Quantifying landscape-level biodiversity change in an island ecosystem: A 50-year assessment of shifts in the Hawaiian avian community
Trevor Bak, Lucas Berio Fortini, Noah Hunt, Paul C. Banko, Lena Schnell, Richard J. Camp
2025, Ecography (2025)
Hawaii has experienced profound declines in native avifauna alongside the introduction of numerous bird species. While site-specific population studies are common, landscape-level analyses of avian population dynamics are rare, particularly in island ecosystems. To address this gap, we used a density surface model to create a spatio-temporal projection of population...
Unveiling coseismic deformation from differenced legacy aerial photography and modern lidar topography: The 1983 M6.9 Borah Peak earthquake, Idaho, USA
Chelsea P Scott, Nadine G. Reitman, Simone Bello
2025, Geophysical Research Letters (52)
The 1983 M6.9 Borah Peak, Idaho, earthquake is one of the largest historical normal fault earthquakes in the western United States. We quantified meter-scale vertical change along the 35 km-long rupture using topographic differencing of 1966 aerial imagery and 2019 lidar-derived data. The initial differencing results are largely obscured by horizontal...
Gas emissions from the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine hydrothermal system, Clear Lake volcanic field, California
Jennifer L. Lewicki, Sara Peek, Laura E. Clor, Andrew G. Hunt
2025, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (468)
The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine (SBMM) hydrothermal system offers insights into active degassing processes in the Clear Lake volcanic field (CLVF), a high-threat region based on its record of Holocene eruptions and proximity to populated areas. Here we present chemical and isotopic analyses of gas samples collected between 2015 and...
Future forest conditions under alternative management and hydrological scenarios in the Upper Mississippi River floodplain
Matthew Lewis Trumper, Nathan R. De Jager, Molly Van Appledorn, Andrew R. Meier
2025, Landscape Ecology (40)
ContextFloodplain forests are being transformed by multiple pressures, prompting widespread management and restoration efforts. It is uncertain how disturbances, including hydrologic change, and management actions will interact to influence the ecology of these threatened forests.ObjectivesThis study examined the effects of alternative management and hydrologic regimes on...
Examining the compositional selectivity of hydrocarbon oxidation products using liquid–liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction techniques
Phoebe Zito, Rana Ghannam, Maxwell L. Harsha, Barbara Bekins, David C. Podgorski
2025, Environmental Science and Technology (59) 21324-21331
The effect of extraction methods on detecting hydrocarbon oxidation products (HOPs) in groundwater remains unclear. HOPs are polar, water-soluble byproducts of petroleum biodegradation. Our previous work showed that liquid–liquid extraction (LLE), a method commonly used in regulatory monitoring, has a significantly lower extraction efficiency for HOPs compared to solid-phase extraction...
Quantifying groundwater response and uncertainty in beaver-influenced mountainous floodplains using machine learning-based model calibration
Lijing Wang, Tristan Babey, Zach Perzan, Samuel Pierce, Martin A. Briggs, Kristin Boye, Kate Maher
2025, Water Resources Research (61)
Beavers (Castor canadensis) alter river corridor hydrology by creating ponds and inundating floodplains, and thereby improving surface water storage. However, the impact of inundation on groundwater, particularly in mountainous alluvial floodplains with permeable gravel/cobble layers overlain by a soil layer, remains uncertain. Numerical modeling across various floodplain structures considers topographic...
Quantifying the relative importance of survival threats to a long-lived reptile using expert elicitation
Jennifer F. Moore, J. Hardin Waddle, Fred Johnson, Julien Martin, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jillian E. Fleming, Thomas S. Akre, Donald J. Brown, Yu Man Lee, Jonathon Drescher-Lehman, John Kleopfer, Jessica R. Meck, Kevin J. Oxenrider, Jeff Tamplin, Anthony Tur, Lisabeth L. Willey
2025, Endangered Species Research (58) 147-158
Long-term survival of a conservation-reliant species requires understanding the impact of threats on population growth rate and the management actions that can help mitigate these threats. We used a threat assessment with expert-elicited estimates to determine the relative effect of each stage-specific threat on the population growth rate of the...
