Improved enrichment factor calculations through principal component analysis: Examples from soils near breccia pipe uranium mines, Arizona, USA
Carleton R. Bern, Katherine Walton-Day, David L. Naftz
2019, Environmental Pollution (248) 90-100
The enrichment factor (EF) is a widely used metric for determining how much the presence of an element in a sampling media has increased relative to average natural abundance because of human activity. Calculation of an EF requires the selection of both a background composition and a reference element, choices...
Assessment of skin and liver neoplasms in white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) collected in the Sheboygan River Area of Concern, Wisconsin, in 2017
Vicki S. Blazer, Heather L. Walsh, Ryan P. Braham, Patricia M. Mazik
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1014
Two hundred adult white sucker (Catostomus commersonii), age 3 years and older, were collected from the lower Sheboygan River Area of Concern in 2017, during the spring spawning run. Fish were euthanized, weighed, and measured, and any visible abnormalities were documented. Pieces of raised skin lesions as well as five...
Respiratory selenite reductase from Bacillus selenitireducens strain MLS10
Michael L. Wells, Jennifer McGarry, Maissa M Gaye, Partha Basu, Ronald S. Oremland, John F. Stolz
2019, Journal of Bacteriology (201)
The putative respiratory selenite [Se(IV)] reductase (Srr) from Bacillus selenitireducens MLS10 has been identified through a polyphasic approach involving genomics, proteomics, and enzymology. Nondenaturing gel assays were used to identify Srr in cell fractions, and the active band was shown to contain a single protein of 80 kDa. The...
Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland
Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, A. Joshua Leffer, Lindsay Carlson, Katharine C. Kelsey, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffrey Welker
2019, PLoS ONE (14)
With warmer springs, herbivores migrating to Arctic breeding grounds may experience phenological mismatches between their energy demands and the availability of high quality forage. However, the timing of high quality forage relative to the timing of grazing is often unknown. In coastal western Alaska, approximately one million migratory geese arrive...
Antipredator response diminishes during periods of resource deficit for a large herbivore
Brendan A. Oates, J.A. Merkle, Matthew Kauffman, S.R. Dewey, M.D. Jimenez, J.M. Vartanian, S.A. Becker, J.R. Goheen
2019, Ecology (100)
The starvation-predation hypothesis predicts that, during resource shortages, prey forego antipredator behavior and forage as much as possible to avoid starvation, even when risk of predation is high. We tested this hypothesis using GPS locations collected simultaneously from moose (Alces alces) and wolves (Canis lupus) in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem...
Winter precipitation and summer temperature predict lake water quality at macroscales
S. M. Collins, S. Yuan, P. N. Tan, S. K. Oliver, J. F. Lapierre, K. S. Cheruvelil, C. E. Fergus, N. K. Skaff, J. Stachelek, Tyler Wagner, P. A. Soranno
2019, Water Resources Research (55) 2708-2721
Climate change can have strong effects on aquatic ecosystems, including disrupting nutrient cycling and mediating processes that affect primary production. Past studies have been conducted mostly on individual or small groups of ecosystems, making it challenging to predict how future climate change will affect water quality at broad scales. We...
Behavior of adult and young grassland songbirds at fledging
Christine Ribic, David J. Rugg, Nicola Koper, Kevin Ellison, Christoph S. Ng
2019, Journal of Field Ornithology (90) 143-153
The behavior of adults and young at the time of fledging is one of the least understood aspects of the breeding ecology of birds. Current hypotheses propose that fledging occurs either as a result of parent-offspring conflict or nestling choice. We used video recordings to monitor the behavior of nestling...
Recreational impacts to wildlife: Managing visitors and resources to protect wildlife
Jeffrey L. Marion
2019, Report
Publication Abstract: Visitor use management is essential for maximizing benefits for visitors while achieving and maintaining desired resource conditions and visitor experiences on federally managed lands and waters. Visitor capacity, a component of visitor use management, is defined as the maximum amounts and types of visitor use that an...
Harmful algal blooms
U.S. Geological Survey
2019, General Information Product 188
This postcard provides details about "Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms and U.S. Geological Survey Science Capabilities, "Open File Report 2016-1174, where you can find details about how U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists use traditional methods and emerging technologies in collaboration with numerous partners to lead a diverse range of...
