Tree rings reveal unmatched 2nd century drought in the Colorado River Basin
Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Connie Woodhouse, Gregory J. McCabe, Cody C. Routson, David Meko
2022, Geophysical Research Letters (49)
The ongoing 22 year drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) has been extremely severe, even in the context of the longest available tree-ring reconstruction of annual flow at Lees Ferry, Arizona, dating back to 762 CE. While many southwestern drought assessments have been limited to the past 1200...
Interannual variation in climate contributes to contingency in post-fire restoration outcomes in seeded sagebrush steppe
Allison Barbara Simler-Williamson, Cara Applestein, Matthew Germino
2022, Conservation Science and Practice (4)
Interannual variation, especially weather, is an often-cited reason for restoration “failures”; yet its importance is difficult to experimentally isolate across broad spatiotemporal extents, due to correlations between weather and site characteristics. We examined post-fire treatments within sagebrush-steppe ecosystems to ask: (1) Is weather following seeding efforts a primary reason why...
Montana and Landsat
U.S. Geological Survey
2022, Fact Sheet 2022-3041
The landscapes beneath Montana’s big sky are as breathtaking as the State’s nickname would suggest. Visitors to the 41st State's "Big Sky Country" can take in the stunning icy hues of aquamarine at Glacier National Park; explore the northern swaths of Yellowstone National Park; or hike, bike, or boat through...
The role of pH up-regulation in response to nutrient-enriched, low-pH groundwater discharge
Nancy G. Prouty, Marlene Wall, J. Fietzke, Olivia M. Cheriton, Eleni Anagnostou, Brian Phillip, Adina Paytan
2022, Marine Chemistry (243)
Coral reefs and their ecosystems are threatened by both global stressors, including increasing sea-surface temperatures and ocean acidification (OA), and local stressors such as land-based sources of pollution that can magnify the effects of OA. Corals can physiologically control the chemistry of their internal calcifying fluids (CF) and can thereby regulate their...
Dynamic rating method for computing discharge from time-series stage data
Marian M. Domanski, Robert R. Holmes Jr., Elizabeth N. Heal
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1031
Ratings are used for a variety of reasons in water-resources investigations. The simplest rating relates discharge to the stage of the river. From a pure hydrodynamics perspective, all rivers and streams have some form of hysteresis in the relation between stage and discharge because of unsteady flow as a flood...
Biodiversity underpins fisheries resilience to exploitation in the Amazon River basin.
Sebastian A. Heilpern, Suresh Sethi, Ronaldo B. Barthem, Vandick da Silva Batista, Carolina RC Doria, Fabrice Duponchelle, Aurea Garcia Vasquez, Michael Goulding, Victoria Isaac, Shahid Naeem, Alexander S. Flecker
2022, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Biological Sciences (289)
Inland fisheries feed greater than 150 million people globally, yet their status is rarely assessed due to their socio-ecological complexity and pervasive lack of data. Here, we leverage an unprecedented landings time series from the Amazon, Earth's largest river basin, together with theoretical food web models to examine (i) taxonomic...
Distinct pathways to stakeholder use versus academic contribution in climate adaptation research
Amanda A Hyman, Stephanie Courtney, Karen S McNeal, Lalasia Bialic-Murphy, Cari Furiness, Mitchell J. Eaton, Paul A Armsworth
2022, Conservation Letters (15)
Challenges facing societies around the globe as they plan for and adapt to climate change are so large that usable, research-driven recommendations to inform management actions are urgently needed. We sought to understand factors that influence the variation of academic contribution and use of collaborative research on climate change. We...
Water storage decisions and consumptive use may constrain ecosystem management under severe sustained drought
Lindsey Ann Bruckerhoff, Kevin Wheeler, Kimberly L. Dibble, B.A. Mihalevich, B.T. Nielson, J. Wang, Charles Yackulic, J.C. Schmidt
2022, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (58) 654-672
Drought has impacted the Colorado River basin for the past 20 years and is predicted to continue. In response, decisions about how much water should be stored in large reservoirs and how much water can be consumptively used will be necessary. These decisions have the potential to...
Dissolved organic matter within oil and gas associated wastewaters from U.S. unconventional petroleum plays: Comparisons and consequences for disposal and reuse
Bonnie McDevitt, Aaron M. Jubb, Matthew S. Varonka, Madalyn S. Blondes, Mark A Engle, Tanya J. Gallegos, Jenna L. Shelton
2022, Science of the Total Environment (838)
Wastewater generated during petroleum extraction (produced water) may contain high concentrations of dissolved organics due to their intimate association with organic-rich source rocks, expelled petroleum, and organic additives to fluids used for hydraulic fracturing of unconventional (e.g., shale) reservoirs. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) within...
