Identification and distribution of the Olympic Shrew (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), Sorex rohweri Rausch et al., 2007 in Oregon and Washington, based on USNM specimens
Neal Woodman, Robert D. Fisher
2016, Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington (129) 84-102
Review of specimens of long-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Soricidae, Sorex) from the northwestern United States in the National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Washington, DC, has revealed the presence of the Olympic Shrew, Sorex rohweri Rausch et al., 2007, in the Coastal Range west of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. This...
Coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat—Potential concerns for human health and aquatic life
Barbara Mahler, Michael D. Woodside, Peter C. Van Metre
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3017
Introduction Sealcoat is the black, viscous liquid sprayed or painted on many asphalt parking lots, driveways, and playgrounds to protect and enhance the appearance of the underlying asphalt. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), academic institutions, and State and local agencies have identified coal-tar-based pavement sealcoat as a major source...
Avian mercury exposure and toxicological risk across western North America: A synthesis
Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Mark P. Herzog, C. Alex Hartman, Sarah H. Peterson, David C. Evers, Allyson K. Jackson, John E. Elliott, Stacy S. Vander Pol, Colleen E. Bryan
2016, Science of the Total Environment (568) 749-769
Methylmercury contamination of the environment is an important issue globally, and birds are useful bioindicators for mercury monitoring programs. The available data on mercury contamination of birds in western North America were synthesized. Original data from multiple databases were obtained and a literature review was...
Rapid movement and instability of an invasive hybrid swarm
Gregory J. Glotzbecker, David Walters, Michael J. Blum
2016, Evolutionary Applications (9) 741-755
Unstable hybrid swarms that arise following the introduction of non-native species can overwhelm native congeners, yet the stability of invasive hybrid swarms has not been well documented over time. Here we examine genetic variation and clinal stability across a recently formed hybrid swarm involving native blacktail shiner (Cyprinella venusta) and...
Simulation of streamflow and the effects of brush management on water yields in the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River watershed, western Texas 1994–2013
Glenn R. Harwell, Victoria G. Stengel, Johnathan R. Bumgarner
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5032
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of Lubbock and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, developed and calibrated a Soil and Water Assessment Tool watershed model of the Double Mountain Fork Brazos River watershed in western Texas to simulate monthly mean streamflow and to evaluate...
A method for characterizing late-season low-flow regime in the upper Grand Ronde River Basin, Oregon
Valerie J. Kelly, Seth White
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5041
This report describes a method for estimating ecologically relevant low-flow metrics that quantify late‑season streamflow regime for ungaged sites in the upper Grande Ronde River Basin, Oregon. The analysis presented here focuses on sites sampled by the Columbia River Inter‑Tribal Fish Commission as part of their efforts to monitor habitat...
Analysis of shoreline and geomorphic change for Breton Island, Louisiana, from 1869 to 2014
Joseph F. Terrano, James G. Flocks, Kathryn E. L. Smith
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1039
Many barrier islands in the United States are eroding and losing elevation substantively because of storm surge, waves, and sea-level changes. This is particularly true for the deltaic barrier system in Louisiana. Breton Island is near the mouth of the Mississippi River at the southern end of the Chandeleur barrier...
Earthquake forecast for the Wasatch Front region of the Intermountain West
Christopher B. DuRoss
2016, Fact Sheet 2016-3019
The Working Group on Utah Earthquake Probabilities has assessed the probability of large earthquakes in the Wasatch Front region. There is a 43 percent probability of one or more magnitude 6.75 or greater earthquakes and a 57 percent probability of one or more magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes in the region in...
Users and uses of Landsat 8 satellite imagery—2014 survey results
Holly M. Miller
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1032
Executive Summary In 2013, Landsat 8 began adding high quality, global, moderate-resolution imagery to the more than 40-year archive of Landsat imagery. To assess the potential effects of the availability of Landsat 8 imagery on users and their work, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Remote Sensing Program (LRS) initiated a...
