Potential use of poultry farms by wild waterfowl in California's Central Valley varies across space, times of day, and species: implications for influenza transmission risk
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Cory T. Overton, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Elliott Matchett, Fiona McDuie, Austen Lorenz, Joshua T. Ackerman, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Diann J. Prosser
2024, Ecosphere (2024)
Interactions between wildlife and livestock can lead to cross-species disease transmission, which incurs economic costs and threatens wildlife conservation. Wild waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza viruses (AIVs), are often abundant near poultry farms, and have been linked to outbreaks of AIVs in...
Southern fox squirrel and eastern gray squirrel interactions in a fire-maintained ecosystem
M.H. Guill, J.L. De La Cruz, M. Puckett, S.D. Klopfer, B. Martin, W. Mark Ford
2024, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (11) 215-222
Southern fox squirrels (Sciurus niger niger) have been declining due to habitat fragmentation, cover type conversion, and fire suppression in the Southeast. A decrease in growing season burns has led to hardwood encroachment and forest mesophication that benefit the competing eastern gray squirrels (S. carolinensis). In the southern Coastal Plain...
Seasonal activity patterns of northern long-eared bats on the coastal Mid-Atlantic
Jesse L. De La Cruz, Nicholas J. Kalen, Elaine L. Barr, Emily D. Thorne, Alexander Silvis, Richard J. Reynolds, W. Mark Ford
2024, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (11) 185-195
Conservation of bats declining from white-nose syndrome (WNS) impacts requires an understanding of both temporal and landscape-level habitat relationships. Traditionally, much of the research on bat ecology has focused on behavior of summer maternity colonies within species’ distribution cores, including that of the endangered northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis). To...
Surface elevation trends in North Carolina's coastal wetlands
Robbie Fearn, Cat Bowler, Rick Savage, Pat Donovoan-Bradenburg, Aaron Houran, Reide Corbett, Stu Hamilton, Carolyn Currin, Jenny Davis, Michael Greene, Anna Hilting, Brandon Puckett, Quentin Walker, Justin Ridge, Cayla Cothron, Sarah Spiegler, Marcelo Ardón, Mike Burchell, Nisse Goldberg, Aaron McCall, Eric Soderholm, Christine Voss, Lorie Sutter, Michelle Moorman, Justine Annaliese Neville, Ches Vervaeke
2024, Report
Coastal wetlands exist in the narrow fringe between uplands and open water and consequently, are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of sea level rise (SLR). Predictive models suggest that in the coming decades sea level rise will lead to substantial losses of coastal wetland habitat in North Carolina. Empirical measurements...
Home range size and resource use by eastern spotted skunks in Virginia
Emily D. Thorne, Michael L. Fies, W. Mark Ford
2024, Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (11) 206-214
Throughout much of the eastern U.S., many forested ecosystems have lost large amounts of core forest areas due to land-use change, isolating wildlife in forest fragments. The eastern spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius) is considered a species of conservation concern in Virginia, where populations are restricted to spatially disjunct forest patches...
Sea turtle density surface models along the United States Atlantic coast
Andrew DiMatteo, Jason J. Roberts, D. Todd Jones-Farrand, Lance Garrison, Kristen Hart, Robert D. Kenney, William A. McLellan, Kate Lomac-MacNair, Debra Palka, Meghan E. Rickard, Kelsey E. Roberts, Ann M. Zoidis, L. Sparks
2024, Endangered Species Research (53) 227-245
Spatially explicit estimates of marine species distribution and abundance are required to quantify potential impacts from human activities such as military training and testing, fisheries interactions, and offshore energy development. There are 4 protected species of sea turtle (loggerhead, green, Kemp’s ridley, and leatherback) commonly found along the east coast...
