Evidence for geographic variation in life-cycle processes affecting phenology of the Lyme disease vector Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in the United States
Nicholas H. Ogden, Genevieve Pang, Howard S. Ginsberg, Graham J. Hickling, Russell L. Burke, Lorenza Beati, Jean I. Tsao
2018, Journal of Medical Entomology (55) 1386-1401
The seasonal activity pattern of immature Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae) varies geographically in the United States, which may affect the efficiency of transmission cycles of pathogens transmitted by this species. To study the factors that determine seasonality, a multiyear study at seven sites across the geographic range of I. scapularis systematically collected questing...
Establishing chronologies for alluvial-fan sequences with analysis of high-resolution topographic data: San Luis Valley, Colorado, USA
Samuel Johnstone, Adam M. Hudson, Sylvia Nicovich, Chester A. Ruleman, Robert M. Sare, Ren A. Thompson
2018, Geosphere (14) 1-18
On active alluvial fans, debris-flow deposits and frequent avulsions produce a rough topographic surface. As is the case in many initially rough landforms produced by catastrophic processes, the topography of alluvial fans is progressively smoothed, producing textural differences useful in establishing relative age criteria for fans. Here, we outline an...
Molecular systematics of sturgeon nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses
Sharon Clouthier, Eric Anderson, Gael Kurath, Rachel Breyta
2018, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution (128) 26-37
Namao virus (NV) is a sturgeon nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (sNCLDV) that can cause a lethal disease of the integumentary system in lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens. As a group, the sNCLDV have not been assigned to any currently recognized taxonomic family of viruses. In this study, a data set of NV...
Evaluating inter-rater reliability and statistical power of vegetation measures assessing deer impact
Danielle R. Begley-Miller, Duane R. Diefenbach, Marc E. McDill, Christopher S. Rosenberry, Emily H. Just
2018, Forests (9)
Long-term vegetation monitoring projects are often used to evaluate how plant communities change through time in response to some external influence. Here, we evaluate the efficacy of vegetation monitoring to consistently detect changes in white-tailed deer browsing effects. Specifically, we compared inter-rater reliability (Cohen’s κ and Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient)...
Preliminary peak stage and streamflow data for selected U.S. Geological Survey streamgaging stations in North and South Carolina for flooding following Hurricane Florence, September 2018
Toby D. Feaster, J. Curtis Weaver, Anthony J. Gotvald, Katharine Kolb
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1172
Hurricane Florence made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, shortly after dawn on September 14, 2018. Once over land, the forward motion of the hurricane slowed to about 2 to 3 miles per hour. Over the next several days, the hurricane delivered historic amounts of...
Mars global digital dune database (MGD3)—Composition, stability, and thermal inertia
Amber L. Gullikson, Rosalyn K. Hayward, Timothy N. Titus, Heather Charles, Lori K. Fenton, Rachael H. Hoover, Nathaniel E. Putzig
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1164
The Mars Global Digital Dune Database (MGD3) is an online repository that has catalogued dune fields larger than 1 km2 located between latitudes 90° N. and 90° S. The work presented here expands upon previous MGD3 open-file reports, with a new emphasis upon characterizing dune fields through composition, stability, and...
Preliminary investigation of groundwater quality near a Michigan cemetery, 2016–17
Angela K. Brennan, Carrie E. Givens, Julia G. Prokopec, Christopher J. Hoard
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5120
The potential effect of cemetery leachate on groundwater quality in the United States has rarely been studied. Nutrients and other constituents associated with decomposition and burial processes (such as embalming) have the potential to reach shallow groundwater and could affect nearby drinking-water sources. The objective of this preliminary investigation was...
Methodology for correcting bottomhole temperatures acquired from wireline logging measurements in the onshore U.S. Gulf of Mexico Basin to characterize the thermal regime of total petroleum systems
Lauri A. Burke, Ofori N. Pearson, Scott A. Kinney, Janet K. Pitman
2018, GCAGS Journal (7) 93-106
Characterization of the subsurface thermal regime is critical for understanding many facets of the petroleum system, from thermal maturation of organic-rich source rocks to thermal preservation and non-degradation of hydrocarbon accumulations. On a broad scale, paleo-heatflow has been mapped for the North American continent (Blackwell and Richards, 2004) as well...
Integrating encounter theory with decision analysis to evaluate collision risk and determine optimal protection zones for wildlife
B.J. Udell, Julien Martin, R.J. Fletcher, Mathieu Bonneau, Holly H. Edwards, T. Gowan, Stacie K. Hardy, E. Gurarie, C.S. Calleson, C.J. Deutsch
2018, Journal of Applied Ecology (56) 1050-1062
1.Better understanding human‐wildlife interactions and their links with management can help improve the design of wildlife protection zones. One example is the problem of wildlife collisions with vehicles or human‐built structures (e.g. power lines, wind farms). In fact, collisions between marine wildlife and watercraft are among the major threats faced...
