Delineation of flood-inundation areas in Grapevine Canyon near Scotty’s Castle, Death Valley National Park, California
Christopher M. Morris, Toby L. Welborn, J. Toby Minear
2020, Scientific Investigations Report 2020-5082
On October 18, 2015, a large flood caused considerable damage in Grapevine Canyon near Death Valley Scotty Historic District, in Death Valley National Park, California. Significant channel changes had limited the applicability of previously created flood-inundation maps to current conditions. Predicted flood-inundation maps for Scotty’s Castle were updated using one-dimensional...
A comparison of the CMIP6 midHolocene and lig127k simulations in CESM2
Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Esther C. Brady, Robert A Tomas, Samuel Albani, Patrick J. Bartlein, Natalie M Mahowald, Sarah Shafer, Erik Kluzek, Peter J Lawrence, Gunter Leguy, Matthew Rothstein, Aleah Sommers
2020, Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology (35)
Results are presented and compared for the Community Earth System Model version 2 (CESM2) simulations of the middle Holocene (MH, 6 ka) and Last Interglacial (LIG, 127 ka). These simulations are designated as Tier 1 experiments (midHolocene and lig127k) for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6) and the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project...
Variables affecting resource subsidies from streams and rivers to land and their susceptibility to global change stressors
Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Stefano Larsen, Micael Jonsson, Erik J.S. Emilson
2020, Book chapter, Contaminants and ecological subsidies
Stream and river ecosystems provide subsidies of emergent adult aquatic insects and other resources to terrestrial food webs, and this lotic–land subsidy has garnered much attention in recent research. Here, we critically examine a list of biotic and abiotic variables—including productivity, dominant taxa, geomorphology, and weather—that should be...
Metamorphosis and the impact of contaminants on ecological subsidies
Jeff Wesner, Johanna M. Kraus, Brianna L. Henry, Jacob Kerby
2020, Book chapter, Contaminants and ecological subsidies
Animals with complex life histories such as aquatic insects and amphibians link freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems when they transition from water to land during development. This transition requires metamorphosis from juvenile to adult life stages. Metamorphosis is a stressful and ecologically sensitive life history event. Exposure to contaminants...
Introduction: Ecological subsidies as a framework for understanding contaminant fate, exposure, and effects at the land-water interface
David Walters, Johanna M. Kraus, Marc A. Mills
2020, Book chapter, Contaminants and Ecological Subsidies: The Land-Water Interface
Ecologists have long recognized that ecological subsidies (the flow of organic matter, nutrients, and organisms between ecosystems) can strongly affect ecosystem processes and community structure in the recipient ecosystem. Animal movements, organic matter flows, and food web dynamics between linked aquatic and terrestrial systems can also influence contaminant fate, exposure,...
Practical considerations for the incorporation of insect-mediated contaminant flux into ecological risk assessments
Ryan R. Otter, Gale B. Beaubien, Connor I. Olson, David Walters, Marc A. Mills
2020, Book chapter, Contaminants and ecological subsidies
Insect-mediated contaminant flux is truly an interdisciplinary concept that merges ideas from many technical areas of science (e.g., environmental chemistry, landscape ecology, and entomology). This chapter introduces risk assessors to this emerging and ecologically relevant concept by distilling the main mechanisms that drive insect-mediated contaminant flux and integrating...
Synthesis: A framework for predicting the dark side of ecological subsidies
Johanna M. Kraus, Jeff Wessner, David Walters
2020, Book chapter, Contaminants and ecological subsidies
In this chapter, we synthesize the state of the science regarding ecological subsidies and contaminants at the land-water interface and suggest research and management approaches for linked freshwater-terrestrial ecosystems. Specifically, we focus on movements of animals with complex life histories and the detrital inputs associated with animal and...
Cross-ecosystem linkages and trace metals at the land-water interface
Johanna M. Kraus, Justin F. Pomeranz
2020, Book chapter, Contaminants and ecological subsidies
At low concentrations, trace metals are critical for sustaining life on Earth. However, at high concentrations, they become a global contaminant with particularly strong effects on freshwater communities. These effects can propagate to terrestrial ecosystems in part by altering production and community structure of adult aquatic insect emergence...
