred W. Allendorf
2017, Trends in Ecology and Evolution (32) 141-152
The interplay of ecology and evolution has been a rich area of research for decades. A surge of interest in this area was catalyzed by the observation that evolution by natural selection can operate at the same contemporary timescales as ecological dynamics. Specifically, recent eco-evolutionary...
Managing American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) population qrowth by targeting nesting season vital rates
Shilo K. Felton, Nathan J. Hostetter, Kenneth H. Pollock, Theodore R. Simons
2017, Waterbirds (40) 44-54
In populations of long-lived species, adult survival typically has a relatively high influence on population growth. From a management perspective, however, adult survival can be difficult to increase in some instances, so other component rates must be considered to reverse population declines. In North Carolina, USA, management to conserve the...
Dynamic strains for earthquake source characterization
Andrew J. Barbour, Brendan W. Crowell
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 354-370
Strainmeters measure elastodynamic deformation associated with earthquakes over a broad frequency band, with detection characteristics that complement traditional instrumentation, but they are commonly used to study slow transient deformation along active faults and at subduction zones, for example. Here, we analyze dynamic strains at Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) borehole strainmeters...
The importance of quality control in validating concentrationsof contaminants of emerging concern in source and treateddrinking water samples
Angela L. Batt, Edward T. Furlong, Heath E. Mash, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Dana W. Kolpin
2017, Science of the Total Environment (579) 1618-1628
A national-scale survey of 247 contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), including organic and inorganic chemical compounds, andmicrobial contaminants, was conducted in source and treated drinkingwater samples from 25 treatment plants across the United States.Multiplemethodswere used to determine these CECs, including six analytical methods tomeasure 174 pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides. A three-component quality...
Generation of 3-D hydrostratigraphic zones from dense airborne electromagnetic data to assess groundwater model prediction error
Nikolaj K Christensen, Burke J. Minsley, Steen Christensen
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 1019-1038
We present a new methodology to combine spatially dense high-resolution airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data and sparse borehole information to construct multiple plausible geological structures using a stochastic approach. The method developed allows for quantification of the performance of groundwater models built from different geological realizations of structure. Multiple structural realizations...
Pectoral fin contact as a mechanism for social bonding among dolphins
Kathleen Dudzinski, Christine Ribic
2017, Animal Behavior and Cognition (4) 30-48
Bottlenose dolphins are large-brained social mammals residing in a fission-fusion society with relationships that are established and maintained over decades. We examined a decade-long data set of inter-individual pectoral fin contact exchanges to better understand how dolphins share information via tactile contact. Sex and age are significant factors in pectoral...
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...
Nonbreeding isolation and population-specific migration patterns among three populations of Golden-winged Warblers
Gunnar R. Kramer, Henry M. Streby, Sean M. Peterson, Justin A. Lehman, David A. Buehler, Petra B. Wood, Darin J. McNeil Jr., Jeffrey L. Larkin, David E. Andersen
2017, Condor (119) 108-121
Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) are Nearctic–Neotropical migrants experiencing varied regional population trends not fully explained by breeding-grounds factors such as nest success. A lack of detailed information on the nonbreeding distributions, migration routes, or timing of migration among populations hampers our ability to identify population processes outside the breeding period....
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....
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
