A typology of drought decision making: Synthesizing across cases to understand drought preparedness and response actions
Amanda E. Cravens, Jennifer Henderson, Jack Friedman, Nina Burkardt, Ashley E. Cooper, Tonya Haigh, Michael Hayes, Jamie McEvoy, Stephanie Paladino, Adam Wilke, Hailey Wilmer
2021, Weather and Climate Extremes (33)
Drought is an inescapable reality in many regions, including much of the western United States. With climate change, droughts are predicted to intensify and occur more frequently, making the imperative for drought management even greater. Many diverse actors – including private landowners, business...
Multiple climate change-driven tipping points for coastal systems
Patrick L. Barnard, Jenifer Dugan, Henry M. Page, Nathan J. Wood, Juliette A. Finzi Hart, Daniel Cayan, Li H. Erikson, David A. Hubbard, Monique Myers, John M. Melack, Samuel F. Iacobellis
2021, Nature--Scientific Reports (11)
As the climate evolves over the next century, the interaction of accelerating sea level rise (SLR) and storms, combined with confining development and infrastructure, will place greater stresses on physical, ecological, and human systems along the ocean-land margin. Many of these valued coastal systems could reach...
Ontogenetic trait shifts: Seedlings display high trait variability during early stages of development
Caroline Ann Havrilla, Seth M. Munson, Charles B. Yackulic, Bradley J. Butterfield
2021, Functional Ecology (35) 2409-2423
Characterizing variation in plant functional traits is often key to understanding community-level processes and predicting ecosystem responses to environmental change. Trait-based ecology has focused on interspecific trait variation, but sources and consequences of within-species ontogenetic trait variation, particularly during early stages of development, remain understudied.Using a manipulative greenhouse experiment,...
Storm-scale and seasonal dynamics of carbon export from a nested subarctic watershed underlain by permafrost
Joshua C. Koch, Mark Dornblaser, Rob Striegl
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences (126)
Subarctic catchments underlain by permafrost sequester a major stock of frozen organic carbon (C), which may be mobilized as the Arctic warms. Warming can impact C export from thawing soils by altering the depth and timing of runoff related to changing storm and fire regimes and altered soil thaw depths....
FLUXNET-CH4: A global, multi-ecosystem database and analysis of methane seasonality from freshwater wetlands
Kyle B. Delwiche, Sarah Knox, Avni Malhotra, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Gavin McNicol, Sarah Feron, Zutao Ouyang, Dario Papale, Carlo Trotta, Eleonora Canfora, You-Wei Cheah, Danielle Christianson, Ma. Carmelita R. Alberto, Pavel Alekseychik, Mika Aurela, Dennis Baldocchi, Sheel Bansal, David P. Billesbach, Gil Bohrer, Rosvel Bracho, Nina Buchmann, David I. Campbell, Gerardo Celis, Weinan Chen, Jiquan Chen, Housen Chu, Higo J Dalmagro, Sigrid Dengel, Ankur R. Desai, Matteo Detto, Han Dolman, Elke Eichelmann, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Daniela Famulari, Kathrin Fuchs, Mathias Goeckede, Sébastien Gogo, Mangaliso J Gondwe, Jordan P. Goodrich, Pia Gottschalk, Scott L. Graham, Martin Heimann, Manuel Helbig, Carole Helfter, Kyle S. Hemes, Takashi Hirano, David Hollinger, Lukas Hortnagl, Hiroki Iwata, Adrien Jacotot, Joachim Jansen, Gerald Jurasinski, Minseok Kang, Kuno Kasak, John King, Janina Klatt, Franziska Koebsch, Ken Krauss, Derrick Y.F. Lai, Annalea Lohila, Ivan Mammarella, Luca B Marchesini, Giovanni Manca, Jaclyn H Matthes, Trofim Maximov, Lutz Merbold, Bhaskar Mitra, Timothy H. Morin, Eiko Nemitz, Mats B. Nilsson, Shuli Niu, Walter C. Oechel, Patricia Y. Oikawa, Keisuke Ono, Matthias Peichl, Olli Peltola, Michele L. Reba, Andrew D. Richardson, William Riley, Benjamin RK Runkle, Youngryel Ryu, Torsten Sachs, Ayaka Sakabe, Camilo Rey Sanchez, Edward A. Schuur, Karina VR Schafer, Oliver Sonnentag, Jed P. Sparks, Ellen Stuart-Haëntjens, Cove Sturtevant, Ryan C. Sullivan, Daphne J. Szutu, Jonathan E Thom, Margaret S. Torn, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Jessica Turner, Masahito Ueyama, Alex C. Valach, Rodrigo Vargas, Andrej Varlagin, Alma Vazquez-Lule, Joseph G. Verfaillie, Timo Vesala, George L Vourlitis, Eric Ward, Christian Wille, Georg Wohlfahrt, Guan Xhuan Wong, Zhen Zhang, Donatella Zona, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Benjamin Poulter, Robert B. Jackson
