Size and age of Stonecats in Lake Champlain; Estimating growth at the margin of their range to aid in population management
Elizabeth A. Puchala, Donna L. Parrish, Derek H. Ogle
2018, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (38) 1316-1323
Little is known about populations of Stonecat Noturus flavus, especially in the northeastern United States, where they are at the edge of their range. In Lake Champlain tributaries, Stonecats are listed as endangered in Vermont but not in New York. Here we describe the growth of Stonecats in two tributaries to...
Integrating physiological stress into the movement ecology of migratory ungulates: A spatial analysis with mule deer
David S. Jachowski, Matthew Kauffman, Brett R. Jesmer, Hall Sawyer, Joshua J. Millspaugh
2018, Conservation Physiology (6) 1-12
Rapid climate and human land-use change may limit the ability of long-distance migratory herbivores to optimally track or “surf” high-quality forage during spring green-up. Understanding how anthropogenic and environmental stressors influence migratory movements is of critical importance because of their potential to cause a mismatch between the timing of...
The San Andreas Fault System--Complexities along a major transform fault system and relation to earthquake hazards
Katherine M. Scharer, Ashley Streig
2018, Book chapter, Transform plate boundaries and fracture zones
The San Andreas Fault System is a 1300-km-long transform boundary that accommodates motion between the North American and Pacific Plates. New technologies and data reveal rich details about the present configuration of faults, distribution of strain and associated seismic hazard on this complex network of faults. This contribution...
Groundwater contributions to excessive algal growth in the East Fork Carson River, Carson Valley, west-central Nevada, 2010 and 2012
Nancy L. Alvarez, Randy A. Pahl, Michael R. Rosen
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5102
Excessive algal growth and low dissolved oxygen concentrations were observed during low streamflow conditions during summer months along a 5,800-foot reach of the East Fork Carson River in Carson Valley, west-central Nevada. Algal growth from nutrient enrichment of a stream reduces aquatic diversity, threatens fish ecology and stream health, and...
Assessment of continuous oil and gas resources of the Putumayo-Oriente-Marañón Basin Province of Colombia, Ecuador, and Perú, 2018
Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, Janet K. Pitman, Thomas M. Finn, Phuong A. Le, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3048
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 1.1 billion barrels of oil and 793 billion cubic feet of gas in the Putumayo-Oriente-Marañón Basin Province of Colombia, Ecuador, and Perú....
Ecohydrologic changes caused by hydrologic disconnection of ephemeral stream channels in Mojave National Preserve, California
Kimberlie Perkins, David M. Miller, Darren R. Sandquist, Miguel Macias, Aimee Roach
2018, Vadose Zone Journal (17)
Emplacement of highways and railroads has altered natural hydrologic systems by influencing surface-water flow paths and biotic communities in Mojave National Preserve. Infiltration experiments were conducted along active and abandoned channels to evaluate changes in hydrology and related effects on plant water availability and use. Simulated rainfall infiltration experiments with...
A new modeling approach to prioritize riparian restoration to reduce sediment loading in two Virginia river basins
Lisa N. Scott, Amy M. Villamagna, Paul L. Angermeier
2018, Environmental Management (62) 721-739
Human impact, particularly land cover changes (e.g., agriculture, construction) increase erosion and sediment loading into streams. Benthic species are negatively affected by silt deposition that coats and embeds stream substrate. Given that riparian buffers are effective sediment filters, riparian restoration is increasingly implemented by conservation groups to protect stream habitats....
Diel fledging patterns among grassland passerines: Relative impacts of energetics and predation risk
Christine Ribic, Christoph Ng, Nicola Koper, Kevin Ellison, Pamela J. Pietz, David J. Rugg
2018, The Auk (135) 1100-1112
The time of day that nestlings fledge from a nest is thought to be shaped by predation risk and energetics. To minimize predation risk, fledging is predicted to start as early in the day as possible so that nestlings can maximize time outside the nest to find a safe place...
Sensor suite: The Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory Instrumentation Testing Suite
A. Kearns, Adam T. Ringler, James Holland, Tyler Storm, David C. Wilson, Robert E. Anthony
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 2374-2385
To standardize parameters used in seismometer testing and calibration and to make these algorithms accessible to the seismological community, we have developed a new seismometer testing software package called Albuquerque Seismological Laboratory (ASL) Sensor Test Suite. This software is written in Java and makes use of Seismological Exchange for Earthquake...
