Publications
The USGS publishes peer-reviewed reports and journal articles which are used by Chesapeake Bay Program resource managers and policy makers to make science-based decisions for ecosystem conservation and restoration. Use the Search box below to find publications on selected topics.
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Filter Total Items: 961
The effects of restored hydrologic connectivity on floodplain trapping vs. release of phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment along the Pocomoke River, Maryland USA The effects of restored hydrologic connectivity on floodplain trapping vs. release of phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment along the Pocomoke River, Maryland USA
River channelization and artificial levees have decreased the hydrologic connectivity of river-floodplain systems around the world. In response, restoration through enhancing connectivity has been advocated to improve the functions of floodplains, but uncertain benefits and the possibility of phosphate release from re-flooded soils has limited implementation. In this study, we measured...
Authors
Gregory B. Noe, Kathy Boomer, Jaimie Gillespie, Cliff R. Hupp, Mario Martin-Alciati, Kelly Floro, Edward R. Schenk, Amy K. Jacobs, Steve Strano
Individual behaviour and resource use of thermally stressed brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis portend the conservation potential of thermal refugia Individual behaviour and resource use of thermally stressed brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis portend the conservation potential of thermal refugia
Individual aggression and thermal refuge use were monitored in brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis in a controlled laboratory to determine how fish size and personality influence time spent in forage and thermal habitat patches during periods of thermal stress. On average, larger and more exploratory fish initiated more aggressive interactions and across all fish there was decreased...
Authors
Shannon L. White, B.C. Kline, Nathaniel Hitt, Tyler Wagner
Typha (cattail) invasion in North American wetlands: Biology, regional problems, impacts, ecosystem services, and management Typha (cattail) invasion in North American wetlands: Biology, regional problems, impacts, ecosystem services, and management
Typha is an iconic wetland plant found worldwide. Hybridization and anthropogenic disturbances have resulted in large increases in Typha abundance in wetland ecosystems throughout North America at a cost to native floral and faunal biodiversity. As demonstrated by three regional case studies, Typha is capable of rapidly colonizing habitats and forming monodominant vegetation stands due...
Authors
Sheel Bansal, Shane Lishawa, Sue Newman, Brian Tangen, Douglas Wilcox, Dennis Albert, Michael J. Anteau, Michael J Chimney, Ryann L. Cressey, Edward S. DeKeyser, Kenneth J Elgersam, Sarah A Finkelstein, Joanna Freeland, Richard Grosshans, Page E. Klug, Daniel J Larkin, Beth A. Lawrence, George Linz, Joy Marburger, Gregory B. Noe, Clint R.V. Otto, Nicholas Reo, Jennifer Richards, Curtis J. Richardson, LeRoy Rodgers, Amy J Shrank, Dan Svedarsky, Steven E. Travis, Nancy Tuchman, Arnold van der Valk, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
Toward explaining nitrogen and phosphorus trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries, 1992-2012 Toward explaining nitrogen and phosphorus trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries, 1992-2012
Understanding trends in stream chemistry is critical to watershed management, and often complicated by multiple contaminant sources and landscape conditions changing over varying time scales. We adapted spatially-referenced regression (SPARROW) to infer causes of recent nutrient trends in Chesapeake Bay tributaries by relating observed fluxes during 1992, 2002, and 2012 to contemporary...
Authors
Scott Ator, Ana M. Garcia, Gregory E. Schwarz, Joel D. Blomquist, Andrew J. Sekellick
Cryptic introduction of water chestnut (Trapa) in the northeastern United States Cryptic introduction of water chestnut (Trapa) in the northeastern United States
Trapa natans, characterized by four-horned fruits, has been recognized as an introduced species in the northeastern United States since the 1920′s. However, in 2014 a two-horned morphotype of Trapa was discovered in the Potomac River in Virginia. As such, we hypothesize the two-horned variety represents a cryptic introduction of a Trapa taxon distinct from the four-horned T. natans...