Flood-inundation maps for the Yellow River from River Drive to Centerville Highway, Gwinnett County, Georgia
Jonathan W. Musser
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5009
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 16.4-mile reach of the Yellow River in Gwinnett County, Georgia, from 0.5 mile upstream from River Drive to Centerville Highway (Georgia State Route 124) were developed to depict estimates of the areal extent and depth of flooding corresponding to selected water levels (stages) at two...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Tindouf Basin Province, North Africa, 2018
Michael E. Brownfield, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Phuong A. Le, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Janet K. Pitman, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Ronald M. Drake II
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3006
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 2.6 billion barrels of oil and 123.9 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Tindouf Basin Province of North Africa....
Fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), sand roller (Percopsis transmontana), and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) interactions in a Snake River reservoir: A tale of three species
Rulon J. Hemingway, Kenneth F. Tiffan, John M. Erhardt, Tobyn N. Rhodes, Brad K. Bickford
2019, Northwestern Naturalist (100) 26-36
We studied some of the relationships between federally listed fall Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, endemic Sand Roller, Percopsis transmontana, and non-native Smallmouth Bass, Micropterus dolomieu, in Lower Granite Reservoir on the Snake River. Because of its recent reappearance and population increase, the Sand Rollers could be filling the role of a “native invader”...
Contemporary environmental assessment using a viability analysis in a large river system to inform restoration and adaptive management decisions
Robin L. DeBruyne, Edward F. Roseman, Jason E. Ross, Kurt R. Newman, Russell M. Strach
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5002
As large-scale restoration plans for degraded aquatic habitats evolve, it is essential that multiorganizational collaborations have a common vision to achieve consensus on restoration goals. Development of restoration targets and postrestoration monitoring strategies can be focused using a viability analysis framework that supports an adaptive management process. Viability analysis is...
Geochemistry of a thermally immature Eagle Ford Group drill core in central Texas
Katherine L. French, Justin E. Birdwell, Katherine J. Whidden
2019, Organic Geochemistry (131) 19-33
The Upper Cretaceous Eagle Ford Group displays significant lateral and vertical geochemical variability. Much of the work on the Eagle Ford Group has been focused southwest of the San Marcos arch. To more fully characterize the Eagle Ford across the entire region, a thermally immature drill core was acquired...
Towards determining spatial methane distribution on Arctic permafrost bluffs with an unmanned aerial system
Ferdinand K. J. Oberle, Ann E. Gibbs, Bruce M. Richmond, Li H. Erikson, Mark P. Waldrop, Peter W. Swarzenski
2019, SN Applied Sciences (1) 1-9
Arctic permafrost stores vast amounts of methane (CH4) in subsurface reservoirs. Thawing permafrost creates areas for this potent greenhouse gas to be released to the atmosphere. Identifying ‘hot spots’ of methane flux on a local scale has been limited by the spatial scales of traditional ground-based or satellite-based methane-sampling methods....
Long‐term plant community trajectories suggest divergent responses of native and non‐native perennials and annuals to vegetation removal and seeding treatments
Stella M. Copeland, Seth M. Munson, John B. Bradford, Bradley J. Butterfield, Kevin L. Gunnell
2019, Restoration Ecology (27) 821-831
Land managers frequently apply vegetation removal and seeding treatments to restore ecosystem function following woody plant encroachment, invasive species spread, and wildfire. However, the long‐term outcome of these treatments is unclear due to a lack of widespread monitoring. We quantified how vegetation removal (via wildfire or management) with or without...
Diversity and abundance of wild bees in an agriculturally dominated landscape of eastern Colorado
H. S. Arathi, Mark W. Vandever, Brian S. Cade
2019, Journal of Insect Conservation (23) 187-197
Agricultural intensification has resulted in loss of natural and semi-natural habitats impacting several important ecosystem services. One group of organisms that has suffered greatly are the bees and hence pollination, the supporting ecosystem service they complete. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has implemented conservation...
