Integrating physical and economic data into experimental water accounts for the United States: Lessons and opportunities
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Zachary H. Ancona, Julie L. Hass, Pierre D. Glynn, Scott Wentland, Michael Vardon, John P. Fay
2020, Ecosystem Services (45)
Water management increasingly involves tradeoffs, making its accounting highly relevant in our interconnected world. Physical and economic data about water in many nations are becoming more widely integrated through application of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts for Water (SEEA-Water), which enables...
Predicting bird guilds using vegetation composition and structure on a wild and scenic river in Arizona
Erin S. Cubley, Heather L. Bateman, Sidney B. Riddle, Christopher Holmquist-Johnson, David M. Merritt
2020, Wetlands (40) 1829-1842
Riparian areas are among the most ecologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems but make up <2% of landscape area in southwestern USA. Many species of resident and neotropical migratory birds utilize riparian habitats for breeding, foraging, and nesting. We quantified vegetation composition and structure to predict bird guilds...
Editorial: North American monarch butterfly ecology and conservation
James E. Diffendorfer, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Ryan G. Drum, Cheryl Schultz
Maria L. Pappas, editor(s)
2020, Frontiers in Ecology and Conservation (8)
Spanning Canada, the United States, and Mexico, North America contains two populations of the migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). The smaller “western” population overwinters in groves along the California coast and breeds west of the Rocky Mountains, while the much larger “eastern” population breeds east of the Rocky Mountains...
Sea‐level rise will drive divergent sediment transport patterns on fore reefs and reef flats, potentially causing erosion on atoll islands
James F Bramante, Andrew D Ashton, Curt D. Storlazzi, Olivia M. Cheriton, Jeffrey P. Donnelly
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface (125)
Atoll reef islands primarily consist of unconsolidated sediment, and their ocean‐facing shorelines are maintained by sediment produced and transported across their reefs. Changes in incident waves can alter cross‐shore sediment exchange and, thus, affect the sediment budget and morphology of atoll reef islands. Here we investigate...
Age-0 Smallmouth Bass abundance depends on physicochemical conditions and stream network position
Andrew D. Miller, Shannon K. Brewer
2020, Ecosphere (11)
Stream fish survival and recruitment are products of a physicochemical environment that affects growth and provides refuge; yet, the drivers of spatiotemporal variation in juvenile fish abundance remain unclear. Understanding how physicochemical conditions drive spatial and temporal patterns in fish abundances provides insight into how conditions...
Wildlife resistance and protection in a changing New England landscape
Schuyler B. Pearman-Gillman, Matthew J. Duveneck, James D. Murdoch, Therese M. Donovan
2020, PLoS ONE (15)
Rapid changes in climate and land use threaten the persistence of wildlife species. Understanding where species are likely to occur now and in the future can help identify areas that are resistant to change over time and guide conservation planning. We estimated changes in species distribution patterns and spatial resistance...
Harmonizing the Landsat ground reference with the Sentinel-2 Global Reference Image using space-based bundle adjustment
Rajagopalan Rengarajan, James C. Storey, Michael J. Choate
2020, MDPI Remote Sensing (12)
There is an ever-increasing need to use accurate and consistent geometric ground reference in the processing of remotely sensed data products as it reduces the burden on the end-users to account for the differences between the data products from different missions. In this regard, United States Geological Survey (USGS) initiated...
Field evaluation of the Sequoia Scientific LISST-ABS acoustic backscatter sediment sensor
Adam E. Manaster, Timothy D. Straub, Molly S. Wood, Joseph M. Bell, Daniel E. Dombroski, Christopher A. Curran
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1096
Sequoia Scientific’s LISST-ABS is a submersible acoustic instrument that measures the acoustic backscatter sensor (ABS) concentration at a point within a river, stream, or creek. Compared to traditional physical methods for measuring suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), sediment surrogates like the LISST-ABS offer continuous data that can be calibrated with physical SSC...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni nelsoni)
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Paul A. Rabie, Betty R. Euliss
2020, Professional Paper 1842-KK
The key to Nelson’s Sparrow (Ammospiza nelsoni nelsoni) management is providing dense grasses or emergent vegetation near damp areas or freshwater wetlands. Nelson’s Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 20–122 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 41 cm visual obstruction reading, 40–58 percent grass cover, 24 percent forb cover,...
