Strong variation in Brook Trout trends across geology, elevation, and stream size in Shenandoah National Park
Evan S. Childress, David E Demarest, John E.B. Wofford, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Benjamin Letcher
2024, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (153) 250-263
ObjectiveLandscape context structures fish abundance and dynamics, and understanding trends in fish abundance across the landscape is often prerequisite for effective conservation. In this study, we evaluated the status and trends of Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis in Shenandoah National Park to understand how these are structured across bedrock geology,...
A biodynamic model predicting copper and cadmium bioaccumulation in caddisflies: Linkages between field studies and laboratory exposures
Michelle I. Hornberger
2024, PLoSOne (19)
Hydropsyche and Arctopsyche are filter-feeding caddisflies (Order: Trichoptera; Family: Hydropsychidae) that are commonly used to monitor metal exposures in rivers. While tissue residue concentrations provide important bioaccumulation data regarding metal bioavailability, they do not provide information regarding the mechanisms of uptake and loss, or exposure history. This study examined...
Statistical perspective on the petrologic utility of polyphase groundmass compositions inferred via defocused beam electron probe microanalysis
Daniel A. Coulthard Jr., Yoshiyuki Iizuka, Georg F. Zellmer, Raimundo Brahm
2024, Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research (48) 345-358
Polyphase groundmasses (micro-scale minerals with or without glass) are generated from silicate liquids during the cooling of natural lavas often alongside larger minerals formed long before eruption. Many researchers have posited that compositions gleaned from the analysis of groundmasses closely approximate the compositions of the melts they were derived from,...
Wildfire burn severity and stream chemistry influence aquatic invertebrate and riparian avian mercury exposure in forested ecosystems
Garth Herring, Lora B. Tennant, James Willacker, Matthew Johnson, Rodney B. Siegel, Julie S. Polasik, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
2024, Ecotoxicology (33) 131-141
Terrestrial soils in forested landscapes represent some of the largest mercury (Hg) reserves globally. Wildfire can alter the storage and distribution of terrestrial-bound Hg via reemission to the atmosphere or mobilization in watersheds where it may become available for methylation and uptake into food webs. Using...
Tracking cycles of Phanerozoic opening and closing of ocean basins using detrital rutile and zircon geochronology and geochemistry
Margaret L. Odlum, Tomas N. Capaldi, Kelly David Thomson, Daniel F. Stockli
2024, Geology (52) 357-361
Sedimentary basins provide a deep time archive of tectonic and Earth-surface processes that can be leveraged by detrital mineral U-Pb dating and geochemistry to track paleogeography, magmatism, and crustal evolution. Zircon preserves the long-term (billions of years) record of supercontinent cycles; however, it...
Sex-specific recruitment rates contribute to male-biased sex ratio in Adélie penguins
Virginia Morandini, Katie M. Dugger, Annie Schmidt, Arvind Varsani, Amelie Lescroel, Grant Ballard, Phil O'B. Lyver, Kerry Barton, David Ainley
2024, Ecology and Evolution (14)
Sex-related differences in vital rates that drive population change reflect the basic life history of a species. However, for visually monomorphic bird species, determining the effect of sex on demographics can be a challenge. In this study, we investigated the effect of sex on apparent survival, recruitment, and breeding propensity...
The 3D Elevation Program—Supporting Florida's economy
Xan Fredericks, Chris Cretini
2024, Fact Sheet 2023-3037
IntroductionFlorida has the longest coastline of any State in the contiguous United States, and its coastal resources are one of the main drivers of its economic growth. High-quality elevation data are beneficial for use in emergency management, especially for hurricane response, recovery, and mitigation, as well as for coastal zone...
Exposure to and biomarker responses from legacy and emerging contaminants along three drainages in the Milwaukee Estuary, Wisconsin, USA
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Sandra L. Schultz, Natalie Karouna-Renier, Chi Yen Tseng, Cole W. Matson
2024, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (43) 856-877
Legacy contaminants and contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) were assessed in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) tissue and diet samples from three drainages in the Milwaukee estuary, Wisconsin, USA, to understand exposures and possible biomarker responses. Two remote Wisconsin lakes were assessed for comparative purposes....
How quickly do oil and gas wells “Water Out”? Quantifying and contrasting water production trends
Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos
2024, Natural Resources Research (33) 591-608
Water production from petroleum (oil and natural gas) wells is a topic of increasing environmental and economic importance, yet quantification efforts have been limited to date, and patterns between and within petroleum plays are largely unscrutinized. Additionally, classification of reservoirs as “unconventional” (also known as “continuous”)...
