Publications

We investigated the cumulative effects of predation by piscivorous colonial waterbirds on the survival of multiple salmonid (Oncorhynchus spp.) populations listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) and determined what proportion of all sources of fish mortality (1 –survival) were due to birds in the Columbia River basin, USA. Anadromous juvenile salmonids (smolts) were exposed...

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Studying the movements of organisms that live underground for at least a portion of their life history is challenging, given the state of current technology. Passive integrated transponders (PIT tags) provide a way to individually identify and, more recently, study the movement of smaller animals, including those that make subterranean movements. However, there are widespread assumptions...

This is a multifaceted project that includes three main areas of research targeted to inform effective crossing systems for migratory amphibians, a large group of species which are at very high risk from negative impacts from roads within their habitats (Glista et al. 2008, Hamer and McDonnell 2008, Semlitsch 2008, Brehme et al. 2018). The three projects presented in this report are: 1)...

The increase in fires at the wildland–urban interface has raised concerns about the potential environmental impact of ash remaining after burning. Here, we examined the concentrations and speciation of iron-bearing nanoparticles in wildland–urban interface ash. Total iron concentrations in ash varied between 4 and 66 mg g−1. Synchrotron X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES)...

Ancient DNA (aDNA) has been applied to evolutionary questions across a wide variety of taxa. Here, for the first time, we leverage aDNA from millennia-old fossil coral fragments to gain new insights into a rapidly declining western Atlantic reef ecosystem. We sampled four Acropora palmata fragments (dated 4215 BCE - 1099 CE) obtained from two Florida Keys reef cores. From these samples...

Aim Climate change is an increasingly important driver of biodiversity loss. The ectothermic nature of amphibians may make them particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation regimes, adding to declines from other threats. While active season environmental conditions can influence growth and survival, effects of variation in winter conditions on population dynamics...

Shasta salamanders (collectively, Hydromantes samweli, H. shastae, and H. wintu; hereafter, Shasta salamander) are endemic to northern California in the general vicinity of Shasta Lake reservoir. Although generally associated with limestone, they have repeatedly been found in association with other habitats, calling into question the distribution of the species complex. Further limiting...

Flood-frequency curves, critical for water infrastructure design, are typically developed based on a stationary climate assumption. However, climate changes are expected to violate this assumption. Here, we propose a new, climate-informed methodology for estimating flood-frequency curves under non-stationary future climate conditions. The methodology develops an asynchronous...

The ​U.S. Geological Survey Benchmark Glacier Project combines decades of direct glaciological data with remote sensing data to advance the quantitative understanding of glacier-climate interactions. The global loss of glaciers, and consequent implications for water resources, sea level rise, and ecosystem function underscores the importance of U.S. Geological Survey glaciology research...

Early detection of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis bugensis) is crucial to mitigating the economic and environmental impacts of an infestation. Plankton tow sampling is a common method used for early detection of dreissenid mussels, but little is known about the sampling intensity required for a high probability of early detection using the method. We used...