Multinational evaluation of genetic diversity indicators for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Alicia Mastretta-Yanes, Jessica M. da Silva, Catherine E. Grueber, Luis Castillo-Reina, Viktoria Koppa, Brenna R. Forester, W. Chris Funk, Myriam Heuertz, Fumiko Ishihama, Rebecca Jordan, Joachim Mergeay, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Victor Julio Rincon-Parra, Maria Alejandra Rodriguez-Morales, Libertad Arredondo-Amezcua, Gaelle Brahy, Matt DeSaix, Lily Durkee, Ashley Hamilton, Margaret E. Hunter, Austin Koontz, Iris Lang, Maria Camila Latorre-Cardenas, Tanya Latty, Alexander Llanes-Quevedo, Anna J. MacDonald, Meg Mahoney, Caitlin Miller, Juan Francisco Ornelas, Santiago Ramirez-Barahona, Erica Robertson, Isa-Rita M. Russo, Metztli Arcila Santiago, Robyn E. Shaw, Glenn M. Shea, Per Sjogren-Gulve, Emma Suzuki Spence, Taylor Stack, Sofia Suarez, Akio Takenaka, Henrik Thurfjell, Sheela P. Turbek, Marlien van der Merwe, Fleur Visser, Ana Wegier, Georgina Wood, Eugenia Zarza, Linda Laikre, Sean M. Hoban
2024, Ecology Letters (27)
Under the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, 196 Parties committed to reporting the status of genetic diversity for all species. To facilitate reporting, three genetic diversity indicators were developed, two of which focus on processes contributing to genetic diversity conservation: maintaining genetically distinct populations and ensuring populations are large...
Examining inequality in aquatic ecosystem services: Evidence from large-scale monitoring programs
Katya E. Kovalenko, Sergey Ilyushkin, Holly Wellar-Kelly, Justine Annaliese Neville, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
2024, Ecology and People (935)
We hypothesize that aquatic ecosystem services are likely to be inequitably accessible and addressing this hypothesis requires systematic assessment at regional and national scales. We used existing data from large-scale aquatic monitoring programs (National Coastal Condition Assessment, National Lakes Assessment) to examine relationships between ecosystem condition,...
How to select an objective function using information theory
Timothy O. Hodson, Thomas M. Over, Smith Tyler, Lucy A. Marshall
2024, Water Resources Research (60)
In machine learning or scientific computing, model performance is measured with an objective function. But why choose one objective over another? According to the information-theoretic paradigm, the “best” objective function is whichever minimizes information loss. To evaluate different objectives, transform them into likelihoods. The ratios of these...
Genetic analysis of harvest samples reveals population structure in a highly mobile generalist carnivore
Stuart C. Fetherston, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Lora B. Perkins, Chadwick P. Lehman, Jennifer R. Adams, Lisette P. Waits
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Delineating wildlife population boundaries is important for effective population monitoring and management. The bobcat (Lynx rufus) is a highly mobile generalist carnivore that is ecologically and economically important. We sampled 1225 bobcats harvested in South Dakota, USA (2014–2019), of which 878 were retained to assess genetic diversity and infer population...
Magnitude and frequency of floods in the Coastal Plain region of Louisiana, 2016
Paul A. Ensminger, Daniel M. Wagner, Amanda Whaling
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5031
To improve flood-frequency estimates for rural streams in the Coastal Plain region of Louisiana, generalized least-squares regression techniques were used to relate corresponding annual exceedance probability streamflows for 211 streamgages in the region to a suite of explanatory variables that include physical, climatic, pedologic, and land-use characteristics of the streamgage...
Biodiversity loss reduces global terrestrial carbon storage
Sarah R. Weiskopf, Forest Isbell, Maria Isabel Arce-Plata, Moreno Di Marco, Mike Harfoot, Justin A. Johnson, Susannah B. Lerman, Brian W. Miller, Toni Lyn Morelli, Akira S. Mori, Ensheng Weng, Simon Ferrier
2024, Nature Communications (15)
Natural ecosystems store large amounts of carbon globally, as organisms absorb carbon from the atmosphere to build large, long-lasting, or slow-decaying structures such as tree bark or root systems. An ecosystem’s carbon sequestration potential is tightly linked to its biological diversity. Yet when considering future projections, many carbon sequestration models...
The SCEC/USGS community stress drop validation study using the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence
Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Rachel E. Abercrombie, Shanna Xianhui Chu, Taka’aki Taira
2024, Seismica (3)
We introduce a community stress drop validation study using the 2019 Ridgecrest, California, earthquake sequence, in which researchers are invited to use a common dataset to independently estimate comparable measurements using a variety of methods. Stress drop is the change in average shear stress on a fault during earthquake rupture,...
