Kittlitz’s murrelet seasonal distribution and post-breeding migration from the Gulf of Alaska to the Arctic Ocean
John F. Piatt, David C. Douglas, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Michelle Kissling, Erica N. Madison, Sarah K. Schoen, Kathy J. Kuletz, Gary S. Drew
2021, Arctic (74) 482-495
Kittlitz’s Murrelets (Brachyramphus brevirostris) nest during summer in glaciated or recently deglaciated (post-Wisconsin) landscapes. They forage in adjacent marine waters, especially those influenced by glacial meltwater. Little is known of their movements and distribution outside the breeding season. To identify post-breeding migrations of murrelets, we attached satellite transmitters to...
Stratigraphy and age of a prominent paleosol in a late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence, Mason Neck, Virginia
Helaine W. Markewich, Douglas A. Wysocki, Milan J. Pavich, Joseph P. Smoot, Ronald J. Litwin
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1113
The High Point paleosol is 2.28-meters-thick aggradational soil developed in fining upward estuarine-alluvial sand and loess. The paleosol is exposed in a few shoreline cliff faces of Mason Neck, Virginia. Although a former A horizon is missing, the E, Bw, Bt, and C horizon sequence seen in the sediments indicates...
Agkistrodon conanti (Florida Cottonmouth) and Python bivittatus (Burmese Python). Diet and Predation
Ian A. Bartoszek, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Ian Easterling, Jillian Maureen Josimovich, Alex Furst, Frank N. Ridgley, Austin Lee Fitzgerald, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Andrea Faye Currylow
2021, Herpetological Review (52) 860-862
Python bivittatus is established in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem in southern Florida, USA. Documented predators on pythons in Florida include Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator; Snow et al. 2006. Herpetol. Rev. 37:81–81), Drymarchon couperi (Gulf Coast Indigo Snake; Andreadis et al. 2018. Herpetol. Rev. 49:341–342), Lynx rufus (Bobcat; McCollister et al....
Optimization of salt marsh management at the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges, Virginia, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Pamela Denmon, Robert Leffel
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1117
Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances...
Optimization of salt marsh management at the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge, Maine, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Maurice Mills, Raymond E. Brown, Keith Ramos
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1115
Structured decision making is a systematic, transparent process for improving the quality of complex decisions by identifying measurable management objectives and feasible management actions; predicting the potential consequences of management actions relative to the stated objectives; and selecting a course of action that maximizes the total benefit achieved and balances...
Completion summary for boreholes USGS 148, 148A, and 149 at the Materials and Fuels Complex, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho
Brian V. Twining, Neil V. Maimer, Roy C. Bartholomay, Blair W. Packer
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5131
In 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, drilled and constructed boreholes USGS 148A and USGS 149 for stratigraphic framework analyses and long-term groundwater monitoring of the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in southeastern Idaho. Initially,...
Mapping habitat quality and threats for eastern Black Rails (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis)
Bryan S. Stevens, Courtney J. Conway
2021, Waterbirds (44) 245-256
Documenting the spatial distribution of high-quality habitat patches, the distributions of threats and protected areas, and the vulnerability of habitat patches to changes in environmental conditions is vital for conservation of rare species. Range-wide species distribution models were developed for Black Rails (Laterallus jamaicensis) to...
Revealing migratory path, important stopovers and non-breeding areas of a boreal songbird in steep decline
Julie C Hagelin, Michael T. Hallworth, Christopher P Barger, James A. Johnson, Kristin A DuBour, Grey W Pendelton, Lucas H. DeCicco, Laura A McDuffie, Steven M. Matsuoka, Marian A Snively, Peter P. Marra
2021, Animal Migration (8) 168-191
The Olive-sided Flycatcher (Contopus cooperi) is a steeply declining aerial insectivore with one of the longest migrations of any North American passerine. We deployed light-level geolocators and archival GPS tags on breeders in boreal Alaska to determine migratory routes, important stopovers and non-breeding locations. Data from 16 individuals revealed a...
Characterizing methane emission hotspots from thawing permafrost
Clayton D. Elder, David R. Thompson, Andrew K Thorpe, Hrishikesh Chandanpurkar, Philip J Hanke, Nicholas Hasson, Stephanie R. James, Burke J. Minsley, Neal J. Pastick, David Olefeldt, Katey M Walter Anthony, Charles E. Miller
2021, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (35)
Methane (CH4) emissions from climate-sensitive ecosystems within the northern permafrost region represent a potentially large but highly uncertain source, with current estimates spanning a factor of seven (11–75 Tg CH4 yr−1). Accelerating permafrost thaw threatens significant increases in pan-Arctic CH4 emissions, amplifying the permafrost carbon feedback. We used airborne imaging...
