Improving ecological data science with workflow management software
Matthew R. Brousil, Alessandro Filazzola, Michael Frederick Meyer, Sapna Sharma, Stephanie E. Hampton
2023, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (14) 1381-1388
Pressing environmental research questions demand the integration of increasingly diverse and large-scale ecological datasets as well as complex analytical methods, which require specialized tools and resources.Computational training for ecological and evolutionary sciences has become more abundant and accessible over the past decade, but tool development has outpaced the availability...
Parallel shifts in trout feeding morphology suggest rapid adaptation to alpine lake environments
Lucia L. Combrink, William C. Rosenthal, Lindsey J. Boyle, Jessica A. Rick, Amy C Krist, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Annika W. Walters, Catherine E. Wagner
2023, Evolution (77) 1522-1538
Eco-evolutionary interactions following ecosystem change provide critical insight into the ability of organisms to adapt to shifting resource landscapes. Here we explore evidence for the rapid parallel evolution of trout feeding morphology following eco-evolutionary interactions with zooplankton in alpine lakes stocked at different points in time in the Wind...
Hydrology, water-quality, and watershed characteristics in 15 watersheds in Gwinnett County, Georgia, water years 2002–20
Brent T. Aulenbach, Joshua C. Henley, Kristina G. Hopkins
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5035
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Gwinnett County Department of Water Resources, established the Long-Term Trend Monitoring program in 1996 to monitor and analyze the hydrologic and water-quality conditions in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Gwinnett County is a suburban to urban area northeast of the city of Atlanta in north-central...
Method for identification of reservoir regulation within U.S. Geological Survey streamgage basins in the Central United States using a decadal dam impact metric
Mackenzie K. Marti, Karen R. Ryberg
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1034
Researchers routinely study streamflow data to understand the effects of natural climate variability and anthropogenic climate change, and to develop methods for estimating streamflow at ungaged locations. These studies require streamflow data that are not modified or largely altered by other anthropogenic activities, such as reservoirs or diversions. This report...
Redefinition of the Petersburg batholith and implications for crustal inheritance in the Dinwiddie terrane, Virginia, USA
Mark W. Carter, Ryan J. McAleer, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Marcie E. Occhi, Brent E. Owens, Jorge A. Vazquez
2023, Geosphere (19) 900-932
Field relations as well as geochemical and petrologic studies of metaigneous rocks assigned to the Pennsylvanian–Permian Petersburg batholith identify at least two distinct rock types: foliated metagranitoid gneiss and massive to porphyritic granite. Foliated metagranitoid gneiss of mostly granodioritic composition is geochemically distinct from associated massive and porphyritic granitic rocks....
Survey evaluation of Florida’s freshwater fisheries long-term monitoring program
Kimberly I. Bonvechio, Ramesh Paudyal, Chelsey Crandall, Andrew Kenneth Carlson
2023, Fishes (8)
Natural resource monitoring programs benefit from routine evaluation. Here, Florida’s statewide Freshwater Fisheries Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) program is used to show how stakeholder surveys can be integral to this process. In 2022, an online questionnaire was sent to internal stakeholders, i.e., state agency personnel who collect, enter, or use freshwater...
Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagle) and Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagle) mortality and exposure to lead, mercury, and anticoagulant rodenticides in eight western and midwestern States, 2014–17
Barbara L. Bodenstein, Julia S. Lankton, Robin E. Russell, Matthew S. Schwarz
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1016
The U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center measured environmental contaminants in Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagles) and Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagles) to evaluate dietary exposure to lead, mercury, and anticoagulant rodenticides (AR), all of which were identified by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a priority issue of concern for...
Geographic distribution of the Puerto Rican Harlequin Butterfly (Atlantea tulita): An ensemble modeling approach
Carlos Ramirez-Reyes, Francisco Vilella, Kristine O. Evans, Garrett Street, Carlos Pacheco, Omar Monzon, Alcides L. Morales Perez
2023, Caribbean Journal of Science (53) 37-44
Species distribution models have become increasingly important tools for species conservation. This modeling approach can help guide conservation practitioners and inform decisions. Distribution models are particularly relevant for rare species, whose habitat associations are often not well understood. Using species occurrence data, and a variety of predictor variables, we developed...
