National seed strategy progress report, 2015-2020
Molly Lutisha Mccormick, Amanda N Carr, Patricia DeAngelis, Margaret Olwell, Regan Murray, Maggie Park
2021, Report
Native plants are the true green infrastructure we rely on for healthy, resilient, and biodiverse ecosystems. They protect us against climate change and natural disasters; create habitat for wildlife, rare species, and pollinators; and are vital for carbon sequestration. Without native plants, especially their seeds, we do not have the...
Cohesive sediment modeling in a shallow estuary: Model and environmental implications of sediment parameter variation
Rachel Allen, Jessica R. Lacy, Andrew W. Stevens
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research--Oceans (126)
Numerical models of sediment transport in estuarine systems rely on parameter values that are often poorly constrained and can vary on timescales relevant to model processes. The selection of parameter values can affect the accuracy of model predictions, while environmental variation of these parameters can impact the...
Assessing the ecological functionality and integrity of natural ponds, excavated ponds and stormwater basins for conserving amphibian diversity
Kelly L. Smalling, Sara E. Breitmeyer, John F. Bunnell, Kim J Laidig, Patrick Burritt, Marilyn Sobel, Jonathan Cohl, Michelle L. Hladik, Kristin M. Romanok, Paul M. Bradley
2021, Global Ecology and Conservation (30)
Wetlands provide ecological functionality by maintaining and promoting regional biodiversity supporting quality habitat for aquatic organisms. Globally, habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation due to increases in agricultural activities and urban development have reduced or altered geographically isolated wetlands, thus reducing biodiversity. The objective...
Regional regression equations based on channel-width characteristics to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana using peak-flow frequency data through water year 2011
Katherine J. Chase, Roy Sando, Daniel W. Armstrong, Peter McCarthy
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5142
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation, developed regression equations based on channel width to estimate peak-flow frequencies at ungaged sites in Montana. The equations are based on peak-flow data at streamgages through September 2011 (end of water year 2011), and channel widths measured in...
Historical floods and geomorphic change in the lower Little Colorado River during the late 19th to early 21st centuries
Joel A. Unema, David J. Topping, Keith Kohl, Michael J. Pillow, Joshua J. Caster
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5049
The Little Colorado River is a major tributary to the Colorado River with a confluence at the boundary between Marble and Grand Canyons within Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The bedrock gorge of the lower Little Colorado River is home to the largest known population of Gila cypha (humpback chub),...
Validation of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection (LCMAP) collection 1.0 annual land cover products 1985–2017
Stephen V. Stehman, Bruce Pengra, Josephine Horton, Danika F. Wellington
2021, Remote Sensing of Environment (265)
The U.S. Geological Survey Land Change Monitoring, Assessment and Projection (USGS LCMAP) has released a suite of annual land cover and land cover change products for the conterminous United States (CONUS). The accuracy of these products was assessed using an independently collected land cover reference sample dataset produced by analysts...
Using satellite imagery to estimate consumptive water use from irrigated lands in the Milk River Basin, United States and Canada
Roy Sando, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Gabriel B. Senay
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3042
The U.S. Geological Survey, with the support of the International Joint Commission, and in cooperation with Alberta Environment and Parks, Blackfeet Nation, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, is leading a project that should improve information available to apportion water between Canada and...
Oyster model inventory: Identifying critical data and modeling approaches to support restoration of oyster reefs in coastal U.S. Gulf of Mexico waters
Megan K. La Peyre, Danielle A. Marshall, Shaye E. Sable
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1063
Executive SummaryAlong the coast of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) plays important ecological and economic roles. Commercial landings from this region account for more than 50 percent of all U.S. landings; these oyster reefs also provide varied ecosystem services, including nursery habitat for many fish...
Comparative effects of energy-related saline wastewaters and sodium chloride on hatching, survival, and fitness-associated traits of two amphibian species
Brian J. Tornabene, Creagh Breuner, Blake R. Hossack
2021, Environmental Science & Technology (40) 3137-3147
Salinity (sodium chloride [NaCl]) is a prevalent and persistent contaminant that negatively affects freshwater ecosystems. Although most studies focus on effects of salinity from road salts (primarily NaCl), high-salinity wastewaters from energy extraction (wastewaters) could be more harmful because they contain NaCl and other toxic components. Many amphibians are sensitive...
