Simulating the effect of climate change on stream temperature in the Trout Lake Watershed, Wisconsin
William R. Selbig
2015, Science of the Total Environment (511-522) 11-18
The potential for increases in stream temperature across many spatial and temporal scales as a result of climate change can pose a difficult challenge for environmental managers, especially when addressing thermal requirements for sensitive aquatic species. This study evaluates simulated changes to the thermal regime of three northern Wisconsin streams...
Soil nutrient budgets following projected corn stover harvest for biofuel production in the conterminous United States
Zhengxi Tan, Shuguang Liu
2015, GCB Bioenergy (7) 175-183
Increasing demand for food and biofuel feedstocks may substantially affect soil nutrient budgets, especially in the United States where there is great potential for corn (Zea mays L) stover as a biofuel feedstock. This study was designed to evaluate impacts of projected stover harvest scenarios on budgets of soil nitrogen (N),...
Variables and potential models for the bleaching of luminescence signals in fluvial environments
Harrison J. Gray, Shannon Mahan
2015, Quaternary International (362) 42-49
Luminescence dating of fluvial sediments rests on the assumption that sufficient sunlight is available to remove a previously obtained signal in a process deemed bleaching. However, luminescence signals obtained from sediment in the active channels of rivers often contain residual signals. This paper explores and attempts to build theoretical models...
Impacts of climate change on the formation and stability of late Quaternary sand sheets and falling dunes, Black Mesa region, southern Colorado Plateau, USA
Amy L. Ellwein, Shannon Mahan, Leslie D. McFadden
2015, Quaternary International (362) 87-107
Detailed geomorphic mapping and analysis of soil-stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of eolian sand dunes on Black Mesa, Arizona, reveal eolian sediment deposition occurred from 30 to 16 ka, followed by a period of widespread dune stabilization from 12 to 8 ka. Localized reactivation of the previously stabilized dune...
Integrating gene transcription-based biomarkers to understand desert tortoise and ecosystem health
Lizabeth Bowen, A. Keith Miles, K. Kristina Drake, Shannon C. Waters-Dynes, Todd C. Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear
2015, EcoHealth (12) 501-512
Tortoises are susceptible to a wide variety of environmental stressors, and the influence of human disturbances on health and survival of tortoises is difficult to detect. As an addition to current diagnostic methods for desert tortoises, we have developed the first leukocyte gene transcription biomarker panel for the desert tortoise...
Mark-recapture and mark-resight methods for estimating abundance with remote cameras: a carnivore case study
Robert S. Alanso, Brett T. McClintock, Lisa M. Lyren, Erin E. Boydston, Kevin R. Crooks
2015, PLoS ONE (10)
Abundance estimation of carnivore populations is difficult and has prompted the use of non-invasive detection methods, such as remotely-triggered cameras, to collect data. To analyze photo data, studies focusing on carnivores with unique pelage patterns have utilized a mark-recapture framework and studies of carnivores without unique pelage patterns have used...
Citizen science contributes to our knowledge of invasive plant species distributions
Alycia W. Crall, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Nicholas E. Young, Brendon Panke, Mark Renz, Thomas Stohlgren
2015, Biological Invasions (17) 2415-2427
Citizen science is commonly cited as an effective approach to expand the scale of invasive species data collection and monitoring. However, researchers often hesitate to use these data due to concerns over data quality. In light of recent research on the quality of data collected by volunteers, we aimed to...
Distribution of invasive and native riparian woody plants across the western USA in relation to climate, river flow, floodplain geometry and patterns of introduction
Ryan McShane, Daniel Auerbach, Jonathan M. Friedman, Gregor T. Auble, Patrick B. Shafroth, Michael Merigliano, Michael L. Scott, N. Leroy Poff
2015, Ecography (38) 1254-1265
Management of riparian plant invasions across the landscape requires understanding the combined influence of climate, hydrology, geologic constraints and patterns of introduction. We measured abundance of nine riparian woody taxa at 456 stream gages across the western USA. We constructed conditional inference recursive binary partitioning models to discriminate the influence...
'Is Ash Falling?', an online ashfall reporting tool in support of improved ashfall warnings and investigations of ashfall processes
Kristi L. Wallace, Seth Snedigar, Cheryl Cameron
2015, Journal of Applied Volcanology (4)
The primary volcano hazard in Alaska is airborne ash, which endangers aircraft flying the busy North Pacific air routes and consequently affects global commerce. Downwind ashfall is also a significant threat to commerce, transportation and day-to-day activities in nearby Alaska communities. A web-enabled database, "Is Ash Falling?" has been developed...
