Optimizing water depth for wetland-dependent wildlife could increase wetland restoration success, water efficiency, and water security
Christopher P. Nadeau, Courtney J. Conway
2015, Restoration Ecology (23) 292-300
Securing water for wetland restoration efforts will be increasingly difficult as human populations demand more water and climate change alters the hydrologic cycle. Minimizing water use at a restoration site could help justify water use to competing users, thereby increasing future water security. Moreover, optimizing water depth for focal species...
A comparison of high-resolution specific conductance-based end-member mixing analysis and a graphical method for baseflow separation of four streams in hydrologically challenging agricultural watersheds
Scott C. Kronholm, Paul D. Capel
2015, Hydrological Processes (29) 2521-2533
Quantifying the relative contributions of different sources of water to a stream hydrograph is important for understanding the hydrology and water quality dynamics of a given watershed. To compare the performance of two methods of hydrograph separation, a graphical program [baseflow index (BFI)] and an end-member mixing analysis that used...
Structure, diversity, and biophysical properties of old-growth forestsin the Klamath region, USA
Phillip J. van Mantgem, Daniel A Starr
2015, Northwest Science (89) 170-181
The diverse old-growth forests in Klamath region of northern California and southern Oregon provide valuable ecosystem services (e.g., maintaining watersheds, wildlife habitat, recreation), but may be vulnerable to a wide range of stressors, including invasive species, disrupted disturbance regimes, and climatic change. Yet our understanding of how forest structure in...
Vegetation community response to tidal marsh restoration of a large river estuary
Lisa J. Belleveau, John Y. Takekawa, Isa Woo, Kelley L. Turner, Jesse B. Barham, Jean E. Takekawa, Christopher S. Ellings, Gerardo Chin-Leo
2015, Northwest Science (89) 136-147
Estuaries are biologically productive and diverse ecosystems that provide ecosystem services including protection of inland areas from flooding, filtering freshwater outflows, and providing habitats for fish and wildlife. Alteration of historic habitats, including diking for agriculture, has decreased the function of many estuarine systems, and recent conservation efforts have been...
Comparison of three preservation techniques for slowing dissolution of calcareous nannofossils in organic rich sediments
Ellen Seefelt, Jean Self-Trail, Arthur P. Schultz
2015, Micropaleontology (61) 149-164
In an attempt to halt or reduce dissolution of calcareous nannofossils in organic and/or pyrite-rich sediments, three different methods of short-term storage preservation were tested for efficacy: vacuum packing, argon gas replacement, and buffered water. Abundance counts of calcareous nannofossil assemblages over a six month period showed that none of...
Source limitation of carbon gas emissions in high-elevation mountain streams and lakes
John T. Crawford, Mark M. Dornblaser, Emily H. Stanley, David W. Clow, Robert G. Striegl
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences (120) 952-964
Inland waters are an important component of the global carbon cycle through transport, storage, and direct emissions of CO2 and CH4 to the atmosphere. Despite predictions of high physical gas exchange rates due to turbulent flows and ubiquitous supersaturation of CO2—and perhaps also CH4—patterns of gas emissions are essentially undocumented...
First record of a banded Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis) moving from England to the United States
Jeffrey A. Spendelow
2015, Waterbirds (38) 425-426
A Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis sandvicensis) banded as a chick in 2002 at Coquet Island off the northeast coast of Great Britain was observed at two locations on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, in August and September 2013. This is the first record of a banded Sandwich Tern from the United...
Hydrogeologic framework of the Santa Clara Valley, California
Randall T. Hanson
2015, Geosphere (11) 606-637
The hydrologic framework of the Santa Clara Valley in northern California was redefined on the basis of new data and a new hydrologic model. The regional groundwater flow systems can be subdivided into upper-aquifer and lower-aquifer systems that form a convergent flow system within a basin bounded by mountains...
Geologic map of the Montauk quadrangle, Dent, Texas, and Shannon Counties, Missouri
David J. Weary
2015, Scientific Investigations Map 3320
The Montauk 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in south-central Missouri within the Salem Plateau region of the Ozark Plateaus physiographic province. About 2,000 feet (ft) of flat-lying to gently dipping lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, mostly dolomite, chert, sandstone, and orthoquartzite, overlie Mesoproterozoic igneous basement rocks. Unconsolidated residuum, colluvium, terrace deposits, and...
