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...
Book review: Mosquito eradication: The story of killing Campto
Dennis Lapointe
2015, American Entomologist (61) 192-192
In 1826, the paradise that was the Hawaiian Islands was changed forever when the first mosquito species was accidentally introduced to the island of Maui. Though it has not lived up to its potential as a vector of human disease in the islands, Culex quinquefasciatus and the avian pathogens it transmits laid waste to perhaps...
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...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Uteland Butte Member of the Eocene Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah
Ronald C. Johnson, Justin E. Birdwell, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3052
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered resources of 214 million barrels of oil, 329 billion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 14 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the informal Uteland Butte member of the Green River Formation, Uinta Basin, Utah....
Chronicling long-term predator responses to a shifting forage base in Chesapeake Bay: an energetics approach
Anthony S. Overton, Jennifer C. Griffin, F. Joseph Margraf, Eric B. May, Kyle J. Hartman
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 956-966
The population of Striped Bass Morone saxatilis in Chesapeake Bay has increased significantly since the 1980s because of management efforts while the relative abundance of some key prey fish has declined since the 1970s. We examined the trophic interactions and prey consumption patterns of Striped Bass in Chesapeake Bay to determine how...
Geophysical investigation of the pressure field produced by water guns at a pond site in La Crosse, Wisconsin
Ryan F. Adams, William S. Morrow
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1130
Three different geophysical sensor types were used to characterize the underwater pressure waves generated by the underwater firing of a seismic water gun and their suitability for establishing a pressure barrier to potentially direct or prevent the movement of the Asian carps. The sensors used to collect the seismic information...
Seasonally-dynamic presence-only species distribution models for a cryptic migratory bat impacted by wind energy development
Mark A. Hayes, Paul M. Cryan, Michael B. Wunder
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Understanding seasonal distribution and movement patterns of animals that migrate long distances is an essential part of monitoring and conserving their populations. Compared to migratory birds and other more conspicuous migrants, we know very little about the movement patterns of many migratory bats. Hoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus), a cryptic, wide-ranging,...
Not to put too fine a point on it - does increasing precision of geographic referencing improve species distribution models for a wide-ranging migratory bat?
Mark A. Hayes, Katharine Ozenberger, Paul M. Cryan, Michael B. Wunder
2015, Acta Chiropterologica (17) 159-169
Bat specimens held in natural history museum collections can provide insights into the distribution of species. However, there are several important sources of spatial error associated with natural history specimens that may influence the analysis and mapping of bat species distributions. We analyzed the importance of geographic referencing and error...
Using sutures to attach miniature tracking tags to small bats for multimonth movement and behavioral studies
Kevin T. Castle, Theodore J. Weller, Paul M. Cryan, Cris D. Hein, Michael R. Schirmacher
2015, Ecology and Evolution (5) 2980-2989
1. Determining the detailed movements of individual animals often requires them to carry tracking devices, but tracking broad-scale movement of small bats (< 30g) has been limited by transmitter technology and long-term attachment methods. This limitation inhibits our understanding of bat dispersal and migration, particularly in the context of emerging...
Ecosystem metabolism and nutrient dynamics in the main channel and backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River
Jeffrey N. Houser, Lynn Bartsch, William B. Richardson, James T. Rogala, John F. Sullivan
2015, Freshwater Science (60) 1863-1879
Photosynthesis and respiration are primary drivers of dissolved oxygen dynamics in rivers. We measured dissolved oxygen dynamics, aquatic ecosystem metabolism, algal abundance and nutrient concentrations at main channel and backwater sites on a reach of the Upper Mississippi River that borders the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota (U.S.A.)....
The Snowmastodon Project: cutting-edge science on the blade of a bulldozer
Jeffery S. Pigati, Ian M. Miller, Kirk R. Johnson
2015, GSA Today (25) 58-59
Cutting-edge science happens at a variety of scales, from the individual and intimate to the large-scale and collaborative. The publication of a special issue of Quaternary Research in Nov. 2014 dedicated to the scientific findings of the “Snowmastodon Project” highlights what can be done when natural history museums, governmental agencies,...
Status and trends of land change in the Great Plains of the United States--1973 to 2000
Janis Taylor, William Acevedo, Roger F. Auch, Mark A. Drummond, editor(s)
2015, Professional Paper 1794-B
Preface U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Professional Paper 1794–B is the second in a four-volume series on the status and trends of the Nation’s land use and land cover, providing an assessment of the rates and causes of land-use and land-cover change in the Great Plains of the United States between 1973...