Widespread global peatland establishment and persistence over the last 130,000 y
Claire C. Treat, Thomas Kleinen, Nils Broothaerts , April S. Dalton, Rene Dommain, Thomas A. Douglas, Judith Z. Drexler, Sarah A Finkelstein, Guido Grosse, Geoffrey Hope, Jack Hutchings, Miriam C. Jones, Peter Kuhry, Terri Lacourse, Outi Lahteenoja, Julie Loisel, Bastiaan Notebaert, Richard Payne, Dorothy M. Peteet, A. Britta K. Sannel, Jonathan M. Stelling, Jens Strauss, Graeme T. Swindles, Julie Talbot, Charles Tarnocai, Gert Verstraeten, Christopher J. Williams , Zhengyu Xia, Zicheng Yu, Minna Valiranta, Martina Hattestrand, Helena Alexanderson, Victor Brovkin
2019, PNAS (116) 4822-4827
Glacial−interglacial variations in CO2 and methane in polar ice cores have been attributed, in part, to changes in global wetland extent, but the wetland distribution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 21 ka to 18 ka) remains virtually unknown. We present a study of global peatland extent and carbon (C) stocks...
Current trends and future directions in swan research: Insights from the 6th International Swan Symposium
Kevin Wood, Lei Cao, P. Clausen, Craig R. Ely, L. Luigujoe, Eileen Rees, Jeffrey Snyder, D. Solovyeva, R. Wlodarczyk
2019, Wildfowl
Given their popularity with researchers and public alike, together with their welldocumented importance in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, fundamental and applied research on swans continues to develop in the 21st century. The 6th International Swan Symposium (6th ISS), was held at the Estonian University of Life Sciences in Tartu, Estonia,...
Comparison of aquatic invertebrate communities in near-shore areas with high or low boating activity
Bradley Smith, Steven R. Chipps, Jeff Grote, Jake Mecham, Tanner M. Stevens, Tobias Rapp
2019, Journal of Freshwater Ecology (34) 189-198
Lakeshore areas provide important habitat for aquatic invertebrates in shallow lakes. However, these zones are prone to anthropogenic disturbances that include shoreline development, urbanization, nutrient inputs, agricultural and(or) recreational use. Among recreational uses, public access sites are often developed to accommodate boaters and facilitate lake access via...
Leakage and increasing fluid pressure detected in Oklahoma's wastewater disposal reservoir
Andrew J. Barbour, Lian Xu, Evelyn Roeloffs, Justin Rubinstein
2019, Journal of Geophysical Research 2896-2919
The Arbuckle Group is the principal reservoir used for wastewater disposal in Oklahoma. In Osage County—a seismically quiet part of the state—continuous measurements of fluid pressure reveal that pressure in the reservoir is increasing by at least 5 kPa annually and sometimes at a much higher rate. Tidal analysis reveals...
Effects of land use on greenhouse gas flux in playa wetlands and associated watersheds in the High Plains, USA
Dale W. Daniel, Loren M. Smith, Scott T. McMurry, Brian Tangen, Charles F. Dahl, Ned Euliss, Ted LaGrange
2019, Agricultural Sciences (10) 181-201
In the High Plains, U.S., native prairie conversion to cropland agriculture has resulted in a loss of service delivery capabilities from most depressional wetlands as a result of sedimentation. Restoring historic hydrological conditions to affected wetlands may rejuvenate some services, however, there may be tradeoffs due to emissions of CH4 and...
Flood-inundation maps of the Meramec River from Eureka to Arnold, Missouri, 2018
Benjamin J. Dietsch, Kellan R. Strauch
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5004
Libraries of digital flood-inundation maps that spanned a combined 37.2-mile reach of the Meramec River that extended upstream from Eureka, Missouri, to downstream near the confluence of the Meramec and Mississippi Rivers were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Metropolitan...
Water-balance modeling of selected lakes for evaluating viability as long-term fisheries in Kidder, Logan, and Stutsman Counties, North Dakota
Robert F. Lundgren, Benjamin C. York, Nathan A. Stroh, Aldo V. Vecchia
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2019-5007
Water levels in lakes and wetlands in the central North Dakota Missouri Coteau region that were either dry or only sporadically held water since before the 1930s have been rising since the early 1990s in response to an extended wet period. The lakes have remained full since the mid-1990s, which...
Assessing hazards and risks at the Department of the Interior—A workshop report
Nathan Wood, Alice Pennaz, Kristin Ludwig, Jeanne Jones, Kevin Henry, Jason Sherba, Peter Ng, Jason Marineau, John Juskie
2019, Circular 1453
On February 27–28, 2018, the U.S. Geological Survey and Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Emergency Management (OEM) hosted a workshop to gather input from DOI subject matter experts (SMEs), resource managers, facility managers, emergency managers, and law enforcement personnel. Workshop goals were to (1) determine how DOI Bureaus...
