Avian influenza virus antibodies in Pacific Coast Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa)
James A. Johnson, Lucas H. DeCicco, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Scott Krauss, Jeffrey S. Hall
2014, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (50) 671-675
Prevalence of avian influenza virus (AIV) antibodies in the western Atlantic subspecies of Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) is among the highest for any shorebird. To assess whether the frequency of detection of AIV antibodies is high for the species in general or restricted only to C. c. rufa, we...
Technical implementation plan for the ShakeAlert production system: an Earthquake Early Warning system for the West Coast of the United States
Douglas D. Given, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Thomas Heaton, Egill Hauksson, Richard Allen, Peggy Hellweg, John Vidale, Paul Bodin
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1097
Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) systems can provide as much as tens of seconds of warning to people and automated systems before strong shaking arrives. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners are developing such an EEW system, called ShakeAlert, for the West Coast of the United States. This...
Assessment of suitable habitat for Phragmites australis (common reed) in the Great Lakes coastal zone
Martha L. Carlson Mazur, Kurt P. Kowalski, David Galbraith
2014, Aquatic Invasions (9) 1-19
In the Laurentian Great Lakes, the invasive form of Phragmites australis (common reed) poses a threat to highly productive coastal wetlands and shorelines by forming impenetrable stands that outcompete native plants. Large, dominant stands can derail efforts to restore wetland ecosystems degraded by other stressors. To be proactive, landscape-level management...
Comparative biogeochemistry-ecosystem-human interactions on dynamic continental margins
Lisa A. Levin, Kon-Kee Liu, Kay-Christian Emeis, Denise L. Breitburg, James Cloern, Curtis Deutsch, Michele Giani, Anne Goffart, Eileen E. Hofmann, Zouhair Lachkar, Karin Limburg, Su-Mei Liu, Enrique Montes, Wajih Naqvi, Olivier Ragueneau, Christophe Rabouille, Santosh Kumar Sarkar, Dennis P. Swaney, Paul Wassman, Karen F. Wishner
2014, Journal of Marine Systems (141) 3-17
The ocean’s continental margins face strong and rapid change, forced by a combination of direct human activity, anthropogenic CO2-induced climate change, and natural variability. Stimulated by discussions in Goa, India at the IMBER IMBIZO III, we (1) provide an overview of the drivers of biogeochemical variation and change on margins,...
Phytoplankton primary production in the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems
James E. Cloern, S.Q. Foster, A.E. Kleckner
2014, Biogeosciences (11) 2477-2501
Estuaries are biogeochemical hot spots because they receive large inputs of nutrients and organic carbon from land and oceans to support high rates of metabolism and primary production. We synthesize published rates of annual phytoplankton primary production (APPP) in marine ecosystems influenced by connectivity to land – estuaries, bays, lagoons,...
A quasi-global precipitation time series for drought monitoring
Chris C. Funk, Pete J. Peterson, Martin F. Landsfeld, Diego H. Pedreros, James P. Verdin, James D. Rowland, Bo E. Romero, Gregory J. Husak, Joel C. Michaelsen, Andrew P. Verdin
2014, Data Series 832
Estimating precipitation variations in space and time is an important aspect of drought early warning and environmental monitoring. An evolving drier-than-normal season must be placed in historical context so that the severity of rainfall deficits may quickly be evaluated. To this end, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources...
Tracking change over time: River flooding
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2014, General Information Product 133-A
Landsat satellites have been capturing images of Earth from space since 1972. These images provide a long-term record of natural and human-induced changes on the global landscape. Comparing images from multiple years reveals slow and subtle changes as well as rapid and devastating ones. Landsat images are available from the...
State-and-transition prototype model of riparian vegetation downstream of Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona
Barbara E. Ralston, Anthony M. Starfield, Ronald S. Black, Robert A. Van Lonkhuyzen
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1095
Facing an altered riparian plant community dominated by nonnative species, resource managers are increasingly interested in understanding how to manage and promote healthy riparian habitats in which native species dominate. For regulated rivers, managing flows is one tool resource managers consider to achieve these goals. Among many factors that can...
Long-term soil monitoring at U.S. Geological Survey reference watersheds
Michael R. McHale, Jason Siemion, Gregory B. Lawrence, M. Alisa Mast
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3002
Monitoring the environment by making repeated measurements through time is essential to evaluate and track the health of ecosystems (fig. 1). Long-term datasets produced by such monitoring are indispensable for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental legislation and for designing mitigation strategies to address environmental changes in an era when human...
Influence of the Kingak Shale ultimate shelf margin on frontal structures of the Brooks Range in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska
Natalie E. Stier, Christopher D. Connors, David W. Houseknecht
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5056
The Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous Kingak Shale in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA) includes several southward-offlapping depositional sequences that culminate in an ultimate shelf margin, which preserves the depositional profile in southern NPRA. The Kingak Shale thins abruptly southward across the ultimate shelf margin and grades into condensed shale, which...
Invasive lionfish use a diversity of habitats in Florida
Pamela J. Schofield, Lad Akins, Denise R. Gregoire-Lucente, Rachel J. Pawlitz
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3032
Two species of lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles) are the first marine fishes known to invade and establish self-sustaining populations along the eastern seaboard of the United States. First documented off the coast of Florida in 1985, lionfish are now found along the Atlantic coast of the United States...
