Validating a method for transferring social values of ecosystem services between public lands in the Rocky Mountain region
Benson C. Sherrouse, Darius J. Semmens
2014, Ecosystem Services (8) 166-177
With growing pressures on ecosystem services, social values attributed to them are increasingly important to land management decisions. Social values, defined here as perceived values the public ascribes to ecosystem services, particularly cultural services, are generally not accounted for through economic markets or considered alongside economic and ecological values in...
Strategies for preventing invasive plant outbreaks after prescribed fire in ponderosa pine forest
Amy J. Symstad, Wesley E. Newton, Daniel J. Swanson
2014, Forest Ecology and Management (324) 81-88
Land managers use prescribed fire to return a vital process to fire-adapted ecosystems, restore forest structure from a state altered by long-term fire suppression, and reduce wildfire intensity. However, fire often produces favorable conditions for invasive plant species, particularly if it is intense enough to reveal bare mineral soil and...
Flood inundation maps for the Wabash and Eel Rivers at Logansport, Indiana
Kathleen K. Fowler
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3293
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 8.3-mile reach of the Wabash River and a 7.6-mile reach of the Eel River at Logansport, Indiana (Ind.), were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The inundation maps, which can be accessed through...
Multiseason occupancy models for correlated replicate surveys
James E. Hines, James D. Nichols, Jaime Collazo
2014, Methods in Ecology and Evolution (5) 583-591
Occupancy surveys collecting data from adjacent (sometimes correlated) spatial replicates have become relatively popular for logistical reasons. Hines et al. (2010) presented one approach to modelling such data for single-season occupancy surveys. Here, we present a multiseason analogue of this...
Hydrogeologic framework, groundwater movement, and water budget of the Kitsap Peninsula, west-central Washington
Wendy B. Welch, Lonna M. Frans, Theresa D. Olsen
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5106
This report presents information used to characterize the groundwater-flow system on the Kitsap Peninsula, and includes descriptions of the geology and hydrogeologic framework, groundwater recharge and discharge, groundwater levels and flow directions, seasonal groundwater-level fluctuations, interactions between aquifers and the surface‑water system, and a water budget. The Kitsap Peninsula is...
Simulating future residential property losses from wildfire in Flathead County, Montana
Tony Prato, Travis B Paveglio, Yan Barnett, Robin Silverstein, Michael Hardy, Robert Keane, Rachel A. Loehman, Anthony Clark, Daniel B. Fagre, Tyron Venn, Keith Stockmann
2014, Book chapter, Advances in environmental research
Wildfire damages to private residences in the United States and elsewhere have increased as a result of expansion of the wildland-urban interface (WUI) and other factors. Understanding this unwelcome trend requires analytical frameworks that simulate how various interacting social, economic, and biophysical factors influence those damages. A methodological framework is...
Karst geomorphology and hydrology of the Shenandoah Valley near Harrisonburg, Virginia
Daniel H. Doctor, Wil Orndorff, Joel Maynard, Matthew J. Heller, Gerolamo C. Casile
2014, GSA Field Guides (35) 161-213
The karst of the central Shenandoah Valley has characteristics of both shallow and deep phreatic formation. This field guide focuses on the region around Harrisonburg, Virginia, where a number of these karst features and their associated geologic context can be examined. Ancient, widespread alluvial deposits cover much of the carbonate...
Compositional and stable carbon isotopic fractionation during non-autocatalytic thermochemical sulfate reduction by gaseous hydrocarbons
Xinyu Xia, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Qisheng Ma, Yongchun Tang
2014, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (139) 472-486
The possibility of autocatalysis during thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR) by gaseous hydrocarbons was investigated by examination of previously reported laboratory and field data. This reaction was found to be a kinetically controlled non-autocatalytic process, and the apparent lack of autocatalysis is thought to be due to the absence of the...
Completion summary for boreholes USGS 140 and USGS 141 near the Advanced Test Reactor Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho
Brian V. Twining, Roy C. Bartholomay, Mary K.V. Hodges
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5098
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, drilled and constructed boreholes USGS 140 and USGS 141 for stratigraphic framework analyses and long-term groundwater monitoring of the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at the Idaho National Laboratory in southeast Idaho. Borehole USGS 140 initially...
National Land Imaging Requirements (NLIR) Pilot Project summary report: Summary of moderate resolution imaging user requirements
Carolyn Vadnais, Gregory L. Stensaas
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1107
Under the National Land Imaging Requirements (NLIR) Project, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing a functional capability to obtain, characterize, manage, maintain and prioritize all Earth observing (EO) land remote sensing user requirements. The goal is a better understanding of community needs that can be supported with land remote...
Chesapeake Bay hypoxic volume forecasts and results: June 10, 2014
Donald Scavia, Mary Anne Evans
2014, Report
The 2014 Forecast - Given the average Jan-May 2014 total nitrogen load of 200,165 kg/day, this summer’s hypoxia volume forecast is 8.2 km3, slightly larger than average size for the period of record and the observed size last year....
Land subsidence, groundwater levels, and geology in the Coachella Valley, California, 1993-2010
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Mike Solt
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5075
Land subsidence associated with groundwater-level declines has been investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Coachella Valley, California, since 1996. Groundwater has been a major source of agricultural, municipal, and domestic supply in the valley since the early 1920s. Pumping of groundwater resulted in water-level declines as much as...
