Sexual dimorphism in endangered Jemez Mountains Salamanders (Plethodon neomexicanus)
Nancy E. Karraker, Rachel A. Loehman, Samantha Cordova
2023, Journal of Herpetology (57) 204-210
Sex ratio is a key demographic characteristic indicative of the condition of populations. Despite over 70 yr of study, researchers have not fully evaluated morphological characteristics that differentiate sex in Jemez Mountains Salamanders (Plethodon neomexicanus; federally endangered). Populations of this endemic salamander, which are...
Modeling non-structural strategies to reduce pedestrian evacuation times for mitigating local tsunami threats in Guam
Nathan J. Wood, Jeff Peters, Kwok Fai Cheung, Yoshiki Yamazaki, Denille Calvo, Charles Guard
2023, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction (95)
Reducing the potential for loss of life from local tsunamis is challenging for emergency managers given the need for self-protective behavior of at-risk individuals within brief windows of time to evacuate. There has been considerable attention paid to discussing the...
Mammalian resistance to megafire in western U.S. woodland savannas
Kendall L. Calhoun, Benjamin R. Goldstein, Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Michael C Mcinturff, Leonel Solorio, Justin S. Brashares
2023, Ecosphere (14)
Increasingly frequent megafires are dramatically altering landscapes and critical habitats around the world. Across the western United States, megafires have become an almost annual occurrence, but the implication of these fires for the conservation of native wildlife remains relatively unknown. Woodland savannas are among...
Distribution of large boulders on the deposit of the West Salt Creek rock avalanche, western Colorado
Adrian C. Lewis, Rex L. Baum, Jeffrey A. Coe
2023, Data Report 1178
On May 25, 2014, a 54.5-million cubic meter rock avalanche in the West Salt Creek valley, Mesa County, Colorado, traveled 4.6 kilometers, leaving a deposit that covers about 2.2 square kilometers. To check the particle-size distribution of the deposit for information about the high mobility of the avalanche, we estimated...
Forecasts of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) land use in the southern Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, 2040–65
Karyn D. Rode, David C. Douglas, Todd C. Atwood, Ryan R. Wilson
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1048
This report provides analysis to extend the 2040 forecasts of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) land use for the southern Beaufort and Chukchi Sea populations presented in a recent publication (Rode and others, 2022) through the year 2065. To inform long-term polar bear management considerations, we provide point-estimate forecasts and 95-percent...
Debris-flow process controls on steepland morphology in the San Gabriel Mountains, California
William Struble, Luke A. McGuire, Scott W. McCoy, Katherine R. Barnhart, Odin Marc
2023, JGR Earth Surface (128)
Steep landscapes evolve largely by debris flows, in addition to fluvial and hillslope processes. Abundant field observations document that debris flows incise valley bottoms and transport substantial sediment volumes, yet their contributions to steepland morphology remain uncertain. This has, in turn, limited the development of debris-flow incision rate formulations that...
Prioritizing the risk and management of introduced species in a landscape with high indigenous biodiversity
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Jennifer Kingston, Brittany Ewing, Wendy M Bear, Stacie A. Hathaway, Cedric Lee, Camm C. Swift, Kristine L. Preston, Allison J. Schultz, Barbara E. Kus, Kerwin Russell, Philip Unitt, Bradford D. Hollingsworth, Robert E. Espinoza, Michael Wall, Scott Tremor, Kai Palenscar, Robert N. Fisher
2023, Bulletin, Southern California Academy of Sciences (122) 101-121
Risk analysis protocols for prioritizing the management of non-native species are numerous, yet few incorporate risk and management in the same analysis or accommodate a broad diversity of taxa outside of a specific geographic area. We adapted a protocol that accounts for these factors to address non-native animal species in...
Persistence of native riverine fishes downstream from two hydropower dams with contrasting operations
Mary Freeman, Brett Albanese, Phillip M. Bumpers, Megan M. Hagler, Andrew J. Nagy, Byron J. Freeman, Seth J. Wenger
2023, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (80) 1723-1736
Identifying hydropower dam operations that lessen detrimental effects on downstream fauna could inform conservation strategies for native fishes. We compared occurrence of native fishes in 20 shoal habitats downstream from two differently operated hydropower dams in the Coosa River system, Georgia, USA. Species richness averaged 7 and...
