Changes in freshwater mussel communities linked to legacy pollution in the Lower Delaware River
Carrie J. Blakeslee, Erik L. Silldorff, Heather S. Galbraith
2018, Northeastern Naturalist (25) 101-116
Freshwater mussels are among the most-imperiled organisms worldwide, although they provide a variety of important functions in the streams and rivers they inhabit. Among Atlantic-slope rivers, the Delaware River is known for its freshwater mussel diversity and biomass; however, limited data are available on the freshwater mussel fauna in the...
Human Bacteroides and total coliforms as indicators of recent combined sewer overflows and rain events in urban creeks
Shannon McGinnis, Susan K. Spencer, Aaron D. Firnstahl, Joel P. Stokdyk, Mark A. Borchardt, David McCarthy, Heather Murphy
2018, Science of the Total Environment (630) 967-976
Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are a known source of human fecal pollution and human pathogens in urban water bodies, which may present a significant public health threat. To monitor human fecal contamination in water, bacterial fecal indicator organisms (FIOs) are traditionally used. However, because FIOs are not specific to human...
Doublethink and scale mismatch polarize policies for an invasive tree
Caleb P. Roberts, Daniel R. Uden, Craig R. Allen, Dirac Twidwell
2018, PLoS ONE (13) 1-20
Mismatches between invasive species management policies and ecological knowledge can lead to profound societal consequences. For this reason, natural resource agencies have adopted the scientifically-based density-impact invasive species curve to guide invasive species management. We use the density-impact model to evaluate how well management policies for a native invader (Juniperus...
Rare earth element and rare metal inventory of central Asia
Mark J. Mihalasky, Robert D. Tucker, Karine Renaud, Ingrid M. Verstraeten
2018, Fact Sheet 2017-3089
Rare earth elements (REE), with their unique physical and chemical properties, are an essential part of modern living. REE have enabled development and manufacture of high-performance materials, processes, and electronic technologies commonly used today in computing and communications, clean energy and transportation, medical treatment and health care, glass and ceramics,...
Comparability of river suspended-sediment sampling and laboratory analysis methods
Joel T. Groten, Gregory D. Johnson
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5023
Accurate measurements of suspended sediment, a leading water-quality impairment in many Minnesota rivers, are important for managing and protecting water resources; however, water-quality standards for suspended sediment in Minnesota are based on grab field sampling and total suspended solids (TSS) laboratory analysis methods that have underrepresented concentrations of suspended sediment...
Biological and ecological science for Wisconsin—A Great Lakes and Rivers State
U.S. Geological Survey
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3004
Wisconsin and natural resources go hand-in-hand. Tourism, which generates $19 billion annually and sustains about 200,000 jobs, depends on an abundance of lakes, rivers, shorelines, and woodlands for fishing, hunting, boating, and other outdoor recreation. Rivers and floodplains in the Upper Mississippi Basin, including the Mississippi River, are part...
West Nile virus infection in American singer canaries: An experimental model in a highly susceptible avian species
Erik K. Hofmeister, Melissa Lund, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler
2018, Veterinary Pathology (55) 531-538
This study investigated the susceptibility of American singer canaries (Serinus canaria) to West Nile virus (WNV) infection. Adult canaries were inoculated with 105, 102, and 101plaque forming units (PFU) of WNV. All birds became infected and mortality occurred by 5 days postinoculation. The load of viral RNA as determined by...
Environmental conditions synchronize waterbird mortality events in the Great Lakes
Karine Prince, Jennifer G. Chipault, C. LeAnn White, Benjamin Zuckerberg
2018, Journal of Applied Ecology (55) 1327-1338
Since the 1960s, periodic outbreaks of avian botulism type E have contributed to large-scale die-offs of thousands of waterbirds throughout the Great Lakes of the United States. In recent years, these events have become more common and widespread. Occurring during the summer and autumn months, the prevalence...
Metamodeling and mapping of nitrate flux in the unsaturated zone and groundwater, Wisconsin, USA
Bernard T. Nolan, Christopher T. Green, Paul F. Juckem, Lixia Liao, James E. Reddy
2018, Journal of Hydrology (559) 428-441
Nitrate contamination of groundwater in agricultural areas poses a major challenge to the sustainability of water resources. Aquifer vulnerability models are useful tools that can help resource managers identify areas of concern, but quantifying nitrogen (N) inputs in such models is challenging, especially at large spatial scales. We sought to...
Effects of sediment application on Nyssa aquatica and Taxodium distichum saplings
Isabel Grandy, Linda Messina, Evelyn R. Anemaet, Beth A. Middleton
2018, Wetlands (38) 855-859
The decline of Taxodium distichum forests along the Gulf Coast of North America is partly due to elevation loss and subsequent flooding. In many coastal wetlands, a common approach for coastal restoration is to rebuild elevation through the application of dredge material, but this technique has not been used widely...
Information to prevent human exposure to disease agents associated with wildlife—U.S. Geological Survey circulars on zoonotic disease
Carol U. Meteyer, Gail Moede Rogall
2018, Fact Sheet 2017-3077
The U.S. Geological Survey in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and others have published reports with information about geographic distribution, specific pathogens, disease ecology, and strategies to avoid exposure and infection for a selection of zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are diseases that can be passed from animals...
