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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.
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse preprint publications authored by USGS scientists.
Filter Total Items: 46
Scalable environmental DNA methods reveal strong associations between landscape-scale forest habitat and insect richness Scalable environmental DNA methods reveal strong associations between landscape-scale forest habitat and insect richness
While aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA) methods have reached relative maturity, terrestrial eDNA methods are nascent and have yet to reach widespread use. Field-ready applications require eDNA survey methods where samples are easy to collect by inexperienced practitioners, easy to transport between the field and lab, and easy to process thereafter. Here, we demonstrate methods that...
Authors
Rodney T. Richardson, Grace Avalos, Cameron J. Garland, Regina Trott, Olivia Hager, Mark J. Hepner, Clayton D. Raines, Karen Goodell
Novel adomaviruses associated with blotchy bass syndrome in black basses (Micropterus spp.) Novel adomaviruses associated with blotchy bass syndrome in black basses (Micropterus spp.)
Black bass (Micropterus spp.) are the most important warmwater game fishes in the United States. They have high socioeconomic and recreational value and support an important aquaculture industry. Since 2008, fisheries managers have been reporting the observation of hyperpigmented melanistic lesions (HPMLs) on smallmouth bass (M. dolomieu) in different ecoregions of the United States...
Authors
Luke R. Iwanowicz, Clayton D. Raines, Kelsey E. Young, Vicki S. Blazer, Heather L. Walsh, Geoff Smith, Cynthia Holt, John Odenkirk, Tom Jones, Jan-Michael Hessenauer, Morgan Alexandra Biggs, Christopher B. Buck, Justin Blaine Greer, Robert S. Cornman
Failure to meet the exchangeability assumption in Bayesian multispecies occupancy models: Implications for study design Failure to meet the exchangeability assumption in Bayesian multispecies occupancy models: Implications for study design
Bayesian hierarchical models are ubiquitous in ecology. Random effect model structures are often employed that treat individual effects as deviations from larger population-level effects. In this way individuals are assumed to be "exchangeable" samples. Ecologists may address this exchangeability assumption intuitively, but might in certain modeling contexts ignore it altogether...
Authors
Gavin G. Cotterill, Douglas A. Keinath, Tabitha A. Graves
Practical genetic diversity protection: an accessible framework for IUCN subpopulation and Evolutionarily Significant Unit identification Practical genetic diversity protection: an accessible framework for IUCN subpopulation and Evolutionarily Significant Unit identification
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) sets global conservation standards, including the Red List of Threatened Species and the Green Status of Species. Recent analyses showed that genetic diversity has not been effectively considered by IUCN species assessments, despite being fundamental to species’ fitness and adaptive potential. Incorporation of genetic diversity...
Authors
Julia C. Geue, Laura D. Bertola, Paulette Bloomer, Anna Bruniche-Olsen, Jessica M. da Silva, J. Andrew DeWoody, Ancuta Fedorca, Jose A. Godoy, Catherine E. Grueber, Margaret Hunter, Christina Hvilsom, Isa-Rita M. Russo, Evelyn L. Jensen, Alexander Kopatz, Anna J. MacDonald, Silvia Pérez-Espona, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jennifer C. Pierson, Helen Senn, Gernot Segelbacher, Paul Sunnucks, Cock van Oosterhout, Deborah M. Leigh
Assessing legacy nitrogen in groundwater using numerical models of the Long Island aquifer system, New York Assessing legacy nitrogen in groundwater using numerical models of the Long Island aquifer system, New York
Nitrogen transported along groundwater flow paths in coastal aquifers can contribute substantially to nitrogen loading into surface water receptors, particularly in hydrologic systems dominated by groundwater discharge. Nitrogen entrained in the aquifer is a function of land use and associated nitrogen sources at the time of groundwater recharge, which may differ considerably from...
Authors
Kalle Jahn, Donald A. Walter
Salinas Valley integrated hydrologic and reservoir operations models, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California Salinas Valley integrated hydrologic and reservoir operations models, Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties, California
The area surrounding the Salinas Valley groundwater basin in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties of California is a highly productive agricultural area, contributes significantly to the local economy, and provides a substantial portion of vegetables and other agricultural commodities to the Nation. This region of California provides about half of the Nation’s lettuce, celery, broccoli...
