Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 10348
Pre-restoration woody species crown and vegetation community mapping using high-resolution uncrewed aerial system imagery, Palmyra Atoll Pre-restoration woody species crown and vegetation community mapping using high-resolution uncrewed aerial system imagery, Palmyra Atoll
The terrestrial management plan for Palmyra Atoll includes large-scale removal of coconut (Cocos nucifera) as part of native forest restoration and contaminant remediation that will leave soils and vegetation communities profoundly altered. To inform those efforts and provide baseline data for restoration monitoring, woody stem crowns and vegetation communities at Palmyra Atoll were...
Authors
Matthew Struckhoff
Environmental persistence and toxicity of weathered wildland fire retardants to rainbow trout Environmental persistence and toxicity of weathered wildland fire retardants to rainbow trout
Long-term fire retardants are employed to combat and control wildfires by altering the way fuels burn, and they continue to decrease fire intensity after water in the retardant solution has evaporated. After application, fire retardants may persist on dry stream beds or in riparian habitats before precipitation events flush the retardant into intermittent streams. We exposed juvenile (30...
Authors
Christina M. Mackey, Michael G. Iacchetta, Holly J. Puglis
Shifting baselines of coral-reef species composition from the Late Pleistocene to the present in the Florida Keys Shifting baselines of coral-reef species composition from the Late Pleistocene to the present in the Florida Keys
The ongoing global-scale reassembly of modern coral reefs is unprecedented compared with the observed stability of most late Quaternary reef assemblages. One notable exception is the marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e (ca 130–116 thousand years ago [ka]) reefs in the Florida Keys, where the ubiquitous shallow-water coral, Acropora palmata, was near absent. Little is known, however, about...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Scarlette Shan-Hwei Hsia, David A. Weinstein
The complete mitochondrial genomes of the freshwater mussel Ortmanniana ligamentina (Lamarck, 1819): male and female mitotypes The complete mitochondrial genomes of the freshwater mussel Ortmanniana ligamentina (Lamarck, 1819): male and female mitotypes
Freshwater mussels of the Unionida order are important to freshwater ecosystems but are highly imperiled worldwide. Improving our understanding of these species is crucial to their continued conservation. Some Unionid mussels exhibit double uniparental inheritance (DUI) in which individuals have two mitochondrial genomes. Of those species with DUI, sequences of the female mitotype are...
Authors
Katy E. Klymus, Jason Coombs, Dannise Ruiz-Ramos, Aaron Maloy, Christopher M. Barnhart
Evaluating episodic sediment deposition zones in freshwater mussel habitats across Missouri, USA Evaluating episodic sediment deposition zones in freshwater mussel habitats across Missouri, USA
Point-source sedimentation, such as spills from construction-related activities, can introduce substantial sediments into streams in the short term, potentially leading to mussel burial. To estimate downstream areas where freshwater mussels might face threats from sediment burial within the mussel habitats of Missouri streams and rivers, we examined 49 reaches where both field...
Authors
Qingqing Sun, Bin Wang, Brandon James Sansom, Kathleen Trauth, Henry Brown, Wenyu Zhu, James L. Kunz, M. Christopher Barnhart, Stephen E. McMurray, Andrew D Roberts, Christopher Shulse, Caleb Knerr, Jeffery A. Steevens, Baolin Deng
Interpreting a sudden population decline in a long-lived species (Malaclemys terrapin rhizophorarum) Interpreting a sudden population decline in a long-lived species (Malaclemys terrapin rhizophorarum)
Long-term ecological studies are critical for providing insight into population dynamics and detecting population declines, particularly for species of conservation concern. However, spatiotemporal variation and logistical challenges make the identification of sudden population declines difficult. We conducted an in-water capture-mark-recapture study of mangrove diamond-backed terrapins
Authors
Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Brian J. Smith, Mathew Denton, Michael Cherkiss, David Roche, Andrew G. Crowder, Kristen Hart
Practical genetic diversity protection: an accessible framework for IUCN subpopulation and Evolutionarily Significant Unit identification Practical genetic diversity protection: an accessible framework for IUCN subpopulation and Evolutionarily Significant Unit identification
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) sets global conservation standards, including the Red List of Threatened Species and the Green Status of Species. Recent analyses showed that genetic diversity has not been effectively considered by IUCN species assessments, despite being fundamental to species’ fitness and adaptive potential. Incorporation of genetic diversity...