Magma transport and olivine crystallization depths in Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone inferred from experimentally rehomogenized melt inclusions
Robin M Tuohy, Paul J. Wallace, Matthew W. Loewen, Don Swanson, Adam J R Kent
2016, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (185) 232-250
Concentrations of H2O and CO2 in olivine-hosted melt inclusions can be used to estimate crystallization depths for the olivine host. However, the original dissolved CO2concentration of melt inclusions at the time of trapping can be difficult to measure directly because in many cases substantial CO2 is transferred...
Tree island pattern formation in the Florida Everglades
Joel A. Carr, P. D’Odorico, Victor C. Engel, Jed Redwine
2016, Ecological Complexity (26) 37-44
The Florida Everglades freshwater landscape exhibits a distribution of islands covered by woody vegetation and bordered by marshes and wet prairies. Known as “tree islands”, these ecogeomorphic features can be found in few other low gradient, nutrient limited freshwater wetlands. In the last few decades, however, a large percentage of...
Fluctuating survival selection explains variation in avian group size
Charles B. Brown, Mary Bomberger Brown, Erin A. Roche, Valerie A O'brien, Catherine E. Page
2016, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (113) 5113-518
Most animal groups vary extensively in size. Because individuals in certain sizes of groups often have higher apparent fitness than those in other groups, why wide group size variation persists in most populations remains unexplained. We used a 30-y mark–recapture study of colonially breeding cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) to show...
A revised surface age for the North Polar Layered Deposits of Mars
Margaret E. Landis, Shane Byrne, Ingrid J. Daubar, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Colin M. Dundas
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 3060-3068
The North Polar Layered Deposits (NPLD) of Mars contain a complex stratigraphy that has been suggested to retain a record of past eccentricity- and obliquity-forced climate changes. The surface accumulation rate in the current climate can be constrained by the crater retention age. We scale NPLD crater diameters to account...
Postseismic gravity change after the 2006–2007 great earthquake doublet and constraints on the asthenosphere structure in the central Kuril Islands
Shin-Chan Han, Jeanne Sauber, Frederick Pollitz
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 3169-3177
Large earthquakes often trigger viscoelastic adjustment for years to decades depending on the rheological properties and the nature and spatial extent of coseismic stress. The 2006 Mw8.3 thrust and 2007 Mw8.1 normal fault earthquakes of the central Kuril Islands resulted in significant postseismic gravity change in Gravity Recovery and Climate...
Estimates of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) diet in Lake Ontario using two and three isotope mixing models
Scott F. Colborne, Scott A. Rush, Gordon Paterson, Timothy B. Johnson, Brian F. Lantry, Aaron T. Fisk
2016, Journal of Great Lakes Research (42) 695-702
Recent development of multi-dimensional stable isotope models for estimating both foraging patterns and niches have presented the analytical tools to further assess the food webs of freshwater populations. One approach to refine predictions from these analyses is to include a third isotope to the more common two-isotope carbon and nitrogen...
Volcanic lightning and plume behavior reveal evolving hazards during the April 2015 eruption of Calbuco volcano, Chile
Alexa R. Van Eaton, Alvaro Amigo, Daniel Bertin, Larry G. Mastin, Raul E Giacosa, Jeronimo Gonzalez, Oscar Valderrama, Karen Fontijn, Sonja A Behnke
2016, Geophysical Research Letters (43) 3563-3571
Soon after the onset of an eruption, model forecasts of ash dispersal are used to mitigate the hazards to aircraft, infrastructure and communities downwind. However, it is a significant challenge to constrain the model inputs during an evolving eruption. Here we demonstrate that volcanic lightning may be used in tandem...
Total dissolved gas and water temperature in the lower Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, water year 2015
Heather M. Bragg, Matthew W. Johnston
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1212
Significant Findings An analysis of total-dissolved-gas (TDG) and water-temperature data collected at eight fixed monitoring stations on the lower Columbia River in Oregon and Washington in water year 2015 indicated the following: All but 1 of the 85 TDG sensor laboratory checks that were performed after field deployment were within ±0.5-percent saturation...
