Optimal hydrograph separation using a recursive digital filter constrained by chemical mass balance, with application to selected Chesapeake Bay watersheds
Jeff P. Raffensperger, Anna C. Baker, Joel D. Blomquist, Jessica A. Hopple
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5034
Quantitative estimates of base flow are necessary to address questions concerning the vulnerability and response of the Nation’s water supply to natural and human-induced change in environmental conditions. An objective of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Project is to determine how hydrologic systems are affected by watershed characteristics,...
Sanitary quality of surface water during base-flow conditions in the Municipality of Caguas, Puerto Rico, 2014–15: A comparison with results from a similar 1997–99 study
Jesús Rodríguez-Martínez, Senén Guzmán-Ríos
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5045
A study was conducted in 2014–15 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Municipality of Caguas, to determine if changes in the stream sanitary quality during base-flow conditions have occurred since 1997–99, when a similar study was completed by the USGS. Water samples were collected for the...
Tolerance to disturbance regulated by attractiveness of resources: A case study of desert bighorn sheep within the River Mountains, Nevada
Chris E. Lowrey, Kathleen M. Longshore
2017, Western North American Naturalist (77) 82-98
Human activity may mimic predation risks for wildlife by causing abandonment of foraging sites and increasing expenditure of energy. Animals that can tolerate nonlethal disturbance may minimize these fitness costs. We examine this aspect of the risk—disturbance hypothesis by first analyzing recent habitat use of desert bighorn sheep relative to...
Streamflow alteration at selected sites in Kansas
Kyle E. Juracek, Ken Eng
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5046
An understanding of streamflow alteration in response to various disturbances is necessary for the effective management of stream habitat for a variety of species in Kansas. Streamflow alteration can have negative ecological effects. Using a modeling approach, streamflow alteration was assessed for 129 selected U.S. Geological Survey streamgages in the...
Using dynamic population simulations to extend resource selection analyses and prioritize habitats for conservation
Julie A. Heinrichs, Cameron L. Aldridge, Michael S. O’Donnell, Nathan Schumaker
2017, Ecological Modelling (359) 449-459
Prioritizing habitats for conservation is a challenging task, particularly for species with fluctuating populations and seasonally dynamic habitat needs. Although the use of resource selection models to identify and prioritize habitat for conservation is increasingly common, their ability to characterize important long-term habitats for dynamic populations are variable. To examine...
Spatial and temporal distribution of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)-size fish near the floating surface collector in the North Fork Reservoir, Oregon, 2016
Noah S. Adams, Collin D. Smith
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1080
Acoustic cameras were used to assess the behavior and abundance of bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus)-size fish at the entrance to the North Fork Reservoir juvenile fish floating surface collector (FSC). The purpose of the FSC is to collect downriver migrating juvenile salmonids at the North Fork Dam, and safely...
Use of electricity to sedate Lake Trout for intracoelomic implantation of electronic transmitters
Matthew D. Faust, Christopher Vandergoot, Eric T. Hostnik, Thomas R. Binder, Julia L. Mida Hinderer, Jessica T. Ives, Charles C. Krueger
2017, North American Journal of Fisheries Management (37) 768-777
Use of telemetry data to inform fisheries conservation and management is becoming increasingly common; as such, fish typically must be sedated before surgical implantation of transmitters into the coelom. Given that no widely available, immediate-release chemical sedative currently exists in North America, we investigated the feasibility of using electricity to...
In-vitro replication of Chelonid herpesvirus 5 in organotypic skin cultures from Hawaiian green turtles (Chelonia mydas)
Thierry M. Work, Julie Dagenais, Tina Weatherby, George H. Balazs, Mathias Ackermann
2017, Journal of Virology (91)
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a tumor disease of marine turtles associated with Chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) that has historically been refractory to growth in tissue culture. Here, we show for the first time de novo formation of ChHV5-positive intranuclear inclusions in cultured green turtle cells, which is indicative for active lytic...
Sedimentology, sequence-stratigraphy, and geochemical variations in the Mesoproterozoic Nonesuch Formation, northern Wisconsin, USA
Esther Kingsbury Stewart, Jeffrey L. Mauk
2017, Precambrian Research (294) 111-132
We use core descriptions and portable X-ray fluorescence analyses to identify lithofacies and stratigraphic surfaces for the Mesoproterozoic Nonesuch Formation within the Ashland syncline, Wisconsin. We group lithofacies into facies associations and construct a sequence stratigraphic framework based on lithofacies stacking and stratigraphic surfaces. The fluvial-alluvial facies association (upper...
