Fish assemblage composition and mapped mesohabitat features over a range of streamflows in the Middle Rio Grande, New Mexico, winter 2011-12, summer 2012
Daniel K. Pearson, Christopher L. Braun, J. Bruce Moring
2016, Scientific Investigations Map 3350
This report documents differences in the mapped spatial extents and physical characteristics of in-channel fish habitat evaluated at the mesohabitat scale during winter 2011–12 (moderate streamflow) and summer 2012 (low streamflow) at 15 sites on the Middle Rio Grande in New Mexico starting about 3 kilometers downstream from Cochiti Dam...
Development of working hypotheses linking management of the Missouri River to population dynamics of Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon)
Robert B. Jacobson, Michael J. Parsley, Mandy L. Annis, Michael E. Colvin, Timothy L. Welker, Daniel A. James
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1236
This report documents a process of filtering of hypotheses that relate Missouri River Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) population dynamics to management actions including flow alterations, channel reconfigurations, and pallid sturgeon population augmentation. The filtering process was a partnership among U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and U.S. Fish...
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—Annual report 2013
Aaron J. DeLonay, Robert B. Jacobson, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Patrick J. Braaten, Kevin J. Buhl, Brandon L Eder, Caroline M. Elliott, Susannah O. Erwin, David B. Fuller, Tyler M. Haddix, Hallie L.A. Ladd, Gerald E. Mestl, Diana M. Papoulias, Jason C. Rhoten, Christopher J. Wesolek, Mark L. Wildhaber
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1197
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of pallid sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat requirements, and physiology. The project scope of...
Bivalve effects on the food web supporting delta smelt - A long-term study of bivalve recruitment, biomass, and grazing rate patterns with varying freshwater outflow
Jeff S. Crauder, Janet K. Thompson, Francis Parchaso, Rosa I. Anduaga, Sarah A. Pearson, Karen Gehrts, Heather Fuller, Elizabeth Wells
2016, Open-File Report 2016-1005
Executive Summary Phytoplankton is an important and limiting food source in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (the Delta) and San Francisco Bay; the decline of phytoplankton biomass is one possible factor in the pelagic organism decline and specifically in the decline of the protected delta smelt. The bivalves Corbicula fluminea andPotamocorbula amurensis...
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River—A synthesis of science, 2005 to 2012
Aaron J. DeLonay, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Robert B. Jacobson, Janice L. Albers, Patrick J. Braaten, Edward A. Bulliner, Caroline M. Elliott, Susannah O. Erwin, David B Fuller, Justin D. Haas, Hallie L.A. Ladd, Gerald E. Mestl, Diana M. Papoulias, Mark L. Wildhaber
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5145
This report is intended to synthesize the state of the scientific understanding of pallid sturgeon ecological requirements to provide recommendations for future science directions and context for Missouri River restoration and management decisions. Recruitment of pallid sturgeon has been low to non-existent throughout its range. Emerging understanding of the genetic...
Occurrence and trends in the concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria and the relation to field water-quality parameters in the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers and selected tributaries, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, 2001–09
John W. Fulton, Edward H. Koerkle, Jamie L. McCoy, Linda F. Zarr
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5136
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Allegheny County Health Department and Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, collected surface-water samples from the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers and selected tributaries during the period 2001–09 to assess the occurrence and trends in the concentrations of fecal-indicator bacteria during both wet-...
Modeled streamflow metrics on small, ungaged stream reaches in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Lindsay V. Reynolds, Patrick B. Shafroth
2016, Data Series 974
Modeling streamflow is an important approach for understanding landscape-scale drivers of flow and estimating flows where there are no streamgage records. In this study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with Colorado State University, the objectives were to model streamflow metrics on small, ungaged streams in the Upper...
Interacting effects of latitude, mass, age, and sex on winter survival of Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata): Implications for differential migration
Brian D. Uher-Koch, Daniel Esler, Samuel A. Iverson, David H. Ward, Sean Boyd, Molly Kirk, Tyler L. Lewis, Corey S. VanStratt, Katherine M. Brodhead, Jerry W. Hupp, Joel A. Schmutz
2016, Canadian Journal of Zoology (94) 233-241
We quantified variation in winter survival of Surf Scoters (Melanitta perspicillata (L., 1758)) across nearly 30° of latitude on the Pacific coast of North America to evaluate potential effects on winter distributions, including observed differential distributions of age and sex classes. We monitored fates of 297 radio-marked Surf...
Can pore-clogging by ash explain post-fire runoff?
