Vegetation types in coastal Louisiana in 2013
Charles E. Sasser, Jenneke M. Visser, Edmond Mouton, Jeb Linscombe, Steve B. Hartley
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3290
During the summer of 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana State University, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Coastal and Nongame Resources Division jointly completed an aerial survey to collect data on 2013 vegetation types in coastal Louisiana. Plant species were listed and...
Herbivores and nutrients control grassland plant diversity via light limitation
Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom, Daniel S. Gruner, W. Stanley Harpole, Helmut Hillebrand, Eric M. Lind, Peter B. Alder, Juan Alberti, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori Biederman, Dana Blumenthal, Cynthia S. Brown, Lars A. Brudvig, Yvonne M. Buckley, Marc Cadotte, Cheng-Jin Chu, Elsa E. Cleland, Michael J. Crawley, Pedro Daleo, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Guozhen Du, Jennifer Firn, Yann Hautier, Robert W. Heckman, Andy Hector, Janneke HilleRisLambers, Oscar Iribarne, Julia A. Klein, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, Andrew D.B. Leakey, Wei Li, Andrew S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Brett A. Melbourne, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, Brent Mortensen, Lydia R. O’Halloran, John L. Orrock, Jesus Pascual, Suzanne M. Prober, David A. Pyke, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Melinda D. Smith, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren L. Sullivan, Ryan J. Williams, Peter D. Wragg, Justin P. Wright, Louie H. Yang
2014, Nature (508) 517-520
Human alterations to nutrient cycles and herbivore communities are affecting global biodiversity dramatically. Ecological theory predicts these changes should be strongly counteractive: nutrient addition drives plant species loss through intensified competition for light, whereas herbivores prevent competitive exclusion by increasing ground-level light, particularly in productive systems. Here we use experimental...
Modeling marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) habitat using LiDAR-derived canopy data
Joan C. Hagar, Bianca Eskelson, Patricia K. Haggerty, S. Kim Nelson, David G. Vesely
2014, Wildlife Society Bulletin (38) 237-249
LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is an emerging remote-sensing tool that can provide fine-scale data describing vertical complexity of vegetation relevant to species that are responsive to forest structure. We used LiDAR data to estimate occupancy probability for the federally threatened marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in the Oregon Coast Range...
HydroClimATe: hydrologic and climatic analysis toolkit
Jesse E. Dickinson, Randall T. Hanson, Steven K. Predmore
2014, Techniques and Methods 4-A9
The potential consequences of climate variability and climate change have been identified as major issues for the sustainability and availability of the worldwide water resources. Unlike global climate change, climate variability represents deviations from the long-term state of the climate over periods of a few years to several decades. Currently,...
Assessment of sediments in the riverine impoundments of national wildlife refuges in the Souris River Basin, North Dakota
Brian A. Tangen, Murray K. Laubhan, Robert A. Gleason
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5018
Accelerated sedimentation of reservoirs and riverine impoundments is a major concern throughout the United States. Sediments not only fill impoundments and reduce their effective life span, but they can reduce water quality by increasing turbidity and introducing harmful chemical constituents such as heavy metals, toxic elements, and nutrients. U.S. Fish...
Water resources of Cameron Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3076
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, use, and quality of water from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System...
Water resources of Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace
2014, Fact Sheet 2013-3073
This fact sheet presents a brief overview of groundwater and surface-water resources in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. Information on the availability, use, and quality of water from groundwater and surface-water sources in the parish is discussed. Previously published reports and data stored in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information System...
Sea-floor geology in northwestern Block Island Sound, Rhode Island
Katherine Y. McMullen, Lawrence J. Poppe, Seth D. Ackerman, Dann S. Blackwood, D.A. Woods
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1018
Multibeam-echosounder and sidescan-sonar data, collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in a 69-square-kilometer area of northwestern Block Island Sound, are used with sediment samples, and still and video photography of the sea floor, collected by the U.S. Geological Survey at 43 stations within this area, to interpret the...
Combined multibeam and bathymetry data from Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound: a regional perspective
Lawrence J. Poppe, Katherine Y. McMullen, William W. Danforth, Mark R. Blankenship, Andrew R. Clos, Kimberly A. Glomb, Peter G. Lewit, Megan A. Nadeau, Douglas A. Wood, Castleton E. Parker
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1012
Detailed bathymetric maps of the sea floor in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds are of great interest to the New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts research and management communities because of this area's ecological, recreational, and commercial importance. Geologically interpreted digital terrain models from individual surveys provide important benthic...
Quantifying benthic nitrogen fluxes in Puget Sound, Washington: a review of available data
Richard W. Sheibley, Anthony J. Paulson
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5033
Understanding benthic fluxes is important for understanding the fate of materials that settle to the Puget Sound, Washington, seafloor, as well as the impact these fluxes have on the chemical composition and biogeochemical cycles of marine waters. Existing approaches used to measure benthic nitrogen flux in Puget Sound and elsewhere...
Spatial variability in survival of adult brook trout within two intensively surveyed headwater stream networks
Yoichiro Kanno, Benjamin Letcher, Jason C. Vokoun, Elise Zipkin
2014, Canadian Journal Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1010-1019
Headwater stream networks are considered heterogeneous riverscapes, but it is challenging to characterize spatial variability in demographic rates. We estimated site-scale (50 m) survival of adult (>age 1+) brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) within two intensively surveyed headwater stream networks by applying an open-population N-mixture approach to count data collected over...
