Sandstone-hosted uranium deposits of the Colorado Plateau, USA
Susan M. Hall, Bradley S. Van Gosen, Robert A. Zielinski
2023, Ore Geology Reviews (155)
More than 4,000 sandstone-hosted uranium occurrences host over 1.2 billion pounds of mined and in situ U3O8 throughout the Colorado Plateau. Most of the resources are in two distinct mineral systems with deposits hosted in the Triassic Chinle and Jurassic Morrison Formations. In the Chinle mineral system, base metal sulfides typically...
Unrecorded tundra fires of the Arctic Slope, Alaska USA
Eric A. Miller, Benjamin M. Jones, Carson Baughman, Randi R. Jandt, Jennifer L. Jenkins, David A. Yokel
2023, Fire (6)
Few fires are known to have burned the tundra of the Arctic Slope north of the Brooks Range in Alaska, USA. A total of 90 fires between 1969 and 2022 are known. Because fire has been rare, old burns can be detected by the traces of thermokarst and distinct...
A river basin spatial model to quantitively advance understanding of riverine tree response dynamics to water availability and hydrological management
Tanya M. Doody, Sicong Gao, Willem Vervoot, Jodie Pritchard, Michah Davies, Martin Nolan, Pamela L. Nagler
2023, The Journal of Environmental Management (332)
Ecological condition continues to decline in arid and semi-arid river basins globally due to hydrological over-abstraction combined with changing climatic conditions. Whilst provision of water for the environment has been a primary approach to alleviate ecological decline, how to accurately monitor changes in riverine...
A big data–model integration approach for predicting epizootics and population recovery in a keystone species
Gabriel M. Barrile, David J. Augustine, Lauren M. Porensky, Courtney J. Duchardt, Kevin T. Shoemaker, Cynthia R. Hartway, Justin D. Derner, Elizabeth Ann Hunter, Ana D. Davidson
2023, Ecological Applications (33)
Infectious diseases pose a significant threat to global health and biodiversity. Yet, predicting the spatiotemporal dynamics of wildlife epizootics remains challenging. Disease outbreaks result from complex nonlinear interactions among a large collection of variables that rarely adhere to the assumptions of parametric regression modeling. We adopted a nonparametric machine learning...
Poleward amplification, seasonal rainfall and forest heterogeneity in the Miocene of the eastern USA
Tammo Reichgelt, Aly Baumgartner, Ran Feng, Debra A. Willard
2023, Global and Planetary Change (222)
Paleoclimate reconstructions can provide a window into the environmental conditions in Earth history when atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were higher than today. In the eastern USA, paleoclimate reconstructions are sparse, because terrestrial sedimentary deposits are rare. Despite this, the eastern...
The ties that bind the sagebrush biome: Integrating genetic connectivity into range-wide conservation of greater sage-grouse
Todd B. Cross, Jason D. Tack, David E. Naugle, Michael D. Schwartz, Kevin E. Doherty, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Ronald D. Pritchert, Brad C. Fedy
2023, Royal Society Open Science (10)
Conserving genetic connectivity is fundamental to species persistence, yet rarely is made actionable into spatial planning for imperilled species. Climate change and habitat degradation have added urgency to embrace connectivity into networks of protected areas. Our two-step process integrates a network model with a functional connectivity model, to identify population...
Observations of coastal circulation, waves, and sediment transport along West Maui, Hawaiʻi (November 2017– March 2018), and modeling effects of potential watershed restoration on decreasing sediment loads to adjacent coral reefs
Curt D. Storlazzi, Olivia M. Cheriton, Katherine M. Cronin, Luuk H. van der Heijden, Gundula Winter, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Joshua B. Logan, Robert T. McCall
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1121
Terrestrial sediment discharging from watersheds off West Maui, Hawaiʻi, has been documented as a primary stressor to local coral reefs, causing coral reef health to decline. The U.S. Geological Survey acquired and analyzed physical oceanographic and sedimentologic field data off the coast of West Maui to calibrate and validate physics-based,...
Spatial and temporal analysis of geologic slip rates, Cucamonga Fault, California, USA: Implications for along-strike applications and multi-fault rupture
Devin McPhillips, Katherine M. Scharer
2023, Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth (128)
To constrain fault processes and hazard, fault slip rates may be extrapolated over different fault lengths or time intervals. Here, we investigate slip rates for the Cucamonga Fault (CF). The CF is located at the junction of the Transverse Range fault system with the San Andreas and...
Outlining potential biomarkers of exposure and effect to critical minerals: Nutritionally essential trace elements and the rare earth elements
Jill Jenkins, MaryLynn Musgrove, Sarah Jane White
2023, Toxics (11)
Emerging and low-carbon technologies and innovations are driving a need for domestic sources, sustainable use, and availability of critical minerals (CMs)—those vital to the national and economic security of the United States. Understanding the known and potential health effects of exposures to such mineral commodities can inform prudent and...