Bird-habitat associations and local-scale vegetation structure in lowland brushlands
Annie J Hawkinson, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Charlotte L. Roy, Lindsey M. Shartell, David E. Andersen, Thomas K. Stevens, Lori J. Knosalla, Lee E. Frelich
2024, Journal of Wildlife Management (88)
Brushlands support a diverse suite of bird species, including species of conservation concern in the western Great Lakes region of central North America. Information on how to effectively manage lowland brushlands for birds and associations between breeding birds and local-scale vegetation structure and composition is lacking. We surveyed lowland brushlands...
The 2023 US National Seismic Hazard Model: Ground-motion characterization for the conterminous United States
Morgan P. Moschetti, Brad T. Aagaard, Sean Kamran Ahdi, Jason M. Altekruse, Oliver S. Boyd, Arthur D. Frankel, Julie A. Herrick, Mark D. Petersen, Peter M. Powers, Sanaz Rezaeian, Allison Shumway, James Andrew Smith, William J. Stephenson, Eric M. Thompson, Kyle Withers
2024, Earthquake Spectra (40) 1158-1190
We update the ground-motion characterization for the 2023 National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for the conterminous United States. The update includes the use of new ground-motion models (GMMs) in the Cascadia subduction zone; an adjustment to the central and eastern United States (CEUS) GMMs to reduce misfits with observed data;...
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...
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,...
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...
Strong variation in Brook Trout trends across geology, elevation, and stream size in Shenandoah National Park
Evan S. Childress, David E Demarest, John E.B. Wofford, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Benjamin Letcher
2024, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (153) 250-263
ObjectiveLandscape context structures fish abundance and dynamics, and understanding trends in fish abundance across the landscape is often prerequisite for effective conservation. In this study, we evaluated the status and trends of Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis in Shenandoah National Park to understand how these are structured across bedrock geology,...
Nitrate exposure from drinking water and dietary sources among Iowa farmers using private wells
T. Skalaban, D.A. Thompson, J. Madrigal, B. Blount, M.M. Espinosa, Dana W. Kolpin, N.C. Deziel, R.R. Jones, L.B. Freeman, J.N. Hofmann, M.H. Ward
2024, Science of the Total Envionrment (919)
Nitrate levels are increasing in water resources across the United States and nitrate ingestion from drinking water has been associated with adverse health risks in epidemiologic studies at levels below the maximum contaminant level (MCL). In contrast, dietary nitrate ingestion has generally been associated with beneficial health effects. Few studies...
Integrating genetic and demographic data to refine indices of abundance for Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River, New York
Shannon L. White, Richard M. Pendleton, Amanda Higgs, Barbara A. Lubinski, Robin L. Johnson, David C. Kazyak
2024, Endangered Species Research (55) 115-126
Critical to Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus recovery and monitoring is the ability to estimate abundance and identify age- and stock-specific threats to survival. As adult Atlantic sturgeon spend much of their lives broadly distributed in marine and estuarine environments, it is challenging to collect data needed to estimate these demographic...
Net carbon sequestration implications of intensified timber harvest in Northeastern U.S. forests
Michelle L. Brown, Charles D. Canham, Thomas Buchholz, John S. Gunn, Therese M. Donovan
2024, Ecosphere (15)
U.S. forests, particularly in the eastern states, provide an important offset to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some have proposed that forest-based natural climate solutions can be strengthened via a number of strategies, including increases in the production of forest biomass energy. We used output from a forest dynamics model (SORTIE-ND)...
Mercury bioaccumulation and Hepatozoon spp. infections in two syntopic watersnakes in South Carolina
M. Kyle Brown, David Lee Haskins, Melissa A. Pilgrim, Tracey D. Tuberville
2024, Ecotoxicology (33) 164-176
Mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous environmental contaminant known to bioaccumulate in biota and biomagnify in food webs. Parasites occur in nearly every ecosystem and often interact in complex ways with other stressors that their hosts experience. Hepatozoon spp. are intraerythrocytic parasites common in snakes. The Florida green watersnake (Nerodia floridana) and the...
