Protocols for collection of streamflow, water-quality, streambed-sediment, periphyton, macroinvertebrate, fish, and habitat data to describe stream quality for the Hydrobiological Monitoring Program, Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery Program, city of Wichita, Kansas
Mandy L. Stone, Teresa J. Rasmussen, Trudy J. Bennett, Barry C. Poulton, Andrew C. Ziegler
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1055
The city of Wichita, Kansas uses the Equus Beds aquifer, one of two sources, for municipal water supply. To meet future water needs, plans for artificial recharge of the aquifer have been implemented in several phases. Phase I of the Equus Beds Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Program began with...
Evaluating release alternatives for a long-lived bird species under uncertainty about long-term demographic rates
Clinton T. Moore, Sarah J. Converse, Martin J. Folk, Michael C. Runge, Stephen A. Nesbitt
2012, Journal of Ornithology (152) 339-353
The release of animals to reestablish an extirpated population is a decision problem that is often attended by considerable uncertainty about the probability of success. Annual releases of captive-reared juvenile Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) were begun in 1993 in central Florida, USA, to establish a breeding, non-migratory population. Over a...
Bayesian analysis of multi-state data with individual covariates for estimating genetic effects on demography
Sarah J. Converse, J. Andrew Royle, Richard P. Urbanek
2012, Journal of Ornithology (152) 561-572
Inbreeding depression is frequently a concern of managers interested in restoring endangered species. Decisions to reduce the potential for inbreeding depression by balancing genotypic contributions to reintroduced populations may exact a cost on long-term demographic performance of the population if those decisions result in reduced numbers of animals released and/or...
Geologic framework, regional aquifer properties (1940s-2009), and spring, creek, and seep properties (2009-10) of the upper San Mateo Creek Basin near Mount Taylor, New Mexico
Jeff B. Langman, Jesse E. Sprague, Roger A. Durall
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5019
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, examined the geologic framework, regional aquifer properties, and spring, creek, and seep properties of the upper San Mateo Creek Basin near Mount Taylor, which contains areas proposed for exploratory drilling and possible uranium mining on U.S. Forest Service land....
Parameter-expanded data augmentation for Bayesian analysis of capture-recapture models
J. Andrew Royle, Robert M. Dorazio
2012, Journal of Ornithology (152) 521-537
Data augmentation (DA) is a flexible tool for analyzing closed and open population models of capture-recapture data, especially models which include sources of hetereogeneity among individuals. The essential concept underlying DA, as we use the term, is based on adding "observations" to create a dataset composed of a known number...
Hydrologic, water-quality, and biological characteristics of the North Fork Flathead River, Montana, water years 2007-2008
Taylor J. Mills, E. William Schweiger, M. Alisa Mast, David W. Clow
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5221
In water year 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, began a 2-year study to collect hydrologic, water-quality, and biological data to provide a baseline characterization of the North Fork Flathead River from the United States-Canada border to its confluence with the Middle Fork of...
Advancing global marine biogeography research with open-source GIS software and cloud-computing
Ei Fujioka, Edward Vanden Berghe, Ben Donnelly, Julio Castillo, Jesse Cleary, Chris Holmes, Sean McKnight, patrick Halpin
2012, Transactions in GIS (16) 143-160
Across many scientific domains, the ability to aggregate disparate datasets enables more meaningful global analyses. Within marine biology, the Census of Marine Life served as the catalyst for such a global data aggregation effort. Under the Census framework, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System was established to coordinate an unprecedented aggregation...
Computing discharge using the index velocity method
Victor A. Levesque, Kevin A. Oberg
2012, Techniques and Methods 3-A23
Application of the index velocity method for computing continuous records of discharge has become increasingly common, especially since the introduction of low-cost acoustic Doppler velocity meters (ADVMs) in 1997. Presently (2011), the index velocity method is being used to compute discharge records for approximately 470 gaging stations operated and maintained...
