Toxicokinetics of imidacloprid-coated wheat seeds in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) and an evaluation of hazard
Thomas G. Bean, Michael S. Gross, Natalie Karouna-Renier, Paula F. P. Henry, Sandra L. Schultz, Michelle L. Hladik, Kathryn Kuivila, Barnett A. Rattner
2019, Environmental Science & Technology (53) 3888-3897
Birds are potentially exposed to neonicotinoid insecticides by ingestion of coated seeds during crop planting. Adult male Japanese quail were orally dosed with wheat seeds coated with an imidacloprid (IMI) formulation at either 0.9 mg/kg body weight (BW) or 2.7 mg/kg BW (~3 and 9% of IMI LD50 for Japanese...
Effects of nest exposure and spring temperatures on golden eagle brood survival: An opportunity for mitigation
Michael N. Kochert, Karen Steenhof, Jessi L. Brown
2019, Journal of Raptor Research (53) 91-97
We examined Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) brood survival in relation to spring temperatures and exposure of nests to afternoon sun in southwestern Idaho from 1970 through 2012. Most (77%) nests classified as shaded in a subset of 96 nests had northwest to east aspects, and most (71%) nests classified as...
Spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant
Alan G. Leach, David H. Ward, James S. Sedinger, Thomas V. Riecke, Jerry W. Hupp, Robert J. Ritchie
2019, Journal of Wildlife Management (83) 304-311
On average, band recovery rates of adult black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) more than doubled between the 2000s and 2010s. However, the spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant has not been reported. Our objective was to describe the spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant since 1990....
Modeling riparian restoration impacts on the hydrologic cycle at the Babacomari Ranch, SE Arizona, USA
Laura M. Norman, James B. Callegary, Laurel Lacher, Natalie R. Wilson, Chloé Fandel, Brandon T. Forbes, Tyson Swetnam
2019, Water (11) 1-20
This paper describes coupling field experiments with surface and groundwater modeling to investigate rangelands of SE Arizona, USA using erosion-control structures to augment shallow and deep aquifer recharge. We collected field data to describe the physical and hydrological properties before and after gabions (caged riprap) were installed in an ephemeral...
Using motion-activated cameras to study diet and productivity of cliff-nesting Golden Eagles
Jordan Harrison, Michael N. Kochert, Benjamin P. Pauli, Julie A. Heath
2019, Journal of Raptor Research (53) 26-37
Studies of cliff-nesting raptors can be challenging because direct observations of nest contents are difficult. Our goals were to develop a protocol for installing motionactivated trail cameras at Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) nests to record diet information and productivity, and to estimate prey detection probability using different diet study methods. In 2014 and 2015,...
Optimizing historic preservation under climate change: Decision support for cultural resource adaptation planning in national parks
Xiao Xiao, Erin Seekamp, Max Post van der Burg, Mitchell J. Eaton, Sandra Fatoric, Allie McCreary
2019, Land Use Policy (83) 379-389
Climate change poses great challenges for cultural resource management, particularly in coastal areas. Cultural resources, such as historic buildings, in coastal areas are vulnerable to climate impacts including inundation, deterioration, and destruction from sea-level rise and storm-related flooding and erosion. However, research that assesses the trade-offs between actions for protecting vulnerable and valuable cultural resources under budgetary constraints is...
Modeling δ18O as an early indicator of regime shift arising from salinity stress in coastal vegetation
Su Yean Teh, Hock Lye Koh, Donald L. DeAngelis, Clifford I. Voss, Leonel da Silveira Lobo Sternberg
2019, Hydrogeology Journal (27) 1257-1276
In many important coastal habitats, a combination of increasing soil salinization due to sea level rise, reduced precipitation and storm surges may induce regime shift from salinity-intolerant glycophytic vegetation to salinity-tolerant halophytic species. Early detection of regime shift due to salinity stress in vegetation may facilitate conservation efforts. It has...
The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI): Mapping the Nation’s critical mineral resources
Warren C. Day
2019, Fact Sheet 2019-3007
The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI; formerly known as 3DEEP) is planned as a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), and other Federal, State, and private-sector organizations. The goal of the effort is to improve our knowledge of the geologic framework...