Cathelijne R. Stoof, Anouk I. Gevaert, Christine Baver, Bahareh Hassanpour, Veronica L. Morales, Wei Zhang, Deborah A. Martin, Shree K. Giri, Tammo S. Steenhuis
2016, International Journal of Wildland Fire (25) 294-305
Ash plays an important role in controlling runoff and erosion processes after wildfire and has frequently been hypothesised to clog soil pores and reduce infiltration. Yet evidence for clogging is incomplete, as research has focussed on identifying the presence of ash in soil; the actual flow processes remain unknown. We...
Model analysis of check dam impacts on long-term sediment and water budgets in southeast Arizona, USA
Laura M. Norman, Rewati Niraula
2016, Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology (16) 125-137
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of check dam infrastructure on soil and water conservation at the catchment scale using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). This paired watershed study includes a watershed treated with over 2000 check dams and a Control watershed which has...
Do intracoelomic telemetry transmitters alter the post-release behaviour of migratory fish?
Alexander D.M. Wilson, Todd A. Hayden, Christopher S. Vandergoot, Richard T. Kraus, John M. Dettmers, Steven J. Cooke, Charles C. Krueger
2016, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (26) 292-300
Electronic tags have become a common tool in fish research, enhancing our understanding of how fish interact with their environment and move among different habitats, for estimating mortality and recording internal physiological states. An often-untested assumption of electronic tagging studies is that tagged fish are representative of untagged conspecifics and...
Assessment of unconventional tight-gas resources of the Magallanes Basin Province, Chile, 2015
Christopher J. Schenk, Ronald R. Charpentier, Janet K. Pitman, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Michael E. Brownfield, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra
2016, Fact Sheet 2015-3085
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed a technically recoverable mean resource of 8.3 trillion cubic feet of unconventional tight gas in the Zona Glauconitica of the Magallanes Basin Province, Chile....
Ecological relevance of current water quality assessment unit designations in impaired rivers
Megan J. Layhee, Adam J. Sepulveda, Andrew Ray, Greg Mladenka, Lynn Van Every
2016, Science of the Total Environment (536) 198-205
Managers often nest sections of water bodies together into assessment units (AUs) to monitor and assess water quality criteria. Ideally, AUs represent an extent of waters with similar ecological, watershed, habitat and land-use conditions and no overlapping characteristics with other waters. In the United States, AUs are typically based on...
Sediment supply versus local hydraulic controls on sediment transport and storage in a river with large sediment loads
David J. Dean, David J. Topping, John C. Schmidt, Ronald E. Griffiths, Thomas A. Sabol
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (121) 82-110
The Rio Grande in the Big Bend region of Texas, USA, and Chihuahua and Coahuila, Mexico, undergoes rapid geomorphic changes as a result of its large sediment supply and variable hydrology; thus, it is a useful natural laboratory to investigate the relative importance of flow strength and sediment supply in...
Multiple mortality events in bats: a global review
Thomas J. O’Shea, Paul M. Cryan, David TH Hayman, Raina K. Plowright, Daniel G. Streicker
2016, Mammal Review (46) 175-190
Despite conservation concerns for many species of bats, factors causing mortality in bats have not been reviewed since 1970. Here, we review and qualitatively describe trends in the occurrence and apparent causes of multiple mortality events (MMEs) in bats around the world. We compiled a database of MMEs,...
Isotopic composition of inorganic mercury and methylmercury downstream of a historical gold mining region
Patrick M. Donovan, Joel D. Blum, Michael B. Singer, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Martin T.K. Tsui
2016, Environmental Science & Technology (50) 1691-1702
We measured total mercury (THg) and monomethyl mercury (MMHg) concentrations and mercury (Hg) isotopic compositions in sediment and aquatic organisms from the Yuba River (California, USA) to identify Hg sources and biogeochemical transformations downstream of a historical gold mining region. Sediment THg concentrations and δ202Hg decreased from the upper Yuba...
Salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in the United States—Developing research, monitoring, and management strategies
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Erin L. Muths, Rachel A. Katz, Stefano Canessa, M. J. Adams, Jennifer R. Ballard, Lee Berger, Cheryl J. Briggs, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Matthew J. Gray, M. Camille Harris, Reid N. Harris, Blake R. Hossack, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Jonathan E. Kolby, Karen R. Lips, Robert E. Lovich, Hamish I. McCallum, Joseph R. Mendelson III, Priya Nanjappa, Deanna H. Olson, Jenny G. Powers, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Annemarieke Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Mary Kay Watry, Douglas C. Woodhams, C. LeAnn White
2016, Open-File Report 2015-1233
The recently (2013) identified pathogenic chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal), poses a severe threat to the distribution and abundance of salamanders within the United States and Europe. Development of a response strategy for the potential, and likely, invasion of Bsal into the United States is crucial to protect global salamander...