Lake sturgeon population trends in the St. Clair–Detroit River System, 2001–2019
Justin A. Chiotti, James C. Boase, Andrew S Briggs, Chris Davis, Richard Drouin, Darryl W. Hondorp, Lloyd Mohr, Edward F. Roseman, Michael V. Thomas, Todd C. Wills
2023, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (43) 1066-1080
Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens are listed as threatened or endangered in 15 states or provinces within their native range. Accordingly, investments in habitat and population restoration for this species have increased throughout the Great Lakes. To aide evaluation of restoration efficacy, robust population parameters are needed to inform management decisions. The St....
Extrusion tectonism of Indochina reassessed: constraints from 40Ar/39Ar geochronology from the Day Nui Con Voi metamorphic massif, Vietnam
Thi-Hue Dinh, Meng-Wan Yeh, Tung-Yi Lee, Michael J. Kunk, Robert P. Wintsch, Ryan J. McAleer
2023, Frontiers in Earth Science (11)
The extrusion tectonic model for the southeastern margin of the Himalayan orogeny links the crustal shear activity along the Red River Shear Zone (RRSZ) to the opening of the South China Sea (SCS). The Day Nui Con Voi (DNCV) metamorphic massif in northern Vietnam strikes NW-SE, is bounded by the...
Impacts of a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake on water levels and wetlands of the lower Columbia River and Estuary
M.W. Brand, H.L. Diefenderfer, Jim E. O'Connor, A.B. Borde, D.A. Jay, A. Al-Bahadily, M. McKeon, S.A. Talke
2023, Geophysical Research Letters (50)
Subsidence after a subduction zone earthquake can cause major changes in estuarine bathymetry. Here, we quantify the impacts of earthquake-induced subsidence on hydrodynamics and habitat distributions in a major system, the lower Columbia River Estuary, using a hydrodynamic and habitat model. Model results indicate that coseismic subsidence...
River geomorphology affects biogeochemical responses to hydrologic events in a large river ecosystem
Taryn Waite, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Denise Bruesewitz, Molly Van Appledorn, Megan Johnston, Jeffrey N. Houser, Douglas Baumann, Barbara Bennie
2023, Water Resources Research (59)
Shifts in the frequency and intensity of high discharge events due to climate change may have important consequences for the hydrology and biogeochemistry of rivers. However, our understanding of event-scale biogeochemical dynamics in large rivers lags that of small streams. To fill this gap, we used high-frequency...
A recruitment niche framework for improving seed-based restoration
Julie E. Larson, A. C. Agneray, Chad S. Boyd, John B. Bradford, O. A. Kildisheva, Katharine N. Suding, Stella M. Copeland
2023, Restoration Ecology (31)
As larger tracts of land experience degradation, seed-based restoration (SBR) will be a primary tool to reestablish vegetation and ecosystem function. SBR has advanced in terms of technical and technological approaches, yet plant recruitment remains a major barrier in some systems, notably drylands. There is an unmet opportunity to test...
Spatiotemporal variations in copper, arsenic, cadmium, and zinc concentrations in surface water, fine-grained bed sediment, and aquatic macroinvertebrates in the upper Clark Fork Basin, western Montana—A 20-year synthesis, 1996–2016
Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Michelle I. Hornberger
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5070
The legacy of mining-related contamination in the upper Clark Fork Basin created an extensive longitudinal gradient in metal concentrations, extending from Silver Bow Creek to Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho. Downstream metal concentrations continue to decline, but, despite such improvements, the ecological health of much of the river remains uncertain. Understanding...
An algorithm for correction of atmospheric scattering dilution effects in volcanic gas emission measurements using skylight differential optical absorption spectroscopy
Bo Galle, Santiago Arellano, Mattias Johansson, Christoph Kern, Melissa Pfeffer
2023, Frontiers in Earth Science (11)
Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) is commonly used to measure gas emissions from volcanoes. DOAS instruments measure the absorption of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation scattered in the atmosphere by sulfur dioxide (SO2) and other trace gases contained in volcanic plumes. The standard spectral retrieval methods assume that all measured light...
Slip deficit rates on southern Cascadia faults resolved with viscoelastic earthquake cycle modeling of geodetic deformation
Kathryn Zerbe Materna, Jessica R. Murray, Frederick Pollitz, Jason R. Patton
2023, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (113) 2505-2518
The fore‐arc of the southern Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ), north of the Mendocino triple junction (MTJ), is home to a network of Quaternary‐active crustal faults that accumulate strain due to the interaction of the North American, Juan de Fuca (Gorda), and Pacific plates. These faults, including the Little Salmon and...
