Integrated hydrologic model of Pajaro Valley, Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, California
Randall T. Hanson, Wolfgang Schmid, Claudia C. Faunt, Jonathan Lear, Brian Lockwood
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5111
Increasing population, agricultural development (including shifts to more water-intensive crops), and climate variability are placing increasingly larger demands on available groundwater resources in the Pajaro Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. This study provided a refined conceptual model, geohydrologic framework, and integrated hydrologic model of...
Sapronosis: a distinctive type of infectious agent
Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. Lafferty, Susanne H. Sokolow
2014, Trends in Parasitology (30) 386-393
Sapronotic disease agents have evolutionary and epidemiological properties unlike other infectious organisms. Their essential saprophagic existence prevents coevolution, and no host–parasite virulence trade-off can evolve. However, the host may evolve defenses. Models of pathogens show that sapronoses, lacking a threshold of transmission, cannot regulate host populations, although they can reduce...
Deposit model for heavy-mineral sands in coastal environments
Bradley S. Van Gosen, David L. Fey, Anjana K. Shah, Philip L. Verplanck, Todd M. Hoefen
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2010-5070-L
This report provides a descriptive model of heavy-mineral sands, which are sedimentary deposits of dense minerals that accumulate with sand, silt, and clay in coastal environments, locally forming economic concentrations of the heavy minerals. This deposit type is the main source of titanium feedstock for the titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments...
Incubation stage and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener patterns in an altricial and precocial bird species
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Stefan Thyen, Peter H. Becker
2014, Environmental Pollution (195) 109-114
The composition of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners was compared between non-incubated and embryonated eggs of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) and little terns (Sterna albifrons) to determine if measurable changes in PCB congeners occurred during the embryonic period. There was no indication of changes in PCB congener patterns over the incubation...
Two decision-support tools for assessing the potential effects of energy development on hydrologic resources as part of the Energy and Environment in the Rocky Mountain Area interactive energy atlas
Joshua I. Linard, Anne Marie Matherne, Kenneth J. Leib, Natasha B. Carr, James E. Diffendorfer, Sarah J. Hawkins, Natalie Latysh, Drew A. Ignizio, Nils C. Babel
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1158
The U.S. Geological Survey project—Energy and Environment in the Rocky Mountain Area (EERMA)—has developed a set of virtual tools in the form of an online interactive energy atlas for Colorado and New Mexico to facilitate access to geospatial data related to energy resources, energy infrastructure, and natural resources that may...
Structure and vulnerability of Pacific Northwest tidal wetlands – A summary of wetland climate change research by the Western Ecology Division, U.S. EPA
Christina L Folger, Henry Lee II, Christopher N. Janousek, Deborah A. Reusser
2014, Report
Climate change poses a serious threat to the tidal wetlands of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the U.S. In response to this threat, scientists at the Western Ecology Division of the U.S. EPA at and the Western Fisheries Research Center of the U.S. Geological Survey, along with other partners,...
The 3D Elevation Program initiative: a call for action
Larry J. Sugarbaker, Eric W. Constance, Hans Karl Heidemann, Allyson L. Jason, Vicki Lukas, David L. Saghy, Jason M. Stoker
2014, Circular 1399
The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) initiative is accelerating the rate of three-dimensional (3D) elevation data collection in response to a call for action to address a wide range of urgent needs nationwide. It began in 2012 with the recommendation to collect (1) high-quality light detection and ranging (lidar) data for...
U.S. Geological Survey 2013 assessment of undiscovered resources in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations of the U.S. Williston Basin Province
Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra
2014, AAPG Bulletin (99) 639-660
The Upper Devonian Three Forks and Upper Devonian to Lower Mississippian Bakken Formations comprise a major United States continuous oil resource. Current exploitation of oil is from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of the Middle Member of the Bakken and upper Three Forks, with ongoing exploration of the lower Three...
