A brief geological history of Cockspur Island at Fort Pulaski National Monument, Chatham County, Georgia
Christopher S. Swezey, Ellen Seefelt, Mercer Parker
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3011
Fort Pulaski National Monument is located on Cockspur Island in Chatham County, Georgia, within the Atlantic Coastal Plain province. The island lies near the mouth of the Savannah River, and consists of small mounds (hummocks), salt marshes, and sediment dredged from the river. A 1,017-foot (ft) (310-meter [m])-deep core drilled...
Avian predator buffers against variability in marine habitats with flexible foraging behavior
Sarah K. Schoen, John F. Piatt, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Brielle Heflin, Erica N. Madison, Gary S. Drew, Martin Renner, Nora A. Rojek, David C. Douglas, Anthony R. DeGange
2018, Marine Biology (165) 1-14
How well seabirds compensate for variability in prey abundance and composition near their breeding colonies influences their distribution and reproductive success. We used tufted puffins (Fratercula cirrhata) as forage fish samplers to study marine food webs from the western Aleutian Islands (53°N, 173°E) to Kodiak Island (57°N, 153°W),...
Flooding in the southern Midwestern United States, April–May 2017
David C. Heimann, Robert R. Holmes Jr., Thomas E. Harris
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1004
Excessive rainfall resulted in flooding on numerous rivers throughout the southern Midwestern United States (southern Midwest) in late April and early May of 2017. The heaviest rainfall, between April 28 and 30, resulted in extensive flooding from eastern Oklahoma to southern Indiana including parts of Missouri, Arkansas, and Illinois.Peak-of-record streamflows...
Raptor interactions with wind energy: Case studies from around the world
Richard T. Watson, Patrick S. Kolar, Miguel Ferrer, Torgeir Nygard, Naira Johnston, W. Grainger Hunt, Hanneline A. Smit-Robinson, Christopher J Farmer, Manuela M. Huso, Todd E. Katzner
2018, Journal of Raptor Research (52) 1-18
The global potential for wind power generation is vast, and the number of installations is increasing rapidly. We review case studies from around the world of the effects on raptors of wind-energy development. Collision mortality, displacement, and habitat loss have the potential to cause population-level effects, especially for species that...
Preliminary stage and streamflow data at selected U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in Maine and New Hampshire for the flood of October 30–31, 2017
Richard G. Kiah, Nicholas W. Stasulis
2018, Open-File Report 2018-1026
Rainfall from a storm on October 24–27, 2017, and Tropical Storm Philippe on October 29–30, created conditions that led to flooding across portions of New Hampshire and western Maine. On the basis of streamflow data collected at 30 selected U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages in the Androscoggin River, Connecticut River,...
Kinematics of the 2015 San Ramon, California earthquake swarm: Implications for fault zone structure and driving mechanisms
Lian Xu, Roland Bürgmann, David R. Shelly, Christopher Johnson, Taka'aki Taira
2018, Earth and Planetary Science Letters (489) 135-144
Earthquake swarms represent a sudden increase in seismicity that may indicate a heterogeneous fault-zone, the involvement of crustal fluids and/or slow fault slip. Swarms sometimes precede major earthquake ruptures. An earthquake swarm occurred in October 2015 near San Ramon, California in an extensional right step-over region between the northern Calaveras Fault and the Concord–Mt. Diablo fault...
How will East African maize yields respond to climate change and can agricultural development mitigate this response?
Frank Davebport, Chris Funk, Gideon Galu
2018, Climatic Change (147) 491-506
We analyze the response of Kenyan maize yields to near-term climate change and explore potential mitigation options. We model county level yields as a function of rainfall and temperature during a period of increased regional warming and drying (1989–2008). We then do a counter factual analysis...
Continuous water-quality and suspended-sediment transport monitoring in the San Francisco Bay, California, water years 2014–15
Paul A. Buchanan, Maureen A. Downing-Kunz, David H. Schoellhamer, Daniel N. Livsey
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3013
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitors water quality and suspended-sediment transport in the San Francisco Bay (bay) as part of a multi-agency effort to address management, water supply, and ecological concerns. The San Francisco Bay area is home to millions of people, and the bay teems both with resident and...
