Potential cheatgrass abundance within lightly invaded areas of the Great Basin
Helen Sofaer, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Erin K. Buchholtz, Brian S. Cade, John T. Abatzoglou, Cameron L. Aldridge, Patrick Comer, Daniel Manier, Lauren E. Parker, Julie A. Heinrichs
2022, Landscape Ecology (37) 2607-2618
ContextAnticipating where an invasive species could become abundant can help guide prevention and control efforts aimed at reducing invasion impacts. Information on potential abundance can be combined with information on the current status of an invasion to guide management towards currently uninvaded locations where the threat of invasion is high.ObjectivesWe...
Explainable machine learning improves interpretability in the predictive modeling of biological stream conditions in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, USA
Kelly O. Maloney, Claire Buchanan, Rikke Jepsen, Kevin P. Krause, Matthew Joseph Cashman, Benjamin Paul Gressler, John A. Young, Matthias Schmid
2022, Journal of Environmental Management (322)
Anthropogenic alterations have resulted in widespread degradation of stream conditions. To aid in stream restoration and management, baseline estimates of conditions and improved explanation of factors driving their degradation are needed. We used random forests to model biological conditions using a benthic macroinvertebrate index of biotic...
Evaluating the effect of nuclear inclusion X (NIX) infections on Pacific razor clam populations
Maya Groner, Paul Hershberger, Steven C. Fradkin, Carla M. Conway, Aine C. Hawthorn, Maureen K. Purcell
2022, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (151) 1-9
ABSTRACT: Nuclear inclusion X (NIX), the etiological agent of bacterial gill disease in Pacific razor clams Siliqua patula, was associated with host mortality events in coastal Washington State, USA, during the mid-1980s. Ongoing observations of truncated razor clam size distributions in Kalaloch Beach, Washington, raised concerns that NIX continues to...
Causality guided machine learning model on wetland CH4 emissions across global wetlands
Kunxiaojia Yuan, Qing Zhu, Fa Li, William J. Riley, Margaret Torn, Housen Chu, Gavin McNicol, Mingshu Chen, Sara Knox, Kyle B. Delwiche, Huayi Wu, Dennis Baldocchi, Hongxu Ma, Ankur R. Desai, Jiquan Chen, Torsten Sachs, Masahito Ueyama, Oliver Sonnentag, Manuel Helbig, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Gerald Jurasinski, Franziska Koebsch, David I. Campbell, Hans Peter Schmid, Annalea Lohila, Mathias Goeckede, Mats B. Nilsson, Thomas Friborg, Joachim Jansen, Donatella Zona, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Eric Ward, Gil Bohrer, Zhenong Jin, Licheng Liu, Hiroki Iwata, Jordan P. Goodrich, Robert B. Jackson
2022, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (324)
Wetland CH4 emissions are among the most uncertain components of the global CH4 budget. The complex nature of wetland CH4 processes makes it challenging to identify causal relationships for improving our understanding and predictability of CH4 emissions. In this study, we used the flux measurements of CH4 from eddy covariance towers (30 sites from 4...
Evaluation of machine learning approaches for predicting streamflow metrics across the conterminous United States
Ken Eng, David M. Wolock
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5058
Few regional or national scale studies have evaluated machine learning approaches for predicting streamflow metrics at ungaged locations. Most such studies are limited by the number of dimensions of the streamflow regime investigated. This study, in contrast, provides a comprehensive evaluation of the streamflow regime based on three widely available...
What did they just say? Building a Rosetta stone for geoscience and machine learning
Stanley Paul Mordensky, John Lipor, Erick R. Burns, Cary Ruth Lindsey
2022, Conference Paper, Using the earth to save the earth
Modern advancements in science and engineering are built upon multidisciplinary projects that bring experts together from different fields. Within their respective disciplines, researchers rely on precise terminology for specific ideas, principles, methods, and theories. Hence, the potential for miscommunication is substantial, especially when common words have been adopted by one...
A synthesis of coral reef research at Buck Island Reef National Monument and Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: 1961 to 2022
Caroline Rogers
2022, Report, Natural Resource Report
This synthesis focuses on the history of research on coral reefs within two U.S. National Park Service units in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: Buck Island Reef National Monument (from 1961 to 2022) and Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve (from 1980 to 2022). Buck Island Reef...
