National preparedness strategy & action plan for potentially hazardous near-Earth objects and planetary defense
Matthew Daniels, Lindley Johnson, Renata Kommel, Patrick Besha, Perry Brody, Kevin Conole, Kelly Fast, Angelo Fernandez, Ralph Gaume, Kevin Greenaugh, Ryan Guglietta, Diane Howard, Grace Hu, Christine Joseph, Brig Gen Traci Keuker-Murphy, L.A. Lewis, Lindsay Millard, Joel Mozer, Dianne Poster, Timothy N. Titus, Ashley Vanderley
2023, Report
Near-Earth Objects (NEOs) are asteroids and comets that orbit the Sun, but have orbits that can bring them into Earth’s neighborhood—within 30 million miles of Earth’s orbit. Planetary defense is “applied planetary science” to address the NEO impact risks on Earth. This National Preparedness Strategy and Action Plan for Near-Earth...
Low estradiol production of non-laying whooping cranes (Grus americana) is associated with the failure of small follicles to enter follicular hierarchy
Megan E. Brown, Budhan Pukazhenthi, Glenn H. Olsen, Chris Crowe, Warren Lynch, David E Wildt, Nucharin Songsasen
2023, General and Comparative Endocrinology (338)
For endangered species managed ex situ, production of offspring is a key factor to ensure healthy and self-sustaining populations. However, current breeding goals for the whooping crane (Grus americana) are impeded by poor reproduction. Our study sought to better understand mechanisms regulating...
Dynamics of streamflow permanence in a headwater network: Insights from catchment-scale model simulations
D. Tyler Mahoney, J.R. Christensen, H.E. Golden, C.R. Lane, G.R. Evenson, Elaheh (Ellie) White, K.M. Fritz, E D'Amico, Chris D. Barton, Tanja N. Williamson, Kenton Sena, C.T. Agouridis
2023, Journal of Hydrology (620)
The hillslope and channel dynamics that govern streamflow permanence in headwater systems have important implications for ecosystem functioning and downstream water quality. Recent advancements in process-based, semi-distributed hydrologic models that build upon empirical studies of streamflow permanence in well-monitored headwater catchments...
Investigation of potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Natalie K. Day, Mark F. Henneberg
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5009
Nuisance levels of benthic filamentous green algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of Colorado and the western United States. In 2018 the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum, and the Colorado...
Characterization of streamflow and nutrient occurrence in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 1980–2020
Natalie K. Day
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5112
In 2016, Colorado Parks and Wildlife identified filamentous algae collected from the main stem White River as Cladophora glomerata, a pervasive nuisance aquatic alga. Excessive levels of filamentous algae can compromise aesthetic quality, limit recreational activities, and have negative effects on aquatic life including strong fluctuations in dissolved oxygen levels...
Potential factors controlling benthic algae in the upper White River Basin, Colorado, 2018–21
Rachel G. Gidley, Natalie K. Day
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3005
Nuisance levels of benthic algae are becoming increasingly common in surface waters of the western United States and can compromise aesthetic quality, limit recreational activities, block water infrastructure, and negatively affect aquatic life. In cooperation with the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control...
Sediment deposition, erosion, and bathymetric change in San Francisco Bay, California, 1971–1990 and 1999–2020
Theresa A. Fregoso, Amy C. Foxgrover, Bruce E. Jaffe
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1031
Bathymetric change analyses document historical patterns of sediment deposition and erosion, providing valuable insight into the sediment dynamics of coastal systems, including pathways of sediment and sediment-bound contaminants. In 2014 and 2015, the Office for Coastal Management, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Coastal...
Magnitude conversion and earthquake recurrence rate models for the central and eastern United States
Rasool Anooshehpoor, Thomas Weaver, Jon Ake, Cliff Munson, Morgan P. Moschetti, David R. Shelly, Peter M. Powers
2023, Research Information Letter 2023-03
Development of Seismic Source Characterization (SSC) models, which is an essential part of Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analyses (PSHA), can help forecast the temporal and spatial distribution of future damaging earthquakes (𝑀w≥ 5) in seismically active regions. Because it is impossible to associate all earthquakes with known faults, seismic source models...
