Comparison of three DNA extraction kits to establish maximum yield and quality of coral-associated microbial DNA
Erin J. Baker, Christina A. Kellogg
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1066
Coral microbiology is an expanding field, yet there is no standard DNA extraction protocol. Although many researchers depend on commercial extraction kits, no specific kit has been optimized for use with coral samples. Both soil and plant DNA extraction kits from MO BIO Laboratories, Inc., have been used by many...
Mapping large-area landscape suitability for honey bees to assess the influence of land-use change on sustainability of national pollination services
Alisa L. Gallant, Ned H. Euliss Jr., Zac Browning
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-14
Pollination is a critical ecosystem service affected by various drivers of land-use change, such as policies and programs aimed at land resources, market values for crop commodities, local land-management decisions, and shifts in climate. The United States is the world's most active market for pollination services by honey bees, and...
A new Liopropoma sea bass (Serranidae, Epinephelinae, Liopropomini) from deep reefs off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, with comments on depth distributions of western Atlantic liopropomins
Carole C. Baldwin, D. Ross Robertson
2014, ZooKeys (409) 71-92
Collecting reef-fish specimens using a manned submersible diving to 300 m off Curaçao, southern Caribbean, is resulting in the discovery of numerous new fish species. The new Liopropoma sea bass described here differs from other western Atlantic members of the genus in having VIII, 13 dorsal-fin rays; a moderately indented dorsal-fin margin;...
Hydrological controls on methylmercury distribution and flux in a tidal marsh
Hua Zhang, Kevan B. Moffett, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Steven M. Gorelick
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 6795-6804
The San Francisco Estuary, California, contains mercury (Hg) contamination originating from historical regional gold and Hg mining operations. We measured hydrological and geochemical variables in a tidal marsh of the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve to determine the sources, location, and magnitude of hydrological fluxes of methylmercury (MeHg), a bioavailable...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the South Coast Interior groundwater basins, 2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Mary C. Parsons, Justin T. Kulongoski, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5023
Groundwater quality in the approximately 653-square-mile (1,691-square-kilometer) South Coast Interior Basins (SCI) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The South Coast Interior Basins study unit contains eight priority groundwater basins grouped into three study areas, Livermore,...
Groundwater quality in the South Coast Interior Basins, California
Mary C. Parsons, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3088
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s untreated groundwater quality and increases public access...
Habitat coupling in a large lake system: delivery of an energy subsidy by an offshore planktivore to the nearshore zone of Lake Superior
Jason D. Stockwell, Daniel L. Yule, Thomas R. Hrabik, Michael E. Sierszen, Edmund J. Isaac
2014, Freshwater Biology (59) 1197-1212
1. We hypothesised that the autumn spawning migration of Lake Superior cisco (Coregonus artedi) provides a resource subsidy, in the form of energy-rich cisco eggs, from the offshore pelagic to the nearshore benthic community over winter, when alternate prey production is likely to be low. 2. We tested this...
Adaptive nest clustering and density-dependent nest survival in dabbling ducks
Kevin M. Ringelman, John M. Eadie, Joshua T. Ackerman
2014, Oikos (123) 239-247
Density-dependent population regulation is observed in many taxa, and understanding the mechanisms that generate density dependence is especially important for the conservation of heavily-managed species. In one such system, North American waterfowl, density dependence is often observed at continental scales, and nest predation has long been implicated as a key...
Two graphical user interfaces for managing and analyzing MODFLOW groundwater-model scenarios
Edward R. Banta
2014, Techniques and Methods 6-A50
Scenario Manager and Scenario Analyzer are graphical user interfaces that facilitate the use of calibrated, MODFLOW-based groundwater models for investigating possible responses to proposed stresses on a groundwater system. Scenario Manager allows a user, starting with a calibrated model, to design and run model scenarios by adding or modifying stresses...
Origins and delineation of saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer and changes in the distribution of saltwater in Miami-Dade County, Florida
Scott T. Prinos, Michael A. Wacker, Kevin J. Cunningham, David V. Fitterman
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5025
Intrusion of saltwater into parts of the shallow karst Biscayne aquifer is a major concern for the 2.5 million residents of Miami-Dade County that rely on this aquifer as their primary drinking water supply. Saltwater intrusion of this aquifer began when the Everglades were drained to provide dry land for...
Evaluation of sensor types and environmental controls on mapping biomass of coastal marsh emergent vegetation
Kristin B. Byrd, Jessica L. O'Connell, Stefania Di Tommaso, Maggi Kelly
2014, Remote Sensing of Environment (149) 166-180
There is a need to quantify large-scale plant productivity in coastal marshes to understand marsh resilience to sea level rise, to help define eligibility for carbon offset credits, and to monitor impacts from land use, eutrophication and contamination. Remote monitoring of aboveground biomass of emergent wetland vegetation will help address...
Evaluation of monkeypox virus infection of prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) using in vivo bioluminescent imaging
Elizabeth A. Falendysz, Angela M. Londono-Navas, Carol U. Meteyer, Nicola Pussini, Juan G. Lopera, Jorge E. Osorio, Tonie E. Rocke
2014, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (50) 524-536
Monkeypox (MPX) is a re-emerging zoonotic disease that is endemic in Central and West Africa, where it can cause a smallpox-like disease in humans. Despite many epidemiologic and field investigations of MPX, no definitive reservoir species has been identified. Using recombinant viruses expressing the firefly luciferase (luc) gene, we previously...
Gross and microscopic pathology of lesions in Pocillopora spp. from the subtropical eastern Pacific
Jenny Carolina Rodríguez-Villalobos, Axayacatl Rocha-Olivares, Thierry M. Work, Luis Eduardo Calderon-Aguilera, Jorge Abelardo Caceres-Martinez
2014, Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (120) 9-17
Coral reefs are threatened by a variety of factors including diseases that have caused significant damage in some regions such as in the Caribbean. At present, no data are available on coral diseases in the Mexican Pacific where Pocillopora spp. is a dominant component of coral communities. Here, we describe gross and...
Land use patterns, ecoregion, and microcystin relationships in U.S. lakes and reservoirs: a preliminary evaluation
John R. Beaver, Erin E. Manis, Keith A. Loftin, Jennifer L. Graham, Amina I. Pollard, Richard M. Mitchell
2014, Harmful Algae (36) 57-62
A statistically significant association was found between the concentration of total microcystin, a common class of cyanotoxins, in surface waters of lakes and reservoirs in the continental U.S. with watershed land use using data from 1156 water bodies sampled between May and October 2007 as part of the USEPA National...
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...
