Articles

Inland lakes are socially and ecologically important components of many regional landscapes. Exploring lake responses to plausible future climate scenarios can provide important information needed to inform stakeholders of likely effects of hydrologic changes on these waterbodies in coming decades. To assess potential climate effects on lake hydrology, we combined a previously published...

Modern carbonate tufa towers in the alkaline (~pH 9.5) Big Soda Lake (BSL), Nevada, exhibit rapid precipitation rates (exceeding 3 cm/year) and host diverse microbial communities. Geochemical indicators reveal that carbonate precipitation is, in part, promoted by the mixing of calcium-rich groundwater and carbonate-rich lake water, such that a microbial role for carbonate precipitation...

Beginning in 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Estuary Program (NEP) started a collaboration with partners in seven estuaries along the East Coast (Barnegat Bay; Casco Bay), West Coast (Santa Monica Bay; San Francisco Bay; Tillamook Bay), and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Coast (Tampa Bay; Mission-Aransas Estuary) of the United States to expand the use...

The genus Macrochelys (alligator snapping turtles) inhabits river systems that empty into the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Texas and contains the largest freshwater turtles in North America (Pritchard 2006). This paper details observations of Macrochelys on the coast and barrier islands in Franklin and Gulf counties, Florida, that contribute to our knowledge of their movements in...

Physics-based models are often used to study engineering and environmental systems. The ability to model these systems is the key to achieving our future environmental sustainability and improving the quality of human life. This article focuses on simulating lake water temperature, which is critical for understanding the impact of changing climate on aquatic ecosystems and assisting in...

Predation on anadromous salmon can have important consequences for both predators and prey. Salmon provide large seasonal pulses of energy and nutrients via carcasses, eggs and juveniles to many freshwater consumers, and conversely, predation can represent a significant source of mortality for juvenile salmon. Recent declines of Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations in...

Dundee and Rossman (1989) published distribution maps of Louisiana herpetofaunal species in The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana over 30 years ago. Since then many records have been published, mostly in Herpetological Review, documenting additions to these original maps. Though many are single species additions, several compilations of new Louisiana records have been published...

As an obligate salt marsh species, Seaside Sparrows (Ammospiza maritima) are vulnerable to numerous threats including climate change, coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and both natural and anthropogenic disasters. Of the 9 recognized subspecies, 2 are extinct and 1 is endangered. Previous genetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellite loci showed that current taxonomy...

Since the identification of 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol as a lampricide in the 1950s, control of sea lamprey populations in the Great Lakes has largely relied on lampricides, barriers, and traps. Lampricide treatments target larval lampreys in tributaries of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission oversees sea lamprey control efforts and has invested in technologies that...

The Central American river turtle Dermatemys mawii is a critically endangered species that has incurred substantial losses over the last several decades due to overhunting. This species is now being considered for head-starting programs (i.e. captive breeding of turtles for wild release). However, relatively little is known about their life history characteristics, especially with...

Meat, fruit, seeds and other high-energy bear foods are often highly localized and briefly available and understanding which factors influence bear consumption of these foods is a common focus of bear conservation and ecology. However, the most common bear foods, graminoids and forbs, are more widespread but of lower quality. We poorly understand how herbage consumption impacts bear...

Biological assemblages in streams are affected by a wide variety of physical and chemical stressors associated with land-use development, yet the importance of combinations of different types of stressors is not well known. From 2013 to 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey completed multi-stressor/multi-assemblage stream ecological assessments in five regions of the United States (434...