Demographic drivers of a refugee species: Large‐scale experiments guide strategies for reintroductions of hirola
Abdullahi H. Ali, Matthew J. Kauffman, Rajan Amin, Amos Kibara, Juliet King, David P. Mallon, Charles Musyoki, Jacob R. Goheen
2018, Ecological Applications (28) 275-283
Effective reintroduction strategies require accurate estimates of vital rates and the factors that influence them. The hirola (Beatragus hunteri) is the rarest antelope on Earth, with a global population size of <500 individuals restricted to the Kenya–Somali border. We estimated vital rates of hirola populations exposed to varying levels of...
Does behavioural thermoregulation underlie seasonal movements in Lake Erie walleye?
Graham D. Raby, Christopher Vandergoot, Todd A. Hayden, Matthew D. Faust, Richard T. Kraus, John M. Dettmers, Steven J. Cooke, Yingming Zhao, Aaron T. Fisk, Charles C. Krueger
2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (75) 488-496
Thermoregulation is presumed to be a widespread determinant of behaviour in fishes, but has not often been investigated as a mechanism shaping long-distance migrations. We used acoustic telemetry and animal-borne thermal loggers to test the hypothesis that seasonal migration in adult walleye (Sander vitreus) in Lake Erie is size- and...
Distinguishing values from science in decision making: Setting harvest quotas for mountain lions in Montana
Michael S. Mitchell, Hilary Cooley, Justin A. Gude, Jay Kolbe, J. Joshua Nowak, Kelly M. Proffitt, Sarah N. Sells, Mike Thompson
2018, Wildlife Society Bulletin (42) 13-21
The relative roles of science and human values can be difficult to distinguish when informal processes are used to make complex and contentious decisions in wildlife management. Structured Decision Making (SDM) offers a formal process for making such decisions, where scientific results and concepts can be disentangled from the values...
Species‐ and habitat‐specific otolith chemistry patterns inform riverine fisheries management
William Radigan, Andrew K. Carlson, Jeremy Kientz, Steven R. Chipps, Mark J. Fincel, Brian D. S. Graeb
2018, River Research and Applications (34) 279-287
Geology and hydrology are drivers of water chemistry and thus important considerations for fish otolith chemistry research. However, other factors such as species and habitat identity may have predictive ability, enabling selection of appropriate elemental signatures prior to costly, perhaps unnecessary water/age‐0 fish sampling. The goal...
Anthropogenic enhancement of moderate-to-strong El Niño events likely contributed to drought and poor harvests in southern Africa during 2016
Chris Funk, Frank Davenport, Laura Harrison, Tamuka Magadzire, Gideon Galu, Guleid A. Artan, Shraddhanand Shukla, Diriba Korecha, Matayo Indeje, Catherine Pomposi, Denis Macharia, Gregory Husak, Faka Dieudonne Nsadisa
2018, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (99) S91-S94
In December–February (DJF) of 2015/16, a strong El Niño (Niño‑3.4 SST >29°C) contributed to a severe drought over southern Africa (SA; Funk et al. 2016). A 9-million ton cereal deficit resulted in 26 mil‑ lion people in need of humanitarian assistance (SADC 2016). While SA rainfall has a well-documented...
Volcanic aquifers of Hawai‘i—Hydrogeology, water budgets, and conceptual models
Scot K. Izuka, John A. Engott, Kolja Rotzoll, Maoya Bassiouni, Adam G. Johnson, Lisa D. Miller, Alan Mair
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5164
Hawai‘i’s aquifers have limited capacity to store fresh groundwater because each island is small and surrounded by saltwater. Saltwater also underlies much of the fresh groundwater. Fresh groundwater resources are, therefore, particularly vulnerable to human activity, short-term climate cycles, and long-term climate change. Availability of fresh groundwater for human use...
Integrate urban‐scale seismic hazard analyses with the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model
Morgan P. Moschetti, Nico Luco, Arthur D. Frankel, Mark D. Petersen, Brad T. Aagaard, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Michael L. Blanpied, Oliver S. Boyd, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold, Robert Graves, Stephen H. Hartzell, Sanaz Rezaeian, William J. Stephenson, David J. Wald, Robert A. Williams, Kyle Withers
2018, Seismological Research Letters (89) 967-970
For more than 20 yrs, damage patterns and instrumental recordings have highlighted the influence of the local 3D geologic structure on earthquake ground motions (e.g., M">MM 6.7 Northridge, California, Gao et al., 1996; <span id="MathJax-Element-2-Frame"...