Replacement of the typical artedi form of Coregonus artedi in Lake Huron by endemic shallow-water Ciscoes, including putative hybrids
Randy L. Eshenroder, Yu-Chun Kao, Timothy P. O’Brien, Chris M. Olds, Chris L. Davis, Alexander T. Duncan
2021, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (150) 792-806
Various ecomorphs of shallow-water Cisco Coregonus artedi were the dominant fish planktivores in each of the Great Lakes until invasive species and over fishing resulted in extirpations and extinctions. In this paper we describe the present morphological diversity and distribution of shallow-water Ciscoes in each of Lake Huron’s...
Noble gas signatures constrain oil-field water as the carrier phase of hydrocarbons occurring in shallow aquifers in the San Joaquin Basin, USA
Ruta Karolyte, Peter H. Barry, Andrew G. Hunt, Justin T. Kulongoski, R. L. Tyne, Tracy Davis, Michael Wright, Peter B. McMahon, C. J. Ballentine
2021, Chemical Geology (584)
Noble gases record fluid interactions in multiphase subsurface environments through fractionation processes during fluid equilibration. Water in the presence of hydrocarbons at the subsurface acquires a distinct elemental signature due to the difference in solubility between these two fluids. We find...
General water-quality conditions, long-term trends, and network analysis at selected sites within the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network in Missouri, water years 1993–2017
Joseph M. Richards, Miya N. Barr
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5079
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, collects data pertaining to the surface-water resources of Missouri. Established in 1964, the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network (AWQMN) consisted of 69 sites in 2017. Two additional sites from the National Water-Quality Program are included with the AWQMN...
The ecology of river ice
Audrey Thellman, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Brian Hayden, Xiao Yang, Wayana Dolan, Adrianne P Smits, Antoin M O’Sullivan
2021, JGR Biogeosciences (126)
Many of the world's rivers are ice-covered during winter months but increasing evidence indicates that the extent of river ice will shift substantially as winters warm. However, our knowledge of rivers during winter lags far behind that of the growing season, limiting our understanding of how ice loss will affect...
Optimization of a suite of flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris) microsatellite markers for understanding the population genetics of introduced populations in the northeast United States
Shannon L. White, Michael S. Eackles, Tyler Wagner, Megan K. Schall, Geoffrey Smith, Julian Avery, David C. Kazyak
2021, BMC Research Notes
Flathead catfish are rapidly expanding into nonnative waterways throughout the United States. Once established, flathead catfish may cause disruptions to the local ecosystem through consumption and competition with native fishes, including species of conservation concern. Flathead catfish often become a popular sport fish in their introduced range, and so management...
Arctic Ocean stratification set by sea level and freshwater inputs since the last ice age
Jesse R. Farmer, Daniel Sigman, Julie Granger, Ona M. Underwood, Francois Frapiat, Thomas M. Cronin, Alfredo Martinez-Garcia, Gerald H. Haug
2021, Nature Geoscience (14) 684-689
Salinity-driven density stratification of the upper Arctic Ocean isolates sea-ice cover and cold, nutrient-poor surface waters from underlying warmer, nutrient-rich waters. Recently, stratification has strengthened in the western Arctic but has weakened in the eastern Arctic; it is unknown if these trends will continue. Here we present foraminifera-bound nitrogen isotopes...
Climate change effects on North American fish and fisheries to inform adaptation strategies
Craig P. Paukert, Julian D. Olden, Abigail Lynch, Dave Brashears, R. Christopher Chambers, Cindy Chu, Margaret Daly, Kimberly L. Dibble, Jeffrey A. Falke, Dan Issak, Peter C. Jacobson, Olaf P. Jensen, Daphne Munroe
2021, Fisheries Magazine (9) 449-464
Climate change is a global persistent threat to fish and fish habitats throughout North America. Climate-induced modification of environmental regimes, including changes in streamflow, water temperature, salinity, storm surges, and habitat connectivity can change fish physiology, disrupt spawning cues, cause fish extinctions and invasions, and alter...
Effects-based monitoring of bioactive compounds associated with municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent discharge to the South Platte River, Colorado, USA
J.E. Cavallin, J. Beihoffer, B.R. Blackwell, A.R. Cole, D.R. Ekman, R. Hofer, A. Jastrow, J. Kinsey, K. Keteles, E.M. Maloney, J Parman, Dana L. Winkelman, D.L. Villeneuve
2021, Environmental Pollution (289)
Previous studies have detected numerous organic contaminants and in vitro bioactivities in surface water from the South Platte River near Denver, Colorado, USA. To evaluate the temporal and spatial distribution of selected contaminants of emerging concern, water samples were collected throughout 2018 and 2019 at 11 sites within the S. Platte...
