Suppression of invasive lake trout in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park
C. R. Fredenberg, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Christopher S. Guy, Vincent S. D'Angelo, Christopher C. Downs, John M. Syslo
2017, Fisheries Management and Ecology (24) 33-48
Fisheries managers have implemented suppression programmes to control non-native lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum), in several lakes throughout the western United States. This study determined the feasibility of experimentally suppressing lake trout using gillnets in an isolated backcountry lake in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, for the conservation of threatened...
Flood-inundation maps for the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana
Zachary W. Martin
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5179
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 6.6-mile reach of the St. Joseph River at Elkhart, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science Web site...
Potential distribution of the viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus in the Great Lakes region
Luis E. Escobar, Gael Kurath, Joaquim Escobar-Dodero, Meggan E. Craft, Nicholas B.D. Phelps
2017, Journal of Fish Diseases (40) 11-28
Viral haemorrhagic septicaemia virus (VHSV) genotype IVb has been responsible for large-scale fish mortality events in the Great Lakes of North America. Anticipating the areas of potential VHSV occurrence is key to designing epidemiological surveillance and disease prevention strategies in the Great Lakes basin. We explored the environmental features that...
Noble gas isotopes in mineral springs and wells within the Cascadia forearc, Washington, Oregon, and California
Patricia A. McCrory, James E. Constantz, Andrew G. Hunt
2017, Open-File Report 2016-1203
IntroductionThis U.S. Geological Survey report presents laboratory analyses along with field notes for an exploratory study to document the relative abundance of noble gases in mineral springs and water wells within the Cascadia forearc of Washington, Oregon, and California (fig. 1). This report describes 14 samples collected in 2014 and...
Spatial variability of Chinook salmon spawning distribution and habitat preferences
Jeremy M. Cram, Christian E. Torgersen, Ryan S. Klett, George R. Pess, Darran May, Todd N. Pearsons, Andrew H. Dittman
2017, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (146) 206-221
We investigated physical habitat conditions associated with the spawning sites of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha and the interannual consistency of spawning distribution across multiple spatial scales using a combination of spatially continuous and discrete sampling methods. We conducted a census of aquatic habitat in 76 km of the upper main-stem...
Linking dominant Hawaiian tree species to understory development in recovering pastures via impacts on soils and litter
Stephanie G. Yelenik
2017, Restoration Ecology (25) 42-52
Large areas of tropical forest have been cleared and planted with exotic grass species for use as cattle pasture. These often remain persistent grasslands after grazer removal, which is problematic for restoring native forest communities. It is often hoped that remnant and/or planted trees can jump-start forest succession; however, there...
Colorado River fish monitoring in Grand Canyon, Arizona; 2002–14 humpback chub aggregations
William R. Persons, David R. Van Haverbeke, Michael J. Dodrill
2017, Open-File Report 2016-1177
The humpback chub (Gila cypha) is an endangered cyprinid species endemic to the Colorado River. The largest remaining population of the species spawns and rears in the Little Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Construction and operation of Glen Canyon Dam has altered the main-stem Colorado River in Glen and Grand...
Paleomagnetism and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the Plio-Pleistocene Boring Volcanic Field: Implications for the geomagnetic polarity time scale and paleosecular variation
Jonathan T. Hagstrum, Robert J. Fleck, Russell C. Evarts, Andrew T. Calvert
2017, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors (262) 101-115
Paleomagnetic directions and 40Ar/39Ar ages have been determined for samples of lava flows from the same outcrops, where possible, for 84 eruptive units ranging in age from 3200 ka to 60 ka within the Boring Volcanic Field (BVF) of the Pacific Northwest, USA. This study expands upon our previous results for the...
The use of data-mining techniques for developing effective decisionsupport systems: A case study of simulating the effects ofclimate change on coastal salinity intrusion
Paul Conrads, Jr. Edwin Roehl
2017, Book chapter, Integrated environmental modelling to solve real world problems: Methods, vision and challenges
Natural-resource managers and stakeholders face difficult challenges when managing interactions between natural and societal systems. Potential changes in climate could alter interactions between environmental and societal systems and adversely affect the availability of water resources in many coastal communities. The availability of freshwater in coastal streams can be threatened by...