Building a library of source samples for sediment fingerprinting – Potential and proof of concept
Tanja N. Williamson, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Rebecca M. Kreiling
2023, Journal of Environmental Management (333)
PurposeSediment fingerprinting of fluvial targets has proven useful to guide conservation management and prioritize sediment sources for Federal and State supported programs in the United States. However, the collection and analysis of source samples can make these studies unaffordable, especially when needed for multiple...
Fire modifies plant–soil feedbacks
Christopher Warneke, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Lars Brudvig
2023, Ecology (104)
Although plant–soil feedbacks (interactions between plants and soils, often mediated by soil microbes, abbreviated as PSFs) are widely known to influence patterns of plant diversity at local and landscape scales, these interactions are rarely examined in the context of important environmental factors. Resolving the...
An evaluation of multistate occupancy models for estimating relative abundance and population trends
Valerie A. Steen, Adam Duarte, James Peterson
2023, Ecological Modelling (478)
Detecting spatiotemporal changes in the abundances of organisms is key to effectively conserving species. While indices of abundance have long been used, there has been a shift toward model-based estimators that account for the detection process. Popular approaches including traditional occupancy models and N-mixture models entail tradeoffs. The traditional occupancy...
Six years of fluvial response to a large dam removal on the Carmel River, California, USA
Amy E. East, Lee R. Harrison, Douglas P. Smith, Joshua B. Logan, Rosealea Bond
2023, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (48) 1487-1501
Measuring river response to dam removal affords a rare, important opportunity to study fluvial response to sediment pulses on a large field scale. We present a before–after/control–impact study of the Carmel River, California, measuring fluvial geomorphic and grain-size evolution over 8 years, six of which postdated removal of a 32 m-high...
Predicting habitat and distribution of an interior highlands regional endemic winter stonefly (Allocapnia mohri) in Arkansas using random forest models
Brianna Annaratone, Camryn Larson, Clay Prater, Ashley Dowling, Daniel D. Magoulick, Michelle A. Evans-White
2023, Hydrobiology (2) 196-211
Stoneflies are a globally threatened aquatic insect order. In Arkansas, a diverse group of winter stonefly (Capniidae: Allocapnia) have not been surveyed since the 1980s, likely because species-level identification requires the rarely-collected adult form. Allocapnia mohri, a regional endemic, was previously commonly found in mountainous, intermittent streams from the Ouachita...
A restructured Bayesian approach to estimate the abundance of a rare and invasive fish
Ana R. Gouveia, S. S. Qian, C. A. Mayer, J. A. Smith, J. Bossenbroek, W. D. Hintz, R. Mapes, E. Weimer, J. Navarro, J. M. Dettmers, R. Young, J. T. Buszkiewicz, Patrick M. Kocovsky
2023, Biological Invasions (25) 1711-1721
Quantifying invasive species abundance informs management and control strategies. However, estimating abundance can be challenging, particularly when dealing with rare species early in the invasion process. Data generated from control strategies, such as removing invasive species, are usually not suited to conventional statistical modelling approaches....
Behavioral and reproductive effects of the lampricides TFM and TFM:1% Niclosamide on native freshwater mussels
Teresa J. Newton, Michael A. Boogaard, Nicholas Schloesser, Courtney Kirkeeng, Justin Schueller, Sherwin G. Toribio
2023, Journal of Great Lakes Research (49) 303-317
The lampricides TFM (3-trifluoromethyl-4′-nitrophenol) and Niclosamide (NIC, 2′, 5-dichloro-4′-nitrosalicylanilide) are used to control sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes and associated tributaries. Niclosamide is often used as an additive to TFM to reduce the amount of TFM required to control sea lamprey. Concern is growing over the risk that...
Wild rodents harbor high diversity of Arthroderma
Stepanka Moulikova, Miroslav Kolarik, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Daniela Kolarczykova, Vit Hubka, Adela Cmokova
2023, Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi (50) 27-47
Arthroderma is the most diverse genus of dermatophytes, and its natural reservoir is considered to be soil enriched by keratin sources. During a study on the diversity of dermatophytes in wild small rodents in the Czech Republic, we isolated several strains of Arthroderma. To explore the...
A recently discovered trachyte-hosted rare earth element-niobium-zirconium occurrence in northern Maine, USA
Chunzeng Wang, John F. Slack, Anjana K. Shah, Martin G. Yates, David R. Lentz, Amber T.H. Whittaker, Robert G. Marvinney
2023, Economic Geology (118) 1-13
Reported here are geological, geophysical, mineralogical, and geochemical data on a previously unknown trachyte-hosted rare earth element (REE)-Nb-Zr occurrence at Pennington Mountain in northern Maine, USA. This occurrence was newly discovered by a regional multiparameter, airborne radiometric survey that revealed anomalously high equivalent Th (eTh) and U (eU), confirmed by...
