Using social values in the prioritization of research: Quantitative examples and generalizations
Matthew Richard Falcy
2021, Ecology and Evolution (11) 18000-18010
Identifying critical uncertainties about ecological systems can help prioritize research efforts intended to inform management decisions. However, exclusively focusing on the ecological system neglects the objectives of natural resource managers and the associated social values tied to risks and rewards of actions.I demonstrate how to prioritize research efforts for...
Ten simple rules for creating a scientific web application
Jessica Leigh Burnett, Renee Dale, Chung Yi Hou, Gabriela Palomo-Munoz, Kaitlin Stack-Whitney, Steven Aulenbach, R. Sky Bristol, Denis Valle, Tristan Wellman
2021, PLOS Computational Biology (17)
The use of scientific web applications (SWApps) across biological and environmental sciences has grown exponentially over the past decade or so. Although quantitative evidence for such increased use in practice is scant, collectively, we have observed that these tools become more commonplace in teaching, outreach, and in science coproduction (e.g.,...
Evaluating establishment success of non-native fishes introduced to inland aquatic habitats of tropical Pacific islands
Stephen Walsh, Leo Nico, Mark W. Miller
2021, Journal of Vertebrate Biology (70)
An information-theoretic approach was used to evaluate non-native freshwater fish species introduced to insular habitats of Hawaii and Guam comparing successful establishments vs. failures. Since the late 1800s, as many as 81 non-native freshwater fish species have been recorded as introduced to Hawaii and Guam (combined) and...
Spatial network clustering reveals elk population structure and local variation in prevalence of chronic wasting disease
Glen A. Sargeant, Margaret A. Wild, Gregory M. Schroeder, Jenny G. Powers, Nathan L. Galloway
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Spatial organization plays prominent roles in disease transmission, genetics, and demography of wildlife populations and is therefore an important consideration not only for wildlife management, but also for inference about populations and processes. We used hierarchical agglomerative clustering of a spatial graph network to partition Wind...
Subsurface swimming and stationary diving are metabolically cheap in adult Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)
Alicia Borque-Espinosa, Karyn D. Rode, Diana Ferrero-Fernandex, Anabel Forte, Romana Capaccioni-Azzati, Andreas Fahlman
2021, Journal of Experimental Biology (224)
Walruses rely on sea-ice to efficiently forage and rest between diving bouts while maintaining proximity to prime foraging habitat. Recent declines in summer sea ice have resulted in walruses hauling out on land where they have to travel farther to access productive benthic habitat while...
Occurrence and distribution of PFAS in sampled source water of public drinking-water supplies in the surficial aquifer in Delaware, 2018; PFAS and groundwater age-dating results
Betzaida Reyes
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1109
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Delaware Geological Survey, conducted a groundwater-quality investigation to (1) describe the occurrence and distribution of PFAS, and (2) document any changes in groundwater quality in the Columbia aquifer public water-supply wells in...
Ecological potential fractional component cover based on Long-Term satellite observations across the western United States
Matthew B. Rigge, Deb Meyer, Brett Bunde
2021, Ecological Indicators (133)
Rangelands have immense inherent spatial and temporal variability, yet land condition and trends are often assessed at a limited number of spatially “representative” points. Spatially comprehensive, and quantitative, Ecological Potential (EP) data provide a baseline for comparison to current rangeland vegetation conditions and trends. Here, we define EP as potential fractional...
Changing impacts of Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone tsunamis in California under future sea-level rise
Tina Dura, Andra Garner, Robert Weiss, Robert E. Kopp, Simon E. Engelhart, Robert C. Witter, Richard W. Briggs, Charles Mueller, Alan Nelson, Benjamin P. Horton
2021, Nature (12)
The amplification of coastal hazards such as distant-source tsunamis under future relative sea-level rise (RSLR) is poorly constrained. In southern California, the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone has been identified as an earthquake source region of particular concern for a worst-case scenario distant-source tsunami. Here, we explore how...
Stock composition of the historical New York Bight Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) intercept fishery revealed through microsatellite analysis of archived spines
Shannon L. White, Robin L. Johnson, Barbara A. Lubinski, Michael S. Eackles, David H. Secor, David C. Kazyak
2021, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (13) 720-727
A targeted commercial fishery for Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus once operated in the New York Bight, where it was assumed that most harvested Atlantic Sturgeon were natal to the Hudson River population. However, more recent evidence suggests that the fishery may have been targeting a mixed-stock aggregation, in which case harvested...
