Reports

The marine fishes in waters of the United States north of the Bering Strait have received new and increased scientific attention over the past decade (2005–15) in conjunction with frontier qualities of the region and societal concerns about the effects of Arctic climate change. Commercial fisheries are negligible in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, but many marine species have important...

The Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer Study groundwater-flow model was used to simulate the potential effects of future groundwater withdrawals at the proposed Allen combined-cycle combustion turbine plant in Shelby County, Tennessee. The scenario used in the simulation consisted of a 30-year average withdrawal period followed by a 30-day maximum withdrawal period. Effects of...

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, completed hydrologic and hydraulic analyses to assess the potential hazard to human life and property associated with the hypothetical failure of the Lago El Guineo Dam. The Lago El Guineo Dam is within the headwaters of the Río Grande de Manatí and impounds a drainage area of about 4.25 square...

The Central Platte River Valley provides breeding habitat for a variety of migratory birds, including federally endangered interior least terns (Sternula antillarum; least tern) and threatened piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). Since 2009, researchers have collected demographic data on both species that span their lifecycle (that is, from egg laying through survival of adults)...

Executive Summary The study described in this report represents the first time that a satellite model has been used to identify potential Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) (hereinafter referred to as “flycatcher”) breeding habitat rangewide for 2013–15. Fifty-seven Landsat scenes were required to map the entire range of the flycatcher, encompassing parts of six...

Public Summary The coastal region of California supports a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries. Tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays within coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects such as sea-level rise (SLR) are...

The Missouri River Pallid Sturgeon Effects Analysis (EA) was designed to assess how Missouri River management has affected—and may affect—the endangered Scaphirhynchus albus (pallid sturgeon) population. The EA emerged from the recognition that the direction and focus of the Missouri River Recovery Program would benefit from an updated, thorough evaluation of what is known, what is not...

Scientists from the United States Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, and students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa collected sediment cores, sediment surface grab samples, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) data from within the Edwin B...

In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey initiated a study to update regional skew, annual exceedance probability discharges, and regional regression equations used to estimate annual exceedance probability discharges for ungaged locations on streams in the study area with the use of recent geospatial data, new analytical methods, and available annual peak-discharge data through the 2013...

Statistical models were developed to estimate natural streamflow under low-flow conditions for streams with existing streamflow data at measurement sites on the Islands of Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, and Hawaiʻi. Streamflow statistics used to describe the low-flow characteristics are flow-duration discharges that are equaled or exceeded between 50 and 95 percent of the time during the...

Introduction In 2014 and 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampled water wells in the Los Angeles Basin and southern San Joaquin Valley, California, and oil wells in the San Joaquin Valley for analysis of multiple chemical, isotopic, and groundwater-age tracers. The purpose of this reconnaissance sampling was to evaluate the utility of tracers for assessing the effects of oil and...

Forest management activities can have substantial effects on forest structure and community composition and response of wildlife therein. Bats can be highly influenced by these structural changes, and understanding how forest management affects day-roost and foraging ecology of bats is currently a paramount conservation issue. With populations of many cave-hibernating bat species in...