Coagulant and sorbent efficacy in removing mercury from surface waters in the Cache Creek watershed, California
Erica R. De Parsia, Jacob A. Fleck, David P. Krabbenhoft, Kim Hoang, David Roth, Paul Randall
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1001
Cache Creek drains part of northern California’s Coast Ranges and is an important source of mercury (Hg) to the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. Cache Creek is contaminated with Hg from several sources, including historical Hg and gold mines, native Hg in the soils, and active mineral springs. In laboratory experiments in...
California’s exposure to volcanic hazards
Margaret Mangan, Jessica Ball, Nathan Wood, Jamie L. Jones, Jeff Peters, Nina Abdollahian, Laura Dinitz, Sharon Blankenheim, Johanna Fenton, Cynthia Pridmore
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5159
The potential for damaging earthquakes, landslides, floods, tsunamis, and wildfires is widely recognized in California. The same cannot be said for volcanic eruptions, despite the fact that they occur in the state about as frequently as the largest earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault. At least ten eruptions have taken...
Taxonomic harmonization may reveal a stronger association between diatom assemblages and total phosphorus in large datasets
Sylvia S Lee, Ian W. Bishop, Sarah A. Spaulding, Richard M. Mitchell, Lester Yuan
2019, Ecological Indicators (102) 166-174
Diatom data have been collected in large-scale biological assessments in the United States, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA). However, the effectiveness of diatoms as indicators may suffer if inconsistent taxon identifications across different...
Diel activity of newly metamorphosed juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
Scott M. Miehls, Christopher Holbrook, J. Ellen Marsden
2019, PLoS ONE (14) 1-17
Timing of activity, especially for juvenile anadromous fishes undertaking long migrations can be critical for survival. River-resident larval sea lamprey metamorphose into juveniles and migrate from their larval stream habitats in fall through spring, but diel timing of this migratory behavior is not well understood. Diel activity was determined for...
Life history of the endemic saddleback crayfish, Faxonius medius (Faxon, 1884), (Decapoda: Cambaridae) in Missouri, USA
Robert J. DiStefano, J.T. Westhoff, C.J. Rice, Amanda E. Rosenberger
2019, Freshwater Crayfish (24) 1-13
The saddleback crayfish, Faxonius medius (Faxon, 1884), is endemic to a single drainage in eastern Missouri, USA, that is affected by heavy metals mining, and adjacent to a rapidly-expanding urban area. We studied populations of F. medius in two small streams for 18 months to describe the annual reproductive...
Upgrades to a Fortran program for estimating stream transit losses of reusable water, El Paso and Pueblo Counties, Colorado
Susan J. Colarullo, Lisa D. Miller
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5163
In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority and the Colorado Water Conservation Board, began a study to modernize a Fortran transit-loss accounting program developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to estimate net reusable flows in Fountain and Monument Creeks in El Paso and...
Can’t see the random forest for the decision trees: Selecting predictive models for restoration ecology
David Barnard, Matthew Germino, David Pilliod, Robert Arkle, Cara Applestein, Bill Davidson, Matthew Fisk
2019, Restoration Ecology (27) 1053-1063
Improving predictions of restoration outcomes is increasingly important to resource managers for accountability and adaptive management, yet there is limited guidance for selecting a predictive model from the multitude available. The goal of this paper was to identify an optimal predictive framework for restoration ecology using eleven modeling frameworks (including,...
Estimation of base flow on ungaged, periodically measured streams in small watersheds in western Pennsylvania
Elizabeth A. Hittle, Dennis W. Risser
2019, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5150
A 2.5-year data collection program was undertaken by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP), to quantify and estimate base flow in small watersheds in western Pennsylvania where only periodic streamflow measurements had been obtained. Twelve streamgages with watershed areas of less than...
Reimagining the potential of Earth observations for ecosystem service assessments
Carlos Ramirez-Reyes, Kate A. Brauman, Rebecca Chaplin-Kramer, Gillian L. Galford, Susana B. Adamo, Christopher B. Anderson, Clarissa Anderson, Ginger R. H. Allington, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Michael T. Coe, Anna F. Cord, Laura E. Dee, Rachelle K. Gould, Meha Jain, Virginia A. Kowal, Frank E. Muller-Karger, Jessica Norriss, Peter V. Potapov, Jiangxiao Qui, Jesse T. Rieb, Brian E. Robinson, Leah H. Samberg, Nagendra Singh, Sabrina H. Szeto, Brian Voigt, Keri Watson, T. Maxwell Wright
2019, Science of the Total Environment (665) 1053-1063
The benefits nature provides to people, called ecosystem services, are increasingly recognized and accounted for in assessments of infrastructure development, agricultural management, conservation prioritization, and sustainable sourcing. These assessments are often limited by data, however, a gap with tremendous potential to be filled through Earth observations (EO), which produce a variety...
