Publications
Publications intro.
Filter Total Items: 446
Abundance and distribution of white-tailed deer on First State National Historical Park and surrounding lands
We estimated both abundance and distribution of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the Brandywine Valley unit of First State National Historical Park (FRST) and the Brandywine Creek State Park (BCSP) during 2020 and 2021 with two widely used field methods — a road-based count and a network of camera traps. We conducted 24 road-based counts, covering 260 km of roadway, and deployed up to
Authors
H. Brian Underwood, Madison R. Hand, Donald J. Leopold
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2015 - November 30, 2016
Executive SummaryA Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954 (New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995), established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes the diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from reservoirs owned by New York City to be made under the su
Authors
Kendra L. Russell, William J. Andrews, Vincent J. DiFrenna, J. Michael Norris, Robert R. Mason,
A spatial machine learning model developed from noisy data requires multiscale performance evaluation: Predicting depth to bedrock in the Delaware River Basin, USA
Spatial machine learning models can be developed from observations with substantial unexplainable variability, sometimes called ‘noise’. Traditional point-scale metrics (e.g., R2) alone can be misleading when evaluating these models. We present a multi-scale performance evaluation (MPE) using two additional scales (distributional and geostatistical). We apply the MPE framework to predictions of de
Authors
Phillip J. Goodling, Kenneth Belitz, Paul Stackelberg, Brandon J. Fleming
Identifying the forage base and critical forage taxa for Chesapeake waterbirds
To effectively maximize the conservation value of management plans intended to capture ecosystem-wide health, it is essential to obtain an understanding of emergent patterns in dietary dynamics spanning many species. Chesapeake Bay, USA, is a critical ecosystem used annually by a diverse assortment of waterbird species, including several of conservation concern. However, the ecosystem is threatene
Authors
Matthew Hack, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Cody M. Kent, Diann Prosser
Records of fleas (Siphonaptera) from Delaware
We present an annotated checklist of fleas (Siphonaptera) known to occur in the state of Delaware based on an examination of Siphonaptera collections at the University of Delaware and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, as well as new specimens of fleas we collected from wildlife, other hosts, and tick flags. We review published records and compile them herein with our new records, which inclu
Authors
A.C Kennedy, W.S. Winter, A.L. Gardner, Neal Woodman, S.A. Shifflett, S. Redus, J.R. Newcomer, R. P. Eckerlin
Vulnerability assessment of groundwater influenced ecosystems in the Northeastern United States
Groundwater-influenced ecosystems (GIEs) are increasingly vulnerable due to groundwater extraction, land-use practices, and climate change. These ecosystems receive groundwater inflow as a portion of their baseflow or water budget, which can maintain water levels, water temperature, and chemistry necessary to sustain the biodiversity that they support. In some systems (e.g., springs, seeps, fens),
Authors
Shawn D. Snyder, Cyndy Loftin, Andrew S. Reeve
Report of the River Master of the Delaware River for the period December 1, 2014–November 30, 2015
Executive SummaryA Decree of the Supreme Court of the United States, entered June 7, 1954 (New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995), established the position of Delaware River Master within the U.S. Geological Survey. In addition, the Decree authorizes the diversion of water from the Delaware River Basin and requires compensating releases from specific reservoirs owned by New York City be made under
Authors
Kendra L. Russell, William J. Andrews, Vincent J. DiFrenna, J. Michael Norris, Robert R. Mason,
Spatiotemporal patterns in habitat use of natal and non-natal adult Atlantic sturgeon in two spawning rivers
BackgroundMonitoring movement across an organism’s ontogeny is often challenging, particularly for long-lived or wide-ranging species. When empirical data are unavailable, general knowledge about species’ ecology may be used to make assumptions about habitat use across space or time. However, inferences about habitat use based on population-level ecology may overlook important eco-evolutionary con
Authors
Shannon L. White, Matthew W. Breece, Dewayne A. Fox, David C. Kazyak, Amanda Higgs, Ian A Park, Cassia Busch, Barbara A. Lubinski, Robin L. Johnson, Amy Welsh
Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological dynamics of the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain prior to and during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
We studied the rapid paleo-environmental changes and the corresponding biotic responses of benthic foraminifera of a shallow shelf site during the late Paleocene and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The PETM is globally characterized by a negative δ13C excursion in marine and terrestrial sediments. Isotope data from the Atlantic Coastal Plain from the South Dover Bridge core, Maryland,
Authors
Monika Doubrawa, Peter Stassen, Marci M. Robinson, Robert P. Speijer
Sea turtle density surface models along the United States Atlantic coast
Spatially explicit estimates of marine species distribution and abundance are required to quantify potential impacts from human activities such as military training and testing, fisheries interactions, and offshore energy development. There are 4 protected species of sea turtle (loggerhead, green, Kemp’s ridley, and leatherback) commonly found along the east coast of the USA, our study area, and w
Authors
Andrew DiMatteo, Jason J. Roberts, D. Todd Jones-Farrand, Lance Garrison, Kristen Hart, Robert D. Kenney, William A. McLellan, Kate Lomac-MacNair, Debra Palka, Meghan E. Rickard, Kelsey E. Roberts, Ann M. Zoidis, L. Sparks
Biophysical drivers of coastal treeline elevation
Sea level rise is leading to the rapid migration of marshes into coastal forests and other terrestrial ecosystems. Although complex biophysical interactions likely govern these ecosystem transitions, projections of sea level driven land conversion commonly rely on a simplified “threshold elevation” that represents the elevation of the marsh-upland boundary based on tidal datums alone. To determine
Authors
Grace Molino, Joel A. Carr, Neil K. Ganju, Mathew Kirwan
Geologic carbon management options for the North Atlantic-Appalachian Region
IntroductionThe U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) North Atlantic-Appalachian Region is developing the regionwide capacity to provide timely science support for decision-makers attempting to enhance carbon removal, sequestration, and emissions mitigation to meet national atmospheric carbon reduction goals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported that in 2021, the fourteen States and the
Authors
Peter D. Warwick, Madalyn S. Blondes, Sean T. Brennan, Steven M. Cahan, C. Özgen Karacan, Kevin D. Kroeger, Matthew D. Merrill