Geochronologic, isotopic, and geochemical data from pre-Cretaceous plutonic rocks in the Lane Mountain area, San Bernardino County, California
Paul Stone, Howard J. Brown, M. Robinson Cecil, Robert J. Fleck, Jorge A. Vazquez, John A. Fitzpatrick
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1094
Pre-Cretaceous, predominantly dioritic plutonic rocks in the Lane Mountain area, California, intrude metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks considered part of the El Paso terrane. New geochronologic (uranium-lead zircon), geochemical, and isotopic data provide a reliable basis for dividing these pre-Cretaceous plutonic rocks into two mappable suites of Permian–Triassic and Late Jurassic...
Asynchronous flowering patterns in saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea)
Theresa Foley, Don E. Swann, Guadalupe Sotelo, Nicholas Perkins, Daniel E. Winkler
2021, Ecosphere (12)
The saguaro cactus (Carnegiea gigantea [Engelm.] Britton & Rose) is a keystone species endemic to the Sonoran Desert of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. The saguaro produces large white flowers near its stem apex (crown) during April–June, which bloom at night and close the following...
Influence of antecedent geology on the Holocene formation and evolution of Horn Island, Mississippi, USA
Nina S Gal, Davin J Wallace, Michael Miner, Robert S Hollis, Clayton H Dike, James Flocks
2021, Marine Geology (431)
Horn Island, one of the two most stable barriers along the Mississippi-Alabama chain (Cat, East and West Ship, Horn, West Petit Bois, Petit Bois, and Dauphin), provides critical habitat, helps regulate estuarine conditions in the Mississippi Sound, and reduces wave energy...
Experimental tree mortality does not induce marsh transgression in a Chesapeake Bay low-lying coastal forest
David Walters, Joel A. Carr, Alyssa Hockaday, Joshua A Jones, Eliza McFarland, Katya Kovalenko, Matthew L. Kirwan, Donald R. Cahoon, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
2021, Frontiers in Marine Science (8)
Transgression into adjacent uplands is an important global response of coastal wetlands to accelerated rates of sea level rise. “Ghost forests” mark a signature characteristic of marsh transgression on the landscape, as changes in tidal inundation and salinity cause bordering upland tree mortality, increase light availability, and the...
Spatial network clustering reveals elk population structure and local variation in prevalence of chronic wasting disease
Glen A. Sargeant, Margaret A. Wild, Gregory M. Schroeder, Jenny G. Powers, Nathan L. Galloway
2021, Ecosphere (12)
Spatial organization plays prominent roles in disease transmission, genetics, and demography of wildlife populations and is therefore an important consideration not only for wildlife management, but also for inference about populations and processes. We used hierarchical agglomerative clustering of a spatial graph network to partition Wind...
Stock composition of the historical New York Bight Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) intercept fishery revealed through microsatellite analysis of archived spines
Shannon L. White, Robin L. Johnson, Barbara A. Lubinski, Michael S. Eackles, David H. Secor, David C. Kazyak
2021, Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science (13) 720-727
A targeted commercial fishery for Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus once operated in the New York Bight, where it was assumed that most harvested Atlantic Sturgeon were natal to the Hudson River population. However, more recent evidence suggests that the fishery may have been targeting a mixed-stock aggregation, in which case harvested...
Reproductive health and endocrine disruption in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Lake Erie drainage, Pennsylvania, USA
Heather L. Walsh, Sean D. Rafferty, Stephanie E. Gordon, Vicki S. Blazer
2021, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (194)
Smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu were sampled from three sites within the Lake Erie drainage (Elk Creek, Twentymile Creek, and Misery Bay, an embayment in Presque Isle Bay). Plasma, tissues for histopathological analyses, and liver and testes preserved in RNALater® were sampled from 30 smallmouth bass (of both sexes)...
Simulation of potential water allocation changes, Cape May County, New Jersey
Glen B. Carleton
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5052
Saltwater intrusion and declining water levels have been a water-supply problem in Cape May County, New Jersey, for decades. Cape May County is surrounded by saltwater on three sides. Several communities in the county have only one aquifer from which freshwater withdrawals can be made, and that sole source is...
The water quality of selected streams in the Catskill and Delaware water-supply watersheds in New York, 1999–2009
Michael R. McHale, Jason Siemion, Peter S. Murdoch
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5049
From October 1, 1999, through September 30, 2009, water-quality samples were collected, and discharge was measured at 13 streamgages within the Catskill and Delaware watersheds of the New York City water supply system. The Catskill and Delaware watersheds supply about 90 percent of the water needed by 9 million customers....
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...