Highlighting the complexities of a groundwater pilot study during an avian influenza outbreak: Methods, lessons learned, and select contaminant results
Laura E. Hubbard, Dana W. Kolpin, Chad L. Fields, Michelle L. Hladik, Luke R. Iwanowicz
2017, Environmental Research (158) 212-224
The highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N2) outbreak in the Midwestern United States (US) in 2015 was historic due to the number of birds and poultry operations impacted and the corresponding economic loss to the poultry industry and was the largest animal health emergency in US...
Sylvatic plague vaccine partially protects prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) in field trials
Tonie E. Rocke, Daniel W. Tripp, Robin E. Russell, Rachel C. Abbott, Katherine Richgels, Marc R. Matchett, Dean E. Biggins, Randall Griebel, Greg Schroeder, Shaun M. Grassel, David R. Pipkin, Jennifer Cordova, Adam Kavalunas, Brian Maxfield, Jesse T. Boulerice, Michael W. Miller
2017, EcoHealth (14) 438-450
Sylvatic plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, frequently afflicts prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.), causing population declines and local extirpations. We tested the effectiveness of bait-delivered sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) in prairie dog colonies on 29 paired placebo and treatment plots (1–59 ha in size; average 16.9 ha) in 7...
Assessment of water and proppant quantities associated with petroleum production from the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota, 2016
Seth S. Haines, Brian A. Varela, Sarah J. Hawkins, Nicholas J. Gianoutsos, Joanna N. Thamke, Mark A. Engle, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Christopher J. Schenk, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Kristen R. Marra, Scott A. Kinney, Tracey J. Mercier, Cericia D. Martinez
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3044
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has completed an assessment of water and proppant requirements and water production associated with the possible future production of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Three Forks and Bakken Formations (Late Devonian to Early Mississippian) of the Williston Basin Province in Montana and North...
Scanning and georeferencing historical USGS quadrangles
Kristin A. Fishburn, Larry R. Davis, Gregory J. Allord
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3048
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Geospatial Program is scanning published USGS 1:250,000-scale and larger topographic maps printed between 1884, the inception of the topographic mapping program, and 2006. The goal of this project, which began publishing the Historical Topographic Map Collection in 2011, is to provide access to a...
US Topo—Topographic maps for the Nation
Kristin A. Fishburn, William J. Carswell Jr.
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3045
Building on the success of 125 years of mapping, the U.S. Geological Survey created US Topo, a georeferenced digital map produced from The National Map data. US Topo maps are designed to be used like the traditional 7.5-minute quadrangle paper topographic maps for which the U.S. Geological Survey is so...
Field-trip guides to selected volcanoes and volcanic landscapes of the western United States
Water Resources Division, U.S. Geological Survey
2017, Scientific Investigations Report 2017-5022
The North American Cordillera is home to a greater diversity of volcanic provinces than any comparably sized region in the world. The interplay between changing plate-margin interactions, tectonic complexity, intra-crustal magma differentiation, and mantle melting have resulted in a wealth of volcanic landscapes. Field trips in this guide book collection...
Payments for carbon sequestration to alleviate development pressure in a rapidly urbanizing region
Jordan W. Smith, Monica Dorning, Douglas A. Shoemaker, Andreanne Meley, Lauren Dupey, Ross K. Meentemeyer
2017, Forest Science (63) 270-282
The purpose of this study was to determine individuals' willingness to enroll in voluntary payments for carbon sequestration programs through the use of a discrete choice experiment delivered to forest owners living in the rapidly urbanizing region surrounding Charlotte, North Carolina. We examined forest owners' willingness to enroll in payments...
Prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B. salamandrivorans in the Gulf Coast Waterdog, Necturus beyeri, from Southeast Louisiana, USA
Brad M. Glorioso, J. Hardin Waddle, Corinne L. Richards-Zawacki
2017, Herpetological Review (48) 360-363
The globally widespread amphibian fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been linked to amphibian declines worldwide (Lips et al. 2006; Skerratt et al. 2007). In Louisiana, USA, Bd has been found in several amphibian species (Chatfield et al. 2012; Rothermel et al. 2008), but to our knowledge no population-level die-offs...