Migratory status determines resource selection by American Woodcock at an important fall stopover, Cape May, New Jersey
Brian L. Allen, Daniel McAuley, Erik J. Blomberg
2020, The Condor
Migration is a period of high activity and exposure during which risks and energetic demand on individuals may be greater than during nonmigratory periods. Stopover locations can help mitigate these threats by providing supplemental energy en route to the animal’s end destination. Effective conservation of migratory species therefore requires...
Why did Great Basin Eocene magmatism generate Carlin-type gold deposits when extensive Jurassic to Middle Miocene magmatism did not? Lessons from the Cortez Region, Northern Nevada, USA
Christopher D. Henry, David A. John, Matt T. Heizler, Robert W. Leonardson, Joseph P. Colgan, Kathryn E. Watts, Michael W. Ressel, Brian L. Cousens
2020, Conference Paper, Vision for discovery: Geological Society of Nevada symposium proceedings
No abstract available....
Geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards and Trinity aquifers within northern Medina County, Texas
Allan K. Clark, Robert E. Morris, Diana E. Pedraza
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3461
The karstic Edwards and Trinity aquifers are classified as major sources of water in south-central Texas by the Texas Water Development Board. During 2018–20 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Edwards Aquifer Authority, mapped and described the geologic framework and hydrostratigraphy of the rocks composing the Edwards and...
Investigation of the 2018 thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia) die-off on St. Lawrence Island rules out food shortage as the cause
Alexis Will, Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, S. Ip, Panguk Shoogukwruk, Morgan Annogiyuk, Akinori Takahashi, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Mary-Lea Killian, Mia Kim Torchetti, Alexander Kitaysky
2020, Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography (181-182)
Die-offs of seabirds in Alaska have occurred with increased frequency since 2015. In 2018, on St. Lawrence Island, seabirds were reported washing up dead on beaches starting in late May, peaking in June, and continuing until early August. The cause of...
USGS enterprise tools for efficient and effective management of science data
Vivian B. Hutchison, Amanda Liford, Ricardo McClees-Funinan, Lisa Zolly, Drew Ignizio, Madison Langseth, Brandon Serna, Elizabeth Sellers, Leslie Hsu, Tamar Norkin, Marcia McNiff, Grace C. Donovan
2020, Fact Sheet 2020-3041
The Science Data Management Branch (SDM) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides data management expertise and leadership and develops guidance and tools to support the USGS in providing the nation with reliable scientific information on the basis of which to describe the Earth. The SDM suite of tools supports...
The pathogenesis of a North American H5N2 clade 2.3.4.4 group A highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata)
Jasmine M. Luczo, Diann Prosser, Mary J. Pantin-Jackwood, Alicia Berlin, Erica Spackman
2020, BMC Veterinary Research (16)
BackgroundAquatic waterfowl, particularly those in the order Anseriformes and Charadriiformes, are the ecological reservoir of avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Dabbling ducks play a recognized role in the maintenance and transmission of AIVs. Furthermore, the pathogenesis of highly pathogenic AIV (HPAIV) in dabbling ducks is well characterized. In contrast, the role of...
Wait and snap: eastern snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) prey on migratory fish at road-stream crossing culverts
Derrick James Alcott, Michael Long, Theodore R. Castro-Santos
2020, Biology Letters (16)
There is growing evidence that culverts at road-stream crossings can increase fish density by reducing stream width and fish movement rates, making these passageways ideal predator ambush locations. In this study, we used a combination of videography and δ13C stable isotope analyses to investigate predator–prey interactions at a road-stream crossing...
Does the Darcy-Buckingham Law apply to flow through unsaturated porous rock?
Antonietta C. Turturro, Maria C. Caputo, Kimberlie Perkins, John R. Nimmo
2020, Water (12)
The Darcy–Buckingham (DB) law, critical to the prediction of unsaturated flow, is widely used but has rarely been experimentally tested, and therefore may not be adequate in certain conditions. Failure of this law would imply that the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity is not constant for a given water...
