Publications

In response to previous reports of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in French Island’s (located in the Mississippi River within the town of Campbell, Wisconsin) primary source of drinking water, 11 locations were sampled by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in October 2021 to assess the potential presence of contaminant mixtures, including PFAS, in tapwater. Three...

Climate change is altering conditions in high-elevation streams worldwide, with largely unknown effects on resident communities of aquatic insects. Here, we review the challenges of climate change for high-elevation aquatic insects and how they may respond, focusing on current gaps in knowledge. Understanding current effects and predicting future impacts will depend on progress in three...

From 2020 to 2023, a new spill program was implemented to aid the downstream passage of juvenile salmonids at mainstem dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers. Under this program, the total dissolved gas (TDG) cap was increased to 125% and monitoring of nonsalmonids for gas bubble trauma (GBT) became a requirement. The primary objective of this work and report was to measure the incidence...

Endemic Hawaiian forest birds have experienced dramatic population declines. The Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Refuge Complex) was established for the conservation of endangered forest birds and their habitats. Surveys have been conducted at two units of the Refuge Complex to monitor forest bird populations and their response to management actions. We analyzed survey data...

The Lake Superior nearshore fish community was sampled in May-June 2021 with daytime bottom trawl tows at 45 stations located in USA waters. The 45 locations sampled were long-term monitoring sites that had been annually sampled since 1978. All comparisons to 2021 results were limited to past collections from USA waters, as compared to previous years, where comparisons included USA and...

The Lake Superior fish community within Management Unit WI-2 was sampled in July 2020 with daytime bottom trawls at 11 nearshore stations. The 11 locations sampled were long-term monitoring sites that had been annually sampled since 1974. In 2020, the number of species collected at each site ranged from 0 to 13, with a mean of 6.3 and median of six. All comparisons to 2020 results were...

Las Vegas bearpoppy (Arctomecon californica) occurrences have fluctuated during the past several decades, in part due to interannual variability in rainfall that influences recruitment and mortality events; yet, development in the Las Vegas Valley continues to threaten habitat supporting this species. Arctomecon californica was petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act in...

As North Carolina’s only native salmonid, Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis is a fish of considerable ecological and cultural significance in the state, but anthropogenic alterations to the landscape and introductions of nonnative salmonids have fragmented and reduced its native range. As a result, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has enacted numerous efforts to...

Prescribed fire is used to combat exotic plant species in mixed-grass prairie of Northern Great Plains parks. However, prescribed fires rarely occur at a frequency likely to maintain any gains against exotic species. The unusual circumstance of experimental plots being burned twice in 2 years provides a unique opportunity to investigate the effect of more frequent fire on invasive annual...

In 2001, we collected whole blood from sea ducks (Steller’s eider Polysticta stelleri, harlequin duck Histrionicus histrionicus, black scoter Melanitta nigra, and long-tailed duck Clangula hyemalis) wintering at Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and from Steller’s eiders molting at Izembek Lagoon on the Alaska Peninsula. Blood samples were analyzed for 19 trace elements, of which 17 were detected in...

The U.S. Geological Survey performed subsurface and geophysical site characterization of the irrigated four-plex baseball field in the Langford Valley–Irwin Groundwater Subbasin, as part of a research study in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Agricultural Research Service, and the Fort Irwin National Training Center, California. To help meet future demands...

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides state and federal land and wildlife managers with best-available science to help guide current management and...