Publications

No abstract available.

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, assessed monotonic trends for a variety of streamflow statistics for 69 long-term U.S. Geological Survey streamgages within either the Mobile Bay or Perdido Bay watersheds that were active through at least at the end of calendar year 2019. Long-term data were defined for this investigation as...

Hatchery supplementation is vital for conserving dwindling fish populations. Effective augmentation requires distinguishing hatchery-origin from wild individuals and accurately identifying species, particularly in systems where closely related species coexist. Genetic monitoring is key to quantifying genetic differences, but conventional markers do not distinguish hybrids, especially...

Gopher Tortoises inhabit coastal systems, including barrier islands, across the southeastern U.S. St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge is an uninhabited barrier island located off the coast of northwestern Florida. Although tortoises have been observed on the island, no information is available on the status of the population. We conducted a line transect distance sampling survey to...

The Caloosahatchee River, located in southwest Florida, is a eutrophic and colored river that flows from Lake Okeechobee westward into its estuary and the Gulf of America. Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a documented problem along this freshwater-to-marine waterway where nutrient enrichment has been identified as a key factor in bloom occurrence but has not been...

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), have been detected at combined concentrations above 2,000 nanograms per liter (ng/L) at groundwater seep locations near the Coakley Landfill Superfund site, in North Hampton, New Hampshire. The landfill was active from 1972 to 1985. An impermeable cap was placed on...

From butterflies to lizards and from sharks to seabirds, wildlife exhibit tactics to survive the impacts of tropical cyclones, also known as hurricanes, cyclones, or typhoons depending on where they occur. Some species seek refuge during the storm by moving, some remain in place and ride it out, and others move longer distances, avoiding the main impacts of the storm altogether. Tropical...

J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge (DDNWR) is located on Sanibel Island along the southwestern coast of Florida, USA. There, eutrophication attributed to agricultural discharge along the Caloosahatchee River has affected the area’s aquatic habitat. In anticipation of additional nutrient loading, we experimentally fertilized mangrove forests with nitrogen (+N; NH4) and...

Streamflows in Massachusetts have set record lows in recent years despite generally wetter conditions than during the drought of the 1960s, and the reasons for this are not known. To analyse potential drivers of low streamflows in Massachusetts, six low-flow metrics were computed at 107 streamgages. These metrics represent low-flow magnitude, magnitude normalized to median flows, and...

Fungal pathogens can cause epizootics that result in widespread mortality and rapid population declines in some species. However, even in the absence of high disease-induced mortality, enzootic mycoses could have large-scale impacts on host population dynamics. Here, we examined the effects of ophidiomycosis, an enzootic fungal disease, on a Louisiana snake community over a 3-year period...

A total of 41 sites along a 58 mi reach of the Lower Mississippi River (LMR) were surveyed during winter 2022 for invasive carp aggregation.* Sites consisting of scallops closest to the dike-vegetated bank interface with deeper, slow-moving water and consistent access back to the main channel were preferred. Carp avoided strong currents, and there was no trend in depth selection other...

Mangroves are crucial for biodiversity conservation, coastal protection, and supporting local livelihoods. Mangroves may also protect coasts from storms and rising sea levels and can play a major role in climate mitigation. Threats to their health include activities such as infrastructural development, urban encroachment, aquaculture and crop farming, and oil and gas exploration. We...