A new remote sensing-based Carbon Sequestration Potential Index (CSPI): A tool to support land carbon management
Adrian Pascual, Christian P. Giardina, Paul Selmants, Leah J Laramee, Gregory P. Asner
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (494)
Integrating remote sensing into assessments of carbon stocks and fluxes has advanced our understanding of how global change affects landscapes and our capacity to support decision making about forest management. However, there remains a lack of detailed and actionable analyses conducted across widely ranging environmental conditions that are appropriate for...
Rupture passing probabilities at fault bends and steps, with application to rupture length probabilities for earthquake early warning
Glenn Biasi, Steven G. Wesnousky
2021, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (111) 2235-2247
Earthquake early warning (EEW) systems can quickly identify the beginning of a significant earthquake rupture, but the first seconds of seismic data have not been found to predict the final rupture length. We present two approaches for estimating probabilities of rupture length given the rupture initiation from an EEW system....
Rediscovery and genetic confirmation of the Threeridge Mussel, Amblema plicata (Say, 1817) (Bivalvia, Unionidae), in the Choctawhatchee River, Florida, USA
Lauren N. Patterson, Susan R. Geda, Nathan A. Johnson
2021, Check List (17) 783-790
Recent freshwater mussel research has resulted in rediscovery of several species presumed extinct. We report the rediscovery of Amblema plicata (Say, 1817) in 2019 from the Choctawhatchee River, Florida, USA. Amblema plicata has not been reported in the Choctawhatchee river basin since 1958, more than 61 years ago. This species was collected during the...
Identifying chemicals and mixtures of potential biological concern detected in passive samplers from Great Lakes tributaries using high-throughput data and biological pathways
David A. Alvarez, Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Austin K. Baldwin
2021, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (40) 2165-2182
Waterborne contaminants were monitored in 69 tributaries of the Laurentian Great Lakes in 2010 and 2014 using semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS). A risk-based screening approach was used to prioritize chemicals and chemical mixtures, identify sites at greatest risk for...
Wave-driven flood-forecasting on reef-lined coasts early warning system (WaveFoRCE)
William Skirving, Curt D. Storlazzi, Emily A Smail
2021, Newsletter, Environment Coastal & Offshore (ECO)
Increasing the resilience of coastal communities while decreasing the risk to them are key to the continued inhabitance and sustainability of these areas. Low-lying coral reef-lined islands are experiencing storm wave-driven flood events that currently strike with little to no warning. These events are occurring more frequently and with increasing...
Pilot-scale expanded assessment of inorganic and organic tapwater exposures and predicted effects in Puerto Rico, USA
Paul M. Bradley, Ingrid Y. Padilla, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Sara E. Breitmeyer, Mary C. Cardon, Justin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, Carrie E. Givens, James L. Gray, L. Earl Gray, Phillip C. Hartig, Michelle L. Hladik, Christopher P. Higgins, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Rachael F. Lane, Keith A. Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Carrie A. McDonough, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Shannon M. Meppelink, Christopher P. Weis, Vickie S. Wilson
2021, Environment International (788)
A pilot-scale expanded target assessment of mixtures of inorganic and organic contaminants in point-of-consumption drinking water (tapwater, TW) was conducted in Puerto Rico (PR) to continue to inform TW exposures and corresponding estimations of cumulative human-health risks across the US. In August 2018, a spatial synoptic pilot assessment of than...
Molluscan aminostratigraphy of the US Mid-Atlantic Quaternary coastal system: Implications for onshore-offshore correlation, paleochannel and barrier island evolution, and local late Quaternary sea-level history
John Wehmiller, Laura L. Brothers, Kelvin Ramsey, David S. Foster, C.R. Mattheus, Christopher Hein, Justin L. Shawler
2021, Quaternary Geochronology (66)
The Quaternary record of the US Mid-Atlantic coastal system includes onshore emergent late Pleistocene shoreline deposits, offshore inner shelf and barrier island units, and paleovalleys formed during multiple glacial stage sea-level lowstands. The geochronology of this coastal system is based on uranium series, radiocarbon, amino acid racemization (AAR), and optically...
Quantifying eruptive and background seismicity, deformation, degassing, and thermal emissions at volcanoes in the United States during 1978–2020
Kevin Reath, Matthew Pritchard, Diana C. Roman, Taryn Lopez, Simon A Carn, Tobias P. Fischer, Zhong Lu, Michael Poland, R. Greg Vaughan, Rick Wessels, L. L. Wike, H. K. Tran
2021, Journal of Geophysical Research (126)
An important aspect of volcanic hazard assessment is determination of the level and character of background activity at a volcano so that deviations from background (called unrest) can be identified. Here, we compile the instrumentally recorded eruptive and noneruptive activity for 161 US volcanoes between 1978 and...