Aquifer transmissivity in Nassau, Queens, and Kings Counties, New York, estimated from specific-capacity tests at production wells
John H. Williams, Madison Woodley, Jason S. Finkelstein
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1108
As part of a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to evaluate the sustainability of Long Island’s sole-source aquifer system, the transmissivities of four aquifers were estimated from specific-capacity tests at 447 production wells in Nassau, Queens, and Kings Counties...
Trophic structure of apex fish communities in closed versus leaky lakes of arctic Alaska
Stephen L. Klobucar, Phaedra E. Budy
2020, Oecologia (194) 491-504
Despite low species diversity and primary production, trophic structure (e.g., top predator species, predator size) is surprisingly variable among Arctic lakes. We investigated trophic structure in lakes of arctic Alaska containing arctic char Salvelinus alpinus using stomach contents and stable isotope ratios in two geographically-close but hydrologically-distinct lake clusters to investigate how...
Experimental warming changes phenology and shortens growing season of the dominant invasive plant Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)
Armin J. Howell, Daniel E. Winkler, Michala Lee Phillips, Brandon McNellis, Sasha C. Reed
2020, Frontiers in Plant Science (11)
Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) has successfully invaded and established throughout the western United States. Bromus tectorum grows early in the season and this early growth allows B. tectorum to outcompete native species, which has led to dramatic shifts in ecosystem function and plant community composition after B. tectorum invades. If the phenology of native species is unable to...
Climate sensitivity of water use by riparian woodlands at landscape scales
Marc Mayes, Kelly K. Caylor, Michael B. Singer, John C Stella, Dar Roberts, Pamela L. Nagler
2020, Hydrological Processes (34) 4884-4903
Semi‐arid riparian woodlands face threats from increasing extractive water demand and climate change in dryland landscapes worldwide. Improved landscape‐scale understanding of riparian woodland water use (evapotranspiration, ET) and its sensitivity to climate variables is needed to strategically manage water resources, as well as to create successful ecosystem conservation and restoration...
Principles and mechanisms of wildlife population persistence in the face of disease
Robin E. Russell, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, J. Szymanski, Katrina E. Alger, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2020, Frontiers in Ecology and Environment (8)
Emerging infectious diseases can result in species declines and hamper recovery efforts for at-risk populations. Generalizing considerations for reducing the risk of pathogen introduction and mitigating the effects of disease remains challenging and inhibits our ability to provide guidance for species recovery planning. Given the growing rates of emerging pathogens...
Sediment connectivity: A framework for analyzing coastal sediment transport pathways
Stuart Pearson, Bram C. van Prooijen, Edwin P.L. Elias, Sean Vitousek, Zheng Bing Wang
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface (125)
Connectivity provides a framework for analyzing coastal sediment transport pathways, building on conceptual advances in graph theory from other scientific disciplines. Connectivity schematizes sediment pathways as a directed graph (i.e., a set of nodes and links). This study presents a novel application of graph theory and connectivity...
Getting to the root of plant‐mediated methane emissions and oxidation in a thermokarst bog
Jesse C Turner, Colby J Moorberg, Andrea Wong, Kathleen Shea, Mark Waldrop, Merritt R. Turetsky, Rebecca B. Neumann
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences (125)
Vascular plants are important in the wetland methane cycle, but their effect on production, oxidation, and transport has high uncertainty, limiting our ability to predict emissions. In a permafrost‐thaw bog in Interior Alaska, we used plant manipulation treatments, field‐deployed planar optical oxygen sensors, direct measurements of methane...
Interaction between watershed features and climate forcing affects habitat profitability for juvenile salmon
Timothy E. Walsworth, Jeffrey R Baldock, Christian E. Zimmerman, Daniel E. Schindler
2020, Ecosphere (11)
Opportunities for growth and survival of aquatic organisms are spatially and temporally variable as habitat conditions across watersheds respond to interacting climatic, geomorphic, and hydrologic conditions. As conservation efforts often focus on identifying and protecting critical habitats, it is important to understand how this spatial and...
Visually communicating future climate in a web environment
Corey Davis, Heather D Aldridge, Ryan Boyles, Karen McNeal, Lindsay C. Mauldin, Rachel M. Atkins
2020, Weather, Climate, and Society (12) 877-896
While there is growing demand for use of climate model projections to understand the potential impacts of future climate on resources, there is a lack of effective visuals that convey the range of possible climates across spatial scales and with uncertainties that potential users need to inform their impact assessments...
