Land use effects on pesticides in sediments of prairie pothole wetlands in North and South Dakota
Scott T. McMurry, Jason B. Belden, Loren M. Smith, Shane A. Morrison, Dale W. Daniel, Betty R. Euliss, Ned H. Jr. Euliss, Bart J. Kensinger, Brian Tangen
2016, Science of the Total Environment (565) 682-689
Prairie potholes are the dominant wetland type in the intensively cultivated northern Great Plains of North America, and thus have the potential to receive pesticide runoff and drift. We examined the presence of pesticides in sediments of 151 wetlands split among the three dominant land use types, Conservation Reserve Program...
Forward modeling of gravity data using geostatistically generated subsurface density variations
Geoffrey Phelps
2016, Geophysics (81) G81-G94
Using geostatistical models of density variations in the subsurface, constrained by geologic data, forward models of gravity anomalies can be generated by discretizing the subsurface and calculating the cumulative effect of each cell (pixel). The results of such stochastically generated forward gravity anomalies can be compared with the observed gravity...
Elucidating the role of vegetation in the initiation of rainfall-induced shallow landslides: Insights from an extreme rainfall event in the Colorado Front Range
Luke McGuire, Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Jeffrey A. Coe, Benjamin B. Mirus, Rex L. Baum, Jonathan W. Godt
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 9084-9092
More than 1100 debris flows were mobilized from shallow landslides during a rainstorm from 9 to 13 September 2013 in the Colorado Front Range, with the vast majority initiating on sparsely vegetated, south facing terrain. To investigate the physical processes responsible for the observed aspect control, we made measurements of...
Use of free water by nesting lesser prairie-chickens
Samantha G. Robinson, David A. Haukos, Daniel S. Sullins, Reid T. Plumb
2016, Southwestern Naturalist (61) 187-193
The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is a grassland grouse of semiarid regions. Use of free water has been hypothesized as necessary for egg formation during drought. We assessed the use of hydrogen isotopes (deuterium, δ2H) to determine if female lesser prairie-chickens use and incorporate free water during egg formation by...
Radiometric calibration updates to the Landsat collection
Esad Micijevic, Obaidul Haque, Nischal Mishra
2016, Conference Paper, Proceedings Volume 9972, Earth Observing Systems XXI
The Landsat Project is planning to implement a new collection management strategy for Landsat products generated at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. The goal of the initiative is to identify a collection of consistently geolocated and radiometrically calibrated images across the entire Landsat...
The effects of anthropogenic land cover change on pollen-vegetation relationships in the American Midwest
Ellen Ruth Kujawa, Simon Goring, Andria Dawson, Randy Calcote, Eric Grimm, Sara C. Hotchkiss, Stephen T. Jackson, Elizabeth A. Lynch, Jason S. McLachlan, Jeannine-Marie St-Jacques, Charles Umbanhowar Jr., John W. Williams
2016, Anthropocene (15) 60-71
Fossil pollen assemblages provide information about vegetation dynamics at time scales ranging from centuries to millennia. Pollen-vegetation models and process-based models of dispersal typically assume stable relationships between source vegetation and corresponding pollen in surface sediments, as well as stable parameterizations of dispersal and productivity. These assumptions, however, are...
Toxicity of potassium chloride to veliger and byssal stage dreissenid mussels related to water quality
Christine M. Moffitt, Kelly A. Stockton-Fiti, Renata Claudi
2016, Management of Biological Invasions (7) 257-268
Natural resource managers are seeking appropriate chemical eradication and control protocols for infestations of zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas, 1769), and quagga mussels. D. rostiformis bugensis (Andrusov, 1897) that have limited effect on non-target species. Applications of low concentrations of potassium salt (as potash) have shown promise for use where...
Estimating the effects of 17α-ethinylestradiol on stochastic population growth rate of fathead minnows: a population synthesis of empirically derived vital rates
Adam R. Schwindt, Dana L. Winkelman
2016, Ecotoxicology (25) 1364-1375
Urban freshwater streams in arid climates are wastewater effluent dominated ecosystems particularly impacted by bioactive chemicals including steroid estrogens that disrupt vertebrate reproduction. However, more understanding of the population and ecological consequences of exposure to wastewater effluent is needed. We used empirically derived vital rate estimates from a mesocosm study...
