Links between climate change, water-table depth, and water chemistry in a mineralized mountain watershed
Andrew H. Manning, Philip L. Verplanck, Jonathan S. Caine, Andrew S. Todd
2013, Applied Geochemistry (37) 64-78
Recent studies suggest that climate change is causing rising solute concentrations in mountain lakes and streams. These changes may be more pronounced in mineralized watersheds due to the sensitivity of sulfide weathering to changes in subsurface oxygen transport. Specific causal mechanisms linking climate change and accelerated weathering rates have been...
Multivariate analysis of ATR-FTIR spectra for assessment of oil shale organic geochemical properties
Kathryn E. Washburn, Justin E. Birdwell
2013, Organic Geochemistry (63) 1-7
In this study, attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was coupled with partial least squares regression (PLSR) analysis to relate spectral data to parameters from total organic carbon (TOC) analysis and programmed pyrolysis to assess the feasibility of developing predictive models to estimate important organic geochemical parameters....
Retrospective analysis of bottlenose dolphin foraging: a legacy of anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance
Sam Rossman, Nélio B. Barros, Peggy H. Ostrom, Craig A. Stricker, Aleta A. Hohn, Hasand Gandhi, Randall S. Wells
2013, Marine Mammal Science (29) 705-718
We used stable isotope analysis to investigate the foraging ecology of coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in relation to a series of anthropogenic disturbances. We first demonstrated that stable isotopes are a faithful indicator of habitat use by comparing muscle isotope values to behavioral foraging data from the same individuals....
Social-ecological predictors of global invasions and extinctions
Aaron Lotz, Craig R. Allen
2013, Ecology and Society (18)
Most assessments of resilience have been focused on local conditions. Studies focused on the relationship between humanity and environmental degradation are rare, and are rarely comprehensive. We investigated multiple social-ecological factors for 100 countries around the globe in relation to the percentage of invasions and extinctions within each country. These...
A multilocus evaluation of ermine (Mustela erminea) across the Holarctic, testing hypotheses of Pleistocene diversification in response to climate change
Natalie G. Dawson, Andrew G. Hope, Sandra L. Talbot, Joseph A. Cook
2013, Journal of Biogeography (41) 464-475
Aim: We examined data for ermine (Mustela erminea) to test two sets of diversification hypotheses concerning the number and location of late Pleistocene refugia, the timing and mode of diversification, and the evolutionary influence of insularization. Location: Temperate and sub-Arctic Northern Hemisphere. Methods: We used up to two mitochondrial and four nuclear...
Evaluation of potential gas clogging associated with managed aquifer recharge from a spreading basin, southwestern Utah, U.S.A.
Victor M. Heilweil, Thomas Marston
2013, Book chapter, Clogging issues associated with managed aquifer recharge methods
Sand Hollow Reservoir in southwestern Utah, USA, is operated for both surface-water storage and managed aquifer recharge via infiltration from surface basin spreading to the underlying Navajo Sandstone. The total volume of estimated recharge from 2002 through 2011 was 131 Mm3., resulting in groundwater levels rising as much as 40...
An international network of magnetic observatories
Jeffrey J. Love, A. Chulliat
2013, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union (94) 373-374
Since its formation in the late 1980s, the International Real-Time Magnetic Observatory Network (INTERMAGNET), a voluntary consortium of geophysical institutes from around the world, has promoted the operation of magnetic observatories according to modern standards [eg. Rasson, 2007]. INTERMAGNET institutes have cooperatively developed infrastructure for data exchange and management ads...
Spatial variability of "Did You Feel It?" intensity data: insights into sampling biases in historical earthquake intensity distributions
Susan E. Hough
2013, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (103) 2767-2781
Recent parallel development of improved quantitative methods to analyze intensity distributions for historical earthquakes and of web‐based systems for collecting intensity data for modern earthquakes provides an opportunity to reconsider not only important individual historical earthquakes but also the overall characterization of intensity distributions for historical events. The focus of...
