Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 9967
Manatee population traits elucidated through photo-identification
Data on the demography and distribution of wildlife populations are important for informing conservation and management decisions; however, determination of life history traits and population trends often are elusive. All four extant species in the order Sirenia are deemed vulnerable to extinction; therefore, determining the demography and distribution for populations worldwide is crucial. Aerial
Authors
Cathy Beck
Floodplain ecology: A novel wetland community of the Amazon
An expedition to the upper estuarine reaches of the Amazon River reveals intriguing overlap of tropical mangrove wetlands with riverine floodplain forests. This newly discovered type of forested wetland assemblage may provide a uniquely process-rich carbon hotspot.
Authors
Ken Krauss
Future changes in habitat availability for two specialist snake species in the imperiled rocklands of South Florida, U.S.A.
Rockland habitat in South Florida, USA, is a threatened ecosystem that has been lost, fragmented, or degraded because of urbanization or other anthropogenic disturbance. Furthermore, low-lying islands and coastal areas are experiencing sea level rise (SLR) and an increased frequency and intensity of tidal flooding, putting rockland habitats there at increasing risk of ecological change. We evaluat
Authors
Suresh C. Subedi, Susan C. Walls, William Barichivich, Ryan Boyles, Michael S. Ross, J. Aaron Hogan, John A. Tupy
Interspecific interactions among three species of sea turtle using a common resting area
No abstract available.
Authors
Margaret M. Lamont, Joseph A. Alday, Carson L. Arends
Preliminary models relating lake level gate operation and discharge at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee and Kentucky
Preliminary models for gate operations at the new outlet control structure for Reelfoot Lake were developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, using calibrated ratings of the lift gates, to support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in managing lake level. In 2018, the old structure at the outlet of Reelfoot Lake was buried and lake level control was transferred to a new structure. The transition from
Authors
Elizabeth Heal, Timothy H. Diehl, Jerry W. Garrett
Remote sensing evaluation of winter cover crop springtime performance and the impact of delayed termination
In 2019, the Maryland Department of Agriculture's Winter Cover Crop Program introduced a delayed termination incentive (after May 1) to promote springtime biomass accumulation. We used satellite imagery calibrated with springtime in situ measurements collected from 2006–2021 (n = 722) to derive biomass estimates for Maryland fields planted to cereal cover crop species (286,200 ha total over two se
Authors
Alison Thieme, W. Dean Hively, Feng Gao, Jyoti Jennewein, Steven Mirsky, Alex M. Soroka, Jason Keppler, Dawn Bradley, Sergii Skakun, Gregory W. McCarty
Integrated modeling of dynamic marsh feedbacks and evolution under sea-level rise in a mesotidal estuary (Plum Island, MA, USA)
Around the world, wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise (SLR) depends on different factors including tidal regimes, topography, creeks and estuary geometry, sediment availability, vegetation type, etc. The Plum Island estuary (PIE) is a mesotidal wetland system on the east coast of the United States. This research applied a newly updated Hydro-MEM (integrated hydrodynamic-marsh) model to assess
Authors
Karim Alizad, James T. Morris, Matthew V. Bilskie, Davina Passeri, Scott C. Hagen
A machine learning approach to predicting equilibrium ripple wavelength
Sand ripples are geomorphic features on the seafloor that affect bottom boundary layer dynamics including wave attenuation and sediment transport. We present a new equilibrium ripple predictor using a machine learning approach that outputs a probability distribution of wave-generated equilibrium wavelengths and statistics including an estimate of ripple height, the most probable ripple wavelength,
Authors
Ryan E. Phillip, Allison M. Penko, Margaret Louise Palmsten, Carter B. DuVal
Climate matching with the climatchR R package
Climate matching allows comparisons of climatic conditions between different locations to understand location and species range climatic suitability. The approach may be used as part of horizon scanning exercises such as those conducted for invasive species. We implemented the CLIMATCH algorithm into an R package, climatchR. The package allows automated and scripted climate matching exercises acro
Authors
Richard A. Erickson, Peder S Engelstad, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Helen Sofaer, Wesley M. Daniel
The influence of satellite-derived environmental and oceanographic parameters on marine turtle time at surface in the Gulf of Mexico
The aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill highlighted the lack of baseline spatial, behavioral, and abundance data for many species, including imperiled marine turtles, across the Gulf of Mexico. The ecology of marine turtles is closely tied to their vertical movements within the water column and is therefore critical knowledge for resource management in a changing ocean. A more compre
Authors
Kelsey E. Roberts, Lance P. Garrison, Joel G. Ortega-Ortiz, Chuanmin Hu, Yingjun Zhang, Christopher R. Sasso, Margaret Lamont, Kristen Hart
Hydrologic connectivity and residence time affect the sediment trapping efficiency and dissolved oxygen concentrations of the Atchafalaya River Basin
Little is known about water movement, volume, or residence time (RT), and how those characteristics affect sediment trapping efficiency (TE) and dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO) in the United States' largest remaining bottomland hardwood swamp, the Atchafalaya River Basin. To better understand these dynamics, this study used bathymetry, lidar, and stage records to determine volumes in the Basi
Authors
Daniel Kroes, Richard Day, Michael D. Kaller, Charles R. Demas, William E. Kelso, Tiffany Pasco, Raynie Harlan, Steven Roberts
Direct and indirect influences of macrophyte cover on abundance and growth of juvenile Atlantic salmon
1. The relationships between macrophytes and the physical and biological characteristics of the environments that aquatic organisms inhabit are complex. Previous studies have shown that the macrophytes, Ranunculus (subgenus Batrachium), which are dominant in lowland chalk streams and widespread across Europe, can enhance juvenile Atlantic salmon abundance and growth to a greater degree than other
Authors
Jessica E Marsh, J. Iwan Jones, Rasmus B. Lauridsen, James Grace, Pavel Kratina