Determining fine-scale use and movement patterns of diving bird species in federal waters of the Mid-Atlantic United States using satellite telemetry
Caleb Spiegel, Alicia Berlin, Andrew Gilbert, Carrie E. Gray, William Montevecchi, Iain Stenhouse, Scott Ford, Glenn H. Olsen, Jonathan Fiely, Lucas Savoy, M. Wing Goodale, Chantelle Burke
2017, Report
Offshore wind energy development in the United States is projected to expand in the upcoming decades to meet growing energy demands and reduce fossil fuel emissions. There is particular interest in commercial offshore wind development within Federal waters (i.e., > 3 nautical miles from shore) of the mid-Atlantic. In order...
Application of synthetic scenarios to address water resource concerns: A management-guided case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin
Stephanie A. McAfee, Gregory T. Pederson, Connie A. Woodhouse, Gregory J. McCabe
2017, Climate Services (8) 26-35
Water managers are increasingly interested in better understanding and planning for projected resource impacts from climate change. In this management-guided study, we use a very large suite of synthetic climate scenarios in a statistical modeling framework to simultaneously evaluate how (1) average temperature and precipitation changes, (2) initial basin conditions,...
Estimating virus occurrence using Bayesian modeling in multiple drinking water systems of the United States
Eunice A. Varughese, Nichole E Brinkman, Emily M Anneken, Jennifer S Cashdollar, G. Shay Fout, Edward T. Furlong, Dana W. Kolpin, Susan T. Glassmeyer, Scott P Keely
2017, Science of the Total Environment (619-620) 1330-1339
Drinking water treatment plants rely on purification of contaminated source waters to provide communities with potable water. One group of possible contaminants are enteric viruses. Measurement of viral quantities in environmental water systems are often performed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or quantitative PCR (qPCR). However, true values may be...
Estimating rupture distances without a rupture
Eric M. Thompson, Charles Worden
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (10) 1-9
Most ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) require distances that are defined relative to a rupture model, such as the distance to the surface projection of the rupture (RJB) or the closest distance to the rupture plane (RRUP). There are a number of situations in which GMPEs are used where it...
Exploration of diffuse and discrete sources of acid mine drainage to a headwater mountain stream in Colorado, USA
Allison Johnston, Robert L. Runkel, Alexis Navarre-Sitchler, Kamini Singha
2017, Mine Water and the Environment (36) 463-478
We investigated the impact of acid mine drainage (AMD) contamination from the Minnesota Mine, an inactive gold and silver mine, on Lion Creek, a headwater mountain stream near Empire, Colorado. The objective was to map the sources of AMD contamination, including discrete sources visible at the surface and diffuse inputs...
Geologic characterization of the hydrocarbon resource potential of the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale in Mississippi and Louisiana, U.S.A.
Catherine B. Enomoto, Paul C. Hackley, Brett J. Valentine, William A. Rouse, Frank T. Dulong, Celeste D. Lohr, Javin J. Hatcherian
2017, Conference Paper, Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions
Recent oil production from the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) has elevated the formation, previously assessed by the USGS in 2011 as part of the Eagle Ford Group, to its own distinct assessment unit for an upcoming assessment. Geologic characterization in preparation for the 2017 assessment has included...
Concepts: Integrating population survey data from different spatial scales, sampling methods, and species
Robert Dorazio, Mohan Delampady, Soumen Dey, Arjun M. Gopalaswamy
K. Ullas Karanth, James D. Nichols, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Methods for monitoring tiger and prey populations
Conservationists and managers are continually under pressure from the public, the media, and political policy makers to provide “tiger numbers,” not just for protected reserves, but also for large spatial scales, including landscapes, regions, states, nations, and even globally. Estimating the abundance of tigers within relatively small areas (e.g., protected...
Feral goats and sheep
Steve C. Hess, Dirk H. Van Vuren, Gary W. Witmer
William C. Pitt, James Beasley, Gary W. Witmer, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Ecology and management of terrestrial vertebrate invasive species in the United States
No abstract available....