Utica shale play oil and gas brines: Geochemistry and factors influencing wastewater management
Madalyn S. Blondes, Jenna L. Shelton, Mark A Engle, Jason Trembly, Colin A. Doolan, Aaron M. Jubb, Jessica Chenault, Elisabeth L. Rowan, Ralph J. Haefner, Brian E. Mailot
2020, Environmental Science & Technology (54) 13917-13925
The Utica and Marcellus Shale Plays in the Appalachian Basin are the fourth and first largest natural gas producing plays in the United States, respectively. Hydrocarbon production generates large volumes of brine (“produced water”) that must be disposed of, treated, or...
Accounting for land in the United States: Integrating physical land cover, land use, and monetary valuation
Scott A. Wentland, Zachary H. Ancona, Kenneth J. Bagstad, James W. Boyd, Julie L. Hass, Marina Gindelsky, Jeremy G. Moulton
2020, Ecosystem Services (46)
Land plays a critical role in both economic and environmental accounting. As an asset, it occupies a unique position at the intersection of the System of National Accounts (SNA), the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting Central Framework (SEEA-CF), and (as a spatial...
Using Markov chains to quantitatively assess movement patterns of invasive fishes impacted by a carbon dioxide barrier in outdoor ponds
Lauren K Borland, Collin J Mulcahy, Barb Bennie, Douglas D Baumann, Roger J. Haro, Molly Van Appledorn, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Aaron R. Cupp, Richard A. Erickson
2020, Natural Resource Modeling (33)
Natural resource managers use barriers to deter the movement of aquatic invasive species. Research and development of new invasive species barriers is often evaluated in pond and field scales using high‐resolution telemetry data. Telemetry data sets can be a rich source of data about fish movement and behavior but can...
Geologic and mineral map (modified from the 1975 original map compilation by A.S. Shadchinev and others) and hyperspectral surface materials maps of the Ghorband, Salang, and Panjsher River Basins; Kapisa, Panjsher, Parwan, and Baghlan Provinces, Afghanistan
2020, Open-File Report 2020-1101
IntroductionThe geologic map and cross sections are a redrafted and modified version of the Geologic map and map of mineral resources of the basins of Ghorband, Salang, and Panjsher; located in the Kapisa, Panjsher, Parwan, and Baghlan Provinces, Afghanistan. The original map and cross sections are contained in an unpublished...
Optimizing release strategies: A stepping-stone approach to reintroduction
N.A. Lloyd, Nathan J. Hostetter, C.L. Jackson, Sarah J. Converse, A. Moehrenschlager
2020, Article
Evaluation of alternative management strategies enables informed decisions to accelerate species recovery. For reintroductions, post-release survival to reproductive age is a key parameter influencing population growth. Here we trial a ‘stepping-stone’ method to maximize the success of captive-bred animals when the availability of more suitable wild-born release candidates is limited....
Expanding the feasibility of fish and wildlife assessments with close-kin mark–recapture
Benjamin Marcy-Quay, Suresh Sethi, Nina O. Therkildsen, Clifford E. Kraft
2020, Ecosphere (11)
Close-kin mark–recapture (CKMR) is a powerful new method for the assessment of fish and wildlife population dynamics. Unlike traditional mark–recapture techniques, the use of kinship as an identifying mark is robust to many forms of capture heterogeneity including variation in gear efficiency and tagging-based effects such as loss and differential...
Dynamics of marsh-derived sediments in lagoon-type estuaries
Carmine Donatelli, Tarandeep S. Kalra, Sergio Fagherazzi, Xoaohe Zhang, Nicoletta Leonardi
2020, Journal of Geophysical Research (125)
Salt marshes are valuable ecosystems that must trap sediments and accrete in order to counteract the deleterious effect of sea‐level rise. Previous studies have shown that the capacity of marshes to build up vertically depends on both autogenous and exogenous processes including eco‐geomorphic feedbacks and sediment supply from in‐land and...
Surficial geologic map of the Spirit Mountain SE and part of the Spirit Mountain NE 7.5' quadrangles, Nevada and Arizona
Kyle House, Ryan S. Crow, Philip A Pearthree, Amy L. Brock-Hon, Jonathan Schwing, Jacob O. Thacker, Brian F. Gootee
2020, Scientific Investigations Map 3448
This geologic map includes a trove of stratigraphic and geomorphic information that chronicles the inception and evolution of the lower Colorado River. The map area is located near the south end of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area about 80 km (50 mi) downstream from Hoover Dam. It spans parts...
