Decadal shifts in the population growth, regeneration, and health of Taxodium distichum in swamps of the Cache River Watershed, Illinois
Beth Middleton, Darren Johnson
2023, Journal for Nature Conservation (76)
Population projection models based on long-term trends in regeneration and tree survival can be used to predict the future stability of swamp forest species using water management. Population growth and regeneration of a foundational tree species in North American cypress swamps (Taxodium distichum) were compared...
Trade-offs in adapting to changes in climate, land use, and water availability in California
Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Tamara Wilson, Lorraine E. Flint, R. Langridge
2023, Ecology and Society (28)
Changes in land use and land cover, water systems, and climate are inextricably linked, and their combined stresses have had severe impacts in many regions worldwide. Integrated adaptation planning can support adaptive capacity by helping institutions manage land and water resources at regional to local scales. Linkages between these stressors...
Incremental evolution of modeling a prognosis for polar bears in a rapidly changing Arctic
Bruce G. Marcot, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Anthony M. Pagano, Steven C. Amstrup
2023, Ecological Indicators (156)
Updating predictions of the response of high-profile, at-risk species to climate change and anthropogenic stressors is vital for informing effective conservation action. Here, we review two prior generations of Bayesian network probability models predicting changes in global polar bear (Ursus maritimus) population status, and provide...
Leveraging machine learning to automate regression model evaluations for large multi-site water-quality trend studies
Jennifer C. Murphy, Jeffrey G. Chanat
2023, Environmental Modeling and Software (170)
Large multi-site trend studies provide an opportunity to evaluate progress of waterbodies towards water-quality goals across broad geographic areas. Such studies often aggregate the results of site-specific models and thus contend with evaluating each model for appropriate fit and statistical...
System-scale airborne electromagnetic surveys in the lower Mississippi River Valley support multidisciplinary applications
Burke J. Minsley, Ryan F. Adams, William H. Asquith, Bethany L. Burton, Bennett Eugene Hoogenboom, Stephanie R. James, Courtney D. Killian, Katherine J. Knierim, Wade H. Kress, Maxwell A. Lindaman, Andrew T. Leaf, James R. Rigby, Jonathan P. Traylor
2023, Conference Paper
The lower Mississippi River Valley spans over 200,000 square kilometres in parts of seven states, encompassing areas of critical groundwater supplies, natural hazards, infrastructure, and low-lying coastal regions. From 2018 - 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey acquired over 82,000 line-kilometres of airborne electromagnetic, radiometric, and magnetic data over this region...
Dating the penultimate great earthquake in south-central Alaska using tree-ring crossdating and radiocarbon wiggle-matching
David J Barclay, Peter J. Haeussler, Robert C. Witter
2023, Quaternary Science Advances (13)
A forest bed of tree stumps currently in the intertidal zone at Girdwood, south-central Alaska, records coseismic submergence during the penultimate great earthquake. Tree-ring samples from ten spruce stumps were crossdated to develop a 149-year-long ring-width chronology. Radiocarbon wiggle-matching found that single-ring ages from the chronology were offset 28 ± 7 years older...
Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from October 2019 to July 2022
Elisabeth C. Teige, Logan M. Maxwell, Samuel E. Jordan, Tait K. Rutherford, Emma I. Dietrich, Ella M. Samuel, Alexandra L. Stoneburner, Nathan J. Kleist, Jennifer K. Meineke, Lea B. Selby, Alison C. Foster, Sarah K. Carter
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1082
Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of...
Effect of feeding history on metabolic rate of largemouth bass (Micropterus nigricans): implications for bioenergetics models
Steven H. Ranney, Steven R. Chipps, David H. Wahl
2023, Canadian Journal of Zoology (102) 207-216
Metabolic rate is a key parameter in fish energy budgets that strongly influences the output of bioenergetics models. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that metabolic rate varies with growth history of age-1 largemouth bass Micropterus nigricans Cuvier, 1828. Two groups of fish were fed alternating maintenance or ad libitum rations...
Using high-frequency monitoring data to quantify city-wide suspended-sediment load and evaluate TMDL goals
Samuel Adam Miller, James S. Webber, John D. Jastram, Marcus F Aguilar
2023, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (195)
Excess sediment is a common reason water bodies in the USA become listed as impaired resulting in total maximum daily loads (TMDL) that require municipalities to invest millions of dollars annually on management practices aimed at reducing suspended-sediment loads (SSLs), yet monitoring data are rarely used...
