Bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Little Holland Tract, Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
Alexander G. Snyder, Jessica R. Lacy, Andrew W. Stevens, Emily M. Carlson
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1093
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted a bathymetric survey in Little Holland Tract, a flooded agricultural tract, in the northern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the “Delta”) during the summer of 2015. The new bathymetric data were combined with existing data to generate a digital elevation model (DEM) at 1-meter resolution. Little Holland...
Salmon redd identification using environmental DNA (eDNA)
David S. Pilliod, Matthew B. Laramie
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1091
IntroductionThe purpose of this project was to develop a technique to use environmental DNA (eDNA) to distinguish between redds made by Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and redds made by Coho salmon (O. kisutch) and to distinguish utilized redds from test/abandoned redds or scours that have the appearance of redds. The...
Evidence for serial discontinuity in the fish community of a heavily impounded river
Leandro E. Miranda, D.J. Dembkowski
2016, River Research and Applications (32) 1187-1195
In the Tennessee River, USA, we examined lengthwise patterns in fish community structure and species richness within and among nine reservoirs organized in sequence and connected through navigational locks. Within reservoirs, the riverine, transition and lacustrine zones supported distinct, although overlapping, nearshore fish assemblages; differences were also reflected in measures...
Retention of riveted aluminum leg bands by wild turkeys
Duane R. Diefenbach, Wendy C. Vreeland, Mary Jo Casalena, Michael V. Schiavone
2016, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (7) 162-164
In order for mark–recapture models to provide unbiased estimates of population parameters, it is critical that uniquely identifying tags or marks are not lost. We double-banded male and female wild turkeys with aluminum rivet bands and estimated the probability that a bird would be recovered with both bands <1–225 wk...
A comparison of acoustic montoring methods for common anurans of the northeastern United States
Corinne Brauer, Therese Donovan, Ruth M. Mickey, Jonathan Katz, Brian R. Mitchell
2016, Wildlife Society Bulletin (40) 140-149
Many anuran monitoring programs now include autonomous recording units (ARUs). These devices collect audio data for extended periods of time with little maintenance and at sites where traditional call surveys might be difficult. Additionally, computer software programs have grown increasingly accurate at automatically identifying the calls of species. However, increased...
Resisting resilience theory: a response to Connell, Sean D, and Ghedini, Giulia
Shana M. Sundstrom, Craig R. Allen, Lance Gunderson
2016, Trends in Ecology and Evolution (31) 412-413
User’s guide for the Delaware River Basin Streamflow Estimator Tool (DRB-SET)
Marla H. Stuckey, James E. Ulrich
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1192
IntroductionThe Delaware River Basin Streamflow Estimator Tool (DRB-SET) is a tool for the simulation of streamflow at a daily time step for an ungaged stream location in the Delaware River Basin. DRB-SET was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and funded through WaterSMART as part of the National Water...
Estimation of daily mean streamflow for ungaged stream locations in the Delaware River Basin, water years 1960–2010
Marla H. Stuckey
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5157
The ability to characterize baseline streamflow conditions, compare them with current conditions, and assess effects of human activities on streamflow is fundamental to water-management programs addressing water allocation, human-health issues, recreation needs, and establishment of ecological flow criteria. The U.S. Geological Survey, through the National Water Census, has developed the...
Conservation of native Pacific trout diversity in western North America
Brooke E. Penaluna, Alicia Abadia-Cardoso, Jason B. Dunham, Francisco J Garcia de Leon, Robert E. Gresswell, Arturo Ruiz Luna, Eric B. Taylor, Bradley B. Shepard, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Kevin R. Bestgen, Kevin H. Rogers, Marco A Escalante, Ernest R. Keeley, Gabriel Temple, Jack E. Williams, Kathleen Matthews, Ron Pierce, Richard L. Mayden, Ryan Kovach, John Carlos Garza, Kurt D. Fausch
2016, Fisheries (41) 286-300
Pacific trout Oncorhynchus spp. in western North America are strongly valued in ecological, socioeconomic, and cultural views, and have been the subject of substantial research and conservation efforts. Despite this, the understanding of their evolutionary histories, overall diversity, and challenges to their conservation is incomplete. We review the state of...
