Comparing methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program for deriving shoreline position from lidar data
Amy S. Farris, Kathryn M. Weber, Kara S. Doran, Jeffrey H. List
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1121
The U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program uses three methods to derive a datum-based, mean high water shoreline on open-ocean coasts from light detection and ranging (lidar) elevation surveys. This work compared the shorelines produced by the three methods for two different surveys: one survey with simple beach...
Water-quality response to changes in phosphorus loading of the Winnebago Pool Lakes, Wisconsin, with special emphasis on the effects of internal loading in a chain of shallow lakes
Dale M. Robertson, Benjamin J. Siebers, Matthew W. Diebel, Andrew J. Somor
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5099
The Winnebago Pool is a chain of four shallow lakes (Lake Poygan, Lake Winneconne, Lake Butte des Morts, and Lake Winnebago) that are fed primarily by the Fox and Wolf Rivers, two large agriculturally dominated rivers in Wisconsin, United States. Because the lakes have received extensive phosphorus inputs from their...
A physics-based earthquake simulator replicates seismic hazard statistics across California
Bruce E. Shaw, Kevin R. Milner, Edward H. Field, Keith B. Richards-Dinger, Jacquelyn J. Gilchrist, James H. Dieterich, Thomas H. Jordan
2018, Science Advances (4) 1-9
Seismic hazard models are important for society, feeding into building codes and hazard mitigation efforts. These models, however, rest on many uncertain assumptions and are difficult to test observationally because of the long recurrence times of large earthquakes. Physics-based earthquake simulators offer a potentially helpful tool, but they face a...
Social attraction used to establish Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) nesting colonies on modified islands at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, California—Final report
C. Alex Hartman, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Cheryl Strong, David Trachtenbarg, Crystal A. Shore
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1136
To address the 2008/2010 and Supplemental 2014 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Biological Opinion for operation of the Federal Columbia River Power System, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) developed and began implementation of Caspian tern (Hydroprogne caspia) management plans. This...
Temporal records of diet diversity dynamics in individual adult female Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) vibrissae
Andrew C. Doll, Brian D. Taras, Craig A. Stricker, Lorrie D. Rea, Todd M. O'Hara, Andrew P. Cyr, S. Mcdermott, T.M. Loomis, Brian S. Fadely, Michael B. Wunder
2018, Oecologia (188) 263-275
Detailed information on the nutrition of free-ranging mammals contributes to the understanding of life history requirements, yet is often quite limited temporally for most species. Reliable dietary inferences can be made by analyzing the stable carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) isotopic values (δ13C and δ15N) of some...
Evaluation of key scientific issues in the report, “State of the mountain lion—A call to end trophy hunting of America’s lion”
James W. Cain III, Michael S. Mitchell
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1128
In their recently published report, State of the Mountain Lion: A Call to End Trophy Hunting of America’s Lion, the Humane Society of the United States suggested that mountain lion (Puma concolor) hunting should be abolished in the United States. The report claims this recommendation is based on scientific...
Annual cycle of White-winged Scoters (Melanitta fusca) in eastern North America: Migratory phenology, population delineation, and connectivity
D.E. Meatey, S.R. McWilliams, P.W.C. Paton, C. Lepage, S.G. Gilliland, L. Savoy, Glenn H. Olsen, J.D. Osenkowski
2018, Canadian Journal of Zoology (96) 1353-1365
Understanding full annual cycle movements of long-distance migrants is essential for delineating populations, assessing connectivity, evaluating crossover effects between life stages, and informing management strategies for vulnerable or declining species. We used implanted satellite transmitters to track up to 2 years of annual cycle movements of 52 adult female White-winged...
Geologic map of the Castle Rock 7.5' quadrangle, Arizona and California
Kyle House, Barbara E. John, Daniel V. Malmon, Debra Block, L. Sue Beard, Tracey J. Felger, Ryan S. Crow, Jonathan E. Schwing, Colleen E. Cassidy
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3411
The Castle Rock quadrangle is in the northeast corner of Chemehuevi Valley, California and Arizona. It includes the Colorado River’s entrance to the valley at the mouth of Topock Gorge and the northern outskirts of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, and the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe community of Havasu Lake, California. The...
