Constancy of local spread rates for buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare L.) in the Arizona Upland of the Sonoran Desert
Aaryn D. Olsson, Julio L. Betancourt, Michael A. Crimmins, Stuart E. Marsh
2012, Journal of Arid Environments (87) 136-143
In North American deserts, grass invasions threaten native vegetation via competition and altered fire regimes. Accurate prediction and successful mitigation of these invasions hinge on estimation of spread rates and their degree of constancy in time and space. We used high-resolution aerial photographs from 11 sites in the Santa Catalina...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Aynak mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter E in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Laura E. Cagney, Scott A. Arko, Michelle L. Harbin
2012, Data Series 709-E
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Local-area-enhanced, 2.5-meter resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of the Badakhshan mineral district in Afghanistan: Chapter F in Local-area-enhanced, high-resolution natural-color and color-infrared satellite-image mosaics of mineral districts in Afghanistan
Philip A. Davis, Scott A. Arko, Michelle L. Harbin
2012, Data Series 709-F
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations, prepared databases for mineral-resource target areas in Afghanistan. The purpose of the databases is to (1) provide useful data to ground-survey crews for use in performing detailed assessments of the...
Modeling future conservation of Hawaiian Honeycreepers by mosquito management and translocation of disease-tolerant Amakihi
Peter H. F. Hobbelen, Michael D. Samuel, Dennis A. LaPointe, Carter T. Atkinson
2012, PLoS ONE (7)
Avian malaria is an important cause of the decline of endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers. Because of the complexity of this disease system we used a computer model of avian malaria in forest birds to evaluate how two proposed conservation strategies: 1) reduction of habitat for mosquito larvae and 2) establishment of...
Environmental fate model for ultra-low-volume insecticide applications used for adult mosquito management
Jerome J. Schleier III, Robert K.D. Peterson, Kathryn M. Irvine, Lucy M. Marshall, David K. Weaver, Collin J. Preftakes
2012, Science of the Total Environment (438) 72-79
One of the more effective ways of managing high densities of adult mosquitoes that vector human and animal pathogens is ultra-low-volume (ULV) aerosol applications of insecticides. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uses models that are not validated for ULV insecticide applications and exposure assumptions to perform their human and ecological...
Summary of the reconnaissance investigation of the diamond resource potential and production capacity of Côte d’Ivoire
Peter G. Chirico, Katherine C. Malpeli
2012, Fact Sheet 2012-3130
This study presents the results of a multiyear effort to monitor the diamond mining activities of Côte d’Ivoire’s two main diamond regions, Séguéla and Tortiya. The innovative approach developed for this study integrates archival reports and maps, high-resolution satellite imagery, and terrain modeling to assess the diamond resource potential and...
Maps of estimated nitrate and arsenic concentrations in basin-fill aquifers of the southwestern United States
Kimberly R. Beisner, David W. Anning, Angela P. Paul, Tim S. McKinney, Jena M. Huntington, Laura M. Bexfield, Susan A. Thiros
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3234
Human-health concerns and economic considerations associated with meeting drinking-water standards motivated a study of the vulnerability of basin-fill aquifers to nitrate contamination and arsenic enrichment in the southwestern United States. Statistical models were developed by using the random forest classifier algorithm to predict concentrations of nitrate and arsenic across a...
Local and landscape associations between wintering dabbling ducks and wetland complexes in Mississippi
Aaron T. Pearse, Richard M. Kaminski, Kenneth J. Reinecke, Stephen J. Dinsmore
2012, Wetlands (32) 859-869
Landscape features influence distribution of waterbirds throughout their annual cycle. A conceptual model, the wetland habitat complex, may be useful in conservation of wetland habitats for dabbling ducks (Anatini). The foundation of this conceptual model is that ducks seek complexes of wetlands containing diverse resources to meet dynamic...
Tree mortality patterns following prescribed fire for Pinus and Abies across the southwestern United States
Philip J. van Mantgem, Jonathan C. B. Nesmith, MaryBeth Keifer, Matthew Brooks
2012, Forest Ecology and Management (289) 463-469
The reintroduction of fire to historically fire-prone forests has been repeatedly shown to reduce understory fuels and promote resistance to high severity fire. However, there is concern that prescribed fire may also have unintended consequences, such as high rates of mortality for large trees and fire-tolerant Pinus species. To test...
