Hydrogeology of sand and gravel aquifers in the Owasco Inlet watershed, Cayuga and Tompkins Counties, New York
Paul M. Heisig
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5031
This study is a continuation of a series of hydrogeologic appraisals that have been conducted since 1980, as part of a cooperative, long-term, detailed aquifer mapping program by the U.S. Geological Survey and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. These appraisals provide a foundation for wellhead protection programs,...
The bee lab
Sam Droege, Elise R. Irwin, Jenn Malpass, Jonathan R. Mawdsley
2023, Fact Sheet 2023-3023
Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bee Lab is a collaborative interagency joint venture and international leader for bee (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) identification, survey design, quantification of bee and plant interrelations, and development and maintenance of occurrence databases. Each of these objectives supports native bee conservation by providing critical data and tools...
Distribution of chlorinated volatile organic compounds and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in groundwater and surface water at the former Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey, 2018
Alex R. Fiore, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Timothy P. Wilson
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1022
Groundwater wells and surface-water storm sewers contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) site in West Trenton, New Jersey were sampled in 2018 as part of the Navy’s long-term monitoring program. Trichloroethene (TCE), cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cisDCE), and vinyl...
Geographic isolation reduces genetic diversity of a wide-ranging terrestrial vertebrate, Canis lupus
S.A. Frevol, D. R. MacNulty, M. C. Anderson, H. D. Cluff, L. David Mech, M. Musiani
2023, Ecosphere (14)
Genetic diversity is theorized to decrease in populations closer to a species' range edge, where habitat may be suboptimal. Generalist species capable of long-range dispersal may maintain sufficient gene flow to counteract this, though the presence of significant barriers to dispersal (e.g., large water...
Roles of climatic and anthropogenic factors in shaping Holocene vegetation and fire regimes in Great Dismal Swamp, eastern USA
Debra A. Willard, Miriam C. Jones, Jay R. Alder, David Fastovich, Kristen Hoefke, Robert Poirier, Fred C. Wurster
2023, Quaternary Science Reviews (311)
The Great Dismal Swamp wetland, spanning >400 km2 along the Virginia and North Carolina border, was shaped by a complex combination of geomorphic, climatic, and anthropogenic forcings during the last 14,000 years. Pollen, macrofossils, charcoal, and physical properties from sediment cores at seven sites...
Precision of structures used to estimate age and growth of Apache Trout from Arizona
Michael C. Quist, Marta Ulaski, Kristy Manuell, Zachary Jackson, Tim Gatewood
2023, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (14) 188-194
Obtaining reliable information on the age structure of fish populations is important for making conservation and management decisions. We sought to evaluate precision and reader confidence in age estimates from scales (two body locations), sectioned fin rays (pectoral, pelvic, anal), and sectioned sagittal otoliths from Apache Trout Oncorhynchus apache (n = 78 fish)...
Volcanic and tectonic sources of seismicity near the Tanaga Volcanic Cluster, Alaska
Kevin Lally, Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, John Power
2023, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (24)
Tanaga Island in the Central Aleutian Islands includes four stratovolcanoes: Sajaka, Tanaga, and East Tanaga in the northwest, and Takawangha in the central part of the island. Of these volcanoes, only Tanaga has a confirmed record of historical eruptive activity. We use double-difference methods to relocate Tanaga...
Impact of dams on stream fish diversity: A different result
Nicky M. Faucheux, Leandro E. Miranda, Jason M. Taylor, Jerry L. Farris
2023, Diversity (15)
Impoundments can drastically change the physical and biological characteristics of fluvial systems. Changes in the physical characteristics, such as reductions in flow, increased sediment deposition, and increased surface area, often influence the system’s biological components, including plant, macroinvertebrate, and fish assemblages. In addition to having direct effects on impounded waterbodies,...
Impacts and uncertainties of climate-induced changes in watershed inputs on estuarine hypoxia
Kyle E. Hinson, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Raymond G. Najjar, Maria Herrmann, Zihao Bian, Gopal Bhatt, Pierre St-Laurent, Hanqin Tian, Gary W. Shenk
2023, Biogeosciences (20) 1937-1961
Multiple climate-driven stressors, including warming and increased nutrient delivery, are exacerbating hypoxia in coastal marine environments. Within coastal watersheds, environmental managers are particularly interested in climate impacts on terrestrial processes, which may undermine the efficacy of management actions designed to reduce eutrophication and consequent low-oxygen conditions in receiving coastal waters....
