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Browse more than 150,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS.  Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.

Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Publications

Filter Total Items: 3223

Drinking water quality in the glacial aquifer system, northern USA

Groundwater supplies 50% of drinking water worldwide, but compromised water quality from anthropogenic and geogenic contaminants can limit usage of groundwater as a drinking water source. Groundwater quality in the glacial aquifer system, USA (GLAC), is presented in the context of a hydrogeologic framework that divides the study area into 17 hydrogeologic terranes. Results are reported at aquifer-
Authors
Melinda L. Erickson, Richard M. Yager, Leon J. Kauffman, John T. Wilson

Light exposure along particle flowpaths in large rivers

Sunlight is a critical resource in aquatic systems driving photosynthesis, photodegradation of organic matter and contaminants, animal behavior, and the activity of human pathogens. In rivers, solutes, materials, and organisms are turbulently mixed across the water column during downstream transport and exposed to highly variable sunlight. However, there are no measurements of suspended particles'
Authors
John R. Gardner, Scott H. Ensign, Jeffrey N. Houser, Martin W. Doyle

Invasive silver carp may compete with unionid mussels for algae: First experimental evidence

1. Unionid mussels are imperiled throughout the United States, where their global diversity is highest. Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix Valenciennes in Cuvier & Valenciennes, 1844), an invasive planktivorous fish, has spread throughout Midwestern rivers and currently threatens the Great Lakes. Because silver carp remove plankton and other particles from the water column, they may compet
Authors
Elizabeth P Tristano, Alison A. Coulter, Teresa Newton, James # Garvey

Effects of manure and tillage on edge-of-field phosphorus loss in seasonally frozen landscapes

Environmental conditions and management practices affect nutrient losses in surface runoff, but their relative impacts on phosphorus (P) loss during frozen and nonfrozen ground periods have not been well quantified. More specifically, the relative importance of manure application, tillage, and soil-test P (STP) has not been assessed at the field scale. In this study, we compiled a dataset composed
Authors
Zachariah P. Zopp, Matthew D. Ruark, Anita M. Thompson, Todd D. Stuntebeck, Eric Cooley, Amber Radatz, Timothy Radatz

Timber harvest alters mercury bioaccumulation and food web structure in headwater streams

Timber harvest has many effects on aquatic ecosystems, including changes in hydrological, biogeochemical, and ecological processes that can influence mercury (Hg) cycling. Although timber harvest’s influence on aqueous Hg transformation and transport are well studied, the effects on Hg bioaccumulation are not. We evaluated Hg bioaccumulation, biomagnification, and food web structure in 10 paired c
Authors
James Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Brandon M Kowalski, Robert J Danehy, Allyson K. Jackson, Evan M. Adams, David C. Evers, Chris S. Eckley, Michael T. Tate, David P. Krabbenhoft

Comparability of different river suspended sediment sampling and laboratory analysis methods and the effect of sand

Accurate measurements of suspended sediment, a leading water-quality impairment in many 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. These methods have underrepresented concentrations of suspended sediment in river
Authors
Joel T. Groten, Gregory D. Johnson

Comparison of continuous and interrupted lampricide block toxicity to sea lamprey and lake sturgeon

Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens, LST) is a state, provincial, and tribal species of special concern that is sensitive to lampricides used in sea lamprey control. As such, there is significant interest in the Great Lakes fisheries community to develop alternative sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus, SL) control approaches to minimize impacts on LST for applicable LST producing streams. Currently, l
Authors
Stephen R. Lantz, Cheryl A. Kaye, Lori A. Criger, Timothy J. Sullivan, Brian Stephens, Michael A. Boogaard, Terrance Hubert

Technical comment on “Global pattern of nest predation is disrupted by climate change in shorebirds”

