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Publications

Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.

Filter Total Items: 10380

Integration of satellite-based optical and synthetic aperture radar imagery to estimate winter cover crop performance in cereal grasses Integration of satellite-based optical and synthetic aperture radar imagery to estimate winter cover crop performance in cereal grasses

The magnitude of ecosystem services provided by winter cover crops is linked to their performance (i.e., biomass and associated nitrogen content, forage quality, and fractional ground cover), although few studies quantify these characteristics across the landscape. Remote sensing can produce landscape-level assessments of cover crop performance. However, commonly employed optical...
Authors
Jyoti Jennewein, Brian T. Lamb, W. Dean Hively, Alison Thieme, Resham Thapa, Avi Goldsmith, Phillip Dennison

Determination of recharge areas that supply decades old groundwater to creeks inhabited by the threatened Okaloosa darter Determination of recharge areas that supply decades old groundwater to creeks inhabited by the threatened Okaloosa darter

The Okaloosa darter (Etheostoma okaloosae) is a diminutive, perch-like, benthic fish that inhabits only six small, clear, and shallow creek systems that flow almost entirely within Eglin Air Force Base in the panhandle of northwest Florida. Listed as Endangered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1973, improvements in erosion control and habitat restoration led to the...
Authors
James E. Landmeyer, W. Scott McBride, William B. Tate

A framework to integrate innovations in invasion science for proactive management A framework to integrate innovations in invasion science for proactive management

Invasive alien species (IAS) are a rising threat to biodiversity, national security, and regional economies, with impacts in the hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars annually. Proactive or predictive approaches guided by scientific knowledge are essential to keeping pace with growing impacts of invasions under climate change. Although the rapid development of diverse technologies and...
Authors
Charles B. van Rees, Brian K. Hand, Sean C. Carter, Charles Bargeron, Timothy Joseph Cline, Wesley M. Daniel, Jason A. Ferrante, Keith Gaddis, Margaret E. Hunter, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Melodie A. McGeoch, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Matthew E. Neilson, Helen E. Roy, Mary Ann Rozance, Adam Sepulveda, Rebekah D. Wallace, Diane Whited, Taylor Wilcox, John S. Kimball, Gordon Luikart

The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States and Mexico The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States and Mexico

Aim Migratory freshwater fishes are those that must access discrete habitats to complete their life cycles. Freshwater fish migrations occur around the world and provide numerous ecosystem services for humans and natural systems; however, many migratory species are in decline globally. A limiting factor to successfully conserve freshwater migratory fishes is that the migratory life...
Authors
Emily M. Dean, Arthur R. Cooper, Lizhu Wang, Wesley M. Daniel, Solomon David, Clayton Ernzen, Keith B. Gido, Edward Hale, Tim J. Haxton, William Kelso, Nancy J. Leonard, Chris Lido, Joseph Margraf, Michael D. Porter, Casey A. Pennock, David L. Propst, Jared Ross, Michelle Staudinger, Dana M. Infante, Gary Whelan

Hematology and biochemistry reference intervals for American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in South Florida, USA Hematology and biochemistry reference intervals for American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in South Florida, USA

We calculated reference intervals for 48 blood parameters from 120 wild American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in South Florida, US. Although previously reported by others, this study includes additional parameters not yet reported in wild populations. Most previously reported blood parameter values were similar to ours and fell within our reference intervals.
Authors
Laura A. Brandt, Nicole D. Jennings, Michiko A. Squires, Caitlin E. Hackett, Christopher D. Smith, Frank J. Mazzotti

Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016 Aquatic-life criteria compared to concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc in streams near Fort Polk Military Reservation, Louisiana, December 2015–August 2016

The primary focus of this study was to document cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc concentrations in selected streams near the U.S. Army Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk Military Reservation and to compare those values to Federal and State aquatic-life criteria guidelines. The acute aquatic-life criteria used for this study are as follows: the U.S. Environmental...
Authors
Roland W. Tollett

Surface-water-quality data to support implementation of revised freshwater aluminum water-quality criteria in Massachusetts, 2018–19 Surface-water-quality data to support implementation of revised freshwater aluminum water-quality criteria in Massachusetts, 2018–19

