Predicting landscape effects of Mississippi River diversions on soil organic carbon sequestration
Hongqing Wang, Gregory D. Steyer, Brady Couvillion, Holly J. Beck, John M Rybczyk, Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Ken W. Krauss, Jenneke M. Visser
2017, Ecosphere (8)
Large Mississippi River (MR) diversions (peak water flow >1416 m3/s and sediment loads >165 kg/s) have been proposed as part of a suite of coastal restoration projects and are expected to rehabilitate and rebuild wetlands to alleviate the significant historic wetland loss in coastal Louisiana. These coastal wetlands are undergoing increasing eustatic...
Examining the occupancy–density relationship for a low-density carnivore
Daniel W. Linden, Angela K. Fuller, J. Andrew Royle, Matthew P. Hare
2017, Journal of Applied Ecology (54) 2043-2052
The challenges associated with monitoring low-density carnivores across large landscapes have limited the ability to implement and evaluate conservation and management strategies for such species. Non-invasive sampling techniques and advanced statistical approaches have alleviated some of these challenges and can even allow for spatially explicit estimates of density,...
Increased hurricane frequency near Florida during Younger Dryas Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation slowdown
Michael Toomey, Robert L. Korty, Jeffrey P. Donnelly, Peter J. van Hengstum, William B. Curry
2017, Geology (45) 1047-1050
The risk posed by intensification of North Atlantic hurricane activity remains controversial, in part due to a lack of available storm proxy records that extend beyond the relatively stable climates of the late Holocene. Here we present a record of storm-triggered turbidite deposition offshore the Dry Tortugas, south Florida, USA,...
Comparing measurement response and inverted results of electrical resistivity tomography instruments
Andrew D. Parsekian, Niels Claes, Kamini Singha, Burke J. Minsley, Bradley Carr, Emily Voytek, Ryan Harmon, Andy Kass, Austin Carey, Drew Thayer, Brady Flinchum
2017, Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geophysics (22) 249-266
In this investigation, we compare the results of electrical resistivity measurements made by six commercially available instruments on the same line of electrodes to determine if there are differences in the measured data or inverted results. These comparisons are important to determine whether measurements made between different instruments are consistent....
Assessing the potential of translocating vulnerable forest birds by searching for novel and enduring climatic ranges
Lucas B. Fortini, Lauren R. Kaiser, Adam E. Vorsino, Eben H. Paxton, James D. Jacobi
2017, Ecology and Evolution (7) 9119-9130
Hawaiian forest birds are imperiled, with fewer than half the original >40 species remaining extant. Recent studies document ongoing rapid population decline and pro- ject complete climate-based range losses for the critically endangered Kaua’i endemics ‘akeke’e (Loxops caeruleirostris) and ‘akikiki (Oreomystis bairdi) by end-of-century due to projected warming. Climate change...
Marine infectious disease ecology
Kevin D. Lafferty
2017, Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics (48) 473-496
To put marine disease impacts in context requires a broad perspective on the roles infectious agents have in the ocean. Parasites infect most marine vertebrate and invertebrate species, and parasites and predators can have comparable biomass density, suggesting they play comparable parts as consumers in marine food webs. Although some...
A concept for performance management for Federal science programs
Kevin G. Whalen
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1143
The demonstration of clear linkages between planning, funding, outcomes, and performance management has created unique challenges for U.S. Federal science programs. An approach is presented here that characterizes science program strategic objectives by one of five “activity types”: (1) knowledge discovery, (2) knowledge development and delivery, (3) science support,...
Lidar-revised geologic map of the Des Moines 7.5' quadrangle, King County, Washington
Rowland W. Tabor, Derek B. Booth
2017, Scientific Investigations Map 3384
This map is an interpretation of a modern lidar digital elevation model combined with the geology depicted on the Geologic Map of the Des Moines 7.5' Quadrangle, King County, Washington (Booth and Waldron, 2004). Booth and Waldron described, interpreted, and located the geology on the 1:24,000-scale topographic map of the...
