Transport and deposition of asbestos-rich sediment in the Sumas River, Whatcom County, Washington
Christopher A. Curran, Scott W. Anderson, Jack E. Barbash, Christopher S. Magirl, Stephen E. Cox, Katherine K. Norton, Andrew S. Gendaszek, Andrew R. Spanjer, James R. Foreman
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5177
Heavy sediment loads in the Sumas River of Whatcom County, Washington, increase seasonal turbidity and cause locally acute sedimentation. Most sediment in the Sumas River is derived from a deep-seated landslide of serpentinite that is located on Sumas Mountain and drained by Swift Creek, a tributary to the Sumas River....
Do ducks and songbirds initiate more nests when the probability of survival is greater?
Todd A. Grant, Terry L. Shaffer
2015, Canadian Field-Naturalist (129) 323-330
Nesting chronology in grassland birds can vary by species, locality, and year. The date a nest is initiated can influence the subsequent probability of its survival in some grassland bird species. Because predation is the most significant cause of nest loss in grassland birds, we examined the relation between timing...
Crocodylus acutus (American Crocodile). Long distance juvenile movement
Rafael Crespo, Jeffrey S. Beauchamp, Frank Mazzotti, Michael S. Cherkiss
2015, Herpetological Review (46) 623-624
Crocodylus acutus (American Crocodile) is the most widely distributed New World crocodilian species with its range extending from Peru in the south to the southern tip of peninsular Florida in the north. Crocodylus acutus occupies primarily coastal brackish water habitat, however it also occurs in freshwater to hypersaline habitats (Thorbjarnarson...
Sympatric cattle grazing and desert bighorn sheep foraging
Kyle Garrison, James W. Cain III, Eric M. Rominger, Elise J. Goldstein
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (80) 197-207
Foraging behavior affects animal fitness and is largely dictated by the resources available to an animal. Understanding factors that affect forage resources is important for conservation and management of wildlife. Cattle sympatry is proposed to limit desert bighorn population performance, but few studies have quantified the effect of cattle foraging...
Assessing gull abundance and food availability in urban parking lots
Daniel E. Clark, Jillian J. Whitney, Kenneth G. MacKenzie, Kiana K. G. Koenen, Stephen DeStefano
2015, Human-Wildlife Interactions (9) 180-190
Feeding birds is a common activity throughout the world; yet, little is known about the extent of feeding gulls in urban areas. We monitored 8 parking lots in central Massachusetts, USA, during the fall and winter of 2011 to 2013 in 4 monitoring sessions to document the number of gulls...
First satellite tracks of the Endangered black-capped petrel
Patrick G.R. Jodice, Robert A. Ronconi, Ernst Rupp, George E. Wallace, Yvan Satgé
2015, Endangered Species Research (29) 23-33
The black-capped petrel Pterodroma hasitata is an endangered seabird with fewer than 2000 breeding pairs restricted to a few breeding sites in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. To date, use areas at sea have been determined entirely from vessel-based surveys and opportunistic sightings and, as such, spatial and temporal gaps in our...
Population ecology of the gulf ribbed mussel across a salinity gradient: recruitment, growth and density
Aaron Honig, John Supan, Megan K. LaPeyre
2015, Ecosphere (6) 1-13
Benthic intertidal bivalves play an essential role in estuarine ecosystems by contributing to habitat provision, water filtration, and promoting productivity. As such, changes that impact population distributions and persistence of local bivalve populations may have large ecosystem level consequences. Recruitment, growth, mortality, population size structure and density of the gulf...
Validation of streamflow measurements made with M9 and RiverRay acoustic Doppler current profilers
Justin A. Boldt, Kevin A. Oberg
2015, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering (142) 1-16
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Office of Surface Water (OSW) previously validated the use of Teledyne RD Instruments (TRDI) Rio Grande (in 2007), StreamPro (in 2006), and Broadband (in 1996) acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) for streamflow (discharge) measurements made by the USGS. Two new ADCPs, the SonTek M9 and...