Documentation of linear regression models for computing water-quality constituent concentrations using continuous real-time water-quality data for the North Fork Ninnescah River and Cheney Reservoir, Kansas, 2014–21
Ariele R. Kramer, Kyle A. Puls
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5037
Cheney Reservoir, in south-central Kansas, was constructed to provide a reliable municipal water supply for the city of Wichita, Kansas, and to provide downstream flood control, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Cheney Reservoir will continue to be important for municipal water supply use as needs increase with ongoing population growth and...
Understanding and mitigating thiaminase activity in silver carp
Patricia C. Wolfe, Amber M. Tuske, Donald E. Tillitt, Fred Allen, Katie A. Edwards
2023, Food Science (6)
A deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), an essential cofactor for enzymes involved in metabolic processes, can be caused by the enzyme thiaminase. Thiaminase in food stocks has been linked to morbidity and mortality due to thiamine depletion in many ecologically and economically important species. Thiaminase activity has been detected in certain...
Help build the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US)
Roger M. Johnson
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3013
IntroductionPAD-US provides a comprehensive geospatial database of protected and managed areas in the United States. We assemble known protected areas whose primary purpose is biodiversity conservation, as well as lands and waters that provide public access to nature. As a National Geospatial Data Asset (https://ngda-portfolio-community-geoplatform. hub.arcgis.com/), the PAD-US database (https://www.usgs.gov/programs/gap-analysis-project/science/protected-areas)...
Community for data integration 2019 project report
Amanda N. Liford, Caitlin M. Andrews, Aparna Bamzai-Dodson, Joseph A. Bard, David S. Blehert, John B. Bradford, Wesley M. Daniel, Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Frank L. Engel, Jason A. Ferrante, Amy K. Gilmer, Margaret E. Hunter, Jeanne M. Jones, Benjamin Letcher, Frances L. Lightsom, Richard R. McDonald, Leah E. Morgan, Sasha C. Reed, Leslie Hsu
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1120
The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually supports small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 14 projects supported in fiscal year 2019 and outlines their goals, activities, and accomplishments. Proposals in...
Forest structure and residual tree growth at the Northwest Gateway project area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
Micah C. Wright, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Calvin Farris
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1021
Mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are common mitigation treatments to reduce fire hazards. However, these treatments are infrequently applied together within national parks. The Northwest Gateway project at Lassen Volcanic National Park is an exception to this pattern. Various thinning prescriptions were applied to the project area in 2014, with...
Using integral projection models to explore management strategies for silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
Cameron Coles, Elizabeth Balas, James P Peirce, Greg J. Sandland, Richard A. Erickson
2023, SPORA (9) 37-48
Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are planktivorous fish that were originally introduced to the United States for use in fish production ponds and have since escaped these enclosures and are invading the Mississippi River Basin. The silver carp invasion of the Illinois River has a myriad of negative effects on native...
Insectivorous bat foraging tracks the availability of aquatic flies (Diptera)
Anya Metcalfe, Carol Fritzinger, Theodore J. Weller, Michael J. Dodrill, Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Charles B. Yackulic, Brandon P. Holton, Cheyenne Maxime Szydlo, Laura E. Durning, Joel B. Sankey, Theodore Kennedy
2023, Journal of Wildlife Management (87)
Rivers and their adjacent riparian zones are model ecosystems for observing cross-ecosystem energy transfers. Aquatic insects emerging from streams, for example, are resource subsidies that support riparian consumers such as birds, spiders, lizards, and bats. We collaborated with recreational river runners in Grand Canyon,...
Water balance characterization of the early 21st century drought in the western United States
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock
2023, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (59) 1041-1050
Monthly temperature and precipitation data for 923 United States Geological Survey 8-digit hydrologic units are used as inputs to a monthly water balance model to compute monthly actual evapotranspiration, soil moisture storage, and runoff across the western United States (U.S.) for the period 1900 through...
Evaluating methods for applying fouling attenuation shifts to acoustic backscatter data used in suspended-sediment computations
Zulimar Lucena, Michael T. Lee, Jeffery W. East
2023, Conference Paper, Proceedings of SEDHYD 2023
No abstract available....
