Alexandrium fundyense cysts in the Gulf of Maine: long-term time series of abundance and distribution, and linkages to past and future blooms
Donald M. Anderson, Bruce A. Keafer, Judith L. Kleindinst, Dennis J. McGillicuddy Jr., Jennifer L. Martin, Kerry Norton, Cynthia H. Pilskaln, Juliette L. Smith, Christopher R. Sherwood, Bradford Butman
2014, Deep-Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (103) 6-26
Here we document Alexandrium fundyense cyst abundance and distribution patterns over nine years (1997 and 2004–2011) in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine (GOM) and identify linkages between those patterns and several metrics of the severity or magnitude of blooms occurring before and after each autumn cyst survey....
Topographic lidar survey of the Alabama, Mississippi, and Southeast Louisiana Barrier Islands, from September 5 to October 11, 2012
Kristy K. Guy, Kara S. Doran, Hilary F. Stockdon, Nathaniel G. Plant
2014, Data Series 839
This Data Series Report contains lidar elevation data collected from September 5 to October 11, 2012, for the barrier islands of Alabama, Mississippi and southeast Louisiana, including the coast near Port Fourchon. Most of the data were collected September 5–10, 2012, with a reflight conducted on October 11, 2012, to...
Topographic lidar survey of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, February 6, 2012
Kristy K. Guy, Nathaniel G. Plant, Jamie M. Bonisteel-Cormier
2014, Data Series 840
This Data Series Report contains lidar elevation data collected February 6, 2012, for Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana. Point cloud data in lidar data exchange format (LAS) and bare earth digital elevation models (DEMs) in ERDAS Imagine raster format (IMG) are available as downloadable files. The point cloud data—data points described in...
Topographic lidar survey of Dauphin Island, Alabama and Chandeleur, Stake, Grand Gosier and Breton Islands, Louisiana, July 12-14, 2013
Kristy K. Guy, Nathaniel G. Plant
2014, Data Series 838
This Data Series Report contains lidar elevation data collected on July 12 and 14, 2013, for Dauphin Island, Alabama, and Chandeleur, Stake, Grand Gosier and Breton Islands, Louisiana. Classified point cloud data—data points described in three dimensions—in lidar data exchange format (LAS) and bare earth digital elevation models (DEMs) in...
Brine contamination to aquatic resources from oil and gas development in the Williston Basin, United States
Tara L. Chesley-Preston, James L. Coleman, Robert A. Gleason, Seth S. Haines, Karen E. Jenni, Timothy L. Nieman, Zell E. Peterman, Max Post van der Burg, Todd M. Preston, Bruce D. Smith, Brian A. Tangen, Joanna N. Thamke
Robert A. Gleason, Brian A. Tangen, editor(s)
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5017
The Williston Basin, which includes parts of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States and the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada, has been a leading domestic oil and gas producing region for more than one-half a century. Currently, there are renewed efforts to develop oil...
Compilation of gallium resource data for bauxite deposits
Ruth F. Schulte, Nora K. Foley
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1272
Gallium (Ga) concentrations for bauxite deposits worldwide have been compiled from the literature to provide a basis for research regarding the occurrence and distribution of Ga worldwide, as well as between types of bauxite deposits. In addition, this report is an attempt to bring together reported Ga concentration data into...
Spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Green River Formation using Fischer assay, Piceance Basin, northwestern Colorado
Ronald C. Johnson, Tracey J. Mercier, Michael E. Brownfield
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5241
The spatial and stratigraphic distribution of water in oil shale of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Basin of northwestern Colorado was studied in detail using some 321,000 Fischer assay analyses in the U.S. Geological Survey oil-shale database. The oil-shale section was subdivided into 17 roughly time-stratigraphic intervals,...
The carbon cycle and hurricanes in the United States between 1900 and 2011
Devendra Dahal, Shu-Guang Liu, Jennifer Oeding
2014, Scientific Reports (4)
Hurricanes cause severe impacts on forest ecosystems in the United States. These events can substantially alter the carbon biogeochemical cycle at local to regional scales. We selected all tropical storms and more severe events that made U.S. landfall between 1900 and 2011 and used hurricane best track database, a meteorological...
Occurrence and hydrogeochemistry of radiochemical constituents in groundwater of Jefferson County and surrounding areas, southwestern Montana, 2007 through 2010
Rodney R. Caldwell, David A. Nimick, Rainie M. DeVaney
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5235
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Jefferson County and the Jefferson Valley Conservation District, sampled groundwater in southwestern Montana to evaluate the occurrence and concentration of naturally-occurring radioactive constituents and to identify geologic settings and environmental conditions in which elevated concentrations occur. A total of 168 samples were collected...
