Propensity score matching mitigates risk of faulty inferences in observational studies of effectiveness of restoration trials
Chad Raymond Kluender, Matthew J. Germino, Christopher A Anthony
2024, Journal of Applied Ecology (61) 1127-1137
Determining effectiveness of restoration treatments is an important requirement of adaptive management, but it can be non-trivial where only portions of large and heterogeneous landscapes of concern can be treated and sampled. Bias and non-randomness in the spatial deployment of treatment and thus sampling is nearly unavoidable in the...
The potential influence of genome-wide adaptive divergence on conservation translocation outcome in an isolated greater sage-grouse population
Shawna J Zimmerman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael A Schroeder, Jennifer A. Fike, Robert S. Cornman, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2024, Conservation Biology (38)
Conservation translocations are an important conservation tool commonly employed to augment declining or reestablish extirpated populations. One goal of augmentation is to increase genetic diversity and reduce the risk of inbreeding depression (i.e., genetic rescue). However, introducing individuals from significantly diverged populations risks disrupting coadapted traits and...
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, May 19–26, 2021
Richard J. Huizinga
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5021
Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, near nine bridges at eight highway crossings of the Missouri River between Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, from May 19 to 26, 2021. A multibeam echosounder mapping system was used...
Vegetation, fuels, and fire-behavior responses to linear fuel-break treatments in and around burned sagebrush steppe: Are we breaking the grass-fire cycle?
Matthew J. Germino, Samuel J. Price, Susan J Prichard
2024, Fire Ecology (20)
BackgroundLinear fuel breaks are being implemented to moderate fire behavior and improve wildfire containment in semiarid landscapes such as the sagebrush steppe of North America, where extensive losses in perennial vegetation and ecosystem functioning are resulting from invasion by exotic annual grasses (EAGs) that foster large and recurrent...
Comparing modern identification methods for wild bees: Metabarcoding and image-based morphological taxonomic assignment
Cassandra Smith, Robert S. Cornman, Jennifer A. Fike, Johanna M. Kraus, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Carrie E. Givens, Michelle L. Hladik, Mark W. Vandever, Dana W. Kolpin, Kelly L. Smalling
2024, PLoS ONE (19)
With the decline of bee populations worldwide, studies determining current wild bee distributions and diversity are increasingly important. Wild bee identification is often completed by experienced taxonomists or by genetic analysis. The current study was designed to compare two methods of identification including: (1) morphological identification...
Paleogene Earth perturbations in the US Atlantic Coastal Plain (PEP-US): Coring transects of hyperthermals to understand past carbon injections and ecosystem responses
Marci M. Robinson, Kenneth Miller, Tali Babila, Tim J Bralower, Jim Browning, Marlow Cramwinckel, Monika Doubrawa, Gavin L Foster, Megan Fung, Sean D. Kinney, Maria Makarova, Pete McLaughlin, Paul Pearson, Ursula Rohl, Morgan Schaller, Jean Self-Trail, Appy Sluijs, Thomas Westerhold, James R. Wright, James Zachos
2024, Scientific Drilling (33) 47-65
The release of over 4500 Gt (gigatonnes) of carbon at the Paleocene–Eocene boundary provides the closest geological analog to modern anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The cause(s) of and responses to the resulting Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and attendant carbon isotopic excursion (CIE) remain enigmatic and intriguing...
Current and projected flood exposure for Alaska coastal communities
Richard Michael Buzard, Christopher V. Maio, Li H. Erikson, Jacquelyn R. Overbeck, Nicole E. M. Kinsman, Benjamin M. Jones
2024, Scientific Reports (14)
Globally, coastal communities experience flood hazards that are projected to worsen from climate change and sea level rise. The 100-year floodplain or record flood are commonly used to identify risk areas for planning purposes. Remote communities often lack measured flood elevations and require innovative approaches to...
The Ecosystem Approach in the 21st century: Guiding science and management – A synthesis
S.A. Ludsin, Andrew Kenneth Carlson, A.T. Duncan, C.M. Febria, J.H. Hartig, W.A. Kellogg, C.K. Minns, M. Munawar, S. Nolan, M. Van der Knaap, E.M. Verhamme, K.C. Williams
2024, Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management (27) 108-116
Maintaining the integrity and health of aquatic ecosystems is critical to sustaining the many valued services that they provide society. Unfortunately, achieving this goal has proven challenging in most of the world's large ecosystems owing to rampant environmental change caused by human-driven stress, including accelerating climate change, pollution of waterways,...
