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Publications

Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.

Filter Total Items: 9967

Identifying key stressors driving biological impairment in freshwater streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA

Biological communities in freshwater streams are often impaired by multiple stressors (e.g., flow or water quality) originating from anthropogenic activities such as urbanization, agriculture, or energy extraction. Restoration efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, USA seek to improve biological conditions in 10% of freshwater tributaries and to protect the biological integrity of existing healt
Authors
Rosemary M. Fanelli, Matthew Joseph Cashman, Aaron J. Porter

Range-wide population projections for Northern Red-Bellied Cooters (Pseudemys rubriventris)

Northern Red-Bellied Cooters (Pseudemys rubriventris) have a disjunct distribution with a relictual population in southeastern Massachusetts and a larger range across the mid-Atlantic United States. The relictual population is currently listed with protections under the U.S. Endangered Species Act but the status of the population in the remainder of the species' range has not been assessed, and th
Authors
Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Jennifer F. Moore, Hardin Waddle, Julien Martin, Evan H. Campbell Grant

Exposure to 17α-ethinylestradiol results in differential susceptibility of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) to bacterial infection

Disease outbreaks, skin lesions, mortality events, and reproductive abnormalities have been observed in wild populations of centrarchids. The presence of estrogenic endocrine disrupting compounds (EEDCs) has been implicated as a potential causal factor for these effects. The effects of prior EEDC exposure on immune response were examined in juvenile largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exposed
Authors
Jessica Kristin Leet, Justin Greer, Cathy A. Richter, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Edward Spinard, Jacquelyn McDonald, Carla M. Conway, Robert W. Gale, Donald E. Tillitt, John Hansen

Ocean acidification in the Gulf of Mexico: Drivers, impacts, and unknowns

Ocean acidification (OA) has resulted in global-scale changes in ocean chemistry, which can disturb marine organisms and ecosystems. Despite its extensively populated coastline, many marine-dependent communities, and valuable economies, the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) remains a relatively understudied region with respect to acidification. In general, the warm waters of the GOM are better buffered from ac

Authors
Emily Osborne, Xinping Hu, E. R. Hall, Kimberly K. Yates, Jennifer Vreeland-Dawson, Katie Shamberger, Leticia Barbero, J. Martin Hernandez-Ayon, Fabian Gomez, Tacey Hicks, Yuan-Yuan Xu, Melissa R. McCutcheon, Michael Acquafredda, Cecilia Chapa-Balcorta, Orion Norzagaray, Denis Pierrot, Alain Munoz-Caravaca, Kerri L. Dobson, N. Williams, N. N. Rabalais, Padmanava Dash

Urbanization of grasslands in the Denver area affects streamflow responses to rainfall events

A thorough understanding of how urbanization affects stream hydrology is crucial for effective and sustainable water management, particularly in rapidly urbanizing regions. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of changes in streamflow response to rainfall events across a rural to urban gradient in the semi-arid area of Denver, Colorado. We used 8 years of April to October instantaneous str
Authors
Stacy Wilson, Aditi S. Bhaskar, Benjamin Choat, Stephanie K. Kampf, Timothy Green, Kristina G. Hopkins

Evaluation of the Bushy Park Reservoir three-dimensional hydrodynamic and water-quality model, South Carolina, 2012–15

The Bushy Park Reservoir is a relatively shallow impoundment in southeastern South Carolina. The reservoir, located under a semi-tropical climate, is the principal water supply for the city of Charleston, South Carolina, and the surrounding areas including the Bushy Park Industrial Complex. Although there was an adequate supply of freshwater in the reservoir in 2022, water-quality concerns are pre
Authors
Erik A. Smith, Madhu Akasapu-Smith, Matthew D. Petkewich, Paul A. Conrads

Storeria occipitomaculata (Red-bellied Snake)

STORERIA OCCIPITOMACULATA (Red-bellied Snake). USA: LOUISIANA: St. Mary Parish: Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge (29.69425N, 91.46701W; WGS 84). 18 August 2022. William C. Carroll and Aidan G. Phillips. Verified by Coleman M. Sheehy III. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida (UF 193423; photo voucher). Adult photographed in leaf litter in a wet bottomland hardwood forest wit
Authors
Aidan G. Phillips, William C. Carroll, Brad Glorioso

Hydrologic restoration decreases greenhouse gas emissions from shrub bog peatlands in southeastern US

Peatlands play a disproportionate role in the global carbon cycle. However, many peatlands have been ditched to lower the water table and converted into agriculture, which contributes to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrologic restoration of drained peatlands could offset greenhouse gas emissions from these actions, but field examples that consider various greenhouse gases are still rar
Authors
Luise Armstrong, Ariane Peralta, Ken Krauss, N. Cormier, Rebecca Moss, Eric Soderholm, Aaron McCall, Christine Pickens, Marcelo Ardon

Effects of shady environments on fish collective behavior

Despite significant efforts devoted to understanding the underlying complexity and emergence of collective movement in animal groups, the role of different external settings on this type of movement remains largely unexplored. Here, by combining time series analysis and complex network tools, we present an extensive investigation of the effects of shady environments on the behavior of a fish speci
Authors
Haroldo V. Ribeiro, Matthew Ross Acre, Jacob Faulkner, Leonardo R. da Cunha, Katelyn M. Lawson, James J. Wamboldt, Marybeth K. Brey, Christa M. Woodley, Robin Calfee

Estuarine Geomorphology, Circulation, and Mixing

To understand the processes affecting the distribution and cycles of particulates, pollutants, nutrients, and organisms in estuaries, it is insufficient to focus solely on the biological and chemical aspects of the processes. Water sources and movements (e.g. evaporation, precipitation, riverine discharge, submarine ground water discharge, wetland hydrology, and tidal exchange) as well as other hy
Authors
Gregg Snedden, Jaye E. Cable, Björn Kjerfve

Assessing the impact of chloride deicer application in the Siskiyou Pass, southern Oregon

Chloride deicers have been applied by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) to Interstate Route 5 (I–5) from the Oregon-California border north to mile marker 10 for several years in the high-elevation area known as the Siskiyou Pass. Magnesium chloride (MgCl2) and sodium chloride (NaCl) are applied to keep the interstate highway safe for drivers and allow for efficient transport of goods
Authors
Adam J. Stonewall, Matthew C. Yates, Gregory E. Granato

Modeling protected species distributions and habitats to inform siting and management of pioneering ocean industries: A case study for Gulf of Mexico aquaculture

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) provides a process that uses spatial data and models to evaluate environmental, social, economic, cultural, and management trade-offs when siting (i.e., strategically locating) ocean industries. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food sector in the world. The United States (U.S.) has substantial opportunity for offshore aquaculture development given the size of its ex
Authors
Nicholas A Farmer, Jessica R Powell, James A Jr Morris, Melissa S Soldevilla, Lisa C. Wickliffe, Jonathan A Jossart, Jonathan K MacKay, Alyssa L Randall, Gretchen E Bath, Penny Ruvelas, Laura Gray, Jennifer Lee, Wendy Piniak, Lance Garrison, Robert Hardy, Kristen Hart, Christopher Sasso, Lesley Stokes, Kenneth L Riley