Publications

We studied the effects of predatory Sacramento squawfish (Ptychocheilus grandis) on habitat choice of juvenile California roach (Lavinia symmetricus), adult roach, and juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in artificial streams. In single-prey trials, the proportion of fish found in pool habitat declined in the presence of squawfish for juvenile roach (from 0.55 to 0.00), adult...

This study was conducted to determine historical trends in subsidence in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and their environmental controls. In the western Delta, average subsidence rates were 2.3 cm yr-1 from 1910 to 1.5 cm yr-1 from 1952 to 1988. Spatially variability in subsidence was correlated with organic matter content of the soil which in turn was related to the depositional and...

Although the shorelines of Prince William Sound still bear traces of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, most of the flattened tar balls that can be found today on these shorelines are not residues of Exxon Valdez oil. Instead, the carbon-isotopic and hydrocarbon-biomarker signatures of 61 tar ball samples, collected from shorelines throughout the northern and western parts of the sound...

This article discusses preliminary results from analyses of USGS hydrodynamic data collected as part of the 1994 Interagency Ecological Program entrapment zone study. The USGS took part in three 30-hour cruises and deployed instruments for measuring currents and salinity from April to June. This article primarily focuses on the analysis of data from five Acoustic Doppler Current ProUers...

We documented species' distributions, size structure of populations, abundance in mainstem and tributary streams, habitat use, and diets of prickly sculpin, Cottus asper, and coastrange sculpin, C. aleuticus, in the Eel River drainage of California, to determine the processes allowing coexistence of these very similar fishes. We observed prickly sculpins at 43 sites and coastrange...

Populations of native and introduced aquatic organisms in the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Estuary ("Bay/Delta") have undergone significant declines over the past two decades. Decreased river inflow due to drought and increased freshwater diversion have contributed to the decline of at least some populations. Effective management of the estuary's biological resources...

Multiple indicators (Chl a, C : N ratios, [δ13C]POC, and two classes of lipid biomarker compounds- sterols and phospholipid ester-linked fatty acids) were used to evaluate spatial and temporal variations in the origin of particulate organic matter (POM) in the San Francisco Bay (SFB) estuary. Comparisons were made between the northern and southern subestuaries of SFB, as well as along...

Mammoth Mountain, in the western United States, is a large dacitic volcano with a long history of volcanism that began 200 kyr ago and produced phreatic eruptions as recently as 500 ± 200 yr BP. Seismicity, ground deformation and changes in fumarole gas composition suggested an episode of shallow dyke intrusion in 1989–90. Areas of dying forest and incidents of near asphyxia in confined...

No abstract available.

The transport and biological effects of dormant spray pesticides were examined in the San Francisco Estuary, California, by measuring dissolved- pesticide concentrations and estimating toxicity using bioassays at a series of sites in January and February 1993. Distinct pulses of pesticides, including diazinon, methidathion, and chlorpyrifos, were detected in the San Joaquin River in...

INTRODUCTION The objective of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey is to describe the status and trends of the Nation's water quality with respect to natural features of the environment and human activities or land-use. Pesticides are a major water-quality issue in the San Joaquin Valley of California (fig. 1), and pesticide residues may be

Discrete red patches of water were observed in South San Francisco Bay (USA) on 30 April 1993, and examination of live samples showed that this red tide was caused by surface accumulations of the pigmented ciliate Mesodinium rubrum . Vertical profiles showed strong salinity and temperature stratification in the upper 5 m, peak chlorophyll fluorescence in the upper meter, and differences...