Environmental DNA monitoring of invasive Central American boas in St. Croix at Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve (SARI)
Caitlin Beaver, Alexis B. Tays, Wilfre Fuentes Santos, Madison E.A. Harman, Kristen A. Ewen, Evan L. Gwilliam, Margaret Hunter
2025, Science Report NPS/SR—2025/367
Invasive Central American boas (Boa imperator) have established a reproducing population on the western side of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands but prevalence throughout the island is largely unknown. The large snakes threaten endemic and endangered species through competition and predation, jeopardizing island biodiversity. Environmental DNA (eDNA) methods were used...
Pre-eruptive characteristics of “suspect” silicic magmas in Carlin-type Au-forming systems
Celestine N. Mercer, Julie Roberge, Regina Marie Khoury, Albert H. Hofstra
2025, American Mineralogist (110) 1898-1918
World-class Carlin-type Au deposits hosted in sedimentary rock were formed when profuse Eocene silicic magmatism swept across northern Nevada in response to arc migration. Carlin-type Au deposits formed along with porphyry/skarn Cu-Mo-W-Au deposits, epithermal Ag-Au deposits, and distal disseminated Ag-Au deposits. But unlike these other Au-bearing deposits that have clear...
Predicting niche spaces of expanding Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) populations following white-nose syndrome establishment
Sally B. Martinez, Laura D’Acunto, Bradford J. Westrich, Scott M. Bergeson, Patrick A. Zollner
2025, Journal of Mammalogy
Observations of the Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis), a species historically distributed abundantly throughout the southeastern United States, are speculated to have increased in the Midwest. One hypothesis for this expansion in geographic distribution is that local extirpations of other bat species resulted in the expanded realized niche spaces for evening...
Geochemistry and Soils of the Big Smoky Valley Fens, Nevada
Sade K. Cromratie Clemons, Geoffrey John Moret, Katherine J. Earp
2025, Journal of the Nevada Water Resources Association (2025) 27-40
Fens are groundwater-fed wetlands that can provide habitat for plants and animals. Due to anthropogenic activities and climate change, many fens around the world are at risk. This paper presents the results of a study of the hydrology and geochemistry of fens in Big Smoky Valley, central Nevada to support the...
Leveraging an observed-data likelihood improves the use of machine learning labels in a Bayesian hierarchical model for bioacoustic data
Jacob Oram, Katharine M. Banner, Christian Stratton, Andrew Hoegh, Kathryn Irvine
2025, Annals of Applied Statistics (19) 2957-2980
Classification of massive datasets by machine learning (ML) algorithms is promising for many scientific domains, especially wildlife monitoring programs that rely on passive acoustic surveys for detecting species. However, treating ML-predicted class labels (e.g., species identity) as truth biases inferences of focal parameters within common modeling frameworks. One solution is...
Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2024
Brian G. Prochazka, Peter S. Coates, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael S. O’Donnell, David R. Edmunds, Adrian P. Monroe, Steve E. Hanser, Lief A. Wiechman, Michael P. Chenaille
2025, Data Report 1217
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are at the center of State and national land-use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for the health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides State and Federal land and wildlife managers with the best available...
A framework for analyzing wild turkey summer sighting data.
Duane R. Diefenbach, Frances E. Buderman, Mary Jo Casalena, Michael Dye, Robert Gates, Laura Christine Gigliotti, C. Robert Long, Katherine Martin, Michael Muthersbaugh, Michael L. Peters, James Sloan, Joshua Stiller, Mark Wiley
2025, Wildlife Society Bulletin (49)
Wildlife agencies collect data on productivity (e.g., proportion of hens with poults and number of poults per hen) of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) to monitor population status and trends. However, sampling protocols to collect productivity data rely on opportunistic observations reported by wildlife agency personnel and the...
The Hawaiian Volcanoes Supersite: Open data for the benefit of science and society
Michael Poland, Stefano Salvi, Falk Amelung, Marco Bagnardi, Tyler Grant Paladino, Ingrid A. Johanson, Megan McLay
2025, Bulletin of Volcanology (87)
The Hawaiian Volcanoes Supersite was established in 2008 with the goal of making large amounts of volcano monitoring data, especially satellite measurements, freely available at a site of international interest, scientific importance, and impactful natural hazards. The location was chosen because of the long history of volcanological research and innovation...
Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States
Brady W. Allred, Sarah E. McCord, Timothy J. Assal, Brandon T. Bestelmeyer, Chad S. Boyd, Alexander C. Brooks, Samantha M. Cady, Michael C. Duniway, Samuel D. Fuhlendorf, Shane A. Green, Georgia R. Harrison, Eric R. Jensen, Emily J. Kachergis, Anna C. Knight, Chloe M. Mattilio, Brian A. Mealor, David E. Naugle, Dylan O’Leary, Peter J. Olsoy, Erika S. Peirce, Jason R. Reinhardt, Robert K. Shriver, Joseph T. Smith, Jason D. Tack, Ashley M. Tanner, Evan P. Tanner, Dirac Twidwell, Nicholas P. Webb, Scott L. Morford
2025, Scientific Data (12)
Rangelands are extensive ecosystems, providing important ecosystem services while undergoing continuous change. As a result, improved monitoring technologies can help better characterize vegetation change. Satellite remote sensing has proven effective in this regard, tracking vegetation dynamics at broad and fine scales. We leveraged the spatial, spectral, and...
Disentangling geomorphic equifinality in sediment and hydrologic connectivity through the analyses of landscape drivers of hysteresis
Jong Cho, J. William Lund, Grady Ball, Jeb E. Brown, Allen C. Gellis, Laura N. Gurley, Scott Douglas Hamshaw, Jeffrey Stephen Kwang, Andrew Roy Laws, Gregory E. Noe, Gretchen P. Oelsner, Francis Parchaso, Cara L. Peterman-Phipps, Katherine Skalak, Nicholas Alan Sutfin
2025, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (50)
Sources, transport mechanisms and pathways of fine sediment in river systems are dependent on a multitude of climatic, geomorphic and anthropogenic factors, resulting in geomorphic equifinality, in which it is difficult to parse how different landscape processes affect sediment transport across different spatiotemporal scales. The objectives of this study are...
Rare milkvetch (Astragalus) persistence at a utility-scale solar energy facility in the Mojave Desert
Tiffany J. Pereira, Claire C Karban, Lara A. Kobelt, Seth Munson
2025, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (13)
Utility-scale solar energy (USSE) development is driving the projected growth in global renewable energy capacity but comes with environmental tradeoffs. New, alternative construction methods are promoted to minimize impacts to soils, vegetation, and hydrology; however, the disturbance created by these methods requires further investigation. We evaluated the population of a...
The effects of carnivory and herbivory on the energy balance of Arctic grizzly bears
Anthony M. Pagano, Karyn D. Rode, Kerry L. Nicholson, William B. Leacock, Craig A. Stricker, Charles T. Robbins
2025, Oecologia (208)
Omnivores often face tradeoffs between selecting for spatially dispersed energy-dense vertebrate prey versus densely distributed herbivorous resources that have limited energetic value per unit intake. Arctic grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) are large omnivores within a resource-limited ecosystem that are known to exhibit smaller body masses and occur at lower densities...
Summer snow determines the depth to ice-cemented ground under dry permafrost in Antarctica
C. P. McKay, M. Marinova, Kaj E. Williams, M. Mellon
2025, Antarctic Science
Dry permafrost underlain by ice-cemented permafrost has been reported in several locations in Antarctica. Initially thought to be relic ice, it is now understood that this subsurface ice is in equilibrium with the surface conditions, although it is not in equilibrium with the atmosphere. We use year-round data from University...
Comparisons of shoreline positions from satellite-derived and traditional field- and remote-sensing techniques
Andrea C. O'Neill, Sharon F. Batiste, Daniel D. Buscombe, Joseph Burgess, Kara S. Doran, Ann E. Gibbs, Rachel E. Henderson, Julia L. Heslin, Catherine N. Janda, Mark A. Lundine, Joseph F. Terrano, Jonathan A. Warrick, Kathryn M. Weber
2025, Open-File Report 2025-1054
Satellite-derived shorelines (SDS) have the potential to help researchers answer critical coastal science questions and support work to predict coastal change by filling in the spatial and temporal gaps present in current field-based and remote-sensing data collection methods. The U.S. Geological Survey conducted comparison analyses of traditionally sourced shorelines and...
The acoustic-Doppler current profiler (ADCP): A comprehensive tool for river-reach hydromorphodynamics
Gábor Fleit, Marian Muste, Sándor Baranya, Dongsu Kim, Amanda Whaling, Tate McAlpin, Hojun You
2025, Advances in Water Resources (206)
This paper introduces the use of acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements as input for the Acoustic Mapping Velocimetry (AMV) method, a technique for characterizing the dynamics of riverine bedforms. The performance of this new approach, ADCP-AMV, is compared with input from a multibeam echosounder through a...
Potential thiamine deficiency of phytoplankton across a productivity gradient and seasons in Ohio lakes
Freya Elizabeth Rowland, Michael J. Vanni, Nicole M. Hayes, Clifford E. Kraft
2025, Freshwater Biology (70)
Although nitrogen and phosphorus deficiency of algal blooms have been the focus of substantial attention, organic nutrients can limit algal growth in aquatic systems. Growing evidence indicates thiamine (vitamin B1) can influence the community of primary producers in marine systems, but comparatively little is known about the effect of...
