Publications

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation, developed peak-, mean-, and low-streamflow regional-regression equations for estimating various statistics for natural streamflow in hydrologic regions of central and western Colorado. The peak-streamflow regression equations were developed using data from 418 streamgages, consisting of 15...

Noise exposure is a potential stressor for free-ranging marine mammals and is often studied in the absence of other environmental factors. Here, a multi-investigator, interdisciplinary effort was undertaken to examine the response of elephant seals to multiple stressors. An integrated physiological and ecological approach was taken, including immunology, stress physiology, toxicology...

An understanding of how and why animal populations vary in space and time informs effective conservation and management. We used spatial and temporal flow metrics to explore flow-ecology relationships for two fish species, Mountain Sucker Pantosteus platyrhynchus (Cope, 1874) and Mottled Sculpin Cottus bairdii Girard, 1850, across 64 sites and 8 years in Wyoming, U.S.A. We found...

Characterizing the genetic structure and connectivity between populations of endangered species can be used to inform management actions. In vagile species with high gene flow or recently established populations, such characterizations can be difficult to undertake using traditional genetic markers, and genetic stock identification (GSI) may be confounded by allele-sharing between...

Volcanic plumes are important because they spread volcanic material, can impact climate, and pose hazards to aviation. Among eruption processes, column collapse is arguably the most consequential in terms of direct impacts, as it marks the onset of ground-hugging pyroclastic density currents that pose the greatest immediate threat to life and infrastructure. This study inves- tigates how...

Restoration of salmon populations in the upper Lewis River Basin, Washington, depends on a trap-and-haul program owing to the Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (hereinafter referred to as “Project”) operated by PacifiCorp and Cowlitz Public Utilities District (hereinafter referred to as “Utilities”), which has been a barrier to salmon passage since the 1930s. Thus, sustaining the...

Empirical evidence of population demographic responses to environmental perturbations is a major knowledge gap for aquatic vertebrate populations. Extensive habitat alteration including channelization of headwater streams influences the habitat template on which small-bodied fish are dependent to carry out distinct life stages and maintain or increase population growth. The objectives of...

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 80.1 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Basin Province of Algeria.

A rapid transition to renewable energy is necessary for achieving global decarbonization targets, but siting conflicts, particularly beyond the built environment, remain a key barrier to sustainable development. At the same time, climate-induced pressures on biodiversity intensify the socio-ecological trade-offs within the energy-agriculture-biodiversity nexus. Using New York State as a...