Factors affecting species richness and distribution spatially and temporally within a protected area using multi-season occupancy models
Jennifer F. Moore, James E. Hines, Michel K. Masozera
2019, Animal Conservation (22) 503-514
Exploring trends in species richness and the distribution of individual species over time as well as the factors affecting these trends informs conservation priorities in protecting species and ecosystems as a whole. We used data from 41 park-wide line transect surveys in 2009 and 2014 and multi-season occupancy models with...
Associations between environmental pollutants and larval amphibians in wetlands contaminated by energy-related brines are potentially mediated by feeding traits
Kelly L. Smalling, Chauncey W. Anderson, R. Ken Honeycutt, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli, Todd M. Preston, Blake R. Hossack
2019, Environmental Pollution (248) 260-268
Energy production in the Williston Basin, located in the Prairie Pothole Region of central North America, has increased rapidly over the last several decades. Advances in recycling and disposal practices of saline wastewaters (brines) co-produced during energy production have reduced ecological risks, but spills still occur often and legacy practices of releasing brines into the environment...
Assessing vulnerability and threat from housing development to Conservation Opportunity Areas in State Wildlife Action Plans across the United States
Sarah K. Carter, Shelley S. Maxted, Tara L. E. Bergeson, David P. Helmers, Lori Scott, Volker C. Radeloff
2019, Landscape and Urban Planning (185) 237-245
Targeting conservation actions efficiently requires information on vulnerability of and threats to conservation targets, but such information is rarely included in conservation plans. In the U.S., recently updated State Wildlife Action Plans identify Conservation Opportunity Areas (COAs) selected by each state as priority areas for future action to conserve wildlife...
Kinetics of elemental sulfur reduction by petroleum hydrocarbons and the implications for hydrocarbon thermal chemical alteration
Geoffrey S. Ellis, Tongwei Zhang, Paul G. Kralert, Yongchun Tang
2019, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (251) 192-216
Although sulfur-containing compounds are known to play a significant role in the diagenic and catagenic processes that generate oil and gas, relatively little is known about the kinetics of reactions between elemental S and petroleum hydrocarbons. To investigate this subject, a series of closed-system pyrolysis experiments using paraffin, a low-sulfur...
Morphodynamics of a field of crescent-shaped rippled scour depressions: Northern Monterey Bay, CA
Kurt J. Rosenberger, Curt D. Storlazzi, Peter Dartnell
2019, Marine Geology (407) 44-59
Despite the prevalence of rippled scour depression (RSD) on the world's continental shelves and their importance as nursery habitats for many commercially-important species, the processes responsible for their formation and geomorphic evolution are still not well understood. Most studies that focused on RSD evolution have been based on data acquired over multiple...
Least Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) surveys in the Hansen Dam Basin, Los Angeles County, California—2018 data summary
Ryan E. Pottinger, Barbara E. Kus
2019, Data Series 1103
Executive SummaryWe surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; vireo) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers along Big Tujunga Creek in the Hansen Dam Basin in Los Angeles County, California, in 2018. Four vireo surveys were conducted between...
Assessing lek attendance of male greater sage‐grouse using fine‐resolution GPS data: Implications for population monitoring of lek mating grouse
Gregory T. Wann, Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, John P. Severson, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge
2019, Population Ecology (61) 183-197
Counts of males displaying on breeding grounds are the primary management tool used to assess population trends in lekking grouse species. Despite the importance of male lek attendance (i.e., proportion of males on leks available for detection) influencing lek counts, patterns of within season and between season variability in attendance...
Slough evolution and legacy mercury remobilization induced by wetland restoration in South San Francisco Bay
Amy C. Foxgrover, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Bruce E. Jaffe, Theresa A. Fregoso
2019, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (220) 1-12
Coastal wetlands have a long history of degradation and destruction due to human development. Now recognized as one of the most productive ecosystems in the world, substantial efforts are being made to restore this critical habitat. While wetland restoration efforts are generally viewed as beneficial in terms of providing wildlife...