Assessment and guidance for using Laser In-situ Scattering and Transmissometry– Stream-Lined 2 (LISST-SL2)
Muneer Ahammad, Jonathan A. Czuba, Christopher A. Curran
2023, Conference Paper
The Laser In-situ Scattering and Transmissometry–Stream-Lined 2 (LISST-SL2) is a second-generation isokinetic river sediment monitoring device that uses laser diffraction to measure suspended-sediment concentration and particle size between 1 and 500 microns in 36 log-spaced bins at a point in a river every second. We compare this latest laser diffraction...
Multiscale assessment of shoreline evolution in the US Pacific Northwest via a process-based model
Mohsen Taherkhani, Meredith Leung, Peter Ruggiero, Sean Vitousek, Jonathan Allan
2023, Conference Paper, The proceedings of the coastal sediments 2023
Prediction of shoreline evolution in coastal environments is critical to aid adaptation strategy planning for coastal communities. To perform reliable predictions, process-based shoreline change models have recently gained popularity in many applications. The study region here, Tillamook County, Oregon, on the US Pacific Northwest coast, has recently been experiencing elevated...
UAS mapping of surface roughness and digital grain size to assess pre-dam removal baseline conditions along the mainstem Klamath River corridor below Iron Gate Dam, California
Jennifer Curtis, Jacob John Taylor, Patrick Alan Haluska, Christian Luis Estrada, Michael J. Bartley, Sierra Noel Keller
2023, Conference Paper, SEDHYD 2023
Surface roughness and grain size in river corridors are fundamental indicators of river hydraulics. In hydraulic models for coarse-grained rivers, the roughness parameter is often assumed to be related to a representative grain diameter. This paper documents a workflow for using aerial imagery and Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry to map surface...
Effects of climate change on the hydrologic and hydraulic response of the Caulks Creek basin, Wildwood, Missouri
Jessica Z. LeRoy, David C. Heimann, Tyler Joseph Burk, Charles V. Cigrand, Kyle D. Hix
2023, Conference Paper, SEDHYD 2023
The city of Wildwood, Missouri, has identified fluvial erosion along Caulks Creek as a management priority due to potential effects to infrastructure and property. The upper and middle reaches of Caulks Creek flow intermittently (only immediately after precipitation), whereas the lower reach flows perennially. This study examines the effects of...
Mode and provenance of sediment deposition on a transgressive marsh
Christopher G. Smith, Alisha M. Ellis, Kathryn E.L. Smith
2023, Conference Paper, The proceedings of the coastal sediments 2023
In this study, we use foraminifera as environmental indicators to aid in computing the historical volumetric inputs of estuarine sediments to adjacent marsh. These data can help assess the importance of estuarine sediment inputs to marsh accretion. The Grand Bay system (GBS), located on the southern coast of Alabama and...
Sand- and gravel-trapping efficiencies derived for four types of pressure-difference bedload samplers
John Gray, Joel T. Groten, Jonathan A. Czuba, Gregory E. Schwarz, Kyle Strom, Panayiotis Diplas
2023, Conference Paper, SEDHYD 2023
Bedload-trapping efficiencies (coefficients) were derived for four types of pressure-difference bedload samplers at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, University of Minnesota during the first two phases of flume experiments in January-March, 2006, referred to as “StreamLab06.” The bedload-sampler research component was part of a series of community-led, large-scale laboratory experiments...
How machine learning can improve predictions and provide insight into fluvial sediment transport in Minnesota
J. William Lund, Joel T. Groten, Diana L. Karwan, Chad Babcock
2023, Conference Paper, SEDHYD 2023
Understanding fluvial sediment transport is critical to addressing many environmental concerns such as exacerbated flooding, degradation of aquatic habitat, excess nutrients, and the economic challenges of restoring aquatic systems. However, fluvial sediment transport is difficult to understand because of the multitude of factors controlling the potential sources, delivery, mechanics, and...
Toward a total water level forecast of the Great Lakes
Erdinc Sogut, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Andrew Ashton, Walter Barnhardt, Kara S. Doran, Margaret L. Palmsten
2023, Conference Paper, The proceedings of the coastal sediments 2023
The combined effect of storm surge and large waves is the main driving mechanism that erodes beaches, inundates low-lying areas, leading to millions of dollars in property damage, loss of natural resources, and lives. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) aims to expand the real-time total water level (TWL) forecast provided...