Assessment of mercury in sediments and waters of Grubers Grove Bay, Wisconsin
Evan J. Routhier, Sarah E. Janssen, Michael T. Tate, Jacob M. Ogorek, John F. DeWild, David P. Krabbenhoft
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1051
Mercury is a global contaminant that can be detrimental to wildlife and human health. Anthropogenic emissions and point sources are primarily responsible for elevated mercury concentrations in sediments and waters. Mercury can physically move and chemically transform in the environment, resulting in biomagnification of mercury, in the form of methylmercury,...
Addressing stakeholder science needs for integrated drought science in the Colorado River Basin
Anne C. Tillery, Sally House, Rebecca J. Frus, Sharon L. Qi, Daniel K. Jones, William J. Andrews
2022, Fact Sheet 2022-3010
Stakeholders need scientific data, analysis, and predictions of how drought the will impact the Colorado River Basin in a format that is continuously updated, intuitive, and easily accessible. The Colorado River Basin Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology Pilot Project was formed to demonstrate the effectiveness of addressing complex...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Paul A. Rabie, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. Euliss
2022, Professional Paper 1842-P
Keys to Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia hypugaea) management include providing areas of short, sparse vegetation and maintaining populations of prey species and of burrowing mammals to ensure availability of burrows as nest sites. In particular, the conservation of black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) and Richardson’s ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii) colonies...
Surface elevation change dynamics in coastal marshes along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Anticipating effects of rising sea-level and intensifying hurricanes
Jena A. Moon, Laura Feher, Tiffany C. Lane, William Vervaeke, Michael Osland, Douglas M. Head, Bogdan Chivoiu, David R. Stewart, Darren Johnson, James Grace, Kristine L. Metzger, Nicole M. Rankin
2022, Wetlands (42)
Accelerated sea-level rise and intensifying hurricanes highlight the need to better understand surface elevation change in coastal wetlands. We used the surface elevation table-marker horizon approach to measure surface elevation change in 14 coastal marshes along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, within five National Wildlife Refuges in Texas (USA). During...
Decadal-scale phenology and seasonal climate drivers of migratory baleen whales in a rapidly warming marine ecosystem
Dan Pendleton, Morgan Tingley, Laura Ganley, Kevin Friedland, Charlie Mayo, Moria Brown, Brigid McKenna, Adrian Jordaan, Michelle Staudinger
2022, Global Change Biology (28) 4989-5005
Species' response to rapid climate change can be measured through shifts in timing of recurring biological events, known as phenology. The Gulf of Maine is one of the most rapidly warming regions of the ocean, and thus an ideal system to study phenological and biological responses to climate change. A...
Histochemical evidence for nitrogen‐transfer Endosymbiosis in non‐photosynthetic cells of leaves and inflorescence bracts of angiosperms
April Micci, Qiuwei Zhang, Xiaoqian Chang, Kathryn Kingsley, Linsey Park, Peerapol Chiaranunt, Raquele Strickland, Fernando Velazquez, Sean Lindert, Matthew T. Elmore, Philip L. Vines, Sharron Crane, Ivelisse Irizarry, Kurt P. Kowalski, David Johnston-Monje, James F. White
2022, Biology (11)
We used light and confocal microscopy to visualize bacteria in leaf and bract cells of more than 30 species in 18 families of seed plants. Through histochemical analysis, we detected hormones (including ethylene and nitric oxide), superoxide, and nitrogenous chemicals (including nitric oxide and nitrate) around bacteria within plant cells....
Can’t see the flowers for the trees: Factors driving floral abundance within early-successional forests in the central Appalachian Mountains
Codey L. Mathis, Daren J. McNeil Jr., Monica R. Lee, Christina M. Grozinger, Clint Otto, Jeffery L. Larkin
2022, Canadian Journal of Forest Research (52) 1002-1013
Silviculture can be a powerful tool for restoring and enhancing habitat for forest-dependent wildlife. In eastern North America, regenerating timber harvests support abundant wildflowers that provide essential forage for native pollinators. Factors driving floral resource availability within regenerating forests remain almost entirely unstudied. Recent efforts to increase the area of...