Timing of rhyolite intrusion and Carlin-type gold mineralization at the Cortez Hills Carlin-type deposit, Nevada, USA
Christopher D. Henry, David A. John, Robert W. Leonardson, William T McIntosh, Matt T. Heizler, Joseph P. Colgan, Kathryn E. Watts
2023, Economic Geology (118) 57-91
Carlin-type gold deposits (CTDs) of Nevada are the largest producers of gold in the United States, a leader in world gold production. Although much has been resolved about the characteristics and origin of CTDs in Nevada, major questions remain, especially about (1) the...
Connecting research and practice to enhance the evolutionary potential of species under climate change
Laura Thompson, Lindsey Thurman, Carly N. Cook, Erik A. Beever, Carla Sgro, Andrew Battles, Carlos Botero, John E. Gross, Kimberley Hall, Andrew P. Hendry, Ary Hoffmann, Christopher Hoving, Olivia E. LeDee, Claudia Mengelt, Adrienne Nicotra, Robin A. Niver, Felipe Pérez-Jvostov, Rebecca M. Quiñones, Gregor W. Schuurman, Michael K. Schwartz, Jennifer Szymanski, Andrew R. Whiteley
2023, Conservation Science and Practice (5)
Resource managers have rarely accounted for evolutionary dynamics in the design or implementation of climate change adaptation strategies. We brought the research and management communities together to identify challenges and opportunities for applying evidence from evolutionary science to support on-the-ground actions intended to enhance species' evolutionary potential. We amalgamated input...
Recent and future declines of a historically widespread pollinator linked to climate, land cover, and pesticides
William Michael Janousek, Margaret R. Douglas, Syd Cannings, Marion Clement, Casey Delphia, Jeffrey Everett, Richard G. Hatfield, Douglas A. Keinath, Jonathan B Koch, Lindsie M. McCabe, John Michael Mola, Jane Ogilvie, Imtiaz Rangwala, Leif L Richardson, Ashley T. Rohde, James P. Strange, Lusha M. Tronstad, Tabitha A. Graves
2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (120)
The acute decline in global biodiversity includes not only the loss of rare species, but also the rapid collapse of common species across many different taxa. The loss of pollinating insects is of particular concern because of the ecological and economic values these species provide. The western bumble bee (Bombus...
Beyond presence mapping: Predicting fractional cover of non-native vegetation in Sentinel-2 imagery using an ensemble of MaxEnt models
Todd M. Preston, Aaron N. Johnston, Kyle Gregory Ebenhoch, Robert H. Diehl
2023, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (9) 512-526
Non-native species maps are important tools for understanding and managing biological invasions. We demonstrate a novel approach to extend presence modeling to map fractional cover (FC) of non-native yellow sweet clover Melilotus officinalis in the Northern Great Plains, USA. We used ensembles of MaxEnt models to map FC across landscapes from satellite...
A multimodal data fusion and deep learning framework for large-scale wildfire surface fuel mapping
Mohamad Alipour, Inga P. La Puma, Joshua J. Picotte, Kasra Shamsei, Eric Rowell, Adam Watts, Branko Kosovic, Hamed Ebrahimian, Erugrul Taciroglu
2023, Fire (6)
Accurate estimation of fuels is essential for wildland fire simulations as well as decision-making related to land management. Numerous research efforts have leveraged remote sensing and machine learning for classifying land cover and mapping forest vegetation species. In most cases that focused on surface fuel mapping, the spatial scale...
Hydrodynamics and habitat interact to structure fish communities within terminal channels of a tidal freshwater delta
Brock Huntsman, Matthew J. Young, Frederick V. Feyrer, Paul Stumpner, Larry R. Brown, Jon R. Burau
2023, Ecosphere (14)
Terminal channels were historically a common feature of tidal delta ecosystems but have become increasingly rare as landscapes have been modified. Tidal hydrodynamics are a defining feature in tidal terminal channel ecosystems from which native aquatic communities have evolved. However, few studies have explored the relationship between fish community structure...
Approaching the upper boundary of driver-response relationships: Identifying factors using a novel framework integrating quantile regression with interpretable machine learning
Zhongyao Liang, Yaoyang Xu, Gang Zhao, Wentao Lu, Zhenghui Fu, Shuhang Wang, Tyler Wagner
2023, Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering (17)
The identification of factors that may be forcing ecological observations to approach the upper boundary provides insight into potential mechanisms affecting driver-response relationships, and can help inform ecosystem management, but has rarely been explored. In this study, we propose a novel framework integrating quantile regression with interpretable machine learning. In...