Abiotic and biotic factors reduce the viability of a high-elevation salamander in its native range
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, Adrianne Brand
2023, Journal of Applied Ecology (60) 1684-1697
Amphibian populations are undergoing worldwide declines, and high-elevation, range-restricted amphibian species may be particularly vulnerable to environmental stressors. In particular, future climate change may have disproportional impacts to these ecosystems. Evaluating the combined effects of abiotic changes and biotic interactions simultaneously is important for forecasting the range of future...
Integration of remote sensing and field observations in evaluating DSSAT model for estimating maize and soybean growth and yield in Maryland, USA
Uvirkaa Akumaga, Feng Gao, Martha Anderson, Wayne Dulaney, Rasmus Houborg, Andy Russ, W. Dean Hively
2023, Agronomy Journal (13)
Crop models are useful for evaluating crop growth and yield at the field and regional scales, but their applications and accuracies are restricted by input data availability and quality. To overcome difficulties inherent to crop modeling, input data can be enhanced by the incorporation of remotely sensed and field...
Geochronology and mapping constraints on the time-space evolution of the igneous and hydrothermal systems in the Taurus Cu-Mo district, eastern Alaska
Douglas C. Kreiner, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Laura Pianowski, Zachary Flood, David J. Stevenson, Garth E. Graham, Jorge A. Vazquez, Robert A Creaser
2023, Economic Geology (118) 745-778
The Taurus porphyry Cu-Mo district contains four mineralized porphyry centers in the eastern interior of Alaska. All four centers were emplaced during a magmatic episode that spanned from ca. 72 to 67 Ma, with seven distinct igneous suites. Each igneous suite resulted in hydrothermal alteration and mineralization, with younger pulses...
A review of N-mixture models
Lisa Madsen, J. Andrew Royle
2023, WIREs Computational Statistics (15)
N-mixture models were born in 2004 of the necessity to model animal population size from point counts with imperfect detection of individuals, where capture-recapture methods are infeasible. Initially developed for applications where population size was assumed constant, N-mixture models were extended in 2011 to include population dynamics,...
Knowledge gaps, uncertainties, and opportunities regarding the response of the Chesapeake Bay estuary to restoration efforts
Jeremy M. Testa, William C. Dennison, William P. Ball, Kathleen Boomer, Deirdre M Gibson, Lewis C. Linker, Michael C. Runge, Lawrence Sanford
2023, Report, Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee Report
As part of the Chesapeake Bay Program's (CBP's) Science and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) initiative "Achieving Water Quality Goals in the Chesapeake Bay: An Evaluation of System Response", an Estuary Working Group was formed to generate an assessment of scientific knowledge gaps, uncertainties, and recent ecosystem changes to consider in...
When are environmental DNA early detections of invasive species actionable?
Adam Sepulveda, Christine E. Dumoulin, Denise L. Blanchette, John Mcphedran, Colin Holme, Nathan Whalen, Margaret Hunter, Christopher M. Merkes, Catherine A. Richter, Matthew Neilson, Wesley M. Daniel, Devin Nicole Jones-Slobodian, David R. Smith
2023, Journal of Environmental Management (343)
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling provides sensitive early detection capabilities for recently introduced taxa. However, natural resource managers struggle with how to integrate eDNA results into an early detection rapid response program because positive eDNA detections are not always indicative of...
Tungsten resources of the northern Rocky Mountains, Montana and Idaho— A synthesis and quantitative assessment of skarn-hosted resources
Allen K. Andersen, Margaret A. Goldman, Mitchell M. Bennett, Connie L. Dicken, Philip J. Brown, Heather L. Parks
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5012
Mineral resource assessments performed by the U.S. Geological Survey provide a synthesis of available information about the location of known and suspected mineral deposits. This study focuses on skarn-hosted tungsten resources in the northern Rocky Mountain region of east-central Idaho and western Montana which have seen moderate tungsten trioxide production...
Is now the time? Review of genetic rescue as a conservation tool for brook trout
Shannon L. White, Jacob M Rash, David C. Kazyak
2023, Ecology and Evolution (13)
Brook trout populations have been declining throughout their native range in the east coast of the United States. Many populations are now distributed in small, isolated habitat patches where low genetic diversity and high rates of inbreeding reduce contemporary viability and long-term adaptive potential. Although...
Assessing individual movement, habitat use, and behavior of non-breeding marine birds in relation to prey availability in the US Atlantic
Julia Gulka, Alicia Berlin, Kevin Friedland, Andrew Gilbert, Chandra Goetsch, William Montevecchi, Matthew Perry, Iain Stenhouse, Kate A. Williams, Evan A. Adams
2023, Marine Ecology Progress Series (711) 77-99
Resource availability is a key factor driving marine bird movements and distributions, but direct information on prey availability is difficult to obtain at relevant scales. We present novel methods for describing multi-scale trophic associations, combining movement analyses of marine birds with estimates of forage fish surface aggregations from digital aerial...