Science information to support Missouri River Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) effects analysis
Robert B. Jacobson, Michael J. Parsley, Mandy L. Annis, Michael E. Colvin, Timothy L. Welker, Daniel A. James
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1226
The Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon Effects Analysis (EA) was commissioned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a foundation of understanding of how pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) population dynamics are linked to management actions in the Missouri River. The EA consists of several steps: (1) development of comprehensive,...
The shifting climate portfolio of the Greater Yellowstone Area
Adam J. Sepulveda, Mike T Tercek, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Andrew Ray, David P. Thoma, Blake R. Hossack, Gregory T. Pederson, Ann Rodman, Tom Olliff
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Knowledge of climatic variability at small spatial extents (< 50 km) is needed to assess vulnerabilities of biological reserves to climate change. We used empirical and modeled weather station data to test if climate change has increased the synchrony of surface air temperatures among 50 sites within the Greater Yellowstone...
Invasion of American bullfrogs along the Yellowstone River
Adam J. Sepulveda, Megan J. Layhee, Dave Stagliano, Jake Chaffin, Allison Begley, Bryce A. Maxell
2015, Aquatic Invasions (10) 69-77
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is a globally distributed invasive species that was introduced to the Yellowstone River floodplain of Montana. Knowledge about floodplain habitat features that allow for bullfrog persistence and spread will help identify effective control strategies. We used field surveys in 2010, 2012 and 2013 to describe...
Invaded invaders: Infection of invasive Brown Treesnakes on Guam by an exotic larval cestode with a life cycle comprised of non-native hosts
Elden T Holldorf, Shane R. Siers, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Page E. Klug, Robert Reed
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Background Multiple host introductions to the same non-native environment have the potential to complete life cycles of parasites incidentally transported with them. Our goal was to identify a recently detected parasitic flatworm in the invasive Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on the remote Pacific island of Guam. We considered possible factors influencing...
Stability of detectability over 17 years at a single site and other lizard detection comparisons from Guam
Gordon H. Rodda, Kathryn Dean-Bradley, Earl W. Campbell III, Thomas H. Fritts, Bjorn Lardner, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Robert N. Reed
2015, Journal of Herpetology (49) 513-521
To obtain quantitative information about population dynamics from counts of animals, the per capita detectabilities of each species must remain constant over the course of monitoring. We characterized lizard detection constancy for four species over 17 yr from a single site in northern Guam, a relatively benign situation because detection...
Caveats for correlative species distribution modeling
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Thomas J. Stohlgren, Sunil Kumar, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Tracy R. Holcombe
2015, Ecological Informatics (29) 6-15
Correlative species distribution models are becoming commonplace in the scientific literature and public outreach products, displaying locations, abundance, or suitable environmental conditions for harmful invasive species, threatened and endangered species, or species of special concern. Accurate species distribution models are useful for efficient and adaptive management and conservation, research, and...
Long-term changes in nitrate conditions over the 20th century in two Midwestern Corn Belt streams
Valerie J. Kelly, Edward G. Stets, Charles G. Crawford
2015, Journal of Hydrology (525) 559-571
Long-term changes in nitrate concentration and flux between the middle of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century were estimated for the Des Moines River and the Middle Illinois River, two Midwestern Corn Belt streams, using a novel weighted regression approach that is able to detect...
Efficient wetland surface water detection and monitoring via Landsat: Comparison with in situ data from the Everglades Depth Estimation Network
John Jones
2015, Remote Sensing (9) 12503-12538
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing new Landsat science products. One, named Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE), is focused on the representation of ground surface inundation as detected in cloud-/shadow-/snow-free pixels for scenes collected over the U.S. and its territories. Characterization of DSWE uncertainty to facilitate its appropriate use in...
Accuracy assessment/validation methodology and results of 2010–11 land-cover/land-use data for Pools 13, 26, La Grange, and Open River South, Upper Mississippi River System
J.W. Jakusz, J.J. Dieck, H.A. Langrehr, J.J. Ruhser, S.J. Lubinski
2015, Long Term Resource Monitoring Technical Report 2015-T001
Introduction/Background The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) was responsible for development of several land cover/land use (LCU) systemic datasets of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). These efforts (1989 and 2000) were funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program (UMRR) Long...