Effects of noise from oil and gas development on ungulates and small mammals—A science synthesis to inform National Environmental Policy Act analyses
Tait K. Rutherford, Logan M. Maxwell, Nathan J. Kleist, Elisabeth C. Teige, Richard J. Lehrter, Megan A. Gilbert, David J.A. Wood, Aaron N. Johnston, Claudia Mengelt, John C. Tull, Travis S. Haby, Sarah K. Carter
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5114
The U.S. Geological Survey is working with Federal land management agencies to develop a series of science syntheses to support environmental effects analyses that agencies conduct to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This report synthesizes science information about the potential effects of noise from oil and gas...
Updated decision analysis to inform multi-species salmonine management in Lake Michigan
Kelly Filer Robinson, Michael L. Jones, Richard Clark, Brian Roth, Jory Jonas, Iyob Tsehaye, Matthew S. Kornis, Benjamin A. Turschak, Daniel O’Keefe, Brian Brenton
2023, Cooperator Science Series FWS/CSS-154-2023
The recreational fishery for salmonine species in Lake Michigan (lake trout, Chinook salmon, coho salmon, steelhead, and brown trout) is largely maintained through stocking. Decisions about how many of each species to stock require an understanding of how to maintain a sustainable balance of predators (salmonine species) to prey (alewife)...
Construction and modification of debris-flow alluvial fans as captured in the geomorphic and sedimentary record: Examples from the western Sangre de Cristo Mountains, south-central Colorado
Sylvia Nicovich, James Schmitt, Harrison J. Gray, Ralph E. Klinger, Shannon A. Mahan
2023, Geological Society of America Special Papers (561)
Debris-flow alluvial fans are iconic features of dynamic landscapes and are hypothesized to record tectonic and climatic change. Here, we highlight their complex formation and evolution through an exemplary suite of Quaternary debris-flow alluvial fans emanating from the western range front of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in south-central Colorado,...
Model-based surveillance system design under practical constraints with application to white-nose syndrome
Gina Oh, Srikanth Aravamuthan, Ting Fung Ma, Juan Francisco Mandujano Juan Francisco Reyes, Anne Ballmann, Trevor J. Hefley, Ian McGahan, Robin Russell, Daniel P. Walsh, Juntao Zhu
2023, Environmental and Ecological Statistics (30) 649-667
Infectious diseases are powerful ecological forces structuring ecosystems, causing devastating economic impacts and disrupting society. Successful prevention and control of pathogens requires knowledge of the current scope and severity of disease, as well as the ability to forecast future disease dynamics. Assessment of the current situation...
Annual and inter-annual variability in the diffuse attenuation coefficient and turbidity in an urbanized Washington lake from 2013 to 2022 assessed using Landsat-8/9
Jennifer A. Schulien, Tessa Julianne Code, Curtis L. DeGasperi, David Beauchamp, Arielle Tonus Ellis, Arni H. Litt
2023, Remote Sensing (15)
Water clarity, defined in this study using measurements of the downwelling diffuse light attenuation coefficient (Kd) and turbidity, is an important indicator of lake trophic status and ecosystem health. We used in-situ measurements to evaluate existing semi-analytical models for Kd and turbidity, developed a regional turbidity model based on spectral shape,...
Climate-induced shifts in grassland bird nesting phenology have implications for grassland management
Michael J. Anteau, Kristen S. Ellis, Garrett J. MacDonald, Lawrence Igl, Neal D. Niemuth, Josh Vest
2023, Global Ecology and Conservation (48) e02700
Grasslands are among the most impacted ecosystems globally. In the midcontinent of North America, a > 80% loss of grasslands has made their conservation a major priority for resource managers. Grassland ecosystems evolved under periodic disturbances; consequently, grassland management often involves regular...
Opera Dynamic Surface Water extents for Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (DSWX-HLS) validation activities
Nicholas Arena, Grace Bato, David Bekaert, Matthew Bonnema, Steven Chan, Bruce Chapman, John W. Jones, Alexander L. Handwerger, Alex Lewandowski, Charlie Marshak, Simran Sangha, Karthik Venkataramani
2023, Conference Paper
We present the validation methodology and results of Dynamic Surface Water eXtent from Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (DSWx-HLS). The DSWx-HLS product is the first of the DSWx suite, comprised of products each which map water from Earth Observation optical and SAR satellites. We detail the generation of high-resolution (3 m) validation...