Authors
Wesley R. Henson, Randy Hanson, Scott E. Boyce, Joseph A. Hevesi, Elizabeth Rae Jachens
A low-cost approach to monitoring streamflow dynamics in small, headwater streams using timelapse imagery and a deep learning model A low-cost approach to monitoring streamflow dynamics in small, headwater streams using timelapse imagery and a deep learning model
Despite their ubiquity and importance as freshwater habitat, small headwater streams are under monitored by existing stream gage networks. To address this gap, we describe a low-cost, non-contact, and low-effort method that enables organizations to monitor streamflow dynamics in small headwater streams. The method uses a camera to capture repeat images of the stream from a fixed position...
Authors
Phillip J. Goodling, Jennifer H. Fair, Amrita Gupta, Jeffrey D. Walker, Todd Dubreuil, Michael J. Hayden, Benjamin Letcher
Piping Plover home ranges do not appear to be impacted by restoration of barrier islands and headlands Piping Plover home ranges do not appear to be impacted by restoration of barrier islands and headlands
Restoration of barrier island and headland habitats can alter existing and create new habitats, which may impact wildlife occupying these areas such as the threatened Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). We used resight data from banded birds to develop minimum convex polygon (MCP) and kernel density estimates (KDE) of individual Piping Plover home ranges to investigate whether changes in...
Authors
Theodore J. Zenzal, Amanda Nicole Anderson, Delaina LeBlanc, Robert C. Dobbs, Brock Geary, Hardin Waddle
A practical decision tool for marine bird mortality assessments A practical decision tool for marine bird mortality assessments
Given the rise in anthropogenic, environmental, and disease events contributing to marine bird mortality, there is a critical need to improve the rigor of mortality assessments. Deficits in data collection and mortality estimation can hinder a manager’s ability to document event scales and inform population level impacts. Therefore, to inform decisions required during activities such as
Authors
Johanna Alexandra Harvey, Andrew M. Ramey, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Gregory Robertson, Marc Romano, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Megan Boldenow, Philip W. Atkinson, Diann Prosser
Preprint: Simulated seasonal loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus by major source from watersheds draining to Washington waters of the Salish Sea, 2005 through 2020 Preprint: Simulated seasonal loads of total nitrogen and total phosphorus by major source from watersheds draining to Washington waters of the Salish Sea, 2005 through 2020
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) have developed watershed models of seasonal load estimates of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) discharging into the Washington waters of the Salish Sea from 2005 through 2020. The modeling approach used was dynamic SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes), a...
Authors
Noah Schmadel, Cristiana Figueroa-Kaminsky, Daniel Wise, Jamie K. Wasielewski, Zachary Johnson, Robert W. Black
AAPG Energy and Minerals Division Tight Oil and Gas Committee Activities and Commodity Report for 2021-2022: Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Gulf Coast basin, Louisiana and Mississippi AAPG Energy and Minerals Division Tight Oil and Gas Committee Activities and Commodity Report for 2021-2022: Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Gulf Coast basin, Louisiana and Mississippi
The Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale (TMS) potential production area encompasses 20.4 million acres across central Louisiana (LA), southern Mississippi (MS), southwestern Alabama (AL), and a small southwestern section of the Florida panhandle (Hackley et al., 2018). It remains a minor and largely undeveloped unconventional shale oil play with production from the TMS confined...
Authors
Celeste D. Lohr
Evaluation of a rapid assessment function to aid monitoring and management of common ravens (Corvus corax) in Washington state Evaluation of a rapid assessment function to aid monitoring and management of common ravens (Corvus corax) in Washington state
Expanding human enterprise leading to resource subsidies for generalist species has resulted in widespread increases in common raven (Corvus corax) populations across the Western U.S. Ravens are an efficient predator and increased population abundance has led to adverse effects to multiple sensitive prey species. In regions where problematic interactions between ravens and their prey...
Authors
Brianne E. Brussee, Shawn T. O’Neil, Michael T. Atamian, Colin G. Leingang, Peter S. Coates