Near-term spatial hydrologic forecasting in Everglades, USA for landscape planning and ecological forecasting
Leonard G. Pearlstine, James M. Beerens, Gregg Reynolds, Saira Haider, Mark McKelvy, Kevin Suir, Stephanie Romanach, Jennifer H. Nestler
2020, Environmental Modelling and Software (132)
Operational ecological forecasting is an emerging field that leverages ecological models in a new, cross-disciplinary way – using a real-time or nearly real-time climate forecast to project near-term ecosystem states. These applications give decision-makers lead time to anticipate and manage state changes that degrade ecosystem functions or directly impact humans....
Quantitative paleoflood hydrology
Gerardo Benito, Jim E. O'Connor
2020, Book chapter, Reference module in earth systems and environmental sciences
This chapter reviews the paleohydrologic techniques and approaches used to reconstruct the magnitude and frequency of past floods using geological evidence. Quantitative paleoflood hydrology typically leads to two phases of analysis: (1) documentation and assessment of flood physical evidence (paleostage indicators), and (2) relating identified flood evidence to flood discharge,...
Western bumble bee: Declines in United States and range-wide information gaps
Tabitha A. Graves, William Michael Janousek, Sarah M. Gaulke, Amy Nicholas, Douglas Keinath, Christine M. Bell, Syd Cannings, Richard G. Hatfield, Jennifer M Heron, Jonathan B Koch, Helen L Loffland, Leif L Richardson, Ashley T. Rohde, Jessica Rykken, James P. Strange, Lusha Tronstead, Cory Sheffield
2020, Ecosphere (11)
In recent decades, many bumble bee species have declined due to changes in habitat, climate, and pressures from pathogens, pesticides, and introduced species. The western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis ), once common throughout western North America, is a species of concern and will be considered for listing by the U.S. Fish...
Supporting natural resource-management decisions — The role of economics at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) — 2018 DOI Economics Training Workshop
Mustapha Alhassan, Emily Pindilli, Christian S.L. Crowley, Carl D. Shapiro, Benjamin Simon
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1044
The second U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Economics Training Workshop (hereafter “Workshop”) was held during September 25–27, 2018, in Washington, D.C., to identify, highlight, and better understand needs and opportunities for economic analysis to support DOI’s mission. Building on the first workshop in 2017, the second Workshop, jointly convened...
Critical evaluation of stable isotope mixing end-members for estimating groundwater recharge sources: Case study from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
John E. Solder, Kimberly R. Beisner
2020, Hydrogeology Journal (28) 1575-1591
Springs and groundwater seeps along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon serve an important function for the region’s ecosystems, residents (both human and wild animal), and economy. However, these springs and seeps are potentially vulnerable to contamination, increased groundwater extraction, or reduced recharge due to climate change. Protection of...
Migratory behavior and winter geography drive differential range shifts of eastern birds in response to recent climate change
Clark Rushing, J. Andrew Royle, David Ziolkowski, Keith L. Pardieck
2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (117) 12897-12903
Over the past half century, migratory birds in North America have shown divergent population trends relative to resident species, with the former declining rapidly and the latter increasing. The role that climate change has played in these observed trends is not well understood, despite significant warming over this period. We...
Carbon dioxide-induced mortality of four species of North American fishes
Hilary B. Treanor, Andrew M. Ray, Jon Amberg, Mark P. Gaikowski, Jason E. Ilgen, Robert Gresswell, Leslie Gains-Germain, Molly A H Webb
2020, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (11) 463-475
Fisheries managers have a growing interest in the use of carbon dioxide (CO2) as a tool for controlling invasive fishes. However, limited published data exist on susceptibility of many commonly encountered species to elevated CO2 concentrations. Our objective was to estimate the 24-h 50%...
Primary sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to streambed sediment in Great Lakes tributaries using multiple lines of evidence
Austin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Samantha K. Oliver, Peter L. Lenaker, Michelle A. Nott, Marc A. Mills, Gary A. Norris, Pentti Paatero
2020, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (39) 1392-1408
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are among the most widespread and potentially toxic contaminants in Great Lakes (USA/Canada) tributaries. The sources of PAHs are numerous and diverse, and identifying the primary source(s) can be difficult. The present study used multiple lines of evidence to determine the likely sources of PAHs to...
A mixed length scale model for migrating fluvial bedforms
Michele Guala, Michael Heisel, Arvind Singh, Mirko Musa, Daniel D. Buscombe, Paul E. Grams
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
With the expansion of hydropower, in‐stream converters, flood‐protection infrastructures, and growing concerns on deltas fragile ecosystems, there is a pressing need to evaluate and monitor bedform sediment mass flux. It is critical to estimate real‐time bedform size and migration velocity and provide a theoretical framework to convert...