Using decision analysis to determine the feasibility of a conservation translocation
Laura Keating, Lea Randall, Rebecca Stanton, Casey McCormack, Michael Lucid, Travis Seaborn, Sarah J. Converse, Stefano Canessa, Axel Moehrenschlager
2023, Decision Analysis (20) 295-310
Conservation translocations, intentional movements of species to protect against extinction, have become widespread in recent decades and are projected to increase further as biodiversity loss continues worldwide. The literature abounds with analyses to inform translocations and assess whether they are successful, but the fundamental question of whether they should be...
The Everglades vulnerability analysis: Linking ecological models to support ecosystem restoration
Laura D'Acunto, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Saira Haider, Caitlin E. Hackett, Dilip Shinde, Stephanie Romanach
2023, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (11)
Understanding of the Everglades’ ecological vulnerabilities and restoration needs has advanced over the past decade but has not been applied in an integrated manner. To address this need, we developed the Everglades Vulnerability Analysis (EVA), a decision support tool that uses modular Bayesian networks to predict the ecological outcomes...
Influence of lamprey rearing type on measures of performance
Theresa L. Liedtke, Lisa K. Weiland, Mary L. Moser, Kinsey Frick, Ralph Lampman, Aaron D. Jackson, Ann Gannam, James Baron, Brian K. Ekstrom
2023, Report
Declines in populations of Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) have raised concerns by the Columbia River tribes, who then initiated efforts to protect and restore them throughout their historical range. The Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) devised a restoration plan for lamprey in the Columbia River Basin which highlights the...
Temporal variability of runup and total water level on Cape Cod sandy beaches
Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Christopher R. Sherwood, B.O. Blanton, Jin-Si R. Over, Peter A. Traykovski, Erdinc Sogut
2023, Conference Paper, The proceedings of the coastal sediments 2023
In the present study, we evaluate the temporal variability in runup and total water level for sandy beaches along Cape Cod (Massachusetts, USA), and their impact on dune and beach erosion. We use a 43-year hindcast of waves and water levels and calculate runup and total water level based on...
Fusing geophysical and remotely sensed data for observing overwash occurrence, frequency, and impact
Nicholas Enwright, P. Soupy Dalyander, Robert L Jenkins, Elizabeth S. Godsey, Spencer J. Stelly
2023, Conference Paper, The proceedings of the coastal sediments 2023
Overwash is an important process that enables a barrier island to migrate landward to adapt to rising sea levels but can also impact vegetated areas and create coastal hazards for populated barrier islands. Our overall objectives were to hindcast overwash events from September 2008 to November 2009 and assess whether...
The pathogenesis of a 2022 North American highly pathogenic clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 avian influenza virus in mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)
Erica Spackman, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood, Scott A. Lee, Diann Prosser
2023, Avian Pathology (52) 219-228
Highly pathogenic (HP) avian influenza viruses (AIVs) of the clade 2.3.4.4 goose/Guangdong/1996 H5 lineage continue to be a problem in poultry and wild birds in much of the world. The recent incursion of a H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b HP AIV from this lineage into North America has resulted...
Monkeypox virus in animals: Current knowledge of viral transmission and pathogenesis in wild animal reservoirs and captive animal models
Elizabeth Falendysz, Juan G. Lopera, Tonie E. Rocke, Jorge E. Osorio
2023, Viruses (15)
Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, is now the most serious orthopoxvirus (OPXV) infection in humans. This zoonotic disease has been gradually re-emerging in humans with an increasing frequency of cases found in endemic areas, as well as an escalating frequency and size of epidemics outside of endemic areas in Africa....
Assessing arthropod diversity metrics derived from stream environmental DNA: Spatiotemporal variation and paired comparisons with manual sampling
Aaron Aunins, Sara J. Mueller, Jennifer A. Fike, Robert S. Cornman
2023, PeerJ (11)
BackgroundBenthic invertebrate (BI) surveys have been widely used to characterize freshwater environmental quality but can be challenging to implement at desired spatial scales and frequency. Environmental DNA (eDNA) allows an alternative BI survey approach, one that can potentially be implemented more rapidly and cheaply than traditional methods.MethodsWe evaluated...
Holocene vegetation dynamics of circum-Arctic permafrost peatlands
Richard Fewster, Paul J. Morris, Graeme T. Swindles, Ruza F. Ivanovic, Claire C. Treat, Miriam C. Jones
2023, Quaternary Science Reviews (307)
Vegetation shifts in circum-Arctic permafrost peatlands drive feedbacks with important consequences for peatland carbon budgets and the extent of permafrost thaw under changing climate. Recent shrub expansion across Arctic tundra environments has led to an increase in above-ground biomass, but the long-term spatiotemporal dynamics of shrub and tree growth in...
