Publications

In this chapter we provide a basic definition of hierarchical models and introduce the two canonical hierarchical models in this book: site occupancy and N-mixture models. The former is a hierarchical extension of logistic regression and the latter is a hierarchical extension of Poisson regression. We introduce basic concepts of probability modeling and statistical inference including likelihood a

During the past 30 years, thousands of hectares of oak-dominated bottomland hardwood plantations have been planted on agricultural fields in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Many of these plantations now have closed canopies and sparse understories. Silvicultural treatments could create a more heterogeneous forest structure, with canopy gaps and increased understory vegetation for wildlife. La

Electric vehicles have been promoted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and lessen U.S. dependence on petroleum for transportation. Growth in U.S. sales of electric vehicles has been hindered by technical difficulties and the high cost of the lithium-ion batteries used to power many electric vehicles (more than 50% of the vehicle cost). Groundbreaking has begun for a lithium-ion battery factory in

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Town of Framingham, Massachusetts, has investigated the potential of proposed groundwater withdrawals at the Birch Road well site to affect nearby surface water bodies and wetlands, including Lake Cochituate, the Sudbury River, and the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in east-central Massachusetts. In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey develo

Obtaining calibration data for models depicting conditions during pre-development periods can be challenging as such periods are characteristically data poor. This study presents two examples where simulation of historic water conveyance structures were used to help characterize historic, or pre-modern, conditions in calibration of groundwater flow models. Persian water conveyance structures, cal

There is widespread concern regarding the impacts of anthropogenic activities on connectivity among populations of plants and animals, and understanding how contemporary and historical processes shape metapopulation dynamics is crucial for setting appropriate conservation targets. We used genetic data to identify population clusters and quantify gene flow over historical and contemporary time fram

The Phosphoria Formation and related rocks were deposited over an 8.9 m.y. interval beginning approximately 274.0Ma and ending approximately 265.1Ma. The Meade Peak Phosphatic Shale Member was deposited in southeastern Idaho and adjacent Wyoming over 5.4 m.y. from approximately 273.2 to 268.6 Ma. The Retort Phosphatic Shale Member was deposited in southwestern Montana and west-central Wyoming over

As the most fossiliferous and least deformed succession of unequivocally Laurentian lower Paleozoic strata in Alaska, the Jones Ridge Limestone has provided critical data for numerous stratigraphic studies (e. g. Palmer 1968; Harris et al. 1995; Dumoulin et al. 2002; Dumoulin and Harris 2012) focused on the Cambrian and Ordovician of northwestern North America/northeastern Laurentia (Figure 1). Th

Rocks with potential for karst formation are found in all 50 states. Damage due to karst subsidence and sinkhole collapse is a natural hazard of national scope. Repair of damage to buildings, highways, and other infrastructure represents a significant national cost. Sparse and incomplete data show that the average cost of karst-related damages in the United States over the last 15 years is estimat

Performance of compost and biochar amendments for in situ risk mitigation of aged DDT, DDE and dieldrin residues in an old orchard soil was examined. The change in bioavailability of pesticide residues to Lumbricus terrestris L. relative to the unamended control soil was assessed using 4-L soil microcosms with and without plant cover in a 48-day experiment. The use of aged dairy manure compost and

Explosives used in construction have been implicated as sources of NO3– contamination in groundwater, but direct forensic evidence is limited. Identification of blasting-related NO3– can be complicated by other NO3– sources, including agriculture and wastewater disposal, and by hydrogeologic factors affecting NO3– transport and stability. Here we describe a study that used hydrogeology, chemistry,

We describe a new approach that couples hydrograph separation with high-frequency nitrate data to quantify time-variable groundwater and runoff loading of nitrate to streams, and the net in-stream fate of nitrate at the watershed-scale. The approach was applied at three sites spanning gradients in watershed size and land use in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Results indicate that 58-73% of the annu