Economic effects assessment approaches: US National Parks approach
Catherine Cullinane Thomas, Lynne Koontz
2021, Book chapter
This chapter discusses the data and methods used by the US National Park Service to estimate the economic effects of National Park visitor spending to local and regional economies. Topics covered include a summary of economic effects analyses, required data for analysis (visitor count data, trip characteristics and spending patterns,...
8,000 years of climate, vegetation, fire and land-use dynamics in the thermo-mediterranean vegetation belt of northern Sardinia (Italy)
Tiziana Pedrotta, Erika Gobet, Christoph Schworer, Giorgia Beffa, Christoph Butz, Paul D. Henne, Cesar Morales-Molino, Salvatore Pasta, Jacqueline Van Leeuwen, Hendrik Vogel, Elias Zwimpfer, Flavio Anselmetti, Martin Grosjean, Willy Tinner
2021, Vegetation History and Archaeobotany (30) 789-813
Knowledge about the vegetation history of Sardinia, the second largest island of the Mediterranean, is scanty. Here, we present a new sedimentary record covering the past ~ 8,000 years from Lago di Baratz, north-west Sardinia. Vegetation and fire history are reconstructed by pollen, spores, macrofossils and charcoal analyses and environmental dynamics by high-resolution...
Temporal dynamics of sagebrush songbird abundance in relation to energy development
Max Carlin, Anna D. Chalfoun
2021, Biological Conservation (257)
Spatial aspects of wildlife responses to human-induced habitat change have been examined frequently, yet the temporal dynamics of responses remain less understood. We tested alternative hypotheses for how the abundance of a suite of declining songbirds in relation to...
Geophysical insights into Paleoproterozoic tectonics along the southern margin of the Superior Province, central Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA
Benjamin J. Drenth, William F. Cannon, Klaus J. Schulz, Robert A. Ayuso
2021, Precambrian Research (359)
The southern margin of the Archean Superior Province in the central Upper Peninsula of Michigan was a nexus for key Paleoproterozoic tectonic events involved in the ~2.1 Ga rifting of proposed Archean supercraton Superia and subsequent assembly of Laurentia. Interpretations of the region’s tectonic history have historically been hampered by extensive...
EverForecast—A near-term forecasting application for ecological decision support
Saira M. Haider, Stephanie S. Romañach, Mark McKelvy, Kevin J. Suir, Leonard Pearlstine
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3005
The Everglades Forecasting application (EverForecast) provides decision makers with a support tool to examine optimal allocations of water across the managed landscape while explicitly quantifying the conflicting needs of multiple species. Covering the Greater Everglades (a vast, subtropical wetland ecosystem in South Florida), EverForecast provides 6-month forecasts of daily projected...
The paleogeography of Laurentia in its early years: New constraints from the Paleoproterozoic East-Central Minnesota batholith
Nicholas L. Swanson-Hysell, Margaret Susan Avery, Yiming Zhang, Eben B. Hodgin, Robert J. Sherwood, Francisco E. Apen, Terrence J. Boerboom, C. Brenhin Keller, John M. Cottle
2021, Tectonics (40)
The ca. 1.83 Ga Trans-Hudson orogeny resulted from collision of an upper plate consisting of the Hearne, Rae, and Slave provinces with a lower plate consisting of the Superior province. While the geologic record of ca. 1.83 Ga peak metamorphism within the orogen suggests that these provinces were a single amalgamated craton from this...
Shear-wave velocity site characterization in Oklahoma from joint inversion of multi-method surface seismic measurements: Implications for central U.S. Ground Motion Prediction
William J. Stephenson, Jackson K. Odum, Stephen H. Hartzell, Alena L. Leeds, Robert Williams
2021, Bulletin Seismological Society America (111) 1693-1712
We analyze multimethod shear (SH)‐wave velocity (VS">VS) site characterization data acquired at three permanent and 25 temporary seismograph stations in Oklahoma that recorded M 4+ earthquakes within a 50 km hypocentral distance of at least one...
Resistance, resilience, and recovery of dryland soil bacterial communities across multiple disturbances
Blaire Steven, Michala Lee Phillips, Jayne Belnap, La Verne Gallegos-Graves, Cheryl R. Kuske, Sasha C. Reed
2021, Frontiers in Microbiology (12)
Dryland ecosystems are sensitive to perturbations and generally slow to recover post disturbance. The microorganisms residing in dryland soils are especially important as they contribute to soil structure and nutrient cycling. Disturbance can have particularly strong effects on dryland soil structure and function, yet the natural resistance and...
