Publications

Boron-isotope (δ11B) values may be useful as surrogate tracers of contaminants and indicators of water mixing in agricultural settings. This paper characterizes the B contents and isotopic compositions of hog manure and selected fertilizers, and presents δ11B data for ground and surface water from two agricultural areas. Boron concentrations in dry hog manure averaged 61 mg/kg and in...

This species account discusses: distinguishing characteristics, distribution, systematics, migration, habitat, food habits, vocalizations, behavior (locomotion, maintenance, agonistic, sexual, social, interspecific), breeding (phenology, nest site, nest, eggs, incubation, development of the young, parental care), demography and populations (life span, mortality, dispersal and philopatry

Watershed planners in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) and in Wisconsin county governments use estimates of loads of total solids and total phosphorus in streams for numerous management purposes. A few examples of these are to establish load reduction goals, to estimate the relative magnitude of nonpoint sources compared to point sources, and to estimate phosphorus...

This report is a compilation of data on the physical and chemical properties of water and sediments in Grand Portage and Wauswaugoning Bays of Lake Superior along the shoreline of the Grand Portage Indian Reservation. The data were collected during 1993-96 by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the Grand Portage Indian Reservation. The data include: (1) temperature, pH, and...

The hydraulic properties were updated and their effects on ground-water flow in the St. Peter-Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer in the Rochester area in southeastern Minnesota were evaluated, using new information compiled since a study by Delin (1990). Since 1988, new information on the hydrogeology of the ground-water system in the Rochester area has become available from well-drilling...

In 1993, great blue heron (Ardea herodias; GBH) eggs were collected from 10 colonies on the upper Mississippi River (UMR). They were then artificially incubated until pipping and analyzed for mercury, selenium, and organochlorines. Livers of embryos were analyzed for hepatic microsomal ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) activity and four measures of oxidative stress. Brains were...

Abstract not submitted to date

Forty-seven chemicals having potential for preventing the attachment of zebra mussels Dreissena polymorpha were identified and tested. For each chemical, 15 zebra mussels (5–8-mm shell length) in each of two replicates and six treatments were exposed for 48 h followed by a 48-h postexposure period in untreated water. Eleven of the chemicals inhibited the reattachment of zebra mussels...

Truncilla truncata males release spherical aggregates of spermatozoa, called spermatozeugmata, at spawning. Sperm aggregates from other bivalve species have been described, but few detailed studies exist of the morphology of unionid spermatozeugmata and spermatozoa. We provide the first description of the external morphology of spermatozeugmata and spermatozoa of T. Truncata. The...

This study was part of the Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) Program, a multi-scale, inter-agency initiative to evaluate the effects of agricultural systems on water quality in the midwest corn belt. The research was part of the U.S. Geological Survey Toxics Substances Hydrology Program. The research area was located in the Anoka Sand Plain about 5 kilometers southwest of...

This report presents an evaluation of generalized skew coefficients used in flood-frequency analysis. Station skew coefficients were computed for 267 long-term stream-gaging stations in Minnesota and the surrounding states of Iowa, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, and the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario, Canada. Generalized skew coefficients were computed from station skew...

Sampling was conducted in 1992,1994, and 1995 to determine the occurrence of a broad suite of trace elements and synthetic organic compounds in biota and streambed sediment in selected streams in the Western Lake Michigan Drainages a study unit of the National Water- Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program of the U.S. Geological Survey. Sediment was sampled at 31 sites for trace elements and...