All Publications

Aquatic ecosystems are rapidly changing, posing challenges for the conservation of threatened and endangered species, such as the Niangua darter Etheostoma nianguae, and highlighting the need to evaluate habitat use at multiple scales. The Niangua darter is a small benthic fish endemic to north-flowing streams of the Osage River basin in south-central Missouri, USA, and is federally...

Understanding social aggregation patterns in ungulate herds is essential for gaining behavioral insights, optimizing resource use, reducing human-wildlife conflict, and managing disease risk. As chronic wasting disease is the preeminent disease-related threat to cervid populations in North America, knowledge of contact between individuals and spatiotemporal patterns of aggregation...

Since the Mars Science Laboratory landed in 2012, the ChemCam instrument aboard the rover has collected in-situ laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) data and context images along more than 35 km of the Gale Crater traverse, providing valuable observations including diagenetic features such as light-toned veins. These veins are of particular scientific interest because they are...

Several of the Laurentian Great Lakes, including Lake Huron, have undergone oligotrophication in the past decades and prey fish biomass has concomitantly declined. One potential mechanism to explain declines in prey fish is slower growth and lower survival at the larval stage. To determine whether reduced productivity affects the growth of larval fish, we sampled larval fishes and their

The Yellowstone Volcano Observatory (YVO) monitors volcanic and hydrothermal activity associated with the Yellowstone magmatic system, carries out research into magmatic processes occurring beneath Yellowstone Caldera, and issues timely warnings and guidance related to potential future geologic hazards. YVO is a collaborative consortium that includes the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)...

Coastal salt marsh modeling projects are designed to answer questions about where salt marshes may migrate, how they can migrate, and how they will be impacted by changing water levels. While this information is vital for climate-resilient marsh conservation, translating these findings into actionable results remains a challenge. The authors examined the actionability of marsh modeling...

No abstract available.

The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the source of drinking water in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Production wells are completed in the alluvial aquifer approximately 40 to 80 feet below land surface. The City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have studied the groundwater-flow system and water quality of the aquifer in the vicinity of Cedar Rapids since 1992. Results of these studies...

No abstract available.

Coastal wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes are complex ecosystems that provide essential biological services, including providing habitat for a suite of fish species. As restoration efforts for these coastal wetlands increase, there is a need to characterize how well restored areas support the life histories of wetland, riverine, and lake fishes. Most traditional survey methods (e.g...

We assembled and annotated a chromosome-level genome for the Western Spadefoot, Spea hammondii (Anura, Scaphiopodidae) representing one of only three amphibians included in the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). Spea hammondii is a vernal pool breeding anuran native to California and northwestern Baja California which has undergone both range contractions and local...

Differentiated magmas stored in the rift zones of Kīlauea have received more attention in recent years following eruption of andesite during the early phase of 2018 lower East Rift Zone activity. Despite this growing interest, some of the most voluminous eruptions of differentiated rift zone magmas remain poorly studied. One such eruption, and the most voluminous exposed differentiated...