Precipitation uncertainty estimation and rainfall-runoff model calibration using iterative ensemble smoothers
Davide Zoccatelli, Daniel B. Wright, Jeremy T. White, Michael N. Fienen, Guo Yu
2024, Advances in Water Resources (186)
The introduction of iterative ensemble smoothers (IES) for parameter calibration opens avenues for expanding parameter space in surface water hydrologic modeling. Here, we have introduced independent parameters into a model calibration experiment to estimate errors in rainfall forcing data. This...
Declining pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) population productivity caused by woody encroachment and oil and gas development
Victoria M. Donovan, Jeffrey L. Beck, Carissa L. Wonkka, Caleb Powell Roberts, Craig R. Allen, Dirac Twidwell
2024, Global Change and Ecology (50)
Conservation is increasingly focused on preventing losses in species’ populations before they occur. Tracking changes in demographic parameters that can impact a population’s resilience in response to drivers of global change can support early conservation efforts. We assessed trends in population productivity...
Assessing trade-offs in developing a landscape-scale nest monitoring programme for a threatened shorebird
Kristen S. Ellis, Michael J. Anteau, Garrett J. MacDonald, Megan M. Ring, Mark H. Sherfy, Rose J. Swift, Dustin L. Toy
2024, Ecological Solutions and Evidence (5)
Effective monitoring of wildlife species requires thorough planning and development of survey programmes that can address management and conservation objectives. Decisions about monitoring programmes include where to survey, survey design and how much effort to allocate at survey sites are typically predicated on limited budgets and available resources. When...
Comparison of longitudinal stream temperature profiles and significant thermal features from airborne thermal infrared and float surveys of the Skykomish, Snoqualmie, and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers, King and Snohomish Counties, Washington, summer 2020 and 2021
Daniel E. Restivo, Mousa Diabat, Chris Miwa, Valerie A.L. Bright
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5146
Summer water temperatures in the Skykomish, Snoqualmie, and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers in western Washington have in recent decades exceeded the water temperature criteria for aquatic life uses set by the Washington Department of Ecology. This temperature increase is of particular concern because these rivers provide critical habitat for several...
Nitrate exposure from drinking water and dietary sources among Iowa farmers using private wells
T. Skalaban, D.A. Thompson, J. Madrigal, B. Blount, M.M. Espinosa, Dana W. Kolpin, N.C. Deziel, R.R. Jones, L.B. Freeman, J.N. Hofmann, M.H. Ward
2024, Science of the Total Envionrment (919)
Nitrate levels are increasing in water resources across the United States and nitrate ingestion from drinking water has been associated with adverse health risks in epidemiologic studies at levels below the maximum contaminant level (MCL). In contrast, dietary nitrate ingestion has generally been associated with beneficial health effects. Few studies...
Metabolism regimes in regulated rivers of the Illinois River basin, USA
Judson Harvey, Jay Choi, Katherine Quion
2024, Scientific Data (11)
Metabolism estimates organic carbon accumulation by primary productivity and removal by respiration. In rivers it is relevant to assessing trophic status and threats to river health such as hypoxia as well as greenhouse gas fluxes. We estimated metabolism in 17 rivers of the Illinois River basin...
Integrating genetic and demographic data to refine indices of abundance for Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River, New York
Shannon L. White, Richard M. Pendleton, Amanda Higgs, Barbara A. Lubinski, Robin L. Johnson, David C. Kazyak
2024, Endangered Species Research (55) 115-126
Critical to Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus recovery and monitoring is the ability to estimate abundance and identify age- and stock-specific threats to survival. As adult Atlantic sturgeon spend much of their lives broadly distributed in marine and estuarine environments, it is challenging to collect data needed to estimate these demographic...
Estimating internal transmitter and external tag retention by Walleye in the Laurentian Great Lakes over multiple years
S.F. Colborne, M.D. Faust, T.O. Brenden, T.A. Hayden, J.M. Robinson, T.M. MacDougall, H.A. Cook, Daniel A. Isermann, D.J. Dembkowski, M. Haffley, C.S. Vandergoot
2024, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (44) 377-393
ObjectiveBoth electronic tags (e.g., acoustic and radio transmitters) and conventional external tags are used to evaluate movement and population dynamics of fish. External tags are also sometimes used to facilitate the recovery of internal electronic tags or other instrumentation because healing can make it difficult to identify...
