Wetland selection by female Ring-Necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) in the Southern Atlantic Flyway
Tori D. Mezebish, Richard Chandler, Glenn H. Olsen, Michele Goodman, Frank C. Rohwer, Nicholas J. Meng, Mark D. McConnell
2021, Wetlands (41)
On the wintering grounds, wetland selection by waterfowl is influenced by spatiotemporal resource distribution. The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) winters in the southeastern United States where a disproportionate amount of Atlantic Flyway ring-necked duck harvest occurs. We quantified female ring-necked duck selection for wetland characteristics during...
Tolerance of northern Gulf of Mexico eastern oysters to chronic warming at extreme salinities
D.A. Marshall, N.C. Coxe, Megan K. La Peyre, W.C. Walton, F. Scott Rikard, J. Beseres Pollack, M.A. Kelly, J.F. La Peyre
2021, Journal of Thermal Biology (100)
The eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, provides critical ecosystem services and supports valuable fishery and aquaculture industries in northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM) subtropical estuaries where it is grown subtidally. Its upper critical thermal limit is not well defined, especially when combined with extreme salinities. The cumulative mortalities of the progenies of wild C....
Optimization of salt marsh management at the Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, New York, through use of structured decision making
Hilary A. Neckles, James E. Lyons, Jessica L. Nagel, Susan C. Adamowicz, Toni Mikula, Monica R. Williams
2021, Open-File Report 2021-1070
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...
Estimates of abundance and harvest rates of female black bears across a large spatial extent
Jacob Humm, Joseph D. Clark
2021, Journal of Wildlife Management (85) 1321-1331
American black bears (Ursus americanus) are an iconic wildlife species in the southern Appalachian highlands of the eastern United States and have increased in number and range since the early 1980s. Given an increasing number of human-bear conflicts in the region, many management agencies have liberalized harvest...
Changes in organic carbon source and storage with sea level rise-induced transgression in a Chesapeake Bay marsh
Rachel Van Allen, Kathryn M. Schreiner, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Joseph A. Carlin
2021, Estuaries and Coasts (261)
Organic matter (OM) accumulation in marsh soils affects marsh survival under rapid sea-level rise (SLR). This work describes the changing organic geochemistry of a salt marsh located in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay that has transgressed inland with SLR over the past 35–75 years. Marsh soils and vegetation were...
Evaluating the migration mortality hypothesis using monarch tagging data
Orley R. Taylor, John M. Pleasants, Ralph Grundel, Samuel Pecoraro, James P. Lovett, Ann Ryan
2021, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (8)
The decline in the eastern North American population of the monarch butterfly population since the late 1990s has been attributed to the loss of milkweed during the summer breeding season and the consequent reduction in the size of the summer population that migrates to central Mexico to overwinter (milkweed limitation...
Groundwater quality and age of secondary bedrock aquifers in the glaciated portion of eastern Nebraska, 2016–18
Christopher M. Hobza, Amanda T. Flynn
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5055
The Eastern Nebraska Water Resources Assessment (ENWRA) project was initiated in 2006 to assist water managers by developing a hydrogeologic framework and water budget for the glaciated portion of eastern Nebraska. Within the ENWRA area, the primary groundwater sources for municipal, domestic, and irrigation water needs are provided by withdrawals...
Groundwater assessment for petroleum hydrocarbon compounds associated with Fuels Area C, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, 2014–18
David A. Bender, Joel M. Galloway, Colton J. Medler
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5060
In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey began a study in cooperation with the Defense Logistics Agency and the U.S. Air Force to estimate groundwater-flow direction, install groundwater monitoring wells, and collect soil and groundwater samples for petroleum hydrocarbon compounds to identify the presence of hydrocarbon contamination at Ellsworth Air Force...
Forest area to support landbird population goals for the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Daniel J. Twedt, Anne Mini
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1097
Historically, the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) (Partners in Flight Bird Conservation Region #26) was predominantly bottomland hardwood forest, but natural vegetation has been cleared from about 80 percent of this ecoregion and converted primarily to agriculture. Because most bird species that are of conservation concern in this region are dependent...