Geochemical and hydrologic data for San Marcos Springs recharge characterization near San Marcos, Texas, November 2008--December 2010
Cassi L. Crow
2012, Data Series 672
During 2008–10, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, collected geochemical and hydrologic data in Bexar, Comal, and Hays Counties, Texas, to define and characterize the sources of recharge to San Marcos Springs. Precipitation samples were collected for stable isotope analysis at 1 site and...
Foraging ecology of least terns and piping plovers nesting on Central Platte River sandpits and sandbars
Mark H. Sherfy, Michael J. Anteau, Terry L. Shaffer, Marsha A. Sovada, Jennifer H. Stucker
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1059
Federally listed least terns (Sternula antillarum) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) nest on riverine sandbars on many major midcontinent river systems. On the Central Platte River, availability of sandbar habitat is limited, and both species nest on excavated sandpits in the river's floodplain. However, the extent to which sandpit-nesting birds...
Combining lake and watershed characteristics with Landsat TM data for remote estimation of regional lake clarity
Ian M. McCullough, Cyndy Loftin, Steven A. Sader
2012, Remote Sensing of Environment (123) 109-115
Water clarity is a reliable indicator of lake productivity and an ideal metric of regional water quality. Clarity is an indicator of other water quality variables including chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus and trophic status; however, unlike these metrics, clarity can be accurately and efficiently estimated remotely on a regional scale. Remote...
Alaska Geochemical Database - Mineral Exploration Tool for the 21st Century - PDF of presentation
Matthew Granitto, Jeanine M. Schmidt, Keith A. Labay, Nora B. Shew, Bruce M. Gamble
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1060
The U.S. Geological Survey has created a geochemical database of geologic material samples collected in Alaska. This database is readily accessible to anyone with access to the Internet. Designed as a tool for mineral or environmental assessment, land management, or mineral exploration, the initial version of the Alaska Geochemical Database...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Tahoe-Martis, Central Sierra, and Southern Sierra study units, 2006-2007--California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Miranda S. Fram, Kenneth Belitz
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2011-5216
Groundwater quality in the Tahoe-Martis, Central Sierra, and Southern Sierra study units was investigated as part of the Priority Basin Project of the California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The three study units are located in the Sierra Nevada region of California in parts of Nevada, Placer, El...
The effect of swab sample choice on the detection of avian influenza in apparently healthy wild ducks
S. Ip, Robert J. Dusek, Dennis M. Heisey
2012, Avian Diseases (56) 114-119
Historically, avian influenza viruses have been isolated from cloacal swab specimens, but recent data suggest that the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus can be better detected from respiratory tract specimens. To better understand how swab sample type affects the detection ability of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) viruses...
Bayesian shared frailty models for regional inference about wildlife survival
D.M. Heisey
2012, Animal Conservation (15) 127-128
One can joke that 'exciting statistics' is an oxymoron, but it is neither a joke nor an exaggeration to say that these are exciting times to be involved in statistical ecology. As Halstead et al.'s (2012) paper nicely exemplifies, recently developed Bayesian analyses can now be used to extract insights...
Seasonal use of shallow water habitat in the Lower Snake River reservoirs by juvenile fall Chinook salmon
Kenneth F. Tiffan, William P. Connor
2012, Report
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) is preparing a long term management plan for sediments that affect the authorized project purposes of the Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, and Ice Harbor reservoirs (hereafter, the lower Snake River reservoirs), and the area from the mouth of the Snake River...
Geospatial database for regional environmental assessment of central Colorado.
Stan E. Church, Carma A. San Juan, David L. Fey, Travis S. Schmidt, Terry L. Klein, Ed H. DeWitt, Richard B. Wanty, Philip L. Verplanck, Katharine A. Mitchell, Monique G. Adams, LaDonna M. Choate, Todor I. Todorov, Barnaby W. Rockwell, Luke McEachron, Michael W. Anthony
2012, Data Series 614
In conjunction with the future planning needs of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a detailed environmental assessment of the effects of historical mining on Forest Service lands in central Colorado. Stream sediment, macroinvertebrate, and various filtered and unfiltered water quality samples were collected...