Estimating migration timing and abundance in partial migratory systems by integrating continuous antenna detections with physical captures
Maria C. Dzul, William L. Kendall, Charles B. Yackulic, D.R. Van Haverbeke, P. Mackinnon, K. Young, M. Pillow, Joseph E Thomas
2024, Journal of Animal Ecology (93) 796-811
Many populations migrate between two different habitats (e.g. wintering/foraging to breeding area, mainstem–tributary, river–lake, river–ocean, river–side channel) as part of their life history. Detection technologies, such as passive integrated transponder (PIT) antennas or sonic receivers, can be placed at boundaries between habitats (e.g. near the confluence of rivers) to...
Design and calibration of a nitrate decision support tool for groundwater wells in Wisconsin, USA
Paul F. Juckem, Nicholas Corson-Dosch, Laura A. Schachter, Christopher Green, Kelsie M. Ferin, Eric G. Booth, Christopher J. Kucharik, Brian P. Austin, Leon J. Kauffman
2024, Environmental Modeling and Software, (176)
This paper describes development of a nitrate decision support tool for groundwater wells (GW-NDST) that combines nitrate leaching and groundwater lag-times to compute well concentrations. The GW-NDST uses output from support models that simulate leached nitrate, groundwater age distributions, and...
Modeling the potential spread of the non-native regal demoiselle, Neopomacentrus cyanomos, in the western Atlantic
Melanie M Esch, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Nuno Simoes, Timothy R McClanahan, Alastair R Harborne
2024, Coral Reefs (43) 641-653
Predicting the potential distribution of a non-native species can assist management efforts to mitigate impacts on recipient ecosystems. However, such predictions are lacking for marine species, such as the non-native regal demoiselle, Neopomacentrus cyanomos, that is currently expanding its distribution in the western Atlantic. We used correlative...
Simulating past and future fire impacts on Mediterranean ecosystems
Christoph Schworer, Cesar Morales-Molino, Erika Gobet, Paul D. Henne, Salvatore Pasta, Tiziana Pedrotta, Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen, Boris Vanniere, Willy Tinner
2024, Journal of Ecology (112) 954-970
Worldwide, large wildfires are becoming increasingly common, leading to economic damages and threatening ecosystems and human health. Under future climate change, more frequent fire disturbance may push ecosystems into non-forested alternative stable states. Fire-prone ecosystems such as those in the Mediterranean Basin are expected to be particularly vulnerable, but...
Clumped isotopes record a glacial-interglacial shift in seasonality of soil carbonate accumulation in the San Luis Valley, southern Rocky Mountains, USA
Adam M. Hudson, Julia R. Kelson, James B. Paces, Chester A. Ruleman, Katharine W. Huntington, Andrew J. Schauer
2024, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems (25)
Clumped isotope paleothermometry using pedogenic carbonates is a powerful tool for investigating past climate changes. However, location-specific seasonal patterns of precipitation and soil moisture cause systematic biases in the temperatures they record, hampering comparison of data across large areas or differing climate states. To account for biases, more systematic studies...
Timing and source of recharge to the Columbia River Basalt groundwater system in northeastern Oregon
Henry M. Johnson, Kate E. Ely, Anna-Turi Maher
2024, Groundwater (62) 761-777
Recharge to and flow within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) groundwater flow system of northeastern Oregon were characterized using isotopic, gas, and age-tracer samples from wells completed in basalt, springs, and stream base flow. Most groundwater samples were late-Pleistocene to early-Holocene; median age of...
Inbuilt age, residence time, and inherited age from radiocarbon dates of modern fires and late Holocene deposits, Western Transverse Ranges, California
Katherine M. Scharer, Devin McPhillips, Jenifer Amy Leidelmeijer, Matthew Kirby
2024, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (49) 2309-2582
Radiocarbon dates of sedimentary deposits include the elapsed time between formation of the organic material and deposition at the sample site, known as the inherited age. Long inherited ages reduce the accuracy of estimates of the timing of depositional events used to infer paleoclimate change, fire histories, and paleoearthquake...
Evaluation of the characteristics, discharge, and water quality of selected springs at Fort Irwin National Training Center, San Bernardino County, California
Jill N. Densmore, Drew C. Thayer, Meghan C. Dick, Peter W. Swarzenski, Lyndsay B. Ball, Celia Z. Rosecrans, Cordell Johnson
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2023-5142
Eight springs and seeps at Fort Irwin National Training Center were described and categorized by their general characteristics, discharge, geophysical properties, and water quality between 2015 and 2017. The data collected establish a modern (2017) baseline of hydrologic conditions at the springs. Two types of springs were identified: (1) precipitation-fed...
Genetic Connectivity in the Arizona toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus): implications for conservation of a stream dwelling amphibian in the arid Southwestern U.S.