Distribution, abundance, and migration timing of Greater and Lesser Sandhill Cranes wintering in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region of California
Gary L. Ivey, Bruce D. Dugger, Caroline P. Herziger, Michael L. Casazza, Joseph P. Fleskes
2014, Book, Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
The Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta region of California (hereafter, Delta region) is an important wintering region for the Central Valley Population of greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) and lesser sandhill cranes (G. c. canadensis), but basic information about the ecology of these birds is lacking to design a biologically sound conservation strategy....
Susceptibility of Koi and Yellow Perch to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus by experimental exposure
Alexander D. Palmer, Eveline J. Emmenegger
2014, Journal of Aquatic Animal Health (26) 78-83
Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a novirhabdoviral pathogen that originated in western North America among anadromous Pacific salmonids. Severe disease epidemics in the late 1970s resulting from IHNV's invasion into farmed Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss in North America, Asia, and Europe emphasized IHNV's ability to adapt to new hosts...
Investigating the importance of sediment resuspension in Alexandrium fundyense cyst population dynamics in the Gulf of Maine
Bradford Butman, Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta, Patrick J. Dickhudt, P. Soupy Dalyander, Christopher R. Sherwood, Donald M. Anderson, Bruce A. Keafer, Richard P. Signell
2014, Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (103) 79-95
Cysts of Alexandrium fundyense, a dinoflagellate that causes toxic algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine, spend the winter as dormant cells in the upper layer of bottom sediment or the bottom nepheloid layer and germinate in spring to initiate new blooms. Erosion measurements were made on sediment cores collected...
Stratigraphic controls on fluid and solute fluxes across the sediment-water interface of an estuary
Audrey H. Sawyer, Olesya Lazareva, Kevin D. Kroeger, Kyle Crespo, Clara S. Chan, Thomas Stieglitz, Holly A. Michael
2014, Limnology and Oceanography (59) 997-1010
Shallow stratigraphic features, such as infilled paleovalleys, modify fresh groundwater discharge to coastal waters and fluxes of saltwater and nutrients across the sediment–water interface. We quantify the spatial distribution of shallow surface water–groundwater exchange and nitrogen fluxes near a paleovalley in Indian River Bay, Delaware, using a hand resistivity probe,...
A new look at the Lake Superior biomass size spectrum
Peder M. Yurista, Daniel L. Yule, Matt Balge, Jon D. VanAlstine, Jo A. Thompson, Allison E. Gamble, Thomas R. Hrabik, John R. Kelly, Jason D. Stockwell, Mark Vinson
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1324-1333
We synthesized data from multiple sampling programs and years to describe the Lake Superior pelagic biomass size structure. Data consisted of Coulter counts for phytoplankton, optical plankton counts for zooplankton, and acoustic surveys for pelagic prey fish. The size spectrum was stable across two time periods separated by 5 years....
Mechanisms of aquatic species invasions across the SALCC - an update
Amy J. Benson
2014, Report
The USGS Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database (NAS; nas.er.usgs.gov) is a comprehensive tool for demonstrating where and when nonindigenous species have been sighted across the U.S. Information in the database is used for state-level invasive species management plans, to focus monitoring efforts, for public education, predictive modeling, and for avoiding unintentional...
Detection probability of least tern and piping plover chicks in a large river system
Erin A. Roche, Terry L. Shaffer, Michael J. Anteau, Mark H. Sherfy, Jennifer H. Stucker, Mark T. Wiltermuth, Colin M. Dovichin
2014, Journal of Wildlife Management (78) 709-720
Monitoring the abundance and stability of populations of conservation concern is often complicated by an inability to perfectly detect all members of the population. Mark-recapture offers a flexible framework in which one may identify factors contributing to imperfect detection, while at the same time estimating demographic parameters such as abundance...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Farah mineral district in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2014, Data Series 709-FF
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Ghazni2 mineral district in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2014, Data Series 709-EE
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Ghazni1 mineral district in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis
2014, Data Series 709-DD
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Water resources of Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, Vincent E. White, John K. Lovelace
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3017
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability,...
Water resources of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace, Vincent E. White
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3016
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. Information on the availability,...
Nutrient budgets, marsh inundation under sea-level rise scenarios, and sediment chronologies for the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary at Acadia National Park
Thomas G. Huntington, Charles W. Culbertson, Christopher C. Fuller, Patricia Glibert, Luke Sturtevant
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1031
Eutrophication in the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary on Mount Desert Island, Maine, is an ongoing problem manifested by recurring annual blooms of green macroalgae species, principally Enteromorpha prolifera and Enteromorpha flexuosa, blooms that appear in the spring and summer. These blooms are unsightly and impair the otherwise natural beauty of...
Juvenile anadromous salmonid production in upper Columbia River side channels with different levels of hydrological connection
Kyle D. Martens, Patrick J. Connolly
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (3) 757-767
We examined the contribution of three types of side channels based on their hydrologic connectivity (seasonally disconnected, partially connected, and connected) to production of juvenile anadromous salmonids. Juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss and Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha were found in all three of these side channel types and in each year...