Convergence of undulatory swimming kinematics across a diversity of fishes
V. di Santo, E. Goerig, D Wainwright, O. Akanyeti, J.C. Liao, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, G.V. Lauder
2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (118)
Fishes exhibit an astounding diversity of locomotor behaviors from classic swimming with their body and fins to jumping, flying, walking, and burrowing. Fishes that use their body and caudal fin (BCF) during undulatory swimming have been traditionally divided into modes based on the length of the...
Thermal conditions predict intraspecific variation in senescence rate in frogs and toads
Hugo Cayuela, Jean-Francois Lemaitre, Erin L. Muths, Rebecca M. McCaffery, Thierry Fretey, Bernard Le Garff, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Kurt Grossenbacher, Omar Lenzi, Blake R. Hossack, Lisa A Eby, Brad A. Lambert, Johan Elmberg, Juha Merila, Jerome MW Gippet, Jean-Michel Gaillard, David S. Pilliod
2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (118)
Variation in temperature is known to influence mortality patterns in ectotherms. Even though a few experimental studies on model organisms have reported a positive relationship between temperature and actuarial senescence (i.e., the increase in mortality risk with age), how variation in climate influences the senescence rate...
Historical changes in bed elevation and water depth within the Nehalem Bay, Oregon, 1891–2019
Mackenzie K. Keith, Krista L. Jones, Gabriel W. Gordon
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5108
Estuaries, at the nexus of rivers and the ocean, are depositional areas that respond to changes in streamflow, tides, sea level, and inputs of sediment from marine and watershed sources. Understanding changes in bed elevations, deposited and eroded sediment, and water depth throughout estuaries is relevant for understanding their...
Earthquake risk of gas pipelines in the conterminous United States and its sources of uncertainty
N. Simon Kwong, Kishor S. Jaiswal, Jack W. Baker, Nico Luco, K. A. Ludwig, Vasey J. Stephens
2021, ASCE-ASME Journal of Risk and Uncertainty in Engineering Systems, Part A: Civil Engineering (8)
Relatively little research has been conducted to systematically quantify the nationwide earthquake risk of gas pipelines in the US; simultaneously, national guidance is limited for operators across the country to consistently evaluate the earthquake risk of their assets. Furthermore, many challenges and uncertainties exist in a comprehensive...
Impact of molecular modifications on the Immunogenicity and efficacy of recombinant raccoon poxvirus-vectored rabies vaccine candidates in mice
Carly Marie Malave, Jaime Lopera-Madrid, Lex Guillermo Medina-Magues, Tonie E. Rocke, Jorge E. Osorio
2021, Vaccines (9)
Rabies is an ancient disease that is responsible for approximately 59,000 human deaths annually. Bats (Order Chiroptera) are thought to be the original hosts of rabies virus (RABV) and currently account for most rabies cases in wildlife in the Americas. Vaccination is being used to manage rabies in other wildlife...
Diet-driven mercury contamination is associated with polar bear gut microbiota
Sophie Watson, Melissa McKinney, Massimo Pindo, Matthew Bull, Todd C. Atwood, Heidi Hauffe, Sarah Perkins
2021, Scientific Reports (11)
The gut microbiota may modulate the disposition and toxicity of environmental contaminants within a host but, conversely, contaminants may also impact gut bacteria. Such contaminant-gut microbial connections, which could lead to alteration of host health, remain poorly known and are rarely studied in free-ranging wildlife. The...
Knowledge gaps update to the 2019 IPCC special report on the ocean and cryosphere: Prospects to refine coastal flood hazard assessments and adaptation strategies with at-risk communities of Alaska
Dee Williams, Li H. Erikson
2021, Frontiers in Climate (3)
This article reviews the status of knowledge gaps and co-production process challenges that impede coastal flood hazard resilience planning in communities of northwestern Alaska, where threat levels are high. Discussion focuses on the state of knowledge arising after preparation of the 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere...