Kubelka et al. (Report, 9 November 2018, p. 680-683) claim that climate change has disrupted patterns of nest predation in shorebirds. They report that predation rates have increased since the 1950s, especially in the Arctic. We describe methodological problems with their analyses and argue that there is no solid statistical support for their claims.
Authors
Martin Bulla, Jeroen Reneerkens, Emily L. Weiser, Aleksandr Sokolov, Audrey R. Taylor, Benoit Sittler, Brian J McCaffery, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Daniel H. Catlin, David C. Payer, David H. Ward, Diana V Solovyeva, Eduardo SA Santos, Eldar Rakhimberdiev, Erica Nol, Eunbi Kwon, Glen S. Brown, Glenda D Hevia, H. River Gates, James A. Johnson, Jan A. van Gils, Jannik Hansen, Jean-Francois Lamarre, Jennie Rausch, Jesse R. Conklin, Joe Liebezeit, Joel Bety, Johannes Lang, José A. Alves, Juan Fernandez-Elipe, Klaus-Michael Exo, Loic Bollache, Marcelo Bertellotti, Marie-Andree Giroux, Martijn van de Pol, Matthew D. Johnson, Megan L. Boldenow, Mihai Valcu, Mikhail Soloviev, Natalya Sokolova, Nathan R. Senner, Nicholas Lecomte, Nicolas Meyer, Niels Martin Schmidt, Olivier Gilg, Paul A Smith, Paula Machin, Rebecca L McGuire, Ricardo AS Cerboncini, Richard Ottvall, Rob SA van Bemmelen, Rose J Swift, Sara T Saalfeld, Sara E Jamieson, Stephen C. Brown, Theunis Piersma, Tomas Albrecht, Veronica L D'Amico, Richard B. Lanctot, Bart Kempenaers

Refinement of eDNA as an early monitoring tool at the landscape-level: Study design considerations

Natural resource managers use data on the spatial range of species to guide management decisions. These data come from survey or monitoring efforts that use a wide variety of tools. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a surveillance tool that uses genetic markers for detecting species and holds potential as a tool for large-scale monitoring programs. Two challenges of eDNA-based studies are uncertaintie
Authors
Erica L. Mize, Richard A. Erickson, Christopher M. Merkes, N. Berndt, K.D. Bockrath, J. Credico, N. Grueneis, J. Merry, Kyle Mosel, M.T. Tuttle-Lau, K. Von Ruden, Jon Amberg, K. Baerwaldt, S.T. Finney, E.M. Monroe

Geographic variation in the intensity of warming and phenological mismatch between Arctic shorebirds and invertebrates

Responses to climate change can vary across functional groups and trophic levels, leading to a temporal decoupling of trophic interactions or ‘phenological mismatches.’ Despite a growing number of single-species studies that identified phenological mismatches as a nearly universal consequence of climate change, we have a limited understanding of the spatial variation in the intensity of this pheno
Authors
Enubi Kwon, Emily L. Weiser, Richard B. Lanctot, Stephen C. Brown, H. River Gates, H. Grant Gilchrist, Steve J. Kendall, David B. Lank, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Laura McKinnon, Erica Nol, David C. Payer, Jennie Rausch, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Daniel J. Rinella, Nathan R. Senner, David Ward, Paul A. Smith, Robert C. Wissman, Brett K. Sandercock

Complex response of sediment phosphorus to land use and management within a river network

Rivers affected by anthropogenic nutrient inputs can retain some of the phosphorus (P) load through sediment retention and burial. Determining the influence of land use and management on sediment P concentrations and P retention in fluvial ecosystems is challenging because of different stressors operating at multiple spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we sought to determine how land use a
Authors
Rebecca Kreiling, Martin C. Thoms, Lynn A. Bartsch, William B. Richardson, Victoria G. Christensen

Handbook to the partners in flight population estimates database, version 3.0

This document describes the content of Version 3.0 of the Partners in Flight (PIF) Population Estimates Database, which provides population estimates for breeding USA/Canada landbirds at several geographic scales following the Partners in Flight approach described initially in Rich et al. (2004) and by Rosenberg and Blancher (2005) and most recently refined by Stanton et al. (2019). The Handbook a
Authors
Tom Will, Jessica C. Stanton, Kenneth V. Rosenberg, Arvind O. Panjabi, Alaine Camfield, Allison Shaw, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Peter J. Blancher