Evaluation of streambed scour at bridges over tidal waterways in Alaska
Jeffrey S. Conaway, Paul V. Schauer
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5245
The potential for streambed scour was evaluated at 41 bridges that cross tidal waterways in Alaska. These bridges are subject to several coastal and riverine processes that have the potential, individually or in combination, to induce streambed scour or to damage the structure or adjacent channel. The proximity of a...
Modeling a thick unsaturated zone at San Gorgonio Pass, California: lessons learned after five years of artificial recharge
Alan L. Flint, Kevin M. Ellett, Allen H. Christensen, Peter Martin
2012, Vadose Zone Journal (11)
The information flow among the tasks of framework assessment, numerical modeling, model forecasting and hind casting, and system-performance monitoring is illustrated. Results provide an understanding of artificial recharge in high-altitude desert settings where large vertical distances may separate application ponds from their target aquifers.Approximately 3.8 million cubic meters of surface...
Effects of catastrophic floods and debris flows on the sediment retention structure, North Fork Toutle River, Washington
Roger P. Denlinger
2012, Open-File Report 2011-1317
The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 produced a debris avalanche that flowed down the upper reaches of the North Fork Toutle River in southwestern Washington, clogging this drainage with sediment. In response to continuous anomalously high sediment flux into the Toutle and Cowlitz Rivers resulting from this avalanche...
Disseminated toxoplasmosis in Antillean manatees Trichechus manatus manatus from Puerto Rico
Gregory D. Bossart, Antonio A. Mignucci-Ginannoni, Antonio L. Rivera-Guzman, Nilda M. Jimenez-Marrero, Alvin C. Camus, Robert K. Bonde, Jitender P. Dubey, John S. Reif
2012, Diseases of Aquatic Organisms (101) 139-144
Necropsies were conducted on 4 Antillean manatees Trichechus manatus manatus that were stranded in single events on the coastal beaches of Puerto Rico from August 2010 to August 2011. Three manatees were emaciated and the gastrointestinal tracts were devoid of digesta. Microscopically, all manatees had severe widespread inflammatory lesions of...
Dissolved organic matter composition of winter flow in the Yukon River basin: Implications of permafrost thaw and increased groundwater discharge
Jonathan A. O’Donnell, George R. Aiken, Michelle Ann Walvoord, Kenna D. Butler
2012, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (26) 1-18
Groundwater discharge to rivers has increased in recent decades across the circumpolar region and has been attributed to thawing permafrost in arctic and subarctic watersheds. Permafrost-driven changes in groundwater discharge will alter the flux of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in rivers, yet little is known about the chemical composition and...
An accessible method for implementing hierarchical models with spatio-temporal abundance data
Beth E. Ross, Melvin B. Hooten, David N. Koons
2012, PLoS ONE (7) 1-8
A common goal in ecology and wildlife management is to determine the causes of variation in population dynamics over long periods of time and across large spatial scales. Many assumptions must nevertheless be overcome to make appropriate inference about spatio-temporal variation in population dynamics, such as autocorrelation among data points,...
Synthesis of petrographic, geochemical, and isotopic data for the Boulder batholith, southwest Montana
Edward A. du Bray, John N. Aleinikoff, Karen Lund
2012, Professional Paper 1793
The Late Cretaceous Boulder batholith in southwest Montana consists of the Butte Granite and a group of associated smaller intrusions emplaced into Mesoproterozoic to Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and into the Late Cretaceous Elkhorn Mountains Volcanics. The Boulder batholith is dominated by the voluminous Butte Granite, which is surrounded by as...
Use of the continuous slope-area method to estimate runoff in a network of ephemeral channels, southeast Arizona, USA
Anne M. Stewart, James B. Callegary, Christopher F. Smith, Hoshin V. Gupta, James M. Leenhouts, Robert A. Fritzinger
2012, Journal of Hydrology (472-473) 148-158
The continuous slope-area (CSA) method is an innovative gaging method for indirect computation of complete-event discharge hydrographs that can be applied when direct measurement methods are unsafe, impractical, or impossible to apply. This paper reports on use of the method to produce event-specific discharge hydrographs in a network of sand-bedded...
