Development and calibration of HEC–RAS hydraulic, temperature, and nutrient models for the Mohawk River, New York
Thomas P. Suro, Michal J. Niemoczynski, Anna Boetsma
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5005
In support of a preliminary analysis performed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation that found elevated nutrient levels along selected reaches of the Mohawk River, a one-dimensional, unsteady hydraulic and water-quality model (Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System Nutrient Simulation Module 1 [HEC–RAS NSM I]) was developed by...
Invasive species research—Science for prevention, detection, containment, and control
Paul J. Heimowitz, Patrick M. Kocovsky, James J. English
2024, Fact Sheet 2024-3001
IntroductionInvasive species research within the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Ecosystems Mission Area focuses on invasive plants, animals, and pathogens throughout the United States. USGS scientists provide science support to help solve the problems posed by these nonnative species while working with partners in the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI),...
What waterfowl hunters want: Exploring heterogeneity in hunting trip preferences
Katherine A. Sainsbury, Howard W. Harshaw, David C. Fulton, Nicholas W. Cole, Ashley A. Dayer, Jennie N. Duberstein, Andrew H. Raedeke, Rudy Schuster, Mark P. Vrtiska
2024, Wetlands (44)
Canadian and American waterfowl hunters were surveyed to identify their hunting trip preferences. Respondents were individuals that were now participating or had participated in waterfowl hunting, and most had hunted the majority of the last five years. We identified four latent classes of waterfowl hunters that varied in their preferences for...
Sediment budget of a Maumee River headwater tributary: How streambank erosion, streambed-sediment storage, and streambed-sediment source inform our understanding of legacy phosphorus
Tanja N. Williamson, Faith Fitzpatrick, Rebecca M. Kreiling, James D. Blount, Diana L. Karwan
2024, Journal of Soils and Sediments (24) 1447-1463
ObjectiveWe described source and phosphorus (P) retention potential of soft, fine-grained, streambed sediment and associated phosphorus (sed-P) during summer low-flow conditions. Combining in-channel, sed-P storage with relative age provided context on relevance to western Lake Erie Basin management goals.MethodsIn 2019, rapid geomorphic assessment (30 reaches) compared...
Monthly variation in home range of a steppe-dwelling raptor
Georgia H. Isted, Robert J. Thomas, Kevin S. Warner, Matthew J. Stuber, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Todd E. Katzner
2024, Conference Paper, Conservation of biological diversity and development of the network of specially protected natural areas: Materials of the International Scientific and Practical Conference
Birds in steppe landscapes change their behaviour over the annual cycle. We used GPS telemetry to track 12 steppe-dwelling adult Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) to understand how their home ranges varied across the year. Home range sizes of territorial adult hawks showed strong intra-annual variation, being smallest from April to...
Abundance estimates of Gunnison’s prairie dogs compared to the number of active burrows
Aaron N. Facka, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Gary W. Roemer
2024, Wildlife Society Bulletin (48)
Reliable estimates of prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) population size and distribution are critical for assessing the status of prairie dogs and for selecting sites to reintroduce black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes). The density of active prairie dog burrows has commonly been used as an index of prairie dog abundance. Indices derived from...
Immunomodulation in adult largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exposed to a model estrogen or mixture of endocrine disrupting contaminants during early gonadal recrudescence
Jessica Kristin Leet, Catherine A. Richter, Rachel Claunch, Robert Gale, Donald E. Tillitt, Luke R. Iwanowicz
2024, Comparative Immunology Reports (6)
Disease outbreaks, skin lesions, fish kill events, and reproductive abnormalities have been observed in wild populations of Centrarchids in watersheds throughout the United States. Occurrence of synthetic and natural hormones from wastewater treatment plants and livestock operations, pesticides from agricultural land use, and phytoestrogens have been implicated as potential causes...
Fewer bowl traps and more hand netting can increase effective number of bee species and reduce excessive captures
Diane L. Larson, Nora P. Pennarola, Julia B. Leone, Jennifer L. Larson
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Reports increasingly point to substantial declines in wild bee abundance and diversity, yet there is uncertainty about how best to measure these attributes in wild bee populations. Two commonly used methods are passive trapping with bee bowls or active netting of bees on flowers, but each of these has drawbacks....
