Overall results and key findings on the use of UAV visible-color, multispectral, and thermal infrared imagery to map agricultural drainage pipes
Barry J. Allred, Luis Martinez, Melake Fessehazion, Greg Rouse, Tanja N. Williamson, DeBonne Wishart, Triven Koganti, Robert Freeland, Neal Eash, Adam Batschelet, Robert Featheringill
2020, Agricultural Water Management (232)
Effective and efficient methods are needed to map agricultural subsurface drainage systems. Visible-color (VIS-C), multispectral (MS), and thermal infrared (TIR) imagery obtained by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may provide a means for determining drainage pipe locations. Aerial surveys using a UAV with VIS-C, MS, and TIR cameras were conducted at...
Eastern oyster clearance and respiration rates in response to acute and chronic exposure to suspended sediment loads
Megan K. La Peyre, S. K. Bernasconi, R. Lavaud, S. M. Casas, J. F. La Peyre
2020, Journal of Sea Research (157) 1-7
Coastal Louisiana supports some of the most productive areas for the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica. Changing conditions from restoration and climate change alter freshwater and sediment inflows into critical estuarine areas affecting water quality, including salinity and concentrations of suspended sediment. This study examined the effects of acute (1 h) and chronic (8 weeks) exposure of...
Final project memorandum: Identifying conservation objectives for the Gulf Coast habitats of the black skimmer and gull-billed tern
James P. Cronin
2020, Report
Many shorebirds and nearshore waterbirds are of conservation concern across the Gulf of Mexico due to stressors such as human disturbance, predation, and habitat loss and degradation. Conservation and protection of these birds is important for the functioning of healthy ecosystems and for maintaining biodiversity in North America. Consequently, resource...
Pacific Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment (PaCSEA): Characterization of Seasonal Water Masses within the Northern California Current System Using Airborne Remote Sensing off Northern California, Oregon, and Washington, 2011–2012
J A Schulien, Josh Adams, Jonathan J. Felis
2020, Report
Here, we use ocean color measurements (Figure 1) and sea surface temperature (SST) data collected using sensors mounted on low-flying aircraft to characterize NCCS water masses and identify patterns among seasons and between years. To accomplish this, we applied k-means clustering to measured and derived ecologically-relevant physical and bio-optical variables...
Acute toxicity and clotting times of anticoagulant rodenticides to red-toothed (Odonus niger) and black (Melichthys niger) triggerfish, fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides)
Rachelle Riegerix, Mike Tanner, Robert W. Gale, Donald E. Tillitt
2020, Aquatic Toxicology (221)
Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) areused in rateradication efforts on island wildlife refuges. ARbait pellets can get into coralreefareasduring broadcasting and leadto exposure ofnon-target organisms, such as marine fishes. The objective of this study was to determine the sensitivity of representative saltwater fishes, Red-toothed triggerfish (Odonus niger) and Black triggerfish (Melichthys niger),...
Extending seasonal discharge records for streamgage sites on the North Fork Fortymile and Middle Fork Fortymile Rivers, Alaska, through water year 2019
Janet H. Curran
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5003
Daily mean discharge values were estimated for May 20–September 30 for 1976–82 and 2006–18 for the U.S. Geological Survey North Fork Fortymile River and Middle Fork Fortymile River streamgage sites in Alaska. A relation between study streamgage discharge and discharge for an index streamgage on the main-stem Fortymile River...
Identification of management thresholds of urban development in support of aquatic biodiversity conservation
Craig D. Snyder, John A. Young
2020, Ecological Indicators (112)
Urbanization degrades stream ecosystems and causes loss of bodiversity. Using benthic macroinvertebrates as a surragate for overall aquatic diversity, we conducted a series of analytical approaches to derive management thresholds of urban development designed to link ecological responses to the primary management goal of protecting aquatic diversity in streams within...
Direct trace element determination in oil and gas produced waters with inductively coupled plasma - Optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES): Advantages of high salinity tolerance
Aaron M. Jubb, Mark Engle, Jessica Chenault, Madalyn Blondes, Cloelle G. Danforth, Colin Doolan, Tanya Gallegos, Dan Mueller, Jenna Shelton
2020, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research (44) 385-397
Waters co-produced during petroleum extraction are the largest waste stream from oil and gas development. Reuse or disposal of these waters is difficult due to their high salinities and the sheer volumes generated. Produced waters may also contain valuable mineral commodities. While an understanding of produced water trace element composition...