The scope and severity of white-nose syndrome on hibernating bats in North America
Tina L. Cheng, Jonathan D. Reichard, Jeremy T.H. Coleman, Ted Weller, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Brian Reichert, Alyssa Bennett, Hugh G. Broders, Joshua Campbell, Katherine Etchison, Daniel J. Feller, Richard Geboy, Traci Hemberger, Carl Herzog, Alan C. Hicks, Sandra Houghton, Jessica Humber, Joseph A. Kath, Andrew L. King, Susan C. Loeb, Ariane Masse, Katrina M. Morris, Holly Niederriter, Gerd E. Nordquist, Roger W. Perry, Rick Reynolds, David Blake Sasse, Michael R. Scafini, Richard C. Stark, Craig W. Stihler, Steven C. Thomas, Gregory G. Turner, Shevenell Webb, Bradley Westrich, Winifred F. Frick
2021, Conservation Biology (35) 1586-1597
Assessing the scope and severity of threats is necessary for evaluating impacts on populations to inform conservation planning. Quantitative threat assessment often requires monitoring programs that provide reliable data over relevant spatial and temporal scales, yet such programs can be difficult to justify until there is...
Estimating and applying fish and invertebrate density and production enhancement from seagrass, salt marsh edge, and oyster reef nursery habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
Philine zu Ermgassen, Bryan M. DeAngelis, Jonathan R. Gair, Sophus zu Ermgassen, Ronald J. Baker, Andre Daniels, Timothy C. MacDonald, Kara Meckley, Sean P. Powers, Marta Ribera, Lawrence P. Rozas, Jonathan H. Grabowski
2021, Estuaries and Coasts (44) 1588-1603
Seagrasses, oyster reefs, and salt marshes are critical coastal habitats that support high densities of juvenile fish and invertebrates. Yet which species are enhanced through these nursery habitats, and to what degree, remains largely unquantified. Densities of young-of-year fish and invertebrates in seagrasses, oyster reefs, and...
Editorial: Combining the science and practice of restoration ecology-Case studies of a grassroots binational restoration collaborative in the Madrean Archipelago Ecoregion (2014- 2019)
Laura M. Norman, H. Ronald Pulliam, Michele Girard, Steven M. Buckley, Louise W. Misztal, David Seibert, Carianne Campbell, James B. Callegary, Deborah J. Tosline, Natalie R. Wilson, David Hodges, Jeff Conn, A. Valer Austin-Clark
2021, Air, Soil and Water Research (14) 1-9
The Sky Island Restoration Collaborative (SIRC) is a growing partnership between government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private landowners in southeast Arizona, the United States, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Starting in 2014 as an experiment to cultivate restoration efforts by connecting people across vocations...
Fine-scale plant defence variability increases top-down control of an herbivore
Ryan Paul, Ian S. Pearse, Paul J. Ode
2021, Functional Ecology (35) 1437-1447
Herbivore populations are regulated by a combination of plant defences and natural enemies. While plant defence can suppress herbivore populations, these defences can also adversely affect natural enemies, thereby releasing herbivores from top-down control.Over their life spans, herbivores and their natural enemies may experience substantial variation in plant defence....
Evaluation of riverbed magnetic susceptibility for mapping biogeochemical hot spots in groundwater-impacted rivers
Cheng-Hui Wang, Martin A. Briggs, Frederick Day-Lewis, L. Slater
2021, Hydrological Processes (35)
Redox hot spots occurring as metal-rich anoxic groundwater discharges through oxic wetland and river sediments commonly result in the formation of iron (Fe) oxide precipitates. These redox-sensitive precipitates influence the release of nutrients and metals to surface water and can act as ‘contaminant sponges’ by absorbing toxic compounds. We explore...
Hydrogeologic framework, geochemistry, groundwater-flow system, and aquifer hydraulic properties used in the development of a conceptual model of the Ogallala, Edwards-Trinity (High Plains), and Dockum aquifers in and near Gaines, Terry, and Yoakum Counties, Texas
Andrew P. Teeple, Patricia B. Ging, Jonathan V. Thomas, David S. Wallace, Jason D. Payne
2021, Scientific Investigations Report 2021-5009
In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Llano Estacado Underground Water Conservation District, Sandy Land Underground Water Conservation District, and South Plains Underground Water Conservation District (hereinafter referred to collectively as the “UWCDs”), began a multiphase study in and near Gaines, Terry, and Yoakum Counties, Texas, to develop...
Habitat associations of black basses in a reservoir system
Leandro E. Miranda, K.M. Lakin, Nicky M. Faucheux
2021, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (150) 538-547
The habitat associations of three species of black bass Micropterus spp. were examined in six habitat types (i.e., sediment, gravel, rock, riprap, brush, and aquatic plants) along a cascade of 10 reservoirs in the Tennessee River. We tested whether habitat selection differed among the three species and whether species’ co-occurrence depended on...
Historical effective population size of North American hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) and challenges to estimating trends in contemporary effective breeding population size from archived samples
Robert S. Cornman, Jennifer A. Fike, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Paul M. Cryan
2021, PeerJ (9)
BackgroundHoary bats (Lasiurus cinereus) are among the bat species most commonly killed by wind turbine strikes in the midwestern United States. The impact of this mortality on species census size is not understood, due in part to the difficulty of estimating population size for this highly migratory and elusive...
