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Publications

The USGS publishes peer-reviewed reports and journal articles which are used by Chesapeake Bay Program resource managers and policy makers to make science-based decisions for ecosystem conservation and restoration. Use the Search box below to find publications on selected topics.

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Filter Total Items: 901

Breeding productivity of Smith Island black ducks

We investigated the breeding performance of American black ducks (Anas rubripes) on Smith Island, Chesapeake Bay, to improve our understanding of island black duck breeding ecology and to make management recommendations to enhance productivity. During 1995-96, we implanted 56 female black ducks with 20-g radio transmitters and tracked 35 of the individuals through the breeding season to locate ne
Authors
G. M. Haramis, Dennis G. Jorde, Glenn H. Olsen, D.B. Stotts, M.K. Harrison

Managing dredged sediment placement in open-water disposal sites, Upper Chesapeake Bay

The maintenance dredging of fine-grained sediment which accumulated in shipping channels in the Upper Chesapeake was discussed. The capacity of open-water sites was maximized in an environmentally acceptable manner to provide adequate time for the development of beneficial use or confined placement sites. The additional water column turbidity generated by dragging operations and bottom sediment mo
Authors
W. Panageotou

Capture locations and growth rates of Atlantic sturgeon in the Chesapeake Bay

Little information exists on temporal and spatial distributions of wild and hatchery-reared Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus in the Chesapeake Bay. Approximately 3,300 hatchery-reared Atlantic sturgeon comprised of two size groups were released into the Nanticoke River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, on 8 July 1996. During January 1996-May 2000, 1099 Atlantic sturgeon were cap
Authors
S.A. Welsh, S.M. Eyler, M.F. Mangold, A.J. Spells

Anthropogenic sources of arsenic and copper to sediments in a suburban lake, Northern Virginia

Mass balances of total arsenic and copper for a suburban lake in densely populated northern Virginia were calculated using data collected during 1998. Mass-balance terms were precipitation; stream inflow, including road runoff; stream outflow; and contributions from leaching of pressure-treated lumber. More mass of arsenic and copper was input to the lake than was output; the 1998 lake-retention r
Authors
Karen C. Rice, Kathryn M. Conko, George M. Hornberger

Finfish of the Chesapeake Bay

No abstract available.
Authors

Distribution and movement of shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) in the Chesapeake Bay

During a reward program for Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus), 40 federally endangered shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) were captured and reported by commercial fishers between January 1996 and January 2000 from the Chesapeake Bay. Since this is more than double the number of published records of shortnose sturgeon in the Chesapeake Bay between 1876 and 1995, little information h
Authors
S.A. Welsh, M.F. Mangold, J.E. Skjeveland, A.J. Spells

Radiocarbon dating, chronologic framework, and changes in accumulation rates of holocene estuarine sediments from Chesapeake Bay

Rapidly accumulating Holocene sediments in estuaries commonly are difficult to sample and date. In Chesapeake Bay, we obtained sediment cores as much as 20 m in length and used numerous radiocarbon ages measured by accelarator mass spectrometry methods to provide the first detailed chronologies of Holocene sediment accumulation in the bay. Carbon in these sediments is a complex mixture of material
Authors
Steven M. Colman, P.C. Baucom, J.F. Bratton, T. M. Cronin, J. P. McGeehin, D. Willard, A.R. Zimmerman, P.R. Vogt

Ancient impact structures on modern continental shelves: The Chesapeake Bay, Montagnais, and Toms Canyon craters, Atlantic margin of North America

Three ancient impact craters (Chesapeake Bay - 35.7 Ma; Toms Canyon - 35.7 Ma; Montagnais - 51 Ma) and one multiring impact basin (Chicxulub - 65 Ma) are currently known to be buried beneath modern continental shelves. All occur on the passive Atlantic margin of North America in regions extensively explored by seismic reflection surveys in the search for oil and gas reserves. We limit our discussi
Authors
C. Wylie Poag, J. B. Plescia, P.C. Molzer

Illustrated field guide for assessing external and internal anomalies in fish

Procedures are described for processing fish for examination of external and internal anomalies and pathologies indicative of exposure to environmental contaminants and other peturbations. For the procedures described here, fish are captured (preferably by electrofishing) and held alive until processing (generally < 1 h). Fish are weighed, measured, and necropsied, and a scale sample is obtaine
Authors
Stephen B. Smith, Anne P. Donahue, Robin J. Lipkin, Vicki Blazer, Christopher J. Schmitt, Ronald W. Goede

Water-quality data for pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000

Water-quality data collected during 1999 and 2000 as part of the first nationwide reconnaissance of the occurrence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) are presented in this report. A network of 139 streams in 30 states were sampled and analyzed for 95 different OWCs using five new research methods developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. Site selection wa
Authors
Kimberlee K. Barnes, Dana W. Kolpin, Michael T. Meyer, E. Michael Thurman, Edward T. Furlong, Steven D. Zaugg, Larry B. Barber

Induction of skin ulcers in Atlantic menhaden by injection and aqueous exposure to the zoospores of Aphanomyces invadans

The infectivity and role of Aphanomyces invadans in the etiology of skin ulcers in Atlantic menhaden Brevoortia tyrannus were investigated with two laboratory challenges. In the first experiment, Atlantic menhaden received subcutaneous injections with secondary zoospores from one of three cultures of Aphanomyces: WIC (an endemic isolate of A. invadans in Atlantic menhaden from the Wicomico River,
Authors
Yasu Kiryu, J. D. Shields, W. K. Vogelbein, D. E. Zwerner, H. Kator, Vicki S. Blazer

Consistency of patterns in concentration‐discharge plots

Concentration‐discharge (c‐Q) plots have been used to infer how flow components such as event water, soil water, and groundwater mix to produce the observed episodic hydrochemical response of small catchments. Because c‐Q plots are based only on observed streamflow and solute concentration, their interpretation requires assumptions about the relative volume, hydrograph timing, and solute concentra
Authors
Jeffrey G. Chanat, Karen C. Rice, George M. Hornberger