Vibrio pectenicida strain FHCF-3 is a causative agent of sea star wasting disease
Melanie B. Prentice, Grace Crandall, Amy M. Chan, Katherine M. Davis, Paul Hershberger, Jan F. Finke, Jason Hodin, Andrew McCracken, Colleen T. Kellogg, Rute Carvalho, Carolyn Prentice, Kevin X. Zhong, Drew Harvell, Curtis A. Suttle, Alyssa-Lois M. Gehman
2025, Nature Ecology & Evolution (9) 1739-1751
More than 10 years following the onset of the sea star wasting disease (SSWD) epidemic, affecting over 20 asteroid species from Mexico to Alaska, the causative agent has been elusive. SSWD killed billions of the most susceptible species, sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides), initiating a trophic cascade involving unchecked urchin population...
Three decades of declines restructure butterfly communities in the Midwestern United States
Wendy Leuenberger, Jeffrey W. Doser, Michael W. Belitz, Leslie Ries, Nick M. Haddad, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Elise F. Zipkin
2025, PNAS (122)
Insects are declining worldwide, yet gaps remain in our understanding of how declines are distributed across species within communities. Using three decades of butterfly monitoring data aggregated from the Midwestern United States, we found that no butterfly species increased in abundance from 1992 to 2023. 59 out of 136 species...
Coral restoration can drive rapid increases in reef accretion potential
Lauren Toth, Selena Anne-Marie Johnson, Erin O. Lyons, Jason Spadaro, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Sierra Kathleen Bloomer, Jennifer Mallon, Connor Monroe Jenkins, Sara D. Williams, Ian Combs, Zachary Craig, Erinn Muller
2025, Scientific Reports (15)
Coral-reef degradation is disrupting the balance between reef accretion and erosion and threatening the persistence of essential coral-reef habitats. In south Florida, most reefs are already net eroding, and without intervention, valuable ecosystem services may be lost. Coral restoration holds the potential to reverse those trends; however, typical restoration monitoring...
Shrinking channels, growing threats: Habitat degradation from channel narrowing and invasive vegetation in three dryland rivers
Benjamin J. Miller, Mark C. McKinstry, Peter R. Wilcock, William W. Macfarlane, Steven Bassett, Phaedra E. Budy, Casey A. Pennock
2025, Journal of Environmental Management (392)
Water development and the proliferation of invasive riparian vegetation have led to widespread habitat loss and simplification of rivers in the western United States, contributing to the imperilment of native fishes. Here, we quantify channel narrowing and vegetation encroachment, which are conspicuous indicators of riverine habitat alteration,...
Analysis of summer water temperatures of the lower Virgin River near Mesquite, Nevada, 2019–21
Katherine J. Earp
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5065
The lower Virgin River is a sandy, shallow reach of the Virgin River that flows from northern Arizona to Lake Mead in Nevada. The Virgin River hosts several native fish species, including two endangered fish, woundfin (Plagopterus argentissimu) and Virgin River chub (Gila seminuda). All native fish species in the...
Variable partitioning of lithium in rhyolitic melt during decompression and ascent
Madison Myers, Roberta Spallanzani, Darin Schwartz, Celestine N. Mercer, Behnaz Hosseini
2025, Economic Geology (120) 1191-1206
The partitioning behavior of Li in magmatic systems is increasingly being investigated due to the economic importance of Li in the transition to sustainable energy resources (e.g., batteries). However, at upper crustal pressures, it remains uncertain whether Li preferentially partitions into the vapor or liquid (brine) phase or remains in the...
Forecast, monitor, adapt: A multi-agency strategy to protect people from postfire debris flows
Francis K. Rengers, Jason W. Kean, Cory A. Williams, Mark F. Henneberg, John R. Banta, Eric Schroder, Cara Sponaugle, David Callery, Erin Walter, Todd Blake, Dennis M. Staley
2025, GSA Today (35) 16-21
In 2020, a wildfire burned across Glenwood Canyon in Colorado, USA. A history of postfire debris flows in the region and a hazard assessment for the burn area indicated that potentially life-threatening debris flows could be triggered by rainfall within months of a wildfire. As a result, four government agencies...
