Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
Publications
Browse more than 150,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS. Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center Publications
Remnant hardwood forest mapping within the Upper Mississippi River Floodplain
Executive SummaryThe primary objective of the project was to locate previously unknown stands of mast-producing hardwood forest trees in the Upper Mississippi River floodplain using existing information. We located and mapped 399 previously unknown hardwood forest stands within the Mississippi River floodplain area of navigation pools 9, 10, and...
Hanson, Jenny L.; King, Rich; Hoy, Erin E.
Influence of a high-head dam as a dispersal barrier to fish community structure of the Upper Mississippi River
In river systems, high‐head dams may increase the distance‐decay of fish community similarity by creating nearly impermeable dispersal barriers to certain species from upstream reaches. Substantial evidence suggests that migratory species are impacted by dams, and most previous studies in stream/river networks have focused on small streams and...
Anderson, Rebekah L.; Anderson, Cory A.; Larson, James H.; Knights, Brent C.; Vallazza, Jon; Jenkins, Sean E.; Lamer, James T. Light exposure along particle flowpaths in large rivers
Sunlight is a critical resource in aquatic systems driving photosynthesis, photodegradation of organic matter and contaminants, animal behavior, and the activity of human pathogens. In rivers, solutes, materials, and organisms are turbulently mixed across the water column during downstream transport and exposed to highly variable sunlight. However...
Gardner, John R.; Ensign, Scott H.; Houser, Jeffrey N.; Doyle, Martin W. Recovery planning in a dynamic system: Integrating uncertainty into a decision support tool for an endangered songbird
Along the Santa Clara River in California, populations of the federally and state-listed Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) are recovering from near extirpation. Habitat protection and restoration, as well as controlling rates of brood parasitism, are thought to be the primary drivers of this recovery. Continuing successful management of...
Stanton, J.C.; Marek, Jenny; Hall, Linnea S.; Kus, Barbara E.; Alvarado, Allison; Orr, Bruce K.; Morrissette, Eric; Riege, Laura; Thogmartin, Wayne E. Off-channel waterbodies in the Middle Mississippi River: A pilot investigation
Off-channel and floodplain water bodies are important components of large river ecosystems while rare within the Middle Mississippi River. The lack of these habitats likely influences water quality, nutrient processing, and communities of organisms. In early 2016 a major flood event breached two levees south of Cape Girardeau, MO resulting in the...
Sobotka, Molly; West, John Scientific Framework for resilience research on the Upper Mississippi River System
The goal of this research framework is to outline research that would continue to improve our understanding of ecological resilience of the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) and inform management of the system for health and resilience. We provide a broad overview of recently completed and ongoing work that has been funded as a part of the...
Bouska, Kristen L. Stream corridor sources of suspended sediment and phosphorus from an agricultural tributary to the Great Lakes
Fine-grained sediment and phosphorous are major contaminants in the Great Lakes and their tributaries. Plum Creek, Wisconsin (92 km2), a tributary to the Lower Fox River, has a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) requiring reductions of suspended sediment and phosphorus loading by 70% and 77%, respectively. In 2016-18, an integrated sediment...
Fitzpatrick, Faith A.; Blount, James; Kammel, Leah; Hoover, David L.; Gellis, Allen; Eikenberry, Barbara C. Scudder Recovery planning in a dynamic system: Integrating uncertainty into a decision support tool for an endangered songbird
Along the Santa Clara River in California, populations of the federally and state-listed Least Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii pusillus) are recovering from near extirpation. Habitat protection and restoration, as well as controlling rates of brood parasitism, are thought to be the primary drivers of this recovery. Continuing successful management of...
Stanton, Jessica; Marek, Jenny; Hall, Linnea S.; Kus, Barbara E.; Alvarado, Allison; Orr, Bruce K.; Morrissette, Eric; Riege, Laura; Thogmartin, Wayne E.
A hydrogeomorphic classification of connectivity of large rivers of the Upper Midwest, United States
River connectivity is defined as the water-mediated exchange of matter, energy, and biota between different elements of the riverine landscape. Connectivity is an especially important concept in large-river corridors (channel plus floodplain ) because large rivers integrate fluxes of water, sediment, nutrients, contaminants, and other transported...
Jacobson, Robert B.; Rohweder, Jason J.; De Jager, Nathan R.
Assessment of uncontained Zequanox applications for zebra mussel control in a Midwestern lake
Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) are invasive bivalves that have perturbed aquatic ecosystems within North America since their introduction in the mid-1980s. Control of zebra mussels has largely been restricted to raw water conveyance systems and associated infrastructures because few control products are registered for application in surface...
Luoma, James A.; Waller, Diane L.; Severson, Todd J.; Barbour, Matthew T.; Wise, Jeremy K.; Lord, Eric G.; Bartsch, Michelle R.; Bartsch, Lynn A. Early generation hybrids may drive range expansion of two invasive fishes
1. Introgressive hybridization between two invasive species has the potential to contribute to their invasion success and provide genetic resiliency to rapidly adapt to new environments. Additionally, differences in the behaviour of hybrids may lead to deleterious ecosystem effects that compound any negative impacts of the invading parental...
Coulter, Alison A.; Brey, Marybeth; Lamer, James T.; Whitledge, Gregory W.; Garvey, James E. The status of mussel health assessment and a path forward
Declines of freshwater mussel (order Unionida) populations worldwide are attributed to habitat degradation, pollution, and invasive species, among other factors. However, these purported causes do not fully explain the enigmatic decline and large-scale die-offs of mussels that have occurred in assumedly “healthy” streams across a wide geographic...
Waller, Diane L.; Cope, Greg