Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica in Alaska: Revisiting population estimates from the staging grounds
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Zak Pohlen, Heather M. Wilson, James Johnson
2021, Wader Study (128) 255-264
Bar-tailed Godwits Limosa lapponica baueri breed in Alaska and spend the nonbreeding season primarily in eastern Australia and New Zealand. Long-term declines spurred recent surveys at nonbreeding sites that yielded a revised population estimate of ~126,000 godwits. We conducted aerial surveys for Bar-tailed Godwits in 2018 and 2019 at pre-migratory...
California deepwater investigations and groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I: Fault and shallow geohazard analysis offshore Morro Bay
Maureen A. L. Walton, Charlie K Paull, Guy R. Cochrane, Jason A. Addison, Roberto Gwiazda, Daniel J. Kennedy, Eve M. Lundsten, Antoinette Gabrielle Papesh
2021, Report
The California Deepwater Investigations and Groundtruthing (Cal DIG) I project focuses on the potential seafloor hazards and impacts of alternative energy infrastructure in the outer continental shelf region offshore of south-central California. This is one of three reports covering a single study area located between Monterey and Point Conception, California...
Capacity assessment for Earth Monitoring, Analysis, and Prediction (EarthMAP) and future integrated monitoring and predictive science at the U.S. Geological Survey
Jennifer L. Keisman, Sky Bristol, David S. Brown, Allison K. Flickinger, Gregory L. Gunther, Peter S. Murdoch, MaryLynn Musgrove, John C. Nelson, Gregory D. Steyer, Kathryn A. Thomas, Ian R. Waite
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1102
Executive SummaryManagers of our Nation’s resources face unprecedented challenges driven by the convergence of increasing, competing societal demands and a changing climate that affects the stability, vulnerability, and predictability of those resources. To help meet these challenges, the scientific community must take advantage of all available technologies, data, and integrative...
Long-term Pseudogymnoascus destructans surveillance data reveal factors contributing to pathogen presence
John Grider, Robin E. Russell, Anne Ballmann, Trevor J. Hefley
2021, Ecosphere (12)
The disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) was first recognized in upstate New York in 2006 and has since spread across much of the United States (U.S.), causing severe mortality in several North American bat species. To aid in the identification and monitoring of at-risk bat populations, we...
Gene expression profiles in two razor clam populations: Discerning drivers of population status
Heather A. Coletti, Lizabeth Bowen, Brenda Ballachey, Tammy L. Wilson, Shannon C. Waters-Dynes, Michael Booz, Katrina L Counihan, Tuula E. Hollmen, Benjamin Pister
2021, Life (11)
With rapidly changing marine ecosystems, shifts in abundance and distribution are being documented for a variety of intertidal species. We examined two adjacent populations of Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. One population (east) supported a sport and personal use fishery, but...
Crustal seismic attenuation of the central United States and Intermountain West
Will Levandowski, Oliver S. Boyd, Danya AbdelHameid, Daniel McNamara
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth (126)
Seismic attenuation is generally greater in the western United States (WUS) than the central and eastern United States (CEUS), but the nature of this transition or location of this boundary is poorly constrained. We conduct crustal seismic (Lg) attenuation tomography across a region that stretches from the...
Comparing harvest management alternatives for Eastern Wild Turkeys in Alabama
J. Barry Grand, A.L. Silvano, S. Barnett, C.E. Moore, B.D. Stewart
2021, Cooperator Science Series 137-2021
Eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris; hereafter turkey) is an important game species that is pursued by thousands of Alabama hunters each spring. Biologists in Alabama and other parts of the southeastern U.S. believe that turkey populations have been declining for at least two decades. Managers in many state agencies...
Arctic Alaska Basin, Hanna Trough and Beaufortian Rifted Margin Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Elements
David W. Houseknecht
2021, Book chapter, Geological Society, London, Memoirs
The Arctic Alaska Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Element (AA CTSE) as defined for this volume comprises Mississippian to Lower Cretaceous strata beneath the Alaska North Slope and the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas of the Arctic Ocean. The AA CTSE rests on Devonian and older sedimentary and metasedimentary rocks, considered economic basement for...