Depth of magma crystallization and fluid exsolution beneath the porphyry-skarn Cu deposits at Santa Rita and Hanover-Fierro, New Mexico, USA
Andreas Audétat, Jia Chang, Sean Patrick Gaynor
2025, Economic Geology (120) 1679-1699
The depth level at which porphyry Cu–forming magmas fractionated and exsolved mineralizing fluids is actively debated. In the classic model, extensive magma fractionation occurs in large, upper crustal magma chambers, and concomitant fluid exsolution leads to forceful expulsion of residual magmas in the form of porphyry dikes, stocks, and breccia...
Trophic assessment of potential competition between invasive cichlids and sport fish in Puerto Rico reservoirs
J. Wesley Neal, Jacob A. Moreland, Corey Garland Dunn, Peter J. Allen
2025, North American Journal of Fisheries Management
Objective Several species of New World cichlids have recently invaded reservoirs in Puerto Rico, potentially jeopardizing established recreationally important, albeit nonnative, sport fish populations. Interactions between invasive species and important sport fish must be understood so that they can be mitigated when feasible. This study compared monthly prey consumption between three...
Temporal changes in nutrient concentrations in the Lower Grand River and selected drainage basins, Missouri and Iowa, during the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (2010–23)
Brock J.W. Kamrath, Courtney N. Lauderback, Jennifer C. Murphy
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5099
This report describes a cooperative study by the U.S. Geological Survey and Missouri Department of Natural Resources that evaluated temporal changes in total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations in the Lower Grand River hydrologic unit. The study focused on trends since 2010, when the basin was designated as...
An evaluation of the effects of different deicing salt application rates on three watersheds in Essex County, New York
Kristina Gutchess, Natasha Scavotto, Amanda Dondero, Joshua Woda, Neil Terry, Kirk Smith, John Williams
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5062
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Transportation, evaluated the effects of different deicing salt application rates on surface water, groundwater, and highway runoff quality near State highways in northern New York. Three reaches of State highways were tested with different deicing treatments between...
Evaluating the central–marginal hypothesis: Introgression and genetic variation at the trailing edge of Quercus bicolor
Jesse B. Parker, Sean Hoban, Laura Thompson, Scott E. Schlarbaum
2025, Molecular Ecology (34)
The central–marginal hypothesis (CMH) predicts reduced genetic diversity and increased differentiation in range-edge populations due to ecological marginality and limited gene flow. Deviations from this pattern, however, can result from historical demographic processes, variation in reproductive strategies or interspecific hybridization. The genus Quercus, known for hybridization and long-distance pollination, offers an...
Spatial occupancy patterns of the endangered northern long‐eared bat in New England
Jesse L De La Cruz, Sabrina M. Deeley, Elizabeth Ann Hunter, W. Mark Ford
2025, Diversity and Distributions (31)
AimWhite-nose syndrome has caused severe declines in eastern North American cave bats, leading to the federal listing of the northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis) as endangered in the United States and Canada. This has heightened the importance of long-term monitoring to inform species status assessments. We employed a combination of...
Detection of viral, bacterial, and protozoan pathogens and microbial source tracking markers in paired large- and small-volume water samples
Joe Heffron, Joel P. Stokdyk, Aaron D. Firnstahl, Rachel M. Cook, Claire E. Hruby, Mark A. Borchardt
2025, ES&T Water
When sampling for waterborne microbes, researchers may need to diverge from recommended sample volumes due to logistical constraints, novel targets, or challenging matrices, with little guidance about the potential impact on results. In field studies, we measured bacteria, viruses, and protozoa (15 quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays)...
Estimating flood discharges at selected annual exceedance probabilities for unregulated, rural streams in Vermont, 2023
Scott A. Olson
2025, Scientific Investigations Report 2025-5088
This report provides estimates of flood discharge at selected annual exceedance probabilities (AEPs) for streamgages in and adjacent to Vermont and equations for estimating flood discharges at AEPs of 50-, 20-, 10-, 4-, 2-, 1-, 0.5-, and 0.2-percent (recurrence intervals of 2-, 5-, 10-, 25-, 50-, 100-, and 500-years, respectively)...
A monitoring framework to assess forest bird population response to landscape scale mosquito suppression using the Incompatible Insect Technique
Seth Judge, Christopher C Warren, Amanda K Navine, Richard J. Camp, Lisa H. Crampton, Hanna L Mounce, John Vetter, Lauren K. Smith, Patrick J. Hart, Mona Renee Bellinger, Katherine Maria McClure
2025, Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit Technical Report HCSU-119
The Birds, Not Mosquitoes Monitoring and Support Science Working Group detailed methods for monitoring the population response of Hawaiian forest birds during implementation of the Incompatible Insect Technique (IIT) on the islands of Maui and Kauaʻi. The group prioritized methods for measuring the influence of mosquito suppression on populations within...
