Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16759
Observed climate change Observed climate change
As discussed in Chapter 1, climate is one of the principal factors that have determined the composition and extent of forest ecosystems in the Mid-Atlantic region during the past several thousand years. This chapter describes the climate trends in the assessment area that have been observed during the past century, including documented patterns of climate-related processes and extreme...
Authors
Patricia R. Butler-Leopold, Louis R. Iverson, Frank R. Thompson, Leslie A. Brandt, Stephen D. Handler, Maria K. Janowiak, P. Danielle Shannon, Christopher W. Swanston, Scott Bearer, Alexander Bryan, Kenneth L. Clark, Greg Czarnecki, Philip DeSenze, William D. Dijak, Jacob S. Fraser, Paul F. Gugger, Andrea Hille, Justin Hynicka, Claire A. Jantz, Matthew C. Kelly, Katrina M. Krause, Inga P. La Puma, Deborah Landau, Richard G. Lathrop, Laura P. Leites, Evan Madlinger, Stephen N. Matthews, Gulnihal Ozbay, Matthew P. Peters, Anantha Prasad, David A. Schmit, Collin Shephard, Rebecca Shirer, Nicholas S. Skowronski, Al Steele, Susan Stout, Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy, John Thompson, Richard M. Turcotte, David A. Weinstein, Alfonso Yanez
Salt marsh loss affects tides and sediment budget in shallow bays Salt marsh loss affects tides and sediment budget in shallow bays
The current paradigm is that salt marshes and their important ecosystem services are threatened by global climate change; indeed, large marsh losses have been documented worldwide. Morphological changes associated with salt marsh erosion are expected to influence the hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics of coastal systems. Here the influence of salt marsh erosion on the tidal...
Authors
Carmine Donatelli, Neil K. Ganju, Xiaohe Zhang, Sergio Fagherazzi, Nicoletta Leonardi
Preliminary evaluation of behavioral response of nesting waterbirds to small unmanned aircraft flight Preliminary evaluation of behavioral response of nesting waterbirds to small unmanned aircraft flight
Small unmanned aircraft systems present an emerging technology with the potential to survey colonial waterbird populations while reducing disturbance in comparison to traditional ground counts. Recent research with these systems has been performed on some colonially nesting avian species; however, none have focused on wading bird species. During 2015–2016, this study tested the...
Authors
Kaitlyn Reintsma, Peter C. McGowan, Carl R. Callahan, Tom Collier, David Gray, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Diann J. Prosser
A geostatistical state‐space model of animal densities for stream networks A geostatistical state‐space model of animal densities for stream networks
Population dynamics are often correlated in space and time due to correlations in environmental drivers as well as synchrony induced by individual dispersal. Many statistical analyses of populations ignore potential autocorrelations and assume that survey methods (distance and time between samples) eliminate these correlations, allowing samples to be treated independently. If these...
Authors
Daniel J. Hocking, James T. Thorson, Kyle O’Neil, Benjamin H. Letcher
Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities
Changing climate will impact species’ ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited to single species and locations. Here we show that amphibian communities are responsive to climatic variability, using >500,000 time-series observations for 81...
Authors
David A.W. Miller, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Erin L. Muths, Staci M. Amburgey, M. J. Adams, Maxwell B. Joseph, J. Hardin Waddle, Pieter T.J. Johnson, Maureen E. Ryan, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Daniel L. Calhoun, Courtney L. Davis, Robert N. Fisher, David M. Green, Blake R. Hossack, Tracy A.G. Rittenhouse, Susan C. Walls, Larissa L. Bailey, Sam S. Cruickshank, Gary M. Fellers, Thomas A. Gorman, Carola A. Haas, Ward Hughson, David S. Pilliod, Steven J. Price, Andrew M. Ray, Walter Sadinski, Daniel Saenz, William J. Barichivich, Adrianne B. Brand, Cheryl S. Brehme, Rosi Dagit, Katy S. Delaney, Brad M. Glorioso, Lee B. Kats, Patrick M. Kleeman, Christopher Pearl, Carlton J. Rochester, Seth P. D. Riley, Mark F. Roth, Brent Sigafus
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Development of the Wildlife Adaptation Menu for Resource Managers Development of the Wildlife Adaptation Menu for Resource Managers
The Climate Change Response Framework is an example of a collaborative, cross-boundary approach to create a set of tools, partnerships, and actions to support climate-informed conservation and land management. Historically, this effort has focused on the needs of forest managers and forestry professionals. In recent years, however, there has been increasing demand for science and tools...