Ecological dissimilarity matters more than geographical distance when predicting land surface indicators using machine learning
Bo Zhou, Gregory S. Okin, Junzhe Zhang, Shannon L. Savage, Christopher J. Cole, Michael C. Duniway
2024, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing (62)
Supervised training techniques, such as those used in machine learning, use generally large sets of in situ data to train models that can, in turn, be used to make predictions (or prediction maps) about the Earth’s surface in times or places where no in situ...
Evaluating the effectiveness of joint species distribution modeling for fresh water fish communities within large watersheds
Paul McLaughlin, Kevin Krause, Kelly O. Maloney, Taylor Woods, Tyler Wagner
2024, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (81) 1248-1263
Accurately predicting species’ distributions is critical for the management and conservation of fish and wildlife populations. Joint Species Distribution Models (JSDMs) account for dependencies between species often ignored by traditional species distribution models. We evaluated how a JSDM approach could improve predictive strength for stream fish communities within large watersheds...
Chronic wasting disease alters the movement behavior and habitat use of mule deer during clinical stages of infection
Gabriel M. Barrile, Paul C. Cross, Cheynne Stewart, Jennifer L. Malmberg, Rhiannon P. Jakopak, Justin Binfet, Kevin Montieth, Brandon Werner, Jessica Jennings-Gaines, JA Merkle
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Integrating host movement and pathogen data is a central issue in wildlife disease ecology that will allow for a better understanding of disease transmission. We examined how adult female mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) responded behaviorally to infection with chronic wasting disease (CWD). We compared...
Assessing wild turkey productivity before and after a 14-day delay in the start date of the spring hunting season in Tennessee
Joseph O. Quehl, Lindsey M. Phillips, Vincent M. Johnson, Craig A. Harper, Joseph D. Clark, Roger D. Shields, David A. Buehler
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Ten state wildlife management agencies in the United States, including six within the Southeast, have delayed their spring wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) hunting seasons since 2017 by five or more days to address concerns related to the potential effects of hunting on wild turkey seasonal productivity. One hypothesis posits that...
Updated range map of an endangered salamander and congeneric competitor reveals different niche preferences
Jo Avital Werba, David A. W. Miller, Adrianne Brand, Evan H. Campbell Grant
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Estimating distributions for cryptic and highly range-restricted species induces unique challenges for species distribution modeling. In particular, bioclimatic covariates that are typically used to model species ranges at regional and continental scales may not show strong variation at scales of 100s and 10s of meters. This limits both the likelihood...
Accuracy, accessibility, and institutional capacity shape the utility of habitat models for managing and conserving rare plants on western public lands
Ella M. Samuel, Jennifer K. Meineke, Laine E. McCall, Lea B. Selby, Alison C. Foster, Zoe M. Davidson, Carol A. Dawson, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Sarah K. Carter
2024, Conservation Science and Practice
Public lands are often managed for multiple uses ranging from energy development to rare plant conservation. Habitat models can help land managers assess and mitigate potential effects of projects on rare plants, but it is unclear how models are currently being used. Our goal was...
Greenness and actual evapotranspiration in the unrestored riparian corridor of the Colorado River Delta in response to in-channel water deliveries in 2021 and 2022
Pamela L. Nagler, Ibrahima Sall, Martha Gomez-Sapiens, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Christopher J. Jarchow, Karl W. Flessa, Kamel Didan
2024, Remote Sensing (16)
Natural resource managers may utilize remotely sensed data to monitor vegetation within their decision-making frameworks for improving habitats. Under binational agreements between the United States and Mexico, seven reaches were targeted for riparian habitat enhancement. Monitoring was carried out using Landsat 8 16-day intervals of the two-band enhanced vegetation index...
Reservoir evolution, downstream sediment transport, downstream channel change, and synthesis of geomorphic responses of Fall Creek and Middle Fork Willamette River to water years 2012–18 streambed drawdowns at Fall Creek Lake, Oregon
Mackenzie K. Keith, J. Rose Wallick, Liam N. Schenk, Laurel E. Stratton Garvin, Gabriel W. Gordon, Heather M. Bragg
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5135
Executive SummaryChapter A. IntroductionFall Creek Dam impounds Fall Creek Lake, a 10-kilometer-long reservoir in western Oregon and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) primarily for flood-risk management (or flood control) in late autumn through early spring months, as well as for water quality, irrigation, recreation, and...
Zebra and Quagga mussels in the United States—Dreissenid mussel research by the U.S. Geological Survey
Cayla R. Morningstar, Patrick M. Kocovsky, Michael E. Colvin, Timothy D. Counihan, Wesley M. Daniel, Peter C. Esselman, Cathy A. Richter, Adam Sepulveda, Diane L. Waller
2024, Fact Sheet 2024-3009
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) delivers high-quality data, technologies, and decision-support tools to help managers both reduce existing populations and control the spread of dreissenid mussels. The USGS researches ecology, biology, risk assessment, and early detection and rapid response methods; provides decision support; and develops and tests control measures....