Estimating microcystin levels at recreational sites in western Lake Erie and Ohio
Donna S. Francy, Amie M.G. Brady, Christopher D. Ecker, Jennifer L. Graham, Erin A. Stelzer, Pamela Struffolino, Keith A. Loftin
2016, Harmful Algae (58) 23-34
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) and associated toxins, such as microcystin, are a major global water-quality issue. Water-resource managers need tools to quickly predict when and where toxin-producing cyanoHABs will occur. This could be done by using site-specific models that estimate the potential for elevated toxin concentrations that cause public...
Synthesis and revision of the lithostratigraphic groups and formations in the Upper Permian?–Lower Jurassic Newark Supergroup of eastern North America
Robert E. Weems, Lawrence H. Tanner, Spencer G. Lucas
2016, Stratigraphy (13) 111-153
The Upper Permian? - Lower Jurassic Newark Supergroup of eastern North America has a strikingly uniform succession of lithologic units. This uniformity is seen regardless of whether these units are characterized on the basis of their lithostratigraphy, allostratigraphy, biostratigraphy, or chemostratigraphy. After deposition, these units were broken up tectonically and...
Life history characteristics and vital rates of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in two headwater basins
Patrick Uthe, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Alexander V. Zale, Bradley B. Shepard, Thomas E. McMahon, Tracy Stephens
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 1240-1253
The Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri is native to the Rocky Mountains and has declined in abundance and distribution as a result of habitat degradation and introduced salmonid species. Many of its remaining strongholds are in headwater basins with minimal human disturbances. Understanding the life histories, vital rates, and...
Three-dimensional numerical modeling of mixing at the junction of the Calumet-Sag Channel and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal: A comparison between density-driven and advection-driven mixing
Dongchen Wang, Som Dudda, P. Ryan Jackson, Marcelo H. Garcia
George Constantinescu, Marcelo H. Garcia, Dan Hanes, editor(s)
2016, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics (River Flows 2016)
The Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) includes the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal (CSSC) and the Calumet-Sag Channel (Cal-Sag), the two primary, man-made connections between the Mississippi River Basin and the Great Lakes. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors diversion of Great Lakes water at a streamgage just downstream of...
Invariant polar bear habitat selection during a period of sea ice loss
Ryan H. Wilson, Eric V. Regehr, Karyn D. Rode, Michelle St. Martin
2016, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (283)
Climate change is expected to alter many species' habitat. A species' ability to adjust to these changes is partially determined by their ability to adjust habitat selection preferences to new environmental conditions. Sea ice loss has forced polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to spend longer periods annually over less productive waters,...
Evaluating integration of inland bathymetry in the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program, 2014
Cynthia Miller-Corbett
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1126
Inland bathymetry survey collections, survey data types, features, sources, availability, and the effort required to integrate inland bathymetric data into the U.S. Geological Survey 3D Elevation Program are assessed to help determine the feasibility of integrating three-dimensional water feature elevation data into The National Map. Available data from wading, acoustic,...
Factors affecting wetland connectivity for wintering semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) in the Caribbean
Morgan A. Parks, Jaime A. Collazo, Katsi R. Ramos Alvarez
2016, Waterbirds (39) 250-259
Wetland connectivity provides migratory shorebirds varying options to meet energy requirements to survive and complete their annual cycle. Multiple factors mediate movement and residency of spatially segregated wetlands. Information on these factors is lacking in the tropics, yet such information is invaluable for conservation design. The influence of seven biotic...
Proximate influences on female dispersal in white-tailed deer
Clayton L. Lutz, Duane R. Diefenbach, Christopher S. Rosenberry
2016, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 1218-1226
Ultimate causes of animal dispersal have been hypothesized to benefit the dispersing individual because dispersal reduces competition for local resources, potential for inbreeding, and competition for breeding partners. However, proximate cues influence important features of dispersal behavior, including when dispersal occurs, how long it lasts, and direction, straightness, and distance...
First steps for mitigating bycatch of Pink-footed Shearwaters Ardenna creatopus: Identifying overlap of foraging areas and fisheries in Chile
Ryan Carle, Jonathan J. Felis, Verónica López, Josh Adams, Peter Hodum, Jessie Beck, Valentina Colodro, Rodrigo Vega, Andres Gonzalez
2016, Conference Paper, Seventh Meeting of the Seabird Bycatch Working Group
The Pink-footed Shearwater, Ardenna creatopus, is listed as in danger of extinction by Chile and under Annex 1 of ACAP, with an estimated global population of approximately 56,000 individuals. Incidental bycatch of this species in fisheries is thought to be an important cause in population decline (i.e. annual estimated mortality...