Documentation and mapping of flooding from the January and March 2018 nor’easters in coastal New England
Pamela J. Lombard, Scott A. Olson, Luke P. Sturtevant, Rena D. Kalmon
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5109
In January and March 2018, coastal Massachusetts experienced flooding from two separate nor’easters. To put the January and March floods into historical context, the USGS computed statistical stillwater elevations. Stillwater elevations recorded in January 2018 in Boston (9.66 feet relative to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988) have an...
Context dependency of disease-mediated competitive release in bat assemblages following white-nose syndrome
Sara Bombaci, Robin E. Russell, Michael J. St. Germain, Christopher A. Dobony, W. Mark Ford, Susan Loeb, David S. Jachowski
2021, Ecosphere (12)
White-nose syndrome (WNS) has caused dramatic declines of several cave-hibernating bat species in North America since 2006, which has increased the activity of non-susceptible species in some geographic areas or during times of night formerly occupied by susceptible species—indicative of disease-mediated competitive release (DMCR). Yet, this...
Recent nitrogen storage and accumulation rates in mangrove soils exceed historic rates in the urbanized San Juan Bay Estuary (Puerto Rico, United States)
Cathleen Wigand, Autumn Oczkowski, Benjamin Branoff, Meagan J. Eagle, Alana Hanson, Rose M. Martin, Stephen Balogh, Kenneth Miller, Evelyn Huertas, Joseph Loffredo, Elizabeth Watson
2021, Frontiers in Forests and Global Change (4)
Tropical mangrove forests have been described as “coastal kidneys,” promoting sediment deposition and filtering contaminants, including excess nutrients. Coastal areas throughout the world are experiencing increased human activities, resulting in altered geomorphology, hydrology, and nutrient inputs. To effectively manage and sustain coastal mangroves, it is important to understand...
Food habits of American Kestrels in the Southern High Plains of Texas
Clint W. Boal, M.A. Thornely, S.D. Mullican
2021, Journal of Raptor Research (55) 574-583
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is in general decline across its North American distribution. In contrast to widespread patterns of decline, kestrel populations appear stable in the southern Great Plains region. Historically, this region had a very low occurrence of kestrels, and their current abundance...
Shoreface and Holocene sediment thickness offshore of Rockaway Peninsula, New York
Emily A. Wei, Jennifer L. Miselis, Arnell S. Forde
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1100
During September and October 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey mapped the shoreface and inner continental shelf offshore of the Rockaway Peninsula in New York using high-resolution chirp seismic reflection and single-beam bathymetry geophysical techniques. The results from this study are important for assessing the Quaternary evolution of the Rockaway Peninsula...
Testing models of Laramide orogenic initiation by investigation of Late Cretaceous magmatic-tectonic evolution of the central Mojave sector of the California arc
R.C Economos, Andrew P. Barth, J.L. Wooden, S. R Paterson, Brody Friesenhahn, B.A Weigand, J.L. Anderson, J.L. Roell, E.F. Palmer, A.J. Ianno, Keith A. Howard
2021, Geosphere (17) 2042-2061
The Mojave Desert region is in a critical position for assessing models of Laramide orogenesis, which is hypothesized to have initiated as one or more seamounts subducted beneath the Cretaceous continental margin. Geochronological and geochemical characteristics of Late Cretaceous magmatic products provide the opportunity to test the validity of Laramide...
Monitoring and modeling tree bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) occurrence using acoustics on structures off the mid-Atlantic coast—Implications for offshore wind development
Michael C. True, Richard J. Reynolds, W. Mark Ford
2021, Animals (11)
In eastern North America, “tree bats” (Genera: Lasiurus and Lasionycteris) are highly susceptible to collisions with wind energy turbines and are known to fly offshore during migration. This raises concern about ongoing expansion of offshore wind-energy development off the Atlantic Coast. Season, atmospheric conditions, and site-level characteristics such...
Growth of the wildland-urban interface within and around U.S. National Forests and Grasslands, 1990-2010
Miranda H. Mockrin, Dave Helmers, Sebastian Martinuzzi, Todd Hawbaker, Volker C. Radeloff
2021, Landscape and Urban Planning (218)
The wildland-urban interface (WUI), where housing is in close proximity to or intermingled with wildland vegetation, is widespread throughout the United States, but it is unclear how this type of housing development affects public lands. We used a national dataset to examine WUI distribution and growth (1990–2010) in proximity to...