Context-dependent interactions and the regulation of species richness in freshwater fish
Andrew S. MacDougall, Eric Harvey, Jenny L. McCune, Karin A. Nilsson, Joseph Bennett, Jennifer Firn, Timothy Bartley, James B. Grace, Jocelyn Kelly, Tyler D. Tunney, Bailey C. McMeans, Shin-Ichiro S. Matsuzaki, Taku Kadoya, Ellen Esch, Kevin Cazelles, Nigel Lester, Kevin S. McCann
2018, Nature Communications (9) 1-9
Species richness is regulated by a complex network of scale-dependent processes. This complexity can obscure the influence of limiting species interactions, making it difficult to determine if abiotic or biotic drivers are more predominant regulators of richness. Using integrative modeling of freshwater fish richness from 721 lakes along an 11olatitudinal...
Bioremediation in fractured rock: 2. Mobilization of chloroethene compounds from the rock matrix
Allen M. Shapiro, Claire R. Tiedeman, Thomas E. Imbrigiotta, Daniel J. Goode, Paul A. Hsieh, Pierre Lacombe, Mary F. DeFlaun, Scott R. Drew, Gary P. Curtis
2018, Groundwater (56) 317-336
A mass balance is formulated to evaluate the mobilization of chlorinated ethene compounds (CE) from the rock matrix of a fractured mudstone aquifer under pre- and postbioremediation conditions. The analysis relies on a sparse number of monitoring locations and is constrained by a detailed description of the groundwater flow regime....
Operational tracking of lava lake surface motion at Kīlauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Matthew R. Patrick, Tim R. Orr
2018, Techniques and Methods 13-A3
Surface motion is an important component of lava lake behavior, but previous studies of lake motion have been focused on short time intervals. In this study, we implement the first continuous, real-time operational routine for tracking lava lake surface motion, applying the technique to the persistent lava lake in Halema‘uma‘u...
Energetic solutions of Rock Sandpipers to harsh winter conditions rely on prey quality
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Anne Dekinga, Robert E. Gill Jr., Theunis Piersma
2018, Ibis (160) 397-412
Rock Sandpipers Calidris ptilocnemis have the most northerly non-breeding distribution of any shorebird in the Pacific Basin (upper Cook Inlet, Alaska; 61°N, 151°W). In terms of freezing temperatures, persistent winds and pervasive ice, this site is the harshest used by shorebirds during winter. We integrated physiological, metabolic, behavioural and environmental aspects of...
Fungal disease prevention in seedlings of rice (Oryza sativa) and other grasses by growth-promoting seed-associated endophytic bacteria from invasive Phragmites australis
Satish Kumar Verma, Kathryn L. Kingsley, Marshall S. Bergen, Kurt P. Kowalski, James F. White
2018, Microorganisms (6) 1-13
Non-cultivated plants carry microbial endophytes that may be used to enhance development and disease resistance of crop species where growth-promoting and protective microbes may have been lost. During seedling establishment, seedlings may be infected by several fungal pathogens that are seed or soil borne. Several species of Fusarium, Pythium and other water moulds...
Landscapes from the waves—Marine terraces of California
Marjorie S. Schulz, Corey Lawrence, Daniel R. Muhs, Carol S. Prentice, Sam Flanagan
2018, Fact Sheet 2018-3002
Many coastlines around the world have stair-step landforms, known as marine terraces. Marine terraces make up a large part of coastal California’s landscape—from San Diego to Crescent City. Find out how these landscapes form, why marine terraces are of interest to scientists, and where you can explore these landscapes....
Estimates of nitrate loads and yields from groundwater to streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed based on land use and geology
Silvia Terziotti, Paul D. Capel, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Jessica A. Hopple, Scott C. Kronholm
2018, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5160
The water quality of the Chesapeake Bay may be adversely affected by dissolved nitrate carried in groundwater discharge to streams. To estimate the concentrations, loads, and yields of nitrate from groundwater to streams for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, a regression model was developed based on measured nitrate concentrations from 156...
SWToolbox: A surface-water tool-box for statistical analysis of streamflow time series
Julie E. Kiang, Kate Flynn, Tong Zhai, Paul Hummel, Gregory E. Granato
2018, Techniques and Methods 4-A11
This report is a user guide for the low-flow analysis methods provided with version 1.0 of the Surface Water Toolbox (SWToolbox) computer program. The software combines functionality from two software programs—U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) SWSTAT and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) DFLOW. Both of these programs have been used primarily...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
