Advancing water security in Africa with new high-resolution discharge data
Komlavi Akpoti, Naga Manohar Velpuri, Naoki Mizukami, Stefanie Kagone, Mansoor Leh, Kirubel Mekonnen, Afua Owusu, Primrose Tinonetsana, Michael Phiri, Lahiru Madushanka, Tharindu Perera, Paranamana T. Prabhath, Gabriel Edwin Lee Parrish, Gabriel B. Senay, Abdulkarim Seid
2024, Scientific Data (11)
VegDischarge v1 is a comprehensive river discharge across Africa (2000–2021), produced by coupling the agro-hydrologic VegET model and the mizuRoute routing framework. Using remote sensing data and hydrological modeling, the 1-km runoff field simulated by VegET, and routed with mizuRoute, covers over 64,000 river segments in Africa. The VegET model...
An evaluation of cyanobacterial occurrence and bloom development in Adirondack lakes
Rebecca Michelle Gorney, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Michael D.W. Stouder, Ann E. St. Amand, Cory Suave, Denise Clark, Erin A. Stelzer, Carrie E. Givens, Jennifer L. Graham
2024, Lake and Reservoir Management (40) 373-389
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) have occurred in many low nutrient (oligotrophic) lakes in the northeastern United States. The Adirondack Park in New York is a large, mountainous region with many low nutrient lakes. There is a gap in understanding regarding whether cyanoHAB reporting data are truly reflective of the...
Environmental Flows for Riverine EcoSystem Habitats (E-FRESH) decision support tool user guide
Tyler Wible, Christopher Holmquist-Johnson, Heidi Klingel, Ryan R. Morrison, David Merritt, Matthew Korsa
2024, Report
The E-FRESH decision support tool is intended to facilitate assessment and comparison of different flow management scenarios on available habitat for various aquatic, riparian, and invertebrate species of interest. This tool also allows users to conduct a variety of analyses ranging from large-scale data processing and export to detailed and...
Long-term trends in abundance and potential drivers for eight species of coastal birds in the U.S. South Atlantic
J.K. Craig, K.I. Siegfried, R.T. Cheshire, M. Karnauskas, Patrick G.R. Jodice
2024, Regional Studies in Marine Science (80)
The U.S. South Atlantic coastal region is used by many marine birds for foraging, reproduction, and migration. We developed standardized indices of relative abundance from long–term (1980–2016), semi-structured monitoring data (eBird) for eight species: Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Double-Crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum), White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), Wood Stork (Mycteria americana),...
Individual return patterns of spawning flannelmouth sucker (Catostomus latipinnis) to a desert river tributary
Sophia Marie Bonjour, Keith B. Gido, Charles N. Cathcart, Mark C. McKinstry
2024, Scientific Reports (14)
Tributaries provide temporal and spatial habitat heterogeneity in river networks that can be critical for parts of the life history of a species. Tributary fidelity can benefit individual fish undergoing spawning migrations by reducing time and energy spent exploring new areas and leveraging previous experience, but anthropogenic activities that fragment...
Soil cover heterogeneity associated with biocrusts predicts patch-level plant diversity patterns
Caroline A. Havrilla, Miguel L. Villarreal
2024, Landscape Ecology (39)
ContextSoil resource heterogeneity drives plant species diversity patterns at local and landscape scales. In drylands, biocrusts are patchily distributed and contribute to soil resource heterogeneity important for plant establishment and growth. Yet, we have a limited understanding of how such heterogeneity may relate to patterns of plant diversity and community...
Converting non-standard data to standardized data
James T. Peterson, Derrick T. de Kerckhove, Henrique C. Giacomini, Craig Paukert
2024, Book chapter, Standard methods for sampling North American freshwater fishes
Fishery biologists spend considerable effort over multiple years collecting data on fish population and community status using a particular sampling method or set of methods. However, new (and often more effective) sampling methods and technologies are continuously being developed. To incorporate these new sampling techniques, fishery biologists need a means...
An introduction to standardized sampling
Scott A. Bonar, Joseph D. Conroy, Salvador Contreras-Balderas, Alison C. Iles
2024, Book chapter, Standard methods for sampling North American freshwater fishes
In 2009, the first edition of Standard Methods for Sampling North American Freshwater Fishes was published. This was the first time in the history of fisheries science that standardization of methods and equipment had taken place on such a large geographic scale. Since its publication, the methods have been used extensively across...
A strategic and science-based framework for management of invasive annual grasses in the sagebrush biome
Chad S. Boyd, Megan K. Creutzburg, Alexander V. Kumar, Joseph T. Smith, Kevin E. Doherty, Brian A. Mealor, John B. Bradford, Matthew Cahill, Stella M. Copeland, Cameron A. Duquette, Lindy Garner, Martin C. Holdrege, Bill Sparklin, Todd B. Cross
2024, Rangeland Ecology & Management (97) 61-72
In the last 20 years, the North American sagebrush biome has lost over 500,000 ha of intact and largely intact sagebrush plant communities on an annual basis. Much of this loss has been associated with expansion and infilling of invasive annual grasses (IAGs). These species are highly competitive against native...