Icefield-to-ocean linkages across the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest ecosystem
Shad O’Neel, Eran Hood, Allison L. Bidlack, Sean W. Fleming, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Anthony Arendt, Evan W. Burgess, Christopher J. Sergeant, Anne E. Beaudreau, Kristin Timm, Gregory D. Hayward, Joel H. Reynolds, Sanjay Pyare
2015, BioScience (65) 499-512
Rates of glacier mass loss in the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest (PCTR) are among the highest on Earth, and changes in glacier volume and extent will affect the flow regime and chemistry of coastal rivers, as well as the nearshore marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska. Here we...
Geospatial association between adverse birth outcomes and arsenic in groundwater in New Hampshire, USA
Xun Shi, Joseph D. Ayotte, Akikazu Onda, Stephanie Miller, Judy Rees, Diane Gilbert-Diamond, Tracy L Onega, Jiang Gui, Margaret R. Karagas, John B Moeschler
2015, Environmental Geochemistry and Health (37) 333-351
There is increasing evidence of the role of arsenic in the etiology of adverse human reproductive outcomes. Because drinking water can be a major source of arsenic to pregnant women, the effect of arsenic exposure through drinking water on human birth may be revealed by a geospatial association between arsenic...
Genes indicative of zoonotic and swine pathogens are persistent in stream water and sediment following a swine manure spill
Sheridan K. Haack, Joseph W. Duris, Dana W. Kolpin, Lisa R. Fogarty, Heather E. Johnson, Kristen E. Gibson, Michael J. Focazio, Kellogg J. Schwab, Laura E. Hubbard, William T. Foreman
2015, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (81) 3430-3441
Manure spills to streams are relatively frequent, but no studies have characterized stream contamination with zoonotic and veterinary pathogens, or fecal chemicals, following a spill. We tested stream water and sediment over 25 days and downstream for 7.6 km for: fecal indicator bacteria (FIB); the fecal indicator chemicals cholesterol and...
U.S. Geological Survey quality-assurance plan for surface-water activities in Kansas, 2015
Colin C. Painter, Brian L. Loving
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1074
This Surface Water Quality-Assurance Plan documents the standards, policies, and procedures used by the Kansas Water Science Center (KSWSC) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for activities related to the collection, processing, storage, analysis, and publication of surface-water data....
Simulating hydrologic response to climate change scenarios in four selected watersheds of New Hampshire
David M. Bjerklie, Joseph D. Ayotte, Matthew J. Cahillane
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5047
The State of New Hampshire has initiated a coordinated effort to proactively prepare for the effects of climate change on the natural and human resources of New Hampshire. An important aspect of this effort is to develop a vulnerability assessment of hydrologic response to climate change. The U.S. Geological Survey,...
Home range, habitat use, and movement patterns of non-native Burmese pythons in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA
Kristen M. Hart, Michael S. Cherkiss, Brian J. Smith, Frank J. Mazzotti, Ikuko Fujisaki, Ray W. Snow, Michael E. Dorcas
2015, Animal Biotelemetry (3)
Background Studies on the spatial ecology of invasive species provide critical information for conservation managers such as habitat preferences and identification of native species at risk of predation. To understand the spatial ecology of non-native Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus), now well-established in Everglades National Park and much of South Florida...
Species richness and distributions of boreal waterbirds in relation to nesting and brood-rearing habitats
Tyler L. Lewis, Mark S. Lindberg, Joel A. Schmutz, Mark R. Bertram, Adam J. Dubour
2015, Journal of Wildlife Management (79) 296-310
Identification of ecological factors that drive animal distributions allows us to understand why distributions vary temporally and spatially, and to develop models to predict future changes to populations–vital tools for effective wildlife management and conservation. For waterbird broods in the boreal forest, distributions are likely driven by factors affecting quality...
