Testing metapopulation concepts: effects of patch characteristics and neighborhood occupancy on the dynamics of an endangered lagomorph
Mitchell J. Eaton, Phillip T. Hughes, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols
2014, Oikos (123) 662-676
Metapopulation ecology is a field that is richer in theory than in empirical results. Many existing empirical studies use an incidence function approach based on spatial patterns and key assumptions about extinction and colonization rates. Here we recast these assumptions as hypotheses to be tested using 18 years of historic...
Clinal variation or validation of a subspecies? A case study of the Graptemys nigrinoda complex (Testudines: Emydidae)
Joshua R. Ennen, Marley E. Kalis, Adam L. Patterson, Brian R. Kreiser, Jeffrey E. Lovich, James Godwin, Carl P. Qualls
2014, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (111) 810-822
Widely distributed species often display intraspecific morphological variation due to the abiotic and biotic gradients experienced across their ranges. Historically, in many vertebrate taxa, such as birds and reptiles, these morphological differences within a species were used to delimit subspecies. Graptemys nigrinoda is an aquatic turtle species endemic to the...
Airborne geophysical surveys conducted in western Nebraska, 2010: contractor reports and data
U.S.Geological Survey Crustal Geophysical and Geochemical Science Center
2014, Open-File Report 2013-1268
This report contains three contractor reports and data files for an airborne electromagnetic survey flown from June 28 to July 7, 2010. The first report; “SkyTEM Survey: Nebraska, USA, Data” describes data aquisition and processing from a time-domain electromagnetic and magnetic survey performed by SkyTEM Canada, Inc. (the North American...
Geochronology and correlation of Tertiary volcanic and intrusive rocks in part of the southern Toquima Range, Nye County, Nevada
Daniel R. Shawe, Lawrence W. Snee, Frank M. Byers Jr., Edward A. du Bray
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5206
Extensive volcanic and intrusive igneous activity, partly localized along regional structural zones, characterized the southern Toquima Range, Nevada, in the late Eocene, Oligocene, and Miocene. The general chronology of igneous activity has been defined previously. This major episode of Tertiary magmatism began with emplacement of a variety of intrusive rocks,...
Soils, vegetation, and woody debris data from the 2001 Survey Line fire and a comparable unburned site, Tanana Flats region, Alaska
Kristen L. Manies, Jennifer W. Harden, Teresa N. Holingsworth
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1049
This report describes the collection and processing methodologies for samples obtained at two sites within Interior Alaska: (1) a location within the 2001 Survey Line burn, and (2) an unburned location, selected as a control. In 2002 and 2004 U.S. Geological Survey investigators measured soil properties including, but not limited...
Decadal surface water quality trends under variable climate, land use, and hydrogeochemical setting in Iowa, USA
Christopher T. Green, Barbara A. Bekins, Stephen J. Kalkhoff, Robert M. Hirsch, Lixia Liao, Kimberlee K. Barnes
2014, Water Resources Research (50) 2425-2443
Understanding how nitrogen fluxes respond to changes in agriculture and climate is important for improving water quality. In the midwestern United States, expansion of corn cropping for ethanol production led to increasing N application rates in the 2000s during a period of extreme variability of annual precipitation. To examine the...
Delineation of brine contamination in and near the East Poplar oil field, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, northeastern Montana, 2004-09
Joanna N. Thamke, Bruce D. Smith
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5024
The extent of brine contamination in the shallow aquifers in and near the East Poplar oil field is as much as 17.9 square miles and appears to be present throughout the entire saturated zone in contaminated areas. The brine contamination affects 15–37 billion gallons of groundwater. Brine contamination in the...
Sedimentary facies of the upper Cambrian (Furongian; Jiangshanian and Sunwaptan) Tunnel City Group, Upper Mississippi Valley: new insight on the old stormy debate
Jennifer D. Eoff
2014, Sedimentary Geology (302) 102-121
New data from detailed measured sections permit a comprehensive revision of the sedimentary facies of the Furongian (upper Cambrian; Jiangshanian and Sunwaptan stages) Tunnel City Group (Lone Rock Formation and Mazomanie Formation) of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Heterogeneous sandstones, comprising seven lithofacies along a depositional transect from shoreface to transitional-offshore environments,...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Missouri
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3020
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of applications, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. For the State of Missouri, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming; natural resources conservation; flood risk management; homeland security, law enforcement, and disaster...
