Science information to support Missouri River Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) effects analysis
Robert B. Jacobson, Michael J. Parsley, Mandy L. Annis, Michael E. Colvin, Timothy L. Welker, Daniel A. James
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1226
The Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon Effects Analysis (EA) was commissioned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to develop a foundation of understanding of how pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) population dynamics are linked to management actions in the Missouri River. The EA consists of several steps: (1) development of comprehensive,...
The shifting climate portfolio of the Greater Yellowstone Area
Adam J. Sepulveda, Mike T Tercek, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Andrew Ray, David P. Thoma, Blake R. Hossack, Gregory T. Pederson, Ann Rodman, Tom Olliff
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Knowledge of climatic variability at small spatial extents (< 50 km) is needed to assess vulnerabilities of biological reserves to climate change. We used empirical and modeled weather station data to test if climate change has increased the synchrony of surface air temperatures among 50 sites within the Greater Yellowstone...
Invasion of American bullfrogs along the Yellowstone River
Adam J. Sepulveda, Megan J. Layhee, Dave Stagliano, Jake Chaffin, Allison Begley, Bryce A. Maxell
2015, Aquatic Invasions (10) 69-77
The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) is a globally distributed invasive species that was introduced to the Yellowstone River floodplain of Montana. Knowledge about floodplain habitat features that allow for bullfrog persistence and spread will help identify effective control strategies. We used field surveys in 2010, 2012 and 2013 to describe...
Caveats for correlative species distribution modeling
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Thomas J. Stohlgren, Sunil Kumar, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Tracy R. Holcombe
2015, Ecological Informatics (29) 6-15
Correlative species distribution models are becoming commonplace in the scientific literature and public outreach products, displaying locations, abundance, or suitable environmental conditions for harmful invasive species, threatened and endangered species, or species of special concern. Accurate species distribution models are useful for efficient and adaptive management and conservation, research, and...
Invaded invaders: Infection of invasive Brown Treesnakes on Guam by an exotic larval cestode with a life cycle comprised of non-native hosts
Elden T Holldorf, Shane R. Siers, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Page E. Klug, Robert Reed
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Background Multiple host introductions to the same non-native environment have the potential to complete life cycles of parasites incidentally transported with them. Our goal was to identify a recently detected parasitic flatworm in the invasive Brown Treesnake (Boiga irregularis) on the remote Pacific island of Guam. We considered possible factors influencing...
Stability of detectability over 17 years at a single site and other lizard detection comparisons from Guam
Gordon H. Rodda, Kathryn Dean-Bradley, Earl W. Campbell III, Thomas H. Fritts, Bjorn Lardner, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Robert N. Reed
2015, Journal of Herpetology (49) 513-521
To obtain quantitative information about population dynamics from counts of animals, the per capita detectabilities of each species must remain constant over the course of monitoring. We characterized lizard detection constancy for four species over 17 yr from a single site in northern Guam, a relatively benign situation because detection...
Long-term changes in nitrate conditions over the 20th century in two Midwestern Corn Belt streams
Valerie J. Kelly, Edward G. Stets, Charles G. Crawford
2015, Journal of Hydrology (525) 559-571
Long-term changes in nitrate concentration and flux between the middle of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century were estimated for the Des Moines River and the Middle Illinois River, two Midwestern Corn Belt streams, using a novel weighted regression approach that is able to detect...
Efficient wetland surface water detection and monitoring via Landsat: Comparison with in situ data from the Everglades Depth Estimation Network
John W. Jones
2015, Remote Sensing (9) 12503-12538
The U.S. Geological Survey is developing new Landsat science products. One, named Dynamic Surface Water Extent (DSWE), is focused on the representation of ground surface inundation as detected in cloud-/shadow-/snow-free pixels for scenes collected over the U.S. and its territories. Characterization of DSWE uncertainty to facilitate its appropriate use in...