Scaling-up deep learning predictions of hydrography from IfSAR data in Alaska
Larry Stanislawski, Ethan J. Shavers, Alexander Duffy, Philip T. Thiem, Nattapon Jaroenchai, Shaowen Wang, Zhe Jiang, Barry J. Kronenfeld, Barbara P. Buttenfield
2022, Conference Paper, The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
The United States National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a database of vector features representing the surface water features for the country. The NHD was originally compiled from hydrographic content on U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps but is being updated with higher quality feature representations through flow-routing techniques that derive hydrography...
Upper Rio Grande Basin water-resource status and trends: Focus area study review and synthesis
Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin, Christine Rumsey, Graham A. Sexstone, Tamara I. Ivahnenko, Natalie Houston, Shaleene Chavarria, Gabriel B. Senay, Linzy K. Foster, Jonathan V. Thomas, Allison K. Flickinger, Amy E. Galanter, C. David Moeser, Toby L. Welborn, Diana E. Pedraza, Patrick M. Lambert, Michael Scott Johnson
2022, Journal of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (65) 881-901
The Upper Rio Grande Basin (URGB) is a critical international water resource under pressure from a myriad of climatic, ecological, infrastructural, water-use, and legal constraints. The objective of this study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the spatial distribution and temporal trends of selected water-budget components (snow processes, evapotranspiration...
ECCOE Landsat Quarterly Calibration and Validation report—Quarter 1, 2022
Md Obaidul Haque, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Mark Lubke, Md Nahid Hasan, Fatima Tuz Zafrin Tuli, Jerad L. Shaw, Alex Denevan, Shannon Franks, Esad Micijevic, Michael J. Choate, Cody Anderson, Brian Markham, Kurt Thome, Ed Kaita, Julia Barsi, Raviv Levy, Lawrence Ong
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1072
Executive SummaryThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat Cal/Val...
A RADical approach to conservation in Alaska: Rapid climate change requires a new perspective
Jeremy Littell, Gregor W. Schuurman, Joel H. Reynolds, John M. Morton, Nicole Schmitt
2022, The Wildlife Professional (16) 26-30
In Alaska, conservation areas are managed to promote the persistence of wild species, habitats, cultural resources, visitor experiences, and ecosystem services. Many conservation areas are managed by federal or state agencies, and have specific boundaries, missions, and legislative mandates. Many are also the domains of Indigenous and local people who...
What makes wildfires destructive in California?
Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon Keeley, Mike Gough, Mitchell Lazarz, John Rogan
2022, Fire (5)
As human impacts from wildfires mount, there is a pressing need to understand why structures are lost in destructive fires. Despite growing research on factors contributing to structure loss, fewer studies have focused on why some fires are destructive and others are not. We characterized overall differences...
Restoration of Gavia immer (common loon) in Minnesota—2021 annual report
William S. Beatty, Luke J. Fara, Steven C. Houdek, Kevin P. Kenow, Brian R. Gray
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1074
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused extensive injury to natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, and Gavia immer (common loon) were negatively affected from the spill. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group funded the project Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota to restore common loons lost to the spill....
Distribution and demography of Coastal Cactus Wrens in Southern California, 2015–19
Suellen Lynn, Alexandra Houston, Barbara E. Kus
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1044
Surveys and monitoring for the coastal Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) were completed in San Diego County between March 2015 and July 2019. A total of 383 plots were surveyed across 3 genetic clusters (Otay, Lake Jennings, and Sweetwater/Encanto). From 2015 to 2019, 317 plots were surveyed 8 times (twice per...
Mortality associated with extreme heat in Washington State: The historical and projected public health burden
Logan Arnold, Mark David Scheuerell, T.B. Isaksen
2022, Atmosphere (13)
Extreme heat is one of the most important pathways illustrating the connection between climate and human health, and climate change is expected to exacerbate this public health issue. This study first used a case-crossover analysis to characterize the historical (1980–2018) association between summertime heat and non-traumatic mortality in Washington State....
Simulated global coastal ecosystem responses to a half-century increase in river nitrogen loads
Xiao Liu, Charles A. Stock, John P. Dunne, Minjin Lee, Elena Shevliakova, Sergey Malyshev, Paul C. D. Milly
2022, Geophysical Research Letters (48)
Coastal ecosystems are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic stressors such as harmful algal blooms and hypoxia projected to intensify through the combined effects of eutrophication and warming. As a major terrestrial nitrogen (N) source to the ocean, rivers play a critical role in shaping both coastal and global biogeochemical cycling....
