Invasive predator diet plasticity has implications for native fish conservation and invasive species suppression
Hayley C. Glassic, Christopher S. Guy, Lusha M. Tronstad, Dominique R. Lujan, Michelle A. Briggs, Lindsey K. Albertson, Todd M. Koel
2023, PLoS ONE (18)
Diet plasticity is a common behavior exhibited by piscivores to sustain predator biomass when preferred prey biomass is reduced. Invasive piscivore diet plasticity could complicate suppression success; thus, understanding invasive predator consumption is insightful to meeting conservation targets. Here, we determine if diet plasticity exists in...
Status and trends of total nitrogen and total phosphorus concentrations, loads, and yields in streams of Mississippi, water years 2008–18
Matthew B. Hicks, Angela S. Crain, Natalie G. Segrest
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5003
To assess the status and trends of conditions of surface waters throughout Mississippi, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), summarized concentrations and estimated loads, yields, trends, and spatial and temporal patterns of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) at 20 stream...
The drift history of the Dharwar Craton and India from 2.37 Ga to 1.01 Ga with refinements for an initial Rodinia configuration
Scott R Miller, Joseph Meert, Anthony Francis Pivarunas, Anup K. Sinha, Manoj K. Pandit, Paul A. Mueller, George Kamenov
2023, Geoscience Frontiers (14)
Coupled paleomagnetic and geochronologic data derived from mafic dykes provide valuable records of continental movement. To reconstruct the Proterozoic paleogeographic history of Peninsular India, we report paleomagnetic directions and U-Pb zircon ages from twenty-nine mafic dykes in the Eastern Dharwar Craton near Hyderabad. Paleomagnetic analysis yielded clusters...
Random forest classification of multitemporal Landsat 8 spectral data and phenology metrics for land cover mapping in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts
Madeline Melichar, Kamel Didan, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Jennifer N. Duberstein, Eduardo Jimenez Hernandez, Theresa Crimmins, Haiquan Li, Myles B. Traphagen, Kathryn A. Thomas, Pamela L. Nagler
2023, Remote Sensing (15)
Geospatial data and tools evolve as new technologies are developed and landscape change occurs over time. As a result, these data may become outdated and inadequate for supporting critical habitat-related work across the international boundary in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts Bird Conservation Region (BCR 33) due to the...
Estimating streamflow for base flow conditions at partial-record streamgaging stations at Acadia National Park, Maine
Pamela J. Lombard
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5126
The objective of the work presented in this report is to develop equations that can be used to extend the base flow record at multiple partial-record streamgaging stations at Acadia National Park in eastern coastal Maine based on nearby continuous-record streamgaging stations. Daily mean streamflow values at U.S. Geological Survey...
A hidden cost of single species management: Habitat-relationships reveal potential negative effects of conifer removal on a non-target species
Nicholas J. Van Lanen, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge
2023, Biological Conservation (280)
Land management priorities and decisions may result in population declines for non-target wildlife species. In the western United States, large-scale removal of conifer from sagebrush ecosystems (Artemisia spp.) is occurring to recover greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations and may result in pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) habitat loss. Jay populations have experienced...
Changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2
Xiaoxuan Gu, Peiyang Qiao, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock, Janine B. Adams, Samantha K. Chapman, Tim C. Jennerjahn, Qiulian Lin, Luzhen Chen
2023, Ecosystem Health and Sustainability (9)
While there is consensus that blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, have an important role in mitigating some aspects of global climate change, little is known about mangrove carbon cycling under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2). Here, we review studies in order to identify pathways for how eCO2 might influence mangrove ecosystem carbon...
Combinatorial optimization of earthquake spatial distributions under minimum cumulative stress constraints
Eric L. Geist, Thomas E. Parsons
2023, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (113) 1025-1038
We determine optimal on‐fault earthquake spatial distributions using a combinatorial method that minimizes the long‐term cumulative stress resolved on the fault. An integer‐programming framework was previously developed to determine the optimal arrangement of a millennia‐scale earthquake sample that minimizes the misfit to a target slip rate determined from geodetic data....
Identifying research in support of the management and control of dreissenid mussels in the western United States
Timothy D. Counihan, Lisa DeBruyckere, Stephen M. Bollens, Stephen Phillips, Theresa Thom, Barak Shemai
2023, Management of Biological Invasions (14) 459-466
On February 9–10, 2022, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Washington State University hosted a workshop to establish research priorities that support the implementation of action items listed in a current invasive species management plan, the Quagga and Zebra Mussel Action...