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, performed a study to inform the development of the department’s guidelines for the collection and use of water-chemistry data to support calculation of site-dependent aluminum criteria values. The U.S. Geological Survey collected and analyzed discrete water-quality samples at four...
Authors
David S. Armstrong, Jennifer G. Savoie, Leslie A. DeSimone, Kaitlin L. Laabs, Richard O. Carey

Global genetic diversity status and trends: Towards a suite of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) for genetic composition Global genetic diversity status and trends: Towards a suite of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) for genetic composition

Biodiversity underlies ecosystem resilience, ecosystem function, sustainable economies, and human well-being. Understanding how biodiversity sustains ecosystems under anthropogenic stressors and global environmental change will require new ways of deriving and applying biodiversity data. A major challenge is that biodiversity data and knowledge are scattered, biased, collected with...
Authors
Sean M. Hoban, Frederick I. Archer, Laura D. Bertola, Jason G. Bragg, Martin F. Breed, Michael W. Bruford, Melinda A. Coleman, Robert Ekblom, W. Chris Funk, Catherine E. Grueber, Brian K. Hand, Rodolfo Jaffé, Evelyn Jensen, Jeremy S. Johnson, Francine Kershaw, Libby Liggins, Anna J. MacDonald, Joachim Mergeay, Joshua M. Miller, Frank Muller-Karger, David O'Brien, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Kevin M. Potter, Orly Razgour, Cristiano Vernesi, Margaret Hunter

Increased mercury and reduced insect diversity in linked stream-riparian food webs downstream of a historical mercury mine Increased mercury and reduced insect diversity in linked stream-riparian food webs downstream of a historical mercury mine

Historical mining left a legacy of abandoned mines and waste rock in remote headwaters of major river systems in the western United States. Understanding the influence of these legacy mines on culturally and ecological important downstream ecosystems is not always straight-forward because of elevated natural levels of mineralization in mining-impacted watersheds. To test the ecological...
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, JoAnn M. Holloway, Michael J. Pribil, Ben N. Mcgee, Craig A. Stricker, Danny Rutherford, Andrew S. Todd

Using dissolved organic matter fluorescence to predict total mercury and methylmercury in forested headwater streams, Sleepers River, Vermont USA Using dissolved organic matter fluorescence to predict total mercury and methylmercury in forested headwater streams, Sleepers River, Vermont USA

Aqueous transport of mercury (Hg) across the landscape is closely linked to dissolved organic matter (DOM). Both quantity and quality of DOM affect Hg mobility, as well as the formation and transport of toxic methylmercury (MeHg), but only a limited number of field studies have investigated Hg and MeHg with respect to specific DOM components. We investigated these interactions at the 41...
Authors
James B. Shanley, Vivien F. Taylor, Kevin A. Ryan, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia Perdrial, Aron Stubbins

The Coalition for Conservation Genetics: Working across organizations to build capacity and achieve change in policy and practice The Coalition for Conservation Genetics: Working across organizations to build capacity and achieve change in policy and practice

The Coalition for Conservation Genetics (CCG) brings together four eminent organizations with the shared goal of improving the integration of genetic information into conservation policy and practice. We provide a historical context of conservation genetics as a field and reflect on current barriers to conserving genetic diversity, highlighting the need for collaboration across...
Authors
Francine Kershaw, Michael W. Bruford, W. Chris Funk, Catherine E. Grueber, Sean M. Hoban, Margaret Hunter, Linda Laikre, Anna J. MacDonald, Mariah H. Meek, Cinnamon Mittan, David O´Brien, Rob Ogden, Robyn E. Shaw, Cristiano Vernesi, Gernot Segelbacher

Modeling the impact of invasive species litter on conditions affecting its spread and potential regime shift Modeling the impact of invasive species litter on conditions affecting its spread and potential regime shift

Many introduced plants pose invasion risks globally and threaten the biodiversity of native ecosystems. Such non-native plants can become invasive when they have advantages over native plants, such as having fewer natural enemies. Invasive plants often have the ability to alter ecosystem properties after they have become established, which can make it difficult to eliminate the invasive...
Authors
Yuanming Lu, Donald L. DeAngelis, Junfei Xia, Jiang Jiang
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