Distribution and abundance of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Upper San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, California—2023 data summary
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
2024, Data Report 1194
Executive SummaryWe surveyed for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) along the upper San Luis Rey River near Lake Henshaw in Santa Ysabel, California, in 2023. Surveys were completed at four locations: three downstream from Lake Henshaw, where surveys previously occurred from 2015 to 2022 (Rey River Ranch [RRR],...
Modeling coupled dynamics of an empirical predator-prey system to predict top predator recovery
Samantha N. M. Hamilton, M. T. Tinker, Joseph Jackson, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Michael C. Kenner, Julie L. Yee, Tomoko Bell, Max C. N. Castorani, Benjamin H. Becker, Brent B. Hughes
2024, Biological Conservation (294) 110623
Limited data, time, and funding lead conservation managers to make difficult choices in managing species recovery. Coupled dynamical models are relied upon for decision support, but their application to empirical predator-prey systems has generally been restricted to small, tractable species. To broaden their use in conservation decision-making, we developed a...
Tool use increases mechanical foraging success and tooth health in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Chris J. Law, M. Tim Tinker, Jessica A. Fujii, Teri Nicholson, Michelle M. Staedler, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Colleen Young, Rita S. Mehta
2024, Science (384) 798-802
Although tool use may enhance resource utilization, its fitness benefits are difficult to measure. By examining longitudinal data from 196 radio-tagged southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), we found that tool-using individuals, particularly females, gained access to larger and/or harder-shelled prey. These mechanical advantages translated to reduced tooth damage during...
U.S. Geological Survey data strategy 2023–33
Vivian B. Hutchison, Thomas E. Burley, Kyle W. Blasch, Paul E. Exter, Gregory L. Gunther, Aaron J. Shipman, Courtney M. Kelley, Cheryl A. Morris
2024, Circular 1517
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has long recognized the strategic importance and value of well-managed data assets as an integral component of scientific integrity and foundational to the advancement of scientific research, decision making, and public safety. The USGS investment in the science lifecycle, including collection of unbiased data assets,...
Sight and blindness: The relationship between ostracod eyes, water depth, and light availability in the Arctic Ocean
Jingwen Zhang, Moriaki Yasuhara, Chih-Lin Wei, Skye Yunshu Tian, Kyawt K. T. Aye, Laura Gemery, Thomas M. Cronin, Peter Frenzel, David J. Horne
2024, Limnology and Oceanography (69) 1418-1428
Eye loss has been a long-standing interest in evolutionary biology. Many organisms that inhabit environments without light penetration, for example the deep sea, exhibit eye loss and thus become blind. However, water-depth distribution of eyes in marine organisms is poorly understood. Ostracods are widely distributed crustaceans, and many sighted marine...
Atlas of microscopic images of biochar using reflected light microscopy in biochar characterization
Agnieszka Drobniak, Maria Mastalerz, Will Knauth, Omid Adarkani, Telma Ataide dos Santos, Valdeci Caio de Faria, Tara Congo, Paul C. Hackley, Javin J. Hatcherian, James C. Hower, Henrik I. Petersen, Julito Reyes, Hamed Sanei
2024, Indiana Journal of Earth Sciences (6)
Derived through the thermochemical conversion of biomass, biochar is a carbon-rich substance recognized for its significance in environmental applications and sustainable agriculture. As interest in its utilization continues to rise, it becomes crucial to comprehend how the source material and pyrolysis parameters influence the properties of biochar and, consequently, to...
Evaporation from the interior of Lake Okeechobee—A large freshwater lake in Florida, 2013–16
W. Barclay Shoemaker, Qinglong Wu
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5040
In 2012, a platform at the approximate center of Lake Okeechobee in central Florida was instrumented to continuously measure evaporation with the Bowen-ratio energy-budget method as part of a long-term partnership between the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Geological Survey. The primary goal for the study was...
Status and understanding of groundwater quality in the Mojave Basin Domestic-Supply Aquifer study unit, 2018—California GAMA Priority Basin Project
Krishangi D. Groover, Miranda S. Fram, Zeno F. Levy
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5019
Groundwater quality in the western part of the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, was investigated in 2018 as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment Program Priority Basin Project. The Mojave Basin Domestic-Supply Aquifer study unit (MOBS) region was divided into...
Site response in the Walnut Creek–Concord region of the San Francisco Bay, California: Ground motion amplification in a fault-bounded basin
Stephen H. Hartzell, Alena L. Leeds, Leonardo Ramirez-Guzman, Victoria Langenheim, Robert G. Schmitt
2024, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (114) 2668-2686
Thirty‐seven portable accelerometers were deployed in the eastern San Francisco Bay communities of Walnut Creek and Concord to study site response in a fault‐bounded, urban, sedimentary basin. Local earthquakes were recorded for a period of two years from 2017 to 2019 resulting in 101 well‐recorded events. Site response is estimated...
