The early bird gets the shrimp: Confronting assumptions of isotopic equilibrium and homogeneity in a wild bird population
Michael B. Wunder, Joseph R. Jehl Jr., Craig A. Stricker
2012, Journal of Animal Ecology (81) 1223-1232
1. Because stable isotope distributions in organic material vary systematically across energy gradients that exist in ecosystems, community and population structures, and in individual physiological systems, isotope values in animal tissues have helped address a broad range of questions in animal ecology. It follows that every tissue sample provides an...
Estimating abundance of mountain lions from unstructured spatial sampling
Robin E. Russell, J. Andrew Royle, Richard Desimone, Michael K. Schwartz, Victoria L. Edwards, Kristy P. Pilgrim, Kevin S. Mckelvey
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 1551-1561
Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are often difficult to monitor because of their low capture probabilities, extensive movements, and large territories. Methods for estimating the abundance of this species are needed to assess population status, determine harvest levels, evaluate the impacts of management actions on populations, and derive conservation and management...
Benthic foraminiferal census data from Mobile Bay, Alabama--counts of surface samples and box cores
Kathryn A. Richwine, Lisa E. Osterman
2012, Data Series 704
A study was undertaken in order to understand recent environmental change in Mobile Bay, Alabama. For this study a series of surface sediment and box core samples was collected. The surface benthic foraminiferal data provide the modern baseline conditions of the bay and can be used as a reference for...
The next Landsat satellite: The Landsat Data Continuity Mission
James R. Irons, John L. Dwyer, Julia A. Barsi
2012, Remote Sensing of Environment (122) 11-21
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Interior United States Geological Survey (USGS) are developing the successor mission to Landsat 7 that is currently known as the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM). NASA is responsible for building and launching the LDCM satellite observatory. USGS is building...
The paradox of cooling streams in a warming world: Regional climate trends do not parallel variable local trends in stream temperature in the Pacific continental United States
Ivan Arismendi, Sherri Johnson, Jason B. Dunham, Roy Haggerty, David Hockman-Wert
2012, Geophysical Research Letters (39)
Temperature is a fundamentally important driver of ecosystem processes in streams. Recent warming of terrestrial climates around the globe has motivated concern about consequent increases in stream temperature. More specifically, observed trends of increasing air temperature and declining stream flow are widely believed to result in corresponding increases in stream...
Sediment mobility and bed armoring in the St Clair River: insights from hydrodynamic modeling
Xiaofeng Liu, Gary Parker, Jonathan A. Czuba, Kevin Oberg, Jose M. Mier, James L. Best, Daniel R. Parsons, Peter Ashmore, Bommanna G. Krishnappan, Marcelo H. Garcia
2012, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (37) 957-970
The lake levels in Lake Michigan-Huron have recently fallen to near historical lows, as has the elevation difference between Lake Michigan-Huron compared to Lake Erie. This decline in lake levels has the potential to cause detrimental impacts on the lake ecosystems, together with social and economic impacts on communities in...
Assessment of soil-gas and groundwater contamination at the Gibson Road landfill, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2011
W. Fred Falls, Andral W. Caldwell, Wladmir G. Guimaraes, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn, James Landmeyer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1128
Soil-gas and groundwater assessments were conducted at the Gibson Road landfill in 201 to provide screening-level environmental contamination data to supplement the data collected during previous environmental studies at the landfill. Passive samplers were used in both assessments to detect volatile and semivolatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in...
Assessment of soil-gas contamination at the 17th Street landfill, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2011
W. Fred Falls, Andral W. Caldwell, Wladmir G. Guimaraes, W. Hagan Ratliff, John B. Wellborn, James Landmeyer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1127
Assessments of contaminants in soil gas were conducted in two study areas at Fort Gordon, Georgia, in July and August of 2011 to supplement environmental contaminant data for previous studies at the 17th Street landfill. The two study areas include northern and eastern parts of the 17th Street landfill and...
