Incubation success and habitat selection of shore-spawning kokanee Onchorhynchus nerka: effects of water level regulation and habitat characteristics.
Steven L. Whitlock, Michael C. Quist, Andrew M. Dux
2014, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (24) 412-423
Changes to water-level regimes have been known to restructure fish assemblages and interfere with the population dynamics of both littoral and pelagic species. The effect of altered water-level regimes on shore-spawning kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka incubation success was evaluated using a comprehensive in situ study in Lake Pend Oreille, ID, USA. Survival was not related...
Low-flow characteristics of streams in the Lahaina District, West Maui, Hawai'i
Chui Ling Cheng
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5087
The purpose of this study was to characterize streamflow availability under natural low-flow conditions for streams in the Lahaina District, west Maui, Hawaiʻi. The study-area streams included Honolua Stream and tributary Pāpua Gulch, Honokahua Stream and tributary Mokupeʻa Gulch, Kahana Stream, Honokōwai Stream and tributaries Amalu and Kapāloa Streams, Wahikuli...
Grass carp in the Great Lakes region: establishment potential, expert perceptions, and re-evaluation of experimental evidence of ecological impact
Marion E. Wittmann, Christopher L. Jerde, Jennifer G. Howeth, Sean P. Maher, Andrew M. Deines, Jill A. Jenkins, Gregory W. Whitledge, Sarah B. Burbank, William L. Chadderton, Andrew R. Mahon, Jeffrey T. Tyson, Crysta A. Gantz, Reuben P. Keller, John M. Drake, David M. Lodge
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 992-999
Intentional introductions of nonindigenous fishes are increasing globally. While benefits of these introductions are easily quantified, assessments to understand the negative impacts to ecosystems are often difficult, incomplete, or absent. Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) was originally introduced to the United States as a biocontrol agent, and recent observations of wild,...
Benthic habitat map of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Watershed Partnership Initiative Kā'anapali priority study area and the State of Hawai'i Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area, west-central Maui, Hawai'i
Susan A. Cochran, Ann E. Gibbs, Darla J. White
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1129
Nearshore areas off of west-central Maui, Hawai‘i, once dominated by abundant coral coverage, now are characterized by an increased abundance of turf algae and macroalgae. In an effort to improve the health and resilience of the coral reef system, the Kahekili Herbivore Fisheries Management Area was established by the State...
Comparison of historical streamflows to 2013 Streamflows in the Williamson, Sprague, and Wood Rivers, Upper Klamath Lake Basin, Oregon
Glen W. Hess, Adam J. Stonewall
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1128
In 2013, the Upper Klamath Lake Basin, Oregon, experienced a dry spring, resulting in an executive order declaring a state of drought emergency in Klamath County. The 2013 drought limited the water supply and led to a near-total cessation of surface-water diversions for irrigation above Upper Klamath Lake once regulation...
Floods of 2011 in New York
Richard Lumia, Gary D. Firda, Travis L. Smith
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5058
Record rainfall combined with above-average temperatures and substantial spring snowmelt resulted in record flooding throughout New York during 2011. Rainfall totals in eastern New York were the greatest since 1895 and as much as 60 percent above the long-term average within the Catskill Mountains area and the Susquehanna River Basin....
Assessment of metal and trace element contamination in water, sediment, plants, macroinvertebrates, and fish in Tavasci Marsh, Tuzigoot National Monument, Arizona
Kimberly R. Beisner, Nicholas V. Paretti, Anne M.D. Brasher, Christopher C. Fuller, Matthew P. Miller
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5069
Tavasci Marsh is a large freshwater marsh within the Tuzigoot National Monument in central Arizona. It is the largest freshwater marsh in Arizona that is unconnected to the Colorado River and is designated as an Important Bird Area by the Audubon Society. The marsh has been altered significantly by previous...
A semi-automated method of monitoring dam passage of American Eels Anguilla rostrata
Stuart A. Welsh, Joni L. Aldinger
2014, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (34) 702-709
Fish passage facilities at dams have become an important focus of fishery management in riverine systems. Given the personnel and travel costs associated with physical monitoring programs, automated or semi-automated systems are an attractive alternative for monitoring fish passage facilities. We designed and tested a semi-automated system for eel ladder...
