Streamflow
Michael McHale, Robert W. Dudley, Glenn A. Hodgkins
2016, Report, Climate change indicators in the United States
This indicator describes trends in the amount of water carried by streams across the United States, as well as the timing of runoff associated with snowmelt....
Yellowstone grizzly bear investigations — Annual report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team 2015
Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Bryn Karabensh, editor(s)
2016, Report
This Annual Report summarizes results of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) monitoring and research conducted in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) during 2015. The report also contains a summary of grizzly bear management actions to address conflict situations. ...
Distributions of small nongame fishes in the lower Yellowstone River
Michael B. Duncan, Robert G. Bramblett, Alexander V. Zale
2016, American Midland Naturalist (175) 1-23
The Yellowstone River is the longest unimpounded river in the conterminous United States. It has a relatively natural flow regime, which helps maintain diverse habitats and fish assemblages uncommon in large rivers elsewhere. The lower Yellowstone River was thought to support a diverse nongame fish assemblage including several species of...
Tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.) in the Colorado River basin: Synthesis of an expert panel forum
Benjamin R. Bloodworth, Patrick B. Shafroth, Anna A. Sher, Rebecca B. Manners, Daniel W. Bean, Matthew J. Johnson, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta
2016, Report, Ruth Powell Hutchins Water Center scientific and technical report series
Executive Summary In 2001, the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the release of a biological control agent, the tamarisk beetle (Diorhabda spp.), to naturally control tamarisk populations and provide a less costly, and potentially more effective, means of removal compared with mechanical and chemical methods. The invasive plant tamarisk (Tamarix spp.;...
The biogeography of threatened insular iguanas and opportunities for invasive vertebrate management
Bernie R. Tershy, Kelly M. Newton, Dena R. Spatz, Kirsty Swinnerton, John B. Iverson, Robert N. Fisher, Peter S. Harlow, Nick D. Holmes, Donald A. Croll
J. B. Iverson, T. D. Grant, C. R. Knapp, S. A. Pasachnik, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Iguanas: Biology, Systematics, and Conservation: Herpetological Conservation and Biology 11(Monograph 6)
Iguanas are a particularly threatened group of reptiles, with 61% of species at risk of extinction. Primary threats to iguanas include habitat loss, direct and indirect impacts by invasive vertebrates, overexploitation, and human disturbance. As conspicuous, charismatic vertebrates, iguanas also represent excellent flagships for biodiversity conservation. To assist planning for...
Nutrient dynamics of the Delta: Effects on primary producers
Clifford N. Dahm, Alexander E. Parker, Anne E. Adelson, Mairgareth A. Christman, Brian A. Bergamaschi
2016, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (14)
Increasing clarity of Delta waters, the emergence of harmful algal blooms, the proliferation of aquatic water weeds, and the altered food web of the Delta have brought nutrient dynamics to the forefront. This paper focuses on the sources of nutrients, the transformation and uptake of nutrients, and the links of...
Field and laboratory determination of water-surface elevation and velocity using noncontact measurements
Jonathan M. Nelson, Paul J. Kinzel, Mark Walter Schmeeckle, Richard R. McDonald, Justin T. Minear
2016, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 20th Congress of the Asia Pacific Division of the International Association for Hydro Environment Engineering & Research
Noncontact methods for measuring water-surface elevation and velocity in laboratory flumes and rivers are presented with examples. Water-surface elevations are measured using an array of acoustic transducers in the laboratory and using laser scanning in field situations. Water-surface velocities are based on using particle image velocimetry or other machine vision...
Deserts
Jayne Belnap, Robert H. Webb, Todd Esque, Matthew L. Brooks, Lesley A. DeFalco, James A. MacMahon
2016, Book chapter, Ecosystems of California
The deserts of California (Lead photo, Fig. 1) occupy approximately 38% of California’s landscape (Table 1) and consist of three distinct deserts: the Great Basin Desert, Mojave Desert, and Colorado Desert, the latter of which is a subdivision of the Sonoran Desert (Brown and Lowe 1980). The wide range of...