2021, Earth System Science Data (13) 3607-3689
Methane (CH4) emissions from natural landscapes constitute roughly half of global CH4 contributions to the atmosphere, yet large uncertainties remain in the absolute magnitude and the seasonality of emission quantities and drivers. Eddy covariance (EC) measurements of CH4 flux are ideal for constraining ecosystem-scale CH4 emissions due to quasi-continuous...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N2 (Clade 2.3.4.4) challenge of mallards age appropriate to the 2015 midwestern poultry outbreak
Jeffrey S. Hall, Daniel A. Grear, Scott Krauss, Patrick Seiler, Robert J. Dusek, Sean Nashold, Robert G. Webster
2021, Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses (15) 767-777
BackgroundThe 2015 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) H5N2 clade 2.3.4.4 outbreak in upper midwestern U.S. poultry operations was not detected in wild birds to any great degree during the outbreak, despite wild waterfowl being implicated in the introduction, reassortment, and movement of the virus into North...
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca
Evgeny Bragin, Marton Horvath, Sharon A. Poessel, Todd E. Katzner
2021, Book chapter, Migration strategies of birds of prey in sestern Palearctic
Eastern imperial eagles are a short-, medium-distance, partially-migratory, or even non-migratory, raptor that breeds at the forest-steppe interface in Eurasia and winters in Northern Africa, the Middle East or South Asia. Migratory strategies of imperial eagles are diverse. Eagles breeding in Central and Southeast Europe and south of the Black...
Pervasive changes in stream intermittency across the United States
Samuel Zipper, John C. Hammond, Margaret Shanafield, Margaret Zimmer, Thibault Datry, C. Nathan Jones, Kendra E. Kaiser, Sarah E. Godsey, Ryan Burrow, Joanna Blaszczak, Michelle Busch, Adam N. Price, Kate Boersma, Adam Ward, Katie Costigan, George H. Allen, Corey Krabbenhoft, Walter Dodds, Meryl C. Mims, Julian Olden, Stephanie K. Kampf, Amy J. Burgin, Daniel C. Allen
2021, Environmental Research Letters (16)
Non-perennial streams are widespread, critical to ecosystems and society, and the subject of ongoing policy debate. Prior large-scale research on stream intermittency has been based on long-term averages, generally using annually aggregated data to characterize a highly variable process. As a result, it is not well understood...
The Everglades vulnerability analysis—Integrating ecological models and addressing uncertainty
Laura E. D’Acunto, Stephanie S. Romanach, Saira M. Haider, Caitlin E. Hackett, Jennifer H. Nestler, Dilip Shinde, Leonard G. Pearlstine
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3033
The Everglades vulnerability analysis (EVA) is a project led by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Park Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to accomplish one of the science goals of Restoration Coordination & Verification (RECOVER), a multiagency group responsible for providing scientific and technical...
Quality of groundwater used for domestic supply in the northern San Joaquin Valley, California
Zeno F. Levy, Mariia Balkan, Jennifer L. Shelton
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3040
Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project (PBP) of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and provides increased public...
Peak-flow variability, peak-flow informational needs, and consideration of regional regression analyses in managing the crest-stage gage network in Montana
Steven K. Sando
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5063
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), has operated a crest-stage gage (CSG) network in Montana to collect peak-flow data since 1955. The CSG network is vital to collecting peak-flow data on small drainage basins that typically are not addressed by continuous streamflow...
Timing and hydrological conditions associated with bigheaded carp movement past navigation dams on the upper Mississippi river
Jonathan M. Vallazza, Kayle J. Mosel, David M. Reineke, Ann L. Runstrom, James H. Larson, Brent C. Knights
2021, Biological Invasions (23) 3409-3425
As the range of non-native bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) continues to expand throughout river systems of the United States, managers are tasked with preventing or slowing the spread of these invasive species. Main stem navigation dams on the upper Mississippi River, long considered a deterrent to fish...