Groundwater-level analysis of selected wells in the Hoosic River Valley near Hoosick Falls, New York, for aquifer framework and properties
John Williams, Paul M. Heisig
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1015
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, analyzed groundwater levels, drilling record logs, and field water-quality data from selected wells, and the surficial geology in the Hoosic River valley south of the village of Hoosick Falls, New York, to provide information about...
Long-term nutrient reductions lead to the unprecedented recovery of a temperate coastal region
Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Robert J. Orth, William C. Dennison, Dave J Wilcox, Rebecca R. Murphy, Jennifer L. Keisman, Cassie Gurbisz, Michael P. Hannam, J. Brooke Landry, Kenneth A. Moore, Christopher J. Patrick, Jeremy Testa, Donald E. Weller, Richard A. Batiuk
2018, PNAS (115) 3658-3662
Human actions, including nutrient pollution, are causing the widespread degradation of coastal habitats, and efforts to restore these valuable ecosystems have been largely unsuccessful or of limited scope. We provide an example of successful restoration linking effective management of nutrients to the successful recovery of submersed aquatic vegetation along thousands...
Seismicity induced by wastewater injection in Washington County, Ohio: Influence of preexisting structure, regional stress regime, and well operations
Brian S. Currie, James C. Free, Michael R. Brudzinski, Max Leveridge, Robert J. Skoumal
2018, Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth (123) 4123-4140
Recent seismicity in Washington County, Ohio, has been suggested to be induced by wastewater disposal operations despite injection ~2 km above the Precambrian basement. We investigated the relationships between disposal well locations and operational histories, spatiotemporal patterns of seismicity enhanced by waveform correlation, and mapped subsurface structures....
Climate-related variation in plant peak biomass and growth phenology across Pacific Northwest tidal marshes
Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Karen M. Thorne
2018, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (202) 212-221
The interannual variability of tidal marsh plant phenology is largely unknown and may have important ecological consequences. Marsh plants are critical to the biogeomorphic feedback processes that build estuarine soils, maintain marsh elevation relative to sea level, and sequester carbon. We calculated Tasseled Cap Greenness, a metric of plant biomass, using...
Collection methods and quality assessment for Escherichia coli, water quality, and microbial source tracking data within Tumacácori National Historical Park and the upper Santa Cruz River, Arizona, 2015-16
Nicholas V. Paretti, Alissa L. Coes, Christopher M. Kephart, Justine P. Mayo
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5139
Tumacácori National Historical Park protects the culturally important Mission, San José de Tumacácori, while also managing a portion of the ecologically diverse riparian corridor of the Santa Cruz River. This report describes the methods and quality assurance procedures used in the collection of water samples for the analysis of Escherichia coli (E....
Performance metrics for the assessment of satellite data products: An ocean color case study
Bridget N. Seegers, Richard P. Stumpf, Blake A. Schaeffer, Keith A. Loftin, P. Jeremy Werdell
2018, Optics Express (26) 7404-7422
Performance assessment of ocean color satellite data has generally relied on statistical metrics chosen for their common usage and the rationale for selecting certain metrics is infrequently explained. Commonly reported statistics based on mean squared errors, such as the coefficient of determination (r2), root mean square error, and regression slopes,...
Thermal influences on spontaneous rock dome exfoliation
Brian D. Collins, Greg M. Stock, Martha C. Eppes, Scott W. Lewis, Skye C. Corbett, Joel B. Smith
2018, Nature Communications (9) 1-12
Rock domes, with their onion-skin layers of exfoliation sheets, are among the most captivating landforms on Earth. Long recognized as integral in shaping domes, the exact mechanism(s) by which exfoliation occurs remains enigmatic, mainly due to the lack of direct observations of natural events. In August 2014, during the hottest...
Infectious canine hepatitis in a brown bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) from Alaska.
Susan Knowles, Barbara Bodenstein, Troy Hamon, Michael W. Saxton, Jeffrey S. Hall
2018, Journal of Wildlife Diseases (54) 642-645
We diagnosed infectious canine hepatitis in a free-ranging brown bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) cub from Alaska, US, found dead in October 2015. Intranuclear inclusion bodies were present in hepatocytes, and immunohistochemistry showed reactivity to adenoviral antigens. Sequencing of the hexon protein of adenovirus showed 100% identity to canine adenovirus 1....
Modeling intrinsic potential for beaver (Castor canadensis) habitat to inform restoration and climate change adaptation
Benjamin J. Dittbrenner, Michael M. Pollack, Jason W. Schilling, Julian D. Olden, Joshua J. Lawler, Christian E. Torgersen
2018, PLoS ONE (13)
Through their dam-building activities and subsequent water storage, beaver have the potential to restore riparian ecosystems and offset some of the predicted effects of climate change by modulating streamflow. Thus, it is not surprising that reintroducing beaver to watersheds from which they have been extirpated is an often-used restoration and...
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,...
Sensitivity of Na+/K+-ATPase isoforms to acid and aluminum explains differential effects on Atlantic salmon osmoregulation in fresh water and seawater
Amy M. Regish, John T. Kelly, Michael F. O'Dea, Stephen D. McCormick
2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (75) 1319-1328
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts are sensitive to acid rain and associated increases in dissolved inorganic aluminum (Al) resulting in decreased seawater tolerance at this critical life stage. Salmon have two major isoforms of the catalytic alpha subunit of Na+/K+-ATPase (NKA), with NKAα1a being the major freshwater (FW) isoform and...