Spaceborne InSAR mapping of landslides and subsidence in rapidly deglaciating terrain, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and vicinity, Alaska and British Columbia
Jinwook Kim, Jeffrey A. Coe, Zhong Lu, Nikita N. Avdievitch, Chad Hults
2022, Remote Sensing of Environment (281)
The Glacier Bay area in southeastern Alaska and British Columbia, encompassing Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, has experienced rapid glacier retreat since the end of the Little Ice Age in the mid-1800s. The impact that rapid deglaciation has had on the slope stability of valley walls...
Over the hills and through the farms: Land use and topography influence genetic connectivity of northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens) in the Prairie Pothole Region
Justin M. Waraniak, David M. Mushet, Craig A. Stockwell
2022, Landscape Ecology (37) 2877-2893
ContextAgricultural land-use conversion has fragmented prairie wetland habitats in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), an area with one of the most wetland dense regions in the world. This fragmentation can lead to negative consequences for wetland obligate organisms, heightening risk of local extinction and reducing evolutionary potential for...
Estimating the effect of tidal marsh restoration on housing prices: A hedonic analysis in the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, USA
Anthony J. Good, Emily J. Pindilli
2022, Land (11)
This study employs the hedonic pricing method and a rich spatial and temporal dataset from two counties in Washington, USA to determine the effect of the 2009 Nisqually Restoration project (NRP) on housing prices in adjacent communities. The NRP restored 308 hectares of wetlands via dike removal in the...
Going beyond low flows: Streamflow drought deficit and duration illuminate distinct spatiotemporal drought patterns and trends in the U.S. during the last century
John C. Hammond, Caelan E. Simeone, Jory Seth Hecht, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Melissa Lombard, Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock, Michael Wieczorek, Carolyn G Olson, Todd Caldwell, Robert W. Dudley, Adam N. Price
2022, Water Resources Research (58)
Streamflow drought is a recurring challenge, and understanding spatiotemporal patterns of past droughts is needed to manage future water resources. We examined regional patterns in streamflow drought metrics and compared these metrics to low flow timing and magnitude using long-term daily records for 555 minimally disturbed watersheds....
Methods for evaluating Gap Analysis Project habitat distribution maps with species occurrence data
Matthew J. Rubino, Alexa McKerrow, Nathan M. Tarr, Steven G. Williams
2022, Techniques and Methods 2-A19
The National Gap Analysis Project created species habitat distribution models for all terrestrial vertebrates in the United States to support conservation assessments and explore patterns of species richness. Those models link species to specific habitats throughout the range of each species. For most vertebrates, there are not enough occurrence data...
Diminishing Arctic lakes
Rebecca A Finger-Higgens
2022, Nature Climate Change
The Arctic is home to the largest surface water fraction of any terrestrial biome, containing thousands of low-lying lakes. Now, it appears that some Arctic lakes are drying due to rising air temperatures and autumn rains, causing permafrost to thaw and water bodies to drain....
Bayesian applications in environmental and ecological studies with R and Stan
Song S. Qian, Mark Richard Dufour, Ibrahim Alameddine
2022, Book
Modern ecological and environmental sciences are dominated by observational data. As a result, traditional statistical training often leaves scientists ill-prepared for the data analysis tasks they encounter in their work. Bayesian methods provide a more robust and flexible tool for data analysis, as they enable information from different sources to...
Geoelectric constraints on the Precambrian assembly and architecture of southern Laurentia
Benjamin Scott Murphy, Paul A. Bedrosian, Anna Kelbert
2022, Book chapter, Laurentia: Turning points in the evolution of a continent
Using images from an updated and expanded three-dimensional electrical conductivity synthesis model for the contiguous United States (CONUS), we highlight the key continent-scale geoelectric structures that are associated with the Precambrian assembly of southern Laurentia. Conductivity anomalies are associated with the Trans-Hudson orogen, the Penokean suture, the ca. 1.8–1.7 Ga...
Updates for Wake Atoll biosecurity management, biological control, survey, and management, and integrated pest management plans
Stacie A. Hathaway, James D. Jacobi, Robert Peck, Robert N. Fisher
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1067
Pests and invasive species have been defined as any organism that can have real or perceived adverse effects on operations, or the well-being of personnel, native plants, animals, their environment and ecosystem processes; attack or damage real property, supplies, equipment, or are otherwise undesirable (paraphrased from many sources including 53...
