Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 10379
Monitoring of wave, current, and sediment dynamics along the Chincoteague living shoreline, Virginia Monitoring of wave, current, and sediment dynamics along the Chincoteague living shoreline, Virginia
Nature-based features, also called living shorelines, are increasingly applied in coastal protection and restoration. However, the processes and mechanisms (feedbacks and interactions) of wave attenuation, current velocity change, and sediment deposition and erosion along the living shoreline remain unclear, thus limiting the adaptive management of living shoreline restoration projects...
Authors
Hongqing Wang, Q. Chen, Nan Wang, William D. Capurso, L.M. Niemoczynski, Ling Zhu, Gregg A. Snedden, Kevin S. Holcomb, Bowdoin W. Lusk, Carol W. Wilson, Sean R. Cornell
Assessing risk communication in the pet and aquarium trade: An analysis of outreach and engagement efforts Assessing risk communication in the pet and aquarium trade: An analysis of outreach and engagement efforts
The international pet and aquarium trade, and intentional or unintentional release of those pets by individuals, has contributed to the establishment of many species to areas where they are not native, resulting in detrimental consequences to local ecosystems, economies, and livelihoods. A number of outreach campaigns across the United States aim to communicate the risk of non-native pet...
Authors
Kelly G. Guilbeau, Kristen Reaver, Blake Blaskowski, Emily Marie Dean, Wesley Daniel
Sediment and nutrient deposition over a reconnected floodplain during large-scale river diversions, the Bonnet Carré spillway in 2011, 2016, and 2019 Sediment and nutrient deposition over a reconnected floodplain during large-scale river diversions, the Bonnet Carré spillway in 2011, 2016, and 2019
In hopes of reversing or slowing the decline of the river delta, water diversions have been built and planned, and natural diversions have formed and been allowed to develop along the lower Mississippi River. In addition to the possibility of building land, these diversions allow for the storage of nutrients within the deposited sediments and provide a buffer from coastal storm surge...
Authors
Daniel Kroes, Gregory E. Noe, David Ramirez, Brian Vosburg
Value-aligned planning objectives for restoring North Carolina aquatic resources Value-aligned planning objectives for restoring North Carolina aquatic resources
Rapid population growth and development in the southeastern United States have resulted in substantial impairment to freshwater aquatic ecosystems. National or regional restoration policies strive to address impaired ecosystems but can suffer from inconsistent and opaque processes. The Clean Water Act, for example, establishes reallocation mechanisms to transfer ecosystem services from...
Authors
Ana Maria Garcia, Mitchell J. Eaton, Georgina M. Sanchez, Jennifer L. Keisman, Kirsten Ullman, James Blackwell
Shorebird monitoring using spatially explicit occupancy and abundance Shorebird monitoring using spatially explicit occupancy and abundance
Loss of habitat and human disturbance are major factors in the worldwide decline of shorebird populations, including that of the threatened migratory piping plover (Charadrius melodus). From 2013 to 2018, we conducted land-based surveys of the shorebird community every other week during the peak piping plover season (September to March). We assessed the ability of a thin plate spline...
Authors
Eve Bohnett, Jessica Schulz, Robert C. Dobbs, Thomas Hoctor, Dave Hulse, Bilal Ahmad, Wajid Rashid, Hardin Waddle
Effects of nitrate and conductivity on embryo-larval fathead minnows Effects of nitrate and conductivity on embryo-larval fathead minnows
Nitrate concentrations have been rising in surface waters over the last century and now frequently exceed drinking water standards and environmental safety benchmarks globally. Health-wise, these trends are concerning because nitrate has been shown to disrupt endocrine function and developmental outcomes. The present study investigated potential sublethal effects of nitrate on developing...
Authors
Thea M. Edwards, Daniel J. Lamm, Joel J. Harvey
How do ambient conditions and management actions affect manatee movements and habitat use? How do ambient conditions and management actions affect manatee movements and habitat use?