Analysis of environmental factors influencing salinity patterns, oyster growth, and mortality in lower Breton Sound Estuary, Louisiana using 20 years of data
Megan K. LaPeyre, James Geaghan, Gary A. Decossas, Jerome F. La Peyre
2016, Journal of Coastal Research (32) 519-530
Freshwater inflow characteristics define estuarine functioning by delivering nutrients, sediments, and freshwater, which affect biological resources and ultimately system production. Using 20 years of water quality, weather, and oyster growth and mortality data from Breton Sound Estuary (BSE), Louisiana, we examined the relationship of riverine, weather, and tidal influence on...
A management-oriented framework for selecting metrics used to assess habitat- and path-specific quality in spatially structured populations
Sam Nicol, Ruscena Wiederholt, James E. Diffendorfer, Brady J. Mattsson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Darius J. Semmens, Laura Lopez-Hoffman, Ryan Norris
2016, Ecological Indicators (69) 792-802
Mobile species with complex spatial dynamics can be difficult to manage because their population distributions vary across space and time, and because the consequences of managing particular habitats are uncertain when evaluated at the level of the entire population. Metrics to assess the importance of habitats and pathways connecting habitats...
Assessment of continuous (unconventional) oil and gas resources in the Late Cretaceous Mancos Shale of the Piceance Basin, Uinta-Piceance Province, Colorado and Utah, 2016
Sarah J. Hawkins, Ronald R. Charpentier, Christopher J. Schenk, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Tom M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Phoung A. Le, Tracey J. Mercier, Janet K. Pitman, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3030
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed a geology-based assessment of the continuous (unconventional) oil and gas resources in the Late Cretaceous Mancos Shale within the Piceance Basin of the Uinta-Piceance Province (fig. 1). The previous USGS assessment of the Mancos Shale in the Piceance Basin was completed in 2003 as...
Native prey distribution and migration mediates wolf (Canis lupus) predation on domestic livestock in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Abigail A. Nelson, Matthew Kauffman, A.D. Middleton, M.D. Jimenez, D. E. McWhirter, K. Gerow
2016, Canadian Journal of Zoology (94) 291-299
Little research has evaluated how the migration and distribution of native prey influence patterns of livestock depredation by large carnivores. Previous research suggests that the presence of native prey can increase depredation rates by attracting predators (prey tracking hypothesis). Alternatively, the absence of native prey may facilitate predation on livestock...
Model selection and assessment for multi-species occupancy models
Kristin M. Broms, Mevin Hooten, Ryan M. Fitzpatrick
2016, Ecology (97) 1759-1770
While multi-species occupancy models (MSOMs) are emerging as a popular method for analyzing biodiversity data, formal checking and validation approaches for this class of models have lagged behind. Concurrent with the rise in application of MSOMs among ecologists, a quiet regime shift is occurring in Bayesian statistics where predictive model...
Combining statistical inference and decisions in ecology
Perry J. Williams, Mevin Hooten
2016, Ecological Applications (26) 1930-1942
Statistical decision theory (SDT) is a sub-field of decision theory that formally incorporates statistical investigation into a decision-theoretic framework to account for uncertainties in a decision problem. SDT provides a unifying analysis of three types of information: statistical results from a data set, knowledge of the consequences of potential choices...
Evaluation of reproductive status in Atlantic Tripletail by traditional and nonlethal approaches
R. T. Parr, Cecil A. Jennings, N. D. Denslow, K.J. Kroll, R.B. Bringolf
2016, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (8) 16-22
Reproductive biology information is an important tool for fishery management actions such as the identification of spawning areas and the development of protective size limits, bag limits, and seasons. Such information for the management of Atlantic TripletailLobotes surinamensis is currently limited, particularly in the western Atlantic Ocean, as information regarding the...
Sedimentologic characteristics of recent washover deposits from Assateague Island, Maryland
Julie Bernier, Nicholas J. Zaremba, Cathryn J. Wheaton, Alisha M. Ellis, Marci E. Marot, Christopher G. Smith
2016, Data Series 999
The U.S. Geological Survey has a long history of responding to and documenting the impacts of storms along the Nation’s coasts and incorporating these data into storm impact and coastal change vulnerability assessments. Although physical changes caused by tropical and extratropical storms to the sandy beaches and dunes fronting barrier...