Limited shifts in the distribution of migratory bird breeding habitat density in response to future changes in climate
Owen P. McKenna, David M. Mushet, Samuel R. Kucia, Elyssa Christina Mcculloch-Huseby
2021, Ecological Applications (31)
Grasslands, and the depressional wetlands that exist throughout them, are endangered ecosystems that face both climate and land-use change pressures. Tens of millions of dollars are invested annually to manage the existing fragments of these ecosystems to serve as critical breeding habitat for migratory birds. The North American Prairie Pothole...
Informing wetland management with waterfowl movement and sanctuary use responses to human-induced disturbance
Fiona McDuie, Austen Lorenz, Robert C. Klinger, Cory T. Overton, Cliff L. Feldheim, Joshua T. Ackerman, Michael L. Casazza
2021, Journal of Environmental Management (297)
Long-term environmental management to prevent waterfowl population declines is informed by ecology, movement behavior and habitat use patterns. Extrinsic factors, such as human-induced disturbance, can cause behavioral changes which may influence movement and resource needs, driving variation that affects management efficacy. To better understand the relationship between human-based disturbance and animal movement...
Water priorities for the Nation—USGS Integrated Water Science basins
Mark P. Miller, Sandra M. Eberts, Lori A. Sprague
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3041
The United States faces growing challenges to its water supply, infrastructure, and aquatic ecosystems because of population growth, climate change, floods, and droughts. To help address these challenges, the U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Mission Area is integrating recent advances in monitoring, research, and modeling to improve assessments of water...
Evaluation of a modified rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction method for Bacillus atrophaeus spores in water matrices
Rebecca N. Bushon, Amie M.G. Brady, Christopher M. Kephart, Vicente Gallardo
2021, Journal of Microbiological Methods (188)
A rapid method that provides information on the viability of organisms is needed to protect public health and ensure that remediation efforts following a release of a biological agent are effective. The rapid viability-polymerase chain reaction (RV-PCR) method combines broth culture...
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2018 annual report
Patrick J. Anderson, Cameron L. Aldridge, Jason S. Alexander, Timothy J. Assal, Steven Aulenbach, Zachary H. Bowen, Anna D. Chalfoun, Geneva W. Chong, Holly Copeland, David R. Edmunds, Steve Germaine, Tabitha A. Graves, Julie A. Heinrichs, Collin G. Homer, Christopher Huber, Aaron N. Johnston, Matthew J. Kauffman, Daniel J. Manier, Ryan R. McShane, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Kirk A. Miller, Adrian P. Monroe, Michael S. O’Donnell, Anna Ortega, Annika W. Walters, Daniel J. Wieferich, Teal B. Wyckoff, Linda Zeigenfuss
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1067
The Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) was established in 2007 as a collaborative interagency partnership to develop and implement science-based conservation actions. During the past 11 years, partners from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), State and Federal land management agencies, universities, and the public have collaborated to implement a long-term (more...
Evaluation of factors affecting migration success of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Yakima River, Washington, 2020
Tobias J. Kock, Amy C. Hansen, Scott D. Evans, Richard Visser, Brian Saluskin, Andrew Matala, Paul Hoffarth
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1075
A study was conducted during June–October 2020 to evaluate factors affecting the migration success of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Yakima River, Washington. A total of 144 adult sockeye salmon were tagged and released during the study. Most fish (112 fish) were collected, tagged with passive integrated...
The spatial-temporal relationship of blue-winged teal to domestic poultry: Movement state modeling of a highly mobile avian influenza host
John M. Humphreys, David C. Douglas, Andrew M. Ramey, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Catherine Soos, Paul T. Link, Patrick Walther, Diann Prosser
2021, Journal of Applied Ecology (58) 2040-2052
1. Migratory waterfowl facilitate long distance dispersal of zoonotic pathogens and are increasingly recognized as contributing to the geographic spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV). AIV are globally distributed and have the potential to produce highly contagious poultry disease, economically impact both large-scale and backyard poultry producers, and raise the...
