Regulation of a putative corticosteroid, 17, 21-dihydroxypregn-4-ene, 3, 20-one, in sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus
Brent W. Roberts, Wes Didier, Satbir Rai, Nicholas S. Johnson, Scot V. Libants, Sang-Seon Yun, David Close
2013, General and Comparative Endocrinology (196) 17-25
In higher vertebrates, in response to stress, the hypothalamus produces corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), which stimulates cells in the anterior pituitary to produce adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which in turn stimulates production of either cortisol (F) or corticosterone (B) by the adrenal tissues. In lampreys, however, neither of these steroids is present....
Streamflow statistics for unregulated and regulated conditions for selected locations on the Yellowstone, Tongue, and Powder Rivers, Montana, 1928-2002
Katherine J. Chase
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5173
Major floods in 1996 and 1997 on the Yellowstone River in Montana intensified public debate over the effects of human activities on the Yellowstone River. In 1999, the Yellowstone River Conservation District Council was formed to address conservation issues on the river. The Yellowstone River Conservation District Council partnered with...
Hydrogeology, distribution, and volume of saline groundwater in the southern midcontinent and adjacent areas of the United States
Noel I. Osborn, S. Jerrod Smith, Christian H. Seger
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5017
The hydrogeology, distribution, and volume of saline water in 22 aquifers in the southern midcontinent of the United States were evaluated to provide information about saline groundwater resources that may be used to reduce dependency on freshwater resources. Those aquifers underlie six States in the southern midcontinent—Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri,...
Estimated nitrogen loads from selected tributaries in Connecticut draining to Long Island Sound, 1999–2009
John R. Mullaney, Gregory E. Schwarz
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5171
The total nitrogen load to Long Island Sound from Connecticut and contributing areas to the north was estimated for October 1998 to September 2009. Discrete measurements of total nitrogen concentrations and continuous flow data from 37 water-quality monitoring stations in the Long Island Sound watershed were used to compute total...
Broad-scale patterns of Brook Trout responses to introduced Brown Trout in New York
James E. McKenna Jr., Michael T. Slattery, Kean M. Clifford
2013, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (33) 1221-1235
Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and Brown Trout Salmo trutta are valuable sport fish that coexist in many parts of the world due to stocking introductions. Causes for the decline of Brook Trout within their native range are not clear but include competition with Brown Trout, habitat alteration, and repetitive stocking...
Methods for estimating water consumption for thermoelectric power plants in the United States
Timothy H. Diehl, Melissa Harris, Jennifer C. Murphy, Susan S. Hutson, David E. Ladd
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5188
Water consumption at thermoelectric power plants represents a small but substantial share of total water consumption in the U.S. However, currently available thermoelectric water consumption data are inconsistent and incomplete, and coefficients used to estimate consumption are contradictory. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has resumed the estimation of thermoelectric water...
Habitat heterogeneity and intraguild interactions modify distribution and injury rates in two coexisting genera of damselflies
Jonathan W. Witt, Rebecca E. Forkner, Richard T. Kraus
2013, Freshwater Biology (58) 2380-2388
1. Sublethal effects of predation can affect both population and community structure. Despite this, little is known about how the frequency of injury varies in relation to habitat, aquatic community characteristics or between trophically similar, coexisting taxa. 2. In a tidal freshwater ecosystem, we first examined injuries (lamellar autotomy)...
Land subsidence along the Delta-Mendota Canal in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley, California, 2003-10
Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt, Mike Solt
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5142
Extensive groundwater withdrawal from the unconsolidated deposits in the San Joaquin Valley caused widespread aquifer-system compaction and resultant land subsidence from 1926 to 1970—locally exceeding 8.5 meters. The importation of surface water beginning in the early 1950s through the Delta-Mendota Canal and in the early 1970s through the California Aqueduct...
Mechanical properties of simulated Mars materials: gypsum-rich sandstones and lapilli tuff
Carolyn Morrow, David Lockner, Chris Okubo
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1242
Observations by the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Opportunity, and other recent studies on diagenesis in the extensive equatorial layered deposits on Mars, suggest that the likely lithologies of these deposits are gypsum-rich sandstones and tuffaceous sediments (for example, Murchie and others, 2009; Squyres and others, 2012; Zimbelman and Scheidt, 2012)....
Developing and implementing the use of predictive models for estimating water quality at Great Lakes beaches
Donna S. Francy, Amie M. G. Brady, Rebecca B. Carvin, Steven R. Corsi, Lori M. Fuller, John H. Harrison, Brett A. Hayhurst, Jeremiah Lant, Meredith B. Nevers, Paul J. Terrio, Tammy M. Zimmerman
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5166
Predictive models have been used at beaches to improve the timeliness and accuracy of recreational water-quality assessments over the most common current approach to water-quality monitoring, which relies on culturing fecal-indicator bacteria such as Escherichia coli (E. coli.). Beach-specific predictive models use environmental and water-quality variables that are easily and...
Water quality, sediment characteristics, aquatic habitat, geomorphology, and mussel population status of the Clinch River, Virginia and Tennessee, 2009-2011
Jennifer L. Krstolic, Gregory C. Johnson, Brett J.K. Ostby
2013, Data Series 802
Chemical, physical, and biological data were collected during 2009-2011 as part of a study of the Clinch River in Virginia and Tennessee. The data from this study, data-collection methods, and laboratory analytical methods used in the study are documented in this report. The study was conducted to describe the conditions...