Muskie lunacy: does the lunar cycle influence angler catch of muskellunge (Esox masquinongy)?
Mark R. Vinson, Ted R. Angradi
2014, PLoS ONE (9)
We analyzed angling catch records for 341,959 muskellunge (Esox masquinongy) from North America to test for a cyclic lunar influence on the catch. Using periodic regression, we showed that the number caught was strongly related to the 29-day lunar cycle, and the effect was consistent across most fisheries. More muskellunge...
Ecological factors affecting Rainbow Smelt recruitment in the main basin of Lake Huron, 1976-2010
Timothy P. O’Brien, William W. Taylor, Edward F. Roseman, Charles P. Madenjian, Stephen C. Riley
2014, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (143) 784-795
Rainbow Smelt Osmerus mordax are native to northeastern Atlantic and Pacific–Arctic drainages and have been widely introduced throughout North America. In the Great Lakes region, Rainbow Smelt are known predators and competitors of native fish and a primary prey species in pelagic food webs. Despite their widespread distribution, importance as...
Remote sensing of land surface phenology
G.A. Meier, Jesslyn F. Brown
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3052
Remote sensing of land-surface phenology is an important method for studying the patterns of plant and animal growth cycles. Phenological events are sensitive to climate variation; therefore phenology data provide important baseline information documenting trends in ecology and detecting the impacts of climate change on multiple scales. The USGS Remote...
Transmissivity and storage coefficient estimates from slug tests, Naval Air Warfare Center, West Trenton, New Jersey
Alex R. Fiore
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1020
Slug tests were conducted on 56 observation wells open to bedrock at the former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) in West Trenton, New Jersey. Aquifer transmissivity (T) and storage coefficient (S) values for most wells were estimated from slug-test data using the Cooper-Bredehoeft-Papadopulos method. Test data from three wells exhibited...
Spatial variability and landscape controls of near-surface permafrost within the Alaskan Yukon River Basin
Neal J. Pastick, M. Torre Jorgenson, Bruce K. Wylie, Joshua R. Rose, Matthew Rigge, Michelle Ann Walvoord
2014, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (119) 1244-1265
The distribution of permafrost is important to understand because of permafrost's influence on high-latitude ecosystem structure and functions. Moreover, near-surface (defined here as within 1 m of the Earth's surface) permafrost is particularly susceptible to a warming climate and is generally poorly mapped at regional scales. Subsequently, our objectives were to...
Brood surveys and hunter observations used to predict gobbling activity wild turkeys in Mississippi
Matthew D. Palumbo, Francisco Vilella, Bronson K. Strickland, Guiming Wang, Dave Godwin
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 151-156
The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks utilize data from turkey hunter observations and brood surveys from across the state to manage wild turkey Meleagris gallopavo populations. Since 1995, hunters have collected gobbling and jake observation data, while the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks' personnel and cooperating wildlife managers...
Development and characterization of 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the Alaska blackfish (Esociformes: Dallia pectoralis)
Matthew A. Campbell, George K. Sage, Rachel L. DeWilde, J. Andres Lopez, Sandra L. Talbot
2014, Conservation Genetics Resources (6) 349-351
Blackfishes (Esociformes: Esocidae: Dallia), small fishes with relictual distributions, are unique in being the only primary freshwater fish genus endemic to Beringia. Although the number of species of Dallia is debated, disjunct populations and distinct mitochondrial divisions that predate the end of the last glacial maximum are apparent. We developed...
Traditional cultural use as a tool for inferring biogeography and provenance: a case study involving painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) and Hopi Native American culture in Arizona, USA
Jeffrey E. Lovich, Charles T. LaRue, Charles A. Drost, Terence R. Arundel
2014, Copeia (2014) 215-220
Inferring the natural distribution and native status of organisms is complicated by the role of ancient and modern humans in utilization and translocation. Archaeological data and traditional cultural use provide tools for resolving these issues. Although the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) has a transcontinental range in the United States, populations...
Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene
Torben C. Rick, T. Scott Sillett, Cameron K. Ghalambor, Courtney A. Hofman, Katherine Ralls, R. Scott Anderson, Christina L. Boser, Todd J. Braje, Daniel R. Cayan, R. Terry Chesser, Paul W. Collins, Jon M. Erlandson, Kate R. Faulkner, Robert C. Fleischer, W. Chris Funk, Russell Galipeau, Ann Huston, Julie King, Lyndal L. Laughrin, Jesus Maldonado, Kathryn McEachern, Daniel R. Muhs, Seth D. Newsome, Leslie Reeder-Myers, Christopher Still, Scott A. Morrison
2014, BioScience
Historical ecology is becoming an important focus in conservation biology and offers a promising tool to help guide ecosystem management. Here, we integrate data from multiple disciplines to illuminate the past, present, and future of biodiversity on California's Channel Islands, an archipelago that has undergone a wide range of land-use...
Adverse outcome pathway and risks of anticoagulant rodenticides to predatory wildlife
Barnett A. Rattner, Rebecca S. Lazarus, John E. Elliott, Richard F. Shore, Nico van den Brink
2014, Environmental Science & Technology (48) 8433-8445
Despite a long history of successful use, routine application of some anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) may be at a crossroad due to new regulatory guidelines intended to mitigate risk. An adverse outcome pathway for ARs was developed to identify information gaps and end points to assess the effectiveness of regulations. This...
Assessing effects of variation in global climate data sets on spatial predictions from climate envelope models
Stephanie S. Romanach, James I. Watling, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Carolina Speroterra, David N. Bucklin, Laura A. Brandt, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Yesenia Escribano, Frank J. Mazzotti
2014, Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management (5) 14-25
Climate change poses new challenges for natural resource managers. Predictive modeling of species–environment relationships using climate envelope models can enhance our understanding of climate change effects on biodiversity, assist in assessment of invasion risk by exotic organisms, and inform life-history understanding of individual species. While increasing interest has focused on...
Annual crop type classification of the U.S. Great Plains for 2000 to 2011
Daniel M. Howard, Bruce K. Wylie
2014, Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing (6) 537-549
The purpose of this study was to increase the spatial and temporal availability of crop classification data. In this study, nearly 16.2 million crop observation points were used in the training of the US Great Plains classification tree crop type model (CTM). Each observation point was further defined by weekly...
Forcing functions governing salt transport processes in coastal navigation canals and connectivity to surrounding marshes in South Louisiana using Houma Navigation Canal as a surrogate
Gregg Snedden
2014, Report
Understanding how circulation and mixing processes in coastal navigation canals influence the exchange of salt between marshes and coastal ocean, and how those processes are modulated by external physical processes, is critical to anticipating effects of future actions and circumstance. Examples of such circumstances include deepening the channel, placement of...
Water quality of potential reference lakes in the Arkansas Valley and Ouachita Mountain ecoregions, Arkansas
B. G. Justus, Bradley J. Meredith
2014, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (186) 3785-3800
This report describes a study to identify reference lakes in two lake classifications common to parts of two level III ecoregions in western Arkansas—the Arkansas Valley and Ouachita Mountains. Fifty-two lakes were considered. A screening process that relied on land-use data was followed by reconnaissance water-quality sampling, and two lakes...
Evaluation of the importance of clay confining units on groundwaterflow in alluvial basins using solute and isotope tracers: the case of Middle San Pedro Basin in southeastern Arizona (USA)
Candice B. Hopkins, Jennifer C. McIntosh, Chris Eastoe, Jesse E. Dickinson, Thomas Meixner
2014, Hydrogeology Journal (22) 829-849
As groundwater becomes an increasingly important water resource worldwide, it is essential to understand how local geology affects groundwater quality, flowpaths and residence times. This study utilized multiple tracers to improve conceptual and numerical models of groundwater flow in the Middle San Pedro Basin in southeastern Arizona (USA) by determining...
Global ocean conveyor lowers extinction risk in the deep sea
Lea-Anne Henry, Norbert Frank, Dierk Hebbeln, Claudia Weinberg, Laura Robinson, Tina van de Flierdt, Mikael Dahl, Melanie Douarin, Cheryl L. Morrison, Matthias Lopez Correa, Alex D. Rogers, Mario Ruckelshausen, J. Murray Roberts
2014, Deep Sea Research Part A, Oceanographic Research Papers (88) 8-16
General paradigms of species extinction risk are urgently needed as global habitat loss and rapid climate change threaten Earth with what could be its sixth mass extinction. Using the stony coral Lophelia pertusa as a model organism with the potential for wide larval dispersal, we investigated how the global ocean...
