Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 9969
Drivers and impacts of water level fluctuations in the Mississippi River delta: Implications for delta restoration
This review synthesizes the knowledge regarding the environmental forces affecting water level variability in the coastal waters of the Mississippi River delta and relates these fluctuations to planned river diversions. Water level fluctuations vary significantly across temporal and spatial scales, and are subject to influences from river flow, tides, vegetation, atmospheric forcing, climate chang
Authors
Matthew R. Hiatt, Gregg Snedden, John W. Day, Robert V. Rohli, John A. Nyman, Robert R. Lane, Leigh A. Sharp
Efficacy of eDNA as an early detection indicator for Burmese pythons in the ARM Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem
Environmental DNA (eDNA) detection of invasive species can be used to delimited occupied ranges and estimate probabilities to inform management decisions. Environmental DNA is shed into the environment through skin cells and bodily fluids and can be detected in water samples collected from lakes, rivers, and swamps. In south Florida, invasive Burmese pythons occupy much of the Greater Everglades i
Authors
Margaret Hunter, Gaia Meigs-Friend, Jason Ferrante, Brian Smith, Kristen Hart
A review of machine learning applications to coastal sediment transport and morphodynamics
A range of computer science methods under the heading of machine learning (ML) enables the extraction of insight and quantitative relationships from multidimensional datasets. Here, we review some common ML methods and their application to studies of coastal morphodynamics and sediment transport. We examine aspects of ‘what’ and ‘why’ ML methods contribute, such as ‘what’ science problems ML tools
Authors
Evan Goldstein, Giovanni Coco, Nathaniel G. Plant
Shining light on the storm: In-stream optics reveal hysteresis of dissolved organic matter character
The quantity and character of dissolved organic matter (DOM) can change rapidly during storm events, affecting key biogeochemical processes, carbon bioavailability, metal pollutant transport, and disinfection byproduct formation during drinking water treatment. We used in situ ultraviolet–visible spectrophotometers to concurrently measure dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and spectral s
Authors
Matthew C.H. Vaughan, William B. Bowden, James B. Shanley, Andrew W. Vermilyea, Andrew W. Schroth
Use of a Numerical Model to Simulate the Hydrologic System and Transport of Contaminants Near Joint Base Cape Cod, Western Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Historical training and operational activities at Joint Base Cape Cod (JBCC) on western Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have resulted in the release of contaminants into an underlying glacial aquifer that is the sole source of water to the surrounding communities. Remedial systems have been installed to contain and remove contamination from the aquifer. Groundwater withdrawals for public supply are expec
Authors
Donald A. Walter, Timothy D. McCobb, Michael N. Fienen
Quantifying risk of whale–vessel collisions across space, time, and management policies
Transportation industries can negatively impact wildlife populations, including through increased risk of mortality. To mitigate this risk successfully, managers and conservationists must estimate risk across space, time, and alternative management policies. Evaluating this risk at fine spatial and temporal scales can be challenging, especially in systems where wildlife–vehicle collisions are rare
Authors
Nathan J. Crum, Timothy A. Gowan, Andrea Krzystan, Julien Martin
Examination of Bathymodiolus childressi nutritional sources, isotopic niches, and food-web linkages at two seeps in the US Atlantic margin using stable isotope analysis and mixing models
Chemosynthetic environments support distinct benthic communities capable of utilizing reduced chemical compounds for nutrition. Hundreds of methane seeps have been documented along the U.S. Atlantic margin (USAM), and detailed investigations at a few seeps have revealed distinct environments containing mussels, microbial mats, authigenic carbonates, and soft sediments. The dominant mussel, Bathymo
Authors
Amanda Demopoulos, Jennifer McClain Counts, Jill Bourque, Nancy Prouty, Brian Smith, Sandra Brooke, Steve W. Ross, Carolyn Ruppel
Monitoring storm tide and flooding from Hurricane Irma along the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Southeastern United States, September 2017
Hurricane Irma skirted the northern coasts of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with maximum sustained winds of 185 miles per hour (mi/h) on September 6, 2017. The hurricane first made landfall in Florida near Cudjoe Key, in the lower Florida Keys, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mi/h on September 10, 2017. The hurricane made a second Florida landfall on Marco Island, Florida, with maxi
Authors
Michael J. Byrne, Mark R. Dickman
The effects of geography, habitat, and humans on the ecology and demography of the Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) in the southern Lake Wales Ridge region of Florida
A 35-year (1967–2002) demographic study was conducted on the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) from two different habitats on Archbold Biological Station located on the southern end of the Lake Wales Ridge in south-central Florida. We found geographic, habitat, and human-mediated effects on several aspects of its biology. Our findings underscore the necessity of long-term demographic data to m
Authors
Walter E. Meshaka, James N. Layne, Kenneth G. Rice
The circumtropical swarm population of the longspined porcupinefish (Diodon holocanthus Linnaeus)
Evidence is presented that Diodon holocanthus is a circumtropical swarm (not a hybrid swarm because the individuals are not hybrids). Some individuals are so differentfrom one another in both color and morphology that they appear to be different species. Thirty undersea and aquarium photographs from different global localities are provided to demonstrate the variability. The worldwide distribution
Authors
John E Randall, Caroline Rogers, John C Ogden
Advancing barrier island habitat mapping using landscape position information
Barrier islands are dynamic ecosystems that change gradually from coastal processes, including currents and tides, and rapidly from episodic events, such as storms. These islands provide many important ecosystem services, including storm protection and erosion control to the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, and tourism. Habitat maps, developed by scientists, provide a critical tool for mon
Authors
Nicholas Enwright, Lei Wang, Sinéad M. Borchert, Richard Day, Laura Feher, Michael Osland
Environmental DNA sampling reveals high occupancy rates of invasive Burmese pythons at wading bird breeding aggregations in the central Everglades
The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is now established as a breeding population throughout south Florida, USA. However, the extent of the invasion, and the ecological impacts of this novel apex predator on animal communities are incompletely known, in large part because Burmese pythons (hereafter “pythons”) are extremely cryptic and there has been no efficient way to detect them. Pythons are re
Authors
Sophia C. M. Orzechowski, Peter C. Frederick, Robert M. Dorazio, Margaret Hunter