Landsat and water: case studies of the uses and benefits of landsat imagery in water resources
Larisa O. Serbina, Holly M. Miller
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1108
The Landsat program has been collecting and archiving moderate resolution earth imagery since 1972. The number of Landsat users and uses has increased exponentially since the enactment of a free and open data policy in 2008, which made data available free of charge to all users. Benefits from the information...
Correlations of daily flows at streamgages in and near West Virginia, 1930-2011, and streamflow characteristics relevant to the use of index streamgages
Terence Messinger, Katherine S. Paybins
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5061
Correlation of flows at pairs of streamgages were evaluated using a Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient to better identify gages that can be used as index gages to estimate daily flow at ungaged stream sites in West Virginia. Much of West Virginia (77 percent) is within areas where Spearman’s rho for...
Inundation of a barrier island (Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA) during a hurricane: Observed water-level gradients and modeled seaward sand transport
Christopher R. Sherwood, Joseph W. Long, Patrick Dickhudt, P. Soupy Dalyander, David M. Thompson, Nathaniel G. Plant
2014, JGR Earth Surface (119) 1498-1515
Large geomorphic changes to barrier islands may occur during inundation, when storm surge exceeds island elevation. Inundation occurs episodically and under energetic conditions that make quantitative observations difficult. We measured water levels on both sides of a barrier island in the northern Chandeleur Islands during inundation by Hurricane Isaac. Wind...
Modeling turbidity type and intensity effects on the growth and starvation mortality of age-0 yellow perch
Nathan M Manning, Jonathan M. Bossenbroek, Christine M. Mayer, David B. Bunnell, Jeff T. Tyson, Lars G. Rudstam, James R. Jackson
2014, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (71) 1544-1553
We sought to quantify the possible population-level influence of sediment plumes and algal blooms on yellow perch (Perca flavescens), a visual predator found in systems with dynamic water clarity. We used an individual-based model (IBM), which allowed us to include variance in water clarity and the distribution of individual sizes....
Summary of U.S. Geological Survey reports documenting flood profiles of streams in Iowa, 1963-2012
David A. Eash
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5085
This report is part of an ongoing program that is publishing flood profiles of streams in Iowa. The program is managed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Iowa Department of Transportation and the Iowa Highway Research Board (Project HR-140). Information from flood profiles is used by engineers...
Hydrogeology and water quality of the stratified-drift aquifer in the Pony Hollow Creek Valley, Tompkins County, New York
Edward F. Bugliosi, Todd S. Miller, Richard J. Reynolds
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5059
The lithology, areal extent, and the water-table configuration in stratified-drift aquifers in the northern part of the Pony Hollow Creek valley in the Town of Newfield, New York, were mapped as part of an ongoing aquifer mapping program in Tompkins County. Surficial geologic and soil maps, well and test-boring records,...
Spatiotemporal variations in estrogenicity, hormones, and endocrine-disrupting compounds in influents and effluents of selected wastewater-treatment plants and receiving streams in New York, 2008-09
Barry P. Baldigo, Patrick J. Phillips, Anne G. Ernst, James L. Gray, Jocelyn Hemming
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5015
Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in wastewater effluents have been linked to changes in sex ratios, intersex (in males), behavioral modifications, and developmental abnormalities in aquatic organisms. Yet efforts to identify and regulate specific EDCs in complex mixtures are problematic because little is known about the estrogen activity (estrogenicity) levels of many...
Baseline and projected future carbon storage and greenhouse-gas fluxes in ecosystems of the eastern United States
Zhi-Liang Zhu, Bradley C. Reed, editor(s)
2014, Professional Paper 1804
This assessment was conducted to fulfill the requirements of section 712 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and to conduct a comprehensive national assessment of storage and flux (flow) of carbon and the fluxes of other greenhouse gases in ecosystems of the Eastern United States. These carbon...
Hydrostratigraphic interpretation of test-hole and borehole geophysical data, Kimball, Cheyenne, and Deuel Counties, Nebraska, 2011-12
Christopher M. Hobza, Steven S. Sibray
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1103
Recently (2004) adopted legislation in Nebraska requires a sustainable balance between long-term supplies and uses of surface-water and groundwater and requires Natural Resources Districts to understand the effect of groundwater use on surface-water systems when developing a groundwater-management plan. The South Platte Natural Resources District (SPNRD) is located in the...
