Publications
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
Human activities cause distinct dissolved organic matter composition across freshwater ecosystems
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition in freshwater ecosystems is influenced by interactions between physical, chemical, and biological processes that are controlled, at one level, by watershed landscape, hydrology, and their connections. Against this environmental template, humans may strongly influence DOM composition. Yet, we lack a comprehensive understanding of DOM composition variation
Authors
Clayton J. Williams, Paul C. Frost, Ana M. Morales-Williams, James H. Larson, William B. Richardson, Aisha S. Chiandet, Marguerite A. Xenopoulos
Organic waste compounds as contaminants in Milwaukee-area streams
Organic waste compounds (OWCs) are ingredients and by-products of common agricultural, industrial, and household substances that can contaminate our streams through sources like urban runoff, sewage overflows, and leaking septic systems. To better understand how OWCs are affecting Milwaukee-area streams, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District,
Authors
Austin K. Baldwin, Steven R. Corsi, Christopher Magruder, Matthew Magruder, Jennifer L. Bruce
Preliminary characterization of digestive enzymes in freshwater mussels
Resource managers lack an effective chemical tool to control the invasive zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha. Zebra mussels clog water intakes for hydroelectric companies, harm unionid mussel species, and are believed to be a reservoir of avian botulism. Little is known about the digestive physiology of zebra mussels and unionid mussels. The enzymatic profile of the digestive glands of zebra mussel
Authors
Blake W. Sauey, Jon J. Amberg, Scott T. Cooper, Sandra K. Grunwald, Teresa J. Newton, Roger J. Haro
Approaches in highly parameterized inversion—PEST++ Version 3, a Parameter ESTimation and uncertainty analysis software suite optimized for large environmental models
The PEST++ Version 1 object-oriented parameter estimation code is here extended to Version 3 to incorporate additional algorithms and tools to further improve support for large and complex environmental modeling problems. PEST++ Version 3 includes the Gauss-Marquardt-Levenberg (GML) algorithm for nonlinear parameter estimation, Tikhonov regularization, integrated linear-based uncertainty quantific
Authors
David E. Welter, Jeremy T. White, Randall J. Hunt, John E. Doherty
Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) at ambient freshwater beaches
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are a threat to human health worldwide, and although detected at marine beaches, they have been largely unstudied at freshwater beaches. Genes indicating S. aureus (SA; femA) and methicillin resistance (mecA) were detected at 11 and 12 of 13 US Great Lakes beaches and in 18% or 27% of 287 recreational water samples, respectively. Eight beaches had
Authors
Lisa R. Fogarty, Sheridan K. Haack, Heather E. Johnson, Angela K. Brennan, Natasha M. Isaacs, Chelsea Spencer
Acoustical deterrence of Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)
The invasive Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) dominate large regions of the Mississippi River drainage and continue to expand their range northward threatening the Laurentian Great Lakes. This study found that complex broadband sound (0–10 kHz) is effective in altering the behavior of Silver Carp with implications for deterrent barriers or potential control measures (e.g., herding fish in
Authors
Brooke J. Vetter, Aaron R. Cupp, Kim T. Fredricks, Mark P. Gaikowski, Allen F. Mensinger
Ecosystem metabolism and nutrient dynamics in the main channel and backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River
Photosynthesis and respiration are primary drivers of dissolved oxygen dynamics in rivers. We measured dissolved oxygen dynamics, aquatic ecosystem metabolism, algal abundance and nutrient concentrations at main channel and backwater sites on a reach of the Upper Mississippi River that borders the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota (U.S.A.). We asked (i) how ecosystem metabolism rates, dissolved o
Authors
Jeffrey N. Houser, Lynn Bartsch, William B. Richardson, James T. Rogala, John F. Sullivan
Estimation of river and stream temperature trends under haphazard sampling
Long-term temporal trends in water temperature in rivers and streams are typically estimated under the assumption of evenly-spaced space-time measurements. However, sampling times and dates associated with historical water temperature datasets and some sampling designs may be haphazard. As a result, trends in temperature may be confounded with trends in time or space of sampling which, in turn, ma
Authors
Brian R. Gray, Vyacheslav Lyubchich, Yulia R. Gel, James T. Rogala, Dale M. Robertson, Xiaoqiao Wei
Effects of flooding on ion exchange rates in an Upper Mississippi River floodplain forest impacted by herbivory, invasion, and restoration
We examined effects of flooding on supply rates of 14 nutrients in floodplain areas invaded by Phalaris arundinacea (reed canarygrass), areas restored to young successional forests (browsed by white-tailed deer and unbrowsed), and remnant mature forests in the Upper Mississippi River floodplain. Plant Root Simulator ion-exchange probes were deployed for four separate 28-day periods. The first depl
Authors
Rebecca Kreiling, Nathan R. De Jager, Whitney Swanson, Eric A. Strauss, Meredith Thomsen
Spring plant phenology and false springs in the conterminous US during the 21st century
The onset of spring plant growth has shifted earlier in the year over the past several decades due to rising global temperatures. Earlier spring onset may cause phenological mismatches between the availability of plant resources and dependent animals, and potentially lead to more false springs, when subsequent freezing temperatures damage new plant growth. We used the extended spring indices to pr
Authors
Andrew J. Allstadt, Stephen J. Vavrus, Patricia J. Heglund, Anna M. Pidgeon, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Volker C. Radeloff
Improving efficiency and reliability of environmental DNA analysis for silver carp
Natural resource agencies have established surveillance programs which use environmental DNA (eDNA) for the early detection of bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and silver carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix before they establish populations within the Great Lakes. This molecular monitoring technique must be highly accurate and precise for confident interpretation and also efficient, both in de
Authors
Jon J. Amberg, S. Grace McCalla, Emy Monroe, Richard Lance, Kelly Baerwaldt, Mark P. Gaikowski
The Upper Mississippi River floodscape: spatial patterns of flood inundation and associated plant community distributions
Questions How is the distribution of different plant communities associated with patterns of flood inundation across a large floodplain landscape? Location Thirty-eight thousand nine hundred and seventy hectare of floodplain, spanning 320 km of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR). Methods High-resolution elevation data (Lidar) and 30 yr of daily river stage data were integrated to produce a ‘floodsc
Authors
Nathan R. De Jager, Jason J. Rohweder, Yao Yin, Erin E. Hoy