Detecting snow depth change in avalanche path starting zones using uninhabited aerial systems and structure from motion photogrammetry
Erich H. Peitzsch, Daniel B. Fagre, Jordy Hendrikx, Karl W. Birkeland
2018, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the International Snow Science Workshop
Understanding snow depth distribution and change is useful for avalanche forecasting and mitigation, runoff forecasting, and infrastructure planning. Advances in remote sensing are improving the ability to collect snow depth measurements. The development of structure from motion (SfM), a photogrammetry technique, combined with the use of uninhabited aerial systems (UASs)...
Emigration and transportation stress of juvenile Chinook salmon relative to their reintroduction upriver of Shasta Dam, California, 2017–18
Noah S. Adams, Theresa L. Liedtke, John M. Plumb, Lisa K. Weiland, Amy C. Hansen, Scott D. Evans
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1144
The Bureau of Reclamation supports the Shasta Dam Fish Passage Evaluation (SDFPE; Yip, 2015) program, and in 2016 set out to determine the feasibility of reintroducing winter-run and spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) to tributaries upstream of Shasta Dam. Ideally, reintroduction strategy includes trapping naturally...
Geomorphic characteristics of Tenmile Creek, Montgomery County, Maryland, 2014–16
Edward J. Doheny, S. Matthew Baker
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5098
Data collected from April 2014 through September 2016 were used to assess geomorphic characteristics and geomorphic changes over time in a selected reach of Tenmile Creek, a small rural watershed near Clarksburg, Maryland. Longitudinal profiles of the channel bed, water surface, and bank features were developed from field surveys. Changes...
Development of a geodetic component for the U.S. West Coast Earthquake Early Warning System
Jessica R. Murray, Brendan W. Crowell, R. Grapenthin, Kathleen Hodgkinson, John O. Langbein, Timothy Melbourne, Diego Melgar, Sarah E. Minson, David A. Schmidt
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 2322-2336
An earthquake early warning (EEW) system, ShakeAlert, is under development for the West Coast of the United States. This system currently uses the first few seconds of waveforms recorded by seismic instrumentation to rapidly characterize earthquake magnitude, location, and origin time; ShakeAlert recently added a seismic line source algorithm. For...
Findings and lessons learned from the assessment of the Mexico-United States transboundary San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers: The utility of social science in applied hydrologic research
James B. Callegary, Sharon B. Megdal, Elia Maria Tapia Villasenor, Jacob D. Petersen-Perlman, Ismael Minjarez Sosa, R. Monreal, F. Gray, Francisco Grijalva Noriega
2018, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (20) 60-73
Study RegionThis study region encompasses the Transboundary San Pedro and Santa Cruz aquifers which are shared between the states of Sonora (Mexico) and Arizona (US). Special regional considerations include a semi-arid climate, basin-fill aquifers with predominantly montane recharge areas, economic drivers in the mining, trade, and military...
Comparison of estimators for monitoring long-term population trends in deer mice, Peromyscus maniculatus, on the California Channel Islands
Catherin A. Schwemm, Charles A. Drost, John L. Orrock, Timothy J. Coonan, Thomas R. Stanley
2018, Western North American Naturalist (78) 496-509
Capture-recapture methods are commonly used to estimate abundance and density of wild animal populations. Although a variety of sophisticated analytical techniques are available to evaluate capture-recapture data, vertebrate monitoring programs often lack the resources (e.g., time, personnel, and/or analytical expertise) to apply these methods. As an alternative, simple population indices,...
Downscaling of climate model output for Alaskan stakeholders
John E. Walsh, Uma S. Bhatt, Jeremy S. Littell, Matthew Leonawicz, Michael Lindgren, Thomas A. Kurkowski, Peter A. Bieniek, Richard Thoman, Stephen T. Gray, T. Scott Rupp
2018, Environmental Modelling and Software (110) 38-51
The paper summarizes an end-to-end activity connecting the global climate modeling enterprise with users of climate information in Alaska. The effort included retrieval of the requisite observational datasets and model output, a model evaluation and selection procedure, the actual downscaling by the delta method with its inherent bias-adjustment, and the provision of products to...
Low survey response! Can I still use the data?
Larry M. Gigliotti, Seth Fompa
2018, Human Dimensions of Wildlife (24) 71-79
Natural resource agencies often use mail surveys to collect stakeholder information. However, a major concern of mail surveys have long been relatively low response rates compared to telephone or face-to-face interviews. Survey research has largely focused on achieving high response rates; however, in some situations even well designed surveys can...