Authors
Olivia E. LeDee, Stephen D. Handler, Chris Hoving, Christopher W. Swanston, Benjamin Zuckerberg
Variation in the vital rates of an Antarctic marine predator: the role of individual heterogeneity Variation in the vital rates of an Antarctic marine predator: the role of individual heterogeneity
Variation in life‐history traits such as lifespan and lifetime reproductive output is thought to arise, in part, due to among‐individual differences in the underlying probabilities of survival and reproduction. However, the stochastic nature of demographic processes can also generate considerable variation in fitness‐related traits among otherwise‐identical individuals. An improved...
Authors
J. Terrill Paterson, Jay J. Rotella, William A. Link, Robert A. Garrott
Deciphering the dynamics of inorganic carbon export from intertidal salt marshes using high-frequency measurements Deciphering the dynamics of inorganic carbon export from intertidal salt marshes using high-frequency measurements
The lateral export of carbon from coastal marshes via tidal exchange is a key component of the marsh carbon budget and coastal carbon cycles. However, the magnitude of this export has been difficult to accurately quantify due to complex tidal dynamics and seasonal cycling of carbon. In this study, we use in situ, high-frequency measurements of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and water...
Authors
Sophie N. Chu, Zhaohui Aleck Wang, Meagan Gonneea Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Neil K. Ganju
Flood-inundation maps for the lower Pawcatuck River in Westerly, Rhode Island, and Stonington and North Stonington, Connecticut Flood-inundation maps for the lower Pawcatuck River in Westerly, Rhode Island, and Stonington and North Stonington, Connecticut
A series of 11 digital flood-inundation maps was developed for a 5.5-mile reach of the lower Pawcatuck River in Westerly, Rhode Island, and Stonington and North Stonington, Connecticut, by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Town of Westerly, Rhode Island, and the Rhode Island Office of Housing and Community Development. The coverage of the maps extends from...
Authors
Gardner C. Bent, Pamela J. Lombard
Geochemical conditions and nitrogen transport in nearshore groundwater and the subterranean estuary at a Cape Cod embayment, East Falmouth, Massachusetts, 2013–14 Geochemical conditions and nitrogen transport in nearshore groundwater and the subterranean estuary at a Cape Cod embayment, East Falmouth, Massachusetts, 2013–14
Nitrogen transport and transformation were studied during 2013 to 2014 by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in a subterranean estuary beneath onshore locations on the Seacoast Shores peninsula, a residential area in Falmouth, Massachusetts, served by septic systems and cesspools, and adjacent offshore locations in the Eel River, a...
Authors
John A. Colman, Denis R. LeBlanc, J.K. Bohlke, Timothy D. McCobb, Kevin D. Kroeger, Marcel Belaval, Thomas C. Cambareri, Gillian F. Pirolli, T. Wallace Brooks, Mary E. Garren, Tobias B. Stover, Ann Keeley
PRISM marine sites—The history of PRISM sea surface temperature estimation PRISM marine sites—The history of PRISM sea surface temperature estimation
For more than three decades, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Pliocene Research, Interpretation and Synoptic Mapping (PRISM) Project has compiled paleoenvironmental data with the goal of reconstructing global conditions during the warm interval in the middle of the Piacenzian Age of the Pliocene Epoch (about 3.3 to 3.0 million years ago). Because this is the most recent interval of time...
Authors
Marci M. Robinson, Harry J. Dowsett, Kevin M. Foley, Christina R. Riesselman
Estimates of tidal-marsh bird densities using Bayesian networks Estimates of tidal-marsh bird densities using Bayesian networks
Conserving tidal-marsh bird communities requires strategies to address continuing pressures from human development to the effects of increasing rates of sea-level rise. Knowing tidal-marsh bird distributions and population sizes are important for developing these strategies. In the Northeast United States, where estimates of sea-level rise are 3 times higher than the global average, 5...
Authors
Whitney A. Wiest, Maureen D. Correll, Bruce G. Marcot, Brian J. Olsen, Chris Elphick, Thomas P. Hodgman, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, W. Gregory Shriver