Establishment of a microsatellite genetic baseline for North American Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser o. oxyrhinchus) and range-wide analysis of population genetics
Shannon L. White, David C. Kazyak, Tanya L. Darden, Daniel J. Farrae, Barbara A. Lubinski, Robin L. Johnson, Michael S. Eackles, M Balazik, Hal Brundage, Adam G Fox, Dewayne A. Fox, Chris H Hager, Jason E Kahn, Isaac I Wirgin
2021, Conservation Genetics (22) 977-992
Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is a long-lived, anadromous species that is broadly distributed along the Atlantic coast of North America. Historic overharvest and habitat degradation resulted in significant declines to Atlantic sturgeon populations and, following decades of limited recovery, the species was listed under the Endangered Species Act of...
Geologic and geophysical maps of the Santa Maria and part of the Point Conception 30'×60' quadrangles, California
Donald S. Sweetkind, Victoria E. Langenheim, Kristin McDougall-Reid, Christopher C. Sorlien, Shiera C. Demas, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Samuel Y. Johnson
2021, Scientific Investigations Map 3472
This report presents digital geologic, gravity, and aeromagnetic maps for the onshore parts of the Santa Maria and Point Conception 30'x60' quadrangles at a compilation scale of 1:100,000. The map depicts the distribution of bedrock units, surficial deposits, paleontological data, geophysical data and structural features in the Santa Maria basin...
Integrating high-resolution coastal acidification monitoring data across seven United States estuaries
Nicholas A Rosenau, Holly Galavotti, Kimberly K. Yates, Curtis Bohlen, Christopher W. Hunt, Matthew Liebman, A Cheryl Brown Cheryl, Stephen R. Pacella, John L. Largier, Karina Nielsen, Xinping Hu, Melissa McCutcheon, James Vasslides, Matthew Poach, Tom Ford, Karina Johnston, Alex Steele
2021, Frontiers in Marine Science (8)
Beginning in 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Estuary Program (NEP) started a collaboration with partners in seven estuaries along the East Coast (Barnegat Bay; Casco Bay), West Coast (Santa Monica Bay; San Francisco Bay; Tillamook Bay), and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Coast (Tampa Bay; Mission-Aransas...
Stratigraphic cross sections of the Mowry Shale and associated strata in the Wind River Basin, Wyoming
Thomas M. Finn
2021, Scientific Investigations Map 3476
The Wind River Basin in Wyoming is one of many structural and sedimentary basins that formed in the Rocky Mountain foreland during the Laramide orogeny in the latest Cretaceous through the early Eocene. The basin (bounded by the Washakie, Owl Creek, and Bighorn uplifts on the north, the Casper arch...
The spatial-temporal relationship of blue-winged teal to domestic poultry: Movement state modeling of a highly mobile avian influenza host
John M. Humphreys, David C. Douglas, Andrew M. Ramey, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Catherine Soos, Paul T. Link, Patrick Walther, Diann Prosser
2021, Journal of Applied Ecology (58) 2040-2052
1. Migratory waterfowl facilitate long distance dispersal of zoonotic pathogens and are increasingly recognized as contributing to the geographic spread of avian influenza viruses (AIV). AIV are globally distributed and have the potential to produce highly contagious poultry disease, economically impact both large-scale and backyard poultry producers, and raise the...
Water–rock interaction and the concentrations of major, trace, and rare earth elements in hydrocarbon-associated produced waters of the United States
Carleton R. Bern, Justin E. Birdwell, Aaron M. Jubb
2021, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts (23) 1198-1219
Studies of co-produced waters from hydrocarbon extraction across multiple energy-producing basins have generally focused on major ions or a few select tracers, and studies that examine trace elements and involve laboratory experiments have generally been basin specific. Here, new perspective is sought through a broad analysis of concentration data...
Hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system in the towns of Conklin and Kirkwood, Broome County, New York
John G. Van Hoesen, Paul M. Heisig, Shannon R. Fisher
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5026
The hydrogeology of the Susquehanna River valley-fill aquifer system and adjacent areas in south-central Broome County, New York, was investigated in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The study area encompasses roughly 55.5 square miles and includes the towns of Conklin and Kirkwood. Multiple small, perhaps...
Hazard analysis of landslides triggered by Typhoon Chata’an on July 2, 2002, in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia
Edwin L. Harp, Mark E. Reid, John A. Michael
2021, Open-File Report 2004-1348
More than 250 landslides were triggered across the eastern volcanic islands of Chuuk State in the Federated States of Micronesia by torrential rainfall from tropical storm Chata’an on July 2, 2002. Landslides triggered during nearly 20 inches of rainfall in less than 24 hours caused 43 fatalities and the destruction...