Does the timing of attainment of maturity influence sexual size dimorphism and adult sex ratio in turtles?
Jeffrey E. Lovich, J. Whitfield Gibbons, Mickey Agha
2014, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society (112) 142-149
The attainment of sexual maturity has been shown to affect measures of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and adult sex ratios in several groups of vertebrates. Using data for turtles, we tested the model that sex ratios are expected to be male-biased when females are larger than males and female-biased when...
Stream macroinvertebrate response models for bioassessment metrics: addressing the issue of spatial scale
Ian R. White, Jonathan G. Kennen, Jason T. May, Larry R. Brown, Thomas F. Cuffney, Kimberly A. Jones, James L. Orlando
2014, PLoS ONE (9) 1-21
We developed independent predictive disturbance models for a full regional data set and four individual ecoregions (Full Region vs. Individual Ecoregion models) to evaluate effects of spatial scale on the assessment of human landscape modification, on predicted response of stream biota, and the effect of other possible confounding factors, such...
Equations for estimating selected streamflow statistics in Rhode Island
Gardner C. Bent, Peter A. Steeves, Andrew M. Waite
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5010
Regional regression equations were developed for estimating selected natural—unaffected by alteration—streamflows of specific flow durations and low-flow frequency statistics for ungaged stream sites in Rhode Island. Selected at-site streamflow statistics are provided for 41 long-term streamgages, 21 short-term streamgages, and 135 partial-record stations in Rhode Island, eastern Connecticut, and southeastern...
Levee crest elevation profiles derived from airborne lidar-based high resolution digital elevation models in south Louisiana
Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Cindy A. Thatcher, John A. Barras
2014, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (91) 114-126
This study explores the feasibility of using airborne lidar surveys to construct high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) and develop an automated procedure to extract levee longitudinal elevation profiles for both federal levees in Atchafalaya Basin and local levees in Lafourche Parish, south Lousiana. This approach can successfully accommodate a high...
Combined effects of compact cevelopment, transportation investments, and road user pricing on vehicle miles traveled in urbanized areas
Reid Ewing, Shima Hamidi, Frank Gallivan, Arthur C. Nelson, James B. Grace
2014, Transportation Research Record (2397) 117-124
Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is the primary determinant of traffic congestion, vehicle crashes, greenhouse gas emissions, and other effects of transportation. Two previous studies have sought to explain VMT levels in urbanized areas. This study updates and expands on previous work with more recent data, additional metrics, and structural equation...
Monitoring and research to describe geomorphic effects of the 2011 controlled flood on the Green River in the Canyon of Lodore, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah
Erich R. Mueller, Paul E. Grams, John C. Schmidt, Joseph E. Hazel Jr., Matt Kaplinski, Jason A. Alexander, Keith Kohl
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5022
In 2011, a large magnitude flow release from Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Wyoming and Utah, occurred in response to high snowpack in the middle Rocky Mountains. This was the third highest recorded discharge along the Green River downstream of Flaming Gorge Dam, Utah, since its initial closure in November 1962 and...
Guidelines for a priori grouping of species in hierarchical community models
Krishna Pacifici, Elise Zipkin, Jaime Collazo, Julissa I. Irizarry, Amielle A. DeWan
2014, Ecology and Evolution (4) 877-888
Recent methodological advances permit the estimation of species richness and occurrences for rare species by linking species-level occurrence models at the community level. The value of such methods is underscored by the ability to examine the influence of landscape heterogeneity on species assemblages at large spatial scales. A salient advantage...
A 17-year record of environmental tracers in spring discharge, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA: use of climatic data and environmental conditions to interpret discharge, dissolved solutes, and tracer concentrations
Eurybiades Busenberg, Niel Plummer
2014, Aquatic Geochemistry (20) 267-290
A 17-year record (1995–2012) of a suite of environmental tracer concentrations in discharge from 34 springs located along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park (SNP), Virginia, USA, reveals patterns and trends that can be related to climatic and environmental conditions. These data include a 12-year...
Animal reintroductions: an innovative assessment of survival
Erin L. Muths, Larissa L. Bailey, Mary Kay Watry
2014, Biological Conservation (172) 200-208
Quantitative evaluations of reintroductions are infrequent and assessments of milestones reached before a project is completed, or abandoned due to lack of funding, are rare. However, such assessments, which are promoted in adaptive management frameworks, are critical. Quantification can provide defensible estimates of biological success, such as the number of...
