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Publications

Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.

Filter Total Items: 9967

Hydrologic signals and surprises in U.S. streamflow records during urbanization

Urban development has been observed to lead to variable magnitudes of change for stormflow volume and directions of baseflow change across cities. This work examines temporal streamflow trends across the flow duration curve in 53 watersheds during periods of peak urban development, which ranged from 1939 to 2016. We used U.S. Geological Survey streamgage records combined with pre‐development and u
Authors
Aditi S. Bhaskar, Kristina G. Hopkins, Brianne K Smith, Tim A Stephens, Andy J Miller

Preserving connectivity under climate and land-use change: No one-size-fits-all approach for focal species in similar habitats

Habitat connectivity is essential for maintaining populations of wildlife species, especially as climate changes. Knowledge about the fate of existing habitat networks in a changing climate and in light of land-use change is critical for determining which types of conservation actions must be taken to maintain those networks. However, information is lacking about how multiple focal species that us
Authors
Jennifer K. Costanza, James I. Watling, Ron Sutherland, Curtis Belyea, Bistra Dilkina, Heather Cayton, David N. Bucklin, Stephanie Romanach, Nick M. Haddad

Acidification in the U.S. Southeast: Causes, potential consequences and the role of the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network

Coastal acidification in southeastern U.S. estuaries and coastal waters is influenced by biological activity, run-off from the land, and increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Acidification can negatively impact coastal resources such as shellfish, finfish, and coral reefs, and the communities that rely on them. Organismal responses for species located in the U.S. Southeast document large ne
Authors
Emily R. Hall, Leslie Wickes, Louis Burnett, Geoffrey I. Scott, Debra Hernandez, Kimberly K. Yates, Leticia Barbero, Janet J. Reimer, Mohammed Baalousha, Jennifer Mintz, Wei-Jun Cai, J. Kevin Craig, M. Richard DeVoe, William S. Fisher, Terri K. Hathaway, Elizabeth B. Jewett, Zackary Johnson, Paula Keener, Rua S. Mordecai, Scott Noakes, Charlie Phillips, Paul Sandifer, Astrid Schnetzer, Jay Styron

Using NASA Earth observations and Google Earth Engine to map winter cover crop conservation performance in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Winter cover crops such as barley, rye, and wheat help to improve soil structure by increasing porosity, aggregate stability, and organic matter, while reducing the loss of agricultural nutrients and sediments into waterways. The environmental performance of cover crops is affected by choice of species, planting date, planting method, nutrient inputs, temperature, and precipitation. The Maryland D
Authors
Alison Thieme, Sunita Yadav, Perry C. Oddo, John M. Fitz, Sean McCartney, LeeAnn King, Jason Keppler, Gregory W. McCarty, W. Dean Hively

Effects of stormwater runoff from selected bridge decks on conditions of water, sediment, and biological quality in receiving waters in South Carolina, 2013 to 2018

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Transportation, investigated the effects of stormwater runoff from bridge decks on stream water quality conditions in South Carolina. The investigation assessed 5 bridges in 3 physiographic provinces in South Carolina (Piedmont, Upper Coastal Plain, and Lower Coast Plain) that had a range of bridge, traffic, and hydro
Authors
Celeste A. Journey, Matthew D. Petkewich, Kevin J. Conlon, Andral W. Caldwell, Jimmy M. Clark, Jeffrey W. Riley, Paul M. Bradley

Beloniformes: Belonidae (Needlefishes) and Hemiramphidae (Halfbeaks)

The order Beloniformes (or Synentognathi) contains two suborders, six families, 37 genera, and about 235 species of atherinomorph fishes (Rosen & Parenti 1981; Collette et al. 1984; Collette 2004). Features common to these fishes include dorsal and anal fins on the rear half of the body, abdominal pelvic fins with six soft rays, no fin spines, lateral line running along the ventral edge of the bod
Authors
Bruce B. Collette, Stephen Walsh

Continuous stream discharge, salinity, and associated data collected in the Lower St. Johns River and its tributaries, Florida, 2018

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District, plans to deepen the St. Johns River channel in Jacksonville, Florida, from 40 to 47 feet along 13 miles of the river channel, beginning at the mouth of the river at the Atlantic Ocean, in order to accommodate larger, fully loaded cargo vessels. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, monitored stage,
Authors
Patrick J. Ryan

Methods to quality assure, plot, summarize, interpolate, and extend groundwater-level information—Examples for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer

Large-scale computational investigations of groundwater levels are proposed to accelerate science delivery through a workflow spanning database assembly, statistics, and information synthesis and packaging. A water-availability study of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, and particularly the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA), is ongoing. Software (visGWDBmrva) has been released a
Authors
William H. Asquith, Ronald C. Seanor, Virginia L. McGuire, Wade Kress

Space use and relative habitat selection for immature green turtles within a Caribbean marine protected area

Background A better understanding of sea turtle spatial ecology is critical for the continued conservation of imperiled sea turtles and their habitats. For resource managers to develop the most effective conservation strategies, it is especially important to examine how turtles use and select for habitats within their developmental foraging grounds. Here, we examine the space use and relative habi
Authors
Lucas P Griffin, Brian J. Smith, Michael Cherkiss, Andrew Crowder, Clayton G Pollock, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Andy J. Danylchuk, Kristen Hart

Urban stream syndrome and contaminant uptake in salamanders of Central Texas

We studied the ecological health of springs experiencing varying levels of urban development to assess impacts to rare endemic salamanders (Eurycea spp.) of Central Texas. We evaluated measures of invertebrate species richness, water quality, and contaminant uptake by salamanders to determine how springs and their inhabitants were being affected by urban growth and changing land-use patterns. The
Authors
Peter H. Diaz, Erik L. Orsak, Floyd W. Weckerly, Mike A. Montagne, David Alvarez

Investigating the gene expression profiles of rehabilitated Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) following red tide exposure

To investigate a Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) mortality event following a red tide bloom in Southwest Florida, an RNA sequencing experiment was conducted. Gene expression changes in white blood cells were assessed in manatees rescued from a red tide affected area (n = 4) and a control group (n = 7) using RNA sequencing. The genes with the largest fold changes were compared betw
Authors
Rebecca Lazensky, Margaret Hunter, David M. Amador, Basima Al-Khedery, Fahong Yu, Cathy Walsh, Matthew A. Gitzendanner, Katie Tripp, Mike Walsh, Nancy D. Denslow

Imprint of regional oceanography on foraminifera of eastern Pacific Coral Reefs

The marginal marine environments of the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) serve as an ideal natural laboratory to study how oceanographic and climatic variability influence coral-reef ecosystems. Reefs along the Pacific coast of Panamá span a natural gradient of nutrients, pH, and temperature as a result of stronger seasonal upwelling in the Gulf of Panamá relative to the Gulf of Chiriquí. The ecosys
Authors
Angelica Maria Zamora-Duran, Richard B. Aronson, James J. Leichter, Jennifer A. Flannery, Julie N. Richey, Lauren Toth