U.S. Pacific coastal wetland resilience and vulnerability to sea-level rise
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Richard F. Ambrose, Kevin J. Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, Jordan A. Rosencranz, James Homquist, John P. Smol, Kathryn Hargan, John Y. Takekawa
2018, Science Advances (4)
We used a first-of-its-kind comprehensive scenario approach to evaluate both the vertical and horizontal response of tidal wetlands to projected changes in the rate of sea-level rise (SLR) across 14 estuaries along the Pacific coast of the continental United States. Throughout the U.S. Pacific region, we found that tidal wetlands...
Rearing environment influences boldness and prey acquisition behavior, and brain and lens development of bull trout
William R. Brignon, Martin M. Pike, Lars O.E. Ebbesson, Howard A. Schaller, James T. Peterson, Carl B. Schreck
2018, Environmental Biology of Fishes (101) 383-401
Animals reared in barren captive environments exhibit different developmental trajectories and behaviors than wild counterparts. Hence, the captive phenotypes may influence the success of reintroduction and recovery programs for threatened and endangered species. We collected wild bull trout embryos from the Metolius River Basin, Oregon and reared them in differing...
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...
Understanding map projections
E. Lynn Usery
Alexander J. Kent, Peter Vujakovic, editor(s)
2018, Book chapter, The Routledge handbook of mapping and cartography
It has probably never been more important in the history of cartography than now that people understand how maps work. With increasing globalization, for example, world maps provide a key format for the transmission of information, but are often poorly used. Examples of poor understanding and use of projections and...
THRESH—Software for tracking rainfall thresholds for landslide and debris-flow occurrence, user manual
Rex L. Baum, Sarah J. Fischer, Jacob C. Vigil
2018, Techniques and Methods 14-A2
Precipitation thresholds are used in many areas to provide early warning of precipitation-induced landslides and debris flows, and the software distribution THRESH is designed for automated tracking of precipitation, including precipitation forecasts, relative to thresholds for landslide occurrence. This software is also useful for analyzing multiyear precipitation records to compare...
General introduction for the “National Field Manual for the Collection of Water-Quality Data”
U.S. Geological Survey
2018, Techniques and Methods 9-A0
BackgroundAs part of its mission, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collects data to assess the quality of our Nation’s water resources. A high degree of reliability and standardization of these data are paramount to fulfilling this mission. Documentation of nationally accepted methods used by USGS personnel serves to maintain consistency...
Overcoming equifinality: Leveraging long time series for stream metabolism estimation
Alison P. Appling, Robert O. Hall Jr., Charles B. Yackulic, Maite Arroita
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences (123) 624-645
The foundational ecosystem processes of gross primary production (GPP) and ecosystem respiration (ER) cannot be measured directly but can be modeled in aquatic ecosystems from subdaily patterns of oxygen (O2) concentrations. Because rivers and streams constantly exchange O2 with the atmosphere, models must either use empirical estimates of the gas exchange...
Future southcentral US wildfire probability due to climate change
Michael C. Stambaugh, Richard P. Guyette, Esther D. Stroh, Matthew A. Struckhoff, Joanna B. Whittier
2018, Climate Change (147) 617-631
Globally, changing fire regimes due to climate is one of the greatest threats to ecosystems and society. In this paper, we present projections of future fire probability for the southcentral USA using downscaled climate projections and the Physical Chemistry Fire Frequency Model (PC2FM). Future fire probability is projected to both...
The geochemistry of loess: Asian and North American deposits compared
Daniel R. Muhs
2018, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (155) 81-115
Loess is widely distributed over Asia and North America and constitutes one of the most important surficial deposits that serve as terrestrial records of the Quaternary. The oldest Pleistocene loess in China is likely ∼2.6 Ma, thus spanning much or all of the Pleistocene. In North America, most loess is no...