Monitoring of livestock grazing effects on Bureau of Land Management land
Kari E. Veblen, David A. Pyke, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael L. Casazza, Timothy J. Assal, Melissa A. Farinha
2013, Society for Range Management (67) 68-77
Public land management agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), are charged with managing rangelands throughout the western United States for multiple uses, such as livestock grazing and conservation of sensitive species and their habitats. Monitoring of condition and trends of these rangelands, particularly with respect to effects...
Cutthroat trout virus as a surrogate in vitro infection model for testing inhibitors of hepatitis E virus replication
Yannick Debing, James Winton, Johan Neyts, Kai Dallmeier
2013, Antiviral Research (100) 98-101
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is one of the most important causes of acute hepatitis worldwide. Although most infections are self-limiting, mortality is particularly high in pregnant women. Chronic infections can occur in transplant and other immune-compromised patients. Successful treatment of chronic hepatitis E has been reported with ribavirin and pegylated...
Thermal controls of Yellowstone cutthroat trout and invasive fishes under climate change
Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Jay R. Alder, Steven W. Hostetler, Robert E. Gresswell, Bradley Shepard
2013, Global Change Biology (19) 3069-3081
We combine large observed data sets and dynamically downscaled climate data to explore historic and future (2050–2069) stream temperature changes over the topographically diverse Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (elevation range = 824–4017 m). We link future stream temperatures with fish growth models to investigate how changing thermal regimes could influence the future distribution and...
A GIS and statistical approach to identify variables that control water quality in hydrothermally altered and mineralized watersheds, Silverton, Colorado, USA
Douglas B. Yager, Raymond H. Johnson, Barnaby W. Rockwell, Jonathan S. Caine, Kathleen S. Smith
2013, Environmental Earth Sciences (70) 1057-1082
Hydrothermally altered bedrock in the Silverton mining area, southwest Colorado, USA, contains sulfide minerals that weather to produce acidic and metal-rich leachate that is toxic to aquatic life. This study utilized a geographic information system (GIS) and statistical approach to identify watershed-scale geologic variables in the Silverton area that influence...
Geomorphic and human influence on large-scale coastal change
Cheryl J. Hapke, Meredith G. Kratzmann, Emily A. Himmelstoss
2013, Geomorphology (199) 160-170
An increasing need exists for regional-scale measurements of shoreline change to aid in management and planning decisions over a broad portion of the coast and to inform assessments of coastal vulnerabilities and hazards. A recent dataset of regional shoreline change, covering a large portion of the U.S. East coast...
Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science research plan 2013-18
E. Lynn Usery
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1189
The U.S. Geological Survey Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS) was created in 2006 and since that time has provided research primarily in support of The National Map. The presentations and publications of the CEGIS researchers document the research accomplishments that include advances in electronic topographic map design,...
A comparison of adaptive sampling designs and binary spatial models: A simulation study using a census of Bromus inermis
Kathryn M. Irvine, Jamie Thornton, Vickie M. Backus, Matthew G. Hohmann, Erik A. Lehnhoff, Bruce D. Maxwell, Kurt Michels, Lisa Rew
2013, Environmetrics (24) 407-417
Commonly in environmental and ecological studies, species distribution data are recorded as presence or absence throughout a spatial domain of interest. Field based studies typically collect observations by sampling a subset of the spatial domain. We consider the effects of six different adaptive and two non-adaptive sampling designs and choice...
Validating predictions from climate envelope models
J. Watling, D. Bucklin, C. Speroterra, L. Brandt, C. Cabal, Stephanie S. Romañach, Frank J. Mazzotti
2013, PLoS ONE (8)
Climate envelope models are a potentially important conservation tool, but their ability to accurately forecast species’ distributional shifts using independent survey data has not been fully evaluated. We created climate envelope models for 12 species of North American breeding birds previously shown to have experienced poleward range shifts. For each...