Northern Madtom use of artificial reefs in the St. Clair–Detroit River System
Jennifer Johnson, Justin A. Chiotti, Andrew S Briggs, James C. Boase, Jan-Michael Hessenauer, Edward F. Roseman
2021, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (41) S42-S53
The St. Clair and Detroit rivers historically supported abundant fish populations. However, like many river systems, these rivers have been greatly altered through the creation of navigation channels and other anthropogenic disturbances, resulting in the loss of fish and wildlife habitat and declines in native fish populations. To ameliorate this...
Aeolian sediments in paleowetland deposits of the Las Vegas Formation
Harland L. Goldstein, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Marith C. Reheis, Gary L. Skipp
2021, Quaternary Research (104) 1-13
The Las Vegas Formation (LVF) is a well-characterized sequence of groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits exposed in and around the Las Vegas Valley in southern Nevada. Nearly monolithologic bedrock surrounds the valley, which provides an excellent opportunity to test the hypothesis that GWD deposits include an aeolian component....
Coral reef resilience differs among islands within the Gulf of Mannar, southeast India, following successive coral bleaching events
K Diraviya Raj, Greta S. Aeby, G.M. Mathews, Gareth J Williams, Jamie M. Caldwell, R L Laju, M Selva Bharath, P Dinesh Kumar, A Arasamuthu, N Gladwin Gnana Asir, Lisa M. Wedding, Andrew Daview, Monica Mei Jeen Moritsch, J K Patterson Edward
2021, Coral Reefs (40) 1029-1044
We used a 12-yr data set of benthic cover (2005–2017), spanning two bleaching events, to assess changes in benthic cover and coral community composition along 21 islands within Gulf of Mannar (GoM), southeast India. Overall, between 2005 and 2017 reefs had a simultaneous decrease in relative...
Quantifying slopes as a driver of forest to marsh conversion using geospatial techniques: Application to Chesapeake Bay coastal-plain, USA
Grace Damore Molino, Zafer Defne, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Neil K. Ganju, Joel A. Carr
2021, Frontiers in Environmental Science (9)
Coastal salt marshes, which provide valuable ecosystem services such as flood mitigation and carbon sequestration, are threatened by rising sea level. In response, these ecosystems migrate landward, converting available upland into salt marsh. In the coastal-plain surrounding Chesapeake Bay, United States, conversion of coastal forest to salt marsh...
Monitoring long-term riparian vegetation trends to inform local habitat management in a mountainous environment
Timothy J. Assal, Valerie A. Steen, Todd Caltrider, Travis Cundy, Cheyenne Stewart, Nicholas Manning, Patrick J. Anderson
2021, Ecological Indicators (127)
Riparian ecosystems provide critical habitat for many species, yet assessment of vegetation condition at local scales is difficult to measure when considering large areas over long time periods. We present a framework to map and monitor two deciduous cover types, upland and riparian, occupying...
The importance of wilderness to wolf (Canis lupus) survival and cause-specific mortality over 50 years
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Tyler Wheeldon, L. David Mech
2021, Biological Conservation (258)
We assessed the relative importance of wilderness to gray wolf (Canis lupus) population dynamics over 50 years in a population that 1) was long extant (i.e., not reintroduced or recolonized), 2) was not subject to harvest in our study area until recently, and 3) used both wilderness and adjacent, mainly...
Recovering individual-level spatial inference from aggregated binary data
Nelson Walker, Trevor J. Hefley, Anne Ballmann, Robin E. Russell, Daniel P. Walsh
2021, Spatial Statistics (44)
Binary regression models are commonly used in disciplines such as epidemiology and ecology to determine how spatial covariates influence individuals. In many studies, binary data are shared in a spatially aggregated form to protect privacy. For example, rather than reporting the location and result for each individual that was tested...
Oxygen isotopes in terrestrial gastropod shells track Quaternary climate change in the American Southwest
Jason A. Rech, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Stephanie Bosch, Jeffrey C. Nekola, Yurena Yanes
2021, Quaternary Research (104) 43-53
Recent studies have shown the oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O) of modern terrestrial gastropod shells is determined largely by the δ18O of precipitation. This implies that fossil shells could be used to reconstruct the δ18O of paleo-precipitation as long as the isotopic system, including the hydrologic pathways of...