Random forest regression models for estimating low-streamflow statistics at ungaged locations in New York, excluding Long Island
Timothy J. Stagnitta, Joshua Woda, Alexander P. Graziano
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5060
Models to estimate low-streamflow statistics at ungaged locations in New York, excluding Long Island and including hydrologically connected basins from bordering States, were developed for the first time by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. A total of 224 basin characteristics...
Astronomical optical interferometry from the lunar surface: High sensitivity at sub-miliarcsecond scales
G. T. van Belle, T. Boyajian, M. Creech-Eakman, J. Elliott, K. Ennico-Smith, D. Hillsberry, K. Hubbard, T. Ito, S. R. Kulkarni, C. Langford, L. Lee, D. Leisawitz, E. Mamajek, May Martin, T. Matsuo, D. Mawet, J. Monnier, J. Morse, D. Mozurkewich, P. Niles, M. Panning, Lori M. Pigue, A. Sanghi, G. Schaefer, J. Scott, S. B. Shaklan, L. Spencer, A. Tohuvavohu, P. Tuthill, K. Valenta, J. Wachs
G. T. van Belle, S. B. Shaklan, S. R. Kulkarni, editor(s)
2025, Report
The lunar surface is a compelling opportunity for large, distributed optical facilities, with significant advantages over orbital facilities for high spatial resolution astrophysics. Serious development of mission concepts is timely because of the confluence of multiple compelling factors. First, lunar access technology is maturing rapidly, in the form of both US uncrewed and crewed...
White-nose syndrome surveillance and bat monitoring activities in North Coast and Cascades Network parks 2016–2024
Tara Chestnut, Jenny Urbina, Michael Elizabeth Hansen, Rebecca M. McCaffery, Dylan J. Rhea-Fournier, Jennifer Allen, Taal Levi
2025, Science Report NPS/SR-2025/340
Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), the causative agent of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, has caused serious declines in bat populations across North America. We conducted WNS surveillance in five different park units in the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN) from 2016 to 2024, following the initial detection of Pd and...
Living with wildfire in Montrose County, Colorado: 2023 Data report
Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Aaron Johnson, Suzanne Wittenbrink, Colleen Donovan, Josh Kuehn, James Meldrum, Patricia A. Champ, Christopher M. Barth, Carolyn Wagner, Christine Taniguchi
2025, Research Note RMRS-RN-107
During 2022–2024, the Wildfire Research (WiRē) Center partnered with the West Region Wildfire Council (WRWC) to learn more about parcel-level wildfire risk in Montrose County, Colorado. This research project was part of a larger, sustained collaboration between WiRē and the WRWC, moving the focus from areas typically characterized as fire-prone...
A single nucleotide polymorphism panel for identifying North American species and hybrids in the genus Morone
Jared Homola, Hadley I.A. Boehm, Paul Albosta, Craig Paukert
2025, Conservation Genetics Resources (17) 161-163
Four species of the fish genus Morone exist in North America and are often the focus of management actions, including propagation and stocking of their hybrids. We have developed an amplicon-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping panel that provides the ability to distinguish all four species and the commonly stocked M. chrysops x M. saxatilis hybrid...
Representing 3-dimensional fuels for physics-based fire behavior models: A general framework and case study in a type-converted post-fire shrubfield
Niko Tutland, Andreas Paul Wion, Carolina Jasmine May, Grant C. Hutchings, Hope Nowak, James R. Gattiker, J. Kevin Hiers, Rodman R. Linn, Scott M. Pokswinski, Ellis Q. Margolis
2025, Fire Ecology (21)
Background Physics-based three-dimensional (3D) fire behavior models improve planning for prescribed fire application and wildfire mitigation, but require high spatial resolution 3D fuel models as inputs. While multiple methods and data sources for realistically representing 3D, heterogeneous fuels are available, no unifying framework exists to guide the use of these...
