Volcanic ash deposition, eelgrass beds, and inshore habitat loss from the 1920s to the 1990s at Chignik, Alaska
Mark Zimmermann, Gregory T. Ruggerone, Jeffrey T. Freymueller, Nicole Kinsman, David H. Ward, Kyle R. Hogrefe
2018, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (202) 69-86
We quantified the shallowing of the seafloor in five of six bays examined in the Chignik region of the Alaska Peninsula, confirming National Ocean Service observations that 1990s hydrographic surveys were shallower than previous surveys from the 1920s. Castle Bay, Chignik Lagoon, Hook Bay, Kujulik Bay and Mud Bay lost volume as calculated from...
Volcanic history of the northernmost part of the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, Saudi Arabia
Drew T. Downs, Mark E. Stelten, Duane E. Champion, Hannah R. Dietterich, Zohair Nawab, Hani M. Zahran, Khalid Hassan, Jamal Shawali
2018, Geosphere (14) 1253-1282
We present a detailed geologic investigation of Pleistocene to Holocene mafic volcanism within the northernmost part of the Harrat Rahat volcanic field, proximal to the city of Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Our study area covers ∼570 km2, and encompasses lava flows, scoria cones, and shield volcanoes of 32 mapped eruptive units...
Carbon budget of tidal wetlands, estuaries, and shelf waters of eastern North America
R.G. Najjar, M. Herrmann, Richard B. Alexander, E.W. Boyer, D. J. Burdige, D. Butman, W.-J. Cai, E.A. Canuel, R.F. Chen, M. A. M. Friedrichs, R.A. Feagin, P. C. Griffith, A.L. Hinson, J.R. Holmquist, X. Hu, W.M. Kemp, Kevin D. Kroeger, A. Mannino, S.L. McCallister, W.R. McGillis, M.R. Mulholland, C. H. Pilskaln, J. Salisbury, S. R. Signorini, P. St. Laurent, H. Tian, M Tzortziou, P. Vlahos, Zhanming Wan, R. C. Zimmerman
2018, Global Biogeochemical Cycles (32) 389-416
Carbon cycling in the coastal zone affects global carbon budgets and is critical for understanding the urgent issues of hypoxia, acidification, and tidal wetland loss. However, there are no regional carbon budgets spanning the three main ecosystems in coastal waters: tidal wetlands, estuaries, and shelf waters. Here we construct such...
Fish response to contemporary timber harvest practices in a second-growth forest from the central Coast Range of Oregon
Douglas S. Bateman, Robert E. Gresswell, Dana Warren, David Hockman-Wert, David W. Leer, Jeffrey T. Light, John D. Stednick
2018, Forest Ecology and Management (411) 142-157
We used a paired-watershed approach to investigate the effects of contemporary logging practices on headwater populations of coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) and juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in a second-growth Douglas-fir forested catchment in Oregon. Stream habitat and fish population characteristics, including biomass, abundance, growth, size, and movement,...
Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans
A. M. M. Sequeira, J.P. Rodriguez, V. M. Eguíluz, R. Harcourt, M. Hindell, D.W. Sims, C.M. Duarte, D.P. Costa, J. Fernandez-Gracia, L.C. Ferreira, G.C. Hays, M. R. Heupel, M.G. Meekan, A. Aven, F. Bailleul, A. M. M. Baylis, M. L. Berumen, C. D. Braun, J. Burns, M.J. Caley, R. Campbell, R.H. Carmichael, E. Clua, L. D. Einoder, Ari Friedlaender, M. E. Goebel, S.D. Goldsworthy, C. Guinet, J. Gunn, D. Hamer, N. Hammerschlag, M. Hammill, L.A. Hückstädt, N.E. Humphries, M.-A. Lea, A. Lowther, A. Mackay, E. McHuron, J. Mckenzie, L. McLeay, C.R. McMahon, K. Mengersen, M. M. C. Muelbert, Anthony M. Pagano, B. Page, N. Queiroz, P. W. Robinson, S. A. Shaffer, M. Shivji, G. B. Skomal, S. Thorrold, S. Villegas-Amtmann, M. Weise, R. Wells, B. Wetherbee, A. Wiebkin, B. Wienecke, M. Thums
2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (115) 3072-3077
The extent of increasing anthropogenic impacts on large marine vertebrates partly depends on the animals’ movement patterns. Effective conservation requires identification of the key drivers of movement including intrinsic properties and extrinsic constraints associated with the dynamic nature of the environments the animals inhabit. However, the relative importance of intrinsic...
Modeling wildfire-induced permafrost deformation in an Alaskan boreal forest using InSAR observations
Yusef Eshqi Molan, Jin-Woo Kim, Zhong Lu, Bruce K. Wylie, Zhiliang Zhu
2018, Remote Sensing (10)
The discontinuous permafrost zone is one of the world’s most sensitive areas to climate change. Alaskan boreal forest is underlain by discontinuous permafrost, and wildfires are one of the most influential agents negatively impacting the condition of permafrost in the arctic region. Using interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) of Advanced...