Determination of streamflow of the Arkansas River near Bentley in south-central Kansas
Charles A. Perry
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5059
The Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources, requires that the streamflow of the Arkansas River just upstream from Bentley in south-central Kansas be measured or calculated before groundwater can be pumped from the well field. When the daily streamflow of the Arkansas River near Bentley is less than...
Advances in the simulation and automated measurement of well-sorted granular material: 1. Simulation
Daniel Buscombe, David M. Rubin
2012, Journal of Geophysical Research F: Earth Surface (117)
1. In this, the first of a pair of papers which address the simulation and automated measurement of well-sorted natural granular material, a method is presented for simulation of two-phase (solid, void) assemblages of discrete non-cohesive particles. The purpose is to have a flexible, yet computationally and theoretically simple, suite...
Assessing time-integrated dissolved concentrations and predicting toxicity of metals during diel cycling in streams
Laurie S. Balistrieri, David A. Nimick, Christopher A. Mebane
2012, Science of the Total Environment (425) 155-168
Evaluating water quality and the health of aquatic organisms is challenging in systems with systematic diel (24 hour) or less predictable runoff-induced changes in water composition. To advance our understanding of how to evaluate environmental health in these dynamic systems, field studies of diel cycling were conducted in two...
Dispersal of larval suckers at the Williamson River Delta, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2006-09
Tamara M. Wood, Heather A. Hendrixson, Douglas F. Markle, Charles S. Erdman, Summer M. Burdick, Craig M. Ellsworth, Norman L. Buccola
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5016
An advection/diffusion modeling approach was used to simulate the transport of larval suckers from spawning areas in the Williamson River, through the newly restored Williamson River Delta, to Upper Klamath Lake. The density simulations spanned the years of phased restoration, from 2006/2007 prior to any levee breaching, to 2008 when...
Spatially explicit land-use and land-cover scenarios for the Great Plains of the United States
Terry L. Sohl, Benjamin M. Sleeter, Kristi L. Sayler, Michelle A. Bouchard, Ryan R. Reker, Stacie L. Bennett, Rachel R. Sleeter, Ronald L. Kanengieter, Zhi-Liang Zhu
2012, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment (153) 1-15
The Great Plains of the United States has undergone extensive land-use and land-cover change in the past 150 years, with much of the once vast native grasslands and wetlands converted to agricultural crops, and much of the unbroken prairie now heavily grazed. Future land-use change in the region could have...
Linking urbanization to the Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) for stream ecosystems in the Northeastern United States using a Bayesian network approach
Roxolana Kashuba, Gerard McMahon, Thomas F. Cuffney, Song Qian, Kenneth Reckhow, Jeroen Gerritsen, Susan Davies
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5030
Urban development alters important physical, chemical, and biological processes that define urban stream ecosystems. An approach was developed for quantifying the effects of these processes on aquatic biota, and then linking those effects to endpoints that can be used for environmental management. These complex, interacting systems are challenging to model...
Archive of single beam and swath bathymetry data collected nearshore of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, from West Ship Island, Mississippi, to Dauphin Island, Alabama: Methods and data report for USGS Cruises 08CCT01 and 08CCT02, July 2008, and 09CCT03 and 09CCT04, June 2009
Nancy T. DeWitt, James G. Flocks, Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Mark E. Hansen, B.J. Reynolds, Kyle W. Kelso, Dana S. Wiese, Charles R. Worley
2012, Data Series 675
During the summers of 2008 and 2009 the USGS conducted bathymetric surveys from West Ship Island, Miss., to Dauphin Island, Ala., as part of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project. The survey area extended from the shoreline out to approximately 2 kilometers and...
Simulation of streamflows and basin-wide hydrologic variables over several climate-change scenarios, Methow River basin, Washington
Frank D. Voss, Mark C. Mastin
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5031
The purpose of this project was to demonstrate the capabilities of an existing watershed model and downscaling procedures to provide simulated hydrological data over various greenhouse gas emission scenarios for use in the Methow River framework prototype. An existing watershed model was used to simulate daily time series of streamflow...