Accuracy assessment/validation methodology and results of 2010–11 land-cover/land-use data for Pools 13, 26, La Grange, and Open River South, Upper Mississippi River System
J.W. Jakusz, J.J. Dieck, H.A. Langrehr, J.J. Ruhser, S.J. Lubinski
2015, Long Term Resource Monitoring Technical Report 2015-T001
Introduction/Background The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)-Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) was responsible for development of several land cover/land use (LCU) systemic datasets of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS). These efforts (1989 and 2000) were funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program (UMRR) Long...
Streamflow characteristics and trends at selected streamgages in southwest and south-central Kansas
Kyle E. Juracek
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5167
Historical data for nine selected streamgages in southwest and south-central Kansas were used in an assessment of streamflow characteristics and trends. This information is required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to assist with the effective management of Etheostoma cragini...
Database compilation for the geologic map of the San Francisco volcanic field, north-central Arizona
Joseph A. Bard, David W. Ramsey, Edward W. Wolfe, George E. Ulrich, Christopher G. Newhall, Richard B. Moore, Norman G. Bailey, Richard F. Holm
2015, Data Series 961
The main component of this publication is a geologic map database prepared using geographic information system (GIS) applications. The geodatabase of geologic points, lines, and polygons was produced as a compilation from five adjoining map sections originally published as printed maps in 1987 (see references in metadata). Four of the...
Decision analysis to support development of the Glen Canyon Dam long-term experimental and management plan
Michael C. Runge, Kirk E. LaGory, Kendra Russell, Janet R. Balsom, R. Alan Butler, Coggins Jr., Katrina A. Grantz, John Hayse, Ihor Hlohowskyj, Josh Korman, James E. May, Daniel J. O’Rourke, Leslie A. Poch, James R. Prairie, Jack C. VanKuiken, Robert A. Van Lonkhuyzen, David R. Varyu, Bruce T. Verhaaren, Thomas D. Veselka, Nicholas T. Williams, Kelsey K. Wuthrich, Charles B. Yackulic, Robert P. Billerbeck, Glen W. Knowles
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5176
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and Argonne National Laboratory, completed a decision analysis to use in the evaluation of alternatives in the Environmental Impact Statement concerning the long-term management of water releases from Glen Canyon Dam and associated management activities. Two...
Effects of drought and fire on bird communities of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona
Chris McCreedy, Charles van Riper III, Todd C. Esque, Abigail J. Darrah
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1240
Executive Summary The U.S. Government created the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge (Kofa NWR) in 1939 in response to a citizen campaign to improve desert bighorn sheep populations in Arizona. The Kofa NWR is mountainous and remote, and its management by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) keeps anthropogenic disturbance levels...
Water quality trends in the Blackwater River watershed, West Virginia
Jessica Smith, Stuart A. Welsh, James T. Anderson, Ronald H. Fortney
2015, Southeastern Naturalist (14) 103-111
An understanding of historic and current water quality is needed to manage and improve aquatic communities within the Blackwater River watershed, WV. The Blackwater River, which historically offered an excellent Salvelinus fontinalis (Brook Trout) fishery, has been affected by logging, coal mining, use of off-road vehicles, and land development. Using information-theoretic methods,...
Paleoseismology of the Denali fault system at the Schist Creek site, central Alaska
Stephen F. Personius, Anthony J. Crone, Patricia A.C. Burns, Ned Rozell
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1225
Two hand-dug trenches at the Schist Creek site on the Denali fault system in central Alaska exposed evidence of four surface-rupturing earthquakes on the basis of upward terminations of fault strands and at least one buried, scarp-derived colluvial wedge. Limited radiocarbon ages provide some constraints on times of the ruptures....
Fish tag recovery from Anaho Island nesting colony, Pyramid Lake, Nevada
G. Gary Scoppettone, Mark C. Fabes, Peter H. Rissler, Donna Withers
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1242
In 2001, tags applied to the federally endangered species cui-ui (Chasmistes cujus) to study their population dynamics were discovered strewn throughout the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) nesting colony on Anaho Island, Pyramid Lake, Nevada. Cui-ui are endemic to Pyramid Lake, and Anaho Island harbors one of North America’s largest...