Biological assessment and streambed-sediment chemistry of streams in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Indiana, 2003–2008
David C. Voelker
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5096
During 2003–2008, the U.S. Geological Survey sampled 13 sites in the Indianapolis metropolitan area in Indiana for benthic invertebrates, fish communities, and streambed-sediment chemistry. Data from seven White River sites and six tributary sites complement surface-water chemistry data collected by the Indianapolis Department of Public Works. The information is being...
Radon-222 content of natural gas samples from Upper and Middle Devonian sandstone and shale reservoirs in Pennsylvania—preliminary data
E. L. Rowan, T. F. Kraemer
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1159
Samples of natural gas were collected as part of a study of formation water chemistry in oil and gas reservoirs in the Appalachian Basin. Nineteen samples (plus two duplicates) were collected from 11 wells producing gas from Upper Devonian sandstones and the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. The samples...
Topographic change detection at select archeological sites in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, 2007-2010
Brian D. Collins, Skye C. Corbett, Helen C. Fairley, Diane L. Minasian, Robert Kayen, Timothy P. Dealy, David R. Bedford
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5133
Human occupation in Grand Canyon, Arizona, dates from at least 11,000 years before present to the modern era. For most of this period, the only evidence of human occupation in this iconic landscape is provided by archeological sites. Because of the dynamic nature of this environment, many archeological sites are...
Flood-inundation maps for the Driftwood River and Sugar Creek near Edinburgh, Indiana
Kathleen K. Fowler, Moon H. Kim, Chad D. Menke
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3210
Digital flood-inundation maps for an 11.2 mile reach of the Driftwood River and a 5.2 mile reach of Sugar Creek, both near Edinburgh, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center, Edinburgh, Indiana. The inundation maps, which can be...
Hydrogeology and simulation of groundwater flow and land-surface subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer system, Texas, 1891-2009
Mark C. Kasmarek
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5154
In cooperation with the Harris–Galveston Subsidence District, Fort Bend Subsidence District, and Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District, the U.S. Geological Survey developed and calibrated the Houston Area Groundwater Model (HAGM), which simulates groundwater flow and land-surface subsidence in the northern part of the Gulf Coast aquifer system in Texas from...
Water quality and landscape processes of four watersheds in eastern Puerto Rico
Sheila F. Murphy, Robert F. Stallard, Heather L. Contributions by Buss, William A. Gould, Matthew C. Larsen, Zhigang Liu, Sebastian Martinuzzi, Isabel K. Pares-Ramos, Arthur F. White, Xiaoming Zou
2012, Professional Paper 1789
Humid tropical regions occupy about a quarter of Earth's land surface, yet they contribute a substantially higher fraction of the water, solutes, and sediment discharged to the world's oceans. Nearly half of Earth's population lives in the tropics, and development stresses can potentially harm soil resources, water quality, and water...
Probability and volume of potential postwildfire debris flows in the 2012 Waldo Canyon Burn Area near Colorado Springs, Colorado
Kristine L. Verdin, Jean A. Dupree, John G. Elliott
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1158
This report presents a preliminary emergency assessment of the debris-flow hazards from drainage basins burned by the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado. Empirical models derived from statistical evaluation of data collected from recently burned basins throughout the intermountain western United States were used...
National climate assessment technical report on the impacts of climate and land use and land cover change
Thomas Loveland, Rezaul Mahmood, Toral Patel-Weynand, Krista Karstensen, Kari Beckendorf, Norman Bliss, Andrew Carleton
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1155
This technical report responds to the recognition by the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the National Climate Assessment (NCA) of the importance of understanding how land use and land cover (LULC) affects weather and climate variability and change and how that variability and change affects LULC. Current published,...
Monitoring gradual ecosystem change using Landsat time series analyses: case studies in selected forest and rangeland ecosystems
James E. Vogelmann, George Xian, Collin G. Homer, Brian Tolk
2012, Remote Sensing of Environment (122) 92-105
The focus of the study was to assess gradual changes occurring throughout a range of natural ecosystems using decadal Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM +) time series data. Time series data stacks were generated for four study areas: (1) a four scene area dominated by...