Effects of leg flags on nest survival of four species of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds
Emily L. Weiser, Richard B. Lanctot, Stephen C. Brown, H. River Gates, Rebecca L. Bentzen, Megan L. Boldenow, Jenny A. Cunningham, Andrew C. Doll, Tyrone F. Donnelly, Willow B. English, Samantha E. Franks, Kristen Grond, Patrick Herzog, Brooke L. Hill, Steve J. Kendall, Eunbi Kwon, David B. Lank, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Jennie Rausch, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Audrey R. Taylor, David H. Ward, Paul F. Wood, Brett K. Sandercock
2018, Journal of Field Ornithology (89) 287-297
Marking wild birds is an integral part of many field studies. However, if marks affect the vital rates or behavior of marked individuals, any conclusions reached by a study might be biased relative to the general population. Leg bands have rarely been found to have negative effects on birds and...
Effects of urban stormwater and iron‐enhanced sand filtration on Daphnia magna and Pimephales promelas
Benjamin M. Westerhoff, David J. Fairbairn, Mark L. Ferrey, Adriana Matilla, Jordan Kunkel, Sarah M. Elliott, Richard L. Kiesling, Dustin Woodruff, Heiko L. Schoenfuss
2018, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (37) 2645-2659
Urban stormwater is an important but incompletely characterized contributor to surface‐water toxicity. The present study used 5 bioassays of 2 model organisms (Daphnia magnaand fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas) to investigate stormwater toxicity and mitigation by full‐scale iron‐enhanced sand filters (IESFs). Stormwater samples were collected from major stormwater conveyances and full‐scale IESFs...
Practical approaches to maximizing the resolution of sparker seismic reflection data
Jared W. Kluesner, Daniel S. Brothers, Patrick E. Hart, Nathaniel C. Miller, Gerry A. Hatcher
2018, Marine Geophysical Research (40) 279-301
Sparkers are a type of sound source widely used by the marine seismic community to provide high-resolution imagery of the shallow sub-bottom (i.e., < 1000 m). Although sparkers are relatively simple, inexpensive, and high-frequency (100–2500 Hz) sources, they have several potential pitfalls due to their complicated and unpredictable signature. In this study we...
Williston Basin groundwater availability, United States and Canada
Joanna N. Thamke, Andrew J. Long, Kyle W. Davis
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3046
The Williston Basin contains important oil and gas resources for the Nation. Freshwater supplies are limited in this semiarid area, and oil and gas development can require large volumes of freshwater. Groundwater is the primary source of water for many water users in the Williston Basin, so to better understand...
Local factors associated with on‐host flea distributions on prairie dog colonies
Robin E. Russell, Rachel C. Abbott, Daniel W. Tripp, Tonie E. Rocke
2018, Ecology and Evolution (8) 8951-8972
Outbreaks of plague, a flea‐vectored bacterial disease, occur periodically in prairie dog populations in the western United States. In order to understand the conditions that are conducive to plague outbreaks and potentially predict spatial and temporal variations in risk, it is important to understand the factors associated with flea abundance...
Temperature regimes, growth, and food consumption for female and male adult walleye in Lake Huron and Lake Erie: a bioenergetics analysis
Charles P. Madenjian, Todd A. Hayden, Tyler B. Peat, Christopher Vandergoot, David G. Fielder, Ann Marie Gorman, Steven A. Pothoven, John M. Dettmers, Steven J. Cooke, Yingming Zhao, Charles C. Krueger
2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (75) 1573-1586
Bioenergetics modeling was used to assess the relative importance of food availability and water temperature in determining walleye (Sander vitreus) growth. Temperature regimes experienced by both female and male adult walleye in three basins of Lake Huron and in Lake Erie were determined by use of surgically implanted temperature loggers...
Assessment of oil and gas resources in the Upper Jurassic Haynesville and Bossier Formations, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016
Stanley T. Paxton
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1135
The U.S. Geological Survey completed a geology-based assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Haynesville and Bossier Formations of the onshore and State waters portion of the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Haynesville Formation conventional oil and gas production began in the late 1930s, whereas Bossier Formation production...
U.S. Geological Survey input-data forms for the assessment of the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016
Stanley T. Paxton, Janet K. Pitman, Scott A. Kinney, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Ofori N. Pearson, Katherine J. Whidden, Russell F. Dubiel, Christopher J. Schenk, Lauri A. Burke, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Tracey J. Mercier, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Phuong A. Le, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Sarah J. Hawkins, Kristen R. Marra, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1130
IntroductionIn 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an updated assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Upper Jurassic Haynesville Formation of the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast Province (Paxton and others, 2017). The Haynesville Formation was assessed using both the standard continuous (unconventional) and conventional methodologies...