Estimates of annual survival, growth, and recruitment of a white-tailed ptarmigan population in Colorado over 43 years
Gregory T. Wann, Cameron L. Aldridge, Clait E. Braun
2014, Population Ecology (56) 555-567
Long-term datasets for high-elevation species are rare, and considerable uncertainty exists in understanding how high-elevation populations have responded to recent climate warming. We present estimates of demographic vital rates from a 43-year population study of white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), a species endemic to alpine habitats in western North America. We...
An analysis of the potential for Glen Canyon Dam releases to inundate archaeological sites in the Grand Canyon, Arizona
Hoda A. Sondossi, Helen C. Fairley
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1193
The development of a one-dimensional flow-routing model for the Colorado River between Lees Ferry and Diamond Creek, Arizona in 2008 provided a potentially useful tool for assessing the degree to which varying discharges from Glen Canyon Dam may inundate terrestrial environments and potentially affect resources located within the zone of...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Illinois
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3086
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 Illinois, elevation data are critical for flood risk management, water supply and quality, infrastructure and construction management, agriculture and precision farming, and...
Bird migration and avian influenza: a comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods
Eli S. Bridge, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Xiangming Xiao, John Y. Takekawa, Nichola J. Hill, Mat Yamage, Enam Ul Haque, Mohammad Anwarul Islam, Taej Mundkur, Kiraz Erciyas Yavuz, Paul Leader, Connie Y.H. Leung, Bena Smith, Kyle A. Spragens, Kurt J. Vandegrift, Parviez R. Hosseini, Samia Saif, Samiul Mohsanin, Andrea Mikolon, Ausrafal Islam, Acty George, Balachandran Sivananinthaperumal, Peter Daszak, Scott H. Newman
2014, Ecological Indicators (45) 266-273
Satellite-based tracking of migratory waterfowl is an important tool for understanding the potential role of wild birds in the long-distance transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, employing this technique on a continental scale is prohibitively expensive. This study explores the utility of stable isotope ratios in feathers in examining...
Evolutionary ecology of resprouting and seeding in fire-prone ecosystems
Juli G. Pausas, Jon E. Keeley
2014, New Phytologist (204) 55-65
There are two broad mechanisms by which plant populations persist under recurrent disturbances: resprouting from surviving tissues, and seedling recruitment. Species can have one of these mechanisms or both. However, a coherent framework explaining the differential evolutionary pressures driving these regeneration mechanisms is lacking. We propose a bottom-up approach in...
Dynamics of an introduced and unexploited Lake Whitefish population in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho
Michael A. Hosack, Michael J. Hansen, Ned J. Horner
2014, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (34) 1014-1027
To evaluate biological potential of a commercial fishery for an unexploited Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis population in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, we estimated population parameters related to production and yield. The length frequency based on trap-netting in autumn 2005 was normal with a mean of 448 mm TL, whereas the...
Ecological requirements for pallid sturgeon reproduction and recruitment in the Missouri River: annual report 2011
Aaron J. DeLonay, Robert B. Jacobson, Kimberly A. Chojnacki, Mandy L. Annis, P. J. Braaten, Caroline M. Elliott, D. B. Fuller, Justin D. Haas, Tyler M. Haddix, Hallie L.A. Ladd, Brandon J. McElroy, Gerald E. Mestl, Diana M. Papoulias, Jason C. Rhoten, Mark L. Wildhaber
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1106
The Comprehensive Sturgeon Research Project is a multiyear, multiagency collaborative research framework developed to provide information to support pallid sturgeon recovery and Missouri River management decisions. The project strategy integrates field and laboratory studies of sturgeon reproductive ecology, early life history, habitat requirements, and physiology. The project scope of work...
Model documentation for relations between continuous real-time and discrete water-quality constituents in Indian Creek, Johnson County, Kansas, June 2004 through May 2013
Mandy L. Stone, Jennifer L. Graham
2014, Open-File Report 2014-1170
Johnson County is the fastest growing county in Kansas, with a population of about 560,000 people in 2012. Urban growth and development can have substantial effects on water quality, and streams in Johnson County are affected by nonpoint-source pollutants from stormwater runoff and point-source discharges such as municipal wastewater effluent....