DEEP SEARCH: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats
Erik E. Cordes, Amanda W. J. Demopoulos, Gregory Boland, Caitlin Adams
2018, Oceanography (31) 97-98
Launched in August 2017, Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral/Canyon/Cold seep Habitats (DEEP SEARCH) is a multiyear, multi-agency study to characterize the deep-sea ecosystems of the US Mid- and South Atlantic (Figure 1). The study is funded through an interagency partnership between NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy...
A phylogenetic overview of the genus Vertigo O. F. Müller, 1773 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Pupillidae: Vertigininae)
Jeffrey C. Nekola, Satoshi Chiba, Brian F. Coles, Charles A. Drost, Ted von Proschwitz, Michal Horsak
2018, Malacologia (62) 21-161
We document global phylogenetic pattern in the pupillid land snail genus Vertigo by analyses of nDNA (ITS1 and ITS2) and mtDNA (CytB and 16S) sequence from 424 individuals representing 91 putative specific and subspecific Vertigo taxa. nDNA and mtDNA data were separately subjected to neighbor-joining, minimum evolution, maximum likelihood and Bayesian reconstruction methods, with...
Freshwater mussel salvage and relocation at the Pond Eddy Bridge, Delaware River, New York and Pennsylvania
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Jeffrey C. Cole
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1009
In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, freshwater mussels were salvaged and relocated from the anticipated zone of impact for the Pond Eddy Bridge construction project in New York and Pennsylvania. Five 25-meter (m) by 25-m cells along the Pennsylvania...
ModelArchiver—A program for facilitating the creation of groundwater model archives
Richard B. Winston
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1149
ModelArchiver is a program designed to facilitate the creation of groundwater model archives that meet the requirements of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) policy (Office of Groundwater Technical Memorandum 2016.02, https://water.usgs.gov/admin/memo/GW/gw2016.02.pdf, https://water.usgs.gov/ogw/policy/gw-model/). ModelArchiver version 1.0 leads the user step-by-step through the process of creating a USGS...
Smallmouth bass predation on subyearling fall Chinook salmon in Lower Granite Reservoir, 2016–2017
John M. Erhardt, Kenneth F. Tiffan, Rulon J. Hemingway, Brad K. Bickford, Tobyn N. Rhodes
2018, Report, Snake River fall Chinook salmon life history investigations
Predation by nonnative fishes is one factor that has been implicated in the decline of juvenile salmonids in the Pacific Northwest. Impoundment of much of the Snake and Columbia Rivers has altered food webs and created habitat favorable for species such as smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu. Smallmouth bass are common...
Challenges of forecasting flooding on coral reef–lined coasts
Curt D. Storlazzi
2018, Eos, Earth and Space Science News (99)
Understanding wave-driven coastal flooding is a challenging scientific problem; the need for forecasts is becoming more urgent because of sea level rise, climate change, and ever-growing coastal populations. The tools developed for sandy shorelines are generally not applicable to coral reef–lined coasts with their complex bathymetry, hydrodynamically rough reef platforms,...
Chronic wasting disease—Status, science, and management support by the U.S. Geological Survey
Christina M. Carlson, M. Camille Hopkins, Natalie T. Nguyen, Bryan J. Richards, Daniel P. Walsh, W. David Walter
2018, Open-File Report 2017-1138
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigates chronic wasting disease (CWD) at multiple science centers and cooperative research units across the Nation and supports the management of CWD through science-based strategies. CWD research conducted by USGS scientists has three strategies: (1) to understand the biology, ecology, and causes and distribution of...
Discovering the deep: Exploring remote Pacific marine protected areas
Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Steven Auscavitch, Derek Sowers, Nikolai Pawlenko, Brian R. C. Kennedy
2018, Oceanography (31) 76-77
The 2017 Discovering the Deep expedition provided the first glimpse of the deep-sea geology and ecology of the deepwater regions of Swains Island, the Howland and Baker Islands Unit of PRIMNM, Phoenix Islands Protected Areas (PIPA), and the Tokelau Region (Figure 1). Prior to this expedition, virtually no visual reconnaissance...
Environmental, anthropogenic, and dietary influences on fine-scale movement patterns of Atlantic salmon through challenging waters
Andrew B. Harbicht, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Dimitry Gorsky, D.M. Hand, D.J. Fraser, W.R. Ardren
2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (75) 2198-2210
Partial barriers to migration can affect migratory fish population dynamics and be influenced by many biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors, including nutritional deficiencies. We investigated how such variables (including a thiamine deficiency) impact fine-scale movement of landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) by treating returning spawners with thiamine and observing their...
Application of imaging spectroscopy for mineral exploration in Alaska: A study over porphyry Cu deposits in the eastern Alaska Range
Garth E. Graham, Raymond F. Kokaly, Karen D. Kelley, Todd M. Hoefen, Michaela Johnson, Bernard E. Hubbard
2018, Economic Geology (113) 489.-510
The U.S. Geological Survey tested the utility of imaging spectroscopy (also referred to as hyperspectral remote sensing) as an aid to regional mineral exploration efforts in remote parts of Alaska. Airborne imaging spectrometer data were collected in 2014 over unmined porphyry Cu deposits in...