Incorporation of non-native species in the diets of cisco (Coregonus artedi) from eastern Lake Ontario
Alexander Gatch, Brian Weidel, Dimitry Gorsky, Brian O’Malley, Michael Connerton, Jeremy Holden, Kristen T. Holeck, J.A. Goertzke, Curtis T. Karboski
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 1135-1145
Cisco Coregonus artedi was once an important native fish in Lake Ontario; however, after multiple population crashes, the cisco stock has yet to recover to historic abundances. Rehabilitation of cisco in Lake Ontario is a fish community management objective, but the extent to which recent...
Model estimated baseflow for streams with endangered Atlantic Salmon in Maine, USA
Pamela J. Lombard, Robert W. Dudley, Matthias J. Collins, Rory Saunders, Ernie Atkinson
2021, River Research and Applications (37) 1254-1264
We present a regression model for estimating mean August baseflow per square kilometer of drainage area to help resource managers assess relative amounts of baseflow in Maine streams with Atlantic Salmon habitat. The model was derived from mean August baseflows computed at 31 USGS streamflow gages in Maine. We use...
Experimental evaluation of spatial capture–recapture study design
Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Sean C Sterrett, Chris Sutherland
2021, Ecological Applications (31)
A principal challenge impeding strong inference in analyses of wild populations is the lack of robust and long-term data sets. Recent advancements in analytical tools used in wildlife science may increase our ability to integrate smaller data sets and enhance the statistical power of population estimates....
The Chesapeake Bay program modeling system: Overview and recommendations for future development
Raleigh Hood, Gary W. Shenk, Rachel L Dixon, Sean M. C. Smith, William P. Ball, Jesse Bash, R. Batiuk, Kathy Boomer, Damian C Brady, Carl Cerco, Peter Claggett, Kim de Mutsert, Zachary M. Easton, Andrew J Elmore, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Lora A. Harris, Thomas F. Ihde, Iara Lacher, Li Li, Lewis C. Linker, Andrew Miller, Julia Moriarty, Gregory E. Noe, George Onyullo, Kenneth A Rose, Katherine Skalak, Richard Tian, Tamie L Veith, Lisa A. Wainger, Donald E. Weller, Yinglong J. Zhang
2021, Ecological Modelling (456)
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest, most productive, and most biologically diverse estuary in the continental United States providing crucial habitat and natural resources for culturally and economically important species. Pressures from human population growth and associated development and agricultural intensification have led to excessive nutrient and sediment inputs entering...
Regeneration trends along climate gradients in Taxodium distichum forests of the southeastern United States
Beth Middleton, Ting Lei, Omag Villegas, Xiaohui Liu
2021, Forest Ecology and Management (497)
The development of relict vegetation at the edges of some ecosystems has taken place particularly in environments where the regeneration of foundational species is declining. As an important stage of regeneration in the Taxodium distichum, this study explored the relationship of cone volume and seed number across environmental gradients in the...
Timing of iceberg scours and massive ice-rafting events in the subtropical North Atlantic
Alan Condron, Jenna C. Hill
2021, Nature Communications (12)
High resolution seafloor mapping shows extraordinary evidence that massive (>300 m thick) icebergs once drifted >5,000 km south along the eastern United States, with >700 iceberg scours now identified south of Cape Hatteras. Here we report on sediment cores collected from several buried scours that show multiple plow marks align with Heinrich...
Down to Earth with nuclear electromagnetic pulse: Realistic surface impedance affects mapping of the E3 geoelectric hazard
Jeffrey J. Love, Greg M. Lucas, Benjamin Scott Murphy, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua Rigler, Anna Kelbert
2021, Earth and Space Sciences (8)
An analysis is made of Earth-surface geoelectric fields and voltages on electricity transmission power-grids induced by a late-phase E3 nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP). A hypothetical scenario is considered of an explosion of several hundred kilotons set several hundred kilometers above the eastern-midcontinental United States. Ground-level E3 geoelectric...
Optimization of the Idaho National Laboratory water-quality aquifer monitoring network, southeastern Idaho
Jason C. Fisher, Roy C. Bartholomay, Gordon W. Rattray, Neil V. Maimer
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5031
Long-term monitoring of water-quality data collected from wells at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has provided essential information for delineating the movement of radiochemical and chemical wastes in the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer, southeastern Idaho. Since 1949, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of...