Paleoseismic results from the Alpine site, Wasatch fault zone: Timing and displacement data for six holocene earthquakes at the Salt Lake City–Provo segment boundary
Scott E.K. Bennett, Christopher DuRoss, Ryan D. Gold, Richard W. Briggs, Stephen Personius, Nadine G. Reitman, Joshua Devore, Adam Hiscock, Shannon A. Mahan, Harrison J. Gray, Sydney Gunnarson, William J. Stephenson, Elizabeth Pettinger, Jackson K. Odum
2018, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 3202-3224
To improve the characterization of Holocene earthquakes on the Wasatch fault zone (WFZ), we conducted light detection and ranging (lidar)‐based neotectonic mapping and excavated a paleoseismic trench across an 8‐m‐high fault scarp near Alpine, Utah, located <1  km"><span...
NDVI exhibits mixed success in predicting spatiotemporal variation in caribou summer forage quality and quantity
Heather E. Johnson, David D. Gustine, Trevor S. Golden, Layne G. Adams, Lincoln S. Parrett, Elizabeth A. Lenart, Perry S. Barboza
2018, Ecosphere (9) 1-19
The satellite‐derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is commonly used by researchers and managers to represent ungulate forage conditions in landscapes across the globe, despite limited information about how it compares to empirical measurements of forage quality and quantity. The application of NDVI as a forage metric is particularly appealing...
Evaluation of biodiversity data portals based on requirement analysis
Pedro Luiz Pizzigatti Correa, Andre Filipe de Moraes Batista, Daniel Lins da Silva, Ronaldo Soares Rodrigues, Mike Frame, Marcelo Morandini, Silvio Stanzani, Fernando Correa
2018, Ecological Informatics (48) 215-225
In recent years, concern about the misuse of natural resources has been increasing. It is essential to know in detail the biodiversity of an ecosystem to understand and analyze the impact of human activities on nature, as well as to promote the economic growth of a country. To achieve these goals, public...
Determination of representative uranium and selenium concentrations from groundwater, 2016, Homestake Mining Company Superfund site, Milan, New Mexico
Philip T. Harte, Johanna M. Blake, Kent Becher
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1055
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, collected data on isotopes, age dating, and geochemistry including aqueous uranium concentrations of samples from 20 locations in the vicinity of the Homestake Mining Company Superfund site near Milan, New Mexico. The 20 sampled locations include...
Three-dimensional seismic characterization of karst in the Floridan aquifer system, southeastern Miami-Dade County, Florida
Kevin J. Cunningham, Joann F. Dixon, Richard L. Westcott, Sean Norgard, Cameron Walker
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5117
Two three-dimensional seismic surveys totaling 3.4 square miles were acquired in southeastern Miami-Dade County during 2015 as part of an ongoing broad regional investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department, that includes mapping and karst characterization of the Floridan aquifer system in...
Inventory of lowland-breeding birds on the Alaska Peninsula
Susan E. Savage, T. Lee Tibbitts, Kristin Sesser, Robb S.A. Kaler
2018, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (9) 637-658
We conducted the first systematic inventory of birds in the lowlands (areas ≤100 m above sea level) of the Alaska Peninsula during summers of 2004–2007 to determine their breeding distributions and habitat associations in this remote region. Using a stratified random survey design, we allocated sample plots by elevation and...
Sources of long-range anthropogenic noise in southern California and implications for tectonic tremor detection
Asaf Inbal, Tudor Cristea-Platon, Jean-Paul Ampuero, Gregor Hillers, Duncan Agnew, Susan E. Hough
2018, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 3511-3527
We study anthropogenic noise sources seen on seismic recordings along the central section of the San Jacinto fault near Anza, southern California. The strongest signals are caused by freight trains passing through the Coachella Valley north of Anza. Train‐induced transients are observed at distances of up to 50 km from the...
Interseismic ground deformation and fault slip rates in the greater San Francisco Bay Area from two decades of space geodetic data
Wenbin Xu, Songbo Wu, Kathryn Z. Materna, Robert Nadeau, Michael Floyd, Gareth J. Funning, Estelle Chaussard, Christopher W. Johnson, Jessica R. Murray, Xiaoling Ding, Roland Burgmann
Songbo Wu, Robert Nadeau, Xiaoling Ding, editor(s)
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (123) 8095-8109
The detailed spatial variations of strain accumulation and creep on major faults in the northern San Francisco Bay Area (North Bay), which are important for seismic potential and evaluation of natural hazards, remain poorly understood. Here we combine interferometric synthetic aperture radar data from the ERS‐1/2 and Envisat satellites between...
