Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope’s gray treefrog) x Hyla cinerea (green treefrog): putative natural hybrid
Brad M. Glorioso, J. Hardin Waddle, Jill A. Jenkins, Heather M. Olivier, Rebekah R. Layton
2015, Herpetological Review (46) 410-411
Naturally–occurring hybrid treefrogs have been occasionally found in the eastern United States. However, these hybrids are almost always between members of the same species group. On 10 Jun 2014, at 2145 h, we located an individual making an unusual advertisement call along Bayou Manual Road in Sherburne Wildlife Management Area...
Simulating realistic predator signatures in quantitative fatty acid signature analysis
Jeffrey F. Bromaghin
2015, Ecological Informatics (30) 68-71
Diet estimation is an important field within quantitative ecology, providing critical insights into many aspects of ecology and community dynamics. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a prominent method of diet estimation, particularly for marine mammal and bird species. Investigators using QFASA commonly use computer simulation to evaluate statistical...
Water availability and subsidence in California's Central Valley
Claudia C. Faunt, Michelle Sneed, Jonathan A. Traum, Justin T. Brandt
2015, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (13)
The Central Valley in California (USA) covers about 52,000 km2 and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This agriculture relies heavily on surface-water diversions and groundwater pumpage to meet irrigation water demand. Because the valley is semi-arid and surface-water availability varies substantially, agriculture relies heavily on local groundwater. In the southern...
Effectiveness of a refuge for lake trout in western Lake Superior I: Empirical analysis of past performance
Melissa J. Johnson, Michael J. Hansen, Michael J. Seider
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 988-1002
The Gull Island Shoal Refuge was created in 1976 in response to overfishing of the Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush population in the Apostle Islands region of western Lake Superior. Our objective was to evaluate effectiveness of the refuge by determining whether Lake Trout abundance, growth, maturity, and mortality differed inside and outside...
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Monterey Formation, San Joaquin Basin Province, California, 2015
Marilyn E. Tennyson, Ronald R. Charpentier, Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Janet K. Pitman, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Sarah J. Hawkins, Paul G. Lillis, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Heidi M. Leathers, Christopher J. Schenk, Katherine J. Whidden
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3058
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed mean volumes of 21 million barrels of oil (MMBO), 27 billion cubic feet of gas, and 1 million barrels of natural gas liquids in two assessment units (AUs) that may contain continuous oil resources. Mean volumes of oil for the...
Response of the nitrogen-fixing lichen Lobaria pulmonaria to phosphorus, molybdenum, and vanadium
Jade A Marks, Julie Pett-Ridge, Steven S. Perakis, Jessica L Allen, Bruce McCune
2015, Ecosphere (6)
Nitrogen-fixing lichens (cyanolichens) are an important source of nitrogen (N) in Pacific Northwest forests, but limitation of lichen growth by elements essential for N fixation is poorly understood. To investigate how nutrient limitation may affect cyanolichen growth rates, we fertilized a tripartite cyanobacterial lichen (Lobaria pulmonaria) and a green algal...
Avian community responses to post-fire forest structure: Implications for fire management in mixed conifer forests
Angela M. White, Patricia N. Manley, Gina Tarbill, T.L. Richardson, Robin E. Russell, Hugh D. Safford, Solomon Z. Dobrowski
2015, Animal Conservation
Fire is a natural process and the dominant disturbance shaping plant and animal communities in many coniferous forests of the western US. Given that fire size and severity are predicted to increase in the future, it has become increasingly important to understand how wildlife responds to fire and post-fire management....
Many atolls may be uninhabitable within decades due to climate change
Curt D. Storlazzi, Edwin P.L. Elias, Paul Berkowitz
2015, Scientific Reports (5) 1-9
Observations show global sea level is rising due to climate change, with the highest rates in the tropical Pacific Ocean where many of the world’s low-lying atolls are located. Sea-level rise is particularly critical for low-lying carbonate reef-lined atoll islands; these islands have limited land and water available for human...