Estimating northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) pair detection probabilities based on call-back surveys associated with long-term mark-recapture studies, 1993–2018
Katie M. Dugger, Alan B. Franklin, Damon B. Lesmeister, Raymond J. Davis, J. David Wiens, Gary C. White, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Charles B. Yackulic, Carl J. Schwarz, Steven H. Ackers, L. Steven Andrews, Larissa L. Bailey, Robin Bown, Jesse Burgher, Kenneth P. Burnham, Peter C. Carlson, Tara Chestnut, Mary M Conner, Krista E. Dilione, Eric D. Forsman, Scott A. Gremel, Keith A. Hamm, Dale R. Herter, J. Mark Higley, Rob B. Horn, Julianna M Jenkins, William L. Kendall, David W Lamphear, Christopher McCafferty, Trent L. McDonald, Janice A Reid, Jeremy T. Rockweit, David C. Simon, Stan G Sovern, James K. Swingle, Heather Wise
2023, Open-File Report 2023-1012
The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina; hereinafter NSO) was listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act in 1990 and population declines have continued since that listing. Given the species’ protected status, any proposed activities on Federal lands that might impact NSO require consultation with U.S. Fish and Wildlife...
Spatiotemporal patterns and environmental drivers of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) abundance along the Missouri River, USA
Nadeesha D. Illeperuma, Mark D. Dixon, Caroline M. Elliott, Kimberly I. Magnuson, Miyuraj H H. Withanage, James E. Vogelmann
2023, Landscape Ecology (38) 1677-1695
Context: Changes in disturbance regimes, including reductions in flooding and geomorphic dynamism from dam construction and flow regulation, have facilitated invasion by eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.), an upland tree species, in the understory of floodplain forests along the Missouri National Recreational River (MNRR).<p class="c-article__sub-heading"...
Flood-inundation maps for the Muddy River, near Moapa, Nevada
Christopher M. Morris, Hampton K. Childres
2023, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5033
The Muddy River provides habitat for several wildlife and endemic aquatic species protected under the Endangered Species Act. Near Moapa, Nevada, in the Bureau of Land Management’s Muddy River Floodplain Restoration Project Area, a previously constructed levee on the east side of the river alters the natural hydrology and decreases...
Landslides triggered by the 2016–2017 storm season, eastern San Francisco Bay region, California
Skye C. Corbett, Brian D. Collins
2023, Scientific Investigations Map 3503
DiscussionThe winter rainy season of 2016–2017 brought abundant rainfall to the State of California and to the San Francisco Bay region. In January and February of 2017, intense rainfall from strong winter storms saturated soils in the region and triggered thousands of shallow landslides. The highest concentration of these landslides...
High resolution lidar data shed light on inter-island translocation of endangered bird species in the Hawaiian Islands
Erica M. Gallerani, Jeffrey Burgett, Nicolas R. Vaughn, Lucas Berio Fortini, Geoffrey A. Fricker, Hanna L. Mounce, Thomas W. Gillespie, Lisa H. Crampton, David Knapp, Justin M. Hite, Roy Gilb
2023, Ecological Applications (33)
Translocation, often a management solution reserved for at-risk species, is a highly time-sensitive intervention in the face of a rapidly changing climate. The definition of abiotic and biotic habitat requirements is essential to the selection of appropriate release sites in novel environments. However, field-based...
Potential effects of climate change on Emydoidea blandingii (Blanding’s turtle)
Marta P. Lyons, Catherine A. Nikiel, Olivia E. LeDee, Ryan P. Boyles
2023, Open-File Report 2021-1104-D
Emydoidea blandingii (Holbrook, 1838; Blanding’s turtles) are a species of medium-sized, long-lived, semiaquatic, freshwater turtles with a wide distribution across the northern and eastern United States and southern Canada. They have an annual activity cycle consisting of late autumn and winter overwintering and spring emergence, spring movement and foraging, spring...
Use of environmental DNA to assess American Eel distribution, abundance, and barriers in a river-canal system
Scott D. George, Barry P. Baldigo, Christopher B. Rees, Meredith L. Bartron, John J. Wiley Jr., Daniel S. Stich, Scott M. Wells, Dylan R. Winterhalter
2023, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (152) 310-326
Objective: The American Eel Anguilla rostrata historically was one of the most common fish species in Atlantic coast watersheds, but extensive dam construction and other factors caused a widespread population decline. One of the watersheds where American Eels have declined considerably is the Mohawk River in eastern and central...