Incorporation of real-time earthquake magnitudes estimated via peak ground displacement scaling in the ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning system
Jessica R. Murray, Brendan W. Crowell, Mark Hunter Murray, Carl W Ulberg, Jeffrey J. McGuire, Mario Aranha, Mike Hagerty
2023, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (113) 1286-1310
The United States earthquake early warning (EEW) system, ShakeAlert®, currently employs two algorithms based on seismic data alone to characterize the earthquake source, reporting the weighted average of their magnitude estimates. Nonsaturating magnitude estimates derived in real time from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data using peak ground displacement (PGD)...
Nutrient and suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, and yields in upper Macoupin Creek, Illinois, 2017–21
Luis A. Garcia, Paul J. Terrio, Adam E. Manaster
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5131
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Macoupin County Soil and Water Conservation District and the American Farmland Trust, undertook a monitoring effort from 2017 to 2021 in the upper Macoupin Creek watershed. The monitoring effort was to determine and characterize nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment concentrations, loads, and yields...
Data summary report: Unregulated contaminants monitoring project
Jane de Lambert, Alycia Overbo, Steve Robertson, Sarah M. Elliott
2023, Report
The Drinking Water Protection Section of the Minnesota Department of Health conducted reconnaissance monitoring of selected public water systems in Minnesota. Funding was obtained primarily from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. Sampling was conducted in 2019 and 2021. Laboratory analysis of samples was conducted for a variety of...
Vulnerability of estuarine systems in the contiguous United States to water quality change under future climate and land-use
Lise R. Montefiore, Natalie Nelson, Michelle Staudinger, Adam J. Terando
2023, Earth's Future (11)
Changes in climate and land-use and land-cover (LULC) are expected to influence surface water runoff and nutrient characteristics of estuarine watersheds, but the extent to which estuaries are vulnerable to altered nutrient loading under future conditions is poorly understood. The present work aims to address this gap...
Functional stability of vegetation following biocontrol of an invasive riparian shrub
Annie L. Henry, Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Patrick B. Shafroth, Alexander R.B. Goetz, Anna A. Sher
2023, Biological Invasions (25) 1133-1147
Understanding plant community response to environmental change is a crucial aspect of biological conservation and restoration, but species-based approaches are limited in that they do not reveal the underlying mechanisms driving vegetation dynamics. An understanding of trait-environment relationships is particularly important in the case of invasive...
Juvenile salmonid monitoring to assess natural recolonization following removal of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, Washington, 2016–21
Ian G. Jezorek, Jill M. Hardiman
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1117
Condit Dam was removed from river kilometer (rkm) 5.3 of the White Salmon River, Washington, in 2011 and 2012 after blocking upstream passage of anadromous fish for nearly 100 years. The dam removal opened habitat upstream and improved habitat downstream with addition of cobble and gravel to a reach depauperate...
The water cycle
Hayley R. Corson-Dosch, Cee S. Nell, Rachel E. Volentine, Althea A. Archer, Ellen Bechtel, Jennifer L. Bruce, Nicole Felts, Tara A. Gross, Dianne Lopez-Trujillo, Charlotte E. Riggs, Emily Read
2023, General Information Product 221
An illustrated diagram of the water cycle. This is a modern, updated version of the widely used diagram featured on the USGS Water Science School. Notably, this new water cycle diagram depicts humans and major categories of human water use as key components of the water cycle, in addition to...
National map of focus areas for potential critical mineral resources in the United States
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Douglas C. Kreiner, Connie L. Dicken, Laurel G. Woodruff
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3007
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) to modernize the surface and subsurface geologic mapping of the United States, with a focus on identifying areas that may have the potential to contain critical mineral resources. EarthMRI can inform strategies to ensure secure and reliable...
The ties that bind the sagebrush biome: Integrating genetic connectivity into range-wide conservation of greater sage-grouse
Todd B. Cross, Jason D. Tack, David E. Naugle, Michael D. Schwartz, Kevin E. Doherty, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Ronald D. Pritchert, Brad C. Fedy
2023, Royal Society Open Science (10)
Conserving genetic connectivity is fundamental to species persistence, yet rarely is made actionable into spatial planning for imperilled species. Climate change and habitat degradation have added urgency to embrace connectivity into networks of protected areas. Our two-step process integrates a network model with a functional connectivity model, to identify population...
Unstructured-grid approach to develop high-fidelity groundwater model to understand groundwater flow and storage responses to excessive groundwater withdrawals in the Southern Hills aquifer system in southeastern Louisiana (USA)
Ye-Hong Chen, Hamid Vahdat-Aboueshagh, Frank T.-C. Tsai, Alyssa Dausman, Michael C. Runge
2023, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (46)
Study regionThe Southern Hills aquifer system in the Louisiana Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District (CAGCD), USA.Study focusThe Southern Hills aquifer system provides abundant groundwater for public and industrial supplies in the CAGCD. Groundwater depletion, saltwater intrusion, and land subsidence are potential concerns due to prolonged excessive groundwater withdrawals. This study...