Loamy, two-storied soils on the outwash plains of southwestern lower Michigan: Pedoturbation of loess with the underlying sand
Michael D. Luehmann, Brad G. Peter, Christopher B. Connallon, Randall J. Schaetzl, Samuel J. Smidt, Wei Liu, Kevin A. Kincare, Toni A. Walkowiak, Elin Thorlund, Marie S. Holler
2016, Annals of the American Association of Geographers (106) 551-572
Soils on many of the outwash plains in southwestern Michigan have loamy upper profiles, despite being underlain by sand-textured outwash. The origin of this upper, loamy material has long been unknown. The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatio-textural characteristics of these loamy-textured sediments to ascertain their origin(s)....
Geologic context of large karst springs and caves in the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Missouri
David J. Weary, Randall C. Orndorff
2016, Conference Paper
The ONSR is a karst park, containing many springs and caves. The “jewels” of the park are large springs, several of first magnitude, that contribute significantly to the flow and water quality of the Current River and its tributaries. Completion of 1:24,000-scale geologic mapping of the park and surrounding river...
Decision analysis for habitat conservation of an endangered, range-limited salamander
Orin J. Robinson, Conor P. McGowan, J.J. Apodaca
2016, Animal Conservation (19) 561-569
Many species of conservation concern are habitat limited and often a major focus of management for these species is habitat acquisition and/or restoration. Deciding the location of habitat restoration or acquisition to best benefit a protected species can be a complicated subject with competing management objectives, ecological uncertainties and stochasticity....
Physical condition and stress levels during early development reflect feeding rates and predict pre- and post-fledging survival in a nearshore seabird
Juliet S. Lamb, Kathleen M. O’Reilly, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2016, Conservation Physiology (4)
The effects of acute environmental stressors on reproduction in wildlife are often difficult to measure because of the labour and disturbance involved in collecting accurate reproductive data. Stress hormones represent a promising option for assessing the effects of environmental perturbations on altricial young; however, it is necessary first to establish...
Fledgling survival increases with development time and adult survival across north and south temperate zones
Penn Lloyd, Thomas E. Martin
2016, Ibis (158) 135-143
Slow life histories are characterized by high adult survival and few offspring, which are thought to allow increased investment per offspring to increase juvenile survival. Consistent with this pattern, south temperate zone birds are commonly longer-lived and have fewer young than north temperate zone species. However, comparative analyses of juvenile...
Some contrasting biostratigraphic links between the Baker and Olds Ferry Terranes, eastern Oregon
Merlynd K. Nestell, Charles D. Blome
2016, Micropaleontology (61) 389-417
New stratigraphic and paleontologic data indicate that ophiolitic melange windows in the Olds Ferry terrane of eastern Oregon contain limestone blocks and chert that are somewhat different in age than those present in the adjacent Baker terrane melange. The melange windows in the Olds Ferry terrane occur as inliers in...
Geology of the Mount Rogers area, revisited: Evidence of Neoproterozoic continental rifting, glaciation, and the opening and closing of the Iapetus ocean, Blue Ridge, VA–NC–TN
Arthur J. Merschat, C. Scott Southworth, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Ryan J. McAleer
Arthur J. Merschat, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Geology of the Mount Rogers area, revisited, Blue Ridge, VA–NC–TN: Carolina Geological Society Annual Field Trip Guidebook
Recent field and geochronological studies in eight 7.5-minute quadrangles near Mount Rogers in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee recognize important stratigraphic and structural relationships for the Neoproterozoic Mount Rogers and Konnarock formations, the northeast end of the Mountain City window, the separation of Mesoproterozoic rocks of the Blue Ridge into...
Microhabitat suitability and niche breadth of common and imperiled Atlantic Slope freshwater mussels
Tamara J. Pandolfo, Thomas J. Kwak, W. Gregory Cope
2016, Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation (19) 27-50
Knowledge of the habitat suitability of freshwater mussels (family Unionidae) is necessary for effective decision making in conservation and management. We empirically measured microhabitat use for 10 unionid mussel species, including the U.S. federally endangered Alasmidonta heterodon, at 20 sites in the Tar River basin, North Carolina, USA. We also...