Authors
Julia C. Geue, Laura D. Bertola, Paulette Bloomer, Anna Bruniche-Olsen, Jessica M. da Silva, J. Andrew DeWoody, Ancuta Fedorca, Jose A. Godoy, Catherine E. Grueber, Margaret Hunter, Christina Hvilsom, Isa-Rita M. Russo, Evelyn L. Jensen, Alexander Kopatz, Anna J. MacDonald, Silvia Pérez-Espona, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Jennifer C. Pierson, Helen Senn, Gernot Segelbacher, Paul Sunnucks, Cock van Oosterhout, Deborah M. Leigh
Wet antecedent soil moisture increases atmospheric river streamflow magnitudes non-linearly Wet antecedent soil moisture increases atmospheric river streamflow magnitudes non-linearly
Atmospheric rivers (ARs) drive most riverine floods on the United States (U.S.) West Coast. However, estimating flood risk based solely on AR intensity and duration is challenging because precipitation phase, antecedent conditions, and physical watershed characteristics (e.g., slope and soil depth) can influence the magnitude of floods. Here, we analyze how antecedent soil moisture (ASM)
Authors
Mariana J. Webb, Christine M. Albano, Adrian A. Harpold, Daniel M. Wagner, Anna M. Wilson
Fisheries dependent and independent data inform a capture technique for an emerging invasive fish species in the mainstem Mississippi River; Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus Fisheries dependent and independent data inform a capture technique for an emerging invasive fish species in the mainstem Mississippi River; Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus
Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus were imported into the United States in the 1970s and 1980s for use in aquaculture; escape occurred and reported wild captures increased. Lacking species-specific capture methods, we assessed fisheries dependent incidental Black Carp catches for a common method, hoop nets, by kernel density analysis to identify an area of increased reporting and compare...
Authors
Patrick Kroboth, Michael E. Colvin, Courtney Broaddus
Insights from growing Globorotalia truncatulinoides and Globorotalia menardii in the laboratory Insights from growing Globorotalia truncatulinoides and Globorotalia menardii in the laboratory
The vast majority of planktic foraminiferal culture studies have been carried out on spinose species of foraminifera, with relatively few studies on non-spinose species. We conducted a pilot study to test whether live specimens of the non-spinose planktic foraminifera, Globorotalia truncatulinoides and Globorotalia menardii, could be successfully harvested from offshore plankton tow...
Authors
Caitlin E. Reynolds, Jennifer S. Fehrenbacher, Kaustubh Thirumalai, Eric J. Tappa, Julie N. Richey
Discovery of late Holocene-aged Acropora palmata reefs in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA: The past as a key to the future? Discovery of late Holocene-aged Acropora palmata reefs in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA: The past as a key to the future?
Emblematic of global coral-reef ecosystem decline, the coral ecosystem-engineer Acropora palmata is now rare throughout much of the western Atlantic. Understanding when and where this foundation species occurred during the past can provide information about the environmental limits defining its distribution through space and time. In this paper, the present, historical and newly dated...
Authors
Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Lauren Toth, Peter Alexander Bacon Modys, Selena Anne-Marie Johnson, Ilsa B. Kuffner
Causal effects verses causal mechanisms: Two traditions with different requirements and contributions towards causal understanding Causal effects verses causal mechanisms: Two traditions with different requirements and contributions towards causal understanding
The scientific aspiration of building causal knowledge has received little explicit discussion in ecology despite its fundamental importance. When methods are described as ‘causal’, emphasis is increasingly placed on statistical techniques for isolating associations so as to quantify causal effects. In contrast, natural scientists have historically approached the pursuit of causal...
Authors
James Grace, Nick Huntington-Klein, E. William Schweiger, Melinda Martinez, Michael Osland, Laura C. Feher, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Karen M. Thorne