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Mason J. Ryan, Brian K. Sullivan, Jennifer A. Fike, Robert S. Cornman, J. T. Giermakowski, Shawna J Zimmerman, R. L. Harrow, S.J. Hedwell, Blake R. Hossack, I. M. Latella, R. E. Lovish, S. Siefken, Brent H. Sigafus, Erin L. Muths
2024, Conservation Genetics (25) 835-848
The Arizona Toad (Anaxyrus microscaphus) is restricted to riverine corridors and adjacent uplands in the arid southwestern United States. As with numerous amphibians worldwide, populations are declining and face various known or suspected threats, from disease to habitat modification resulting from climate change. The Arizona Toad has been petitioned to...
Summary of the discussions during 2023 SSA topical meeting on “Future Directions for Physics-Based Ground Motion Modeling”
Hiroshi Kawase, Annemarie S. Baltay
2024, Seismological Research Letters (95) 2026-2030
The Seismological Society of America (SSA) topical conference, Future Directions for Physics‐Based Ground Motion Modeling, was held in Vancouver, Canada, on 10–13 October 2023, co‐sponsored by the Seismological Society of Japan and co‐chaired by Annemarie Baltay of the U.S. Geological Survey and Hiroshi Kawase of Kyoto University. This meeting brought...
Post-wildfire debris flows
Joseph Gartner, Jason W. Kean, Francis K. Rengers, Scott W. McCoy, Nina S. Oakley, Gary J. Sheridan
2024, Book chapter, Advances in Debris-flow Science and Practice
Post-wildfire debris flows pose severe hazards to communities and infrastructure near and within recently burned mountainous terrain. Intense heat of wildfires changes the runoff characteristics of a watershed by combusting the vegetative canopy, litter, and duff, introducing ash into the soil and creating water repellant soils. Following wildfire, rainfall on...
Lahars: Origins, behavior and hazards
James W. Vallance
Matthias Jakob, Scott McDougall, Paul Santi, editor(s)
2024, Book chapter, Advances in debris-flow science and practice
Volcanic debris flows that originate at potentially active volcanoes are called lahars. Lahars are like debris flows in non-volcanic terrain but can most notably differ in origin and size. Primary lahars occur during eruptions and may have novel origins such as turbulent mixing of hot rock moving across ice- and...
Numerical modeling of debris flows: A conceptual assessment
Richard M. Iverson, David L. George
2024, Book chapter, Advances in Debris-flow Science and Practice
Real-world hazard evaluation poses many challenges for the development and application of numerical models of debris flows. In this chapter we provide a conceptual overview of physically based, depth-averaged models designed to simulate debris-flow motion across three-dimensional terrain. When judiciously formulated and applied, these models can...
A comparison of contemporary and historical hydrology and water quality in the foothills and coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Arctic Slope, northern Alaska
Joshua C. Koch, Heather Best, Carson Baughman, Charles Couvillion, Michael P. Carey, Jeff Conaway
2024, Scientific Investigations Report 2024-5008
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a unique landscape in northern Alaska with limited water resources, substantial biodiversity of rare and threatened species, as well as oil and gas resources. The region has unique hydrology related to perennial springs, and the formation of large aufeis fields—sheets of ice that grow...
Evaluation of an impulse-response emulator for groundwater contaminant transport modeling
Brent Porter Heerspink, Michael N. Fienen, Howard W. Reeves
2024, Groundwater (62) 945-956
There is a significant need to develop decision support tools capable of delivering accurate representations of environmental conditions, such as ground and surface water solute concentrations, in a timely and computationally efficient manner. Such tools can be leveraged to assess a large number of potential management strategies for mitigating non-point...
Performance-based earthquake early warning for tall buildings
S. Farid Ghahari, Khachik Sargsyan, Grace Alexandra Parker, Dan Swensen, Mehmet Celebi, Hamid Haddadi, Ertugrul Taciroglu
2024, Earthquake Spectra (40) 1425-1451
The ShakeAlert Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system aims to issue an advance warning to residents on the West Coast of the United States seconds before the ground shaking arrives, if the expected ground shaking exceeds a certain threshold. However, residents in tall buildings may experience much greater...
Integrated distance sampling models for simple point counts
Marc Kery, J. Andrew Royle, Tyler Hallman, Doug Robinson, Nicolas Strebel, Kenneth F. Kellner
2024, Ecology (105)
Point counts (PCs) are widely used in biodiversity surveys but, despite numerous advantages, simple PCs suffer from several problems: detectability, and therefore abundance, is unknown; systematic spatiotemporal variation in detectability yields biased inferences, and unknown survey area prevents formal density estimation and scaling-up to the landscape level. We introduce integrated...