Tambora and the mackerel year: Phenology and fisheries during an extreme climate event
Karen E. Alexander, William B. Leavenworth, Carolyn Hall, Steven Mattocks, Steven M. Bittner, Emily Klein, Michelle D. Staudinger, Alexander Bryan, Julianne Rosset, Theodore V. Willis, Benjamin H. Carr, Adrian Jordaan
2017, Science Advances (3)
Global warming has increased the frequency of extreme climate events, yet responses of biological and human communities are poorly understood, particularly for aquatic ecosystems and fisheries. Retrospective analysis of known outcomes may provide insights into the nature of adaptations and trajectory of subsequent conditions. We consider the 1815 eruption of...
Development and evaluation of a reservoir model for the Chain of Lakes in Illinois
Marian M. Domanski
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5155
Forecasts of flows entering and leaving the Chain of Lakes reservoir on the Fox River in northeastern Illinois are critical information to water-resource managers who determine the optimal operation of the dam at McHenry, Illinois, to help minimize damages to property and loss of life because of flooding on the...
Depositional environment and organic matter accumulation of Upper Ordovician–Lower Silurian marine shale in the Upper Yangtze Platform, South China
Yangfang Li, Tongwei Zhang, Geoffrey S. Ellis, Deyong Shao
2017, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology (466) 252-264
The main controlling factors of organic matter accumulation in the Upper Ordovician Wufeng–Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formations are complex and remain highly controversial. This study investigates the vertical variation of total organic carbon (TOC) content as well as major and trace element concentrations of four Ordovician–Silurian transition sections from the...
Development of a coupled wave-flow-vegetation interaction model
Alexis Beudin, Tarandeep S. Kalra, Neil K. Ganju, John C. Warner
2017, Computers & Geosciences (100) 76-86
Emergent and submerged vegetation can significantly affect coastal hydrodynamics. However, most deterministic numerical models do not take into account their influence on currents, waves, and turbulence. In this paper, we describe the implementation of a wave-flow-vegetation module into a Coupled-Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) modeling system that includes a flow model (ROMS)...
NDVI, scale invariance and the modifiable areal unit problem: An assessment of vegetation in the Adelaide Parklands
Hamideh Nouri, Sharolyn Anderson, Paul Sutton, Simon Beecham, Pamela L. Nagler, Christopher J. Jarchow, Dar A. Roberts
2017, Science of the Total Environment (584–585) 11-18
This research addresses the question as to whether or not the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is scale invariant (i.e. constant over spatial aggregation) for pure pixels of urban vegetation. It has been long recognized that there are issues related to the modifiable areal unit problem (MAUP) pertaining to indices...
Hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of Great Meadow wetland, Acadia National Park, Maine
Pamela J. Lombard
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2016-5159
The U.S. Geological Survey completed hydrologic and hydraulic analyses of Cromwell Brook and the Sieur de Monts tributary in Acadia National Park, Maine, to better understand causes of flooding in complex hydrologic and hydraulic environments, like those in the Great Meadow wetland and Sieur de Monts Spring area. Regional regression...
Comparison of climate envelope models developed using expert-selected variables versus statistical selection
Laura A. Brandt, Allison Benscoter, Rebecca G. Harvey, Carolina Speroterra, David N. Bucklin, Stephanie S. Romanach, James I. Watling, Frank J. Mazzotti
2017, Ecological Modelling (345) 10-20
Climate envelope models are widely used to describe potential future distribution of species under different climate change scenarios. It is broadly recognized that there are both strengths and limitations to using climate envelope models and that outcomes are sensitive to initial assumptions, inputs, and modeling methods Selection of predictor variables,...
Nutrient processes at the stream-lake interface for a channelized versus unmodified stream mouth
Richard G. Niswonger, Ramon C. Naranjo, David Smith, James E. Constantz, Kip K. Allander, Donald O. Rosenberry, Bethany Neilson, Michael R. Rosen, David A. Stonestrom
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 237-256
Inorganic forms of nitrogen and phosphorous impact freshwater lakes by stimulating primary production and affecting water quality and ecosystem health. Communities around the world are motivated to sustain and restore freshwater resources and are interested in processes controlling nutrient inputs. We studied the environment where streams flow into lakes, referred...
