USGS role and response to highly pathogenic avian influenza
M. Camille Harris, A. Keith Miles, John M. Pearce, Diann J. Prosser, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Mary E. Whalen
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3059
Avian influenza viruses are naturally occurring in wild birds such as ducks, geese, swans, and gulls. These viruses generally do not cause illness in wild birds, however, when spread to poultry they can be highly pathogenic and cause illness and death in backyard and commercial farms. Outbreaks may cause devastating...
USGS highly pathogenic avian influenza research strategy
M. Camille Harris, A. Keith Miles, John M. Pearce, Diann J. Prosser, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Mary E. Whalen
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3060
Avian influenza viruses are naturally occurring in wild birds such as ducks, geese, swans, and gulls. These viruses generally do not cause illness in wild birds, however, when spread to poultry they can be highly pathogenic and cause illness and death in backyard and commercial farms. Outbreaks may cause devastating...
Attacking invasive grasses
Jon E. Keeley
2015, Applied Vegetation Science (18) 541-542
In grasslands fire may play a role in the plant invasion process, both by creating disturbances that potentially favour non-native invasions and as a possible tool for controlling alien invasions. Havill et al. (Applied Vegetation Science, 18, 2015, this issue) determine how native and non-native species respond to different fire...
Linking climate change and health outcomes: Examining the relationship between temperature, precipitation and birth weight in Africa
Kathryn Grace, Frank Davenport, Heidi Hanson, Christopher C. Funk, Shraddhanand Shukla
2015, Global Environmental Change (35) 125-137
This paper examined the relationship between birth weight, precipitation, and temperature in 19 African countries. We matched recorded birth weights from Demographic and Health Surveys covering 1986 through 2010 with gridded monthly precipitation and temperature data derived from satellite and ground-based weather stations. Observed weather patterns during various stages of...
Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, Dann S. Blackwood, Matthew J. Nardi, Matthew A. Andring
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1149
Multibeam echosounder data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration along with sediment samples and still and video photography of the sea floor collected by the U.S. Geological Survey were used to interpret sea-floor features and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, as part of a long-term...
Chemical and ancillary data associated with bed sediment, young of year Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) tissue, and mussel (Mytilus edulis and Geukensia demissa) tissue collected after Hurricane Sandy in bays and estuaries of New Jersey and New York, 2013–14
Kelly L. Smalling, Ashok D. Deshpande, Vicki Blazer, Heather S. Galbraith, Bruce W. Dockum, Kristin M. Romanok, Kaitlyn Colella, Anna C. Deetz, Irene J. Fisher, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Beth Sharack, Lisa Summer, DeMond Timmons, John J. Trainor, Daniel Wieczorek, Jennifer Samson, Timothy J. Reilly, Michael J. Focazio
2015, Data Series 956
This report describes the methods and data associated with a reconnaissance study of young of year bluefish and mussel tissue samples as well as bed sediment collected as bluefish habitat indicators during August 2013–April 2014 in New Jersey and New York following Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. This study was...
Status assessment and conservation plan for the Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum)
Janet M. Ruth
2015, Report
The Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) breeds in grassland habitats throughout much of the U.S., southern and southeastern Canada, and northern Mexico. Additional subspecies are resident in Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean. It winters primarily in the coastal states of the southeastern U.S., southern portions of the southwestern...
Waterbird use of catfish ponds and migratory bird habitat initiative wetlands in Mississippi
James S. Feaga, Francisco Vilella, Richard M. Kaminski, J. Brian Davis
2015, Waterbirds (38) 269-281
Aquaculture can provide important surrogate habitats for waterbirds. In response to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the National Resource Conservation Service enacted the Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative through which incentivized landowners provided wetland habitats for migrating waterbirds. Diversity and abundance of waterbirds in six production and four idled aquaculture...
Factors controlling the abundance of rainbow trout in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon in a reach utilized by endangered humpback chub
Josh Korman, Michael D. Yard, Charles B. Yackulic
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (73) 105-124
We estimated the abundance, survival, movement, and recruitment of non-native rainbow trout in the Colorado River in Grand Canyon to determine what controls their abundance near the Little Colorado River (LCR) confluence where endangered humpback chub rear. Over a 3-year period, we tagged more than 70,000 trout and recovered over...
