Potentiometric surface and water-level difference maps of selected confined aquifers in Southern Maryland and Maryland’s Eastern Shore, 1975-2015
Stephen E. Curtin, Andrew W. Staley, David C. Andreasen
2016, Report
Key Results This report presents potentiometric-surface maps of the Aquia and Magothy aquifers and the Upper Patapsco, Lower Patapsco, and Patuxent aquifer systems using water levels measured during September 2015. Water-level difference maps are also presented for these aquifers. The water-level differences in the Aquia aquifer are shown using groundwater-level data...
An overview of environmental impacts and reclamation efforts at the Iron Mountain mine, Shasta County, California
James A Jacobs, Stephen M. Testa, Charles N. Alpers, D. Kirk Nordstrom
2016, Book chapter, Applied geology in California
No abstract available ...
Seismic velocities within the sedimentary succession of the Canada Basin and southern Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge, Arctic Ocean: evidence for accelerated porosity reduction?
John Shimeld, Qingmou Li, Deping Chian, Nina Lebedeva-Ivanova, Ruth Jackson, David Mosher, Deborah R. Hutchinson
2016, Geophysical Journal International (204) 1-20
The Canada Basin and the southern Alpha-Mendeleev ridge complex underlie a significant proportion of the Arctic Ocean, but the geology of this undrilled and mostly ice-covered frontier is poorly known. New information is encoded in seismic wide-angle reflections and refractions recorded with expendable sonobuoys between 2007 and 2011. Velocity–depth samples...
Dissolved oxygen: Chapter 6
David Senn, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, Emily Novick
2016, Report, Lower South Bay nutrient synthesis
Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration serves as an important indicator of estuarine habitat condition, because all aquatic macro-organisms require some minimum DO level to survive and prosper. The instantaneous DO concentration, measured at a specific location in the water column, results from a balance between multiple processes that add or remove...
Small mammal communities in eastern redcedar forest
Christopher J. Reddin, David G. Krementz
2016, American Midland Naturalist (175) 113-119
Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) is a fire-intolerant tree species that has encroached into grassland ecosystems throughout central and eastern North America. Many land managers are interested in removing eastern redcedar to restore native grasslands. We surveyed small mammals using mark-recapture methods in eastern redcedar forest, warm-season grassland, and oldfield habitats...
Climatic and topographical factors affecting the vegetative carbon stock of rangelands in arid and semiarid regions of China
Ren Zhengchao, Zhu Huazhong, Hua Shi, Liu Xiaoni
2016, Journal of Resources and Ecology (7) 418-429
Rangeland systems play an important role in ecological stabilization and the terrestrial carbon cycle in arid and semiarid regions. However, little is known about the vegetative carbon dynamics and climatic and topographical factors that affect vegetative carbon stock in these rangelands. Our goal was to assess vegetative carbon stock by...
Interactions among American badgers, black-footed ferrets, and prairie dogs in the grasslands of western North America
David A. Eads, Dean E. Biggins, Shaun M. Grassel, Travis M. Livieri, Daniel S. Licht
Gilbert Proulx, Emmanuel Do Linh San, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, Badgers: Systematics, biology, conservation and research techniques
American badgers (Taxidea taxus) and black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) sometimes occur sympatrically within colonies of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) in the grasslands of western North America. From the perspective of a simplified food web, badgers are consumers of ferrets and, to a greater extent, prairie dogs; ferrets are specialized consumers...
Watershed-scale changes in terrestrial nitrogen cycling during a period of decreased atmospheric nitrate and sulfur deposition
Robert D. Sabo, Sara E. Scanga, Gregory B. Lawrence, David M. Nelson, Keith N. Eshleman, Gabriel A. Zabala, Alexandria A. Alinea, Charles D. Schirmer
2016, Atmospheric Environment (146) 271-279
Recent reports suggest that decreases in atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition throughout Europe and North America may have resulted in declining nitrate export in surface waters in recent decades, yet it is unknown if and how terrestrial N cycling was affected. During a period of decreased atmospheric N deposition, we assessed...
Establishing a baseline of estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation resources across salinity zones within coastal areas of the northern Gulf of Mexico
Eva R. Hillmann, Kristin DeMarco, Megan K. LaPeyre
2016, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (3) 25-32
Coastal ecosystems are dynamic and productive areas that are vulnerable to effects of global climate change. Despite their potentially limited spatial extent, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) beds function in coastal ecosystems as foundation species, and perform important ecological services. However, limited understanding of the factors controlling SAV distribution and abundance...
Prioritizing landscapes for longleaf pine conservation
J. Barry Grand, Kevin J. Kleiner
2016, Cooperator Science Series FWS/CSS-119-2016
We developed a spatially explicit model and map, as a decision support tool (DST), to aid conservation agencies creating or maintaining open pine ecosystems. The tool identified areas that are likely to provide the greatest benefit to focal bird populations based on a comprehensive landscape analysis. We used NLCD 2011,...