Evaluating mountain meadow groundwater response to Pinyon-Juniper and temperature in a great basin watershed
Rosemary W.H. Carroll, Justin L. Huntington, Keirith A. Snyder, Richard G. Niswonger, Charles Morton, Tamzen K. Stringham
2017, Ecohydrology (10) 1-18
This research highlights development and application of an integrated hydrologic model (GSFLOW) to a semiarid, snow-dominated watershed in the Great Basin to evaluate Pinyon-Juniper (PJ) and temperature controls on mountain meadow shallow groundwater. The work used Google Earth Engine Landsat satellite and gridded climate archives for model evaluation. Model simulations...
Apparent late Quaternary fault slip rate increase in the southwestern Lower Rhine Graben, central Europe
Ryan D. Gold, Anke M. Friedrich, Simon Kubler, Martin Salamon
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 563-580
In regions of low strain, long earthquake recurrence intervals (104–106 yrs) and erosive processes limit preservation of Quaternary markers suitable for distinguishing whether faults slip at uniform or secularly varying rates. The Lower Rhine graben in the border region of Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium provides a unique opportunity to...
Integrating landslide and liquefaction hazard and loss estimates with existing USGS real-time earthquake information products
Kate E. Allstadt, Eric M. Thompson, Mike Hearne, M. Anna Nowicki Jessee, J. Zhu, David J. Wald, Hakan Tanyas
2017, Conference Paper, Proceedings of the 16th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has made significant progress toward the rapid estimation of shaking and shakingrelated losses through their Did You Feel It? (DYFI), ShakeMap, ShakeCast, and PAGER products. However, quantitative estimates of the extent and severity of secondary hazards (e.g., landsliding, liquefaction) are not currently included in scenarios...
Enhanced Al and Zn removal from coal-mine drainage during rapid oxidation and precipitation of Fe oxides at near-neutral pH
Jill E. Burrows, Charles A. Cravotta, Stephen C. Peters
2017, Applied Geochemistry (78) 194-210
Net-alkaline, anoxic coal-mine drainage containing ∼20 mg/L FeII and ∼0.05 mg/L Al and Zn was subjected to parallel batch experiments: control, aeration (Aer 1 12.6 mL/s; Aer 2 16.8 mL/s; Aer 3 25.0 mL/s), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to test the hypothesis that aeration increases pH, FeII oxidation, hydrous FeIII oxide (HFO) formation, and...
Integrating Radarsat-2, Lidar, and Worldview-3 Imagery to maximize detection of forested inundation extent in the Delmarva Peninsula, USA
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Hayley Distler, Di Ana Mendiola, Megan Lang
2017, Remote Sensing (9)
Natural variability in surface-water extent and associated characteristics presents a challenge to gathering timely, accurate information, particularly in environments that are dominated by small and/or forested wetlands. This study mapped inundation extent across the Upper Choptank River Watershed on the Delmarva Peninsula, occurring within both Maryland and Delaware. We integrated...
A carbon balance model for the great dismal swamp ecosystem
Rachel Sleeter, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Brianna Williams, Dianna M. Hogan, Todd Hawbaker, Zhiliang Zhu
2017, Carbon Balance and Management (12) 1-20
BackgroundCarbon storage potential has become an important consideration for land management and planning in the United States. The ability to assess ecosystem carbon balance can help land managers understand the benefits and tradeoffs between different management strategies. This paper demonstrates an application of the Land...
Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century
Christopher A. Gabler, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Camille L. Stagg, Richard H. Day, Stephen B. Hartley, Nicholas M. Enwright, Andrew From, Meagan L. McCoy, Jennie L. McLeod
2017, Nature Climate Change (7) 142-147
Coastal wetlands, existing at the interface between land and sea, are highly vulnerable to climate change. Macroclimate (for example, temperature and precipitation regimes) greatly influences coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. However, research on climate change impacts in coastal wetlands has concentrated primarily on sea-level rise and largely ignored macroclimatic...
Woody encroachment in northern Great Plains grasslands: Perceptions, actions, and needs
Amy J. Symstad, Sherry A. Leis
2017, Natural Areas Journal (37) 118-127
The United States Northern Great Plains (NGP) has a high potential for landscape-scale conservation, but this grassland landscape is threatened by encroachment of woody species. We surveyed NGP land managers to identify patterns in, and illustrate a broad range of, individual managers' perceptions on (1) the threat of woody encroachment...
