Scale-specific habitat relationships influence patch occupancy: defining neighborhoods to optimize the effectiveness of landscape-scale grassland bird conservation
Michael Guttery, Christine Ribic, David W. Sample, Andy Paulios, Chris Trosen, John D. Dadisman, Daniel Schneider, Josephine Horton
2017, Landscape Ecology (32) 515-529
ContextBeyond the recognized importance of protecting large areas of contiguous habitat, conservation efforts for many species are complicated by the fact that patch suitability may also be affected by characteristics of the landscape within which the patch is located. Currently, little is known about the...
Classification of California streams using combined deductive and inductive approaches: Setting the foundation for analysis of hydrologic alteration
Matthew I. Pyne, Daren M. Carlisle, Christopher P. Konrad, Eric D. Stein
2017, Ecohydrology (10)
Regional classification of streams is an early step in the Ecological Limits of Hydrologic Alteration framework. Many stream classifications are based on an inductive approach using hydrologic data from minimally disturbed basins, but this approach may underrepresent streams from heavily disturbed basins or sparsely gaged arid regions. An alternative is...
Microbial methane from in situ biodegradation of coal and shale: A review and reevaluation of hydrogen and carbon isotope signatures
David S. Vinson, Neal E. Blair, Anna M. Martini, Steve Larter, William H. Orem, Jennifer C. McIntosh
2017, Chemical Geology (453) 128-145
Stable carbon and hydrogen isotope signatures of methane, water, and inorganic carbon are widely utilized in natural gas systems for distinguishing microbial and thermogenic methane and for delineating methanogenic pathways (acetoclastic, hydrogenotrophic, and/or methylotrophic methanogenesis). Recent studies of coal and shale gas systems have characterized in situ microbial communities...
Community stability within the St. Marys River fish community: Evidence from trawl surveys
Jeffrey S. Schaeffer, Anjanette K. Bowen, David G. Fielder
2017, Journal of Great Lakes Research (43) 399-404
A trawl survey was conducted in the Saint Marys River during 2010–2011 and we compared our results to a prior trawl survey conducted during 1979–1983 to look for long-term changes in the fish community, especially in terms of changes induced by invasive species. We found no substantive temporal differences in...
Methodological considerations for detection of terrestrial small-body salamander eDNA and implications for biodiversity conservation
Donald M. Walker, Jacob E. Leys, Kelly E. Dunham, Joshua C. Oliver, Emily E. Schiller, Kelsey S. Stephenson, John T. Kimrey, Jessica Wooten, Mark W. Rogers
2017, Molecular Ecology Resources (17) 1223-1230
Environmental DNA (eDNA) can be used as an assessment tool to detect populations of threatened species and provide fine-scale data required to make management decisions. The objectives of this project were to use quantitative PCR (qPCR) to: (i) detect spiked salamander DNA in soil, (ii) quantify eDNA degradation over time,...
Occurrence of cyanobacteria, microcystin, and taste-and-odor compounds in Cheney Reservoir, Kansas, 2001-16
Jennifer L. Graham, Guy M. Foster, Thomas J. Williams, Ariele R. Kramer, Theodore D. Harris
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5016
Cheney Reservoir, located in south-central Kansas, is one of the primary drinking-water supplies for the city of Wichita and an important recreational resource. Since 1990, cyanobacterial blooms have been present occasionally in Cheney Reservoir, resulting in increased treatment costs and decreased recreational use. Cyanobacteria, the cyanotoxin microcystin, and the taste-and-odor...
Semiautomatic approaches to account for 3-D distortion of the electric field from local, near-surface structures in 3-D resistivity inversions of 3-D regional magnetotelluric data
Brian D. Rodriguez
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1007
This report summarizes the results of three-dimensional (3-D) resistivity inversion simulations that were performed to account for local 3-D distortion of the electric field in the presence of 3-D regional structure, without any a priori information on the actual 3-D distribution of the known subsurface geology. The methodology used a...
U.S. Geological Survey distribution of European Space Agency's Sentinel-2 data
Renee L. Pieschke
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3026
A partnership established between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) allows for USGS storage and redistribution of images acquired by the MultiSpectral Instrument (MSI) on the European Union's Sentinel-2 satellite mission. The MSI data are acquired from a pair of satellites, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B, which...