Mortality of endangered juvenile Lost River Suckers associated with cyanobacteria blooms in mesocosms in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
Summer M. Burdick, Danielle M Hereford, Carla M. Conway, Nathan V Banet, Rachel L. Powers, Barbara A. Martin, Diane G. Elliott
2020, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (149) 245-265
Unsustainably high mortality within the first 2 years of life prevents endangered Lost River Suckers Deltistes luxatus in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, from recruiting to spawning populations. Massive blooms of the cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos‐aquae and their subsequent death and decay in the lake (bloom‐crashes) are associated with high pH, low percent oxygen saturation, high total...
Predictive relations between acid-base chemistry and fish assemblages in streams of the Adirondack Mountains
Diane Bertok, Barry P. Baldigo, Scott D. George
2020, NYSERDA Report 20-04
Surface waters across much of New York State’s Adirondack Mountains were acidified in the late 20th century but began to recover following the 1990 Title IV Amendments to the Clean Air Act. Previous assessments of acidification recovery in the Adirondacks have generally been based on surface water chemistry data and...
Ecosystem-specific growth responses to climate pattern by a temperate freshwater fish
Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Mark A. Pegg, Kevin L. Pope, Lin Xie
2020, Ecological Indicators (112)
Somatic growth patterns among animal populations are maintained through complex processes that vary among ecosystems. Changes in growth patterns may be concomitant with changes in climate; however, understanding how growth will manifest among ecosystems is limited. Information embedded within fish hard-parts...
Habitat affinities and at-sea ranging behaviors among main Hawaiian Island seabirds: Breeding seabird telemetry, 2013–2016
Josh Adams, Jonathan J. Felis, Max Czapanskiy
2020, Report
Recent Hawaiʻi state clean energy policy mandates and federal interest in developing offshore renewable energy resources have prompted unsolicited lease requests for offshore wind energy infrastructure (OWEI) to be located in ocean waters off Hawaiʻi. This study describing at-sea ranging behaviors for five seabirds was intended to provide new information...
Estimating late 19th century hydrology in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem: An integration of paleoecologic data and models
Frank E. Marshall, Christopher E. Bernhardt, G. Lynn Wingard
2020, Frontiers in Environmental Science (8)
Determining hydrologic conditions prior to instrumental records is a challenge for restoration of freshwater ecosystems worldwide. Paleoecologic data provide this information on past conditions and when these data are used to adjust hydrologic models, allow conditions to be hindcast that may not be directly estimated from the paleo-data alone....
Throughfall reduction x fertilization: Deep soil water usage in a clay rich ultisol under loblolly pine in the Southeast USA
Jiaguo Qi, Daniel M. Markewitz, Mary Ann McGuire, Lisa Samuelson, Eric Ward
2020, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change (2)
Forests in the Southeast USA are predicted to experience a moderate decrease in precipitation inputs over this century that may result in soil water deficiency during the growing season. The potential impact of a drier climate on the productivity of managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations in the Southeast...
Climate change vulnerability assessment for Pacific Lamprey in rivers of the Western United States
Christina J Wang, Howard A Shaller, Kelly C. Coates, Michael C. Hayes, Robert K Rose
2020, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (35) 29-55
Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) are a native anadromous species that, like salmon, historically returned to spawn in large numbers in watersheds along the west coast of the United States (U.S.). Lamprey play a vital role in river ecosystems and are one of the oldest vertebrates that have persisted over time...
Evaluation of survey methods for colonial waterbirds at Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge, North Dakota
Lawrence D. Igl, Alisa J. Bartos, Robert O. Woodward, Paulette Scherr, Marsha A. Sovada
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1008
Estimating the number of breeding pairs in a mixed-species waterbird colony is difficult because colonial waterbirds are vulnerable to human intrusion and their colonies are often in remote areas with limited access. We investigated methods to estimate the number of nests of waterbirds at a large, mixed-species colony at Chase...
Numerical simulation of groundwater availability in central Moloka‘i, Hawai‘i
Delwyn S. Oki, John A. Engott, Kolja Rotzoll
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5150
Since the 1990s, increased chloride concentrations of water pumped from wells (much of which is used for drinking water) and the effects of withdrawals on groundwater-dependent ecosystems have led to concerns over groundwater availability on the island of Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi. An improved understanding of the hydrologic effects of proposed groundwater...