Raw and processed ground-penetrating radar and postprocessed differential global positioning system data collected from Assateague Island, Maryland, October 2014
Nicholas J. Zaremba, Julie Bernier, Arnell S. Forde, Christopher G. Smith
2016, Data Series 989
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center acquired sediment cores, sediment surface grab samples, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) data from Assateague Island, Maryland, in October 2014. The objectives were to identify washover deposits in the stratigraphic record to aid in understanding...
Post-release survival and movement of Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) implanted with intracoelomic satellite transmitters
Kyra L. Mills, Joseph K. Gaydos, Christine V. Fiorello, Emily Whitmer, Susan De La Cruz, Daniel M. Mulcahy, L. Ignacio Vilchis, Michael H. Ziccardi
2016, Waterbirds (39) 175-186
The main goal of this study was to gain knowledge on post-release survival and movement of Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) using a modified technique for implanting satellite transmitters. This technique had improved post-surgical survival in an earlier study. Nine Western Grebes, implanted with intracoelomic (within the body cavity) satellite transmitters...
Total Petroleum Systems of the Michigan Basin—Petroleum geology and geochemistry and assessment of undiscovered resources
Christopher S. Swezey
2016, Data Series 1011
[None available]...
Vulnerabilities of national parks in the American Midwest to climate and land use changes
Esther D. Stroh, Matthew A. Struckhoff, David Shaver, Krista A. Karstensen
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5057
Many national parks in the American Midwest are surrounded by agricultural or urban areas or are in highly fragmented or rapidly changing landscapes. An environmental stressor is a physical, chemical, or biological condition that affects the functioning or productivity of species or ecosystems. Climate change is just one of many...
Landscapes of West Africa: A window on a changing world
G. Gray Tappan, W. Matthew Cushing, Suzanne E. Cotillon, John A. Hutchinson, Bruce Pengra, Issifou Alfari, Edwige Botoni, Amadou Soule, Stefanie M. Herrmann
2016, Book
Our global ecosystem is and has always been complex, dynamic, and in constant flux. Science tells us how natural forces of enormous power have shaped and reshaped Earth’s surface, atmosphere, climate, and biota again and again since the planet’s beginnings about 4.5 billion years ago. For most of the planet’s...
Effects of hydrology, watershed size, and agricultural practices on sediment yields in two river basins in Iowa and Mississippi
Gustavo Henrique Merten, Heather L. Welch, M.D. Tomer
2016, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (71) 267-278
The specific sediment yield (SSY) from watersheds is the result of the balance between natural, scale-dependent erosion and deposition processes, but can be greatly altered by human activities. In general, the SSY decreases along the course of a river as sediments are trapped in alluvial plains and other sinks. However,...
INVASIVESNET towards an International Association for Open Knowledge on Invasive Alien Species
Frances Lucy, Helen Roy, Annie Simpson, James T. Carlton, John Mark Hanson, Kit Magellan, Marnie L. Campbell, Mark John Costello, Shyama Pagad, Chad L Hewitt, Justin McDonald, Phillip Cassey, Sidinei M Thomaz, Stelios Katsanevakis, Argyro Zenetos, Elena Tricarico, Angela Boggero, Quentin J. Groom, Tim Adriaens, Sonia Vanderhoeven, Mark E. Torchin, Ruth A. Hufbauer, Pam Fuller, Mary R Carman, David Bruce Conn, Jean R. S. Vitule, Joao Canning-Clode, Bella S Galil, Henn Ojaveer, Sarah A Bailey, Thomas W Therriault, Renata Claudi, Anna Gazda, Jaimie T A Dick, Joe Caffrey, Arne Witt, Marc Kenis, Maiju Lehtiniemi, Harry Helmisaari, Vadim E Panov
2016, Management of Biological Invasions (7) 131-139
In a world where invasive alien species (IAS) are recognised as one of the major threats to biodiversity, leading scientists from five continents have come together to propose the concept of developing an international association for open knowledge and open data on IAS—termed “INVASIVESNET”. This new association will facilitate greater...
Discharge and nutrient transport between lakes in a hydrologically complex area of Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, 2010-2012
Victoria G. Christensen, Eric Wakeman, Ryan P. Maki
2016, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (52) 578-591
An acoustic Doppler velocity meter (ADVM) was deployed in the narrows between Namakan and Kabetogama Lakes in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, from November 3, 2010, through October 3, 2012. The ADVM can account for wind, seiche, and changing flow direction in hydrologically complex areas. The objectives were to (1) estimate...
