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The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
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Seasonal abundance and habitat associations of American Kestrels on the Southern High Plains of Texas Seasonal abundance and habitat associations of American Kestrels on the Southern High Plains of Texas
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) populations are generally declining across the species' North American distribution but the population in the Southern High Plains region currently appears to be stable. Historical evidence suggests the region formerly had a low abundance of kestrels, and that their current numbers are due to landscape changes associated with European settlement. We...
Authors
Kristen Linner-Warren, Brent D. Bibles, Clint W. Boal
Earthquake detection with tinyML Earthquake detection with tinyML
Earthquake detection is the critical first step in earthquake early warning (EEW) systems. For robust EEW systems, detection accuracy, detection latency, and sensor density are critical to providing real‐time earthquake alerts. Traditional EEW systems use fixed sensor networks or, more recently, networks of mobile phones equipped with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers...
Authors
Timothy Hugh Clements
A coupled human and natural systems framework to characterize emerging infectious diseases: The case of fibropapillomatosis in marine turtles A coupled human and natural systems framework to characterize emerging infectious diseases: The case of fibropapillomatosis in marine turtles
Emerging infectious diseases of wildlife have markedly increased in the last few decades. Unsustainable, continuous, and rapid alterations within and between coupled human and natural systems have significantly disrupted wildlife disease dynamics. Direct and indirect anthropogenic effects, such as climate change, pollution, encroachment, urbanization, travel, and trade, can promote...
Authors
Costanza Manes, Raymond Carthy, Vanessa Hull
Exploring the relevance of the multidimensionality of wildlife recreationists to conservation behaviors: A case study in Virginia Exploring the relevance of the multidimensionality of wildlife recreationists to conservation behaviors: A case study in Virginia
Wildlife recreationists' participation in conservation behaviors could provide key support to the conservation efforts of state fish and wildlife agencies. However, little is known about how identifying with multiple forms of wildlife recreation (i.e., hunters, anglers, birders, wildlife viewers) may influence participation in conservation behaviors, specifically for supporting state...
Authors
Bennett Grooms, Ashley A. Dayer, Jessica Barnes, Ashley Peele, Jonathan D. Rutter, Nicholas W. Cole
Estimating the impact of climate and vegetation changes on runoff risk across the Hawaiian landscape Estimating the impact of climate and vegetation changes on runoff risk across the Hawaiian landscape
In Hawai’i, ecosystem conservation practitioners are increasingly considering the potential ecohydrological benefits from applied conservation action to mitigate the degrading impacts of runoff on native and restored ecosystems. One determinant of runoff is excess rainfall events where rainfall rates exceed the infiltration capacity of soils. To help understand runoff risks, we...
Authors
Lucas Berio Fortini, Lauren R. Kaiser, Kimberlie Perkins, Lulin Xue, Yaping Wang
The energy–water limitation threshold explains divergent drought responses in tree growth, needle length, and stable isotope ratios The energy–water limitation threshold explains divergent drought responses in tree growth, needle length, and stable isotope ratios
Predicted increases in extreme droughts will likely cause major shifts in carbon sequestration and forest composition. Although growth declines during drought are widely documented, an increasing number of studies have reported both positive and negative responses to the same drought. These divergent growth patterns may reflect thresholds (i.e., nonlinear responses) promoted by changes...
Authors
Joan Dudney, Andrew M. Latimer, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Harold S. Zald, Claire E Willing, Jonathan Nesmith, Jennifer E Cribbs, Elizabeth R. Milano
Geoelectric monitoring of the electric potential field of the Lower Rio Grande before, during, and after Intermittent Streamflow, May–October, 2022 Geoelectric monitoring of the electric potential field of the Lower Rio Grande before, during, and after Intermittent Streamflow, May–October, 2022
Understanding the intermittent hydraulic connectivity between ephemeral streams and alluvial aquifers is a key challenge for managing water resources in arid environments. The lower Rio Grande flows for short, discontinuous periods during the irrigation season through the Mesilla Basin in southeastern New Mexico and southwestern Texas. Hydraulic connections between the Rio Grande and the...
Authors
Scott Ikard, Kenneth C. Carroll, Dale F. Rucker, Andrew Teeple, Jason D. Payne, Chia-Hsing Tsai, Erek H. Fuchs, Ahsan Jamil
Improving ecological data science with workflow management software Improving ecological data science with workflow management software
Pressing environmental research questions demand the integration of increasingly diverse and large-scale ecological datasets as well as complex analytical methods, which require specialized tools and resources.Computational training for ecological and evolutionary sciences has become more abundant and accessible over the past decade, but tool development has outpaced the availability of
Authors
Matthew R. Brousil, Alessandro Filazzola, Michael Frederick Meyer, Sapna Sharma, Stephanie E. Hampton
Quantifying uncertainty in coastal salinity regime for biological application using quantile regression Quantifying uncertainty in coastal salinity regime for biological application using quantile regression
Salinity regimes in coastal ecosystems are highly dynamic and driven by complex geomorphic and hydrological processes. Estuarine biota are generally adapted to salinity fluctuation, but are vulnerable to salinity extremes. Characterizing coastal salinity regime for ecological studies therefore requires representing extremes of salinity ranges at time scales relevant to ecology (e.g...
Authors
Simeon Yurek, Micheal S Allen, Mitchell J. Eaton, David Chagaris, Nathan Reaver, Julien Martin, Peter C Frederick, Mark Dehaven
The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise
The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion...
Authors
Lauren T. Toth, Curt D. Storlazzi, Elizabeth M. Whitcher, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Ellen Quataert, Johan Reyns, Robert T. McCall, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Nathaniel H. Holloway, Kristin A. Ewen, Clayton G. Pollock, Tess Code, Richard B. Aronson
Parallel shifts in trout feeding morphology suggest rapid adaptation to alpine lake environments Parallel shifts in trout feeding morphology suggest rapid adaptation to alpine lake environments
Eco-evolutionary interactions following ecosystem change provide critical insight into the ability of organisms to adapt to shifting resource landscapes. Here we explore evidence for the rapid parallel evolution of trout feeding morphology following eco-evolutionary interactions with zooplankton in alpine lakes stocked at different points in time in the Wind River Range (Wyoming, USA)...
Authors
Lucia L. Combrink, William C. Rosenthal, Lindsey J. Boyle, Jessica A. Rick, Amy C Krist, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Annika W. Walters, Catherine E. Wagner
Modeling impacts of saltwater intrusion on methane and nitrous oxide emissions in tidal forested wetlands Modeling impacts of saltwater intrusion on methane and nitrous oxide emissions in tidal forested wetlands
Emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils to the atmosphere can offset the benefits of carbon sequestration for climate change mitigation. While past study has suggested that both CH4 and N2O emissions from tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) are generally low, the impacts of coastal droughts and drought-induced saltwater intrusion on CH4 and N2O emissions...
Authors
Hongqing Wang, Zhaohua Dai, Ken Krauss, Carl C. Trettin, Gregory B. Noe, Andrew J. Burton, Eric Ward