Climate relationships with increasing wildfire in the southwestern US from 1984 to 2015
Stephanie Mueller, Andrea E. Thode, Ellis Q. Margolis, Larissa Yocom, Jesse M. Young, Jose M. Iniguez
2020, Forest Ecology and Management (460)
Over the last several decades in forest and woodland ecosystems of the southwestern United States, wildfire size and severity have increased, thereby increasing the vulnerability of these systems to type conversions, invasive species, and other disturbances. A combination of land use history and climate change is widely thought to be...
Multi-region assessment of pharmaceutical exposures and predicted effects in USA wadeable urban-gradient streams
Paul M. Bradley, Celeste A. Journey, Daniel T. Button, Daren M. Carlisle, B. J. Huffman, Sharon L. Qi, Kristin M. Romanok, Peter C. Van Metre
2020, PLoS (1) 1-25
Human-use pharmaceuticals in urban streams link aquatic-ecosystem health to human health. Pharmaceutical mixtures have been widely reported in larger streams due to historical emphasis on wastewater-treatment plant (WWTP) sources, with limited investigation of pharmaceutical exposures and potential effects in smaller headwater streams. In 2014–2017, the United States Geological Survey measured...
Lake Tahoe water monitoring and research activities
Ramon C. Naranjo
2020, Newsletter
Several decades ago, deteriorating water quality and clarity in Lake Tahoe prompted the initiation of environmental programs in the Lake Tahoe basin. Data on seasonal sediment loads from tributary streams, and nutrient loads from surrounding streams and groundwater aquifers, were needed to document the causes of this deterioration, the local...
Passive seismic survey of sediment thickness, Dasht-e-Nawar basin, eastern Afghanistan
Thomas J. Mack
2020, Conference Paper, Military Geoscience
Exploration of water resources is needed for public supply, extraction of mineral resources, and economic development in Afghanistan. Remotely-sensed data are useful for identifying the general nature of surface sediments, however, “boots on the ground” geophysical surveys or drilling programs are needed to quantify the thickness of sediments or aquifers....
Cyanotoxin occurrence in large rivers of the United States
Jennifer L. Graham, Neil Dubrovsky, Guy M. Foster, Lindsey R. King, Keith Loftin, Barry Rosen, Erin Stelzer
2020, Inland Waters (10) 109-117
Cyanotoxins occur in rivers worldwide but are understudied in lotic ecosystems relative to lakes and reservoirs. Eleven large river sites located throughout the United States were sampled during June–September 2017 to determine the occurrence of cyanobacteria with known cyanotoxin-producing strains, cyanotoxin synthetase genes, and cyanotoxins. Chlorophyll-a concentrations spanned the range...
Field observations of wind waves in Upper Delaware Bay with living shorelines
Ling Zhu, Q. Chen, Hongqing Wang, William D. Capurso, Lukasz M. Niemoczynski, Kelin Hu, Gregg Snedden
2020, Estuaries and Coasts (43) 739-755
Constructed oyster reefs (CORs) provide shore protections and habitats for fish and shellfish communities via wave energy attenuation. However, the processes and mechanism of CORs on wave attenuation remain unclear, thus limiting the effective assessment of CORs for shoreline protection. This paper presents results of a field investigation on wave...
Are elevation and open-water conversion of salt marshes connected?
Neil K. Ganju, Zafer Defne, Sergio Fagherazzi
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
Salt marsh assessments focus on vertical metrics such as accretion or lateral metrics such as open-water conversion, without exploration of how the dimensions are related. We exploited a novel geospatial dataset to explore how elevation is related to the unvegetated-vegetated marsh ratio (UVVR), a lateral metric, across individual marsh “units”...
Climate and human water use diminish wetland networks supporting continental waterbird migration
J.P. Donnelly, Sammy L. King, N.L. Silverman, D. P. Collins, E.M. Carrera-Gonzalez, A. Lafon-Terrazas, J.N. Moore
2020, Global Change Biology (26) 2042-2059
Migrating waterbirds moving between upper and lower latitudinal breeding and wintering grounds rely on a limited network of endorheic lakes and wetlands when crossing arid continental interiors. Recent drying of global endorheic water stores raises concerns over deteriorating migratory pathways, yet few studies have considered these effects at the scale...