Assessing the potential for rainbow trout reproduction in tributaries of the Mountain Fork River below Broken Bow Dam, southeastern Oklahoma
James M. Long, Trevor A. Starks, Tyler Farling, Robert Bastarache
2016, e-Research Paper SRS–58
Stocked trout (Salmonidae) in reservoir tailwater systems in the Southern United States have been shown to use tributary streams for spawning and rearing. The lower Mountain Fork of the Little River below Broken Bow Dam is one of two year-round tailwater trout fisheries in Oklahoma, and the only one with...
Effects of a growth check on daily age estimates of age-0 alligator gar
Richard A. Snow, James M. Long
2016, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (3) 6-10
Accurate age and growth information is essential for a complete knowledge of life history, growth rates, age at sexual maturity, and average life span in fishes. Alligator gar are becoming increasingly managed throughout their range and because this species spawns in backwater flooded areas, their offspring are prone to stranding...
Assessment of inland fisheries: A vision for the future
Steven J. Cooke, Angela Arthington, Scott A. Bonar, Shannon D. Bower, David B. Bunnell, Rose Entsua-Mensah, Simon Funge-Smith, John Koehn, Nigel Lester, Kai Lorenzen, So Nam, Robert Randall, Paul A. Venturelli, Ian G. Cowx
2016, Book chapter, Freshwater, fish, and the future: Proceedings of the Global Cross-Sectoral Conference
No abstract available....
Status and trends of land change in selected U.S. ecoregions - 2000 to 2011
Kristi L. Sayler, William Acevedo, Janis Taylor
2016, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (82) 687-697
U.S. Geological Survey scientists developed a dataset of 2006 and 2011 land-use and land-cover (LULC) information for selected 100-km2 sample blocks within 29 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Level III ecoregions across the conterminous United States. The data can be used with the previously published Land Cover Trends Dataset: 1973...
Status of pelagic prey fishes in Lake Michigan, 2015
David M. Warner, Randall M. Claramunt, Steve A. Farha, Dale Hanson, Timothy J. Desorcie, Timothy P. O’Brien
2016, Report, Compiled reports to the Great Lake Fishery Commission of the annual bottom trawl and acoustics surveys, 2015
Acoustic surveys were conducted in late summer/early fall during the years 1992-1996 and 2001-2015 to estimate pelagic prey fish biomass in Lake Michigan. Midwater trawling during the surveys as well as target strength provided a measure of species and size composition of the fish community for use in scaling acoustic...
Influence of basin- and local-scale environmental conditions on nearshore production in the northeast Pacific Ocean
Vanessa R. von Biela, Christian E. Zimmerman, Gordon H. Kruse, Franz J. Mueter, Bryan A. Black, David C. Douglas, James L. Bodkin
2016, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (8) 502-521
Nearshore marine habitats are productive and vulnerable owing to their connections to pelagic and terrestrial landscapes. To understand how ocean basin- and local-scale conditions may influence nearshore species, we developed an annual index of nearshore production (spanning the period 1972–2010) from growth increments recorded in otoliths of representative pelagic-feeding (Black...
Potentially induced earthquakes during the early twentieth century in the Los Angeles Basin
Susan E. Hough, Morgan T. Page
2016, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (106) 2419-2435
Recent studies have presented evidence that early to mid‐twentieth‐century earthquakes in Oklahoma and Texas were likely induced by fossil fuel production and/or injection of wastewater (Hough and Page, 2015; Frohlich et al., 2016). Considering seismicity from 1935 onward, Hauksson et al. (2015) concluded that there is no evidence for significant induced activity...
Fishes of the Mississippi River
Harold Schramm, Jay T. Hatch, Robert A. Hrabik, William T. Slack
2016, Book chapter, Fishery resources, environment, and conservation in the Mississippi and Yangtze (Changjiang) River Basins
No abstract available....
Volcanogenic massive sulphide and orogenic gold deposits of northern southeast Alaska
Patrick J Sack, Susan M. Karl, Nathan Steeves, J Bruce Gemmell
2016, Book
This five-day field trip visits the most significant mineral deposits in northern southeast Alaska. The trip begins and ends with regional transects in the interior Intermontane terranes around Whitehorse, Yukon, and the Insular terranes along the northern Chatham Strait region of southeast Alaska (Fig. A-1 and Fig. A-2; Plate-1). To...