Moose habitat selection and fitness consequences during two critical winter tick life stages in Vermont, United States
Joshua Blouin, Jacob Debow, Elias Rosenblatt, James E. Hines, Cedric Alexander, Katherina Gieder, Nicholas Fortin, James Murdoch, Therese M. Donovan
2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (9)
The moose (Alces alces) is a charismatic species in decline across much of their southern distribution in North America. In the northeastern United States, much of the reduction has been attributed to winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) infestations. Winter ticks are fairly immobile throughout all life stages, and therefore...
A U.S.-China EcoPartnership study of disturbed wetland vegetation in West Dongting Lake, China
Ting Lei, Beth Middleton
2021, Environmental Progress and Sustainable Energy (40)
West Dongting Lake in China is important for human livelihoods and habitat of migratory waterfowl and other wildlife. The waterway re-engineering and agriculture intensification have contributed to changes in hydrology, sediment, and vegetation on the floodplain. This paper describes an EcoPartnership program conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, Wetland and...
Spring phenology drives range shifts in a migratory Arctic ungulate with key implications for the future
John P. Severson, Heather E. Johnson, Stephen M. Arthur, William Leacock, Michael J. Suitor
2021, Global Change Biology (27) 4546-4563
Annual variation in phenology can have profound effects on the behavior of animals. As climate change advances spring phenology in ecosystems around the globe, it is becoming increasingly important to understand how animals respond to variation in the timing of seasonal events and how their responses...
Repeating earthquakes during multiple phases of unrest and eruption at Mount Agung, Bali, Indonesia, 2017
John Wellik, Stephanie Prejean, Devy K. Syahbana
2021, Frontiers in Volcanology (9)
In 2017, Mount Agung produced a small (VEI 2) eruption that was preceded by an energetic volcano-tectonic (VT) swarm (>800 earthquakes per day up to M4.9) and two months of declining activity. The period of decreased seismic activity complicated forecasting efforts for scientists monitoring the volcano. We examine...
Calcium concentrations in the lower Columbia River, USA, are generally sufficient to support invasive bivalve spread
Stephen M. Bollens, John A. Harrison, Marc G. Kramer, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Timothy D. Counihan, Salvador B. Robb-Chavez, Sean T. Nolan
2021, River Research and Applications (37) 889-894
Dissolved calcium concentration [Ca2+] is thought to be a major factor limiting the establishment and thus the spread of invasive bivalves such as zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) and quagga (Dreissena bugensis) mussels. We measured [Ca2+] in 168 water samples collected along ~100 river-km of the lower Columbia River, USA, between June...
The effect of group size on reproduction in cooperatively breeding gray wolves depends on density
D.E. Ausband, Michael S. Mitchell
2021, Animal Conservation (24) 994-1000
In cooperatively breeding species, large group size is often positively related to reproductive success and group persistence. We have a poor understanding, however, of how group sizes within a population affect reproduction particularly as density varies. We hypothesized that at low densities, wolves in both small...
Research to inform Caltrans best management practices for reptile and amphibian road crossings
Cheryl S. Brehme, Robert N. Fisher, Tom E. S. Langton, Anthony P. Clevenger, Esther Adelsheim, Stephanie Barnes, Tristan Edgarian, Brittany Ewing, Stacie A. Hathaway, Michael Hobbs, Jennifer Kingston, A. Launer, Tritia A. Matsuda, Jeremy B. Sebes, C. Vaughn, Elise Watson
2021, Report
In October of 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a 5-year project to conduct research to inform Best Management Practices (BMPs) for amphibian and reptile crossing and barrier systems in California. To inform future conservation and transportation planning, this project involved identification of species at highest risk of...
Broad-scale surface and atmospheric conditions during large fires in south-central Chile
David B. McWethy, Rene Garreaud, Andres Holz, Gregory T. Pederson
2021, Fire (4)
The unprecedented size of the 2017 wildfires that burned nearly 600,000 hectares of central Chile highlight a need to better understand the climatic conditions under which large fires develop. Here we evaluate synoptic atmospheric conditions at the surface and free troposphere associated with anomalously high (active) versus low (inactive) months...
Surface water with more natural temperatures promotes physiological and endocrine changes in landlocked Atlantic salmon smolts
Amy M. Regish, William R. Ardren, Nicholas R Staats, Henry Bouchard, Jonah L. Withers, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Stephen D. McCormick
William R. Ardren, Larry Greenberg, editor(s)
2021, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (78) 775-786
Hatchery salmonid smolts are often reared using groundwater with elevated temperatures to maximize growth. Previous work has shown that rearing hatchery smolts in surface water with a more natural thermal regime resulted in increased return rates of adult landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We evaluated whether landlocked Atlantic salmon reared...
