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Filter Total Items: 171122

Investing in a nest egg: Intraspecific variation in the timing of egg laying across a latitudinal gradient

Avian reproductive strategies vary widely, and many studies of life-history variation have focused on the incubation and hatching stages of nesting. Birds make proximate decisions regarding reproductive investment during the laying stage, and these decisions likely constrain and tradeoff with other traits and subsequent behaviors. However, we know relatively little about egg-laying stage behaviors
Authors
Carl G. Lundblad, Courtney J. Conway

Community for data integration 2019 project report

The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually supports small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 14 projects supported in fiscal year 2019 and outlines their goals, activities, and accomplishments. Proposals in 2019 were encouraged to addre
Authors
Amanda N. Liford, Caitlin M. Andrews, Aparna Bamzai, Joseph A. Bard, David S. Blehert, John B. Bradford, Wesley M. Daniel, Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Frank Engel, Jason A. Ferrante, Amy K. Gilmer, Margaret E. Hunter, Jeanne M. Jones, Benjamin Letcher, Frances L. Lightsom, Richard R. McDonald, Leah E. Morgan, Sasha C. Reed, Leslie Hsu

Forest structure and residual tree growth at the Northwest Gateway project area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

Mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are common mitigation treatments to reduce fire hazards. However, these treatments are infrequently applied together within national parks. The Northwest Gateway project at Lassen Volcanic National Park is an exception to this pattern. Various thinning prescriptions were applied to the project area in 2014, with a subset of the area prescribed burned in 2018
Authors
Micah C. Wright, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Calvin Farris

Using integral projection models to explore management strategies for silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are planktivorous fish that were originally introduced to the United States for use in fish production ponds and have since escaped these enclosures and are invading the Mississippi River Basin. The silver carp invasion of the Illinois River has a myriad of negative effects on native ecosystems. In this paper, we introduce key dependencies that are likely
Authors
Cameron Coles, Elizabeth Balas, James P Peirce, Greg J. Sandland, Richard A. Erickson

Insectivorous bat foraging tracks the availability of aquatic flies (Diptera)

Rivers and their adjacent riparian zones are model ecosystems for observing cross-ecosystem energy transfers. Aquatic insects emerging from streams, for example, are resource subsidies that support riparian consumers such as birds, spiders, lizards, and bats. We collaborated with recreational river runners in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, to record acoustic bat activity and sample riparian insects u
Authors
Anya Metcalfe, Carol Fritzinger, Theodore J. Weller, Michael Dodrill, Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Charles Yackulic, Brandon P. Holton, Cheyenne Maxime Szydlo, Laura E. Durning, Joel B. Sankey, Theodore Kennedy

Water balance characterization of the early 21st century drought in the western United States

Monthly temperature and precipitation data for 923 United States Geological Survey 8-digit hydrologic units are used as inputs to a monthly water balance model to compute monthly actual evapotranspiration, soil moisture storage, and runoff across the western United States (U.S.) for the period 1900 through 2020. Time series of these water balance variables are examined to characterize and explain
Authors
Gregory J. McCabe, David M. Wolock

Waterfalls in reservoirs: Tracking the development of nickpoints in the sediments of declining reservoirs

Recent drought has resulted in dramatic lowering of the two largest water-storage reservoirs in the western United States: Lake Powell and Lake Mead. These decreases in reservoir elevations have resulted in the re-emergence of over 100 km of the Colorado and San Juan rivers at the upstream end of Lake Powell and over 80 km of the Colorado River at the upstream end of Lake Mead. Upon reservoir lowe
Authors
Paul Grams, Robert B. Tusso

The evolution of natural and developed barriers under accelerating sea levels

Communities residing on barrier islands depend upon the ability of barriers to withstand forcings such as waves, sea-level rise, and storms, particularly under stresses from climate change. Using a barrier island evolution model, we compare barrier response to linear versus accelerating sea-level rise. Results suggest that barriers are more likely to drown under accelerating rather than linear sea

Authors
Rose Elizabeth Palermo, Andrew D. Ashton, Di Jin, Porter Hoagland, Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba

Exploring centennial barrier-inlet evolution: Insights from undeveloped and developed phases at Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey

This study aims to identify the natural processes and the subsequent responses to coastal engineering and development on the alongshore evolution of the IB-BI-LBI inlet-barrier system. The primary focus will be the quantification of barrier island and inlet sediment partitioning at decadal to centennial timescales, from 1839-1941. We analyze historical alongshore evolution and track coastal engine
Authors
Shane Nichols-O'Neill, Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba, Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis

Stream corridor sources of suspended sediment and sediment-bound phosphorus from an urban tributary to the Great Lakes

Potential sources of suspended sediment and sediment-bound phosphorus (sedP) were studied in the Kinnickinnic River (51 square kilometers), a heavily urbanized tributary to Lake Michigan (90% urban land use) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The river is 60% concrete lined channels, with few unlined reaches. From September 2019 through August 2020, an integrated study of sediment budget and sediment finger
Authors
James Blount, Leah Lenoch, Faith Fitzpatrick

Numerical model characterization of sediment transport potentials pre- and post-construction of an artificial island in Foggy Island Bay, Alaska

The anticipated construction of the Liberty Development Island near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, has created a need to understand how the island may influence sediment transport patterns and deposition on the nearby Boulder Patch ecosystem. This study uses a numerical model to characterize sediment transport pathways in Foggy Island Bay with and without the artificial island in place. We present the Delft
Authors
Cornelis M. Nederhoff, Li H. Erikson, Anita C Engelstad, Stuart Pearson