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Publications

Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.

Filter Total Items: 9969

An interim harvest strategy for Taiga Bean geese

In 2016 the AEWA European Goose Management International Working Group (EGM IWG) adopted document AEWA/EGM IWG 1.8 (Johnson et al. 2016), which contained initial elements of an Adaptive Harvest Management programme for Taiga Bean Geese. This report addresses a number of limitations with the population model presented in that document, and provides up-to-date population projections for the Central
Authors
Fred A. Johnson, Mikko Alhainen, Anthony D. Fox, Jesper Madsen

A multiscale natural community and species-level vulnerability assessment of the Gulf Coast, USA

Vulnerability assessments combine quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of species or natural communities to current and future threats. When combined with the economic, ecological or evolutionary value of the species, vulnerability assessments quantify the relative risk to regional species and natural communities and can enable informed prior
Authors
Joshua S. Reece, Amanda Watson, Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander, C. Edwards, Laura Geselbracht, Megan K. LaPeyre, Blair Tirpak, John M. Tirpak, Mark Woodrey

Climate and plant controls on soil organic matter in coastal wetlands

Coastal wetlands are among the most productive and carbon‐rich ecosystems on Earth. Long‐term carbon storage in coastal wetlands occurs primarily belowground as soil organic matter (SOM). In addition to serving as a carbon sink, SOM influences wetland ecosystem structure, function, and stability. To anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change, there is a need to advance understanding of
Authors
Michael J. Osland, Christopher A. Gabler, James B. Grace, Richard H. Day, Meagan L. McCoy, Jennie L. McLeod, Andrew S. From, Nicholas M. Enwright, Laura C. Feher, Camille L. Stagg, Stephen B. Hartley

Temporal and spatial variation in pharmaceutical concentrations in an urban river system

Many studies have quantified pharmaceuticals in the environment, few however, have incorporated detailed temporal and spatial variability due to associated costs in terms of time and materials. Here, we target 33 physico-chemically diverse pharmaceuticals in a spatiotemporal exposure study into the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in the wastewater system and the Rivers Ouse and Foss (two diverse riv
Authors
Emily E. Burns, Laura J. Carter, Dana W. Kolpin, Jane Thomas-Oates, Alistair B.A. Boxall

State-space models to infer movements and behavior of fish detected in a spatial array of acoustic receivers

We developed state-space models for inferring movements and behaviors of fish implanted with acoustic transmitters and detected within a spatial array of stationary acoustic receivers. In these models fish movements and behavior switching are specified using a hidden Markov model of the changes in an individual's latent activity center. The observed number of detections at each acoustic receiver i
Authors
Melissa E. Price, Robert Dorazio

Analysis of the impact of African dust storms on the presence of enteric viruses in the atmosphere in Tenerife, Spain

Airborne viruses and their relation to dust storms, as a possible route for dispersion, have not been widely investigated. There are, however, studies that have described the airborne dispersal of pathogenic viruses and their potential impact on public and agronomical health. Atmospheric samples were collected in an urban area of Tenerife during 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and screened for the prese
Authors
Cristina Gonzalez-Martin, Nieves Coronado-Alvarez, Nuria Teigell-Perez, Raquel Diaz-Solano, Francisco Exposito, Juan Diaz, Dale W. Griffin, Basilio Valladares

Isotope niche dimension and trophic overlap between bigheaded carps and native filter-feeding fish in the lower Missouri River, USA

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values (δ13C and δ15N) were used to evaluate trophic niche overlap between two filter-feeding fishes (known together as bigheaded carp) native to China, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), and three native filter-feeding fish including bigmouth buffalo (Ictiobus cyprinellus), gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum)
Authors
Jianzhu Wang, Duane Chapman, Jun Xu, Yang Wang, Binhe Gu

Organochlorine chemical residues in Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) eggs from Greater Washington, DC USA

Northern Cardinal eggs from six neighborhoods near Washington DC were analyzed for organochlorine pesticides and PCBs. All compounds were detected more frequently and at higher concentrations in more heavily urbanized neighborhoods. DDT (mostly as p,pʹ-DDE) was detected in all neighborhoods. p,pʹ-DDT was typically 0.5‒16 ng/g (ww) in most suburban neighborhoods but was not detected (< 0.1 ng/g) in
Authors
Christopher J. Schmitt, Kathy R. Echols, Paul Peterman, Carl Orazio, Christiana Grimm, Shirlee Tan, Nora E. Diggs, Peter P. Marra

Acute toxicity of sodium chloride and potassium chloride to a unionid mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) in water exposures

Freshwater mussels (order Unionoida) are one of the most imperiled groups of animals in the world. However, many ambient water quality criteria and other environmental guideline values do not include data for freshwater mussels, in part because mussel toxicity test methods are comparatively new and data may not have been available when criteria and guidelines were derived. The objectives of the pr
Authors
Ning Wang, Chris D. Ivey, Rebecca A. Dorman, Christopher G. Ingersoll, Jeffery Steevens, Edward J. Hammer, Candice R. Bauer, David R. Mount

A framework for identifying and characterising coral reef “oases” against a backdrop of degradation

Human activities have led to widespread ecological decline; however, the severity of degradation is spatially heterogeneous due to some locations resisting, escaping, or rebounding from disturbances.We developed a framework for identifying oases within coral reef regions using long‐term monitoring data. We calculated standardised estimates of coral cover (z‐scores) to distinguish sites that deviat
Authors
James R. Guest, Peter J. Edmunds, Ruth D. Gates, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Andreas J Andersson, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Travis A. Courtney, Robin Elahi, Kevin Gross, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Satoshi Mitarai, Peter J. Mumby, Hannah R. Nelson, Britt A. Parker, Hollie M. Putnam, Caroline S. Rogers, Lauren Toth

Book review: A new view on the species abundance distribution Stochastic communities: A mathematical theory of biodiversity

The sampled relative abundances of species of a taxonomic group, whether birds, trees, or moths, in a natural community at a particular place vary in a way that suggests a consistent underlying pattern, referred to as the species abundance distribution (SAD). Preston [1] conjectured that the numbers of species, plotted as a histogram of logarithmic abundance classes called octaves, seemed to fit a
Authors
Donald L. DeAngelis

Estimating lag to peak between rainfall and peak streamflow with a mixed-effects model

We test the use of a mixed-effects model for estimating lag to peak for small basins in Maine (drainage areas from 0.8 to 78 km2). Lag to peak is defined as the time between the center of volume of the excess rainfall during a storm event and the resulting peak streamflow. A mixed-effects model allows for multiple observations at sites without violating model assumptions inherent in traditional or
Authors
Pamela J. Lombard, David Holtschlag