Hydrogeologic aspects of the Knippa Gap area in eastern Uvalde and western Medina counties, Texas
Rebecca B. Lambert, Allan K. Clark, Diana E. Pedraza, Robert R. Morris
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3045
The Edwards aquifer is the primary source of potable water for the San Antonio area in south-central Texas. The Knippa Gap area is a structural low (trough) postulated to channel or restrict flow in the Edwards aquifer in eastern Uvalde and western Medina Counties, Tex. To better understand the function...
Hydrologic data for the Obed River watershed, Tennessee
Rodney R. Knight, William J. Wolfe, George S. Law
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1102
The Obed River watershed drains a 520-square-mile area of the Cumberland Plateau physiographic region in the Tennessee River basin. The watershed is underlain by conglomerate, sandstone, and shale of Pennsylvanian age, which overlie Mississippian-age limestone. The larger creeks and rivers of the Obed River system have eroded gorges through the...
Estuarine monitoring programs in the Albemarle Sound study area, North Carolina
Michelle Moorman, Katharine R. Kolb, Stacy Supak
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1110
Albemarle Sound was selected in 2012 as one of the two demonstration sites in the Nation to test and improve the design of the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s National Monitoring Network (NMN) for U.S. Coastal Waters and their tributaries. The goal of the NMN for U.S. coastal waters and...
Using state-of-the-art technology to evaluate saltwater intrusion in the Biscayne aquifer of Miami-Dade County, Florida
Scott T. Prinos
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3050
The fresh groundwater supplies of many communities have been adversely affected or limited by saltwater intrusion. An insufficient understanding of the origin of intruded saltwater may lead to inefficient or ineffective water-resource management. A 2008–2012 cooperative U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Miami-Dade County study of saltwater intrusion describes state-of-the art...
Soil fluxes of methane, nitrous oxide, and nitric oxide from aggrading forests in coastal Oregon
Heather E. Erickson, Steven S. Perakis
2014, Soil Biology and Biochemistry (76) 268-277
Soil exchanges of greenhouse and other gases are poorly known for Pacific Northwest forests where gradients in nutrient availability and soil moisture may contribute to large variations in fluxes. Here we report fluxes of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and nitric oxide (NO) over multiple seasons from three naturally N-rich,...
Evaluation of groundwater and surface-water interactions in the Caddo Nation Tribal Jurisdictional Area, Caddo County, Oklahoma, 2010-13
Shana L. Mashburn, S. Jerrod Smith
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5082
Streamflows, springs, and wetlands are important natural and cultural resources to the Caddo Nation. Consequently, the Caddo Nation is concerned about the vulnerability of the Rush Springs aquifer to overdrafting and whether the aquifer will continue to be a viable source of water to tribal members and other local residents...
Contaminants of emerging concern in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota, 2009-12
Melinda L. Erickson, Susan K. Langer, Jason L. Roth, Sharon E. Kroening
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5096
A study of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in ambient groundwater in urbanized areas of Minnesota was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. For this study, water samples were collected from November 2009 through June 2012 from 118 wells located in different...
Assessing and addressing the re-eutrophication of Lake Erie: central basin hypoxia
Donald Scavia, J. David Allan, Kristin K. Arend, Steven Bartell, Dmitry Beletsky, Nate S. Bosch, Stephen B. Brandt, Ruth D. Briland, Irem Daloglu, Joseph V. DePinto, David M. Dolan, Mary Anne Evans, Troy M. Farmer, Daisuke Goto, Haejin Han, Tomas O. Hook, Roger Knight, Stuart A. Ludsin, Doran Mason, Anna M. Michalak, R. Peter Richards, James J. Roberts, Daniel K. Rucinski, Edward Rutherford, David J. Schwab, Timothy M. Sesterhenn, Hongyan Zhang, Yuntao Zhou
2014, Journal of Great Lakes Research (40) 226-246
Relieving phosphorus loading is a key management tool for controlling Lake Erie eutrophication. During the 1960s and 1970s, increased phosphorus inputs degraded water quality and reduced central basin hypolimnetic oxygen levels which, in turn, eliminated thermal habitat vital to cold-water organisms and contributed to the extirpation of important benthic macroinvertebrate...
