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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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Effects of climate and irrigation on GRACE-based estimates of water storage changes in major US aquifers Effects of climate and irrigation on GRACE-based estimates of water storage changes in major US aquifers
Understanding climate and human impacts on water storage is critical for sustainable water-resources management. Here we assessed climate and human drivers of total water storage (TWS) variability from Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites compared with drought severity and irrigation water use in 14 major aquifers in the United States. Results show that long-term...
Authors
Bridget R. Scanlon, Ahsraf Rateb, Donald R. Pool, Ward E. Sanford, Himanshu Save, Alexander Y. Sun, Di Long, Brian Fuchs
Benzotriazole concentrations in airport runoff are reduced following changes in airport deicer formulations Benzotriazole concentrations in airport runoff are reduced following changes in airport deicer formulations
A comparison of the presence of additives in airport deicers commonly used in the United States and in airport runoff was conducted with data collected before and after changes in deicer formulations. Three isomers of benzotriazoles (BTs)—4-methyl-1H-benzotriazole (4-MeBT), 5-methyl-1H-benzotriazole (5-MeBT), and 1H-benzotriazole (1H-BT)—are corrosion inhibitors added to some...
Authors
Hayley T. Olds, Steven R. Corsi, Troy D. Rutter
The roles of environmental variation and parasite survival in virulence–transmission relationships The roles of environmental variation and parasite survival in virulence–transmission relationships
Disease outbreaks are a consequence of interactions among the three components of a host–parasite system: the infectious agent, the host and the environment. While virulence and transmission are widely investigated, most studies of parasite life-history trade-offs are conducted with theoretical models or tractable experimental systems where transmission is standardized and the...
Authors
Wendy Christine Turner, Pauline L. Kamath, Henriette van Heerden, Yen-Hua Huang, Zoe R. Barandongo, Spencer A. Bruce, Kyrre Kausrud
Short‐period surface‐wave tomography in the continental United States— A resource for research Short‐period surface‐wave tomography in the continental United States— A resource for research
The variation of phase and group velocity dispersion of Love and Rayleigh waves was determined for the continental United States and adjacent Canada. By processing ambient noise from the broadband channels of the Transportable Array (TA) of USArray and several Program for the Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere experiments and using some earthquake recordings, the effort...
Authors
R. B. Herrmann, C. J. Ammon, Harley M. Benz, A. Aziz-Zanjani, J. Boschelli
The liquefaction record of past earthquakes in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone, Eastern United States The liquefaction record of past earthquakes in the Central Virginia Seismic Zone, Eastern United States
Following the 2011 moment magnitude, MM 5.7 Mineral, Virginia, earthquake, we conducted a search for paleoliquefaction features and found 41 sand dikes, sand sills, and soft‐sediment deformation features at 24 sites exposed in cutbanks along several rivers: (1) the South Anna River, where paleoliquefaction features were found in the epicentral area of the Mineral earthquake and farther...
Authors
Martitia P. Tuttle, Kathleen Dyer-Williams, Mark W. Carter, Steven L. Forman, Kathleen Tucker, Zamara Fuentes, Carlos Velez, Laurel Bauer
Accelerating ecological sciences from above: Spatial contrastive learning for remote sensing Accelerating ecological sciences from above: Spatial contrastive learning for remote sensing
The rise of neural networks has opened the door for automatic analysis of remote sensing data. A challenge to using this machinery for computational sustainability is the necessity of massive labeled data sets, which can be cost-prohibitive for many non-profit organizations. The primary motivation for this work is one such problem; the efficient management of invasive species -- invading...
Authors
Johan Bjorck, Qinru Shi, Brendan H. Rapazzo, Jennifer Dean, Angela K. Fuller, Carrie Brown-Lima, Carla Gomes
Diverse patterns of migratory timing, site use, and site fidelity by Alaska-breeding Whimbrels Diverse patterns of migratory timing, site use, and site fidelity by Alaska-breeding Whimbrels
Birds that conduct long-distance migrations exhibit varied patterns of consistency in migratory timing and site use. Understanding variation in these traits among populations can help uncover mechanisms driving migratory behaviors and identify potential population threats. Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) are long-distance migratory shorebirds with a Holarctic breeding distribution, and...
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Christopher M. Harwood, T. Lee Tibbitts, Nils Warnock, Robert E. Gill
Modeling opportunistic exploitation: Increased extinction risk when targeting more than one species Modeling opportunistic exploitation: Increased extinction risk when targeting more than one species
Extinction rates are increasing globally, and direct exploitation is an important driver. Many pathways have been proposed to explain how exploitation can lead to extinction. One of these proposed but understudied multispecies pathways is opportunistic exploitation, which occurs when a highly valuable but rare species is encountered and targeted during exploitation of a less valuable...
Authors
S. Thurner, Sarah J. Converse, Trevor A. Branch
Ambassador wolves participate In scientific research Ambassador wolves participate In scientific research
The International Wolf Center wolves are famous for providing unique educational opportunities to visitors to Ely and to people around the globe. Less known, are the contributions these wolves make to scientific research. Recently the Center’s Exhibit Pack were subjects of behavioral and acoustic research.
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, Lori Schmidt, Vicente Palacios, Barbara Marti-Domken
Diel patterns of predation and fledging at nests of four species of grassland songbirds Diel patterns of predation and fledging at nests of four species of grassland songbirds
Although it is common for nestlings to exhibit a strong bias for fledging in the morning, the mechanisms underlying this behavior are not well understood. Avoiding predation risk has been proposed as a likely mechanism by a number of researchers. We used video surveillance records from studies of grassland birds nesting in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to determine the diel...
Authors
Christine Ribic, David J. Rugg, Kevin Ellison, Nicola Koper, Pamela J. Pietz
Life-history theory provides a framework for detecting resource limitation: A test of the Nutritional Buffer Hypothesis Life-history theory provides a framework for detecting resource limitation: A test of the Nutritional Buffer Hypothesis
For ungulates and other long-lived species, life-history theory predicts that nutritional reserves are allocated to reproduction in a state-dependent manner because survival is highly conserved. Further, as per capita food abundance and nutritional reserves decline (i.e., density dependence intensifies), reproduction and recruitment become increasingly sensitive to weather. Thus, the...
Authors
Brett R. Jesmer, Matthew J. Kauffman, Alyson B. Courtemanch, Steve Kilpatrick, Timothy Thomas, Jeff Yost, Kevin L. Monteith, Jacob R. Goheen
Tarentola mauritanica (common wall gecko). Endoparasites Tarentola mauritanica (common wall gecko). Endoparasites
No abstract available.
Authors
Chris T. McAllister, Charles R Bursey, Samuel R Fisher, Chelsea E Martin, Robert N. Fisher