Reducing fatigue damage for ships in transit through structured decision making
J.M. Nichols, P.L. Fackler, K. Pacifici, K.D. Murphy, J.D. Nichols
2014, Marine Structures (38) 18-43
Research in structural monitoring has focused primarily on drawing inference about the health of a structure from the structure’s response to ambient or applied excitation. Knowledge of the current state can then be used to predict structural integrity at a future time and, in principle, allows one to take action...
Pluvial lakes in the Great Basin of the western United States: a view from the outcrop
Marith C. Reheis, Kenneth D. Adams, Charles G. Oviatt, Steven N. Bacon
2014, Quaternary Science Reviews (97) 33-57
Paleo-lakes in the western United States provide geomorphic and hydrologic records of climate and drainage-basin change at multiple time scales extending back to the Miocene. Recent reviews and studies of paleo-lake records have focused on interpretations of proxies in lake sediment cores from the northern and central parts of the...
Modeling Hawaiian ecosystem degradation due to invasive plants under current and future climates
Adam E. Vorsino, Lucas B. Fortini, Fred A. Amidon, Stephen E. Miller, James D. Jacobi, Jonathan P. Price, Sam `Ohukani`ohi`a Gon III, Gregory A. Koob
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Occupation of native ecosystems by invasive plant species alters their structure and/or function. In Hawaii, a subset of introduced plants is regarded as extremely harmful due to competitive ability, ecosystem modification, and biogeochemical habitat degradation. By controlling this subset of highly invasive ecosystem modifiers, conservation managers could significantly reduce native...
Methodological developments in US state-level Genuine Progress Indicators: toward GPI 2.0
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Gunseli Berik, Erica J. Brown Gaddis
2014, Ecological Indicators (45) 474-485
The Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) has emerged as an important monetary measure of economic well-being. Unlike mainstream economic indicators, primarily Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the GPI accounts for both the benefits and costs of economic production across diverse economic, social, and environmental domains in a more comprehensive manner. Recently, the...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Huntingdon, and Luzerne counties, Pennsylvania, 2004-2010
E.T. Slonecker, L.E. Milheim, C.M. Roig-Silva, S.G. Winters
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1089
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the Allegheny Plateau,...
Population trends of smallmouth bass in the upper Colorado River basin with an evaluation of removal effects
André R. Breton, Dana L. Winkelman, John A. Hawkins, Kevin R. Bestgen
2014, Report
Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu were rare in the upper Colorado River basin until the early 1990’s when their abundance dramatically increased in the Yampa River sub-basin. Increased abundance was due primarily to colonization from Elkhead Reservoir, which was rapidly drawn down twice, first to make improvements to the dam (1992)...
Influences of the Tamarisk Leaf Beetle (Diorhabda carinulata) on the diet of insectivorous birds along the Dolores River in Southwestern Colorado
Sarah L. Puckett, Charles van Riper III
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1100
We examined the effects of a biologic control agent, the tamarisk leaf beetle (Diorhabda carinulata), on native avifauna in southwestern Colorado, specifically, addressing whether and to what degree birds eat tamarisk leaf beetles. In 2010, we documented avian foraging behavior, characterized the arthropod community, sampled bird diets, and undertook an...
Use of genetic data to infer population-specific ecological and phenotypic traits from mixed aggregations
Paul Moran, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Michele Masuda
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
Many applications in ecological genetics involve sampling individuals from a mixture of multiple biological populations and subsequently associating those individuals with the populations from which they arose. Analytical methods that assign individuals to their putative population of origin have utility in both basic and applied research, providing information about population-specific...
Water resources of Acadia Parish, Louisiana
Larry B. Prakken, Vincent E. White
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3043
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Acadia 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,...
Hawaiian forest bird trends: using log-linear models to assess long-term trends is supported by model diagnostics and assumptions (reply to Freed and Cann 2013)
Richard J. Camp, Thane K. Pratt, P. Marcos Gorresen, Bethany L. Woodworth, John J. Jeffrey
2014, Condor (116) 97-101
Freed and Cann (2013) criticized our use of linear models to assess trends in the status of Hawaiian forest birds through time (Camp et al. 2009a, 2009b, 2010) by questioning our sampling scheme, whether we met model assumptions, and whether we ignored short-term changes in the population time series. In...
Hierarchical spatial genetic structure in a distinct population segment of greater sage-grouse
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Michael L. Casazza, Jennifer A. Fike, Peter S. Coates
2014, Conservation Genetics (15) 1299-1311
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) within the Bi-State Management Zone (area along the border between Nevada and California) are geographically isolated on the southwestern edge of the species’ range. Previous research demonstrated that this population is genetically unique, with a high proportion of unique mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes and with significant...
Using a Bayesian Network to predict shore-line change vulnerability to sea-level rise for the coasts of the United States
Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant, Elizabeth A. Pendleton, E. Robert Thieler
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1083
Sea-level rise is an ongoing phenomenon that is expected to continue and is projected to have a wide range of effects on coastal environments and infrastructure during the 21st century and beyond. Consequently, there is a need to assemble relevant datasets and to develop modeling or other analytical approaches to...
Quality-assurance and data management plan for groundwater activities by the U.S. Geological Survey in Kansas, 2014
James E. Putnam, Cristi V. Hansen
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1060
As the Nation’s principle earth-science information agency, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is depended on to collect data of the highest quality. This document is a quality-assurance plan for groundwater activities (GWQAP) of the Kansas Water Science Center. The purpose of this GWQAP is to establish a minimum set of...