Advancing mangrove macroecology
Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Michael J. Osland, John W. Day, Santanu Ray, Andre S. Rovai, Richard H. Day, Joyita Mukherjee
Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Shing Yip Lee, Erik Kristensen, Robert R. Twilley, editor(s)
2017, Book chapter, Mangrove ecosystems: A global biogeographic perspective
Mangrove forests provide a wide range of ecosystem services to society, yet they are among the most anthropogenically impacted coastal ecosystems in the world. In this chapter, we discuss and provide examples for how macroecology can advance our understanding of mangrove ecosystems. Macroecology is broadly defined as a discipline that...
Discriminating between natural vs induced seismicity from long-term deformation history of intraplate faults
Maria Beatrice Magnani, Michael L. Blanpied, Heather R. DeShon, Matthew Hornbach
2017, Science Advances (3)
To assess whether recent seismicity is induced by human activity or is of natural origin, we analyze fault displacements on high-resolution seismic reflection profiles for two regions in the central United States (CUS): the Fort Worth Basin (FWB) of Texas, and the northern Mississippi embayment (NME). Since 2009 earthquake activity...
Integrated wetland management for waterfowl and shorebirds at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina
Brian G. Tavernia, John D. Stanton, James E. Lyons
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1052
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge (MNWR) offers a mix of open water, marsh, forest, and cropland habitats on 20,307 hectares in coastal North Carolina. In 1934, Federal legislation (Executive Order 6924) established MNWR to benefit wintering waterfowl and other migratory bird species. On an annual basis, the refuge staff decide how...
Macroinvertebrate communities evaluated prior to and following a channel restoration project in Silver Creek, Blaine County, Idaho, 2001-16
Dorene E. MacCoy, Terry M. Short
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5126
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Blaine County and The Nature Conservancy, evaluated the status of macroinvertebrate communities prior to and following a channel restoration project in Silver Creek, Blaine County, Idaho. The objective of the evaluation was to determine whether 2014 remediation efforts to restore natural channel...
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lena-Vilyui Basin Province, 2008
Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman
Thomas E. Moore, D. L. Gautier, editor(s)
2017, Professional Paper 1824-V
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Lena-Vilyui Basin Province, north of the Arctic Circle, as part of the Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province is in the Russian Federation and is situated between the Verkhoyansk fold-and-thrust belt and the...
Wildlife governance in the 21st century—Will sustainable use endure?
Daniel J. Decker, John F. Organ, Ann Forstchen, Cynthia A. Jacobson, William F. Siemer, Christian A. Smith, Patrick E. Lederle, Michael V. Schiavone
2017, Wildlife Society Bulletin (41) 821-826
In light of the trajectory of wildlife governance in the United States, the future of sustainable use of wildlife is a topic of substantial interest in the wildlife conservation community. We examine sustainable-use principles with respect to “good governance” considerations and public trust administration principles to assess how sustainable use...
Imaging shear strength along subduction faults
Quentin Bletery, Amanda M. Thomas, Alan W. Rempel, Jeanne L. Hardebeck
2017, Geophysical Research Letters (44) 11329-11339
Subduction faults accumulate stress during long periods of time and release this stress suddenly, during earthquakes, when it reaches a threshold. This threshold, the shear strength, controls the occurrence and magnitude of earthquakes. We consider a 3-D model to derive an analytical expression for how the shear strength depends on...
Organic carbon burial in global lakes and reservoirs
Raquel Mendonca, Roger A. Muller, David W. Clow, Charles Verpoorter, Peter Raymond, Lars Tranvik, Sebastian Sobek
2017, Nature Communications (8)
Burial in sediments removes organic carbon (OC) from the short-term biosphere-atmosphere carbon (C) cycle, and therefore prevents greenhouse gas production in natural systems. Although OC burial in lakes and reservoirs is faster than in the ocean, the magnitude of inland water OC burial is not well constrained. Here we generate...
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Zyryanka Basin Province, 2008
Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman
Thomas E. Moore, D. L. Gautier, editor(s)
2017, Professional Paper 1824-X
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently assessed the potential for undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Zyryanka Basin Province as part of the 2008 USGS Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal program. The province is in the Russian Federation and is situated on the Omolon superterrane of the Kolyma block. The one...