Lava flow impacts on the built environment: Insights from a new global dataset
Elinor S. Meredith, Susanna F. Jenkins, Josh L. Hayes, David Lallemant, Natalia I. Deligne, Natalie Teng Rui Xue
2024, Journal of Applied Volcanology (13)
The recent destruction of thousands of homes by lava flows from La Palma volcano, Canary Islands, and Nyiragongo volcano, Democratic Republic of Congo, serves as a reminder of the devastating impact that lava flows can have on communities living in volcanically active regions. Damage to buildings...
Monitoring of wave, current, and sediment dynamics along the Fog Point Living Shoreline, Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland
H. Wang, Q. Chen, W.D. Capurso, N. Wang, L.M. Niemoczynski, M. Whitbeck, L. Zhu, Gregg A. Snedden, C.A. Wilson, M.S. Brownley
2024, Open-File Report 2024-1004
Living shorelines with salt marsh species, rock breakwaters, and sand nourishment were built along the coastal areas in the Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland, in 2016 in response to Hurricane Sandy (2012). The Fog Point living shoreline at Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge was designed with the “headland -...
A brief note on substantial sub-daily arsenic variability in pumping drinking-water wells in New Hampshire
Paul M. Bradley, Emily C. Hicks, Joseph P. Levitt, David C. Lloyd, Mhairi M. McDonald, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Joseph D. Ayotte
2024, Science of the Total Environment (919)
Large variations in redox-related water parameters, like pH and dissolved oxygen (DO), have been documented in New Hampshire (United States) drinking-water wells over the course of a few hours under pumping conditions. These findings suggest that comparable sub-daily variability in dissolved concentrations of redox-reactive...
Ecology of an insular snake assemblage in coastal Maine
John D. Willson, Ethan J. Royal, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Meredith C. Swartwout, Chelsea S. Kross
2024, Northeastern Naturalist (31) 13-34
Wildlife populations at the peripheries of their distributions or on isolated islands often display divergent and poorly understood morphological or life-history characteristics compared to core populations. We used a capture–mark–recapture dataset collected over a 19-year period to characterize a northern, insular snake assemblage in...
Developing a photography-based harvest survey to estimate age and subspecies composition of midcontinent sandhill cranes
Andrew J. Dinges, Jay Alan VonBank, Aaron T. Pearse, David A. Brandt
2024, Wildlife Society Bulletin (48)
Midcontinent sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) are managed as a single population, but hunting regulations are structured so harvest is targeted towards the more numerous lesser sandhill cranes (A. c. canadensis). However, research indicates that greater sandhill cranes (A. c. tabida) have been disproportionally exposed...
Annotated bibliography of scientific research on Taeniatherum caput-medusae published from January 2010 to January 2022
Jennifer K. Meineke, Logan M. Maxwell, Alison C. Foster, Laine E. McCall, Tait K. Rutherford, Ella M. Samuel, Lea B. Selby, Joshua S Willems, Nathan J. Kleist, Samuel E. Jordan
2024, Open-File Report 2023-1089
Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey is creating a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of...
Toward a US framework for continuity of satellite observations of Earth's climate and for supporting societal resilience
Duane E. Waliser, Waleed Abdalati, Nancy Baker, Stacey Boland, Michael Bonadonna, Carol Anne Clayson, Belay Demoz, Kelsey Foster, Christian Frankenburg, Maria Hakuba, Therese Jorgensen, Ryan J. Kramer, Daniel Limonadi, Anna M. Michalak, Asal Naseri, Pat Patterson, Peter Pilewskie, Steven Platnick, Charlie Powell, Jeff Privette, Chris Ruf, Tapio Schneider, Jorg Schulz, Paul Selmants, Rashmi Shah, Qianqian Song, Graeme Stephens, Timothy S. Stryker
2024, Earth's Future (12)
There is growing urgency for improved public and commercial services to support a resilient, secure, and thriving United States (US) in the face of mounting decision-support needs for environmental stewardship and hazard response, as well as for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Sustained space-based Earth observations are...
Net carbon sequestration implications of intensified timber harvest in Northeastern U.S. forests
Michelle L. Brown, Charles D. Canham, Thomas Buchholz, John S. Gunn, Therese M. Donovan
2024, Ecosphere (15)
U.S. forests, particularly in the eastern states, provide an important offset to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some have proposed that forest-based natural climate solutions can be strengthened via a number of strategies, including increases in the production of forest biomass energy. We used output from a forest dynamics model (SORTIE-ND)...