How spatio-temporal habitat connectivity affects amphibian genetic structure
Alexander G. Watts, P Schlichting, S Billerman, B Jesmer, S Micheletti, M.-J. Fortin, W. C. Funk, P Hapeman, Erin L. Muths, M.A. Murphy
2015, Frontiers in Genetics (6)
Heterogeneous landscapes and fluctuating environmental conditions can affect species dispersal, population genetics, and genetic structure, yet understanding how biotic and abiotic factors affect population dynamics in a fluctuating environment is critical for species management. We evaluated how spatio-temporal habitat connectivity influences dispersal and genetic structure in a population of...
Paleolimnological records of nitrogen deposition in shallow, high-elevation lakes of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, USA
Sarah A. Spaulding, Megan K. Otu, Alexander P. Wolfe, Jill Baron
2015, Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research (47) 703-717
Reactive nitrogen (Nr) from anthropogenic sources has been altering ecosystem function in lakes of the Rocky Mountains, other regions of western North America, and the Arctic over recent decades. The response of biota in shallow lakes to atmospheric deposition of Nr, however, has not been considered. Benthic algae are dominant...
The Palos Verdes Fault offshore southern California: late Pleistocene to present tectonic geomorphology, seascape evolution and slip rate estimate based on AUV and ROV surveys
Daniel S. Brothers, James E. Conrad, Katherine L. Maier, Charles K. Paull, Mary L. McGann, David W. Caress
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (120) 4734-4758
The Palos Verdes Fault (PVF) is one of few active faults in Southern California that crosses the shoreline and can be studied using both terrestrial and subaqueous methodologies. To characterize the near-seafloor fault morphology, tectonic influences on continental slope sedimentary processes and late Pleistocene to present slip rate, a grid...
Seismicity of the Earth 1900‒2013 Mediterranean Sea and vicinity
Matthew W. Herman, Gavin P. Hayes, Gregory M. Smoczyk, Rebecca Turner, Bethan Turner, Jennifer Jenkins, Sian Davies, Amy Parker, Allison Sinclair, Harley M. Benz, Kevin P. Furlong, Antonio Villaseñor
2015, Open-File Report 2010-1083-Q
The Mediterranean region is seismically active due to the convergence of the Africa Plate with the Eurasia plate. Present day Africa-Eurasia motion ranges from ~4 millimeters per year (mm/yr) in a northwest-southeast direction in the western Mediterranean to ~10 mm/yr (north-south) in the eastern Mediterranean. The Africa-Eurasia plate boundary is...
Bistability of mangrove forests and competition with freshwater plants
Jiang Jiang, Douglas O Fuller, Su Yean Teh, Lu Zhai, Hock Lye Koh, Donald L. DeAngelis, L.D.S.L. Sternberg
2015, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (213) 283-290
Halophytic communities such as mangrove forests and buttonwood hammocks tend to border freshwater plant communities as sharp ecotones. Most studies attribute this purely to underlying physical templates, such as groundwater salinity gradients caused by tidal flux and topography. However, a few recent studies hypothesize that self-reinforcing feedback between vegetation and...
Subglacial discharge at tidewater glaciers revealed by seismic tremor
Timothy C. Bartholomaus, Jason M. Amundson, Jacob I. Walter, Shad O’Neel, Michael E. West, Christopher F. Larsen
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 6391-6398
Subglacial discharge influences glacier basal motion and erodes and redeposits sediment. At tidewater glacier termini, discharge drives submarine terminus melting, affects fjord circulation, and is a central component of proglacial marine ecosystems. However, our present inability to track subglacial discharge and its variability significantly hinders our understanding of these processes....
Corn Belt soil carbon and macronutrient budgets with projected sustainable stover harvest
Zhengxi Tan, Shu-Guang Liu
2015, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (212) 119-126
Corn (Zea mays L.) stover has been identified as a prime feedstock for biofuel production in the U.S. Corn Belt because of its perceived abundance and availability, but long-term stover harvest effects on regional nutrient budgets have not been evaluated. We defined the minimum stover requirement (MSR) to maintain current soil...