Change-point models for identifying behavioral transitions in wild animals
K.P. Gundermann, Duane R. Diefenbach, W. David Walter, A Corondi, J.E. Banfield, B.D. Wallingford, D.P. Stainbrook, C.S. Rosenberry, F.E. Buderman
2023, Movement Ecology (11)
Animal behavior can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly to observe in the field directly. Innovative modeling methods, such as hidden Markov models (HMMs), allow researchers to infer unobserved animal behaviors from movement data, and implementations often assume that transitions between states occur multiple times. However, some...
An integrated framework for examining groundwater vulnerability in the Mekong River Delta region
Kathryn Powlen, Saira M. Haider, Kyle W. Davis, Nina Burkardt, Sachin D. Shah, Stephanie Romanach, Matthew E. Andersen
2023, PLoS ONE (10)
The Mekong River provides water, food security, and many other valuable benefits to the more than 60 million Southeast Asian residents living within its basin. However, the Mekong River Basin is increasingly stressed by changes in climate, land cover, and infrastructure. These changes can affect water...
Seasonal and elevational differences by sex in capture rate of ʻōpeʻapeʻa (Lasiurus semotus) on Hawai‘i Island
Julia P. S. Hoeh, Aaron A. Aguirre, Flor A. Calderon, Sean P. Casler, Sarah G. Ciarrachi, Karen Courtot, Kristina Montoya-Aiona, Corinna A. Pinzari, P. Marcos Gorresen
2023, Pacific Science (77) 1-26
The study of nocturnally active bats is difficult even for those species that seasonally congregate. This challenge is particularly acute for ‘ōpe‘ape‘a (Hawaiian hoary bat; Lasiurus semotus) because of its solitary foliage-roosting behavior. Yet surveys are essential for conservation and management of this endangered species and only land mammal endemic to...
Bayesian weighting of climate models based on climate sensitivity
Elias Massoud, Huikyo Lee, Adam Terando, Michael Wehner
2023, Communications Earth & Environment (4)
Using climate model ensembles containing members that exhibit very high climate sensitivities to increasing CO2 concentrations can result in biased projections. Various methods have been proposed to ameliorate this ‘hot model’ problem, such as model emulators or model culling. Here, we utilize Bayesian Model Averaging as a...
Restructuring and serving web-accessible streamflow data from the NOAA National Water Model historic simulations
J. Michael Johnson, David L. Blodgett, Keith C. Clarke, Jon Pollak
2023, Nature, Scientific Data (10)
In 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration deployed the first iteration of an operational National Water Model (NWM) to forecast the water cycle in the continental United States. With many versions, an hourly, multi-decadal historic simulation is made available to the public. In all released...
Regional crustal structure of Indonesia from receiver functions
Ying Zhang, Walter D. Mooney
2023, Tectonophysics (865)
Characterizing the crustal structure of Indonesia is important to gain a better understanding of its geodynamic evolution and improve seismic hazard assessments in the area. However, a unified crustal model of the entire Indonesian region and its surroundings is lacking. We present new maps of crustal thickness and bulk Vp/Vs ratio...
Comparing methods to estimate feral burro abundance
Jacob D. Hennig, Kathryn A. Schoenecker
2023, Wildlife Society Bulletin (47)
Obtaining precise and unbiased estimates of feral burro (Equus asinus) abundance in the western United States is challenging due to their cryptic pelage and the rugged terrain they inhabit. Management agencies employ helicopter-based, simultaneous double-observer sightability surveys (hereafter denoted as DOS) to estimate abundance of burros; but the DOS method...
Alternative measures of trait–niche relationships: A test on dispersal traits in saproxylic beetles
Ryan C. Burner, Jörg G. Stephan, Lukas Drag, Mária Potterf, Tone Birkemoe, Juha Siitonen, Jörg Müller, Otso Ovaskainen, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Tord Snäll
2023, Ecology and Evolution (13)
Functional trait approaches are common in ecology, but a lack of clear hypotheses on how traits relate to environmental gradients (i.e., trait–niche relationships) often makes uncovering mechanisms difficult. Furthermore, measures of community functional structure differ in their implications, yet inferences are seldom compared among...
Ecological associations of non-native ungulates on the Hawaiian Island of Lāna‘i
Steven C. Hess, Kevin W. Brinck, Christina R Leopold, Jacob Muise, Jonathan Sprague
2023, Human-Wildlife Interactions (17)
Sustained-yield hunting of introduced ungulates in the Hawaiian Islands often conflicts with the conservation of native species, but there is little reliable data to guide effective management. European mouflon sheep (Ovis musimon; mouflon) and axis deer (Axis axis; deer) were introduced on the island of Lāna‘i to provide additional...