Interseasonal movements of greater sage-grouse, migratory behavior, and an assessment of the core regions concept in Wyoming
Bradley C. Fedy, Cameron L. Aldridge, Kevin E. Doherty, Michael S. O’Donnell, Jeffrey L. Beck, Bryan Bedrosian, Matthew J. Holloran, Gregory D. Johnson, Nicholas W. Kaczor, Christopher P. Kirol, Cheryl A. Mandich, David Marshall, Gwyn McKee, Chad Olson, Christopher C. Swanson, Brett L. Walker
2012, Journal of Wildlife Management (76) 1062-1071
Animals can require different habitat types throughout their annual cycles. When considering habitat prioritization, we need to explicitly consider habitat requirements throughout the annual cycle, particularly for species of conservation concern. Understanding annual habitat requirements begins with quantifying how far individuals move across landscapes between key life stages to access...
Assessment of nutrients and suspended sediment conditions in and near the Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge, Northwest Minnesota, 2008–2010
Rochelle A. Nustad, Joel M. Galloway
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5112
In response to concerns about water-quality impairments that may affect habitat degradation in Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Minnesota, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service collected streamflow data, discrete nutrient and suspended- sediment samples, and continuous water-quality data from 2008 to 2010....
Hybrid analysis of multiaxis electromagnetic data for discrimination of munitions and explosives of concern
M.J. Friedel, T.H. Asch, C. Oden
2012, Geophysical Journal International (190) 960-980
The remediation of land containing munitions and explosives of concern, otherwise known as unexploded ordnance, is an ongoing problem facing the U.S. Department of Defense and similar agencies worldwide that have used or are transferring training ranges or munitions disposal areas to civilian control. The expense associated with cleanup of...
Freshwater DOM quantity and quality from a two-component model of UV absorbance
Heather T. Carter, Edward Tipping, Jean-Francois Koprivnjak, Matthew P. Miller, Brenda Cookson, John Hamilton-Taylor
2012, Water Research (46) 4532-4542
We present a model that considers UV-absorbing dissolved organic matter (DOM) to consist of two components (A and B), each with a distinct and constant spectrum. Component A absorbs UV light strongly, and is therefore presumed to possess aromatic chromophores and hydrophobic character, whereas B absorbs weakly and can be...
Late twentieth century land-cover change in the basin and range ecoregions of the United States
Christopher E. Soulard, Benjamin M. Sleeter
2012, Regional Environmental Change (12) 813-823
As part of the US Geological Survey's Land Cover Trends project, land-use/land-cover change estimates between 1973 and 2000 are presented for the basin and range ecoregions, including Northern, Central, Mojave, and Sonoran. Landsat data were employed to estimate and characterize land-cover change from 1973, 1980, 1986, 1992, and 2000 using...
Elk migration patterns and human activity influence wolf habitat use in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Abigail Nelson, Matthew J. Kauffman, Arthur D. Middleton, Mike Jimenez, Douglas McWhirter, Jarrett Barber, Ken Gerow
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 2293-2307
Identifying the ecological dynamics underlying human–wildlife conflicts is important for the management and conservation of wildlife populations. In landscapes still occupied by large carnivores, many ungulate prey species migrate seasonally, yet little empirical research has explored the relationship between carnivore distribution and ungulate migration strategy. In this study, we evaluate...
Evaluation of SNODAS snow depth and snow water equivalent estimates for the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA
David W. Clow, Leora Nanus, Kristine L. Verdin, Jeffrey Schmidt
2012, Hydrological Processes (26) 2583-2591
The National Weather Service's Snow Data Assimilation (SNODAS) program provides daily, gridded estimates of snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and related snow parameters at a 1-km2 resolution for the conterminous USA. In this study, SNODAS snow depth and SWE estimates were compared with independent, ground-based snow survey data in...
Effects of soil-engineering properties on the failure mode of shallow landslides
Jonathan Peter McKenna, Paul Michael Santi, Xavier Amblard, Jacquelyn Negri
2012, Landslides (9) 215-228
Some landslides mobilize into flows, while others slide and deposit material immediately down slope. An index based on initial dry density and fine-grained content of soil predicted failure mode of 96 landslide initiation sites in Oregon and Colorado with 79% accuracy. These material properties can be used to identify potential...
