The Colorado River and its deposits downstream from Grand Canyon in Arizona, California, and Nevada
Ryan S. Crow, Debra L. Block, Tracey J. Felger, Kyle House, Philip A. Pearthree, Brian F. Gootee, Ann M. Youberg, Keith A. Howard, L. Sue Beard
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1005
Understanding the evolution of the Colorado River system has direct implications for (1) the processes and timing of continental-scale river system integration, (2) the formation of iconic landscapes like those in and around Grand Canyon, and (3) the availability of groundwater resources. Spatial patterns in the position and type of...
Hydrogeophysics at societally relevant scales: Airborne electromagnetic applications and model structural uncertainty quantification
Burke J. Minsley, Nathan Leon Foks, Wade Kress, James R. Rigby
2018, Conference Paper, SEG technical program expanded abstracts 2018
There is a critical and growing need for information about subsurface geological properties and processes over sufficiently large areas that can inform key scientific and societal studies. Airborne geophysical methods fill a unique role in Earth observation because of their ability to detect deep subsurface properties at regional scales and...
Geomorphic identification of physical habitat features in a large, altered river system
L. Guertault, G. Fox, Shannon K. Brewer
2018, Conference Paper, River flow 2018 - Ninth international conference on fluvial hydraulics
Altered flow regimes in streams can significantly affect ecosystems and disturb ecological processes, leading to species loss and extinction. Many river management projects use stream classification and habitat assessment approaches to design practical solutions to reverse or mitigate adverse effects of flow regime alteration on stream systems. The objective of...
Case study comparing multiple irrigated land datasets in Arizona and Colorado, USA
Hua Shi, Roger F. Auch, James Vogelmann, Min Feng, Matthew B. Rigge, Gabriel B. Senay, James Verdin
2018, Journal of American Water Resources Association (54) 505-526
While there are currently a number of irrigated land datasets available for the western United States (U.S.), there is uncertainty regarding in how they relate to each other. To help understand the characteristics of available irrigated datasets, we compared (1) the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), (2)...
Satellite psychrometric formulation of the operational simplified surface energy balance (SSEBop) model for quantifying and mapping evapotranspiration
Gabriel B. Senay
2018, Applied Engineering in Agriculture (34) 555-566
Remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (ET) can be derived using various methods, from soil moisture accounting to vegetation-index based approaches to simple and complex surface energy balance techniques. Due to the complexity of fully representing and parameterizing ET sub-processes, different models tend to diverge in their estimations. However, most models appear to...
A surrogate regression approach for computing continuous loads for the tributary nutrient and sediment monitoring program on the Great Lakes
Dale M. Robertson, Laura E. Hubbard, David L. Lorenz, Daniel J. Sullivan
2018, Journal of Great Lakes Research (44) 26-42
Water quality (WQ) in many Great Lake tributaries has been degraded (increased nutrient and sediment concentrations) due to changes in their watersheds, resulting in downstream eutrophication. As part of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, specific goals were established for loading of specific constituents (e.g., phosphorus)....
High‐elevation evapotranspiration estimates during drought: Using streamflow and NASA Airborne Snow Observatory SWE observations to vlose the upper Tuolumne River Basin eater balance
Brian Henn, Thomas H. Painter, Kathryn J. Bormann, Bruce McGurk, Alan L. Flint, Lorraine E. Flint, Vince White, Jessica D. Lundquist
2018, Water Resources Research (54) 746-766
Hydrologic variables such as evapotranspiration (ET) and soil water storage are difficult to observe across spatial scales in complex terrain. Streamflow and lidar‐derived snow observations provide information about distributed hydrologic processes such as snowmelt, infiltration, and storage. We use a distributed streamflow data set across eight basins in the upper...
Wind River Subbasin Restoration, Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities, January 2016 through December 2016
Ian G. Jezorek, Patrick J. Connolly
2018, Report
We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagging and a series of instream PIT-tag interrogation systems (PTISs) to investigate life-histories, populations, and efficacy of habitat restoration actions for steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Wind River subbasin, WA. Our tagging focused on parr in headwaters areas of the subbasin and our instream readers...