The Pliocene-to-present course of the Tennessee River
William Elijah Odom, Darryl E. Granger
2022, Journal of Geology (130) 325-333
The Tennessee River, a primary drainage of the southern Appalachians and significant sediment source for the Gulf of Mexico, is generally considered to be the product of captures that rerouted the river from a more direct gulfward course. Sedimentary and genetic evidence indicates that a paleo-Tennessee flowed...
Grassy–herbaceous land moderates regional climate effects on honey bee colonies in the Northcentral US
Gabriela Quinlan, Douglas B. Sponsler, Hannah Gaines-Day, Harper McMinn-Sauder, Clint Otto, Autumn Smart, Theotime Colin, Claudio Gratton, Rufus Isaacs, Reed Johnson, Meghan O. Milbrath, Christina M. Grozinger
2022, Environmental Research Letters (17)
The lack of seasonally sustained floral resources (i.e. pollen and nectar) is considered a primary global threat to pollinator health. However, the ability to predict the abundance of flowering resources for pollinators based upon climate, weather, and land cover is difficult due to insufficient monitoring over adequate...
Rub tree use and selection by American black bears and grizzly bears in northern Yellowstone National Park
Nathaniel R. Bowersock, H. Okada, Andrea R. Litt, Kerry A. Gunther, Frank T. van Manen
2022, Ursus (2022) 1-12
Several of the world's bear species exhibit tree-rubbing behavior, which is thought to be a form of scent-marking communication. Many aspects of this behavior remain unexplored, including differences in rub tree selection between sympatric bear species. We compiled rub tree data collected on Yellowstone National...
Ephemeral stream network extraction from lidar-derived elevation and topographic attributes in urban and forested landscapes
Marina J. Metes, Daniel K. Jones, Matthew E. Baker, Andrew J. Miller, Dianna M. Hogan, J.V. Loperfido, Kristina G. Hopkins
2022, Journal of the American Water Resources Association (58) 547-565
Under-representations of headwater channels in digital stream networks can result in uncertainty in the magnitude of headwater habitat loss, stream burial, and watershed function. Increased availability of high-resolution (<2 m) elevation data makes the delineation of headwater channels more attainable. In this study, elevation data derived from...
Repeated genetic targets of natural selection underlying adaptation of euryhaline fishes to changing salinity
Jonathan P Velotta, Stephen D. McCormick, Andrew Whitehead, Catherine S Durso, Eric T. Schultz
2022, Integrative and Comparative Biology (62) 357-375
Ecological transitions across salinity boundaries have led to some of the most important diversification events in the animal kingdom, especially among fishes. Adaptations accompanying such transitions include changes in morphology, diet, whole-organism performance, and osmoregulatory function, which may be particularly prominent since divergent salinity regimes make opposing demands on systems...
Tracking heat in the Willamette River system, Oregon
Stewart A. Rounds, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5006
The Willamette River Basin in northwestern Oregon is home to several cold-water fish species whose habitat has been altered by the Willamette Valley Project, a system of 13 dams and reservoirs operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Water-resource managers use a variety of flow- and temperature-management strategies...
The thermal landscape of the Willamette River—Patterns and controls on stream temperature and implications for flow management and cold-water salmonids
Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Stewart A. Rounds
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5035
Water temperature is a primary control on the health, diversity, abundance, and distribution of aquatic species, but thermal degradation resulting from anthropogenic influences on rivers is a challenge to threatened species worldwide. In the Willamette River Basin, northwestern Oregon, spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and winter-run steelhead (O. mykiss)...
Assessment of habitat availability for juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss) in the Willamette River, Oregon
James S. White, James T. Peterson, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Tobias J. Kock, J. Rose Wallick
2022, Scientific Investigations Report 2022-5034
The Willamette River, Oregon, is home to two salmonid species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, Upper WIllamette River spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Upper Willamette River winter steelhead (O. mykiss). Streamflow in the Willamette River is regulated by upstream dams, 13 of which are operated...
Updates to models of streamflow and water temperature for 2011, 2015, and 2016 in rivers of the Willamette River Basin, Oregon
Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Stewart A. Rounds, Norman L. Buccola
2022, Open-File Report 2022-1017
Mechanistic river models capable of simulating hydrodynamics and stream temperature are valuable tools for investigating thermal conditions and their relation to streamflow in river basins where upstream water storage and management decisions have an important influence on river reaches with threatened fish populations. In the Willamette River Basin in...