Three-dimensional model of the hydrostratigraphy and structure of the area in and around the U.S. Army-Camp Stanley Storage Activity Area, northern Bexar County, Texas
Michael P. Pantea, Charles D. Blome, Allan K. Clark
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5074
A three-dimensional model of the Camp Stanley Storage Activity area defines and illustrates the surface and subsurface hydrostratigraphic architecture of the military base and adjacent areas to the south and west using EarthVision software. The Camp Stanley model contains 11 hydrostratigraphic units in descending order: 1 model layer representing the...
Estimating the spatial distribution of wintering little brown bat populations in the eastern United States
Robin E. Russell, Karl Tinsley, Richard A. Erickson, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Jennifer A. Szymanski
2014, Ecology and Evolution (4) 3746-3754
Depicting the spatial distribution of wildlife species is an important first step in developing management and conservation programs for particular species. Accurate representation of a species distribution is important for predicting the effects of climate change, land-use change, management activities, disease, and other landscape-level processes on wildlife populations. We developed...
Assessing fire effects on forest spatial structure using a fusion of Landsat and airborne LiDAR data in Yosemite National Park
Van R. Kane, Malcolm P. North, James A. Lutz, Derek J. Churchill, Susan L. Roberts, Douglas F. Smith, Robert J. McGaughey, Jonathan T. Kane, Matthew L. Brooks
2014, Remote Sensing of Environment (151) 89-101
Mosaics of tree clumps and openings are characteristic of forests dominated by frequent, low- and moderate-severity fires. When restoring these fire-suppressed forests, managers often try to reproduce these structures to increase ecosystem resilience. We examined unburned and burned forest structures for 1937 0.81 ha sample areas in Yosemite National Park,...
The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst: geographic information systems software for modeling hazard evacuation potential
Jeanne M. Jones, Peter Ng, Nathan J. Wood
2014, Techniques and Methods 11-C9
Recent disasters such as the 2011 Tohoku, Japan, earthquake and tsunami; the 2013 Colorado floods; and the 2014 Oso, Washington, mudslide have raised awareness of catastrophic, sudden-onset hazards that arrive within minutes of the events that trigger them, such as local earthquakes or landslides. Due to the limited amount of...
Factors influencing successful eradication of nonnative brook trout from four small Rocky Mountain streams using electrofishing
Bradley B. Shepard, Lee M. Nelson, Mark L. Taper, Alexander V. Zale
2014, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (34) 988-997
We successfully eradicated nonnative Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis by electrofishing from 2.4- to 3.0-km treatment reaches of four Rocky Mountain streams in Montana to conserve sympatric populations of native Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi. At least 6, and as many as 14, removal treatments of two to four electrofishing passes per treatment...
The 3D Elevation Program: summary for Arizona
William J. Carswell Jr.
2014, Fact Sheet 2014-3085
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 Arizona, elevation data are critical for infrastructure and construction management, natural resources conservation, flood risk management, geologic resource assessment and hazard mitigation,...
Identifying sources of aeolian mineral dust: Present and past
Daniel R Muhs, Joseph M Prospero, Matthew C Baddock, Thomas E Gill
2014, Book chapter, Mineral dust: A key player in the earth system
Aeolian mineral dust is an important component of the Earth’s environmental systems, playing roles in the planetary radiation balance, as a source of fertilizer for biota in both terrestrial and marine realms and as an archive for understanding atmospheric circulation and paleoclimate in the geologic past. Crucial to understanding all...
Pesticide trends in major rivers of the United States, 1992-2010
Karen R. Ryberg, Aldo V. Vecchia, Robert J. Gilliom, Jeffrey D. Martin
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5135
This report is part of a series of pesticide trend assessments led by the National Water-Quality Assessment Program of the U.S. Geological Survey. This assessment focuses on major rivers of various sizes throughout the United States that have large watersheds with a range of land uses, changes in pesticide use,...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Klamath Mountains study unit, 2010: California GAMA Priority Basin Project
George L. V Bennett V, Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2014, Scientific Investigations Report 2014-5065
Groundwater quality in the Klamath Mountains (KLAM) study unit was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The study unit is located in Del Norte, Humboldt, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties. The GAMA Priority Basin Project is being...