Organic wastewater compounds in water and sediment in and near restored wetlands, Great Marsh, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, 2009–11
Amanda L. Egler, Martin R. Risch, David A. Alvarez, Paul M. Bradley
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5186
A cooperative investigation between the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service was completed from 2009 through 2011 to understand the occurrence, distribution, and environmental processes affecting concentrations of organic wastewater compounds in water and sediment in and near Great Marsh at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore in Beverly...
Climate change and fire effects on a prairie-woodland ecotone: projecting species range shifts with a dynamic global vegetation model
David A. King, Dominique M. Bachelet, Amy J. Symstad
2013, Ecology and Evolution (3) 5076-5097
Large shifts in species ranges have been predicted under future climate scenarios based primarily on niche-based species distribution models. However, the mechanisms that would cause such shifts are uncertain. Natural and anthropogenic fires have shaped the distributions of many plant species, but their effects have seldom been included in future...
Evaluation of intake efficiencies and associated sediment-concentration errors in US D-77 bag-type and US D-96-type depth-integrating suspended-sediment samplers
Thomas A. Sabol, David J. Topping
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5208
Accurate measurements of suspended-sediment concentration require suspended-sediment samplers to operate isokinetically, within an intake-efficiency range of 1.0 ± 0.10, where intake efficiency is defined as the ratio of the velocity of the water through the sampler intake to the local ambient stream velocity. Local ambient stream velocity is defined as...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Sullivan and Wyoming Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
Terry E. Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva, Alexander R. Malizia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1261
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,...
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Armstrong and Indiana Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
Terry E. Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Coral M. Roig-Silva, Alexander R. Malizia
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1263
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,...
Size-dependent trophic patterns of pallid sturgeon and shovelnose sturgeon in a large river system
William E. French, Brian D. S. Graeb, Katie N. Bertrand, Steven R. Chipps, Robert A. Klumb
2013, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (4) 41-52
This study compared patterns of δ15N and δ13C enrichment of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus and shovelnose sturgeon S. platorynchus in the Missouri River, United States, to infer their trophic position in a large river system. We examined enrichment and energy flow for pallid sturgeon in three segments of the Missouri...
The importance of mineralogical input into geometallurgy programs
K. Olson Hoal, J.D. Woodhead, Kathleen S. Smith
2013, Conference Paper
Mineralogy is the link between ore formation and ore extraction. It is the most fundamental component of geomet programs, and the most important aspect of a life-of-project approach to mineral resource projects. Understanding orebodies is achieved by understanding the mineralogy and texture of the materials, throughout the process, because minerals hold...
Location-only and use-availability data: analysis methods converge
Lyman McDonald, Bryan Manly, Falk Huettmann, Wayne Thogmartin
2013, Journal of Animal Ecology (82) 1120-1124
This Special Feature arose from a session on a topic of the same name that took place during The Wildlife Society meeting in Kona, Hawaii, from 5 to 10 November, 2011. The purpose of that session and this Special Feature is to compare methods for predictive modelling of species geographical...
Water resources of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3075
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, past and current use trends, and water quality from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National...
Performance of quantitative vegetation sampling methods across gradients of cover in Great Basin plant communities
David S. Pilliod, Robert S. Arkle
2013, Rangeland Ecology and Management (66) 634-647
Resource managers and scientists need efficient, reliable methods for quantifying vegetation to conduct basic research, evaluate land management actions, and monitor trends in habitat conditions. We examined three methods for quantifying vegetation in 1-ha plots among different plant communities in the northern Great Basin: photography-based grid-point intercept (GPI), line-point intercept...
USGS science at work in the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary
Michelle K. Shouse, Dale A. Cox
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3037
The San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta form one of the largest estuaries in the United States. The “Bay-Delta” system provides water to more than 25 million California residents and vast farmlands, as well as key habitat for birds, fish, and other wildlife. To help ensure the health of...
Borehole-explosion and air-gun data acquired in the 2011 Salton Seismic Imaging Project (SSIP), southern California: description of the survey
Elizabeth J. Rose, Gary S. Fuis, Joann M. Stock, John A. Hole, Annie M. Kell, Graham Kent, Neal W. Driscoll, Mark Goldman, Angela M. Reusch, Liang Han, Robert R. Sickler, Rufus D. Catchings, Michael J. Rymer, Coyn J. Criley, Daniel S. Scheirer, Steven M. Skinner, Coye J. Slayday-Criley, Janice M. Murphy, Edward G. Jensen, Robert McClearn, Alex J. Ferguson, Lesley A. Butcher, Max A. Gardner, Iain D. Emmons, Caleb L. Loughran, Joseph R. Svitek, Patrick C. Bastien, Joseph A. Cotton, David S. Croker, Alistair J. Harding, Jeffrey M. Babcock, Steven H. Harder, Carla M. Rosa
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1172
The Imperial and Coachella Valleys are being formed by active plate-tectonic processes. From the Imperial Valley southward into the Gulf of California, plate motions are rifting the continent apart. In the Coachella Valley, the plates are sliding past one another along the San Andreas and related faults (fig. 1). These...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Alabama
William J. Carswell Jr.
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3105
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Alabama, elevation data are critical for flood risk management; infrastructure and construction management; wildfire management, planning, and response; natural resources conservation; geologic...
Geochemistry of soils from the San Rafael Valley, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Helen W. Folger, Floyd Gray
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1149
This study was conducted to determine whether surficial geochemical methods can be used to identify subsurface mineraldeposits covered by alluvium derived from surrounding areas. The geochemical investigation focused on an anomalous geo-physical magnetic high located in the San Rafael Valley in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. The magnetic high, inferred to...