U.S. Geological Survey input-data forms for the assessment of the Upper Jurassic Bossier Formation, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2016
Stanley T. Paxton, Janet K. Pitman, Scott A. Kinney, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Ofori N. Pearson, Katherine J. Whidden, Russell F. Dubiel, Christopher J. Schenk, Lauri A. Burke, Timothy R. Klett, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Tracey J. Mercier, Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Phuong A. Le, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Sarah J. Hawkins, Kristen R. Marra, Marilyn E. Tennyson
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1134
IntroductionIn 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed an updated assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Upper Jurassic Bossier Formation of the onshore U.S. Gulf Coast Province (Paxton and others, 2017). The Bossier Formation was assessed using both the standard continuous (unconventional) and conventional methodologies...
Groundwater availability of the Williston Basin, United States and Canada
Andrew J. Long, Joanna N. Thamke, Kyle W. Davis, Timothy T. Bartos
2018, Professional Paper 1841
Executive SummaryThe Williston Basin of the Northern Great Plains is a sedimentary basin—a geologic bowl-like structure filled with layered sedimentary rocks dating as far back as the Paleozoic age. The basin, which is nationally important for the production of energy resources, spans Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in...
Variation in the vital rates of an Antarctic marine predator: the role of individual heterogeneity
J. Terrill Paterson, Jay J. Rotella, William A. Link, Robert A. Garrott
2018, Ecology (99) 2385-2396
Variation in life‐history traits such as lifespan and lifetime reproductive output is thought to arise, in part, due to among‐individual differences in the underlying probabilities of survival and reproduction. However, the stochastic nature of demographic processes can also generate considerable variation in fitness‐related traits among otherwise‐identical individuals. An improved understanding...
Deciphering the dynamics of inorganic carbon export from intertidal salt marshes using high-frequency measurements
Sophie N. Chu, Zhaohui Aleck Wang, Meagan Gonneea Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Neil K. Ganju
2018, Marine Chemistry (206) 7-18
The lateral export of carbon from coastal marshes via tidal exchange is a key component of the marsh carbon budget and coastal carbon cycles. However, the magnitude of this export has been difficult to accurately quantify due to complex tidal dynamics and seasonal cycling of carbon. In this study, we use in situ, high-frequency measurements of dissolved inorganic...
A causal partition of trait correlations: using graphical models to derive statistical models from theoretical language
James P. Cronin, Donald Schoolmaster
2018, Ecosphere (9) 1-15
Recent studies hypothesize various causes of species‐level trait covariation, namely size (e.g., metabolic theory of ecology and leaf economics spectrum), pace‐of‐life (e.g., slow‐to‐fast continuum; lifestyle continuum), evolutionary history (e.g., phylogenetic conservatism), and ecological conditions (e.g., stabilizing selection). Various methods have been used in attempts to partition trait correlation among these...
McGee Till—oldest glacial deposit in the Sierra Nevada, California— and Quaternary evolution of the rangefront escarpment
Wes Hildreth, Judith E. Fierstein, Andrew T. Calvert
2018, Quaternary Science Reviews (198) 242-265
The McGee Till is an early Pleistocene glacial diamict as thick as 50 m, preserved over an area of 1.65 km2 on a relict low-relief Pliocene plateau that stands 900 m higher than mouths of its bounding canyons, on the rangefront of the Sierra Nevada. Although recognized 90 years ago as the oldest till in the...
Sediment Source Assessment Using Sediment Fingerprints
Allen C. Gellis, Lillian E. Gorman Sanisaca, Matthew J. Cashman
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3008
ProblemSediment is one of the most common causes of loss of stream-biologic integrity, whether in suspension in the water column, or as deposition on a stream or lake bottom. Fine-grained silts and clays are of particular concern because they can degrade habitat and often carry phosphorus and (or) other contaminants...
Frequency of volcanic eruptions in the Mammoth Lakes Sierra
Wes Hildreth, Andrew T. Calvert, Judith Fierstein, Mae Marcaida
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3059
Geologists recognize lavas and ash deposits from about 60 past eruptions in the area around Mammoth Mountain and Devils Postpile, California. This raises the unanswerable question, “When will it erupt again?” An alternative, answerable, and informative question is, “How often has it erupted?”In the Mammoth Lakes Sierra, geologists have mapped...