Proceedings of the 9th U.S.-Japan natural resources panel for earthquake research
Shane T. Detweiler, William L. Ellsworth, editor(s)
2015, Open-File Report 2014-1250
Introduction The UJNR Panel on Earthquake Research promotes advanced study toward a more fundamental understanding of the earthquake process and hazard estimation. The Ninth Joint meeting was extremely beneficial in furthering cooperation and deepening understanding of problems common to both the U.S. and Japan. The meeting included productive exchanges of information...
Effects of dispersal on total biomass in a patchy, heterogeneous system: Analysis and experiment
Bo Zhang, Xin Liu, Donald L. DeAngelis, Wei-Ming Ni, G Geoff Wang
2015, Mathematical Biosciences (264) 54-62
An intriguing recent result from mathematics is that a population diffusing at an intermediate rate in an environment in which resources vary spatially will reach a higher total equilibrium biomass than the population in an environment in which the same total resources are distributed homogeneously. We extended the current mathematical...
Efficacy of Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf-CL145A) spray dried powder for controlling zebra mussels adhering to test substrates
James A. Luoma, Todd J. Severson, Kerry L. Weber, Denise A. Mayer
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1050
A mobile bioassay trailer was used to assess the efficacy of Pseudomonas fluorescens (Pf-CL145A) spray dried powder (SDP) formulation for controlling zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) from two midwestern lakes: Lake Carlos (Alexandria, Minnesota) and Shawano Lake (Shawano, Wisconsin). The effects of SDP exposure concentration and exposure duration on zebra mussel survival were...
Field-based description of rhyolite lava flows of the Calico Hills Formation, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada
Donald S. Sweetkind, Shiera C. Bova
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5022
Contaminants introduced into the subsurface of Pahute Mesa, Nevada National Security Site, by underground nuclear testing are of concern to the U.S. Department of Energy and regulators responsible for protecting human health and safety. The potential for contaminant movement away from the underground test areas at Pahute Mesa and into...
Re-estimating temperature-dependent consumption parameters in bioenergetics models for juvenile Chinook salmon
John M. Plumb, Christine M. Moffitt
2015, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (144) 323-330
Researchers have cautioned against the borrowing of consumption and growth parameters from other species and life stages in bioenergetics growth models. In particular, the function that dictates temperature dependence in maximum consumption (Cmax) within the Wisconsin bioenergetics model for Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha produces estimates that are lower than those measured in...
Evidence for the assimilation of ancient glacier organic carbon in a proglacial stream food web
Jason Fellman, Eran Hood, Peter A. Raymond, J.H. Hudson, Maura Bozeman, Mayumi L. Arimitsu
2015, Limnology and Oceanography (60) 1118-1128
We used natural abundance δ13C, δ15N, and Δ14C to compare trophic linkages between potential carbon sources (leaf litter, epilithic biofilm, and particulate organic matter) and consumers (aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish) in a nonglacial stream and two reaches of the heavily glaciated Herbert River. We tested the hypothesis that proglacial stream...
River-evolution and tectonic implications of a major Pliocene aggradation on the lower Colorado River: The Bullhead Alluvium
Keith A. Howard, Kyle House, Rebecca J. Dorsey, Phillip A. Pearthree
2015, Geosphere (11) 1-30
The ∼200-m-thick riverlaid Bullhead Alluvium along the lower Colorado River downstream of Grand Canyon records massive early Pliocene sediment aggradation following the integration of the upper and lower Colorado River basins. The distribution and extent of the aggraded sediments record (1) evolving longitudinal profiles of the river valley with implications...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Nevada
William J. Carswell Jr.
2015, Fact Sheet 2015-3028
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 Nevada, elevation data are critical for infrastructure and construction management, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation,...
Isotopic disproportionation during hydrogen isotopic analysis of nitrogen-bearing organic compounds
Sreejesh Nair, Heike Geilmann, Tyler B. Coplen, Haiping Qi, Matthias Gehre, Arndt Schimmelmann, Willi A. Brand
2015, Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry (29) 878-884
Rationale High-precision hydrogen isotope ratio analysis of nitrogen-bearing organic materials using high-temperature conversion (HTC) techniques has proven troublesome in the past. Formation of reaction products other than molecular hydrogen (H2) has been suspected as a possible cause of incomplete H2 yield and hydrogen isotopic fractionation. Methods The classical...
