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Filter Total Items: 171122

Signatures of wave erosion in Titan’s coasts

The shorelines of Titan’s hydrocarbon seas trace flooded erosional landforms such as river valleys; however, it is unclear whether coastal erosion has subsequently altered these shorelines. Spacecraft observations and theoretical models suggest that wind may cause waves to form on Titan’s seas, potentially driving coastal erosion, but the observational evidence of waves is indirect, and the proces
Authors
Rose Elizabeth Palermo, Andrew D. Ashton, Jason M. Soderblom, Samuel P. D. Birch, Alexander G. Hayes, J. Taylor Perron

River channel response to the removal of the Pilchuck River Diversion Dam, Washington State

In August 2020, the 3-m tall Pilchuck River Diversion Dam was removed from the Pilchuck River, allowing free fish passage to the upper third of the watershed for the first time in over a century. The narrow, 300-m long impoundment behind the dam was estimated to hold 4,000–7,500 m3 of sand and gravel, representing less than one year's typical bedload flux. Repeat cross section surveys, stage senso
Authors
Scott W. Anderson, Brett Shattuck, Neil Shea, Catherine M. Seguin, Joe J. Miles, Derek Marks, Natasha Coumou

Demographics of a previously undocumented diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) population

Coastal habitats are some of the most imperiled due to climate change and anthropogenic activities. As such, it is important to understand population dynamics of the species that may play a role in regulating coastal systems. Diamondback terrapins in Northwest Florida have been understudied, which has resulted in a gap in our knowledge for this region. To help fill this gap, we conducted a capture
Authors
Daniel J. Catizone, Travis M. Thomas, Christina Romagosa, Margaret Lamont

Distribution, abundance, and habitat characteristics of Coastal Cactus Wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) in San Diego County, California—2023 Data Summary

Executive SummaryWe surveyed for coastal Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) in 507 established plots in San Diego County in 2023, encompassing 4 genetic clusters (Otay, Lake Jennings, Sweetwater/Encanto, and San Pasqual). Two surveys were completed at each plot between March 1 and July 31. Cactus Wrens were detected in 181 plots (36 percent of plots). Cactus Wrens were detected in 26 pe
Authors
Suellen Lynn, Barbara E. Kus

Nihoa and Laysan Island passerines population abundances, trends, and habitat utilization

Nihoa and Laysan Island, part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, are host to three endangered passerine species—Nihoa finch (Telespiza ultima), Nihoa millerbird (Acrocephalus familiaris kingi), and Laysan finch (Telespiza cantans). Using point-transect distance sampling survey records from 2010 to 2022 for Nihoa and 2013 to 2019 for Laysan Island, we estimated the density and abundance of all t
Authors
Trevor Bak, Richard J. Camp, Chris Farmer, Rachel A. Rounds, Sheldon M. Plentovich, John Vetter, Paul C. Banko

Spatial patterns as long transients in submersed-floating plant competition with biocontrol

A cellular automata model was developed and parameterized to test the effectiveness of application of biological control insects to water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes), which is an invasive floating plant species in many parts of the world and outcompetes many submersed native aquatic species in southern Florida. In the model, P. crassipes was allowed to compete with Nuttall’s waterweed (Elodea
Authors
Linhao Xu, Don DeAngelis

Solute export patterns across the contiguous USA

Understanding controls on solute export to streams is challenging because heterogeneous catchments can respond uniquely to drivers of environmental change. To understand general solute export patterns, we used a large-scale inductive approach to evaluate concentration–discharge (C–Q) metrics across catchments spanning a broad range of catchment attributes and hydroclimatic drivers. We leveraged pa
Authors
Dustin W. Kincaid, Kristen L. Underwood, Scott Douglas Hamshaw, L. Li, Erin C. Seybold, Bryn Stewart, Donna M. Rizzo, Ijaz Ul Haq, Julia N. Perdrial

Relatively stable pressure effects and time-increasing thermal contraction control Heber geothermal field deformation

Due to geological complexities and observational gaps, it is challenging to identify the governing physical processes of geothermal field deformation including ground subsidence and earthquakes. In the west and east regions of the Heber Geothermal Field (HGF), decade-long subsidence was occurring despite injection of heat-depleted brines, along with transient reversals between uplift and subsidenc
Authors
Guoyan Jiang, Andrew Barbour, Robert John Skoumal, Kathryn Zerbe Materna, Aren Crandall-Bear

Visualizing wading bird optimal foraging decisions with aggregation behaviors using individual-based modeling

Foragers on patchy landscapes must efficiently balance time between searching for and consuming resources to meet their daily energetic requirements. Spatial aggregation foraging behaviors may improve foraging efficiency by sharing information on locations of resource hotspots. Wading birds are an example of patch foragers that form colonial aggregations during the breeding season to obtain suffic
Authors
Simeon Yurek, Donald L. DeAngelis, Hyo Won Lee, Stephen Tennenbaum

Peak streamflow trends in Illinois and their relation to changes in climate, water years 1921–2020

This report characterizes changes in peak streamflow in Illinois and the relation of these changes to climatic variability, and provides a foundation for future studies that can address nonstationarity in peak-flow frequency analysis in Illinois. Records of annual peak and daily streamflow at streamgages and gridded monthly climatic data (observed and modeled) were examined across four trend perio
Authors
Mackenzie K. Marti, Thomas M. Over

Evaluation of short-term mussel test for estimating toxicity

Effect concentrations of ammonia, nickel, sodium chloride, and potassium chloride from short-term 7-day tests were compared to those from standard chronic 28-day toxicity tests with juvenile mussels (fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea) to evaluate the sensitivities of the 7-day tests. The effect concentrations for nickel (59 µg Ni/L), chloride (316–519 mg Cl/L, a range from multiple tests), and pota
Authors
Ning Wang, James L. Kunz, Chris D. Ivey, Danielle M. Cleveland, Jeffery Steevens

Catchment coevolution and the geomorphic origins of variable source area hydrology

Features of landscape morphology—including slope, curvature, and drainage dissection—are important controls on runoff generation in upland landscapes. Over long timescales, runoff plays an essential role in shaping these same features through surface erosion. This feedback between erosion and runoff generation suggests that modeling long-term landscape evolution together with dynamic runoff genera
Authors
David G Litwin, Gregory E. Tucker, Katherine R. Barnhart, Ciaran Harman