Estimation of river and stream temperature trends under haphazard sampling
Brian R. Gray, Vyacheslav Lyubchich, Yulia R. Gel, James T. Rogala, Dale M. Robertson, Xiaoqiao Wei
2015, Statistical Methods & Applications (25) 89-105
Long-term temporal trends in water temperature in rivers and streams are typically estimated under the assumption of evenly-spaced space-time measurements. However, sampling times and dates associated with historical water temperature datasets and some sampling designs may be haphazard. As a result, trends in temperature may be confounded with trends in...
Habitat, not resource availability, limits consumer production in lake ecosystems
Nicola Craig, Stuart E. Jones, Brian Weidel, Christopher T. Solomon
2015, Limnology and Oceanography (60) 2079-2089
Food web productivity in lakes can be limited by dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which reduces fish production by limiting the abundance of their zoobenthic prey. We demonstrate that in a set of 10 small, north temperate lakes spanning a wide DOC gradient, these negative effects of high DOC concentrations on...
Mercury, monomethyl mercury, and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in surface water entering and exiting constructed wetlands treated with metal-based coagulants, Twitchell Island, California
Elizabeth B. Stumpner, Tamara E.C. Kraus, Jacob A. Fleck, Angela M. Hansen, Sandra M. Bachand, William R. Horwath, John F. DeWild, David P. Krabbenhoft, Philip Bachand
2015, Data Series 950
Coagulation with metal-based salts is a practice commonly employed by drinking-water utilities to decrease particle and dissolved organic carbon concentrations in water. In addition to decreasing dissolved organic carbon concentrations, the effectiveness of iron- and aluminum-based coagulants for decreasing dissolved concentrations both of inorganic and monomethyl mercury in water...
Flood-inundation Maps for the Deerfield River, Franklin County, Massachusetts, from the Confluence with the Cold River Tributary to the Connecticut River
Pamela J. Lombard, Gardner C. Bent
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5104
The U.S. Geological Survey developed flood elevations in cooperation with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for a 30-mile reach of the Deerfield River from the confluence of the Cold River tributary to the Connecticut River in the towns of Charlemont, Buckland, Shelburne, Conway, Deerfield, and Greenfield in Franklin County, Massachusetts...
Investigating the temporal effects of metal-based coagulants to remove mercury from solution in the presence of dissolved organic matter
Yumiko K. Henneberry, Tamara E. C. Kraus, David P. Krabbenhoft, William R. Horwath
2015, Environmental Management (57) 220-228
The presence of mercury (Hg), particularly methylmercury (MeHg), is a concern for both human and ecological health as MeHg is a neurotoxin and can bioaccumulate to lethal levels in upper trophic level organisms. Recent research has demonstrated that coagulation with metal-based salts can effectively remove both inorganic mercury (IHg) and...
Effects of urbanization and stormwater control measures on streamflows in the vicinity of Clarksburg, Maryland, USA
Lee Rhea, Taylor Jarnagin, Dianna M. Hogan, J. V. Loperfido, William Shuster
2015, Hydrological Processes (29) 4413-4426
Understanding the efficacy of revised watershed management methods is important to mitigating the impacts of urbanization on streamflow. We evaluated the influence of land use change, primarily as urbanization, and stormwater control measures on the relationship between precipitation and stream discharge over an 8-year period for five catchments near Clarksburg,...
Predicting the resilience and recovery of aquatic systems: a framework for model evolution within environmental observatories
Matthew R. Hipsey, David P. Hamilton, Paul C. Hanson, Cayelan C. Carey, Janaine Z Coletti, Jordan S. Read, Bas W Ibelings, Fiona J Valensini, Justin D Brookes
2015, Water Resources Research (51) 7023-7043
Maintaining the health of aquatic systems is an essential component of sustainable catchmentmanagement, however, degradation of water quality and aquatic habitat continues to challenge scientistsand policy-makers. To support management and restoration efforts aquatic system models are requiredthat are able to capture the often complex trajectories that these systems display in...
Phylogenetic and pathogenic characterization of novel adenoviruses from long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis)
Katrina Counihan, Lee Skerratt, J. Christian Franson, Tuula E. Hollmen
2015, Virology (485) 393-401
Novel adenoviruses were isolated from a long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) mortality event near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska in 2000. The long-tailed duck adenovirus genome was approximately 27 kb. A 907 bp hexon gene segment was used to design primers specific for the long-tailed duck adenovirus. Nineteen isolates were phylogenetically characterized based...