Flooding in the Northeastern United States, 2011
Thomas P. Suro, Mark A. Roland, Richard G. Kiah
2015, Professional Paper 1821
Flooding in the Northeastern United States during 2011 was widespread and record setting. This report summarizes peak streamflows that were recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) during separate flooding events in February, March, April, May, July, August, and September. The flooding of late April, which combined snowmelt and heavy...
Geologic map of Alaska
Frederic H. Wilson, Chad Hults, Charles G. Mull, Susan M. Karl
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3340
Summary This map and associated digital databases are the result of compilation and interpretation of published and unpublished 1:250,000-scale and limited 1:500,000- to 1:63,360-scale maps. Covering the entire state of Alaska, it reflects more than a century of work by a host of geologists and almost two decades of compilation work....
Using noble gas tracers to constrain a groundwater flow model with recharge elevations: A novel approach for mountainous terrain
Jessica M. Doyle, Tom Gleeson, Andrew H. Manning, K. Ulrich Mayer
2015, Water Resources Research (51) 8094-8113
Environmental tracers provide information on groundwater age, recharge conditions, and flow processes which can be helpful for evaluating groundwater sustainability and vulnerability. Dissolved noble gas data have proven particularly useful in mountainous terrain because they can be used to determine recharge elevation. However, tracer-derived recharge elevations have not been utilized...
Insights into controls on hexavalent chromium in groundwater provided by environmental tracers, Sacramento Valley, California, USA
Andrew H. Manning, Christopher T. Mills, Jean M. Morrison, Lyndsay B. Ball
2015, Applied Geochemistry (62) 186-199
Environmental tracers are useful for determining groundwater age and recharge source, yet their application in studies of geogenic Cr(VI) in groundwater has been limited. Environmental tracer data from 166 wells located in the Sacramento Valley, northern California, were interpreted and compared to Cr concentrations to...
Detecting sea-level hazards: Simple regression-based methods for calculating the acceleration of sea level
Kara S. Doran, Peter A. Howd, Sallenger Jr.
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1187
This report documents the development of statistical tools used to quantify the hazard presented by the response of sea-level elevation to natural or anthropogenic changes in climate and ocean circulation. A hazard is a physical process (or processes) that, when combined with vulnerability (or susceptibility to the hazard), results in...
Statistical summaries of selected Iowa streamflow data through September 2013
David A. Eash, Padraic S. O'Shea, Jared R. Weber, Kevin T. Nguyen, Nicholas L. Montgomery, Adrian J. Simonson
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1214
Statistical summaries of streamflow data collected at 184 streamgages in Iowa are presented in this report. All streamgages included for analysis have at least 10 years of continuous record collected before or through September 2013. This report is an update to two previously published reports that presented statistical summaries of...
Non-lethal assessment of freshwater mussel physiological response to changes in environmental factors
Andrea K. Fritts, James T. Peterson, Jason M. Wisniewski, Robert B. Bringolf
2015, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (72) 1460-1468
The development of effective nonlethal biomonitoring techniques is imperative for the preservation of imperiled freshwater mussel populations. Changes in hemolymph chemistry profiles and tissue glycogen are potential biomarkers for nonlethally monitoring stress in mussels. We sampled three species in the Flint River Basin over 2 years to evaluate how these...
Influence of ecological factors on prevalence of meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis infection in South Dakota, USA
Christopher N. Jacques, Jonathan A. Jenks, Troy W. Grovenburg, Robert W. Klaver, Shelli A. Dubay
2015, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (51) 332-340
The meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) is a nematode parasite that commonly infects white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; WTD) throughout the deciduous forest biome and deciduous-coniferous ecotone of eastern and central North America; the species is not known to occur west of the grassland biome of central North America. We used county-specific...
Habitat use of non-native burbot in a western river
Zachary B. Klein, Michael C. Quist, Darren T. Rhea, Anna C. Senecal
2015, Hydrobiologia (757) 61-71
Burbot, Lota lota (Linnaeus), were illegally introduced into the Green River drainage, Wyoming in the 1990s. Burbot could potentially alter the food web in the Green River, thereby negatively influencing socially, economically, and ecologically important fish species. Therefore, managers of the Green River are interested in implementing a suppression program...