Acute toxicity of polyacrylamide flocculants to early life stages of freshwater mussels
Sean B. Buczek, W. Gregory Cope, Richard A. McLaughlin, Thomas J. Kwak
2017, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (36) 2715-2721
Polyacrylamide has become an effective tool for reducing construction-related suspended sediment and turbidity, which are considered to have significant adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems and are a leading cause of the degradation of North American streams and rivers. However, little is known about the effects of polyacrylamide on many freshwater...
Evidence of fuels management and fire weather influencing fire severity in an extreme fire event
Jamie M Lydersen, Brandon M. Collins, Matthew L. Brooks, John R. Matchett, Kristen L. Shive, Nicholas A. Povak, Van R. Kane, Douglas F. Smith
2017, Ecological Applications (27) 2013-2030
Following changes in vegetation structure and pattern, along with a changing climate, large wildfire incidence has increased in forests throughout the western U.S. Given this increase there is great interest in whether fuels treatments and previous wildfire can alter fire severity patterns in large wildfires. We assessed the relative influence...
Juvenile salmonid monitoring in the White Salmon River, Washington, post-Condit Dam removal, 2016
Ian G. Jezorek, Jill M. Hardiman
2017, Open-File Report 2017-1070
Condit Dam, at river kilometer 5.3 on the White Salmon River, Washington, was breached in 2011 and removed completely in 2012, allowing anadromous salmonids access to habitat that had been blocked for nearly 100 years. A multi-agency workgroup concluded that the preferred salmonid restoration alternative was natural recolonization with...
The Niobrara Formation as a challenge to water quality in the Arkansas River, Colorado, USA
Carleton R. Bern, Stogner
2017, Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (12) 181-195
Study regionArkansas River, east of the Rocky Mountains.Study focusCretaceous sedimentary rocks in the western United States generally pose challenges to water quality, often through mobilization of salts and trace metals by irrigation. However, in the Arkansas River Basin of Colorado, patchy exposure of multiple Cretaceous formations...
Selected water-resources activities of the U.S. Geological Survey in New England in 2017
Peter K. Weiskel
2017, Fact Sheet 2017-3049
The New England Water Science Center of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is headquartered in Pembroke, New Hampshire, with offices in East Hartford, Connecticut; Augusta, Maine; Northborough, Massachusetts; and Montpelier, Vermont. The areas of expertise covered by the water science center’s staff of 130 include aquatic biology, chemistry, geographic information...
Can we save large carnivores without losing large carnivore science?
Benjamin L. Allen, Lee R. Allen, Henrik Andren, Guy Ballard, Luigi Boitani, Richard M. Engeman, Peter J.S. Fleming, Peter M. Haswell, Adam T. Ford, Rafal Kowalczyk, L. David Mech, John Linnell, Daniel M. Parker
2017, Food Webs (12) 64-75
Large carnivores are depicted to shape entire ecosystems through top-down processes. Studies describing these processes are often used to support interventionist wildlife management practices, including carnivore reintroduction or lethal control programs. Unfortunately, there is an increasing tendency to ignore, disregard or devalue fundamental principles of the scientific method when communicating...
Influence of lithostatic stress on earthquake stress drops in North America
Oliver S. Boyd, Daniel E. McNamara, Stephen H. Hartzell, George Choy
2017, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America (107) 856-868
We estimate stress drops for earthquakes in and near the continental United States using the method of spectral ratios. The ratio of acceleration spectra between collocated earthquakes recorded at a given station removes the effects of path and recording site and yields source parameters including corner frequency for, and the...
RNA sequencing analysis of transcriptional change in the freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata after environmentally relevant sodium chloride exposure
Laura S. Robertson, Heather S. Galbraith, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Robert S. Cornman
2017, Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (36) 2352-2366
To identify potential biomarkers of salt stress in a freshwater sentinel species, we examined transcriptional responses of the common mussel Elliptio complanata to controlled sodium chloride (NaCl) exposures. Ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-Seq) of mantle tissue identified 481 transcripts differentially expressed in adult mussels exposed to 2 ppt NaCl (1.2 ppt chloride) for...