Anthropogenic impact in the Mayan Lowlands of Petén, Guatemala, during the last 5500 years
D. Battistel, Marco Roman, A Marchetti, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Marta Radaelli, Eleanora Balliana, Giuseppina Toscano, Carlo Barbante
2018, Journal of Quaternary Science (33) 166-176
Trace and rare earth elements from a Lake Peten Itzá (Guatemala) sediment core depict the geochemical dynamics affecting the lake from ~5500 y BP to the present. This timing encompasses the Preclassic (4000 to 1700 y BP) and Classic Periods (1700-1000 y BP) when thriving Maya societies extensively cleared land...
Suspended-sediment transport from the Green-Duwamish River to the Lower Duwamish Waterway, Seattle, Washington, 2013–17
Craig A. Senter, Kathleen E. Conn, Robert W. Black, Norman Peterson, Ann M. Vanderpool-Kimura, James R. Foreman
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1029
The Green-Duwamish River transports watershed-derived sediment to the Lower Duwamish Waterway Superfund site near Seattle, Washington. Understanding the amount of sediment transported by the river is essential to the bed sediment cleanup process. Turbidity, discharge, suspended-sediment concentration (SSC), and particle-size data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...
Spatial and spectral interpolation of ground-motion intensity measure observations
Charles Worden, Eric M. Thompson, Jack W. Baker, Brendon A. Bradley, Nico Luco, David J. Wald
2018, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (108) 866-875
Following a significant earthquake, ground‐motion observations are available for a limited set of locations and intensity measures (IMs). Typically, however, it is desirable to know the ground motions for additional IMs and at locations where observations are unavailable. Various interpolation methods are available, but because IMs or their logarithms are...
AMModels: An R package for storing models, data, and metadata to facilitate adaptive management
Therese M. Donovan, Jonathan Katz
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-57
Agencies are increasingly called upon to implement their natural resource management programs within an adaptive management (AM) framework. This article provides the background and motivation for the R package, AMModels. AMModels was developed under R version 3.2.2. The overall goal of AMModels is simple: To codify knowledge in the form of models and...
Regional climate response collaboratives: Multi-institutional support for climate resilience
Kristen Averyt, Justin D. Derner, Lisa Dilling, Rafael Guerrero, Linda A. Joyce, Shannon McNeeley, Elizabeth McNie, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Dennis Ojima, Robin O'Malley, Dannele Peck, Andrea J. Ray, Matt Reeves, William Travis
2018, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society (99) 891-898
Federal investments by U.S. agencies to enhance climate resilience at regional scales grew over the past decade (2010s). To maximize efficiency and effectiveness in serving multiple sectors and scales, it has become critical to leverage existing agency-specific research, infrastructure, and capacity while avoiding redundancy. We discuss lessons learned from a...
Flood-inundation maps for Cedar Creek at 18th Street at Auburn, Indiana
Kathleen K. Fowler
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5156
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 1.9-mile reach of Cedar Creek at Auburn, Indiana (Ind.), from the First Street bridge, downstream to the streamgage at 18th Street, then ending approximately 1,100 feet (ft) downstream of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with...
U.S. Geological Survey - Virginia Department of Transportation: Bridge scour pilot study
Samuel H. Austin
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3006
BackgroundCost effective and safe highway bridge designs are required to ensure the long-term sustainability of Virginia’s road systems. The streamflows that, over time, scour streambed sediments from bridge piers inherently affect bridge safety and design costs. To ensure safety, bridge design must anticipate streambed scour at bridge piers over the...
Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Domanik-type formations of the Volga-Ural Region Province, Russia, 2017
Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Janet K. Pitman, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall
2018, Fact Sheet 2017-3085
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuous resources of 2.8 billion barrels of oil and 34 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Domanik-type formations of the Volga-Ural Region Province, Russia....
A flatfile of ground motion intensity measurements from induced earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas
Steven B. Rennolet, Morgan P. Moschetti, Eric M. Thompson, William L. Yeck
2018, Earthquake Spectra (34) 1-20
We have produced a uniformly processed database of orientation-independent (RotD50, RotD100) ground motion intensity measurements containing peak horizontal ground motions (accelerations and velocities) and 5-percent-damped pseudospectral accelerations (0.1–10 s) from more than 3,800 M ≥ 3 earthquakes in Oklahoma and Kansas that occurred between January 2009 and December 2016. Ground motion time...
