Reproductive biology of Ambystoma salamanders in the southeastern United States
Brad M. Glorioso, J. Hardin Waddle, J. M. Hefner
2015, Herpetology Notes (8) 347-356
Reproductive aspects of Ambystoma salamanders were investigated at sites in Louisiana (2010–12) and Mississippi (2013). Three species occurred at the Louisiana site, Spotted Salamander (A. maculatum), Marbled Salamander (A. opacum), and Mole Salamander (A. talpoideum), whereas only Spotted Salamanders were studied at the Mississippi site. A total of 162 and...
Detection of snake fungal disease due to Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola in Virginia, USA
Amanda L. Guthrie, Susan Knowles, Anne Ballmann, Jeffrey M. Lorch
2015, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (52) 143-149
Snake fungal disease (SFD) is an emerging disease of wildlife believed to be caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola. Although geographic and host ranges have yet to be determined, this disease is characterized by crusty scales, superficial pustules, and subcutaneous nodules, with subsequent morbidity and mortality in some snake species. To confirm the...
Trends in Snow Cover in the Continental United States (1950-2010)
Noah Knowles
2015, Journal of Climate (28) 7518-7528
Incorporating phosphorus cycling into global modeling efforts: a worthwhile, tractable endeavor
Sasha C. Reed, Xiaojuan Yang, Peter E. Thornton
2015, New Phytologist (208) 324-329
Myriad field, laboratory, and modeling studies show that nutrient availability plays a fundamental role in regulating CO2 exchange between the Earth's biosphere and atmosphere, and in determining how carbon pools and fluxes respond to climatic change. Accordingly, global models that incorporate coupled climate–carbon cycle feedbacks made a significant advance with...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Haines area, Juneau and Skagway quadrangles, southeast Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
EROS resources for the classroom
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3046
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center has several educational resources that demonstrate how satellite imagery is used to understand our changing world....
Geology and assessment of unconventional oil and gas resources of northeastern Mexico
U.S. Geological Survey Mexico Assessment Team
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1112
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of State, quantitatively assessed the potential for unconventional oil and gas resources within the onshore portions of the Tampico-Misantla Basin, Burgos Basin, and Sabinas Basin provinces of northeastern Mexico. Unconventional resources of the Veracruz Basin were not quantitatively assessed because...
Oil-particle interactions and submergence from crude oil spills in marine and freshwater environments: review of the science and future research needs
Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Michael C. Boufadel, Rex Johnson, Kenneth W. Lee, Thomas P. Graan, Adriana C. Bejarano, Zhenduo Zhu, David Waterman, Daniel M. Capone, Earl Hayter, Stephen K. Hamilton, Timothy Dekker, Marcelo H. Garcia, Jacob S. Hassan
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1076
Oil-particle interactions and oil submergence are of much interest to oil spill responders and scientists, especially as transportation of light and heavy crude oils increases in North America’s coastal marine and freshwater environments. This report contains an up-to-date review of the state of the science for oil-particle aggregates (OPAs), in...
Context-dependent survival, fecundity and predicted population-level consequences of brucellosis in African buffalo
Erin E. Gorsich, Vanessa O. Ezenwa, Paul C. Cross, Roy G. Bengis, Anna E. Jolles
2015, Journal of Animal Ecology (84) 999-1009
Chronic infections may have negative impacts on wildlife populations, yet their effects are difficult to detect in the absence of long-term population monitoring. Brucella abortus, the bacteria responsible for bovine brucellosis, causes chronic infections and abortions in wild and domestic ungulates, but its impact on population dynamics is not...
Remote sensing change detection methods to track deforestation and growth in threatened rainforests in Madre de Dios, Peru
Jacob S. Shermeyer, Barry N. Haack
2015, Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (9)
Two forestry-change detection methods are described, compared, and contrasted for estimating deforestation and growth in threatened forests in southern Peru from 2000 to 2010. The methods used in this study rely on freely available data, including atmospherically corrected Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation continuous...
Improving estimates of tree mortality probability using potential growth rate
Adrian J. Das, Nathan L. Stephenson
2015, Canadian Journal of Forest Research (45) 920-928
Tree growth rate is frequently used to estimate mortality probability. Yet, growth metrics can vary in form, and the justification for using one over another is rarely clear. We tested whether a growth index (GI) that scales the realized diameter growth rate against the potential diameter growth rate (PDGR) would...
Linking dynamic habitat selection with wading bird foraging distributions across resource gradients
James M. Beerens, Erik G. Noonberg, Dale E. Gawlik
2015, PLoS ONE (10) 1-25
Species distribution models (SDM) link species occurrence with a suite of environmental predictors and provide an estimate of habitat quality when the variable set captures the biological requirements of the species. SDMs are inherently more complex when they include components of a species' ecology such as conspecific attraction and behavioral...
Assessment of statewide annual streamflow in New Mexico, 1985-2013
Joseph Anthony Affinati, Nathan C. Myers
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5082
In 2014, the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute began a statewide assessment of the water resources of New Mexico. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute, addressed the streamflow component of the assessment by examining streamgage data for major river basins and...
Hydrogeochemical exploration: a reconnaissance study on northeastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Garth E. Graham, Ryan D. Taylor, Steve Buckley
Julie A. Dumoulin, editor(s)
2015, Professional Paper 1814-A
A reconnaissance hydrogeochemical study employing high-resolution/high-sensitivity inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of stream and seep water samples (n= 171) was conducted in an area of limited bedrock exposure on the northeastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Sampling was focused in drainages around four main areas—at the Anugi Pb-Zn-Ag occurrence and in...