10Be/9Be and 26Al/10Be support a late Miocene burial age for basal Gray Fossil Site sediments
William Elijah Odom, Darryl E. Granger, Steven C. Wallace
2025, Pan-American Paleontology (1)
We provide 2 independent radioisotopic age estimates for cored basal sediments of the Gray Fossil Site using cosmogenic nuclides. The first estimate uses meteoric 10Be/9Be from the bottom of the GFS-1 core, as well as from modern local grasses, to constrain the deposition of basal GFS sinkhole complex sediments to 6.60...
Linking stream-reach nitrogen loads and groundwater “reachsheds” to inform wastewater-nitrogen management actions, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Timothy D. McCobb, Denis R. LeBlanc, Jeffrey R. Barbaro, Marcel Belaval
2025, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (62)
Study RegionCape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.A.Study FocusAnthropogenic nitrogen (N) is a key factor in degrading groundwater and surface-water quality, particularly in coastal New England where onsite wastewater systems are prevalent. This study evaluated whether direct N-load measurements...
Sequoia and Sequoiadendron: Two paleoendemic megatrees with markedly different adaptive responses to recent high-severity fires
Jon Keeley, Juli G. Pausas
2025, American Journal of Botany (112)
PremiseCoast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are two iconic paleoendemic species with limited distributions, well known for their spectacular size. Recently, they have been exposed to high-severity crown fires, with starkly contrasting responses.MethodsWe used all available published literature and field observations...
Longer rorqual whale mothers produce more female offspring
Zoe R. Rand, Trevor A. Branch, Sarah J. Converse
2025, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (292)
Multiple hypotheses have arisen that predict how mammals with the ability to adapt fetal sex ratios should invest in male versus female offspring to maximize inclusive fitness, but large wild-population datasets necessary for testing these hypotheses are challenging to collect. We used whaling data (n = 209 254 sexed...
Long-term monitoring of island night lizards on San Nicolas Island
Charles A. Drost, Patrick M. Kleeman, Charles B. Yackulic, Brian J. Halstead, Gary M. Fellers
2025, Journal of Wildlife Management (89)
We describe the results of long-term population monitoring of the island night lizard Xantusia riversiana on San Nicolas Island, California, following the species' removal from the U.S. Endangered Species list in 2014. Monitoring activities were carried out from October 2014 through November 2023, but we also incorporate data from earlier work dating...
Flood-Inundation Maps of the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers including the Ozark National Scenic Riverways, Southeast Missouri, 2023
David C. Heimann, Jason L. High, Allison A. Atkinson, Paul H. Rydlund Jr.
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5092
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 131.8-mile reach of the Current River and a 44.6-mile reach of the Jacks Fork River, in southeast Missouri, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission and the South Central Ozark Council of Governments. The maps...
ShakeAlert®—Communication, education, outreach and technical engagement strategic vision
Robert Michael deGroot, Sara K. McBride, Margaret J. Vinci, Gabriel C. Lotto, Megan L. Anderson, Danielle F. Sumy, Brian Terbush
2025, Circular 1561
Executive Summary In 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began directly supporting ShakeAlert® research and in 2012 the ShakeAlert demonstration system began testing (Given and others, 2018). The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning (EEW) system is a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the three West Coast States (Washington, Oregon,...
Flood-inundation maps for Río de la Plata in and near Comerío, Puerto Rico, 2025
Chad J. Ostheimer, Legna M. Torres-Garcia
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5094
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 3.1-mile reach of Río de la Plata in and near Comerío, Puerto Rico, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Water-surface profiles were computed for the stream reach by using a one-dimensional steady-state step-backwater model. The model was calibrated to the current (2025) stage-streamflow...
Breeder turnover creates allelic variation in groups of gray wolves
David Edward Ausband
2025, Heredity (134) 577-583
Genetic diversity is an important driver affecting the health of wildlife populations. In cooperatively breeding species, human impacts and breeder turnover can affect genetic diversity in groups. We generally do not have strong inferences about how the genetic composition of a group changes through time as individuals are lost (e.g.,...
Fluid inclusion constraints on the geometry of the magmatic plumbing system beneath Mauna Loa – Part 2: Xenoliths
Penny E. Wieser, Matthew Gleeson, Berenise Rangel, Charlotte DeVitre, Alexander T. Bearden, Kendra J. Lynn, Paula Antoshechkina, Amy Gaffney, Brian Monteleone
2025, Bulletin of Volcanology (87)
Mauna Loa volcano erupts crystal-poor material at its summit and more crystal-rich material on its rift zones. Some of the more olivine-rich lava flows contain xenoliths with diverse mineralogy, including cumulate harzburgites with high-Mg# orthopyroxenes and high-Fo olivines (both > 84). Previous experimental work and thermodynamic modelling has proposed that high-Mg# orthopyroxenes...