Simulating the effects of climate-related changes to air temperature and precipitation on streamflow and water temperature in the Meduxnekeag River watershed, Maine
David M. Bjerklie, Scott A. Olson
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5104
Responsible stewardship of native fish populations and riparian plants in the Meduxnekeag River watershed in northeastern Maine is a high priority for the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians. Understanding the potential changes in hydrology and water temperature as a result of climate change is important to this priority for evaluating...
Selected crater and small caldera lakes in Alaska: Characteristics and hazards
Christopher F. Waythomas
2021, Frontiers in Earth Science (9)
This study addresses the characteristics, potential hazards, and both eruptive and non-eruptive role of water at selected volcanic crater lakes in Alaska. Crater lakes are an important feature of some stratovolcanoes in Alaska. Of the volcanoes in the state with known Holocene eruptive activity, about one third have summit crater...
A characterization of deep-sea coral and sponge communities along the California and Oregon coast using a remotely operated vehicle on the EXPRESS 2018 expedition
Tom Laidig, Diana Watters, Nancy G. Prouty, Meredith Everett, Lizzie Duncan, Liz Clarke, Chris Caldow, Amanda Demopoulos
2021, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC 657
Deep-sea coral and sponge (DSCS) communities serve as essential fish habitats (EFH) by providing shelter and nursery habitat, increasing diversity, and increasing prey availability (Freese and Wing, 2003; Bright, 2007; Baillon et al., 2012; Henderson et al., 2020). Threats to these long-lived, fragile organisms from bottom contact fishing gear, potential...
Invasive carp population modeling to support an adaptive management framework
Richard A. Erickson
2021, Report, Interim summary report: Invasive carp monitoring and response plan 2021
No abstract available....
Continuous turbidity data used to compute constituent concentrations in the South Loup River, Nebraska, 2017–18
David L. Rus, Brenda K. Densmore
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5120
The South Loup River in central Nebraska has been impaired by bacteria since at least 2004, which has resulted in the river not meeting its intended use as a recreational waterway. As part of a strategy for reducing the bacterial load in the river, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation...
Data-driven prospectivity modelling of sediment-hosted mineral systems
Christopher J.M. Lawley, Anne E. McCafferty, Garth E. Graham, Michael G. Gadd, David L. Huston, Karen D. Kelley, Karol Czarnota, Suzanne Paradis, Jan M. Peter, Nathan Hayward, Mike Barlow, Poul Emsbo, Joshua A. Coyan, Carma A. San Juan
2021, Conference Paper
Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) and clastic-dominated (CD) deposits are important sources for Zn, Pb, Ag, and Cd as well as the critical elements Ga, Ge, In, and Sb. However, mapping the drivers, sources, pathways, and traps of MVT and CD deposits within the much larger and mostly unmineralized sedimentary basins remain...
Exploring basin-scale relations and unsupervised classification to quantify and automate the definition of assessment units in USGS continuous oil and gas resource assessments
Chilisa Marie Shorten, Scott A. Kinney, Katherine J. Whidden
2021, Conference Paper
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assesses potential for undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in priority geologic provinces and quantifies resource volume estimates within subdivisions called assessment units (AUs). AU boundaries are defined by USGS geologists using quantitative and qualitative geologic information. Variables contained in IHS Markit’s well and...
Effects of sample gear on estuarine nekton assemblage assessments and food web model simulations
Megan K. La Peyre, S. Sable, C. M. Taylor, Katherine S. Watkins, E. Kiskaddon, M. Baustian
2021, Ecological Indicators (133)
Long-term fisheries-independent sampling data inform population status and trends of species-specific biomass and are often used to drive biomass-based food web models such as the Comprehensive Aquatic Systems Model (CASM). Indicators such as total biomass and mean trophic level derived from these data and from CASM outputs inform management and facilitate...
Supplemental vegetation monitoring plots at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument to accelerate learning of the Annual Brome Adaptive Management (ABAM) model
Amy Symstad, Timm Richardson, Dan Swanson
2021, Report
The Annual Brome Adaptive Management (ABAM) project is a consortium of seven parks in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) working together to better understand how to control invasive annual grasses (including Bromus species) through an adaptive management approach. This approach is supported by a quantitative model that uses current data...