Soil medium and watering frequency alter growth and allocation for Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata), a rare cactus of the northeast Mojave Desert, USA
Sara J. Scoles-Sciulla, Alexander Stosich, Lesley A. DeFalco
2023, Native Plants Journal (24) 4-17
Blue Diamond cholla (Cylindropuntia multigeniculata (Clokey) Blackb. [Cactaceae]) is a rare cactus of the Mojave Desert. We explored whether cultivation from joint cuttings is a viable method for supporting threatened populations. Terminal joints were collected from adult plants at the type locality and grown in a shade house: We tested...
Ediacaran-Ordovician magmatism and REE mineralization in the Wet Mountains, Colorado, USA: Implications for failed continental rifting
Benjamin Patrick Magnin, Yvette Kuiper, Eric D. Anderson
2023, Tectonics (42)
Structures associated with Ediacaran-Ordovician alkaline magmatism and the timing of rare earth element (REE) mineralization in the Wet Mountains, CO, were analyzed using field, geophysical, and U-Th-Pb isotope methods to interpret their tectonic setting in the context of previously proposed rift models. The Wet Mountains are known...
Assessing tradeoffs between current and desired vegetation condition in a National Park using historical maps and high resolution lidar data
John A. Young, Carolyn Mahan
2023, Restoration Ecology (31)
In the United States, National Park Service Civil War battlefield units are managed for both historical accuracy (i.e., to represent landscape conditions at the time of the conflict for historical interpretation), and for natural resource protection. However, managing for both goals can create conflicts as many battlefields were largely open...
The invasive plant data landscape: A synthesis of spatial data and applications for research and management in the United States
Emily J. Fusco, Evelyn M. Beaury, Bethany A. Bradley, Michelle Cox, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Adam L. Mahood, R. Chelsea Nagy, Ty Nietupski, Jessica E. Halofsky
2023, Landscape Ecology (38) 3825-3843
ContextAn increase in the number and availability of datasets cataloging invasive plant distributions offers opportunities to expand our understanding, monitoring, and management of invasives across spatial scales. These datasets, created using on-the-ground observations and modeling techniques, are made both for and by researchers and managers.ObjectivesThe large...
Mercury bioaccumulation and cortisol interact to influence endocrine and immune biomarkers in a free-ranging marine mammal
Sarah H. Peterson, Josh T. Ackerman, Rachel R. Holser, Birgitte I. McDonald, Daniel P. Costa, Daniel E. Crocker
2023, Environmental Science & Technology (57) 5678-5692
Mercury bioaccumulation from deep-ocean prey and the extreme life history strategies of adult female northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) provide a unique system to assess the interactive effects of mercury and stress on animal health by quantifying blood biomarkers in relation to...
I Am A...Science careers book for kids
Steven Sobieszczyk, Suzanna C. Soileau, Annie Scott
2023, General Information Product 222
This activity book is an illustrative guide designed to introduce young minds about the exciting world of science careers. From ichthyologists to wildlife biologists, this book showcases a variety of science-based professions through fun and engaging activities. Each section of the book features a different science career and includes information...
Geochronologic and geochemical data from metasedimentary and associated rocks in the Lane Mountain area, San Bernardino County, California
Paul Stone, M. Robinson Cecil, Howard J. Brown, Jorge A. Vazquez
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1115
Eugeoclinal metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks in the Lane Mountain area, California, are considered part of the El Paso terrane, which is commonly thought to have been displaced several hundred kilometers (km) southeastward from its place of origin during late Paleozoic truncation of the North American continental margin. Uranium-lead dating of...
Rapid active thrust faulting at the northern Alaska Range front
Adrian Bender, Richard O. Lease, Tammy M. Rittenour, James V. Jones III
2023, Geology (51) 527-531
Plate convergence rates strongly influence seismicity and mountain building inboard of convergent margins, but the distribution and kinematics of structures accommodating farfield convergence can be elusive. In interior Alaska, Yakutat microplate convergence drives late Pleistocene–recent right slip on the Denali fault, but westward-decreasing slip rates leave substantial residual Yakutat motion...