Low survival rates of Swan Geese (Anser cygnoides) estimated from neck-collar resighting and telemetry
Chang-Yong Choi, Ki-Sup Lee, Nikolay D. Poyarkov, Jin-Young Park, Hansoo Lee, John Y. Takekawa, Lacy M. Smith, Craig R. Ely, Xin Wang, Lei Cao, Anthony D. Fox, Oleg Goroshko, Nyambaya Batbayar, Diann J. Prosser, Xiangming Xiao
2016, Waterbirds (39) 277-286
Waterbird survival rates are a key component of demographic modeling used for effective conservation of long-lived threatened species. The Swan Goose (Anser cygnoides) is globally threatened and the most vulnerable goose species endemic to East Asia due to its small and rapidly declining population. To address a current knowledge gap...
Biochemical and clinical responses of Common Eiders to implanted satellite transmitters
Christopher J. Latty, Tuula E. Hollmen, Margaret R. Petersen, Abby Powell, Russel D. Andrews
2016, The Condor (118) 489-501
Implanted biologging devices, such as satellite-linked platform transmitter terminals (PTTs), have been used widely to delineate populations and identify movement patterns of sea ducks. Although in some cases these ecological studies could reveal transmitter effects on behavior and mortality, experiments conducted under controlled conditions can provide valuable information to understand...
Iron oxide minerals in dust-source sediments from the Bodélé Depression, Chad: Implications for radiative properties and Fe bioavailability of dust plumes from the Sahara
Bruce M. Moskowitz, Richard L. Reynolds, Harland L. Goldstein, Thelma Beroquo, Raymond F. Kokaly, Charlie S Bristow
2016, Aeolian Research (22) 93-106
Atmospheric mineral dust can influence climate and biogeochemical cycles. An important component of mineral dust is ferric oxide minerals (hematite and goethite) which have been shown to influence strongly the optical properties of dust plumes and thus affect the radiative forcing of global dust. Here we report on the iron...
Yosemite Hydroclimate Network: Distributed stream and atmospheric data for the Tuolumne River watershed and surroundings
Jessica D. Lundquist, James W. Roche, Harrison Forrester, Courtney Moore, Eric Keenan, Gwyneth Perry, Nicoleta Cristea, Brian Henn, Karl Lapo, Bruce McGurk, Daniel R. Cayan, Michael D. Dettinger
2016, Water Resources Research (52) 7478-7489
Regions of complex topography and remote wilderness terrain have spatially varying patterns of temperature and streamflow, but due to inherent difficulties of access, are often very poorly sampled. Here we present a data set of distributed stream stage, streamflow, stream temperature, barometric pressure, and air temperature from the Tuolumne River...
Nesting ecology of Whimbrels in boreal Alaska
Christopher M. Harwood, Robert E. Gill Jr., Abby Powell
2016, Wader Study (123) 99-113
Breeding ecology studies of boreal waders have been relatively scarce in North America. This paucity is due in part to boreal habitats being difficult to access, and boreal waders being widely dispersed and thus difficult to monitor. Between 2008 and 2014 we studied the nesting ecology of Whimbrels Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus in...
A global review of freshwater crayfish temperature tolerance, preference, and optimal growth
Jacob T. Westhoff, Amanda E. Rosenberger
2016, Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries (26) 329-349
Conservation efforts, environmental planning, and management must account for ongoing ecosystem alteration due to a changing climate, introduced species, and shifting land use. This type of management can be facilitated by an understanding of the thermal ecology of aquatic organisms. However, information on thermal ecology for entire taxonomic groups is...
Associations of stream health to altered flow and water temperature in the Sierra Nevada, California
Daren M. Carlisle, S. Mark Nelson, Jason T. May
2016, Ecohydrology (9) 930-941
Alteration of streamflow and thermal conditions may adversely affect lotic invertebrate communities, but few studies have assessed these phenomena using indicators that control for the potentially confounding influence of natural variability. We designed a study to assess how flow and thermal alteration influence stream health – as indicated by the...
Groundwater-quality data in the Monterey–Salinas shallow aquifer study unit, 2013: Results from the California GAMA Program
Dara A. Goldrath, Justin T. Kulongoski, Tracy A. Davis
2016, Data Series 987
Groundwater quality in the 3,016-square-mile Monterey–Salinas Shallow Aquifer study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from October 2012 to May 2013 as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program’s Priority Basin Project. The GAMA Monterey–Salinas Shallow Aquifer...