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Publications

Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.

Filter Total Items: 9967

Machine-learning predictions of high arsenic and high manganese at drinking water depths of the glacial aquifer system, northern continental United States

Globally, over 200 million people are chronically exposed to arsenic (As) and/or manganese (Mn) from drinking water. We used machine-learning (ML) boosted regression tree (BRT) models to predict high As (>10 μg/L) and Mn (>300 μg/L) in groundwater from the glacial aquifer system (GLAC), which spans 25 states in the northern United States and provides drinking water to 30 million people. Our BRT mo
Authors
Melinda L. Erickson, Sarah M. Elliott, Craig J. Brown, Paul Stackelberg, Katherine Marie Ransom, James E. Reddy, Charles A. Cravotta

Prevalence of neonicotinoids and sulfoxaflor in alluvial aquifers in a high corn and soybean producing region of the Midwestern United States

Neonicotinoids have been previously detected in Iowa surface waters, but less is known regarding their occurrence in groundwater. To help fill this research gap, a groundwater study was conducted in eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota, a corn and soybean producing area with known heavy neonicotinoid use. Neonicotinoids were studied in alluvial aquifers, a hydrogeologic setting known to be vuln
Authors
D.A. Thompson, Dana W. Kolpin, Michelle Hladik, Kimberlee K. Barnes, J.D. Vargo, R.W. Field

Water resources of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 46.99 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in St. Marti
Authors
Maxwell A. Lindaman, Vincent E. White

Water resources of Iberville Parish, Louisiana

Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 589.87 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water were withdrawn in Iberville
Authors
Maxwell A. Lindaman, Vincent E. White

Genetics as a tool for conservation and management of West Indian manatee populations in Brazil

A study conducted by the National Center for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals (CMA), United States Geological Survey Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, and partner researchers found that the marine Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) has low genetic diversity in regions where there are territorial interfaces with the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). The study was p
Authors
Fabia Luna, Caitlin Beaver, Coralie Nourisson, Robert Bonde, Fernanda L. N. Attademo, Adriana V. Miranda, Juan P. Torres-Florez, Glaucia P. de Sousa, José Z. Passavante, Margaret Hunter

Intended consequences statement

As the biodiversity crisis accelerates, the stakes are higher for threatened plants and animals. Rebuilding the health of our planet will require addressing underlying threats at many scales, including habitat loss and climate change. Conservation interventions such as habitat protection, management, restoration, predator control, translocation, genetic rescue, and biological control have the pote
Authors
Ryan Phelan, Bridget Baumgartner, Stewart Brand, Evelyn Brister, Stanley W. Burgiel, R. Alta Charo, Isabelle Coche, Al Cofrancesco, Jason A. Delborne, Owain Edwards, Joshua P. Fisher, Martin Gaywood, Doria R. Gordon, Gregg Howald, Margaret Hunter, Peter Kareiva, Aditi Mankad, Michelle Marvier, Katherine Moseby, Andrew E. Newhouse, Ben J. Novak, Gerry Ohrstrom, Steven Olson, Megan J. Palmer, Stephen S. Palumbi, Neil Patterson, Miguel Pedrono, Francisco Pelegri, Yasha Rohwer, Oliver A. Ryder, J. Royden Saah, Robert M. Scheller, Philip J. Seddon, H. Bradley Shaffer, Beth Shapiro, Mike Sweeney, Mark R. Tercek, Delphine Thizy, Whitney Tilt, Michele Weber, Renee D. Wegrzyn, Bruce Whitelaw, Matthew Winkler, Josh Wodak, Mark Zimring, Paul Robbins

Heterotrophic respiration and the divergence of productivity and carbon sequestration

Net primary productivity (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) are often used interchangeably, as their difference, heterotrophic respiration (soil heterotrophic CO2 efflux, RSH = NPP−NEP), is assumed a near-fixed fraction of NPP. Here, we show, using a range-wide replicated experimental study in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations that RSH responds differently than NPP to fertilization and
Authors
Asko Noormets, Rosvel Bracho, Eric Ward, John Seiler, Brian Strahm, Wen Lin, Kristin McElligott, Jean-Christophe Domec, Carlos Gonzalez-Benecke, Eric J. Jokela, Daniel M. Markewitz, Cassandra Meek, Guofang Miao, Steve G. McNulty, John S. King, Lisa Samuelson, Ge Sun, Robert Teskey, Jason R. Vogel, Rodney E. Will, Jinyan Yang, Timothy A. Martin

Reply to comment by R. Parkinson on “Increasing rates of carbon burial in southwest Florida coastal wetlands” by J. Breithaupt et al.