Statistical models for the analysis and design of digital polymerase chain (dPCR) experiments
Robert Dorazio, Margaret Hunter
2015, Analytical Chemistry (87) 10886-10893
Statistical methods for the analysis and design of experiments using digital PCR (dPCR) have received only limited attention and have been misused in many instances. To address this issue and to provide a more general approach to the analysis of dPCR data, we describe a class of statistical models for...
Classification of rocky headlands in California with relevance to littoral cell boundary delineation
Douglas A. George, John L. Largier, Curt D. Storlazzi, Patrick L. Barnard
2015, Marine Geology (369) 137-152
Despite extensive studies of hydrodynamics and sediment flux along beaches, there is little information on the processes, pathways and timing of water and sediment transport around rocky headlands. In this study, headlands along the California coast are classified to advance understanding of headland dynamics and littoral cell boundaries in support...
Effectiveness of a refuge for Lake Trout in Western Lake Superior II: Simulation of future performance
Andrea L Akins, Michael J. Hansen, Michael J. Seider
2015, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (35) 1003-1018
Historically, Lake Superior supported one of the largest and most diverse Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush fisheries in the Laurentian Great Lakes, but Lake Trout stocks collapsed due to excessive fishery exploitation and predation by Sea Lampreys Petromyzon marinus. Lake Trout stocking, Sea Lamprey control, and fishery regulations, including a refuge...
Projected wave conditions in the Eastern North Pacific under the influence of two CMIP5 climate scenarios
Li H. Erikson, Christie Hegermiller, Patrick L. Barnard, Peter Ruggiero, Martin van Ormondt
2015, Ocean Modelling (96) 171-185
Hindcast and 21st century winds, simulated by General Circulation Models (GCMs), were used to drive global- and regional-scale spectral wind-wave generation models in the Pacific Ocean Basin to assess future wave conditions along the margins of the North American west coast and Hawaiian Islands. Three-hourly winds simulated by four separate...
Preliminary estimates of annual agricultural pesticide use for counties of the conterminous United States, 2013
Nancy T. Baker
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1176
Summary This report provides preliminary estimates of annual agricultural use of 387 pesticide compounds in counties of the conterminous United States in 2013, compiled by means of methods described in Thelin and Stone (2013) and Baker and Stone (2015). U.S. Department of Agriculture county-level data for harvested-crop acreage were used in...
Structural classification of marshes with Polarimetric SAR highlighting the temporal mapping of marshes exposed to oil
Elijah W. Ramsey III, Amina Rangoonwala, Cathleen E. Jones
2015, Remote Sensing (7) 11295-11321
Empirical relationships between field-derived Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Leaf Angle Distribution (LAD) and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) based biophysical indicators were created and applied to map S. alterniflora marsh canopy structure. PolSAR and field data were collected near concurrently in the summers of 2010, 2011, and 2012 in...
The influence of coral reefs and climate change on wave-driven flooding of tropical coastlines
Ellen Quataert, Curt D. Storlazzi, Arnold van Rooijen, Ap van Dongeren, Olivia Cheriton
2015, Geophysical Research Letters (42) 6407-6415
A numerical model, XBeach, calibrated and validated on field data collected at Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of Marshall Islands, was used to examine the effects of different coral reef characteristics on potential coastal hazards caused by wave-driven flooding and how these effects may be altered by...
Fish assemblages in the Upper Esopus Creek, NY: Current status, variability, and controlling factors
Barry P. Baldigo, Scott D. George, Walter T Keller
2015, Northeastern Naturalist (22) 345-371
The Upper Esopus Creek receives water diversions from a neighboring basin through the Shandaken Tunnel (the portal) from the Schoharie Reservoir. Although the portal is closed during floods, mean flows and turbidity of portal waters are generally greater than in Esopus Creek above their confluence. These conditions could potentially affect...
Borehole strainmeter measurements spanning the 2014, Mw6.0 South Napa Earthquake, California: The effect from instrument calibration
John O. Langbein
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research (120) 7190-7202
The 24 August 2014 Mw6.0 South Napa, California earthquake produced significant offsets on 12 borehole strainmeters in the San Francisco Bay area. These strainmeters are located between 24 and 80 km from the source and the observed offsets ranged up to 400 parts-per-billion (ppb), which exceeds their nominal precision by...
