Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 10384
Forecasting ecological responses for wetland restoration planning in Florida's Everglades Forecasting ecological responses for wetland restoration planning in Florida's Everglades
The Everglades wetland was once a river of grass, with water flowing slowly through the sawgrass, southward across the landscape. As developers took hold of south Florida, water was sent away from the heart of the Everglades through canals and levees to protect the former wetland for residential and agricultural development. In the 1990s, planning began to restore the Everglades in what...
Authors
Stephanie Romanach, Leonard G. Pearlstine
Macrogenetic studies must not ignore limitations of genetic markers and scale Macrogenetic studies must not ignore limitations of genetic markers and scale
Millette et al. (Ecology Letters, 2020, 23:55–67) reported no consistent worldwide anthropogenic effects on animal genetic diversity using repurposed mitochondrial DNA sequences. We reexamine data from this study, describe genetic marker and scale limitations which might lead to misinterpretations with conservation implications, and provide advice to improve future macrogenetic studies.
Authors
Ivan Paz-Vinas, Evelyn L. Jensen, Laura D. Bertola, Martin F. Breed, Brian K. Hand, Margaret Hunter, Francine Kershaw, Deborah M. Leigh, Gordon Luikart, Joachim Mergeay, Joshua M. Miller, Charles B. van Rees, Gernot Segelbacher, Sean M. Hoban
Public and private tapwater: Comparative analysis of contaminant exposure and potential risk, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA Public and private tapwater: Comparative analysis of contaminant exposure and potential risk, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA
Background Humans are primary drivers of environmental contamination worldwide, including in drinking-water resources. In the United States (US), federal and state agencies regulate and monitor public-supply drinking water while private-supply monitoring is rare; the current lack of directly comparable information on contaminant-mixture exposures and risks between private- and public...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Denis R. LeBlanc, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly Smalling, Michael J. Focazio, Mary C. Cardon, Jimmy Clark, Justin M. Conley, Nicola Evans, Carrie E. Givens, James L. Gray, L. Earl Gray, Phillip C. Hartig, Christopher P. Higgins, Michelle L. Hladik, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Keith A. Loftin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Carrie A. McDonough, Elizabeth Medlock-Kakaley, Christopher P. Weis, Vickie S. Wilson
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, New England Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Upper Midwest Water Science Center, National Water Quality Laboratory
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Hampshire soils and biosolids Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in New Hampshire soils and biosolids
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, is undertaking a study on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soils and biosolids. The study will characterize PFAS concentrations in shallow soil and selected biosolids throughout the State of New Hampshire, conduct laboratory experiments to improve understanding of how...
Authors
Andrea K. Tokranov, Kate Emma A. Schlosser, Jeffrey M. Marts, Anthony F. Drouin, Leah M. Santangelo, Sydney M. Welch
Enumerating white-tailed deer using unmanned aerial vehicles Enumerating white-tailed deer using unmanned aerial vehicles
The white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) is an ecologically important species in forests of North America. Effective management of forests requires accurate, precise estimates of deer population abundance to plan and justify management actions. Spotlight surveys in combination with distance sampling are a common method of estimating deer population abundance; however, spotlight...
Authors
Todd M. Preston, Mark L. Wildhaber, Nicholas S. Green, Janice L. Albers, Geoffrey P. Debenedetto
Machine learning models of arsenic in private wells throughout the conterminous United States as a tool for exposure assessment in human health studies Machine learning models of arsenic in private wells throughout the conterminous United States as a tool for exposure assessment in human health studies
Arsenic from geologic sources is widespread in groundwater within the United States (U.S.). In several areas, groundwater arsenic concentrations exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level of 10 μg per liter (μg/L). However, this standard applies only to public-supply drinking water and not to private-supply, which is not federally regulated and is rarely...