Water data to answer urgent water policy questions: Monitoring design, available data and filling data gaps for determining the effectiveness of agricultural management practices for reducing tributary nutrient loads to Lake Erie -- Addendum describing new, expanded, and planned monitoring sites
Elin A. Betanzo, Anne F. Choquette, Laura Hayes
2015, Report
This Addendum describes new, expanded, and planned water monitoring sites in the Lake Erie drainage basin that were initiated subsequent to the preparation of Betanzo et al. (2015), the primary report with which this Addendum is associated. In addition to the new water monitoring sites, new programs have been initiated...
Water data to answer urgent water policy questions: Monitoring design, available data and filling data gaps for determining the effectiveness of agricultural management practices for reducing tributary nutrient loads to Lake Erie
Elin A. Bentanzo, Anne F. Choquette, Kenneth H. Reckhow, Laura Hayes, Erik R Hagan, Denise M. Argue, A.A. Cangelosi
2015, Report
Throughout its history, the United States has made major investments in assessing natural resources, such as soils, timber, oil and gas, and water. These investments allow policy makers, the private sector and the American public to make informed decisions about cultivating, harvesting or conserving these resources to maximize their value...
Objective definition of rainfall intensity-duration thresholds for post-fire flash floods and debris flows in the area burned by the Waldo Canyon fire, Colorado, USA
Dennis M. Staley, Joseph E. Gartner, Jason W. Kean
2015, Conference Paper, Engineering Geology for Society and Territory
We present an objectively defined rainfall intensity-duration (I-D) threshold for the initiation of flash floods and debris flows for basins recently burned in the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. Our results are based on 453 rainfall records which include 8 instances of hazardous flooding and debris...
Biological responses to climate impacts with a focus on Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN)
Toni L. Morelli, William DeLuca, Colton Ellison, Stephen F. Jane, Stephen Matthews
2015, Report, Integrating climate change into the state wildlife action plans
This chapter reviews the responses to climate change on the 367 Regional Species of Greatest Conservation Need (RSGCN) identified by the Northeast Fish and Wildlife Diversity Technical Committee (NEFWDTC), technical experts from states’ natural resource agencies (Appendix 3.1). These species were chosen based on their conservation status, listing in SWAPs,...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the northeastern Alaska Range, Healy, Mount Hayes, Nabesna, and Tanacross quadrangles, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Geochemical reanalysis of historical U.S. Geological Survey sediment samples from the Tonsina area, Valdez Quadrangle, Alaska
Melanie B. Werdon, Matthew Granitto, Jaime S. Azain
2015, Report
The State of Alaska’s Strategic and Critical Minerals (SCM) Assessment project, a State-funded Capital Improvement Project (CIP), is designed to evaluate Alaska’s statewide potential for SCM resources. The SCM Assessment is being implemented by the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS), and involves obtaining new airborne-geophysical, geological, and...
Food web heterogeneity and succession in created saltmarshes
M C Nordstrom, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, CR Whitcraft, A. Rismondo, P. McMillan, J P Gonzales, L A Levin
2015, Journal of Applied Ecology (52) 1343-1354
1. Ecological restoration must achieve functional as well as structural recovery. Functional metrics for reestablishment of trophic interactions can be used to complement traditional monitoring of structural attributes. In addition, topographic effects on food web structure provide added information within a restoration context; often, created sites may require spatial heterogeneity...
A call for conservation scientists to evaluate opportunities and risks from operation of vertical axis wind turbines
Andrea Santangeli, Todd E. Katzner
2015, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (3)
A new conservation paradigm (Kareiva and Marvier, 2012) emphasizes the need for scientists to embrace a holistic approach taking into account the social and natural dimensions of conservation in human-dominated landscapes. While there is heavy debate over the new approach (Tallis and Lubchenco, 2014), most conservation scientists seem...
Methane oxidation and molecular characterization of methanotrophs from a former mercury mine impoundment
Shaun Baesman, Laurence G. Miller, Jeremy H. Wei, Yirang Cho, Emily D. Matys, Roger E. Summons, Paula V. Welander, Ronald S. Oremland
2015, Microorganisms (3) 290-309
The Herman Pit, once a mercury mine, is an impoundment located in an active geothermal area. Its acidic waters are permeated by hundreds of gas seeps. One seep was sampled and found to be composed of mostly CO2 with some CH4 present. The δ13CH4 value suggested a complex origin for the methane: i.e., a...
Hydraulic, geomorphic, and trout habitat conditions of the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River in Hinsdale County, Lake City, Colorado, Water Years 2010-2011
Cory A. Williams, Rodney J. Richards, Keelin R. Schaffrath
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5043
Channel rehabilitation, or reconfiguration, to mitigate a variety of riverine problems has become a common practice in the western United States. However, additional work to monitor and assess the channel response to, and the effectiveness of, these modifications over longer periods of time (decadal or longer) is still needed. The...
Management of conservation reserve program grasslands to meet wildlife habitat objectives
Mark W. Vandever, Arthur W. Allen
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5070
Numerous studies document environmental and social benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This report offers a synopsis of findings regarding effects of establishing CRP conservation practices on the quality and distribution of wildlife habitat in agricultural landscapes. On individual farms, year-round provision of wildlife habitat by the CRP may...