An update of hydrologic conditions and distribution of selected constituents in water, eastern Snake River aquifer and perched groundwater zones, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, emphasis 2019–21
Kerri C. Treinen, Allison R. Trcka, Jason C. Fisher
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5128
Since 1952, wastewater discharged to infiltration ponds (also called “percolation ponds”) and disposal wells at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has affected water quality in the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer and perched groundwater zones underlying the INL. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department...
Deep structure of Siletzia in the Puget Lowland: Imaging an obducted plateau and accretionary thrust belt with potential fields
Megan L. Anderson, Richard J. Blakely, Ray Wells, Joseph D. Dragovich
2024, Tectonics (43)
Detailed understanding of crustal components and tectonic history of forearcs is important due to their geological complexity and high seismic hazard. The principal component of the Cascadia forearc is Siletzia, a composite basaltic terrane of oceanic origin. Much is known about the lithology and age of the...
Life-history connections to long-term fish population trends in a species-rich temperate river
Andrew J. Nagy, Mary Freeman, Brian J. Irwin, Seth J. Wenger
2024, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (33)
Fishes exhibit a diverse range of traits encompassing life-history strategies, feeding behaviours and spawning behaviours. These traits mediate fish population responses to changing environmental conditions such as those caused by anthropogenic stressors. The Conasauga River, located in northwestern Georgia and southeastern Tennessee, USA, hosts a...
Hydrology and water quality of a dune-and-swale wetland adjacent to the Grand Calumet River, Indiana, 2019–22
Shawn Naylor, Amy M. Gahala
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5122
Adverse ecological and water-quality effects associated with industrial land-use changes are common for littoral wetlands connected to river mouth ecosystems in the Grand Calumet River-Indiana Harbor Canal Area of Concern. These effects can be exacerbated by recent high Lake Michigan water levels that are problematic for wetland restoration. Wetlands in...
Chemical composition of leachates from hydraulic fracturing proppants from surficial releases in southeastern New Mexico
Matthew S. Varonka, Terry G. Gregston, Michael Villalobos, Jacqueline Benefield, William H. Orem
2024, Environmental Science & Technology Letters (11) 243-249
Resin-coated proppants (RCPs) are used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells to improve well performance; however, these proppants could be a cause for environmental concern if they are disposed of improperly. In this study, we investigate the water-leachable organic and...
Insights into magma storage depths and eruption controls at Kīlauea Volcano during explosive and effusive periods of the past 500 years based on melt and fluid inclusions
Allan Lerner, D. Matthew Sublett, Paul J. Wallace, Christina Cauley, Robert J. Bodnar
2024, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (628)
Kīlauea Volcano experiences centuries-long cycles of explosive and effusive eruptive behavior, but the relation, if any, between these eruptive styles and changing conditions in the magma plumbing system remains poorly known. We analyze olivine-hosted melt and fluid inclusions to determine magma storage...
Ohi'a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha): A most resilient and persistent foundation species in Hawaiian forests
James D. Jacobi, Hans Juergen Boehmer, Lucas Fortini, Samuel M. ‘Ohukaniʻōhiʻa Gon III, Linda Mertelmeyer, Jonathan Price
2024, Pacific Science (77) 177-186
Metrosideros polymorpha (‘ōhi‘a, ‘ōhi‘a lehua) is an important foundation species in Hawaiian forest habitats. The genus originated in New Zealand and was dispersed to the Hawaiian archipelago approximately 3.9 million years ago. It evolved into five distinct endemic species and one of these, Metrosideros polymorpha, further differentiated into eight varieties...
Earthquake rupture forecast model construction for the 2023 U.S. 50‐State National Seismic Hazard Model Update: Central and eastern U.S. fault‐based source model
Allison Shumway, Mark D. Petersen, Gabriel Toro, Peter M. Powers, Jason M. Altekruse, Julie A. Herrick, Kenneth S. Rukstales, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Demi Leafar Girot
2024, Seismological Research Letters (95) 997-1029
As part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2023 50‐State National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM), we make modest revisions and additions to the central and eastern U.S. (CEUS) fault‐based seismic source model that result in locally substantial hazard changes. The CEUS fault‐based source model...