'Dust in the wind’ from source-to-sink: Analysis of the 14-15 April 2015 storm in Utah
Kathleen Nicoll, Maura Hahnenberger, Harland L. Goldstein
2020, Aeolian Research (46)
On 14–15 April 2015, an intense intermountain cyclone in the western USA caused high winds and a dust storm that degraded air quality in the eastern Great Basin, and deposited dust-on-snow (DOS) in the Wasatch Range near Salt Lake City, Utah. We analyzed the...
Arsenolipids in cultured Picocystis strain ML, and their occurrence in biota and sediment from Mono Lake, California
Ronald A. Glabonjat, Jodi S. Blum, Laurence G. Miller, Samuel M. Webb, John F. Stolz, Kevin A. Francesconi, Ronald S. Oremland
2020, Life (10)
Primary production in Mono Lake, a hypersaline soda lake rich in dissolved inorganic arsenic, is dominated by Picocystis strain ML. We set out to determine if this photoautotrophic picoplankter could metabolize inorganic arsenic and in doing so form unusual arsenolipids (e.g., arsenic bound to 2-O-methyl ribosides) as...
Informing amphibian conservation efforts with abundance-based metapopulation models
Paige E Howell, Blake R. Hossack, Erin L. Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Richard B. Chandler
2020, Herpetologica (76) 240-250
Science-based management strategies are needed to halt or reverse the global decline of amphibians. In many cases, sound management requires reliable models built using monitoring data. Historically, monitoring and statistical modeling efforts have focused on estimating occupancy using detection–nondetection data. Spatial occupancy models are useful for studying colonization–extinction dynamics, but...
Effects of snowpack, temperature, and disease on the demography of a wild population of amphibians
Erin L. Muths, Blake R. Hossack, Evan H. Grant, David S. Pilliod, Brittany A. Mosher
2020, Herpetologica (76) 132-143
Understanding the demographic consequences of interactions among pathogens, hosts, and weather conditions is critical in determining how amphibian populations respond to disease and in identifying site-specific conservation actions that can be developed to bolster persistence of amphibian populations. We investigated population dynamics in Boreal Toads (Anaxyrus boreas) relative to abiotic...
A synthesis of evidence of drivers of amphibian declines
Evan H. Grant, D. A. W. Miller, Erin L. Muths
2020, Herpetologica (76) 101-107
Early calls for robust long-term time series of amphibian population data, stemming from discussion following the first World Congress of Herpetology, are now being realized after 25 yr of focused research. Inference from individual studies and locations have contributed to a basic consensus on drivers of amphibian declines. Until recently...
The predictive skills of elastic Coulomb rate-and-state aftershock forecasts during the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence
Simone Mancini, Margarita Segou, Maximillian J Werner, Thomas E. Parsons
2020, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (110) 1736-1751
Operational earthquake forecasting protocols commonly use statistical models for their recognized ease of implementation and robustness in describing the short-term spatiotemporal patterns of triggered seismicity. However, recent advances on physics-based aftershock forecasting reveal comparable performance to the standard statistical counterparts with significantly improved predictive skills when fault and stress field...
NHDPlus High Resolution (NHDPlus HR)---A hydrography framework for the Nation
Susan G. Buto, Rebecca Anderson
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3033
Reliable and accurate high-resolution mapping of the Nation’s waters are critical inputs to models and decision support systems used to predict risk and enable response to impacts on water resources. It is necessary to know where the water is and how it relates to features beyond the stream network like...
Hydrodynamic modeling results showing the effects of the Luce Bayou interbasin transfer on salinity in Lake Houston, TX
Erik A. Smith, Sachin D. Shah
2020, Texas Water Journal (11) 64-88
An overreliance on groundwater resources in the Houston (Texas) metropolitan area led to aquifer drawdowns and land subsidence, so regional water suppliers have been turning to surface water resources to meet water demand. Lake Houston, an important water supply reservoir 24 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of downtown Houston, requires new...
The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire
C. Alina Cansler, Sharon M. Hood, J. Morgan Varner, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Michelle C. Agne, Robert A. Andrus, Matthew P. Ayres, Bruce D. Ayres, Jonathan D. Bakker, Michael A. Battaglia, Barbara J. Bentz, Carolyn R. Breece, James K. Brown, Daniel R. Cluck, Tom W. Coleman, R. Gregory Corace III, W. Wallace Covington, Douglas S. Cram, James B. Cronan, Joseph E. Crouse, Adrian Das, Ryan S. Davis, Darci M. Dickinson, Stephen A Fitzgerald, Peter Z. Fule, Lisa M. Ganio, Lindsay M. Grayson, Charles B. Halpern, Jim L. Hanula, Brian J. Harvey, J. Kevin Hiers, David W. Huffman, MaryBeth Keifer, Tara L. Keyser, Leda N. Kobziar, Thomas E. Kolb, Crystal A. Kolden, Karen E. Kopper, Jason R. Kreitler, Jesse K. Kreye, Andrew M. Latimer, Andrew P. Lerch, Maria J. Lombardero, Virginia L. McDaniel, Charles W. McHugh, Joel D. McMillin, Jason J. Moghaddas, Joseph J. O’Brien, Daniel D. B. Perrakis, David W. Peterson, Susan J. Pritchard, Robert A. Progar, Kenneth F. Raffa, Elizabeth D. Reinhardt, Joseph C. Restaino, John P. Roccaforte, Brendan M. Rogers, Kevin C. Ryan, Hugh D. Safford, Alyson E. Santoro, Timothy M. Shearman, Alice M. Shumate, Carolyn H. Sieg, Sheri L. Smith, Rebecca J. Smith, Nathan L. Stephenson, Mary Stuever, Jens Stevens, Michael T. Stoddard, Walter G. Thies, Nicole M. Vaillant, Shelby A. Weiss, Douglas J. Westlind, Travis J. Woolley, Micah C. Wright
2020, Scientific Data (7)
Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires...
