Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 9967
Pecos River Basin salinity assessment, Santa Rosa Lake, New Mexico, to the confluence of the Pecos River and the Rio Grande, Texas, 2015
The elevated salinity of the Pecos River throughout much of its length is of paramount concern to water users and water managers. Dissolved-solids concentrations in the Pecos River exceed 3,000 milligrams per liter in many of its reaches in the study area, from Santa Rosa Lake, New Mexico, to the confluence of the Pecos River with the Rio Grande, Texas. The salinity of the Pecos River increases do
Authors
Natalie A. Houston, Jonathan V. Thomas, Patricia B. Ging, Andrew P. Teeple, Diana E. Pedraza, David S. Wallace
Dispersal asymmetry in a two-patch system with source–sink populations
This paper analyzes source–sink systems with asymmetric dispersal between two patches. Complete analysis on the models demonstrates a mechanism by which the dispersal asymmetry can lead to either an increased total size of the species population in two patches, a decreased total size with persistence in the patches, or even extinction in both patches. For a large growth rate of the species in the
Authors
Hong Wu, Yuanshi Wang, Yufeng Li, Donald L. DeAngelis
Evaluating associations between environmental variables and Escherichia coli levels for predictive modeling at Pawtuckaway Beach in Nottingham, New Hampshire, from 2015 to 2017
From 2015 through 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services and the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services studied occurrences of high levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria at the Pawtuckaway State Park Beach in Nottingham, New Hampshire. Historic data collected by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental
Authors
James F. Coles, Kathleen F. Bush
Deposition potential and flow-response dynamics of emergent sandbars in a braided river
Sandbars are ubiquitous in sandy‐braided rivers throughout the world. In the Great Plains of the United States, recovery and expansion of emergent sandbar habitat (ESH) has been a priority in lowland rivers where the natural extent of sandbars has been degraded. Recovery efforts are aimed at protection of populations of the interior least tern (Sterna antillarum) and piping plover (Charadrius melo
Authors
Jason S. Alexander, Brandon McElroy, Snehalata Huzurbazar, Caroline M. Elliott, Marissa L. Murr
Nitrogen budgets of the Long Island Sound estuary
Nitrogen (N) inputs to coastal ecosystems have significant impacts on coastal community structure. In N limited systems, increases in N inputs may lead to excess productivity and hypoxia. Like many temperate estuaries, Long Island Sound (LIS), a major eastern U.S. estuary, is a N limited system which has experienced seasonal hypoxia since the 1800s. This study is the first effort to constrain the
Authors
Penny Vlahos, Michael Whitney, Christina Menniti, John R. Mullaney, Jonathan Morrison, Yan Jia
Using δ13C and δ18O to analyze loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) response to experimental drought and fertilization
Drought frequency and intensity are projected to increase throughout the southeastern USA, the natural range of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), and are expected to have major ecological and economic implications. We analyzed the carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions in tree ring cellulose of loblolly pine in a factorial drought (~30% throughfall reduction) and fertilization experiment, supplemen
Authors
Wen Lin, Jean-Christophe Domec, Eric Ward, John D. Marshall, John S King, Marshall A. Laviner, Thomas R Fox, Jason B. West, Ge Sun, Steve G McNulty, Asko Noormets
Peak streamflow and stages at selected streamgages on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas, May to June 2019
As much as 22 inches of rain fell in Oklahoma in May 2019, resulting in historic flooding along the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The flooding along the Arkansas River and its tributaries that began in May continued into June 2019. Peaks of record were measured at 12 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages on various streams in eastern and northeastern Oklahoma. This report documents
Authors
Jason M. Lewis, A.R. Trevisan
Could a freshwater fish be at the root of dystrophic crises in a coastal lagoon?
Eutrophication has a profound impact on ecosystems worldwide. Grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, an herbivorous fish, has been introduced to control aquatic plant overgrowth caused by eutrophication, but could have other, potentially detrimental, effects. We used the Po di Volano basin (south of the Po River delta, northern Italy) as a test case to explore whether grass carp effects on canal aqua
Authors
Marco Milardi, Elisa Soana, Duane Chapman, Elisa Anna Fano, Giuseppe Castaldelli
Using integrated population models for insights into monitoring programs: An application using pink-footed geese
Development of integrated population models (IPMs) assume the absence of systematic bias in monitoring programs, yet many potential sources of systematic bias in monitoring data exist (e.g., under-counts of abundance). By integrating multiple sources of data, we can assess whether various sources of monitoring data provide consistent inferences about changes in population size and, thus, whether m
Authors
Fred Johnson, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Gitte H. Jensen, Kevin K. Clausen, Morten Frederiksen, Jesper Madsen
Heat accumulation on coral reefs mitigated by internal waves
Coral reefs are among the most species-rich, productive and economically valuable ecosystems on Earth but increasingly frequent pantropical coral bleaching events are threatening their persistence on a global scale. The 2015–2016 El Niño led to the hottest sea surface temperatures on record and widespread bleaching of shallow-water corals. However, the causes of spatial variation in bleaching are
Authors
Alex S. J. Wyatt, James J. Leichter, Lauren Toth, Toshihiro Miyajima, Richard B. Aronson, Toshi Nagata
Instructions for running the analytical code PAT (Purge Analyzer Tool) for computation of in-well time of travel of groundwater under pumping conditions
IntroductionUnderstanding the optimal time needed to purge a well while pumping to collect a representative groundwater sample requires an understanding of groundwater flow in wells (in-well flow). Parameters that affect in-well flow include the hydraulic properties of the aquifer, well construction, drawdown from pumping, and pump rate. The time of travel relative to in-well flow is affected by t
Authors
P.T. Harte, B. J. Huffman, Tomas Perina, Herb Levine, Daewon Rojas-Mickelson
Coastal marsh bird habitat selection and responses to Hurricane Sandy
Wetlands provide numerous ecosystem functions such as water purification, nutrient cycling, and wildlife habitat. Avian populations are indicators of wetland health, and understanding their responses to extreme events can aid in targeting restoration efforts following disturbance. Here, we assessed the habitat selection of six coastal wetland bird species (American Bittern, Black-crowned Night Her
Authors
Allison Benscoter, James Beerens, Stephanie Romanach