Evaluating trends using total impervious cover as a metric for degree of urbanisation
Laura Toran, Daniel Bain, Kristina G. Hopkins, Joel Moore, Emily May O'Donnell
2025, Hydrological Processes (39)
Impervious cover (IC) is a common metric for assessing the degree of urbanisation in watersheds. However, there are different methods for determining IC, and use of IC correlation with urban watershed response to hydrologic and geochemical inputs can be strongly influenced by the end members (IC below 10% and above...
Decision-support modeling and research priorities for establishing baseline conditions for outstandingly remarkable values, Obed Wild and Scenic River, Tennessee
Elena R. Crowley-Ornelas, Rebecca Schapansky, Tom Blount, Niki S. Nicholas
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1035
The Obed River is the last undammed river in Tennessee. The Obed Wild and Scenic River is managed by the National Park Service and covers a protected area of the Obed River headwaters (including four contributing tributaries). The Obed Wild and Scenic River supports a unique ecosystem with eight federally...
Late Quaternary environmental change in eastern Beringia
Alistair J. Monteath, Mary E. Edwards, Duane Froese, Lesleigh Anderson, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Scott L. Cocker, Julie Brigham-Grette, Matthew J. Wooller, Bruce P. Finney, Mark B. Abbott
2025, Quaternary Science Reviews (368)
Eastern Beringia (Alaska and western Yukon) is an extensive, high-latitude region of North America that remained largely unglaciated throughout the Quaternary. Consequently, its sedimentary deposits preserve long-term environmental records that have intrigued scientists for nearly a century. Recent advances in palaeoecological proxies and dating methods have proved critical...
A systematic review and meta-analysis of post-fire seeding and herbicide treatment effectiveness for controlling exotic annual grasses in the sagebrush biome
Leland D Bennion, Christopher A Anthony, Scott N Zimmer, David Pilliod, Matthew Germino
2025, Restoration Ecology (33)
IntroductionOutcomes of ecological restoration treatments can be highly variable and challenging to generalize, even for the same treatment type applied in similar ecological communities at different times and places. Notable examples are the herbicide and seeding treatments that have been extensively applied across the perennial sagebrush steppe...
Evidence for marine-driven, cyclical fluctuations in burrow-nesting seabird habitat on the Oregon Coast
Carina M. Kusaka, Shawn Stephensen, James T. Peterson, Melanie J. Davis
2025, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (13)
Seabirds are among the most threatened birds globally, with the loss or deterioration of coastal breeding habitats posing a severe threat. Natural and anthropogenic disturbances substantially influence coastal ecosystems through erosion and vegetation loss, altering habitat for the wildlife species that depend on them. In addition to...
Integrating the resist–accept–direct framework into natural resource decision-making processes for climate adaptation
Amanda L. Sesser, Jennifer L. Wilkening, Wendy Beth Miles, Kelly G. Guilbeau, Abigail Lynch, Jeremy R. Conrad, Dawn Robin Magness
2025, Conservation Biology (39)
The resist–accept–direct (RAD) framework for climate adaptation is a useful tool, particularly when conservation practitioners know they need to address climate change but do not know where to start or when they struggle to implement conservation actions that are outside the status quo. Some conservation practitioners may view RAD as...
Hydrologic budgets and water availability of six bedrock aquifers in the Black Hills area, South Dakota and Wyoming, 1931–2022
Colton J. Medler, Todd M. Anderson, William G. Eldridge
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5067
Population growth and recurring droughts in the Black Hills region raised interest in water resources and future availability. The Black Hills hydrology study (BHHS) was initiated in the early 1990s to address questions regarding water resources. Since completion of the BHHS in the early 2000s, the population of the Black...
The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Tennessee’s economy
George Heleine
2025, Fact Sheet 2025-3037
Introduction The State of Tennessee has an area of approximately 42,100 square miles and includes six physiographic regions: Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, Appalachian Plateaus, Highland Rim, Nashville Basin, and the Gulf Coastal Plains. Up-to-date elevation data support key activities across the State, such as economic development, infrastructure and construction management,...