Water–rock interaction and the concentrations of major, trace, and rare earth elements in hydrocarbon-associated produced waters of the United States
Carleton R. Bern, Justin E. Birdwell, Aaron M. Jubb
2021, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts (23) 1198-1219
Studies of co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction across multiple energy-producing basins have generally focused on major ions or a few select tracers, and studies that examine trace elements and involve laboratory experiments have generally been basin specific. Here, new perspective is sought through a broad analysis of concentration data...
Body size and digestive system shape resource selection by ungulates: A cross-taxa test of the forage maturation hypothesis
Saeideh Esmaeili, Brett R. Jesmer, Shannon E. Albeke, Ellen O. Aikens, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Sarah R.B. King, Briana Abrahms, Buuveibaatar Bayarbaatar, Jeffrey L. Beck, Randall Boone, Francesca Cagnacci, Simon Chamaillé-Jammes, Buyanaa Chimeddorj, Paul C. Cross, Nandintsetseg Dejid, Jagdag Enkhbyar, Ilya Fischhoff, Adam T. Ford, Kate Jenks, Mahmoud-Reza Hemami, Jacob D. Hennig, Takehiko Y. Ito, Petra Kaczensky, Matthew J. Kauffman, John D. C. Linnell, Badamjav Lkhagvasuren, John F. McEvoy, Joerg Melzheimer, Jerod A. Merkle, Thomas Mueller, Jeff Muntifering, Atle Mysterud, Kirk A. Olson, Manuela Panzacchi, John Payne, Luca Pedrotti, Geir R. Rauset, Daniel I. Rubenstein, Hall Sawyer, John D. Scasta, Johannes Signer, Melissa Songer, Jared A. Stabach, Seth Stapleton, Olav Strand, Siva R. Sundaresan, Dorj Usukhjargal, Ganbold Uuganbayar, John Fryxell, Jacob R. Goheen
2021, Ecology Letters (24) 2178-2191
The forage maturation hypothesis (FMH) states that energy intake for ungulates is maximised when forage biomass is at intermediate levels. Nevertheless, metabolic allometry and different digestive systems suggest that resource selection should vary across ungulate species. By combining GPS relocations with remotely sensed data on forage...
Modeling the bioavailability of nickel and zinc to Ceriodaphnia dubia and Neocloeon triangulifer in toxicity tests with Natural Waters
John M. Besser, Chris D. Ivey, Jeffery A. Steevens, Danielle M. Cleveland, David J. Soucek, Amy Dickinson, Eric J. Van Genderen, Adam C. Ryan, Chris E. Schlekat, Emily R. Garman, Elizabeth Middleton, Robert C. Santore
2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (40) 3049-3062
We studied biotic ligand model (BLM) predictions of toxicity of nickel (Ni) and zinc (Zn) in natural waters from Illinois and Minnesota USA which had combinations of pH, hardness, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) more extreme than 99.7% of waters in a nationwide database. We conducted 7-d chronic tests with Ceriodaphnia...
Hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system in the towns of Conklin and Kirkwood, Broome County, New York
John G. Van Hoesen, Paul M. Heisig, Shannon R. Fisher
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5026
The hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system and adjacent areas in south-central Broome County, New York, was investigated in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The study area encompasses roughly 55.5 square miles and includes the towns of Conklin and Kirkwood. Multiple small, perhaps...
Managing nonperennial headwater streams in temperate forests of the United States
Stephanie K. Kampf, Kathleen Dwyer, Matthew P. Fairchild, Jason B. Dunham, Craig D. Snyder, Kristin L. Jaeger, Charles H. Luce, John C. Hammond, Codie Wilson, Margaret Zimmer, Marielle Sidell
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (497)
Forest management guidelines are designed to protect water quality from unintended effects of land use changes such as timber harvest, mining, or forest road construction. Although streams that periodically cease to flow (nonperennial) drain the majority of forested areas, these streams are not consistently included in forest management guidelines. This...
Golden Eagle dietary shifts following wildfire and shrub loss have negative consequences for nestling survivorship
Julie A. Heath, Michael N. Kochert, Karen Steenhof
2021, Ornithological Applications (123)
Wildfires and invasive species have caused widespread changes in western North America’s shrub-steppe landscapes. The bottom–up consequences of degraded shrublands on predator ecology and demography remain poorly understood. We used a before–after paired design to study whether Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) diet and nestling survivorship changed following wildfires in...