Hexavalent and total chromium at low reporting concentrations in source-water aquifers and surface waters used for public supply in Illinois, 2013
P.C. Mills, Richard P. Cobb
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5020
On the basis of their recent review of the human health effects of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in public drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering the need for Federal regulation of Cr(VI). Presently, only total chromium is regulated, at a Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 100 micrograms per...
Estimation of monthly water yields and flows for 1951-2012 for the United States portion of the Great Lakes Basin with AFINCH
Carol L. Luukkonen, David J. Holtschlag, Howard W. Reeves, Christopher J. Hoard, Lori M. Fuller
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5192
Monthly water yields from 105,829 catchments and corresponding flows in 107,691 stream segments were estimated for water years 1951–2012 in the Great Lakes Basin in the United States. Both sets of estimates were computed by using the Analysis of Flows In Networks of CHannels (AFINCH) application within the NHDPlus geospatial...
Lithology, hydrologic characteristics, and water quality of the Arkansas River Valley alluvial aquifer in the vicinity of Van Buren, Arkansas
Timothy M. Kresse, Drew A. Westerman, Rheannon M. Hart
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5044
A study to assess the potential of the Arkansas River Valley alluvial aquifer in the vicinity of Van Buren, Arkansas, as a viable source of public-supply water was conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Little Rock, District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. An important study component...
Complex terrain alters temperature and moisture limitations of forest soil respiration across a semiarid to subalpine gradient
Erin Michele Berryman, H.R. Barnard, H.R. Adams, M.A. Burns, E. Gallo, P. D. Brooks
2015, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (120) 707-723
Forest soil respiration is a major carbon (C) flux that is characterized by significant variability in space and time. We quantified growing season soil respiration during both a drought year and a nondrought year across a complex landscape to identify how landscape and climate interact to control soil respiration. We...
Avian botulism type E in waterbirds of Lake Michigan, 2010–2013
Jennifer G. Chipault, C. LeAnn White, David S. Blehert, Susan K. Jennings, Sean M. Strom
2015, Journal of Great Lakes Research (41) 659-664
During 2010 to 2013, waterbird mortality surveillance programs used a shared protocol for shoreline walking surveys performed June to November at three areas in northern Lake Michigan. In 2010 and 2012, 1244 total carcasses (0.8 dead bird/km walked) and 2399 total carcasses (1.2 dead birds/km walked), respectively, were detected. Fewer...
Contaminants in sea ducks: metals, trace elements, petroleum, organic pollutants, and radiation: Chapter 6
J. Christian Franson
2015, Book chapter, Ecology and conservation of North American sea ducks; Studies in Avian Biology v. 46
Exposure to lead and petroleum has caused deaths of sea ducks, but relatively few contaminants have been shown to cause mortality or be associated with population level effects. This chapter focuses primarily on field reports of contaminant concentrations in tissues of sea ducks in North America and Europe and results...
Modeling tidal freshwater marsh sustainability in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta under a broad suite of potential future scenarios
Kathleen M. Swanson, Judith Z. Drexler, Christopher C. Fuller, David H. Schoellhamer
2015, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science (13) 1-21
In this paper, we report on the adaptation and application of a one-dimensional marsh surface elevation model, the Wetland Accretion Rate Model of Ecosystem Resilience (WARMER), to explore the conditions that lead to sustainable tidal freshwater marshes in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. We defined marsh accretion parameters to encapsulate the...
Infectious diseases, parasites, and biological toxins in sea ducks
Tuula E. Hollmén, J. Christian Franson
2015, Book chapter, Ecology and conservation of North American sea ducks: Studies in Avian Biology 46
This chapter addresses disease agents in the broad sense, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoan and helminth parasites, and biological toxins. Some of these agents are known to cause mortality in sea ducks, some are thought to be incidental findings, and the significance of others is yet poorly understood. Although the...
Estimates of natural streamflow at two streamgages on the Esopus Creek, New York, water years 1932 to 2012
Douglas A. Burns, Christopher L. Gazoorian
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5050
Streamflow in the Esopus Creek watershed is altered by two major watershed management activities carried out by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection as part of its responsibility to maintain a water supply for New York City: (1) diversion of water from the Schoharie Creek watershed to the...