Floristic quality index and forested floristic quality index: Assessment tools for restoration projects and monitoring sites in coastal Louisiana
Kari Cretini, William B. Wood, Jenneke M. Visser, Ken W. Krauss, Leigh Anne Sharp, Gregory D. Steyer, Gary P. Shaffer, Sarai Piazza
John Dorney, Rick Savage, R.W. Tiner Jr., Paul Adamus, editor(s)
2018, Book chapter, Wetland and stream rapid assessments: Development, validation, and application
The Floristic Quality Index (FQI) has been used in many areas throughout the United State to assess the integrity of plant communities and restoration projects. Here, we summarize two tools that have been developed for monitoring sites in coastal Louisiana wetlands. The FQI was modified for herbaceous data collected in...
Accuracy assessment of NLCD 2011 impervious cover data for the Chesapeake Bay region, USA
James Wickham, Nate Herold, Stephen V. Stehman, Collin Homer, George Z. Xian, Peter Claggett
2018, ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (146) 151-160
The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) contains three eras (2001, 2006, 2011) of percentage urban impervious cover (%IC) at the native pixel size (30 m-x-30 m) of the Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite. These data are potentially valuable to environmental managers and stakeholders because of the utility of %IC as...
Forecasting effects of angler harvest and climate change on smallmouth bass abundance at the southern edge of their range
Christopher R. Middaugh, Daniel D. Magoulick
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-18
Climate change will affect stream systems in numerous ways over the coming century. Globally, streams are expected to experience changes in temperature and flow regime. Previous work has indicated that these changes will likely affect fish distributions, but little work has been conducted examining population level effects of climate change...
Implementation of MOVE.1, censored MOVE.1, and piecewise MOVE.1 low-flow regressions with applications at partial-record streamgaging stations in New Jersey
Susan J. Colarullo, Samantha L. Sullivan, Amy R. McHugh
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1089
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) uses Maintenance of Variance Extension Type 1 (MOVE.1) regression to transfer streamflows measured at long-term continuous-record streamgaging stations to partial-record (PR) streamgaging stations where intermittent base-flow measurements are available. MOVE.1 regression is used widely throughout the hydrologic community to extend historic low flows and low-flow...
Streamflow - Water Year 2017
Xiaodong Jian, David M. Wolock, Steven J. Brady, Harry F. Lins
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3056
The maps and graphs in this summary describe national streamflow conditions for water year 2017 (October 1, 2016, to September 30, 2017) in the context of streamflow ranks relative to the 88-year period of 1930–2017, unless otherwise noted. The illustrations are based on observed data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...
Habitat type and structure affect trap capture success of an invasive snake across variable densities
Melia G. Nafus, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Page E. Klug, Gordon H. Rodda
2018, Ecosphere (9) 1-14
Detection represents an important limitation of accurately estimating population size, abundance, and habitat suitability for wildlife, which can be especially true for cryptic animals. Moreover, for reptiles, juveniles are often less likely to be detected than later life stages. In the case of invasive species, preventing false negatives early in...
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Midlands area, England, 2018
Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Tracey J. Mercier, Cheryl A. Woodall, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Phuong A. Le, Michael E. Brownfield, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3028
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 319 million barrels of oil and 8.3 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Midlands area of England....
Water temperature in the Lower Quinault River, Olympic Peninsula, Washington, June 2016 - August 2017
Kristin L. Jaeger, Christopher A. Curran, Elyse J. Wulfkuhle, Chad C. Opatz
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1129
The availability of cold-water refugia during summertime river-water temperature maximums is important for cold-water fish species including Endangered Species Act listed salmonids since water temperature influences metabolism, growth, and phenology. The U.S. Geological Survey monitored water temperature at 10 sites approximately evenly-spaced along the lower Quinault River on the Olympic...
Multiple metrics provide context for the distribution of a highly mobile fish predator, the blue catfish
Kayla M. Gerber, Martha E. Mather, Joseph M. Smith, Zachary J. Peterson
2018, Ecology of Freshwater Fish (28) 141-155
Data sets with increased spatial and temporal resolution can help researchers and resource managers quantify representative distributional patterns of mobile sportfish. In this research, first, we illustrate patterns of sportfish distribution using individual (percent of population, residence time, number of movements) and combined distributional metrics. Second, we apply these metrics...