Geomorphic map of the Umatilla River corridor, Oregon
Ian P. Yuh, Ralph A. Haugerud, Jim E. O'Connor, Scott J. O’Daniel
2024, Scientific Investigations Map 3527
This map portrays the distribution of landforms along the Umatilla River in northeastern Oregon and covers a corridor 127 kilometers long from the confluence of the Umatilla River with the Columbia River upstream to Meacham Creek. The map encompasses the valley bottom and extends about 1 kilometer up the adjoining...
Indices for common North American fishes
Erin E. Tracy, Mark J. Brouder, Alison C. Iles, Chad N. Teal, Scott A. Bonar
2024, Book chapter, Standard methods for sampling North American freshwater fishes
One of the greatest advantages to the standardization of fisheries sampling methods is the comparable data they produce (Bonar et al. 2017). Following American Fisheries Society (AFS) standardized sampling methods, fisheries professionals can more easily compare their data with standardized data collected across North America to address both small- and...
Developing a predictive model to identify Sea Lamprey parasitism on Lake Trout using biologgers
Connor Reeve, Jean V. Adams, Scott M. Miehls, Michael R. Lowe, Steven J. Cooke, Mary L. Moser, Jake W. Brownscombe
2024, Transactions of American Fisheries Society (153) 781-801
ObjectiveSea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus remain problematic for Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush restoration in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Fisheries assessments would benefit from knowledge of spatial–temporal patterns of Sea Lamprey parasitism on Lake Trout; however, such patterns are challenging to estimate from wounding rates on caught Lake...
Evaluating the sagebrush conservation design through the lens of a sagebrush indicator species
Brian G. Prochazka, Carl Gregory Lundblad, Kevin E. Doherty, Shawn T. O’Neil, John C. Tull, Steve C. Abele, Cameron L. Aldridge, Peter S. Coates
2024, Rangeland Ecology & Management (97) 146-159
Sagebrush ecosystems support a suite of unique species such as the emblematic greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) but are under increasing pressure from anthropogenic stressors such as annual grass invasion, conifer encroachment, altered wildfire regimes, and land use change. We examined the ability of an ecosystem-based framework for sagebrush conservation,...
Machine learning and new-generation spaceborne hyperspectral data advance crop type mapping
Itiya P. Aneece, Prasad Thenkabail, Richard L. McCormick, Alifu Haireti, Daniel Foley, Adam Oliphant, Pardhasaradhi Teluguntla
2024, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (90) 687-698
Hyperspectral sensors provide near-continuous spectral data that can facilitate advancements in agricultural crop classification and characterization, which are important for addressing global food and water security issues. We investigated two new-generation hyperspectral sensors, Germany’s Deutsches Zentrum für Luft‐ und Raumfahrt Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer (DESIS) and Italy’s PRecursore IperSpettrale della...
Droughts reshape apex predator space use and intraguild overlap
Leigh West, Kasim Rafiq, Sarah J. Converse, Alan M. Wilson, Neil R. Jordan, Krystyna A. Golabek, J. Weldon McNutt, Briana Abrahms
2024, Journal of Animal Ecology (93) 1785-1798
1. Droughts are increasing in frequency and severity globally due to climate change, leading to changes in resource availability that may have cascading effects on animal ecology. Resource availability is a key driver of animal space use, which in turn influences interspecific interactions like intraguild competition. Understanding how climate-induced changes...
Juvenile coho salmon growth differences track biennial pink salmon spawning patterns
Kevin A. Fitzgerald, J. Ryan Bellmore, Jason B. Fellman, Matthew L.H. Cheng, Naomi Boyles-Muehleck, Claire E. Delbecq, Jeffrey A. Falke
2024, Freshwater Biology (69) 1583-1595
1. Spawning Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) provide marine-derived resources (MDR) to freshwater food webs in the form of eggs, flesh and maggots that consume salmon carcasses, all of which positively impact stream-dwelling fish growth. Pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) are widely distributed throughout coastal catchments along the North Pacific Ocean and display increased...
Best practices for incorporating climate change science into Department of the Interior analyses, consultations, and decision making
Adam J. Terando, Anna Maureen Tucker, Amber N. Runyon, James A. Miller, Judy L. Perkins, Sean W. Kimbrel, Amanda S. Cross, Ryan P. Boyles
2024, Report
The purpose of this document is to provide technical guidance, practical application examples, and resource lists for those who conduct, manage, and/or interpret technical workflows within the Department of the Interior. This document is intended to support implementation of Department of the Interior policy 526 DM 1 and establish best...