Spatiotemporal clustering of great earthquakes on a transform fault controlled by geometry
Jamie D. Howarth, Nicolas C. Barth, Sean J. Fitzsimons, Keith B. Richards-Dinger, Kate Clark, Glenn Biasi, Ursula A. Cochran, Robert M. Langridge, Kelvin R. Berryman, Rupert Sutherland
2021, Nature Geoscience (14) 314-320
Minor changes in geometry along the length of mature strike-slip faults may act as conditional barriers to earthquake rupture, terminating some and allowing others to pass. This hypothesis remains largely untested because palaeoearthquake data that constrain spatial and temporal patterns of fault rupture are generally imprecise. Here we develop palaeoearthquake...
Organo-facies and mineral effects on sorption capacity of low-maturity Permian Barakar shales from the Auranga Basin, Jharkhand, India
Divya Kumari Mishra, Atul Kumar Varma, Vinod Atmaram Mendhe, Shailesh Agrawal, Bhagwan Das Singh, Paul C. Hackley
2021, Energy & Fuels (35) 7717-7737
Shales associated with the Lower Permian (Barakar Formation) sediments of the Auranga Coalfield, India, occur in the immature–early mature stage. The sorption capacity of Barakar shale samples has been studied through high-pressure methane (CH4) adsorption and low-pressure N2 gas adsorption (LPN2GA) methods,...
Global resorption efficiencies of trace elements in leaves of terrestrial plants
Hao Chen, Sasha C. Reed, Xiaotao Lü, Kongcao Xiao, Kelin Wang, Dejun Li
2021, Functional Ecology (35) 1596-1602
Leaf nutrient resorption is a critical nutrient conservation strategy. Previous studies focus mainly on resorption patterns of macronutrients, but resorption patterns of trace elements remain poorly understood.A meta-analysis was conducted to explore the general patterns of the leaf resorption of eight trace elements [i.e. copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), zinc...
Environmental factors influencing annual sucker (Catostomus sp.) migration into a Great Lakes tributary
Reid G Swanson, Erin L. McCann, Nicholas S. Johnson, Daniel P. Zielinski
2021, Journal of Great Lakes Research (47) 1159-1170
Fish migration in rivers is a growing area of concern as mounting anthropogenic influences, particularly fragmentation from dams and barriers, constitute major threats to global river species diversity. Barriers can impede the movement of fishes between areas critical to the completion...
Coking coal of the United States—Modern and historical coking coal mining locations and chemical, rheological, petrographic, and other data from modern samples
Michael H. Trippi, Leslie F. Ruppert, Cortland F. Eble, James C. Hower
2021, Open-File Report 2020-1113
Coking coal, or metallurgical coal, has been produced in the United States for nearly 200 years. Coking coal is primarily used in the production of coke for use in the steel industry, and for other uses (for example, foundries, blacksmithing, heating buildings, and brewing). Currently, U.S. coking coal is produced...
Assessment of undiscovered gas resources in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska, 2021
David W. Houseknecht, Tracey J. Mercier, Christopher J. Schenk, Thomas E. Moore, William A. Rouse, Julie A. Dumoulin, William H. Craddock, Richard O. Lease, Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, Rebecca A. Smith, Christopher D. Connors, Christopher P. Garrity, Katherine J. Whidden, Jared T. Gooley, John W. Counts, Joshua H. Long, Christina A. DeVera
2021, Fact Sheet 2021-3003
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 1,407 billion (1.4 trillion) cubic feet of gas in conventional accumulations in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska....
Geochemical data for Illinois Basin coal samples, 2015–2018
Allan Kolker, Clint Scott, Liliana Lefticariu, Maria Mastalerz, Agnieszka Drobniak, Annie Scott
2021, Data Series 1135
Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and their collaborators conducted a study of the geochemical properties of coals currently produced for electric power generation in the Illinois Basin in Illinois and Indiana. The study follows from recommendations by an expert panel for the USGS to investigate the distribution and...
Substantial declines in salinity observed across the Upper Colorado River Basin during the 20th century, 1929 to 2019
Christine Rumsey, Olivia L. Miller, Robert Hirsch, Thomas M. Marston, David Susong
2021, Water Resources Research (57)
Salinity in the Colorado River Basin causes an estimated $300 to $400 million per year in economic damages in the U.S. To inform and improve salinity‐control efforts, this study quantifies long‐term trends in salinity (dissolved solids) across the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), including time periods prior...
New faunal records from a World Heritage Site in danger: Rennell Island, Solomon Islands
Tyrone H Laverty, Lucas H. DeCicco, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Ikuo G Tigulu, Michael J. Anderson, David Boseto, Robert G Moyle
2021, Pacific Science (75) 407-420
Remote oceanic islands have high potential to harbor unique fauna and flora, but opportunities to conduct in-depth biotic surveys are often limited. Furthermore, underrepresentation of existing biodiversity in the literature has the potential to detract from conservation planning and action. Between 18 and 29 October 2018, we...