Den phenology and reproductive success of polar bears in a changing climate
Karyn D. Rode, Jay Olson, Dennis L. Eggett, David C. Douglas, George M. Durner, Todd C. Atwood, Eric V. Regehr, Ryan H. Wilson, Tom Smith, Michelle St. Martin
2018, Journal of Mammalogy (99) 16-26
Synchrony between reproduction and food availability is important in mammals due to the high energetic costs of gestation and lactation. Female polar bears (Ursus maritimus) must accumulate sufficient energy reserves during spring through autumn to produce and nurse cubs during the winter months in snow dens. Adequate time in a...
Bathymetry of Ashokan, Cannonsville, Neversink, Pepacton, Rondout, and Schoharie Reservoirs, New York, 2013–15
Elizabeth A. Nystrom
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5064
Drinking water for New York City is supplied from several large reservoirs, including a system of reservoirs west of the Hudson River. To provide updated reservoir capacity tables and bathymetry maps of the City’s six West of Hudson reservoirs, bathymetric surveys were conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey from 2013...
Examining fluvial fish range loss with SDMs
Andrew T. Taylor, Monica Papes, James M. Long
2018, Conservation Biology (32) 171-182
Fluvial fishes face increased imperilment from anthropogenic activities, but the specific factors contributing most to range declines are often poorly understood. For example, the range of the fluvial‐specialist shoal bass (Micropterus cataractae) continues to decrease, yet how perceived threats have contributed to range loss is largely unknown. We used species...
Seventy years of stream‐fish collections reveal invasions and native range contractions in an Appalachian (USA) watershed
Joseph D. Buckwalter, Emmanuel A. Frimpong, Paul L. Angermeier, Jacob N. Barney
2018, Diversity and Distributions (24) 219-232
AimKnowledge of expanding and contracting ranges is critical for monitoring invasions and assessing conservation status, yet reliable data on distributional trends are lacking for most freshwater species. We developed a quantitative technique to detect the sign (expansion or contraction) and functional form of range‐size changes for freshwater...
Integrating future scenario‐based crop expansion and crop conditions to map switchgrass biofuel potential in eastern Nebraska, USA
Yingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie
2018, GCB Bioenergy (10) 76-83
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) has been evaluated as one potential source for cellulosic biofuel feedstocks. Planting switchgrass in marginal croplands and waterway buffers can reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and improve regional ecosystem services (i.e. it serves as a potential carbon sink). In previous studies, we mapped high risk marginal...
Moving in the Anthropocene: Global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements
Marlee A. Tucker, Katrin Bohning-Gaese, William F. Fagan, John Fryxell, Bram Van Moorter, Susan C Alberts, Abdullahi H. Ali, Andrew M. Allen, Nina Attias, Tal Avgar, Hattie Bartlam-Brooks, Bayarbaatar Buuveibaatar, Jerrold L. Belant, Alessandra Bertassoni, Dean Beyer, Laura Bidner, Floris M. van Beest, Stephen Blake, Niels Blaum, Chloe Bracis, Danielle Brown, P. J. Nico de Bruyn, Francesca Cagnacci, J.M. Calabrese, Constanca Camilo-Alves, Simon Chamaille-Jammes, Andre Chiaradia, Sarah C. Davidson, Todd Dennis, Stephen DeStefano, Duane R. Diefenbach, Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Julian Fennessy, Claudia Fichtel, Wolfgang Fiedler, Christina Fischer, Ilya Fischhoff, Christen H. Fleming, Adam T. Ford, Susanne A. Fritz, Benedikt Gehr, Jacob R. Goheen, Eliezer Gurarie, Mark Hebblewhite, Marco Heurich, A. J. Mark Hewison, Christian Hof, Edward Hurme, Lynne A. Isbell, Rene Janssen, Florian Jeltsch, Petra Kaczensky, Adam Kane, Peter M. Kappeler, Matthew J. Kauffman, Roland Kays, Duncan Kimuyu, Flavia Koch, Bart Kranstauber, Scott LaPoint, Peter Leimgruber, John D. C. Linnell, Pascual Lopez-Lopez, A. Catherine Markham, Jenny Mattisson, Emilia Patricia Medici, Ugo