Population declines lead to replicate patterns of internal range structure at the tips of the distribution of the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii)
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Adam R. Backlin, Patricia J. Tatarian, Ben G. Solvesky, Robert N. Fisher
2014, Biological Conservation (172) 128-137
Demographic declines and increased isolation of peripheral populations of the threatened California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) have led to the formation of internal range boundaries at opposite ends of the species’ distribution. While the population genetics of the southern internal boundary has been studied in some detail, similar information is...
Capturing interactions between nitrogen and hydrological cycles under historical climate and land use: Susquehanna watershed analysis with the GFDL land model LM3-TAN
M. Lee, S. Malyshev, E. Shevliakova, Paul C. D. Milly, P. R. Jaffe
2014, Biogeosciences (11) 5809-5826
We developed a process model LM3-TAN to assess the combined effects of direct human influences and climate change on terrestrial and aquatic nitrogen (TAN) cycling. The model was developed by expanding NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory land model LM3V-N of coupled terrestrial carbon and nitrogen (C-N) cycling and including new...
Pesticide Toxicity Index: a tool for assessing potential toxicity of pesticide mixtures to freshwater aquatic organisms
Lisa H. Nowell, Julia E. Norman, Patrick W. Moran, Jeffrey D. Martin, Wesley W. Stone
2014, Science of the Total Environment (476-477) 144-157
Pesticide mixtures are common in streams with agricultural or urban influence in the watershed. The Pesticide Toxicity Index (PTI) is a screening tool to assess potential aquatic toxicity of complex pesticide mixtures by combining measures of pesticide exposure and acute toxicity in an additive toxic-unit model. The PTI is determined...
Multibeam sonar (DIDSON) assessment of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) approaching a hydroelectric dam
Ann B. Grote, Michael M. Bailey, Joseph D. Zydlewski, Joseph E. Hightower
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 545-558
We investigated the fish community approaching the Veazie Dam on the Penobscot River, Maine, prior to implementation of a major dam removal and river restoration project. Multibeam sonar (dual-frequency identification sonar, DIDSON) surveys were conducted continuously at the fishway entrance from May to July in 2011. A 5% subsample of...
Landsat-8: Science and product vision for terrestrial global change research
David P. Roy, M.A. Wulder, Thomas R. Loveland, C. E. Woodcock, R. G. Allen, M. C. Anderson, D. Helder, J. R. Irons, D.M. Johnson, R. Kennedy, T. A. Scambos, Crystal B. Schaaf, J. R. Schott, Y. Sheng, E. F. Vermote, A.S. Belward, R. Bindschadler, W.B. Cohen, F. Gao, J. D. Hipple, Patrick Hostert, J. Huntington, C.O. Justice, A. Kilic, Valeriy Kovalskyy, Z. P. Lee, Leo Lymburner, J. G. Masek, Joel McCorkel, Y. Shuai, R. Trezza, James Vogelmann, R.H. Wynne, Z. Zhu
2014, Remote Sensing of Environment (145) 154-172
Landsat 8, a NASA and USGS collaboration, acquires global moderate-resolution measurements of the Earth's terrestrial and polar regions in the visible, near-infrared, short wave, and thermal infrared. Landsat 8 extends the remarkable 40 year Landsat record and has enhanced capabilities including new spectral bands in the blue and cirrus cloud-detection portion...
Measurements of slope currents and internal tides on the Continental Shelf and slope off Newport Beach, California
Kurt J. Rosenberger, Marlene A. Noble, Benjamin Norris
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1041
An array of seven moorings housing current meters and oceanographic sensors was deployed for 6 months at 5 sites on the Continental Shelf and slope off Newport Beach, California, from July 2011 to January 2012. Full water-column profiles of currents were acquired at all five sites, and a profile of...
Groundwater-quality data in the Klamath Mountains study unit, 2010: results from the California GAMA Program
Timothy M. Mathany, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Data Series 803
Groundwater quality in the 8,806-square-mile Klamath Mountains (KLAM) study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from October to December 2010, as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program’s Priority Basin Project (PBP). The GAMA-PBP was developed in...