Spatial and temporal variability of pCO2, carbon fluxes and saturation state on the West Florida Shelf
L. Robbins, K. Daley, L. Barbero, R. Wanninkhof, R.L. Heathcote, H. Zong, John T. Lisle, W.-J. Cai, C. Smith
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans (123) 6174-6188
The West Florida Shelf (WFS) is a source of uncertainty for the Gulf of Mexico carbon budget. Data from the synthesis of approximately 135,000 pCO2 values from over 96 cruises from the WFS show that the shelf waters fluctuate between being a weak source to a weak sink of carbon...
Hydrologic performance of retrofit rain gardens in a residential neighborhood (Cleveland Ohio USA) with a focus on monitoring methods
William D. Shuster, Robert A. Darner
2018, Report
Green infrastructure refers to a range of urban stormwater management tools that can be flexibly implemented. These practices can aid in mitigating the negative impacts of runoff by increasing catchment detention capacity. We studied two engineered rain gardens (Cleveland OH) that were designed to infiltrate and detain direct runoff volume...
Comparison of microbiomes of cold-water corals Primnoa pacifica and Primnoa resedaeformis, with possible link between microbiome composition and host genotype
Dawn B. Goldsmith, Christina A. Kellogg, Cheryl L. Morrison, Michael A. Gray, Robert P. Stone, Rhian G. Waller, Sandra D. Brooke, Steve W. Ross
2018, Scientific Reports (8)
Cold-water corals provide critical habitats for a multitude of marine species, but are understudied relative to tropical corals. Primnoa pacifica is a cold-water coral prevalent throughout Alaskan waters, while another species in the genus, Primnoa resedaeformis, is widely distributed in the Atlantic Ocean. This study examined the V4-V5 region of the 16S rRNA...
Framework geologic map and structure sections along the Bartlett Springs fault zone and adjacent area from Round Valley to Wilbur Springs, northern Coast Ranges, California
Robert J. McLaughlin, Barry C. Moring, Christopher S. Hitchcock, Zenon C. Valin
2018, Scientific Investigations Map 3395
The geologic map and accompanying report describes the extent, complexity, architecture, and evolution of the Bartlett Springs Fault Zone between Clear Lake and Round Valley, California. This fault zone is the eastern-most known active member of the San Andreas transform margin in northern California. It is of particular interest for...
Bovine tuberculosis management in northwest Minnesota and implications of the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model for wildlife disease management
Megan Cross, Alex Heeren, Louis Cornicelli, David C. Fulton
Daniel J. O’Brien, editor(s)
2018, Frontiers in Veterinary Science (5) 1-11
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is an infectious, zoonotic disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis that can spread between domestic and wild animals, as well as to humans. The disease is characterized by the progressive development of lesions that compromise the victim's lungs and lymph system. The disease was first identified in northwest Minnesota in...
Potential toxicity of dissolved metal mixtures (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn) to early life stage white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) in the Upper Columbia River, Washington, United States
Laurie S. Balistrieri, Christopher A. Mebane, Stephen E. Cox, Holly J. Puglis, Robin D. Calfee, Ning Wang
2018, Environmental Science & Technology (52) 9793-9800
The Upper Columbia River (UCR) received historical releases of smelter waste resulting in elevated metal concentrations in downstream sediments. Newly hatched white sturgeon hide within the rocky substrate at the sediment–water interface in the UCR for a few weeks before swim-up. Hiding behavior could expose them to metal contaminants, and...
Bedrock mapping and seismic hazard assessment at Gold Basin landslide, Washington
Lydia M. Staisch
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1132
The Gold Basin landslide is located along the South Fork Stillaguamish River, within the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest in western Washington State. Recent concerns related to slope stability after the 2014 State Route 530 Landslide near Oso, Washington, forced the closure of the U.S. Forest Service Gold Basin Campground in...
Spatial and temporal variability of myxozoan parasite, Myxobolus inornatus, prevalence in young of the year smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania
Megan K. Schall, Vicki S. Blazer, Heather L. Walsh, Geoffrey D. Smith, Timothy Wertz, Tyler Wagner
2018, Journal of Fish Diseases (41) 1689-1700
A myxozoan parasite, Myxobolus inornatus, is one disease agent identified in young of the year (YOY) smallmouth bass in the Susquehanna River Basin, Pennsylvania. We investigated spatial and temporal variability in M. Inornatus prevalence across the Susquehanna River Basin and at several out-of-basin sites. We examined potential land use drivers of M. Inornatus prevalence including agricultural and developed...