Evaluating ecosystem protection and fragmentation of the world's major mountain regions
David M. Theobald, Aerin Jacobs, Paul R. Elsen, Erik A. Beever, Libby Ehlers, Jodi Hilty
2024, Conservation Biology (38)
Conserving mountains is important for protecting biodiversity because they have high beta diversity and endemicity, facilitate species movement, and provide numerous ecosystem benefits for people. Mountains are often thought to have lower levels of human modification and contain more protected area than surrounding lowlands. To...
Foraging behavior and age affect maternal transfer of mercury to northern elephant seal pups
Sarah H. Peterson, Michael G. Peterson, Josh T. Ackerman, Cathy Debier, Chandra Goetsch, Rachel R. Holser, Luis A. Huckstadt, Jennifer C. Johnson, Theresa R. Keates, Birgitte I. McDonald, Elizabeth A. McHuron, Daniel P. Costa
2024, Scientific Reports (14)
Deep ocean foraging northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) consume fish and squid in remote depths of the North Pacific Ocean. Contaminants bioaccumulated from prey are subsequently transferred by adult females to pups during gestation and lactation, linking pups to mercury contamination in mesopelagic food webs (200–1000 m...
Metabarcoding is (usually) more cost effective than seining or qPCR for detecting tidewater gobies and other estuarine fishes
Kevin D. Lafferty
2024, PeerJ (12)
Many studies have shown that environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling can be more sensitive than traditional sampling. For instance, past studies found a specific qPCR probe of a water sample is better than a seine for detecting the endangered northern tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi. Furthermore, a metabarcoding sample often detects more...
High inter-population connectivity and occasional gene flow between subspecies improves recovery potential for the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo
Amy G. Vandergast, Barbara E. Kus, Dustin A. Wood, Anna Mitelberg, Julia G. Smith, Elizabeth R. Milano
2024, Ornithological Applications (126)
Increasingly, genomic data are being used to supplement field-based ecological studies to help evaluate recovery status and trends in endangered species. We collected genomic data to address two related questions regarding the Least Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii), an endangered migratory songbird restricted to southern California riparian habitat for breeding....
Segment anything model can not segment anything: Assessing AI foundation model's generalizability in permafrost mapping
Wenwen Li, Chia-Yu Hsu, Sizhe Wang, Yezhou Yang, Hyunho Lee, Anna Liljedahl, Chandi Witharana, Yili Yang, Brendan M. Rogers, Samantha Arundel, Matthew B. Jones, Kenton McHenry, Patricia Solis
2024, Remote Sensing (16)
This paper assesses trending AI foundation models, especially emerging computer vision foundation models and their performance in natural landscape feature segmentation. While the term foundation model has quickly garnered interest from the geospatial domain, its definition remains vague. Hence, this paper will first introduce AI foundation models and their defining...
Forest fire, thinning, and flood in wildland-urban interface: UAV and lidar-based estimate of natural disaster impacts
Temuulen Ts. Sankey, Lauren Tango, Julia Tatum, Joel B. Sankey
2024, Landscape Ecology (39)
ContextWildland-urban interface (WUI) areas are facing increased forest fire risks and extreme precipitation events due to climate change, which can lead to post-fire flood events. The city of Flagstaff in northern Arizona, USA experienced WUI forest thinning, fire, and record rainfall events, which collectively contributed to large floods...
Flow cytometric assessments of metabolic activity in bacterial assemblages provide insight into ecosystem condition along the Buffalo National River, Arkansas
Jill Jenkins, Rassa Dale, Nina M. Hoffpauir, Brooke A Baudoin, Caroline Matkin, Lucas Driver, Shawn W Hodges, Bonnie L. Brown
2024, Science of the Total Environment (921)
The Buffalo National River (BNR), on karst terrain in Arkansas, is considered an extraordinary water resource. Water collected in Spring 2017 along BNR was metagenomically analyzed using 16S rDNA, and for 17 months (5/2017–11/2018), bacterial responses were measured in relation to nutrients sampled along a...
Prioritizing water availability study settings to address geogenic contaminants and related societal factors
Melinda L. Erickson, Craig J. Brown, Elizabeth J. Tomaszewski, Joseph D. Ayotte, Sharon L. Qi, Douglas B. Kent, J.K. Bohlke
2024, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (196)
Water availability for human and ecological uses depends on both water quantity and water quality. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is developing strategies for prioritizing regional-scale and watershed basin-scale studies of water availability across the nation. Previous USGS ranking processes for basin-scale studies incorporated primarily water quantity factors...
Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2023
Brian G. Prochazka, Peter S. Coates, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael S. O’Donnell, David R. Edmunds, Adrian P. Monroe, Steve E. Hanser, Lief A. Wiechman, Michael P. Chenaille
2024, Data Report 1190
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land-use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides state and federal land and wildlife managers with best-available science to help guide management...
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) roost site-selection criteria and locations east of the Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A.
Brandon M. Boxler, Cyndy Loftin, William B. Sutton
2024, Journal of Insect Behavior (37) 22-48
The monarch butterfly is a flagship species and pollinator whose populations have declined by 85% in the recent two decades. Their largest population overwinters in Mexico, then disperses across eastern North America during March to August. During September-December, they return south using two flyways, one that spans the central United...
Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) roost site-selection criteria and locations east of the Appalachian Mountains, U.S.A.
Brandon M. Boxler, Cyndy Loftin, William B. Sutton
2024, Journal of Insect Behavior (37) 22-48
The monarch butterfly is a flagship species and pollinator whose populations have declined by 85% in the recent two decades. Their largest population overwinters in Mexico, then disperses across eastern North America during March to August. During September-December, they return south using two flyways, one that spans the central United...
Non-mercury methylating microbial taxa are integral to understanding links between mercury methylation and elemental cycles in marine and freshwater sediments
Yong-Li Wang, Kaoru Ikuma, Scott C. Brooks, Matthew S. Varonka, Amrika Deonarine
2024, Environmental Pollution (346)
The goal of this study was to explore the role of non-mercury (Hg) methylating taxa in mercury methylation and to identify potential links between elemental cycles and Hg methylation. Statistical approaches were utilized to investigate the microbial community and biochemical functions in relation to methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in marine and...
20th century warming in the lower Florida Keys was dominated by increasing winter temperatures
Jennifer A. Flannery, Julie N. Richey, Lauren Toth, Madelyn Jean Mette
2024, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (39)
Long-lived Atlantic coral species like Orbicella faveolata are important archives of oceanographic change in shallow, marine environments like the Florida Keys. Not only can coral-based records extend for multiple centuries beyond the limits of the instrumental record, but they can also provide a more accurate representation of in situ...
Urbanization and water management control stream water quality along a mountain to plains transition
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert L. Runkel, Edward G. Stets, Alex J Nolan, Deborah A. Repert
2024, Water Resources Research (60)
Urbanization can have substantial effects on water quality due to altered hydrology and introduction of constituents to water bodies. In arid and semi-arid environments, streams are further stressed by dewatering as a result of diversions. We conducted a high-resolution synoptic survey of two streams in Colorado, USA...
Assessing grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) occupancy and detection probability within Lake Erie from environmental DNA
Justin Bopp, Lucas R. Nathan, John D. Robinson, Jeanette Kanefsky, Kim T. Scribner, Seth Herbst, Kelly Filer Robinson
2024, Management of Biological Invasions (15) 51-72
Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), an invasive cyprinid within the Laurentian Great Lakes, is naturally reproducing in several Lake Erie tributaries, which has raised concerns of the species’ spread throughout Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes. Knowledge of the recent invasion extent outside of the western basin of Lake Erie,...
USGS and social media user dialogue and sentiment during the 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaii
Robert T. Goldman, Sara K. McBride, Wendy K. Stovall, David Damby
2024, Frontiers in Communication (9)
Responsive and empathic communication by scientists is critical for building trust and engagement with communities, which, in turn, promotes receptiveness toward authoritative hazard information during times of crisis. The 2018 eruption of Hawai‘i's Kīlauea Volcano was the first volcanic crisis event in which communication via the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...
Ensemble2: Scenarios ensembling for communication and performance analysis
Clara Bay, Guillaume St-Onge, Jessica T. Davis, Matteo Chinazzi, Emily Howerton, Justin Lessler, Michael C. Runge, Katriona Shea, Shaun Truelove, Cecile Viboud, Alessandro Vespignani
2024, Epidemics (46)
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, scenario modeling played a crucial role in shaping the decision-making process of public health policies. Unlike forecasts, scenario projections rely on specific assumptions about the future that consider different plausible states-of-the-world that may or may not be realized and that depend on policy interventions, unpredictable changes in the...