Spatial mapping and attribution of Wyoming wind turbines, 2012
Michael S. O'Donnell, Tammy S. Fancher
2014, Data Series 828
These data represent locations of wind turbines found within Wyoming as of August 2012. We assigned each wind turbine to a wind farm and, in these data, provide information about each turbine’s potential megawatt output, rotor diameter, hub height, rotor height, the status of the land ownership where the turbine...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Oregon
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3014
Elevation data are essential to a broad range of business uses, including forest resources management, wildlife and habitat management, national security, recreation, and many others. In the State of Oregon, elevation data are critical for river and stream resource management; forest resources management; water supply and quality; infrastructure and construction...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Kentucky
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3012
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 Commonwealth of Kentucky, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, infrastructure and construction management, forest resources...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Tennessee
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3008
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 Tennessee, elevation data are critical for agriculture and precision farming, flood risk management, natural resources conservation, infrastructure and construction management, forest resources...
Water-quality trends for selected sampling sites in the upper Clark Fork Basin, Montana, water years 1996-2010
Steven K. Sando, Aldo V. Vecchia, David L. Lorenz, Elliott P. Barnhart
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5217
A large-scale trend analysis was done on specific conductance, selected trace elements (arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc), and suspended-sediment data for 22 sites in the upper Clark Fork Basin for water years 1996–2010. Trend analysis was conducted by using two parametric methods: a time-series model (TSM) and...
Soil compaction vulnerability at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona
Robert H. Webb, Kenneth E. Nussear, Shinji Carmichael, Todd C. Esque
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1048
Compaction vulnerability of different types of soils by hikers and vehicles is poorly known, particularly for soils of arid and semiarid regions. Engineering analyses have long shown that poorly sorted soils (for example, sandy loams) compact to high densities, whereas well-sorted soils (for example, eolian sand) do not compact, and...
USGS Field Activities 11CEV01 and 11CEV02 on the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, in January and February 2011
Lisa L. Robbins, Paul O. Knorr, Kendra L. Daly, Carl A. Taylor
2014, Data Series 711
During January and February 2011 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of South Florida (USF), conducted geochemical surveys on the west Florida Shelf. Data collected will allow USGS and USF scientists to investigate the effects of climate change on ocean acidification within the northern Gulf of...
Antecedent flow conditions and nitrate concentrations in the Mississippi River basin
Jennifer C. Murphy, Robert M. Hirsch, Lori A. Sprague
2014, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 967-979
The relationship between antecedent flow conditions and nitrate concentrations was explored at eight sites in the 2.9 million square kilometers (km2) Mississippi River basin, USA. Antecedent flow conditions were quantified as the ratio between the mean daily flow of the previous year and the mean daily flow from the period...
Geologic map of the Kechumstuk fault zone in the Mount Veta area, Fortymile mining district, east-central Alaska
Warren C. Day, J. Michael O’Neill, Cynthia Dusel-Bacon, John N. Aleinikoff, Christopher R. Siron
2014, Scientific Investigations Map 3291
This map was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program to depict the fundamental geologic features for the western part of the Fortymile mining district of east-central Alaska, and to delineate the location of known bedrock mineral prospects and their relationship to rock types and structural features.This geospatial...
An analysis of monthly home range size in the critically endangered California Condor Gymnogyps californianus
James W. Rivers, Matthew J. Johnson, Susan M. Haig, Carl J. Schwarz, Joseph Burnett, Joseph Brandt, Daniel George, Jesse Grantham
2014, Bird Conservation International (24) 492-504
Condors and vultures comprise the only group of terrestrial vertebrates in the world that are obligate scavengers, and these species move widely to locate ephemeral, unpredictable, and patchily-distributed food resources. In this study, we used high-resolution GPS location data to quantify monthly home range size of the critically endangered California...
Evaluation of the expected moments algorithm and a multiple low-outlier test for flood frequency analysis at streamgaging stations in Arizona
Nicholas V. Paretti, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Timothy A. Cohn
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5026
Flooding is among the costliest natural disasters in terms of loss of life and property in Arizona, which is why the accurate estimation of flood frequency and magnitude is crucial for proper structural design and accurate floodplain mapping. Current guidelines for flood frequency analysis in the United States are described...
Atrazine reduces reproduction in fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas): raw data report
Donald E. Tillitt, Diana M. Papoulias, Jeffrey J. Whyte, Cathy A. Richter
2014, Data Series 805
The herbicide, atrazine, routinely is observed in surface and groundwaters, particularly in the “corn belt” region, a high-use area of the United States. Atrazine has demonstrated effects on reproduction in mammals and amphibians, but the characterization of endocrine-related effects in fish has received only limited attention. Peak concentrations of atrazine...
Quality of surface water in Missouri, water year 2012
Miya N. Barr
2014, Data Series 818
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, designed and operates a series of monitoring stations on streams and springs throughout Missouri known as the Ambient Water-Quality Monitoring Network. During the 2012 water year (October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012), data were collected at...
Geophysical logging of bedrock wells for geothermal gradient characterization in New Hampshire, 2013
James R. Degnan, Gregory Barker, Neil Olson, Leland Wilder
2014, Data Series 823
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Geological Survey, measured the fluid temperature of groundwater and other geophysical properties in 10 bedrock wells in the State of New Hampshire in order to characterize geothermal gradients in bedrock. The wells selected for the study were deep (five ranging...