Streamflow characteristics and trends at selected streamgages in southwest and south-central Kansas
Kyle E. Juracek
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5167
Historical data for nine selected streamgages in southwest and south-central Kansas were used in an assessment of streamflow characteristics and trends. This information is required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to assist with the effective management of Etheostoma cragini...
Database compilation for the geologic map of the San Francisco volcanic field, north-central Arizona
Joseph A. Bard, David W. Ramsey, Edward W. Wolfe, George E. Ulrich, Christopher G. Newhall, Richard B. Moore, Norman G. Bailey, Richard F. Holm
2015, Data Series 961
The main component of this publication is a geologic map database prepared using geographic information system (GIS) applications. The geodatabase of geologic points, lines, and polygons was produced as a compilation from five adjoining map sections originally published as printed maps in 1987 (see references in metadata). Four of the...
Decision analysis to support development of the Glen Canyon Dam long-term experimental and management plan
Michael C. Runge, Kirk E. LaGory, Kendra Russell, Janet R. Balsom, R. Alan Butler, Coggins Jr., Katrina A. Grantz, John Hayse, Ihor Hlohowskyj, Josh Korman, James E. May, Daniel J. O’Rourke, Leslie A. Poch, James R. Prairie, Jack C. VanKuiken, Robert A. Van Lonkhuyzen, David R. Varyu, Bruce T. Verhaaren, Thomas D. Veselka, Nicholas T. Williams, Kelsey K. Wuthrich, Charles B. Yackulic, Robert P. Billerbeck, Glen W. Knowles
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5176
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and Argonne National Laboratory, completed a decision analysis to use in the evaluation of alternatives in the Environmental Impact Statement concerning the long-term management of water releases from Glen Canyon Dam and associated management activities. Two...
Effects of drought and fire on bird communities of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona
Chris McCreedy, Charles van Riper III, Todd C. Esque, Abigail J. Darrah
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1240
Executive Summary The U.S. Government created the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge (Kofa NWR) in 1939 in response to a citizen campaign to improve desert bighorn sheep populations in Arizona. The Kofa NWR is mountainous and remote, and its management by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) keeps anthropogenic disturbance levels...
Water quality trends in the Blackwater River watershed, West Virginia
Jessica Smith, Stuart A. Welsh, James T. Anderson, Ronald H. Fortney
2015, Southeastern Naturalist (14) 103-111
An understanding of historic and current water quality is needed to manage and improve aquatic communities within the Blackwater River watershed, WV. The Blackwater River, which historically offered an excellent Salvelinus fontinalis (Brook Trout) fishery, has been affected by logging, coal mining, use of off-road vehicles, and land development. Using information-theoretic methods,...
Paleoseismology of the Denali fault system at the Schist Creek site, central Alaska
Stephen F. Personius, Anthony J. Crone, Patricia A.C. Burns, Ned Rozell
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1225
Two hand-dug trenches at the Schist Creek site on the Denali fault system in central Alaska exposed evidence of four surface-rupturing earthquakes on the basis of upward terminations of fault strands and at least one buried, scarp-derived colluvial wedge. Limited radiocarbon ages provide some constraints on times of the ruptures....
Fish tag recovery from Anaho Island nesting colony, Pyramid Lake, Nevada
G. Gary Scoppettone, Mark C. Fabes, Peter H. Rissler, Donna Withers
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1242
In 2001, tags applied to the federally endangered species cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) to study their population dynamics were discovered strewn throughout the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) nesting colony on Anaho Island, Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Cui-ui are endemic to Pyramid Lake, and Anaho Island harbors one of North America’s largest...
Flooding in the Northeastern United States, 2011
Thomas P. Suro, Mark A. Roland, Richard G. Kiah
2015, Professional Paper 1821
Flooding in the Northeastern United States during 2011 was widespread and record setting. This report summarizes peak streamflows that were recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) during separate flooding events in February, March, April, May, July, August, and September. The flooding of late April, which combined snowmelt and heavy...