Evaluating the predictive abilities of community occupancy models using AUC while accounting for imperfect detection
Elise F. Zipkin, Evan H. Campbell Grant, William F. Fagan
2012, Ecological Applications (22) 1962-1972
The ability to accurately predict patterns of species' occurrences is fundamental to the successful management of animal communities. To determine optimal management strategies, it is essential to understand species-habitat relationships and how species habitat use is related to natural or human-induced environmental changes. Using five years of monitoring...
Conceptual and numerical models of the glacial aquifer system north of Aberdeen, South Dakota
Katrina A. Marini, Galen K. Hoogestraat, Katherine R. Aurand, Larry D. Putnam
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5183
This U.S. Geological Survey report documents a conceptual and numerical model of the glacial aquifer system north of Aberdeen, South Dakota, that can be used to evaluate and manage the city of Aberdeen's water resources. The glacial aquifer system in the model area includes the Elm, Middle James, and Deep...
Joint estimation of habitat dynamics and species interactions: Disturbance reduces co-occurrence of non-native predators with an endangered toad
David A.W. Miller, Cheryl S. Brehme, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols, Robert N. Fisher
2012, Journal of Animal Ecology (81) 1288-1297
1. Ecologists have long been interested in the processes that determine patterns of species occurrence and co-occurrence. Potential short-comings of many existing empirical approaches that address these questions include a reliance on patterns of occurrence at a single time point, failure to account properly for imperfect detection and treating the environment...
Mapping the potential distribution of the invasive Red Shiner, Cyprinella lutrensis (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) across waterways of the conterminous United States
Helen M. Poulos, Barry Chernoff, Pam L. Fuller, David Butman
2012, Aquatic Invasions (7) 377-385
Predicting the future spread of non-native aquatic species continues to be a high priority for natural resource managers striving to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem function. Modeling the potential distributions of alien aquatic species through spatially explicit mapping is an increasingly important tool for risk assessment and prediction. Habitat modeling also...
Simulated effects of alternative withdrawal strategies on groundwater flow in the unconfined Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system, the Rio Grande water-bearing zone, and the Atlantic City 800-foot sand in the Great Egg Harbor and Mullica River Basins, New Jersey
Daryll A. Pope, Glen B. Carleton, Debra E. Buxton, Richard L. Walker, Jennifer L. Shourds, Pamela A. Reilly
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5187
Groundwater is essential for water supply and plays a critical role in maintaining the environmental health of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems in the Atlantic Coastal basins of New Jersey. The unconfined Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system and the confined Atlantic City 800-foot sand are major sources of groundwater in the area, and...
Southwest Washington littoral drift restoration—Beach and nearshore morphological monitoring
Andrew W. Stevens, Guy Gelfenbaum, Peter Ruggiero, George M. Kaminsky
2012, Open-File Report 2012-1175
A morphological monitoring program has documented the placement and initial dispersal of beach nourishment material (280,000 m3) placed between the Mouth of the Columbia River (MCR) North Jetty and North Head, at the southern end of the Long Beach Peninsula in southwestern Washington State. A total of 21 topographic surveys...
Flood-inundation maps for the Leaf River at Hattiesburg, Mississippi
John B. Storm
2012, Scientific Investigations Map 3228
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 1.7-mile reach of the Leaf River were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the City of Hattiesburg, City of Petal, Forrest County, Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Mississippi Department of Homeland Security, and the Emergency Management District. The Leaf River study reach...
Concentrations, loads, and yields of select constituents from major tributaries of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers in Iowa, water years 2004-2008
Jessica D. Garrett
2012, Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5240
Excess nutrients, suspended-sediment loads, and the presence of pesticides in Iowa rivers can have deleterious effects on water quality in State streams, downstream major rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. Fertilizer and pesticides are used to support crop growth on Iowa's highly productive agricultural landscape and for household and commercial...