A model integrating longshore and cross-shore processes for predicting long-term shoreline response to climate change
Sean Vitousek, Patrick L. Barnard, Patrick W. Limber, Li H. Erikson, Blake Cole
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (122) 782-806
We present a shoreline change model for coastal hazard assessment and management planning. The model, CoSMoS-COAST (Coastal One-line Assimilated Simulation Tool), is a transect-based, one-line model that predicts short-term and long-term shoreline response to climate change in the 21st century. The proposed model represents a novel, modular synthesis of process-based...
Quantifying acoustic doppler current profiler discharge uncertainty: A Monte Carlo based tool for moving-boat measurements
David S. Mueller
2017, Conference Paper, Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
This paper presents a method using Monte Carlo simulations for assessing uncertainty of moving-boat acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) discharge measurements using a software tool known as QUant, which was developed for this purpose. Analysis was performed on 10 data sets from four Water Survey of Canada gauging...
Full annual cycle climate change vulnerability assessment for migratory birds
Leah A. Culp, Emily B. Cohen, Amy L. Scarpignato, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Peter P. Marra
2017, Ecological Applications (8)
Climate change is a serious challenge faced by all plant and animal species. Climate change vulnerability assessments (CCVAs) are one method to assess risk and are increasingly used as a tool to inform management plans. Migratory animals move across regions and continents during their annual cycles where they are exposed...
Landsat and agriculture—Case studies on the uses and benefits of Landsat imagery in agricultural monitoring and production
Colin R. Leslie, Larisa O. Serbina, Holly M. Miller
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1034
Executive SummaryThe use of Landsat satellite imagery for global agricultural monitoring began almost immediately after the launch of Landsat 1 in 1972, making agricultural monitoring one of the longest-standing operational applications for the Landsat program. More recently, Landsat imagery has been used in domestic agricultural applications as an input for...
Thematic accuracy assessment of the 2011 National Land Cover Database (NLCD)
James Wickham, Stephen V. Stehman, Leila Gass, Jon Dewitz, Daniel G. Sorenson, Brian J. Granneman, Richard V. Poss, Lori Anne Baer
2017, Remote Sensing of Environment (191) 328-341
Accuracy assessment is a standard protocol of National Land Cover Database (NLCD) mapping. Here we report agreement statistics between map and reference labels for NLCD 2011, which includes land cover for ca. 2001, ca. 2006, and ca. 2011. The two main objectives were assessment of agreement between map and reference...
Characterizing local variability in long‐period horizontal tilt noise
M.D. Rohde, Adam T. Ringler, Charles R. Hutt, David C. Wilson, Austin Holland, L.D Sandoval, Tyler Storm
2017, Seismological Research Letters (88) 822-830
Horizontal seismic data are dominated by atmospherically induced tilt noise at long periods (i.e., 30 s and greater). Tilt noise limits our ability to use horizontal data for sensitive seismological studies such as observing free earth modes. To better understand the local spatial variability of long‐period horizontal noise, we observe...
Clarifying atomic weights: A 2016 four-figure table of standard and conventional atomic weights
Tyler B. Coplen, Fabienne Meyers, Norman E. Holden
2017, Journal of Chemical Education (94) 311-319
To indicate that atomic weights of many elements are not constants of nature, in 2009 and 2011 the Commission on Isotopic Abundances and Atomic Weights (CIAAW) of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) replaced single-value standard atomic weight values with atomic weight intervals for 12 elements (hydrogen,...
Weather radar data correlate to hail-induced mortality in grassland birds
Amber Carver, Jeremy D. Ross, David J. Augustine, Susan K. Skagen, Angela M. Dwyer, Diana F. Tomback, Michael B. Wunder
2017, Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation (3) 90-101
Small-bodied terrestrial animals such as songbirds (Order Passeriformes) are especially vulnerable to hail-induced mortality; yet, hail events are challenging to predict, and they often occur in locations where populations are not being studied. Focusing on nesting grassland songbirds, we demonstrate a novel approach to estimate hail-induced mortality. We quantify the...
Neonicotinoid insecticide removal by prairie strips in row-cropped watersheds with historical seed coating use
Michelle L. Hladik, Steven Bradbury, Lisa A. Schulte, Matthew Helmers, Christopher Witte, Dana W. Kolpin, Jessica D. Garrett, Mary Harris
2017, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (241) 160-167
Neonicotinoids are a widely used class of insecticides that are commonly applied as seed coatings for agricultural crops. Such neonicotinoid use may pose a risk to non-target insects, including pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests, and ecosystems. This study assessed neonicotinoid residues in groundwater, surface runoff water, soil, and...