Food habits of Yellow Perch, Smallmouth Bass, and Northern Pikeminnow in Lake Cascade, Idaho
Bryce Marciniak, Mike Thomas, Jordan Messner, Matthew P. Corsi, Michael C. Quist
2025, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (45) 795-812
ObjectiveYellow Perch Perca flavescens was first encountered in Lake Cascade, Idaho, in 1957. Since its introduction, the abundance of Yellow Perch in Lake Cascade has been highly variable. Historically, declines in Yellow Perch abundance were attributed to predation by Northern Pikeminnow Ptychocheilus oregonensis. In the 1990s, Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu became established in Lake Cascade....
Hydroclimatic and land-use factors affecting peak streamflow in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin
Karen R. Ryberg, Mackenzie K. Marti, Nancy A. Barth, Thomas M. Over, Sara B. Levin, Hannah Lee Podzorski, Steven K. Sando, Tara Williams-Sether, Padraic S. O’Shea, Katherine J. Chase
2025, Circular 1557
Flood-frequency analysis provides the basis for flood risk estimates used by water-resource managers in land-use planning, and it informs the design of essential infrastructure such as bridges and culverts. Federal guidelines for flood-frequency analysis do not offer guidance on addressing changing climate and land-use conditions when estimating floods. However, failing...
Stable isotope reference materials and scale definitions – Outcomes of the 2024 IAEA experts meeting
Federica Camin, Dinka Besic, Paul J. Brewer, Colin E Allison, Tyler B. Coplen, Philip J.H. Dunn, Matthias Gehre, Manfred Gröning, Harro A.J. Meijer, Jean-François Hélie, Paola Iacumin, Rebecca Kraft, Bor Krajnc, Steffen Kümmel, Sangil Lee, Juris Meija, Zoltan Mester, Joachim Mohn, Heiko Moossen, Haiping Qi, Grzegorz Skrzypek, Peter Sperlich, Joelle Viallon, Leonard I. Wassenaar, Robert I. Wielgosz
2025, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry (39)
The participants of the 12th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting on stable isotope reference materials reached a consensus, acknowledging the existence and use of two carbon isotope delta scales: the VPDB (Vienna Peedee belemnite) scale and the VPDB-LSVEC (LSVEC - lithium carbonate prepared by H. J. Svec). Conversion models between...
The influence of human presence and footprint on animal space use in US national parks
Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Forest Hayes, Kezia R. Manlove, Nathan L. Galloway, John F. Benson, Michael J. Cherry, Clinton W. Epps, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., John L. Orrock, Justine A. Smith, Christina M. Aiello, Jerrold L. Belant, Joel Berger, Mark Biel, Jill Bright, Joseph K. Bump, Michael Burchett, Carson Butler, Jennifer Carlson, Eric K. Cole, Neal Darby, Erin DeGutis, Sarah Dewey, Pete Figura, Tom Gable, Jeff Gagnon, Danielle M. Glass, Jennifer R. Green, Kerry A. Gunther, Mark Haroldson, Kent Hersey, Brandon Holton, Austin T. Homkes, Sarah R. Hoy, Debra Hughson, Kyle Joly, Ryan Leahy, Caitlin Lee-Roney, Rob Lester, Daniel MacNulty, Michael Magnuson, Daniel J. Martin, Rachel Mazur, Seth A. Moore, Elizabeth K. Orning, Katie Patrick, Rolf O. Peterson, Lynette Potvin, Paige Prentice, Seth P.D. Riley, Mark C. Romanski, Annette Roug, Jeff A. Sikich, Nova Simpson, William B. Sloan, Douglas W. Smith, Mathew Sorum, Scott Sprague, Daniel Stahler, John A. Stephenson, Thomas R. Stephenson, Janice Stroud-Settles, Frank T. van Manen, John A. Vucetich, Kate Wilmot, Steve K. Windels, Tiffany Wolf, Paul C. Cross
2025, Proceedings of the Royal Society B (292)
Given the importance of protected areas for biodiversity, the growth of visitation to many areas has raised concerns about the effects of humans on wildlife. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to temporary closure of national parks in the United States, offering a pseudonatural experiment to tease apart the effects...
