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 M. 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...
Evaluation of recommended revisions to Bulletin 17B
Timothy A. Cohn, Nancy A. Barth, John F. England Jr., Beth A. Faber, Robert R. Mason, Jr., Jery R. Stedinger
2019, Open-File Report 2017-1064
For the past 36 years, Bulletin 17B, published by the Interagency Committee on Water Data in 1982, has guided flood-frequency analyses in the United States. During this period, much has been learned about both hydrology and statistical methods. In keeping with the tradition of periodically updating the Bulletin 17B guidelines...
The limits of earthquake early warning accuracy and best alerting strategy
Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Thomas C. Hanks, Morgan T. Page, Sara K. McBride, Kevin R. Milner, Men-Andrin Meier
2019, Science Advances (9)
We explore how accurate earthquake early warning (EEW) can be, given our limited ability to forecast expected shaking even if the earthquake source is known. Because of the strong variability of ground motion metrics, such as peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV), we find that correct...
Diving behavior of Pink-footed Shearwaters Ardenna creatopus rearing chicks on Isla Mocha, Chile
Josh Adams, Jonathan J. Felis, Max Czapanskiy, Ryan D. Carle, Peter J. Hodum
2019, Marine Ornithology: Journal of Seabird Research and Conservation (47) 17-24
Recent information reporting Pink-footed Shearwater Ardenna creatopus mortality from fisheries bycatch throughout its range has encouraged fisheries managers in Chile to evaluate and consider shearwater foraging behaviors to better evaluate risk. In response, we tracked six chickrearing adult Pink-footed Shearwaters from Isla Mocha, off south-central Chile, from 19 to 28...
Geophysical Characterization of the heat source in the Northwest Geysers, California
Jared R. Peacock, Margaret T. Mangan, Mark Walters, Craig Hartline, Jonathan M.G. Glen, Tait E. Earney, William D. Schermerhorn
2019, Conference Paper, Proceedings, 44th Workshop on Geothermal Reservoir Engineering
The Geysers, in northern California, is the largest energy producing geothermal field in the world. Looking to expand capacity, the operator Calpine Corporation developed an anomalously hot (~400 °C at 2.5 km depth) part of the field in the northwest Geysers, including testing of an enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Though...
Rupture model of the M5.8 Pawnee, Oklahoma earthquake from regional and teleseismic waveforms
Morgan P. Moschetti, Stephen H. Hartzell, R. B. Herrmann
2019, Geophysical Research Letters (46) 2494-2502
The 2016 M5.8 Pawnee, Oklahoma earthquake is the largest earthquake to have been induced by wastewater disposal. We infer the coseismic slip history from analysis of apparent source time functions and inversion of regional and teleseismic P‐waveforms, using aftershocks as empirical Green's functions. The earthquake nucleated on the shallow part...
Nutrients mediate the effects of temperature on methylmercury concentrations in freshwater zooplankton
Meredith P Jordan, A. Robin Stewart, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Angela L Stracker
2019, Science of the Total Environment (667) 601-612
Methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation in freshwater aquatic systems is impacted by anthropogenic stressors, including climate change and nutrient enrichment. The goal of this study was to determine how warmer water temperatures and excess nutrients would alter zooplankton communities and phytoplankton concentrations, and whether those changes would in turn increase or decrease...
Spatial ecology of closely-related taxa: The case of the little shearwater complex in the North Atlantic Ocean
R. Ramos, V.H. Paiva, Z. Zajikova, C. Precheur, William Mackin, A.I. Fagundes, Patrick G.R. Jodice, F. Zino, J. Gonzalez-Solis, V. Bretagnolle
2019, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (191) 482-502
Seabirds inhabiting vast water masses provide numerous examples where opposing phenomena, such as natal and breeding philopatry vs. vagility have dug cryptic taxonomic boundaries among closely related taxa. The taxonomy of little shearwaters of the North Atlantic Ocean (Little–Audubon’s shearwater complex, Puffinus assimilis–lherminieri) still remains unclear, and complementary information on non-breeding...
Estimating sand concentrations using ADCP‐based acoustic inversion in a large fluvial system characterized by bi‐modal suspended‐sediment distributions
Ricardo N. Szupiany, Cecilia Lopez Weibel, Massimo Guerrero, Francisco Latosinski, Molly S. Wood, Lucas Dominguez Ruben, Kevin Oberg
2019, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (44) 1295-1308
Quantifying sediment flux within rivers is a challenge for many disciplines due, mainly, to difficulties inherent to traditional sediment sampling methods. These methods are operationally complex, high cost, and high risk. Additionally, the resulting data provide a low spatial and temporal resolution estimate of the total sediment flux, which has...
Assessing the impact of the Conservation Reserve Program on honey bee health
Clint Otto
2019, Fact Sheet 2018-3082
Insect pollinators are critically important for maintaining U.S. food production and ecosystem health. The upper Midwest is home to more than 40 percent of all U.S. honey bee colonies and is considered by many beekeepers to be America’s last beekeeping refuge. Beekeepers come to this region because their honey bees...
Evaluation of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) fry survival at Lookout Point Reservoir, western Oregon, 2017
Tobias J. Kock, Russell W. Perry, Gabriel S. Hansen, Philip V. Haner, Adam C. Pope, John M. Plumb, Karen M. Cogliati, Amy C. Hansen
2019, Open-File Report 2019-1011
A field study was conducted to estimate survival of fry-sized juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in Lookout Point Reservoir, western Oregon, during 2017. The field study consisted of releasing three groups of genetically marked fish in the reservoir and monthly fish sampling. Fish were released during April 18–19 (43,950...
