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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.
Browse preprint publications authored by USGS scientists.
Filter Total Items: 91
Machine learning generated streamflow drought forecasts for the Conterminous United States (CONUS): Developing and evaluating an operational tool to enhance sub-seasonal to seasonal streamflow drought early warning for gaged locations Machine learning generated streamflow drought forecasts for the Conterminous United States (CONUS): Developing and evaluating an operational tool to enhance sub-seasonal to seasonal streamflow drought early warning for gaged locations
Forecasts of streamflow drought, when streamflow declines below typical levels, are notably less available than for floods or meteorological drought, despite widespread impacts. To address this gap, we apply machine learning (ML) models to forecast streamflow drought 1-13 weeks into the future at > 3,000 streamgage locations across the conterminous United States (CONUS). We applied two...
Authors
John C. Hammond, Phillip J. Goodling, Jeremy Alejandro Diaz, Hayley R. Corson-Dosch, Aaron Joseph Heldmyer, Scott Douglas Hamshaw, Ryan R. McShane, Jesse Cleveland Ross, Roy Sando, Caelan Simeone, Erik Smith, Leah Ellen Staub, David Watkins, Michael Wieczorek, Kendall C. Wnuk, Jacob Aaron Zwart
Assessment of natural gas pipeline construction on stream temperature and turbidity in southwestern Virginia, 2017—25 Assessment of natural gas pipeline construction on stream temperature and turbidity in southwestern Virginia, 2017—25
The natural gas pipeline network in the United States is extensive and often intersects streams and other sensitive habitats, yet there are limited case studies utilizing a comparative upstream-downstream approach to evaluate potential short- and long-term effects of pipeline stream crossing construction from pre-construction to post-site restoration. In 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey...
Authors
Brendan M. Foster, Carly Marcella Maas, Alejandra Logan Flota
Sensitive environmental DNA methods for low-risk surveillance of at-risk bumble bees Sensitive environmental DNA methods for low-risk surveillance of at-risk bumble bees
Terrestrial environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques have been proposed as a means of sensitive, non-lethal pollinator monitoring. To date, however, no studies have provided evidence that eDNA methods can achieve detection densities on par with traditional pollinator surveys. Using a large-scale dataset of eDNA and corresponding net surveys, we show that eDNA methods enable sensitive, species...
Authors
Rodney T. Richardson, Grace Avalos, Cameron J. Garland, Regina Trott, Olivia Hager, Mark J. Hepner, Clayton D. Raines, Karen Goodell
Relationships between water quality, stream metabolism, and water stargrass growth in the lower Yakima River, 2018 to 2020 Relationships between water quality, stream metabolism, and water stargrass growth in the lower Yakima River, 2018 to 2020
Since the early 2000s, water clarity on the lower Yakima River has improved. Changes in best management practices combined with a total maximum daily load for suspended sediment led to these improved conditions. As water clarity improved, so did conditions for aquatic plants; the clearer the water, the better the light penetration, and dramatic increases in plant biomass were observed...
Authors
Rich W. Sheibley, Marcella Appel, James R. Foreman
Estimating the probability of export restrictions to inform mineral criticality Estimating the probability of export restrictions to inform mineral criticality
As demand for advanced technologies rises, mineral commodities will increase in geopolitical importance. To assess risks associated with mineral commodity supply chain disruptions, governmental agencies and others have developed "criticality" assessments, with criticality described using the economic impact and probability of supply chain disruptions. In previous work, subjective supply...
Authors
John W. Ryter, Nedal T. Nassar
A spatial analysis of the groundwater emergence flood hazard in Long Island, New York and near coastal areas surrounding Long Island Sound in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island A spatial analysis of the groundwater emergence flood hazard in Long Island, New York and near coastal areas surrounding Long Island Sound in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island
Long Island, New York and near coastal areas surrounding Long Island Sound are densely populated and, like other coastal areas, are susceptible to flooding from several potential sources, including stormwater from precipitation events, tidal flooding and storm surge, and groundwater inundation or groundwater emergence flooding. The latter refers to the intersection of a rising water...
Authors
Kristina K. Masterson, Robert J. Welk, Janet R. Barclay, Kalle L. Jahn, Liv M. Herdman
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
Local adaptation to climate facilitates a global invasion Local adaptation to climate facilitates a global invasion
Local adaptation may facilitate range expansion during invasions, but the mechanisms underlying successful invasions remain unclear. Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), native to Eurasia and Africa, has invaded globally, with severe impacts in western North America. We aimed to identify mechanisms and consequences of local adaptation in the North American cheatgrass invasion. We sequenced 307...
Authors
Diana Gamba, Megan Vahsen, Toby Matthew Maxwell, Nikki Pirtel, Seth Romero, Justin J. Van Ee, Justin Penn, Aayudh Das, Rotem Ben-Zeev, Owen W. Baughman, C. Sean Blaney, Randy Bodkins, Shanta Budha-Magar, Stella M Copeland, Shannon L. Davis-Foust, Alvin Diamond, Ryan C. Donnelly, Peter W. Dunwiddie, David J. Ensing, Thomas A. Everest, Holly Hoitink, Martin C. Holdrege, Ruth A. Hufbauer, Sigitas Juzenas, Jesse M. Kalwij, Ekaterina Kashirina, Sang-Tae Kim, Marcin Klisz, Alina Klyueva, Michel Langeveld, Samuel Lutfy, Daniel Martin, Christopher L. Merkord, John W. Morgan, Dávid U. Nagy, Jacqueline P. Ott, Radoslaw Puchalka, Lysandra A. Pyle, Leonid Rasran, Brian G. Rector, Christoph Rosche, Marina Sadykova, Alexandr Stanislavschi, Brian M. Starzomski, Rachel L. Stone, Kathryn G. Turner, Alexandra K. Urza, Acer VanWallendael, Carl-Adam Wegenschimmel, Justin Zweck, Cynthia S. Brown, Elizabeth A. Leger, Dana M. Blumenthal, Matthew Germino, Lauren M. Porensky, Melvin B. Hooten, Peter B. Adler, Jesse R. Lasky
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
Development of a two-stage life cycle model to inform the Trap and Haul Program for Coho salmon in the Lewis River, Washington Development of a two-stage life cycle model to inform the Trap and Haul Program for Coho salmon in the Lewis River, Washington
Restoration of salmon populations in the upper Lewis River Basin depends on a trap-and-haul program owing to the Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (Project) operated by PacifiCorp and Cowlitz PUD (Utilities), which has been a barrier to salmon passage since the 1930s. Thus, sustaining the Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) population upstream of the Project currently depends on two...
Authors
John Plumb, Russell W. Perry
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
A practical framework for identifying genetic subpopulations and ESUs: Insights for IUCN assessments and broader management A practical framework for identifying genetic subpopulations and ESUs: Insights for IUCN assessments and broader management
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