Mellone, E. Merrill, Guilherme de Miranda Mourao, Ronaldo G. Morato, Nicolas Morellet, Thomas A. Morrison, Samuel L. Diaz-Munoz, Atle Mysterud, Dejid Nandintsetseg, Ran Nathan, Aidin Niamir, John Odden, Robert B. O’Hara, Luiz G. R. Oliveira-Santos, Kirk A. Olson, Bruce D. Patterson, Rogerio Cunha de Paula, Luca Pedrotti, Bjorn Reineking, Martin Rimmler, T. L. Rogers, Christer Moe Rolandsen, Christopher S. Rosenberry, Daniel I. Rubenstein, Kamran Safi, Sonia Said, Nir Sapir, Hall Sawyer, Niels Martin Schmidt, Nuria Selva, Agnieszka Sergiel, Enkhtuvshin Shiilegdamba, Joao Paulo Silva, N. Singh, Erling J. Solberg, Orr Spiegel, Olav Strand, S.R. Sundaresan, Wiebke Ullmann, Ulrich Voigt, J. Wall, David W. Wattles, Martin Wikelski, Christopher C. Wilmers, John W. Wilson, George Wittemyer, Filip Zieba, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, Thomas Mueller
2018, Science (359) 466-469
Animal movement is fundamental for ecosystem functioning and species survival, yet the effects of the anthropogenic footprint on animal movements have not been estimated across species. Using a unique GPS-tracking database of 803 individuals across 57 species, we found that movements of mammals in areas with a comparatively high human...
Three-dimensional foraging habitat use and niche partitioning in two sympatric seabird species, Phalacrocorax auritus and P. penicillatus
Adam G. Peck-Richardson, Donald E. Lyons, Daniel D. Roby, Daniel A. Cushing, James A. Lerczak
2018, Marine Ecology Progress Series (586) 251-264
Ecological theory predicts that co-existing, morphologically similar species will partition prey resources when faced with resource limitations. We investigated local movements, foraging dive behavior, and foraging habitat selection by breeding adults of 2 closely related cormorant species, double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus and Brandt’s cormorants P. penicillatus. These species nest sympatrically at East Sand...
Image simulation and assessment of the colour and spatial capabilities of the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Livio L. Tornabene, Frank P. Seelos, Antoine Pommerol, Nicolas Thomas, Christy M. Caudill, Patricio Becerra, John C. Bridges, Shane Byrne, Marco Cardinale, Matthew Chojnacki, Susan J. Conway, Gabriele Cremonese, Colin M. Dundas, M. R. El-Maarry, Jennifer Fernando, Candice J. Hansen, Kayle Hansen, Tanya N. Harrison, Rachel Henson, Lucia Marinangeli, Alfred S. McEwen, Maurizio Pajola, Sarah S. Sutton, James J. Wray
2018, Space Science Reviews (214)
This study aims to assess the spatial and visible/near-infrared (VNIR) colour/spectral capabilities of the 4-band Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) aboard the ExoMars 2016 Trace Grace Orbiter (TGO). The instrument response functions for the CaSSIS imager was used to resample spectral libraries, modelled spectra and to construct spectrally...
Long‐term trends in fall age ratios of black brant
David H. Ward, Courtney L. Amundson, Robert A. Stehn, Christian P. Dau
2018, Journal of Wildlife Management (82) 362-373
Accurate estimates of the age composition of populations can inform past reproductive success and future population trajectories. We examined fall age ratios (juveniles:total birds) of black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans; brant) staging at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula, southwest Alaska, USA, 1963 to 2015....
Pronounced centennial-scale Atlantic Ocean climate variability correlated with Western Hemisphere hydroclimate
Kaustubh Thirumalai, Terrence M. Quinn, Yuko Okumura, Julie N. Richey, Judson W. Partin, Richard Z. Poore, Eduardo Moreno-Chamarro
2018, Nature Communications (9) 1-11
Surface-ocean circulation in the northern Atlantic Ocean influences Northern Hemisphere climate. Century-scale circulation variability in the Atlantic Ocean, however, is poorly constrained due to insufficiently-resolved paleoceanographic records. Here we present a replicated reconstruction of sea-surface temperature and salinity from a site sensitive to North Atlantic circulation in the Gulf of...