Estimating discharge and nonpoint source nitrate loading to streams from three end‐member pathways using high‐frequency water quality data
Matthew P. Miller, Anthony J. Tesoriero, Krista Hood, Silvia Terziotti, David M. Wolock
2017, Water Resources Research (53) 10201-10216
The myriad hydrologic and biogeochemical processes taking place in watersheds occurring across space and time are integrated and reflected in the quantity and quality of water in streams and rivers. Collection of high‐frequency water quality data with sensors in surface waters provides new opportunities to disentangle these processes and quantify...
Vaccine effects on heterogeneity in susceptibility and implications for population health management
Kate E. Langwig, Andrew R. Wargo, Darbi R. Jones, Jessie R. Viss, Barbara J. Rutan, Nicholas A. Egan, Pedro Sa-Guimaraes, Min Sun Kim, Gael Kurath, M. Gabriela M. Gomes, Marc Lipsitch
Shweta Bansal, Melinda M. Pettigrew, editor(s)
2017, mBio (8) 1-13
Heterogeneity in host susceptibility is a key determinant of infectious disease dynamics but is rarely accounted for in assessment of disease control measures. Understanding how susceptibility is distributed in populations, and how control measures change this distribution, is integral to predicting the course of epidemics with and without interventions. Using...
Timing of warm water refuge use in Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge by manatees—Results and insights from Global Positioning System telemetry data
Daniel H. Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Catherine G. Haase
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1146
Managers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (CRNWR) desire to update their management plan regarding the operation of select springs including Three Sisters Springs. They wish to refine existing parameters used to predict the presence of federally threatened Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee) in...
The U.S. Geological Survey Peak-Flow File Data Verification Project, 2008–16
Karen R. Ryberg, Burl B. Goree, Tara Williams-Sether, Robert R. Mason, Jr.
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5119
Annual peak streamflow (peak flow) at a streamgage is defined as the maximum instantaneous flow in a water year. A water year begins on October 1 and continues through September 30 of the following year; for example, water year 2015 extends from October 1, 2014, through September 30, 2015. The...
Geologic field-trip guide to the volcanic and hydrothermal landscape of the Yellowstone Plateau
Lisa Ann Morgan Morzel, W. C. Pat Shanks, Jacob B. Lowenstern, Jamie M. Farrell, Joel E. Robinson
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5022-P
Yellowstone National Park, a nearly 9,000 km2 (~3,468 mi2) area, was preserved in 1872 as the world’s first national park for its unique, extraordinary, and magnificent natural features. Rimmed by a crescent of older mountainous terrain, Yellowstone National Park has at its core the Quaternary Yellowstone Plateau, an...
An expert elicitation process to project the frequency and magnitude of Florida manatee mortality events caused by red tide (Karenia brevis)
Julien Martin, Michael C. Runge, Leanne J. Flewelling, Charles J. Deutsch, Jan H. Landsberg
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1132
Red tides (blooms of the harmful alga Karenia brevis) are one of the major sources of mortality for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), especially in southwest Florida. It has been hypothesized that the frequency and severity of red tides may increase in the future because of global climate...
Intraspecific evolutionary relationships among peregrine falcons in western North American high latitudes
Sandra L. Talbot, George K. Sage, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Megan C. Gravley, Ted Swem, Jeffrey C. Williams, Jonathan L. Longmire, Skip Ambrose, Melanie J. Flamme, Stephen B. Lewis, Laura M. Phillips, Clifford Anderson, Clayton M White
2017, PLoS ONE (12) 1-25
Subspecies relationships within the peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) have been long debated because of the polytypic nature of melanin-based plumage characteristics used in subspecies designations and potential differentiation of local subpopulations due to philopatry. In North America, understanding the evolutionary relationships among subspecies may have been further complicated by the...
Design- and model-based recommendations for detecting and quantifying an amphibian pathogen in environmental samples
Brittany A. Mosher, Kathryn Huyvaert, Tara E. Chestnut, Jacob L. Kerby, Joseph D. Madison, Larissa L. Bailey
2017, Ecolology and Evolution (7) 10952-10962
Accurate pathogen detection is essential for developing management strategies to address emerging infectious diseases, an increasingly prominent threat to wildlife. Sampling for free-living pathogens outside of their hosts has benefits for inference and study efficiency, but is still uncommon. We used a laboratory experiment to...