Early detection of wildlife disease pathogens using CRISPR-Cas system methods
Adam Alberto Perez, Guelaguetza Vazquez-Meves, Margaret Hunter
2024, The CRISPR Journal (7) 327-342
Wildlife diseases are a considerable threat to human health, conservation, and the economy. Surveillance is a critical component to mitigate the impact of animal diseases in these sectors. To monitor human diseases, CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-CRISPR-associated protein) biosensors have proven instrumental as diagnostic tools capable of detecting...
Sand supply to San Francisco Bay from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers of the Central Valley, California
Mathieu D. Marineau, David Hart, Christopher P. Ely, Lester McKee
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1055
Sediment from the Central Valley via the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) and Suisun Bay is a primary source of sand to San Francisco Bay, California. Sand is mined from San Francisco Bay for commercial purposes, such as for use in concrete for construction. To better understand the supply of sand...
Use of continuous water-quality time-series data to compute total phosphorus concentrations and loads for the Missouri River at St. Joseph and Hermann, Missouri, 2007–22
Kendra M. Markland
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5097
In support of Missouri’s Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, which was created to reduce the nutrient contamination of Missouri’s waterways from point and nonpoint sources, total phosphorus concentrations and loads were computed for the Missouri River at St. Joseph, Missouri, streamgage (U.S. Geological Survey station 06818000) and the Missouri River at...
Examining inter-regional and intra-seasonal differences in wintering waterfowl landscape associations among Pacific and Atlantic flyways
Matthew J. Hardy, Christopher K. Williams, Brian S. Ladman, Maurice E. Pitesky, Cory T. Overton, Michael L. Casazza, Elliott Matchett, Diann J. Prosser, Jeffrey J. Buler
2024, Preprint
The Central Valley of California (CVC) and Mid-Atlantic (MA) in the U.S. are both critical sites for nationwide food security (California Poultry Federation 2016, Prosser et al. 2017), and many waterfowl species annually, especially during the winter, providing feeding and roosting locations for a variety of species. Mapping waterfowl distributions,...
Identifying and filling critical knowledge gaps can optimize financial viability of blue carbon projects in tidal wetlands
Tim J.B. Carruthers, S. Beaux Jones, Megan K. Terrell, Jonathan F. Scheibly, Brendan J. Player, Valerie A. Black, Justin R. Ehrenwerth, Patrick D. Biber, Rod M. Connolly, Steve Crooks, Jason P. Curole, Kelly M. Darnell, Alyssa M. Dausman, Allison L. DeJong, Shawn M. Doyle, Christopher R. Esposito, Daniel A. Friess, James W. Fourqurean, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Gabriel D. Grimsditch, Songjie He, Eva R. Hillmann, Guerry O. Holm Jr., Jennifer Howard, Hoonshin Jung, Stacy D. Jupiter, Erin P. Kiskaddon, Ken Krauss, Paul S. Lavery, Bingqing Liu, Catherine E. Lovelock, Sarah K. Mack, Peter I. Macreadie, Karen J. McGlathery, J. Patrick Megonigal, Brian J. Roberts, Scott Settelmyer, Lorie W. Staver, Hilary J. Stevens, Ariana Eileen Sutton-Grier, Jorge A. Villa, John R. White, Michelle Waycott
2024, Frontiers in Environmental Science (12)
One of the world’s largest “blue carbon” ecosystems, Louisiana’s tidal wetlands on the US Gulf of Mexico coast, is rapidly being lost. Louisiana’s strong legal, regulatory, and monitoring framework, developed for one of the world’s largest tidal wetland systems, provides an opportunity for a programmatic approach to blue carbon accreditation...
Predictive modeling reveals elevated conductivity relative to background levels in freshwater tributaries within the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA
Rosemary M. Fanelli, Joel Moore, Charles C. Stillwell, Andrew J. Sekellick, Richard Walker
2024, ES&T Water (4) 4978-4989
Elevated conductivity (i.e., specific conductance or SC) causes osmotic stress in freshwater aquatic organisms and may increase the toxicity of some contaminants. Indices of benthic macroinvertebrate integrity have declined in urban areas across the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW), and more information is needed about whether these...
A systematic review of laboratory investigations into the pathogenesis of avian influenza viruses in wild avifauna of North America
Matthew Brandon Gonnerman, Christina Leyson, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood, Erica Spackman, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Diann Prosser
2024, Proceeding of the Royal Society B (291)
The lack of consolidated information regarding the response of wild bird species to infection with avian influenza virus (AIV) is a challenge to both conservation managers and researchers alike, with related sectors also impacted, such as public health and commercial poultry. Using two independent searches, we reviewed...
Inventorying ponds through novel size-adaptive object mapping using Sentinel-1/2 time series
Denghong Liu, Xioalin Zhu, Meredith Holgerson, Sheel Bansal, Xiangtao Xu
2024, Remote Sensing of Environment (315)
Ponds are an important source of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to the atmosphere, yet evaluating their role in global biogeochemical cycling is currently hampered by limitations in quantifying their global distribution. Existing satellite-derived estimates of lake distributions have difficulty identifying small lakes (5–10 ha) and ponds (<5 ha) due to limitations in satellite...