Authors
Melissa A. Lombard, Molly Scannell Bryan, Daniel K. Jones, Catherine Bulka, Paul M. Bradley, Lorraine C. Backer, Michael J. Focazio, Debra T. Silverman, Patricia Toccalino, Maria Argos, Matthew O. Gribble, Joseph D. Ayotte
Quantifying thresholds of barrier geomorphic change in a cross-shore sediment-partitioning model Quantifying thresholds of barrier geomorphic change in a cross-shore sediment-partitioning model
Barrier coasts, including barrier islands, beach-ridge plains, and associated landforms, can assume a broad spectrum of morphologies over multi-decadal scales that reflect conditions of sediment availability, accommodation, and relative sea-level rise. However, the quantitative thresholds of these controls on barrier-system behavior remain largely unexplored, even as modern sea-level...
Authors
Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Justin L. Shawler, Christopher J. Hein
The evolving perceptual model of streamflow generation at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed The evolving perceptual model of streamflow generation at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed
The Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) is a 41‐hectare forested catchment within the Piedmont Province of the Southeastern United States. Observations, experimentation, and numerical modelling have been conducted at Panola over the past 35 years. But to date, these studies have not been fully incorporated into a more comprehensive synthesis. Here we describe the evolving...
Authors
Brent T. Aulenbach, Richard P Hooper, H. J. van Meerveld, Douglas A. Burns, James E. Freer, James B. Shanley, Thomas G. Huntington, Jeffery J. McDonnell, Norman E. Peters
Gulf Coast vicariance shapes phylogeographic history of a North American freshwater mussel species complex Gulf Coast vicariance shapes phylogeographic history of a North American freshwater mussel species complex
Aim Freshwater mussels share habitat and are parasites of freshwater fishes during the larval life stage. Therefore, models of fish biogeography may also explain the historical biogeography of freshwater mussels. We tested this assumption using predictions of three biogeographic models constructed for northern Gulf of Mexico drainages on a freshwater mussel species complex. Specifically...
Authors
Sean M. Keogh, Nathan Johnson, James D. Williams, Charles R. Randklev, Andrew Simons
Piping plovers demonstrate regional differences in nesting habitat selection patterns along the U.S. Atlantic coast Piping plovers demonstrate regional differences in nesting habitat selection patterns along the U.S. Atlantic coast
Habitat studies that encompass a large portion of a species’ geographic distribution can explain characteristics that are either consistent or variable, further informing inference from more localized studies and improving management successes throughout the range. We identified landscape characteristics at Piping Plover nests at 21 sites distributed from Massachusetts to North Carolina...
Authors
Sara Lynn Zeigler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Anne Hecht, Nathaniel Plant, Emily J. Sturdivant
Population density and stream-habitat relations of the Yellowcheek Darter (Nothonotus moorei) among the headwaters of the Little Red River in Arkansas Population density and stream-habitat relations of the Yellowcheek Darter (Nothonotus moorei) among the headwaters of the Little Red River in Arkansas
Nothonotus moorei (Yellowcheek Darter [YCD]) is an endangered species endemic to the headwaters of the Little Red River in north-central Arkansas. Population decline, habitat loss and fragmentation, and threats from land use and seasonal drought necessitate monitoring of population density and distribution to determine ecological and habitat associations. We evaluated YCD density and...
Authors
Lucas Driver, Billy Justus
Inclusion of pesticide transformation products is key to estimating pesticide exposures and effects in small U.S. streams Inclusion of pesticide transformation products is key to estimating pesticide exposures and effects in small U.S. streams
Improved analytical methods can quantify hundreds of pesticide transformation products (TPs), but understanding of TP occurrence and potential toxicity in aquatic ecosystems remains limited. We quantified 108 parent pesticides and 116 TPs in more than 3 700 samples from 442 small streams in mostly urban basins across five major regions of the United States. TPs were detected nearly as...
Authors
Barbara Mahler, Lisa H. Nowell, Mark W. Sandstrom, Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, Christopher Konrad, Peter Van Metre
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, California Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Washington Water Science Center, National Water Quality Laboratory