Widespread regeneration failure in ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States
Matthew D. Petrie, Robert M. Hubbard, John B. Bradford, Tom E. Kolb, Adam Roy Noel, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, M.A. Bowen, L.R. Fuller, W. Keith Moser
2023, Forest Ecology and Management (545)
As climate changes in coming decades, ponderosa pine forest persistence may be increasingly dictated by their regeneration. Sustained regeneration failure has been predicted for forests of the southwestern US (SWUS) even in absence of stand-replacing wildfire, but regeneration in undisturbed and lightly disturbed forests has been studied infrequently and at...
Minimal shift of eastern wild turkey nesting phenology associated with projected climate change
Wesley W. Boone, Christopher E. Moorman, Adam Terando, David J. Moscicki, Bret A. Collier, Michael J. Chamberlain, Krishna Pacifici
2023, Climate Change Ecology (6)
Climate change may induce mismatches between wildlife reproductive phenology and temporal occurrence of resources necessary for reproductive success. Verifying and elucidating the causal mechanisms behind potential mismatches requires large-scale, longer-duration data. We used eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) nesting data...
Landsat 9 geometric commissioning calibration updates and system performance assessment
Michael J. Choate, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, James Storey, Mark Lubke
2023, Remote Sensing (15)
Starting with launch of Landsat 7 (L7) on 15 April 1999, the USGS Landsat Image Assessment System (IAS) has been performing calibration and characterization operations for over 20 years on the Landsat spacecrafts and their associated payloads. With the launch of Landsat 9 (L9) on 27 September 2021, that...
Combining expert knowledge of a threatened trout distribution with sparse occupancy data for climate-related projection
Nathan Chelgren, Jason B. Dunham, Stephanie L Gunckel, David P Hockman-Wert, Chris S Allen
2023, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (43) 839-858
ObjectiveTo evaluate the vulnerability of Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus to potential climate changes across its range in Oregon, we compiled disparate expert knowledge of the distribution of spawning and rearing and combined these probabilistic statements as data along with documented records of breeding and rearing in a joint occupancy...
A prioritization protocol for coastal wetland restoration on Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi
Judith Z. Drexler, Helen Raine, James D. Jacobi, Sally House, Pulama Lima, William Haase, Arleone Dibben-Young, Brett T. Wolfe
2023, Frontiers in Environmental Science (11)
Hawaiian coastal wetlands provide important habitat for federally endangered waterbirds and socio-cultural resources for Native Hawaiians. Currently, Hawaiian coastal wetlands are degraded by development, sedimentation, and invasive species and, thus, require restoration. Little is known about their original structure and function due to the large-scale alteration of the lowland landscape...
User engagement to improve coastal data access and delivery
Amanda D. Stoltz, Amanda E. Cravens, Erika E. Lentz, Emily A. Himmelstoss
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5081
Executive SummaryA priority of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program focus on coastal change hazards is to provide accessible and actionable science that meets user needs. To understand these needs, 10 virtual Coastal Data Delivery Listening Sessions were completed with 5 coastal data user...
White-Nose Syndrome Diagnostic Laboratory Network handbook
Katrina E. Alger, White Nose Syndrome National Response Team Diagnostic Working Group
2023, Techniques and Methods 15-E1
When responding to a wildlife disease outbreak, managers depend on consistent and clear data to make decisions. However, diagnostic methods for detecting pathogens of wildlife often lack the level of procedural and interpretational standardization that occurs in the investigation of human and domestic animal diseases. This lack of standardization can...
GRiMeDB: The Global River Database Methane Database of concentrations and fluxes
Emily H. Stanley, Luke C. Loken, Nora J. Casson, Samantha K. Oliver, Ryan A. Sponseller, Marcus B. Wallin, Liwei Zhang, Gerard Rocher-Ros
2023, Earth System Science Data (15) 2879-2926
Despite their small spatial extent, fluvial ecosystems play a significant role in processing and transporting carbon in aquatic networks, which results in substantial emission of methane (CH4) into the atmosphere. For this reason, considerable effort has been put into identifying patterns and drivers of CH4 concentrations in streams and rivers...
Cross-continental evaluation of landscape-scale drivers and their impacts to fluvial fishes: Understanding frequency and severity to improve fish conservation in Europe and the United States
Maria M. Ublacker, Dana M. Infante, Arthur R. Cooper, Wesley M. Daniel, Stefan Schmutz, Rafaela Schinegger
2023, Science of the Total Environment (897)
Fluvial fishes are threatened globally from intensive human landscape stressors degrading aquatic ecosystems. However, impacts vary regionally, as stressors and natural environmental factors differ between ecoregions and continents. To date, a comparison of fish responses to landscape stressors over continents is lacking, limiting understanding of consistency of impacts and hampering efficiencies...