Geologic map of the Rio Rico and Nogales 7.5’ quadrangles, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
William R. Page, Christopher M. Menges, Floyd Gray, Margaret E. Berry, Mark W. Bultman, Michael A. Cosca, D. Paco VanSistine
2016, Scientific Investigations Map 3354
The Rio Rico and Nogales (Arizona) 1:24,000-scale quadrangles are located in the Basin and Range Province of southern Arizona, and the southern edge of the map is the international border with Sonora, Mexico. The major urban area is Nogales, a bi-national city known as “the gateway to Mexico.” Rocks exposed...
A new organic reference material, L-glutamic acid, USGS41a, for δ13C and δ15N measurements − a replacement for USGS41
Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen, Stanley J. Mroczkowski, Willi A. Brand, Lauren Brandes, Heike Geilmann, Arndt Schimmelmann
2016, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry (30) 859-866
RationaleThe widely used l-glutamic acid isotopic reference material USGS41, enriched in both 13C and 15N, is nearly exhausted. A new material, USGS41a, has been prepared as a replacement for USGS41.MethodsUSGS41a was prepared by dissolving analytical grade l-glutamic acid enriched in 13C and 15N together with l-glutamic acid...
Notes on the origin of copromacrinite based on nitrogen functionalities and δ13C and δ15N determined on samples from the Peach Orchard coal bed, southern Magoffin County, Kentucky
Bruno Valentim, Manuel Algarra, Alexandra Guedes, Leslie F. Ruppert, James C. Hower
2016, International Journal of Coal Geology (160-161) 63-72
This paper represents the first attempt to show, by means other than just petrographic ones, that one type of macrinite, herein designated copromacrinite, may result from macrofauna feces. For that purpose a combination of coal petrography, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and elemental-analysis continuous-flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry methods were used...
Fish community response to dam removal in a Maine coastal river tributary
Joseph D. Zydlewski, Robert S. Hogg, Stephen M. Coghlan Jr., Cory Gardner
2016, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 445-455
Sedgeunkedunk Stream, a third-order tributary to the Penobscot River in Maine, historically has supported several anadromous fishes including Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar, Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, and Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus. Two small dams constructed in the 1800s reduced or eliminated spawning runs entirely. In 2009, efforts to restore marine–freshwater connectivity...
Dairy-impacted wastewater is a source of iodinated disinfection byproducts in the environment
Michelle Hladik, Laura E. Hubbard, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael J. Focazio
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (3) 190-193
Iodinated disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are among the most toxic DBPs, but they are not typically measured in treated water. Iodinated DBPs can be toxic to humans, and they also have the potential to affect aquatic communities. Because of the specific use of iodine and iodine-containing compounds in dairies, such livestock...
Host contact and shedding patterns clarify variation in pathogen exposure and transmission in threatened tortoise Gopherus agassizii: implications for disease modelling and management
Christina M. Aiello, Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Patrick G. Emblidge, Pratha Sah, Shweta Bansal, Peter J. Hudson
2016, Journal of Animal Ecology (85) 829-842
Summary Most directly transmitted infections require some form of close contact between infectious and susceptible hosts to spread. Often disease models assume contacts are equal and use mean field estimates of transmission probability for all interactions with infectious hosts. Such methods may inaccurately describe transmission when interactions differ...
Using climate, energy, and spatial-based hypotheses to interpret macroecological patterns of North America chelonians
Joshua R. Ennen, Mickey Agha, Wilfredo A. Matamoros, Sarah C. Hazzard, Jeffrey E. Lovich
2016, Canadian Journal of Zoology (94) 453-461
Our study investigates how factors, such as latitude, productivity, and several environmental variables, influence contemporary patterns of the species richness in North American turtles. In particular, we test several hypotheses explaining broad-scale species richness patterns on several species richness data sets: (i) total turtles, (ii) freshwater turtles only, (iii) aquatic...
Perchlorate and selected metals in water and soil within Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, 2011–15
Galen K. Hoogestraat, Barbara L. Rowe
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5030
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located in the east-central part of the Black Hills area of South Dakota and is challenged to provide drinking water to about 3 million annual visitors and year-round park personnel. An environmental concern to water resources within Mount Rushmore National Memorial has been the annual...