A multi-decadal geochemical record from Rano Aroi (Easter Island/Rapa Nui): Implications for the environment, climate and humans during the last two millennia
Marco Roman, David B. McWethy, Natalie Kehrwald, Evans Osayuki Erhenhi, Amy E. Myrbo, José M. Ramirez Aliaga, Anibal Pauchard, Clara Turetta, Carlo Barbante, Matthew Prebble, Elena Argiriadis, Dario Battistel
2021, Quaternary Science Reviews (268)
The small and remote Easter Island (Rapa Nui) has a complex and still partially unknown history of human colonization and interactions with the environment. Previous research from sedimentary archives collected in the three freshwater bodies of Rapa Nui document dramatic environmental changes over the last two millennia. Yet, the...
Characterization of water use and water balance for the croplands of Kansas using satellite, climate, and irrigation data
Lei Ji, Gabriel B. Senay, MacKenzie Friedrichs, Matthew Schauer, Olena Boiko
2021, Agricultural Water Management (256)
Kansas is one of the most productive agricultural states in the United States, where agricultural irrigation is a primary user of underground and surface water. Because of low precipitation and declining groundwater levels in western and central Kansas, sustainable management of irrigation water resources is a critical issue in the agricultural productivity...
Wetland selection by female Ring-Necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) in the Southern Atlantic Flyway
Tori D. Mezebish, Richard Chandler, Glenn H. Olsen, Michele Goodman, Frank C. Rohwer, Nicholas J. Meng, Mark D. McConnell
2021, Wetlands (41)
On the wintering grounds, wetland selection by waterfowl is influenced by spatiotemporal resource distribution. The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) winters in the southeastern United States where a disproportionate amount of Atlantic Flyway ring-necked duck harvest occurs. We quantified female ring-necked duck selection for wetland characteristics during...
Uncertainty in remote sensing of streams using noncontact radars
Mushfiqur Rahman Khan, Jonathan J Gourley, Jorge Duarte, Humberto Vergara, Daniel Wasielewski, Pierre-Alain Ayral, John W, Fulton
2021, Journal of Hydrology (603)
Accounting for freshwater resources and monitoring floods are vital functions for societies throughout the world. Remote-sensing methods offer great prospects to expand stream monitoring in developing countries and to smaller, headwater streams that are largely ungauged worldwide. This study evaluates the...
Merging empirical and mechanistic approaches to modeling aquatic visual foraging using a generalizable visual reaction distance model
Sean K. Rohan, David Beauchamp, Timothy E. Essington, Adam G. Hansen
2021, Ecological Modelling (457)
Visual encounter distance models are important tools for predicting how light and water clarity mediate visual predator-prey interactions that affect the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems at multiple spatial, temporal, and organizational scales. The two main varieties of visual encounter distance...
Using an unmanned aerial vehicle water sampler to gather data in a pit-lake mining environment to assess closure and monitoring
Brian Straight, Devin Castendyk, Diane M. McKnight, Connor P. Newman, Pierre Filiatreault, Americo Pino
2021, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (193)
Residual pit lakes from mining are often dangerous to sample for water quality. Thus, pit lakes may be rarely (or never) sampled. This study developed new technology in which water-sampling devices, mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), were used to sample three pit lakes in...
Geomorphic history of Lake Manix, Mojave Desert, California: Evolution of a complex terminal lake basin
Marith C. Reheis, David M. Miller, James B. Paces, Charles G. Oviatt, Joanna R. Redwine, Darrell Kaufman, Jordon Bright, Elmira Wan
2021, Geomorphology (392)
The US Environmental Protection Agency's short-term freshwater effluent test methods include a fish (Pimephales promelas), a cladoceran (Ceriodaphnia dubia), and a green alga (Raphidocelis subcapitata). There is a recognized need for additional taxa to accompany the three standard species for effluent testing. An appropriate additional taxon...
Using microbial source tracking to identify fecal contamination sources in an embayment in Hempstead Harbor on Long Island, New York
Tristen N. Tagliaferri, Shawn C. Fisher, Christopher M. Kephart, Natalie Cheung, Ariel P. Reed, Robert J. Welk
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5042
The U.S. Geological Survey worked collaboratively with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assess the potential sources of fecal contamination entering Hempstead Harbor, an embayment on the northern shore of Nassau County, Long Island, New York. Water samples are routinely collected by the New York State Department...