Authors
Greg Chorak, Lynde Dodd, Nancy B. Rybicki, Kadiera Ingram, Murat Buyukyoruk, Yasuro Kadono, Yuan Yuan Chen, Ryan Thum
Drinking water health standards comparison and chemical analysis of groundwater for 72 domestic wells in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, 2016 Drinking water health standards comparison and chemical analysis of groundwater for 72 domestic wells in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, 2016
Pennsylvania has the second highest number of residential wells of any state in the Nation with approximately 2.4 million residents that depend on groundwater for their domestic water supply. Despite the widespread reliance on groundwater in rural areas of the state, publicly available data to characterize the quality of private well water are limited. In Bradford County, more than half...
Authors
John W. Clune, Charles A. Cravotta
Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Best Management Practice Implementation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 1985–2014 Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Best Management Practice Implementation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, 1985–2014
Efforts to restore water quality in Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries often include extensive Best Management Practice (BMP) implementation on agricultural and developed lands. These BMPs include a variety of methods to reduce nutrient and sediment loads, such as cover crops, conservation tillage, urban filtering systems, and other practices. Estimates of BMP implementation throughout...
Authors
Andrew J. Sekellick, Olivia H. Devereux, Jennifer L. D. Keisman, Jeffrey S. Sweeney, Joel D. Blomquist
Establishing molecular methods to quantitatively profile gastric diet items of fish—Application to the invasive blue catfish (ictalurus furcatus) Establishing molecular methods to quantitatively profile gastric diet items of fish—Application to the invasive blue catfish (ictalurus furcatus)
Understanding the diet of invasive species helps researchers to more accurately assess the health, survivorship, growth, and stability of an invasive fish species, as well as their effects on native populations. Techniques capable of identifying multiple prey species from fish stomach contents have been developed. In this study, a multi-locus metabarcoding approach was used to identify...
Authors
Deborah D. Iwanowicz, W. Bane Schill, Lakyn R. Sanders, Tim Groves, Mary C. Groves
Integrated assessment of wastewater reuse, exposure risk, and fish endocrine disruption in the Shenandoah River watershed Integrated assessment of wastewater reuse, exposure risk, and fish endocrine disruption in the Shenandoah River watershed
Reuse of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent is an important component in augmenting global freshwater supplies. The Shenandoah River Watershed was selected to conduct on-site exposure experiments to assess endocrine disrupting characteristics of different source waters. This investigation of the Shenandoah River Watershed integrates WWTP wastewater reuse...
Authors
Larry B. Barber, Jennifer L. Krstolic, Chintamani Kandel, Steffanie H. Keefe, Jacelyn Rice, Paul Westerhoff, David Bertolatus, Alan M. Vajda
The mighty Susquehanna—extreme floods in Eastern North America during the past two millennia The mighty Susquehanna—extreme floods in Eastern North America during the past two millennia
The hazards posed by infrequent major floods to communities along the Susquehanna River and the ecological health of Chesapeake Bay remain largely unconstrained due to the short length of streamgage records. Here we develop a history of high‐flow events on the Susquehanna River during the late Holocene from flood deposits contained in MD99‐2209, a sediment core recovered in 26 m of water...
Authors
Michael Toomey, Meagan Cantwell, Steven Colman, Thomas M. Cronin, Jeffrey P. Donnelly, Liviu Giosan, Clifford Heil, Robert L. Korty, Marci E. Marot, Debra A. Willard
Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the northeastern United States Spatially referenced models of streamflow and nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended-sediment loads in streams of the northeastern United States
SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes (SPARROW) models were developed to quantify and improve the understanding of the sources, fate, and transport of nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediment in the northeastern United States. Excessive nutrients and suspended sediment from upland watersheds and tributary streams have contributed to ecological and economic...
Authors
Scott W. Ator
Movement dynamics of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in a large river-tributary system Movement dynamics of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) in a large river-tributary system
Smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu Lacepède, movement dynamics were investigated in a connected mainstem river-tributary system. Smallmouth bass moved large distances annually (n = 84 fish, average = 24.6 ± 25.9 km, range = 0.03 to 118 km) and had three peak movement periods (pre-spawn, post-spawn and overwintering). Movement into and out of tributaries was common, but the movement...
Authors
Tyler Wagner, Megan K. Schall, Timothy Wertz, Geoffrey D. Smith, Vicki S. Blazer