A comparative assessment of tools for ecosystem services quantification and valuation
Kenneth J. Bagstad, Darius J. Semmens, Sissel Waage, Robert Winthrop
2013, Ecosystem Services (5) 27-39
To enter widespread use, ecosystem service assessments need to be quantifiable, replicable, credible, flexible, and affordable. With recent growth in the field of ecosystem services, a variety of decision-support tools has emerged to support more systematic ecosystem services assessment. Despite the growing complexity of the tool landscape, thorough reviews of...
Changes in the structure and function of northern Alaskan ecosystems when considering variable leaf-out times across groupings of species in a dynamic vegetation model
E.S. Euskirchen, T.B. Carman, Anthony D. McGuire
2013, Global Change Biology (20) 963-978
The phenology of arctic ecosystems is driven primarily by abiotic forces, with temperature acting as the main determinant of growing season onset and leaf budburst in the spring. However, while the plant species in arctic ecosystems require differing amounts of accumulated heat for leaf-out, dynamic vegetation models simulated over regional...
Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifera from the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2008-2012
Caitlin E. Reynolds, Julie N. Richey, Richard Z. Poore
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1243
The U.S. Geological Survey anchored a sediment trap in the northern Gulf of Mexico beginning in 2008 to collect seasonal time-series data on the flux and assemblage composition of live planktic foraminifers. This report provides an update of the previous time-series data to include results from 2012. Ten species, or...
Partnering for science: proceedings of the USGS Workshop on Citizen Science
Megan Hines, Abigail Benson, David Govoni, Derek Masaki, Barbara Poore, Annie Simpson, Steven Tessler
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1234
What U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) programs use citizen science? How can projects be best designed while meeting policy requirements? What are the most effective volunteer recruitment methods? What data should be collected to ensure validation and how should data be stored? What standard protocols are most easily used by volunteers?...
Anatomical and genetic variation of western Oxyloma (Pulmonata: Succineidae) concerning the endangered Kanab ambersnail (Oxyloma haydeni kanabense) in Arizona and Utah
Melanie Culver, Hans-Werner Herrmann, Mark Miller, Barry Roth, Jeff Sorenson
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5164
The land snail genus Oxyloma (Pulmonata: Succineidae) includes the Federally endangered Kanab ambersnail (Oxyloma haydeni kanabense Pilsbry), which is known at the time of this study from only two locations in the United States: Three Lakes, Utah, and Vaseys Paradise, Arizona, on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park....
Geologic map of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Murray County, Oklahoma
Charles D. Blome, David J. Lidke, Ronald R. Wahl, James A. Golab
2013, Scientific Investigations Map 3258
This 1:24,000-scale geologic map is a compilation of previous geologic maps and new geologic mapping of areas in and around Chickasaw National Recreation Area. The geologic map includes revisions of numerous unit contacts and faults and a number of previously “undifferentiated” rock units were subdivided in some areas. Numerous circular-shaped...
Design tradeoffs for trend assessment in aquatic biological monitoring programs
Martin E. Gurtz, John Van Sickle, Daren M. Carlisle, Steven G. Paulsen
2013, Open-File Report 2013-1222
Assessments of long-term (multiyear) temporal trends in biological monitoring programs are generally undertaken without an adequate understanding of the temporal variability of biological communities. When the sources and levels of variability are unknown, managers cannot make informed choices in sampling design to achieve monitoring goals in a cost-effective manner. We...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the South Coast Range-Coastal study unit, 2008: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Carmen A. Burton, Michael Land, Kenneth Belitz
2013, Scientific Investigations Report 2013-5053
Groundwater quality in the South Coast Range–Coastal (SCRC) study unit was investigated from May through November 2008 as part of the Priority Basin Project of the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is located in the Southern Coast Range hydrologic province and includes parts of Santa...
Water resources of Assumption Parish, Louisiana
Lawrence B. Prakken, John K. Lovelace
2013, Fact Sheet 2013-3061
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for management of this vital resource. Information on the availability,...