Identification of Neosho Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu velox) stocks for possible introduction into Grand Lake, Oklahoma
Andrew T. Taylor, James M. Long, Michael R. Schwemm, Michael D. Tringali, Shannon K. Brewer
2016, Cooperator Science Series FWS/CSS-121-2016
Stocking black basses (Micropterus spp.) is a common practice used to increase angling opportunities in impoundments; however, when non-native black basses are introduced they often invade riverine habitats where they threaten the persistence of other fishes, including native black basses. Neosho Smallmouth Bass (M. dolomieu velox) is endemic to portions...
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...
Succession in wetlands
Beth A. Middleton
C. Max Finlayson, Mark Everard, Kenneth Irvine, Robert J. McInnes, Beth A. Middleton, Anne A. Van Dam, Nick C. Davidson, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, The Wetland Book
Succession refers to the change in vegetation over time driven by disturbances and the maturation of plant species. In wetlands, these disturbances include water and salinity level changes along other factors that can alter vegetation. The historical view of succession (Clementsian) was that vegetation change represented the linear progression of...
Cattle grazing in wetlands
Beth A. Middleton
C. Max Finlayson, Mark Everard, Kenneth Irvine, Robert J. McInnes, Beth A. Middleton, Anne A. Van Dam, Nick C. Davidson, editor(s)
2016, Book chapter, The Wetland Book
Cattle grazing drives successional change in wetland vegetation by removing tall grasses and other vegetation. As a disturbance, cattle grazing in some ways resembles natural disturbances such as native mammal grazing and lightning-strike fire, which can support higher biodiversity in wetlands. To encourage rare and Red-Listed species, natural land managers...
Rare earth element deposits in China
Yu-Ling Xie, Zeng-qian Hou, Richard J. Goldfarb, Xiang Guo, Lei Wang
2016, Book chapter, Reviews in Economic Geology
China is the world’s leading rare earth element (REE) producer and hosts a variety of deposit types. Carbonatite- related REE deposits, the most significant deposit type, include two giant deposits presently being mined in China, Bayan Obo and Maoniuping, the first and third largest deposits of this type in the...
A simple prioritization tool to diagnose impairment of stream temperature for coldwater fishes in the Great Basin
Jeffrey A. Falke, Jason B. Dunham, David Hockman-Wert, Randy A. Pahl
2016, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (36) 147-160
We provide a simple framework for diagnosing the impairment of stream water temperature for coldwater fishes across broad spatial extents based on a weight-of-evidence approach that integrates biological criteria, species distribution models, and geostatistical models of stream temperature. As a test case, we applied our approach to identify stream reaches...
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...
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...
Biological soil crusts
Jayne Belnap
2016, Book chapter, Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas
No abstract available....
Status of alewife and rainbow smelt in U.S. waters of Lake Ontario, 2015
Maureen Walsh, Brian Weidel, Michael J. Connerton, Jeremy P. Holden
2016, NYSDEC Lake Ontario Annual Report 2015-12a
In 2015 the joint USGS and NYSDEC surveys for Alewife and Rainbow Smelt were combined for the first time into a comprehensive spring pelagic prey fish survey. The adult Alewife abundance and weight indices in 2015 increased slightly from 2014 levels, and adult Alewife abundance has remained relatively stable for...
Coupling centennial-scale shoreline change to sea-level rise and coastal morphology in the Gulf of Mexico using a Bayesian network
Nathaniel G. Plant
2016, Earth's Future (4)
Predictions of coastal evolution driven by episodic and persistent processes associated with storms and relative sea-level rise (SLR) are required to test our understanding, evaluate our predictive capability, and to provide guidance for coastal management decisions. Previous work demonstrated that the spatial variability of long-term shoreline change can be predicted...
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...
Hydropedology: Synergistic integration of soil science and hydrology in the Critical Zone
H.S. Lin, J.J. McDonnell, John R. Nimmo, Y. A. Pachepsky
2016, Hydrological Processes (29) 4559-4561
Soil and water are the two critical components of theEarth’s Critical Zone (Figure 1): Soil modulates the connection between bedrock and the atmospheric boundary layer and water is a major driving force and transport agent between these two zones....
Implications of the methodological choices for hydrologic portrayals of climate change over the contiguous United States: Statistically downscaled forcing data and hydrologic models
Naoki Mizukami, Martyn P. Clark, Ethan D. Gutmann, Pablo A. Mendoza, Andrew J. Newman, Bart Nijssen, Ben Livneh, Lauren E. Hay, Jeffrey R. Arnold, Levi D. Brekke
2016, Journal of Hydrometeorology (17) 75-98
Continental-domain assessments of climate change impacts on water resources typically rely on statistically downscaled climate model outputs to force hydrologic models at a finer spatial resolution. This study examines the effects of four statistical downscaling methods [bias-corrected constructed analog (BCCA), bias-corrected spatial disaggregation applied at daily (BCSDd) and monthly scales...
The concept of stress in fish
Carl B. Schreck, Lluis Tort
2016, Fish Physiology (35) 1-34
The general physiological response of fish to threatening situations, as with all vertebrates, is referred to as stress. A stress response is initiated almost immediately following the perception of a stressor. Mildly stressful situations can have beneficial or positive effects (eustress), while higher severities induce <a...