Kings Bay in northwest Florida, USA, is an important winter home of the largest aggregation of Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and the only location in the United States where visitors legally swim and interact with manatees. In addition to ambient conditions, visitors to the area and management actions have the potential to influence manatee behaviors. We tracked 32...
Authors
Daniel Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Joyce Kleen, Joyce Palmer
Hidden in the hills: Phylogeny of the freshwater mussel genus Alasmidonta (Bivalvia: Unionidae) and description of a new species Hidden in the hills: Phylogeny of the freshwater mussel genus Alasmidonta (Bivalvia: Unionidae) and description of a new species
Inaccurate taxonomy can lead to species in need of conservation being overlooked, which makes revisionary systematics crucially important for imperilled groups. The freshwater mussel genus Alasmidonta is one such group in need of study. Here, we take a multilocus phylogenetic approach to assess species-level taxonomy of Alasmidonta and test monophyly of this genus. Phylogenetic inference...
Authors
Nathan V. Whelan, Nathan Johnson, Ashantye’ S. Williams, Michael A. Perkins, Caitlin E. Beaver, Jason W. Mays
Predicted aquatic exposure effects from a national urban stormwater study Predicted aquatic exposure effects from a national urban stormwater study
A multi-agency study of 438 organic and 62 inorganic chemicals measured in urban stormwater during 50 total runoff events at 21 sites across the United States demonstrated that stormwater discharges can generate localized, aquatic exposures to extensive contaminant mixtures, including organics suspected to cause adverse aquatic-health effects. The aggregated risks to multiple aquatic...
Authors
Paul M. Bradley, Kristin M. Romanok, Kelly L. Smalling, Jason R. Masoner, Dana W. Kolpin, Stephanie E. Gordon
Nocturnal basking in freshwater turtles: A global assessment Nocturnal basking in freshwater turtles: A global assessment
Diurnal basking (“sunning”) is common in many ectotherms and is generally thought to be a behavioural mechanism for thermoregulation. Recent studies have reported the occurrence of nocturnal basking in a few distantly-related species of freshwater turtles, but the true extent of this behaviour is unknown, and it may be underreported due to sampling biases (e.g., not surveying for turtles...
Authors
Donald T. McKnight, Kendall Ard, Renoir J. Auguste, Gaurav Barhadiya, Michael F. Benard, Paige Boban, Martin L. Dillon, Colleen T. Downs, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Brad Glorioso, Rachel M. Goodman, Coen Hird, Ethan C. Hollender, Malcolm Kennedy, Rosie A. Kidman, Andrhea Massey, Pearson McGovern, Max Muhlenhaupt, Kayhan Ostovar, Danusia Podgorski, Cormac Price, Beth A. Reinke, Louise M. Streeting, Jane Venezia, Jeanne Young, Eric J. Nordberg
The Everglades vulnerability analysis: Linking ecological models to support ecosystem restoration The Everglades vulnerability analysis: Linking ecological models to support ecosystem restoration
Understanding of the Everglades’ ecological vulnerabilities and restoration needs has advanced over the past decade but has not been applied in an integrated manner. To address this need, we developed the Everglades Vulnerability Analysis (EVA), a decision support tool that uses modular Bayesian networks to predict the ecological outcomes of a subset of the ecosystem’s health indicators...
Authors
Laura D’Acunto, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Saira M. Haider, Caitlin E. Hackett, Dilip Shinde, Stephanie Romanach
Fusing geophysical and remotely sensed data for observing overwash occurrence, frequency, and impact Fusing geophysical and remotely sensed data for observing overwash occurrence, frequency, and impact
Overwash is an important process that enables a barrier island to migrate landward to adapt to rising sea levels but can also impact vegetated areas and create coastal hazards for populated barrier islands. Our overall objectives were to hindcast overwash events from September 2008 to November 2009 and assess whether overwash impacts could be detected using moderate-resolution imagery...
Authors
Nicholas Enwright, P. Soupy Dalyander, Robert L Jenkins, Elizabeth S. Godsey, Spencer J. Stelly