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...
Inter- and intra-annual effects of lethal removal on common raven abundance in Nevada and California, USA
Shawn T. O’Neil, Peter S. Coates, Julia C. Brockman, Pat J. Jackson, Jack O. Spencer Jr., Perry J. Williams
2021, Human–Wildlife Interactions (15)
Populations of common ravens (Corvus corax; ravens) have increased rapidly within sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems between 1960 and 2020. Although ravens are native to North America, their population densities have expanded to levels that negatively influence the population dynamics of other wildlife species of conservation concern, such as greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus...
Spatial modeling of common raven density and occurrence helps guide landscape management within Great Basin sagebrush ecosystems
Sarah C. Webster, Shawn T. O’Neil, Brianne E. Brussee, Peter S. Coates, Pat J. Jackson, John C. Tull, David J. Delehanty
2021, Human–Wildlife Interactions (15)
Common ravens (Corvus corax; ravens) are a behaviorally flexible nest predator of several avian species, including species of conservation concern. Movement patterns based on life history phases, particularly territoriality of breeding birds and transiency of nonbreeding birds, are thought to influence the frequency and efficacy of nest predation. As such,...
Retreat and regrowth of the Greenland Ice Sheet during the Last Interglacial as simulated by the CESM2-CISM2 coupled climate–ice sheet model
Aleah Sommers, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, William Lipscomb, Marcus Lofverstrom, Sarah Shafer, Patrick J. Bartlein, Esther C. Brady, Erik Kluzek, Gunter Leguy, Katherine Thayer-Calder, Robert Tomas
2021, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (36)
During the Last Interglacial, approximately 129 to 116 ka (thousand years ago), the Arctic summer climate was warmer than the present, and the Greenland Ice Sheet retreated to a smaller extent than its current state. Previous model-derived and geological reconstruction estimates of the sea-level contribution of the Greenland Ice Sheet...
Changes in liquefaction severity in the San Francisco Bay Area with sea-level rise
Alex R. Grant, Anne Wein, Kevin M. Befus, Juliette Finzi-Hart, Mike Frame, Rachel Volentine, Patrick L. Barnard, Keith L. Knudsen
2021, Conference Paper, Geo-Extreme 2021: Climatic Extremes and Earthquake Modeling
This paper studies the impacts of sea-level rise on liquefaction triggering and severity around the San Francisco Bay Area, California, for the M 7.0 “HayWired” earthquake scenario along the Hayward fault. This work emerged from stakeholder engagement for the US Geological...
Simulation of groundwater budgets and travel times for watersheds on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with implications for nitrogen-transport studies
Janet R. Barclay, John R. Mullaney
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5116
Aquatic systems in and around the Long Island Sound (LIS) provide a variety of ecological and economic benefits, but in some areas of the LIS, aquatic ecosystems have become degraded by excess nitrogen. A substantial fraction of the nitrogen inputs to the LIS are transported through the groundwater-flow system. Because...
California deepwater investigations and groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I: Fault and shallow geohazard analysis offshore Morro Bay
Maureen A. L. Walton, Charlie K Paull, Guy R. Cochrane, Jason A. Addison, Roberto Gwiazda, Daniel J. Kennedy, Eve M. Lundsten, Antoinette Gabrielle Papesh
2021, Report
The California Deepwater Investigations and Groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I project focuses on the potential seafloor hazards and impacts of alternative energy infrastructure in the outer continental shelf region offshore of south-central California. This is one of three reports covering a single study area located between Monterey and Point Conception, California...