The 1933 Long Beach Earthquake (California, USA): Ground motions and rupture scenario
Susan E. Hough, Robert Graves
2020, Scientific Reports (10)
We present a synoptic analysis of the ground motions from the 11 March 1933 Mw 6.4 Long Beach, California, earthquake, the largest known earthquake within the central Los Angeles Basin region. Our inferred shaking intensity pattern supports the association of the earthquake with the Newport-Inglewood fault;...
Balancing fish-energy-cost tradeoffs through strategic basin-wide dam management
Cuihong Song, Andrew O’Malley, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Weiwei Mo
2020, Resources, Conservation and Recycling (161)
Dam management often involves tradeoffs among hydropower generation capacity, environmental impacts, and project costs. However, our understandings of such tradeoffs under a full range of dam management options remain limited, which hinders our ability to make sound and scientifically defensible dam management decisions. In order to assess the scope for...
Habitat associations and distributions of two endemic crayfishes, Cambarus (Erebicambarus) maculatus Hobbs & Pflieger, 1988 and Faxonius (Billecambarus) harrisonii (Faxon, 1884) (Decapoda: Astacoidea: Cambaridae), in the Meramec River drainage, Missouri, USA
J. Chilton, Amanda E. Rosenberger, Robert J. DiStefano
2020, Article
Understanding the habitat associations and distributions of rare species is important to inform management and policy decisions. Cambarus (Erebicambarus) maculatus Hobbs & Pflieger, 1988, the freckled crayfish, and Faxonius (Billecambarus) harrisonii (Faxon, 1884), the belted crayfish, are two of Missouri’s endemic crayfish species. Both...
3D fault architecture controls the dynamism of earthquake swarm
Z. Ross, Elizabeth S. Cochran, D. Trugman, Jonathan D. Smith
2020, Science (368) 1357-1361
The vibrant evolutionary patterns made by earthquake swarms are incompatible with standard, effectively two-dimensional (2D) models for general fault architecture. We leverage advances in earthquake monitoring with a deep-learning algorithm to image a fault zone hosting a 4-year-long swarm in southern California. We infer that fluids are naturally injected into...
Hurricane Sandy effects on coastal marsh elevation change
Alice G. Yeates, James Grace, Jennifer H. Olker, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Donald R. Cahoon, Susan C. Adamowicz, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Nels Barrett, Alice Benzecry, Linda K. Blum, Rober T Christian, Joseph Grzyb, Ellen Kracauer Hartig, Kelly Hines Leo, Scott Lerberg, James C. Lynch, Nicole Maher, J Patrick Megonigal, William G. Reay, Drexel Siok, Adam Starke, Vincent Turner, Scott Warren
2020, Estuaries and Coasts (43) 1640-1657
High-magnitude storm events such as Hurricane Sandy are powerful agents of geomorphic change in coastal marshes, potentially altering their surface elevation trajectories. But how do a storm’s impacts vary across a large region spanning a variety of wetland settings and storm exposures and intensities. We determined the short-term impacts of...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Baird’s Sparrow (Centronyx bairdii)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Betty R. Euliss
2020, Professional Paper 1842-HH
Keys to Baird’s Sparrow (Centronyx bairdii) management are providing native or tame grasslands with moderately deep litter, controlling excessive grazing, and curtailing shrub encroachment. Baird’s Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with less than or equal to (≤) 101 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 3–46 cm visual obstruction reading...
Modified QuEChERS extraction for the analysis of young-of-year smallmouth bass using GC × GC-TOFMS
Paige Teehan, Megan K. Schall, Vicki S. Blazer, Beate Gruber, Frank L Dorman
2020, Analytical Methods (12) 3697-3704
Signs of disease, such as external lesions, have been prevalent in smallmouth bass throughout the Susquehanna River Basin, USA. Previous targeted chemical studies in this system have identified known persistent organic pollutants, but a common explanatory link across multiple affected sites remains undetermined. A fast and robust extraction method...