Observations of coastal circulation, waves, and sediment transport along West Maui, Hawaiʻi (November 2017– March 2018), and modeling effects of potential watershed restoration on decreasing sediment loads to adjacent coral reefs
Curt D. Storlazzi, Olivia M. Cheriton, Katherine M. Cronin, Luuk H. van der Heijden, Gundula Winter, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Joshua B. Logan, Robert T. McCall
2023, Open-File Report 2022-1121
Terrestrial sediment discharging from watersheds off West Maui, Hawaiʻi, has been documented as a primary stressor to local coral reefs, causing coral reef health to decline. The U.S. Geological Survey acquired and analyzed physical oceanographic and sedimentologic field data off the coast of West Maui to calibrate and validate physics-based,...
Modeling post-wildfire hydrologic response: Review and future directions for applications of physically based distributed simulation
Brian A. Ebel, Zachary M. Shephard, Michelle A. Walvoord, Sheila F. Murphy, Trevor Fuess Partridge, Kimberlie Perkins
2023, Earth's Future (11)
Wildfire is a growing concern as climate shifts. The hydrologic effects of wildfire, which include elevated hazards and changes in water quantity and quality, are increasingly assessed using numerical models. Post-wildfire application of physically based distributed models provides unique insight into the underlying processes that affect water...
Geothermal energy production adversely affects a sensitive indicator species within sagebrush ecosystems in western North America
Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Shawn T. O’Neil, Sarah C. Webster, Shawn Espinosa, Mark A. Ricca, Steven R. Mathews, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
2023, Biological Conservation (280)
Growing demand for renewable energy has resulted in expansion of energy infrastructure across sagebrush ecosystems of western North America. Geothermal power is an increasingly popular renewable energy source, especially within remote areas, but little is known about the impacts it may have on local wildlife populations. Investigations are warranted given...
Tracking status and trends in seven key indicators of stream health in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Samuel H. Austin, Matthew J. Cashman, John W. Clune, James E. Colgin, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Kevin P. Krause, Emily H. Majcher, Kelly O. Maloney, Christopher A. Mason, Douglas L. Moyer, Tammy M. Zimmerman
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3003
“The Bay Connects us, the Bay reflects us” writes Tom Horton in the book “Turning the Tide—Saving the Chesapeake Bay”. The Chesapeake Bay watershed contains the largest estuary in the United States. The watershed stretches north to Cooperstown, New York, south to Lynchburg and Virginia Beach, Virginia, west to Pendleton...
Vulnerability to climate change of managed stocks in the California Current large marine ecosystem
Michelle M McClure, Melissa A. Haltuch, Ellen Willis-Norton, David D. Huff, Elliott L. Hazen, Lisa G. Crozier, Michael G. Jacox, Mark W. Nelson, Kelly S. Andrews, Lewis A. K. Barnett, Aaron M. Berger, Sabrina Beyer, Joe Bizzarro, David A. Boughton, Jason M. Cope, Mark H. Carr, Heidi Dewar, Edward Dick, Dorval Emmanis, Jason B. Dunham, Vladlena Gertseva, Correigh M. Greene, Richard G. Gustafson, Hamel Owen S., Chris J. Harvey, Mark J. Henderson, Chris E. Jordan, Isaac C. Kaplan, Steven T. Lindley, Nathan J. Mantua, Sean E. Matson, Melissa H. Monk, Peter B. Moyle, Colin L Nicol, John Pohl, Ryan R. Rykaczewski, Jameal F. Samhouri, Susan Sogard, Nick Tolimieri, John Wallace, Chantel Wetzel, Steven J. Bograd
2023, Frontiers in Marine Science (10)
Introduction: Understanding how abundance, productivity and distribution of individual species may respond to climate change is a critical first step towards anticipating alterations in marine ecosystem structure and function, as well as developing strategies to adapt to the full range of potential changes.Methods: This study applies the NOAA (National Oceanic and...
Qualitative value of information provides a transparent and repeatable method for identifying critical uncertainty
Michelle L Stantial, Abigail Jean Lawson, Auriel Fournier, Peter J. Kappes, Chelsea S. Kross, Michael C. Runge, Mark S. Woodrey, James E. Lyons
2023, Ecological Applications (33)
Conservation decisions are often made in the face of uncertainty because the urgency to act can preclude delaying management while uncertainty is resolved. In this context, adaptive management is attractive, allowing simultaneous management and learning. An adaptive program design requires the identification of critical uncertainties that impede the choice of...