Technical note: False low turbidity readings from optical probes during high suspended-sediment concentrations
Nicholas Voichick, David J. Topping, Ronald E. Griffiths
2018, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (22) 1767-1773
Turbidity, a measure of water clarity, is monitored for a variety of purposes including (1) to help determine whether water is safe to drink, (2) to establish background conditions of lakes and rivers and detect pollution caused by construction projects and stormwater discharge, (3) to study sediment transport in rivers and erosion in catchments, (4) to...
Potential effects of elevated base flow and midsummer spike flow experiments on riparian vegetation along the Green River
Jonathan M. Friedman
2018, Natural Resource Report NPS/NRSS/WRD/NRR—2018/1603
The Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program has requested experimental flow releases from Flaming Gorge Dam for (1) elevated summer base flows to promote larval endangered Colorado pikeminnow, and (2) midsummer spike flows to disadvantage spawning invasive smallmouth bass. This white paper explores the effects of these proposed flow...
Movers and stayers: Novel assemblages in changing environments
Richard L. Hobbs, Leonie E. Valentine, Rachel J. Standish, Stephen T. Jackson
2018, Trends in Ecology and Evolution (33) 116-128
How species will respond to ongoing climate and other change is of increasing concern.Most attention is given to how species move or are moved, but many species stay.Understanding the dynamics of new species combinations is essential for successful conservation in a changing climate.Increased attention to species movement...
Associations between cyanobacteria and indices of secondary production in the western basin of Lake Erie
James H. Larson, Mary Anne Evans, Robert J. Kennedy, Sean Bailey, Keith A. Loftin, Zachary R. Laughrey, Robin Femmer, Jeff Schaeffer, William B. Richardson, Timothy Wynne, J. C. Nelson, Joseph W. Duris
2018, Limnology and Oceanography (63) S232-S243
Large lakes provide a variety of ecological services to surrounding cities and communities. Many of these services are supported by ecological processes that are threatened by the increasing prevalence of cyanobacterial blooms which occur as aquatic ecosystems experience cultural eutrophication. Over the past 10 yr, Lake Erie experienced cyanobacterial blooms...
Adaptive influence of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on variation of incubation periods among tropical and temperate passerines
Thomas E. Martin, Riccardo Ton, Juan C. Oteyza
2018, The Auk (135) 101-113
Understanding intrinsic (physiological) and extrinsic (e.g., temperature) causes of variation in embryonic development time (incubation period) is important because they can have different impacts on individual quality. Robert Ricklefs and colleagues have argued that longer incubation periods result primarily from intrinsic physiological programs that increase individual quality and adult survival....
National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 offshore India; gas hydrate systems as revealed by hydrocarbon gas geochemistry
Thomas Lorenson, Timothy S. Collett
2018, Marine and Petroleum Geology (92) 477-492
The National Gas Hydrate Program Expedition 01 (NGHP-01) targeted gas hydrate accumulations offshore of the Indian Peninsula and along the Andaman convergent margin. The primary objectives of coring were to understand the geologic and geochemical controls on the accumulation of methane hydrate and their linkages to underlying petroleum systems....
Molecular systematics and biodiversity of the Cryptotis mexicanus group (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae): two new species from Honduras supported
Amy B. Baird, Timothy J. McCarthy, Robert G. Trujillo, Yuan Yuan Kang, Mehdi Esmaeiliyan, Joselyn Valdez, Neal Woodman, John W. Bickham
2018, Systematics and Biodiversity (16) 108-117
Small-eared shrews of the genus Cryptotis (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) are widespread in the northern Neotropics. Systematic studies of these shrews over the past two decades have revealed previously undocumented morphological and species diversity, resulting in a quadrupling of the number of recognized species. Unfortunately, a small proportion of the species in the...
Fire and climate suitability for woody vegetation communities in the south central United States
Esther Stroh, Matthew Struckhoff, Michael C. Stambaugh, Richard P. Guyette
2018, Fire Ecology (14) 106-124
Climate and fire are primary drivers of plant species distributions. Long-term management of south central United States woody vegetation communities can benefit from information on potential changes in climate and fire frequencies, and how these changes might affect plant communities. We used historical (1900 to 1929) and future (2040 to...
Ecological drought: Accounting for the non-human impacts of water shortage in the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin, Montana, USA
Jamie McEvoy, Deborah J. Bathke, Nina Burkardt, Amanda E. Cravens, Tonya Haigh, Kimberly R. Hall, Michael J. Hayes, Theresa Jedd, Marketa Podebradska, Elliot Wickham
2018, Resources (7) 1-16
Water laws and drought plans are used to prioritize and allocate scarce water resources. Both have historically been human-centric, failing to account for non-human water needs. In this paper, we examine the development of instream flow legislation and the evolution of drought planning to highlight the growing concern for the...