A simple predictive model for salt marsh internal deterioration under sea-level rise and sediment deficits: Application to Chesapeake Bay
Neil K. Ganju, Kate Ackerman, Zafer Defne, Giulio Mariotti, David Curson, Zachary Posnik, Joel Carr, Joanna Grand
2025, Estuaries and Coasts (48)
Salt marshes are dynamic biogeomorphic systems reliant on autochthonous and allochthonous input to maintain their three-dimensional configuration. Sea-level rise, subsidence, and sediment deficits can lead to submergence, open-water expansion, and ultimately loss of the vegetated marsh plain and associated ecosystem services. Widely used management-focused models focus on vegetation zonation in...
River-to-lake transitional areas contribute disproportionately to in-lake nutrient loading
Nolan J.T. Pearce, James H. Larson, Rebecca M. Kreiling, Mary Anne Evans, Sean Bailey, Kenna J. Gierke, Lynn Bartsch, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos, Paul C. Frost
2025, Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Research (4)
River-to-lake transitional areas are biogeochemically active sections of the aquatic continuum that are often understudied compared to their adjoining environments. Internal nutrient loading from river-to-lake transitional areas may be a considerable source of nutrients to lakes and if overlooked disconnect upstream management initiatives from in-lake improvements. To contextualize internal nutrient...
Integrated species distribution model using historical data shows decline in a common semi-aquatic mammal
John G. Crockett, Charles B. Brown, Brian Daniel Gerber
2025, Animal Conservation
Effective conservation requires an understanding of drivers of a species' distribution as well as long-term changes in their distribution. In recent decades, advances in data collection and analysis have allowed researchers to integrate a wide range of information to model species distributions, particularly by allowing presence-only data...
Assessment of channel morphology, hydraulics, and bedload transport along the Siletz River, western Oregon
Krista L. Jones, Mackenzie K. Keith, Tessa M. Harden, James S. White, Stan van de Wetering, Jason B. Dunham
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5063
Significant FindingsChinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Pacific lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) are native, anadromous fish species in the Siletz River Basin, western Oregon, that face many threats to their survival in freshwater and the ocean. The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon seek to mitigate freshwater threats to Chinook salmon...
Upper Mississippi River Restoration future hydrology meeting series
Molly Van Appledorn, Lucie Sawyer
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1050
The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) program, a broad partnership of State and Federal agencies administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, integrates ecosystem monitoring, research, and modeling to rehabilitate habitat and evaluate ecosystem trends over time in the Upper Mississippi River System. Hydrologic data are integral to the...
A regional model comparison between MODPATH and MT3D of groundwater travel time distributions
Emily A. Baker, Paul Juckem, Daniel T. Feinstein, David J. Hart
2025, Groundwater (63) 861-873
Groundwater quality changes in wells and streams lag behind changes to land use due to groundwater travel times. Two contaminant transport methods were compared to assess differences in their simulated travel time distributions (TTDs) to streams and wells in the Wisconsin Central Sands. MODPATH simulates advective groundwater flow with particle...
Persistence of a declining anuran species across its distribution
Erin L. Koen, Edward Hance Ellington, William J. Barichivich, Howard Kochman, Kevin M. Enge, Susan E. Walls
2025, PLoS ONE (20)
Information on a species’ population dynamics, such as changes in abundance and distribution, can be used to identify declining populations and initiate conservation efforts and protections. For the Ornate Chorus Frog (Pseudacris ornata), anecdotal observations of local extirpation and population declines have been noted, but trends in its range-wide population...
Bears avoid residential neighborhoods in response to the experimental reduction of anthropogenic attractants
Cassandre C. Venumière-Lefebvre, Heather E. Johnson, Stewart W. Breck, Mathew W. Alldredge, Kevin R. Crooks
2025, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (13)
Introduction: Urbanization is an extreme form of land use alteration, with human development driving changes in the distribution of resources available to wildlife. Some large carnivores have learned to exploit anthropogenic food resources in urban development, resulting in human-carnivore conflict that can have detrimental impacts to people and carnivores, as exemplified...