Simultaneous observations of geoelectric and geomagnetic fields produced by magnetospheric ULF waves
M. D. Hartinger, X. R. Shih, G. Lucas, Benjamin Scott Murphy, Anna Kelbert, J.B.H. Baker, E. Joshua Rigler, Paul A. Bedrosian
2020, Geophysical Research Letters (47)
Geomagnetic perturbations (BGEO) related to magnetospheric ultralow frequency (ULF) waves induce electric fields within the conductive Earth—geoelectric fields (EGEO)—that in turn drive geomagnetically induced currents. Though numerous past studies have examined ULF wave BGEO from a space weather perspective, few studies have linked ULF waves with EGEO. Using recently available...
Soft sediment deformation in dry pyroclastic deposits at Ubehebe Crater, Death Valley, California
Greg A. Valentine, Judith E. Fierstein, James D.L. White
2020, Geology (49) 211-215
Soft sediment deformation structures are common in fine-grained pyroclastic deposits and are often taken, along with other characteristics, to indicate that deposits were emplaced in a wet and cohesive state. At Ubehebe Crater (Death Valley, California, USA), deposits were emplaced by multiple explosions,...
Total water level data from the January and March 2018 nor’easters for coastal areas of New England
Gardner C. Bent, Nicholas J. Taylor
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5048
During winter 2017–18 coastal areas of New England were impacted by the January 4, and March 2–4, 2018, nor’easters. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), under an interagency agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), collected total water level data (the combination of tide, storm surge, wave runup and setup,...
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus)
John P. DeLong, Karen Steenhof
2020, Professional Paper 1842-S
Keys to Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) management include maintaining cliffs with suitable recesses for use as nest sites (that is, the substrate that supports the nest or the specific location of the nest on the landscape), protecting nest sites from human disturbance by designating buffer zones, and maintaining open landscapes...
Observed and modeled mercury and dissolved organic carbon concentrations and loads at control structure S-12D, Florida Everglades, 2013–17
Amanda Booth, Brett A. Poulin, David P. Krabbenhoft
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1092
Mercury (Hg) has been a contaminant of concern for several decades in South Florida, particularly in the Florida Everglades. The transport and bioavailability of Hg in aquatic systems is intimately linked to dissolved organic carbon (DOC). In aquatic systems, Hg can be converted to methylmercury (MeHg), which is the form...
Strain-estimated ground motions associated with recent earthquakes in California
Noha Sameh Ahmed Farghal, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, John Langbein
2020, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (110) 2766-2776
Peak ground velocity (PGV) is a commonly used parameter in earthquake ground‐motion models (GMMs) and hazard analyses, because it is closely related to structural damage and felt ground shaking, and is typically measured on broadband seismometers. Here, we demonstrate that strainmeters, which directly measure in situ strain in the bulk...
How parasite exposure and time interact to determine Australapatemon burti (Trematoda: Digenea) infections in second intermediate hosts (Erpobdella microstoma) (Hirudinea: Erpodellidae)
Dana Marie Calhoun, Evan Esfahani, Sean A. Locke, William E. Moser, Pieter T. J. Johnson
2020, Experimental Parasitology (219)
Australapatemon spp. are cosmopolitan trematodes that infect freshwater snails, aquatic leeches, and birds. Despite their broad geographic distribution, relatively little is known about interactions between Australapatemon spp. and their leech hosts, particularly under experimental conditions and in natural settings. We used experimental exposures to determine how Australapatemon burti cercariae...
Phytoremediation of slightly brackish, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon‐contaminated groundwater from 250 ft below land surface: A pilot‐scale study using salt‐tolerant, endophyte‐enhanced hybrid poplar trees at a Superfund site in the Central Valley of California, April‒November 2019
James E. Landmeyer, Steven Rock, John Freeman, Greg Nagle, Mark Samolis, Herb Levine, Anna-Marie Cook, Harry O’Neill
2020, Remediation Journal (31) 73-89
Slightly brackish groundwater contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at a Superfund site in the Central Valley of California was pumped from 250 feet below land surface to a water storage tank using solar power and then gravity‐fed into 18, 330‐gallon intermediate bulk containers (totes) as follows:(1)Five totes...