Breithaupt et al. (2020) investigated why rates of organic carbon (OC) burial in coastal wetlands appear to increase over the past ∼120 years. After comparing dating methods and applying biogeochemical analyses, we concluded that neither dating method nor carbon degradation contribute to the observed trend. Rather, we concluded that OC burial has increased in the past century. Parkinson's (2021) C
Authors
Joshua L. Breithaupt, Joseph M. Smoak, Thomas S. Bianchi, Derrick Vaughn, Christian J. Sanders, Kara R. Radabaugh, Michael Osland, Laura Feher, James C. Lynch, Donald Cahoon, Gordon Anderson, Kevin R. T. Whelan, Brad E. Rosenheim, Ryan P. Moyer, Lisa G. Chambers

Predicting the spatiotemporal exposure of aquatic species to intrusions of fire retardant in streams with limited data

Because fire retardant can enter streams and harm aquatic species including endangered fish, agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) must estimate the downstream extent of toxic effects every time fire retardant enters streams (denoted as an “intrusion”). A challenge in estimating the length of stream affected by the intrusion and the exposure time of species in the affected reach is the l
Authors
Chris R. Rehmann, P. Ryan Jackson, Holly J. Puglis

Regional-scale variability in the movement ecology of marine fishes revealed by an integrative acoustic tracking network

Marine fish movement plays a critical role in ecosystem functioning and is increasingly studied with acoustic telemetry. Traditionally, this research has focused on single species and small spatial scales. However, integrated tracking networks, such as the Integrated Tracking of Aquatic Animals in the Gulf of Mexico (iTAG) network, are building the capacity to monitor multiple species over larger
Authors
Claudia Friess, Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri, Gregg R. Poulakis, Neil Hammerschlag, Jayne M. Gardiner, Andrea M. Kroetz, Kim Bassos-Hull, Joel Bickford, Erin C. Bohaboy, Robert D. Ellis, Hayden Menendez, William F. Patterson, Melissa E. Price, Jennifer S. Rehage, Colin P. Shea, Matthew J. Smukall, Sarah Walters Burnsed, Krystan A. Wilkinson, Joy Young, Angela B. Collins, Breanna C. DeGroot, Cheston T. Peterson, Caleb Purtlebaugh, Michael T. Randall, Rachel M. Scharer, Ryan W. Schloesser, Tonya R. Wiley, Gina A. Alvarez, Andy J. Danylchuk, Adam G. Fox, Ashley Hill, R. Dean Grubbs, James V. Locascio, Patrick M. O’Donnell, Gregory B. Skomal, Lucas P. Griffin, Fred G. Whoriskey

Habitat suitability index model improvement recommendations

As part of the model improvement effort for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan, the Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models used during previous master plans were reevaluated to assess how the model relationships could be improved, and to determine what species should be included in the master plan analyses. This process considered the technical reviews, comments, and suggested improvements provided by m
Authors
Shaye E. Sable, David C. Lindquist, Laura D'Acunto, Ann Hijuelos, Megan K. LaPeyre, Ann M. O'Connell, Elizabeth M. Robinson

Habitat suitability index model improvements

Habitat suitability index (HSI) models were developed for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan to evaluate the potential effects of coastal restoration and protection projects on habitat for key coastal fish, shellfish, and wildlife species. These species included: eastern oyster, brown shrimp, white shrimp, blue crab, crayfish, gulf menhaden, spotted seatrout, largemouth bass, American alligator, gadwall
Authors
David C. Lindquist, Shaye E. Sable, Laura D'Acunto, Ann Hijuelos, Erik I. Johnson, Summer R.M Langlois, Nicole L. Michel, Lindsay Nakashima, Ann M. O’Connell, Katie L. Percy, Elizabeth M. Robinson