Impacts of Climate Change on Regulated Streamflow, Hydrologic Extremes, Hydropower Production, and Sediment Discharge in the Skagit River Basin
Se-Yeun Lee, Alan F. Hamlet, Eric E. Grossman
2016, Northwest Science (90) 23-43
Previous studies have shown that the impacts of climate change on the hydrologic response of the Skagit River are likely to be substantial under natural (i.e. unregulated) conditions. To assess the combined effects of changing natural flow and dam operations that determine impacts to regulated flow, a new integrated daily-time-step...
Increasing virulence, but not infectivity, associated with serially emergent virus strains of a fish rhabdovirus
Rachel Breyta, Douglas McKenney, Tarin Tesfaye, Kotaro Ono, Gael Kurath
2016, Virus Evolution (2)
Surveillance and genetic typing of field isolates of a fish rhabdovirus, infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), has identified four dominant viral genotypes that were involved in serial viral emergence and displacement events in steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in western North America. To investigate drivers of these landscape-scale events, IHNV isolates...
Factors affecting post-control reinvasion by seed of an invasive species, Phragmites australis, in the central Platte River, Nebraska.
Susan M. Galatowitsch, Diane L. Larson, Jennifer L. Larson
2016, Biological Invasions (18) 2505-2516
Invasive plants, such as Phragmites australis, can profoundly affect channel environments of large rivers by stabilizing sediments and altering water flows. Invasive plant removal is considered necessary where restoration of dynamic channels is needed to provide critical habitat for species of conservation concern. However, these programs are widely reported to...
Summary of U.S. Geological Survey studies conducted in cooperation with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, central Oklahoma, 2011–14
William J. Andrews, Carol Becker, Derek W. Ryter, S. Jerrod Smith
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5182
The U.S. Geological Survey conducted hydrologic studies and published three U.S. Geological Survey scientific investigations reports in cooperation with the Citizen Potawatomi Nation from 2011 to 2014 to characterize the quality and quantity of water resources. The study areas of those reports consisted of approximately 960 square miles in parts...
Changes in streamflow characteristics in Wisconsin as related to precipitation and land use
Warren A. Gebert, Herbert S. Garn, William J. Rose
2016, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5140
Streamflow characteristics were determined for 15 longterm streamflow-gaging stations for the periods 1915–2008, 1915–68, and 1969–2008 to identify trends. Stations selected represent flow characteristics for the major river basins in Wisconsin. Trends were statistically significant at the 95 percent confidence level at 13 of the 15 streamflow-gaging stations for various...
Population dynamics and evaluation of alternative management strategies for nonnative Lake Trout in Priest Lake, Idaho
Elizabeth L. Ng, Jim P. Fredericks, Michael C. Quist
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 40-54
Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush have been introduced widely throughout the western USA to enhance recreational fisheries, but high predatory demand can create challenges for management of yield and trophy fisheries alike. Lake Trout were introduced to Priest Lake, Idaho, during the 1920s, but few fishery-independent data are available to guide...
Resprouting and seeding hypotheses: A test of the gap-dependent model using resprouting and obligate seeding subspecies of Arctostaphylos
Jon E. Keeley, V. Thomas Parker, Michael C. Vasey
2016, Plant Ecology (217) 743-750
Ecological factors favoring either postfire resprouting or postfire obligate seeding in plants have received considerable attention recently. Three ecological models have been proposed to explain patterns of these two life history types. In this study, we test these three models using data from California chaparral. We take an...
Differential uplift and incision of the Yakima River terraces, central Washington State
Adrian M. Bender, Colin B. Amos, Paul R. Bierman, Dylan Rood, Lydia M. Staisch, Harvey M. Kelsey, Brian L. Sherrod
2016, Journal of Geophysical Research (121) 365-384
The fault-related Yakima folds deform Miocene basalts and younger deposits of the Columbia Plateau in central Washington State. Geodesy implies ~2 mm/yr of NNE directed shortening across the folds, but until now the distribution and rates of Quaternary deformation among individual structures has been unclear. South of Ellensburg, Washington, the Yakima...