A review of the recent geochemical evolution of Piton de la Fournaise volcano (1927-2010)
Aaron J. Pietruszka, Ivan Vlastelic
2015, Book chapter, Active volcanoes of the southwest Indian Ocean
Between 1927 and 2010, more than one hundred eruptions of Piton de la Fournaise produced ~1 km3 of lava, and the volcano’s summit collapsed twice (in 1931 and 2007). These lavas display, respectively, 20 and 65 % of the Sr–Nd and the Pb isotope ranges reported for La Réunion volcanoes over their known...
Status and trends of adult Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2014
David A. Hewitt, Eric C. Janney, Brian S. Hayes, Alta C. Harris
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1189
Executive Summary Data from a long-term capture-recapture program were used to assess the status and dynamics of populations of two long-lived, federally endangered catostomids in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon. Lost River suckers (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) have been captured and tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags during...
Aeromagnetic survey map of Sacramento Valley, California
Victoria E. Langenheim
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1186
Three aeromagnetic surveys were flown to improve understanding of the geology and structure in the Sacramento Valley. The resulting data serve as a basis for geophysical interpretations, and support geological mapping, water and mineral resource investigations, and other topical studies. Local spatial variations in the Earth's magnetic field (evident...
Documentation of a restart option for the U.S. Geological Survey coupled Groundwater and Surface-Water Flow (GSFLOW) model
R. Steve Regan, Richard G. Niswonger, Steven L. Markstrom, Paul M. Barlow
2015, Techniques and Methods 6-D3
A new option to write and read antecedent conditions (also referred to as initial conditions) has been developed for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Groundwater and Surface-Water Flow (GSFLOW) numerical, hydrologic simulation code. GSFLOW is an integration of the USGS Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System (PRMS) and USGS Modular Groundwater-Flow Model (MODFLOW),...
Community for Data Integration 2014 annual report
Madison L. Langseth, Michelle Y. Chang, Jennifer Carlino, Daniella D. Birch, Joshua Bradley, R. Sky Bristol, Craig Conzelmann, Robert H. Diehl, Paul S. Earle, Laura E. Ellison, Anthony L. Everette, Pamela L. Fuller, Janice M. Gordon, David L. Govoni, Michelle R. Guy, Heather S. Henkel, Vivian B. Hutchison, Tim Kern, Frances L. Lightsom, Joseph W. Long, Ryan Longhenry, Todd M. Preston, Stan W. Smith, Roland J. Viger, Katherine E. Wesenberg, Eric C. Wood
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1184
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researches Earth science to help address complex issues affecting society and the environment. In 2006, the USGS held the first Scientific Information Management Workshop to bring together staff from across the organization to discuss the data and information management issues affecting the integration and delivery...
Wild bird surveillance for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 in North America
Paul L. Flint, John M. Pearce, J. Christian Franson, Dirk V. Derksen
2015, Virology Journal (12) 1-6
It is unknown how the current Asian origin highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 viruses arrived, but these viruses are now poised to become endemic in North America. Wild birds harbor these viruses and have dispersed them at regional scales. What is unclear is how the viruses may be moving from...
Microbiological oxidation of antimony(III) with oxygen or nitrate by bacteria isolated from contaminated mine sediments
Lee R. Terry, Thomas R. Kulp, Heather A. Wiatrowski, Laurence G. Miller, Ronald S. Oremland
2015, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (81) 8478-8488
Bacterial oxidation of arsenite [As(III)] is a well-studied and important biogeochemical pathway that directly influences the mobility and toxicity of arsenic in the environment. In contrast, little is known about microbiological oxidation of the chemically similar anion antimonite [Sb(III)]. In this study, two bacterial strains, designated IDSBO-1 and IDSBO-4, which...
Baseline coastal oblique aerial photographs collected from the Virginia/North Carolina border to Montauk Point, New York,
October 5-6, 2014
Karen L. M. Morgan
2015, Data Series 958
Summary The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducts baseline and storm response photography missions to document and understand the changes in vulnerability of the Nation's coasts to extreme storms (Morgan, 2009). On October 5-6, 2014, the USGS conducted an oblique aerial photographic survey from the Virginia/North Carolina border to Montauk Point, New...