Inequity in ecosystem service delivery: Socioeconomic gaps in the public-private conservation network
Amy M. Villamagna, Beatriz Mogollon, Paul L. Angermeier
2017, Ecology and Society (22)
Conservation areas, both public and private, are critical tools to protect biodiversity and deliver important ecosystem services (ES) to society. Although societal benefits from such ES are increasingly used to promote public support of conservation, the number of beneficiaries, their identity, and the magnitude of benefits are largely unknown for...
Using multiple data types and integrated population models to improve our knowledge of apex predator population dynamics
Florent Bled, Jerrold L. Belant, Lawrence J. Van Daele, Nathan Svoboda, David D. Gustine, Grant V. Hilderbrand, Victor G. Barnes Jr.
2017, Ecology and Evolution (7) 9531-9543
Current management of large carnivores is informed using a variety of parameters, methods, and metrics; however, these data are typically considered independently. Sharing information among data types based on the underlying ecological, and recognizing observation biases, can improve estimation of individual and global parameters. We present...
Summer and winter space use and home range characteristics of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in eastern North America
Tricia A. Miller, Robert P. Brooks, Michael J. Lanzone, Jeff Cooper, Kieran O’Malley, David Brandes, Adam E. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner
2017, The Condor (119) 697-719
Movement behavior and its relationship to habitat provide critical information toward understanding the effects of changing environments on birds. The eastern North American population of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) is a genetically distinct and small population of conservation concern. To evaluate the potential responses of this population to changing landscapes,...
Sediment deposition and sources into a Mississippi River floodplain lake; Catahoula Lake, Louisiana
Karen D. Latuso, Richard F. Keim, Sammy L. King, David C. Weindorf, Ronald D. DeLaune
2017, Catena (156) 290-297
Floodplain lakes are important wetlands on many lowland floodplains of the world but depressional floodplain lakes are rare in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. One of the largest is Catahoula Lake, which has existed with seasonally fluctuating water levels for several thousand years but is now in an increasingly hydrologically...
Groundwater data collection for the Quinault Indian Nation, Grays Harbor and Jefferson Counties, Washington
Sue C. Kahle, Elisabeth T. Fasser, Theresa D. Olsen
2017, Data Series 1071
Groundwater data were collected on the Quinault Indian Reservation to provide the Quinualt Indian Nation (QIN) with basic knowledge of the existing wells and springs on the reservation, and to establish a water-level network to be monitored by QIN to begin building a long-term groundwater dataset. The 327 mi2...
Biocrust ecology: Unifying micro- and macro-scales to confront global change
Scott Ferrenberg, Sasha C. Reed
2017, New Phytologist (216) 643-646
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are communities of microbes, lichens and bryophytes living at the soil surface in drylands (Fig. 1; Belnap et al., 2016). Biocrusts occur on all continents and can comprise a majority of cover in some systems (Belnap et al., 2016). While species diversity and distributions have long...
Oiling accelerates loss of salt marshes, southeastern Louisiana
Michael Beland, Trent W. Biggs, Dar A. Roberts, Seth H. Peterson, Raymond F. Kokaly, Sarai Piazza
2017, PLoS ONE (12)
The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill damaged thousands of km2 of intertidal marsh along shorelines that had been experiencing elevated rates of erosion for decades. Yet, the contribution of marsh oiling to landscape-scale degradation and subsequent land loss has been difficult to quantify. Here, we applied advanced remote...
Taphonomic problems in reconstructing sea-level history from the late Quaternary marine terraces of Barbados
Daniel R. Muhs, Kathleen R. Simmons
2017, Quaternary Research (88) 409-429
Although uranium series (U-series) ages of growth-position fossil corals are important to Quaternary sea-level history, coral clast reworking from storms can yield ages on a terrace dating to more than one high-sea stand, confounding interpretations of sea-level history. On northern Barbados, U-series ages corals from a thick storm deposit are...
Vulnerable transportation and utility assets near actively migrating streams in Indiana
Benjamin J. Sperl
2017, Data Series 1068
An investigation was completed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs that found 1,132 transportation and utility assets in Indiana are vulnerable to fluvial erosion hazards due to close proximity to actively migrating streams. Locations of transportation assets (bridges, roadways, and...
Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Matthew along the Atlantic coast of the United States, October 2016
Eric R. Frantz, Michael J. Byrne Sr., Andral W. Caldwell, Stephen L. Harden
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1122
IntroductionHurricane Matthew moved adjacent to the coasts of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. The hurricane made landfall once near McClellanville, South Carolina, on October 8, 2016, as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a temporary monitoring network of...
Towards a comprehensive water quality modeling of Barnegat Bay: Development of ROMS to WASP Coupler
Zafer Define, Frederick J. Spitz, Vincent T. DePaul, Tim A. Wool
2017, Journal of Coastal Research (78) 34-45
The Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) has been coupled with the Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program (WASP) to be used in a comprehensive analysis of water quality in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. The coupler can spatially aggregate hydrodynamic information in ROMS cells into larger WASP segments. It can also be...
Flood-inundation maps for the White River at Noblesville, Indiana
Zachary W. Martin
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5123
Digital flood-inundation maps for a 7.5-mile reach of the White River at Noblesville, Indiana, were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Indiana Department of Transportation. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at https://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/, depict...
Home range, den selection and habitat use of Carolina northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus)
Corinne A. Diggins, Alexander Silvis, Christine A. Kelly, W. Mark Ford
2017, Wildlife Research (44) 427-237
Context: Understanding habitat selection is important for determining conservation and management strategies for endangered species. The Carolina northern flying squirrel (CNFS; Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus) is an endangered subspecies found in the high-elevation montane forests of the southern Appalachians, USA. The primary use of nest boxes to monitor CNFS has provided...
Patterns of spatial distribution of golden eagles across North America: How do they fit into existing landscape-scale mapping systems?
Jessi L. Brown, Bryan Bedrosian, Douglas A. Bell, Melissa A. Braham, Jeff Cooper, Ross H. Crandall, Joe DiDonato, Robert Domenech, Adam E. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner, Michael J. Lanzone, David W. LaPlante, Carol L. McIntyre, Tricia A. Miller, Robert K. Murphy, Adam Shreading, Steven J. Slater, Jeff P. Smith, Brian W. Smith, James W. Watson, Brian Woodbridge
2017, Journal of Raptor Research (51) 197-215
Conserving wide-ranging animals requires knowledge about their year-round movements and resource use. Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) exhibit a wide range of movement patterns across North America. We combined tracking data from 571 Golden Eagles from multiple independent satellite-telemetry projects from North America to provide a comprehensive look at the magnitude...
The 3D Elevation Program national indexing scheme
Cindy A. Thatcher, Hans Karl Heidemann, Jason M. Stoker, Diane F. Eldridge
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3073
The 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) acquires high-resolution elevation data for the Nation. This program has been operating under an opportunity-oriented approach, acquiring light detection and ranging (lidar) projects of varying sizes scattered across the United States. As a result, the national 3DEP elevation layer...
Transgressive-regressive cycles in the metalliferous, oil-shale-bearing Heath Formation (Upper Mississippian), central Montana
Julie A. Dumoulin, Craig A. Johnson, Karen D. Kelley, Palma J. Botterell, Paul C. Hackley, Clint Scott, John F. Slack
2017, Stratigraphy (14) 97-122
The Upper Mississippian Heath Formation, which accumulated in the Big Snowy Trough of central Montana, has been known for three decades to contain mudrocks highly enriched in Zn, V, Mo, Ni and other metals, and source rocks for oil. The unit has more recently been recognized as a prospective tight...
Synopsis of the Fourth International Percid Fishes Symposia
Brian Schmidt, Dana Castle, Edward F. Roseman, Toomas Saat, Hannu Lehtonen
2017, Fisheries (42) 567-570
Percids play an integral role in food webs and freshwater fisheries of the world. Anthropogenic stressors such as pollution, overfishing, invasive species, and climate change threaten percid diversity and the sustainability of economically important fisher-ies. The International Percid Fish...