Radium mobility and the age of groundwater in public-drinking-water supplies from the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer system, north-central USA
Paul E. Stackelberg, Zoltan Szabo, Bryant C. Jurgens
2018, Applied Geochemistry (89) 34-48
High radium (Ra) concentrations in potable portions of the Cambrian-Ordovician (C-O) aquifer system were investigated using water-quality data and environmental tracers (3H, 3Hetrit, SF6, 14C and 4Herad) of groundwater age from 80 public-supply wells (PSWs). Groundwater ages were estimated by calibration of tracers to lumped parameter models and ranged from modern (<50 yr) in...
Contaminant-associated health effects in fishes from the Ottawa and Ashtabula Rivers, Ohio
Luke R. Iwanowicz, Vicki S. Blazer, Heather L. Walsh, Cassidy H. Shaw, David S. DeVault, Jo A. Banda
2018, Journal of Great Lakes Research (44) 184-196
The health of resident fishes serves as a biologically relevant barometer of aquatic ecosystem integrity. Here, the health of the Ottawa River and Ashtabula River (both within the Lake Erie Basin) were assessed using morphological and immunological biomarkers in brown bullheads (Ameiurus nebulosus) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Biomarker metrics...
Assessing intrinsic and specific vulnerability models ability to indicate groundwater vulnerability to groups of similar pesticides: A comparative study
Steven H. Douglas, Barnali Dixon, Dale W. Griffin
2018, Physical Geography (39) 487-505
With continued population growth and increasing use of fresh groundwater resources, protection of this valuable resource is critical. A cost effective means to assess risk of groundwater contamination potential will provide a useful tool to protect these resources. Integrating geospatial methods offers a means to quantify the risk of contaminant...
Using expert knowledge to incorporate uncertainty in cause-of-death assignments for modeling of cause-specific mortality
Daniel P. Walsh, Andrew S. Norton, Daniel J. Storm, Timothy R. Van Deelen, Dennis M. Heisy
2018, Ecology and Evolution (8) 509-520
Implicit and explicit use of expert knowledge to inform ecological analyses is becoming increasingly common because it often represents the sole source of information in many circumstances. Thus, there is a need to develop statistical methods that explicitly incorporate expert knowledge, and can successfully leverage this information while properly accounting...
Resource competition model predicts zonation and increasing nutrient use efficiency along a wetland salinity gradient
Donald Schoolmaster, Camille L. Stagg
2018, Ecology (99) 670-680
A trade-off between competitive ability and stress tolerance has been hypothesized and empirically supported to explain the zonation of species across stress gradients for a number of systems. Since stress often reduces plant productivity, one might expect a pattern of decreasing productivity across the zones of the stress gradient. However,...
Determinants of Pseudogymnoascus destructans within bat hibernacula: Implications for surveillance and management of white-nose syndrome
Michelle L. Verant, Elizabeth A. Bohuski, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Kevin J. Olival, Jonathan H. Epstein, David S. Blehert
2018, Journal of Applied Ecology (55) 820-829
Fungal diseases are an emerging global problem affecting human health, food security and biodiversity. Ability of many fungal pathogens to persist within environmental reservoirs can increase extinction risks for host species and presents challenges for disease control. Understanding factors that regulate pathogen spread and persistence in these...
Deciphering the link between doubly uniparental inheritance of mtDNA and sex determination in bivalves: Clues from comparative transcriptomics
Charlotte Capt, Sébastien Renaut, Fabrizio Ghiselli, Liliana Milani, Nathan A. Johnson, Bernard E. Sietman, Donald Stewart, Sophie Breton
2018, Genome Biology and Evolution (10) 577-590
Bivalves exhibit an astonishing diversity of sexual systems and sex-determining mechanisms. They can be gonochoric, hermaphroditic or androgenetic, with both genetic and environmental factors known to determine or influence sex. One unique sex-determining system involving the mitochondrial genome has also been hypothesized to exist in bivalves with doubly uniparental inheritance...