Ground motion simulation for the 23 August 2011, Mineral, Virginia earthquake using physics-based and stochastic broadband methods
Xiaodan Sun, Stephen H. Hartzell, Sanaz Rezaeian
2015, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (105) 2641-2661
Three broadband simulation methods are used to generate synthetic ground motions for the 2011 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake and compare with observed motions. The methods include a physics‐based model by Hartzell et al. (1999, 2005), a stochastic source‐based model by Boore (2009), and a stochastic site‐based model by Rezaeian and Der...
Range-wide network of priority areas for greater sage-grouse - a design for conserving connected distributions or isolating individual zoos?
Michele R. Crist, Steven T. Knick, Steven E. Hanser
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1158
The network of areas delineated in 11 Western States for prioritizing management of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) represents a grand experiment in conservation biology and reserve design. We used centrality metrics from social network theory to gain insights into how this priority area network might function. The network was...
Acoustical deterrence of Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
Brooke J. Vetter, Aaron R. Cupp, Kim T. Fredricks, Mark P. Gaikowski, Allen F. Mensinger
2015, Biological Invasions (17) 3383-3392
The invasive Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) dominate large regions of the Mississippi River drainage and continue to expand their range northward threatening the Laurentian Great Lakes. This study found that complex broadband sound (0–10 kHz) is effective in altering the behavior of Silver Carp with implications for deterrent barriers...
Potential direct and indirect effects of climate change on a shallow natural lake fish assemblage
Jason J. Breeggemann, Mark A. Kaemingk, T.J. DeBates, Craig P. Paukert, J. Krause, Alexander P. Letvin, Tanner M. Stevens, David W. Willis, Steven R. Chipps
2015, Ecology of Freshwater Fish
Much uncertainty exists around how fish communities in shallow lakes will respond to climate change. In this study, we modelled the effects of increased water temperatures on consumption and growth rates of two piscivores (northern pike [Esox lucius] and largemouth bass [Micropterus salmoides]) and examined relative effects of consumption by...
Methods for evaluating potential sources of chloride in surface waters and groundwaters of the conterminous United States
Gregory E. Granato, Leslie A. DeSimone, Jeffrey R. Barbaro, Lillian C. Jeznach
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1080
Chloride exists as a major ion in most natural waters, but many anthropogenic sources are increasing concentrations of chloride in many receiving waters. Although natural concentrations in continental waters can be as high as 200,000 milligrams per liter, chloride concentrations that are suitable for freshwater ecology, human consumption, and agricultural...
Changes in seismic velocity during the first 14 months of the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington
A.J. Hotovec-Ellis, J.E. Vidale, Joan S. Gomberg, Weston A. Thelen, Seth C. Moran
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (120) 6226-6240
Mount St. Helens began erupting in late 2004 following an 18 year quiescence. Swarms of repeating earthquakes accompanied the extrusion of a mostly solid dacite dome over the next 4 years. In some cases the waveforms from these earthquakes evolved slowly, likely reflecting changes in the properties of the volcano that affect...
A conceptual framework and monitoring strategy for movement of saltwater in the coastal plain aquifer system of Virginia
E. Randolph Mcfarland
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5117
A conceptual framework synthesizes previous studies to provide an understanding of conditions, processes, and relations of saltwater to groundwater withdrawal in the Virginia Coastal Plain aquifer system. A strategy for monitoring saltwater movement is based on spatial relations between the saltwater-transition zone and 612 groundwater-production wells that were regulated during...
Soil bacterial and fungal community responses to nitrogen addition across soil depth and microhabitat in an arid shrubland
Rebecca C. Mueller, Jayne Belnap, Cheryl R. Kuske
2015, Frontiers in Microbiology (6)
Arid shrublands are stressful environments, typified by alkaline soils low in organic matter, with biologically-limiting extremes in water availability, temperature, and UV radiation. The widely-spaced plants and interspace biological soil crusts in these regions provide soil nutrients in a localized fashion, creating a mosaic pattern of plant- or crust-associated...
Documentation of input datasets for the soil-water balance groundwater recharge model of the Upper Colorado River Basin
Fred D. Tillman
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1160
The Colorado River and its tributaries supply water to more than 35 million people in the United States and 3 million people in Mexico, irrigating more than 4.5 million acres of farmland, and generating about 12 billion kilowatt hours of hydroelectric power annually. The Upper Colorado River Basin, encompassing more...