Potential effects of climate change on tick-borne diseases in Rhode Island
Howard Ginsberg, Jannelle Couret, Jason Garrett, Thomas N. Mather, Roger A. LeBrun
2021, Rhode Island Medical Journal (104) 29-33
Human cases of tick-borne diseases have been increasing in the United States. In particular, the incidence of Lyme disease, the major vector-borne disease in Rhode Island, has risen, along with cases of babesiosis and anaplasmosis, all vectored by the blacklegged tick. These increases might relate, in part, to climate change,...
Northern bobwhite occupancy patterns on multiple spatial scales across Arkansas
E. V. Lassiter, M. Asher, G. Christie, C. Gale, A. Massey, C. Massery, C. R. MIddaugh, J. Veon, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
2021, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (12) 502-512
Northern bobwhite Colinus virginianus populations have been rapidly declining in the eastern, central, and southern United States for decades. Land use change and an incompatibility between northern bobwhite resource needs and human land use practices have driven declines. Here, we applied occupancy analyses on two spatial scales (state level and ecoregion level)...
Geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of the White River Formation, Lance Formation, and Fox Hills Sandstone, northern greater Denver Basin, southeastern Laramie County, Wyoming
Timothy T. Bartos, Devin L. Galloway, Laura L. Hallberg, Marieke Dechesne, Sharon F. Diehl, Seth L. Davidson
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5020
In cooperation with the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office, the U.S. Geological Survey studied the geologic and hydrogeologic characteristics of Cenozoic and Upper Cretaceous strata at a location in southeastern Laramie County within the Wyoming part of the Cheyenne Basin, the northern subbasin of the greater Denver Basin. The study aimed...
Telemetry reveals migratory drivers and disparate space use across seasons and age-groups in American horseshoe crabs
Justin J. Bopp, Matthew Sclafani, Michael G. Frisk, Kim McKown, Catherine Zeigler, David R. Smith, Robert Cerrato
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Identifying mechanisms that underpin animal migration patterns and examining variability in space use within populations is crucial for understanding population dynamics and management implications. In this study, we quantified the migration rates, seasonal changes in migratory connectivity, and residency across population demographics (age and sex) to...
Diagenetic barite-pyrite-wurtzite formation and redox signatures in Triassic mudstone, Brooks Range, northern Alaska
John F. Slack, Ryan J. McAleer, Wayne (Pat) Shanks, Julie A. Dumoulin
2021, Chemical Geology (585)
Mineralogical and geochemical studies of interbedded black and gray mudstones in the Triassic part of the Triassic-Jurassic Otuk Formation (northern Alaska) document locally abundant barite and pyrite plus diverse redox signatures. These strata, deposited in an outer shelf setting at paleolatitudes of ~45 to 60°N, show widespread sedimentological evidence for...
Effects of culvert construction on streams and macroinvertebrate communities at selected sites in the East Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama, 2010–19
Aaron L. Pugh, Amy C. Gill
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5096
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Alabama Department of Transportation, evaluated the role of culvert construction in altering streams and habitats of benthic macroinvertebrate communities at selected study sites in the northern East Gulf Coastal Plain of Alabama during 2011–19. Analysis included examinations of changes in stream channel...
The HayWired Earthquake Scenario—Societal Consequences
Anne M. Wein, Joseph L. Jones, Laurie A. Johnson, Cynthia Kroll, Jennifer A. Strauss, David Witkowski, Dale A. Cox
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3054
The HayWired earthquake scenario, led by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), anticipates the impacts of a hypothetical moment magnitude 7.0 earthquake on the Hayward Fault. The fault runs along the east side of California’s San Francisco Bay and is among the most active and dangerous in the United States, passing...
Hydrologic and water-quality conditions in the Cedar River alluvial aquifer, Linn County, Iowa, 1990–2019
Stephen J. Kalkhoff
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5110
Alluvial aquifers in Iowa have more wells with nitrate exceeding drinking-water standards than other aquifers; are susceptible to contamination by organic contaminants; and have high concentrations of naturally occurring iron and manganese in depositional areas that contain abundant organic matter. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the City of...
Hydrology and water quality of the Great Dismal Swamp, Virginia and North Carolina, and implications for hydrologic-management goals and strategies
Gary K. Speiran, Frederic C. Wurster
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5100
The Great Dismal Swamp is a peat wetland in the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Timber harvesting and the construction of ditches to drain the swamp and facilitate the harvesting are collectively implicated in changes that altered the wetland forests, caused subsidence and decomposition of the...