Geophysical logging and thermal imaging near the Hemphill Road TCE National Priorities List Superfund site near Gastonia, North Carolina
Dominick J. Antolino, Melinda J. Chapman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1017
Borehole geophysical logs and thermal imaging data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey near the Hemphill Road TCE (trichloroethylene) National Priorities List Superfund site near Gastonia, North Carolina, during August 2014 through February 2015. In an effort to assist the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the development of a...
Integrating puffing and explosions in a general scheme for Strombolian-style activity
Damien Gaudin, Jacopo Taddeucci, Piergiorgio Scarlato, Elisabetta del Bello, Tullio Ricci, Tim R. Orr, Bruce F. Houghton, Andrew J. L. Harris, Sandro Rao, Augusto Bucci
2017, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (122) 1860-1875
Strombolian eruptions are among the most common subaerial styles of explosive volcanism worldwide. Distinctive features of each volcano lead to a correspondingly wide range of variations of magnitude and erupted products, but most papers focus on a single type of event at a single volcano. Here, in order to emphasize the common features...
Central Plains Water Science Center bookmark
U.S. Geological Survey
2017, General Information Product 173
The U.S. Geological Survey Central Plains Water Science Center, serving the states of Kansas and Nebraska, has collected and interpreted hydrologic information for more than a century. Data collected include streamflow and gage height, reservoir content, water quality and water quantity, suspended sediment, and groundwater levels. Interpretative hydrologic studies are...
Acute sensitivity of a broad range of freshwater mussels to chemicals with different modes of toxic action
Ning Wang, Chris D. Ivey, Christopher G. Ingersoll, William G. Brumbaugh, David Alvarez, Edward J. Hammer, Candice R. Bauer, Tom Augspurger, Sandy Raimondo, M.Christopher Barnhart
2017, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (36) 786-796
Freshwater mussels, one of the most imperiled groups of animals in the world, are generally underrepresented in toxicity databases used for the development of ambient water quality criteria and other environmental guidance values. Acute 96-h toxicity tests were conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of 5 species of juvenile mussels from...
Bathymetry data collected in October 2014 from Fire Island, New York—The wilderness breach, shoreface, and bay
Timothy R. Nelson, Jennifer L. Miselis, Cheryl J. Hapke, Owen T. Brenner, Rachel E. Henderson, Billy J. Reynolds, Kathleen E. Wilson
2017, Data Series 1034
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, conducted a bathymetric survey of Fire Island, New York, from October 5 to 10, 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution...
Assessment of thermal maturity trends in Devonian-Mississippian source rocks using Raman spectroscopy: Limitations of peak-fitting method
Jason S. Lupoi, Luke P. Fritz, Thomas M. Parris, Paul C. Hackley, Logan Solotky, Cortland F. Eble, Steve Schlaegle
2017, Frontiers in Energy Research (5)
The thermal maturity of shale is often measured by vitrinite reflectance (VRo). VRo measurements for the Devonian–Mississippian black shale source rocks evaluated herein predicted thermal immaturity in areas where associated reservoir rocks are oil-producing. This limitation of the VRo method led to the current evaluation of Raman spectroscopy as...
Assessment of a strain 19 brucellosis vaccination program in elk
Eric Maichak, Brandon M. Scurlock, Paul C. Cross, Jared D. Rogerson, William H. Edwards, Benjamin Wise, Scott G. Smith, Terry J. Kreeger
2017, Wildlife Society Bulletin (41) 70-79
Zoonotic diseases in wildlife present substantial challenges and risks to host populations, susceptible domestic livestock populations, and affected stakeholders. Brucellosis, a disease caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus, is endemic among elk (Cervus canadensis) attending winter feedgrounds and adjacent areas of western Wyoming, USA. To minimize transmission of brucellosis from...
Modeling nonbreeding distributions of shorebirds and waterfowl in response to climate change
Gordon C. Reese, Susan K. Skagen
2017, Ecology and Evolution (7) 1497-1513
To identify areas on the landscape that may contribute to a robust network of conservation areas, we modeled the probabilities of occurrence of several en route migratory shorebirds and wintering waterfowl in the southern Great Plains of North America, including responses to changing climate. We predominantly used data from the...