Polar bear population dynamics in the southern Beaufort Sea during a period of sea ice decline
Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Trent L. McDonald, Ian Stirling, Andrew E. Derocher, Evan S. Richardson, Eric V. Regehr, David C. Douglas, George M. Durner, Todd C. Atwood, Steven C. Amstrup
2015, Ecological Applications (25) 634-651
In the southern Beaufort Sea of the United States and Canada, prior investigations have linked declines in summer sea ice to reduced physical condition, growth, and survival of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Combined with projections of population decline due to continued climate warming and the ensuing loss of sea ice...
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope trophic enrichment factors for Steller sea lion vibrissae relative to milk and fish/invertebrate diets
Craig A. Stricker, Aaron M. Christ, Michael B. Wunder, Andrew C. Doll, Sean D. Farley, Lorrie D. Rea, David A. S. Rosen, R. D. Scherer, Dominic J. Tollit
2015, Marine Ecology Progress Series (523) 255-266
Nutritional constraints have been proposed as a contributor to population declines in the endangered Steller sea lion Eumetopias jubatus in some regions of the North Pacific. Isotopic analysis of vibrissae (whiskers) is a potentially useful approach to resolving the nutritional ecology of this species because long-term (up to 8 yr)...
Assessment of aquifer properties, evapotranspiration, and the effects of ditching in the Stoney Brook watershed, Fond du Lac Reservation, Minnesota, 2006-9
Perry M. Jones, Abigail A. Tomasek
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5007
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, assessed hydraulic properties of geologic material, recharge, and evapotranspiration, and the effects of ditching on the groundwater resources in the Stoney Brook watershed in the Fond du Lac Reservation. Geologic, groundwater, and surface-water data...
Evaluation of two juvenile salmon collection devices at Cowlitz Falls Dam, Washington, 2014
Tobias J. Kock, Theresa L. Liedtke, Brian K. Ekstrom, William Hurst
2015, Open-File Report 2015-1054
Collection of juvenile salmon at Cowlitz Falls Dam is a critical part of the effort to restore salmon in the upper Cowlitz River, Washington. Many of the fish that are not collected pass downstream and enter Riffe Lake, become landlocked, and are lost to the anadromous population. In addition to...
Downscaling 250-m MODIS growing season NDVI based on multiple-date landsat images and data mining approaches
Yingxin Gu, Bruce K. Wylie
2015, Remote Sensing (7) 3489-3506
The satellite-derived growing season time-integrated Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (GSN) has been used as a proxy for vegetation biomass productivity. The 250-m GSN data estimated from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors have been used for terrestrial ecosystem modeling and monitoring. High temporal resolution with a wide range of...
Research, monitoring, and evaluation of emerging issues and measures to recover the Snake River fall Chinook salmon ESU, 1/1/2014 - 12/31/2014
William P. Connor, Frank L. Mullins, Kenneth F. Tiffan, Russell W. Perry, John M. Erhardt, Scott J. St John, Brad K. Bickford, Tobyn N. Rhodes
2015, Report
The portion of the Snake River fall Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ESU that spawns upstream of Lower Granite Dam transitioned from low to high abundance during 1992–2014 in association with U.S. Endangered Species Act recovery efforts and other Federally mandated actions. This annual report focuses on (1) numeric and habitat...
Porphyry copper assessment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and eastern Tethysides: China, Mongolia, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and India: Chapter X in Global mineral resource assessment
Mark J. Mihalasky, Stephen Ludington, Jane M. Hammarstrom, Dmitriy V. Alexeiev, Thomas P. Frost, Thomas D. Light, Gilpin R. Robinson Jr., Deborah A. Briggs, John C. Wallis, Robert J. Miller, Arthur A. Bookstrom, Andre Panteleyev, Andre Chitalin, Reimar Seltmann, Yan Guangsheng, Lian Changyun, Mao Jingwen, Li Jinyi, Xiao Keyan, Qiu Ruizhao, Shao Jianbao, Shai Gangyi, Du Yuliang
2015, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5090-X
The U.S. Geological Survey collaborated with international colleagues to assess undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and eastern Tethysides. These areas host 20 known porphyry copper deposits, including the world class Oyu Tolgoi deposit in Mongolia that was discovered in the late 1990s. The...
