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Publications

Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.

Filter Total Items: 10361

7700-year persistence of an isolated, free-living coral assemblage in the Galápagos Islands: A model for coral refugia? 7700-year persistence of an isolated, free-living coral assemblage in the Galápagos Islands: A model for coral refugia?

In an eastern-Pacific coral assemblage at Devil’s Crown, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, two coral species, Psammocora stellata and Cycloseris (Diaseris) distorta, form dense populations of unattached colonies on sand and rubble substrata. In the Galápagos, living C. (D.) distorta is found only at this single site, whereas populations of P. stellata are found throughout the archipelago. Six...
Authors
Joshua Feingold, Bernhard Reigl, Katie Hendrickson, Lauren Toth, Hai Cheng, R. Lawrence Edwards, Richard B. Aronson

Green turtle mitochondrial microsatellites indicate finer-scale natal homing to isolated islands than to continental nesting sites Green turtle mitochondrial microsatellites indicate finer-scale natal homing to isolated islands than to continental nesting sites

In highly mobile philopatric species, defining the scale of natal homing is fundamental to characterizing population dynamics and effectively managing distinct populations. Genetic tools have provided evidence of regional natal philopatry in marine turtles, but extensive sharing of maternally inherited mitochondrial control region (CR) haplotypes within regions (
Authors
Brian M. Shamblin, Kristen Hart, Kelly J. Martin, Simona A. Ceriani, Dean A. Bagley, Katherine L. Mansfield, Llewellyn M. Ehrhart, Campbell J. Nairn

Use of strong habitat–abundance relationships in assessing population status of cryptic fishes: An example using the Harlequin Darter Use of strong habitat–abundance relationships in assessing population status of cryptic fishes: An example using the Harlequin Darter

Understanding trends in abundance is important to fisheries conservation, but techniques for estimating streamwide abundance of cryptic fishes with strong habitat–abundance relationships are not well established and need further development. We developed techniques for addressing this need using the Harlequin Darter Etheostoma histrio, a small, cryptic freshwater fish associated with...
Authors
Kathryn M Holcomb, Paul Schueller, Howard L. Jelks, John R Knight, Micheal S Allen

Stormwater control impacts on runoff volume and peak flow: A meta-analysis of watershed modelling studies Stormwater control impacts on runoff volume and peak flow: A meta-analysis of watershed modelling studies

Decades of research has concluded that the percent of impervious surface cover in a watershed is strongly linked to negative impacts on urban stream health. Recently, there has been a push by municipalities to offset these effects by installing structural stormwater control measures (SCMs), which are landscape features designed to retain and reduce runoff to mitigate the effects of...
Authors
Colin D. Bell, Jordyn M. Wolfand, Chelsea L. Panos, Aditi S. Bhaskar, Ryan L. Gilliom, Terri S. Hogue, Kristina G. Hopkins, Anne J. Jefferson

InFRM Flood Decision Support Toolbox user guide InFRM Flood Decision Support Toolbox user guide

Digital geospatial flood inundation mapping can be a powerful tool for flood risk management. Flood preparedness, communication, warning, response and mitigation can be enhanced by flood inundation mapping that shows floodwater extent and depth over the land surface. Flood inundation maps that accurately reflect observed and forecasted hydrodynamic conditions enable officials to make...
Authors

Discovery of a reproducing wild population of the swamp eel Amphipnous cuchia (Hamilton, 1822) in North America Discovery of a reproducing wild population of the swamp eel Amphipnous cuchia (Hamilton, 1822) in North America

We report discovery of an established population of the Asian swamp eel Amphipnous cuchia (Hamilton, 1822) in Bayou St. John, an urban waterway in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. This fish, commonly referred to as cuchia (kuchia), is a member of the family Synbranchidae and is native to southern and southeastern Asia. Recently-used synonyms include Monopterus cuchia and Ophichthys cuchia...
Authors
Frank Jordan, Leo Nico, Krystal Huggins, Peter J. Martinat, Dahlia A. Martinez, Victoria L. Rodrigues

Magnitude and frequency of floods in Alabama, 2015 Magnitude and frequency of floods in Alabama, 2015

To improve flood-frequency estimates at rural streams in Alabama, annual exceedance probability flows at gaged locations and regional regression equations used to estimate annual exceedance probability flows at ungaged locations were developed by using current geospatial data, new analytical methods, and annual peak-flow data through September 2015 at 242 streamgages in Alabama and...
Authors
Brandon T. Anderson

Disturbances drive changes in coral community assemblages and coral calcification capacity Disturbances drive changes in coral community assemblages and coral calcification capacity

Anthropogenic environmental change has increased coral reef disturbance regimes in recent decades, altering the structure and function of many coral reefs globally. In this study, we used coral community survey data collected from 1996 to 2015 to evaluate coral calcification capacity (CCC) dynamics with respect to recorded pulse disturbances for 121 reef sites in the Main Hawaiian...
Authors
Travis A. Courtney, Brian B. Barnes, Iliana Chollett, Robin Elahi, Kevin Gross, James R. Guest, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Elizabeth A. Lenz, Hanna R Nelson, Caroline Rogers, Lauren Toth, Andreas J Andersson

Book review: Proceedings of the First International Snakehead Symposium Book review: Proceedings of the First International Snakehead Symposium

Snakehead fishes (family Channidae) are among the most maligned aquatic invasive species in the USA and some other countries where they have been introduced outside of their native range in Asia and Africa. Nevertheless, snakeheads continue to be widely exploited in the live‐food trade in aquaculture and wild‐capture fisheries, are highly sought by anglers, and are also popular in the...
Authors
Stephen Walsh

The incubation environment of nests deposited by a genetically distinct group of loggerhead sea turtles in Northwest Florida The incubation environment of nests deposited by a genetically distinct group of loggerhead sea turtles in Northwest Florida

The warming climate presents a challenge to conservation of all threatened and endangered species but particularly to those that exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination such as sea turtles. Changes in temperature may result in changes in the sex ratio of the population which can directly affect reproductive rate, abundance and population dynamics. The NW Atlantic loggerhead...
Authors
Margaret Lamont, Darren Johnson, Raymond Carthy

Modelling grass carp egg transport using a 3-D hydrodynamic river model: The role of egg retention in dead zones on spawning success Modelling grass carp egg transport using a 3-D hydrodynamic river model: The role of egg retention in dead zones on spawning success

Invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) are known to spawn in the Sandusky River, Ohio, USA, within the Great Lakes Basin, and are threatening to expand throughout the Great Lakes. Successful spawning is thought to require that eggs remain in suspension until hatching, which depends on river hydrodynamics and temperature-dependent egg development. Previous modelling efforts used...
Authors
Tej Heer, Mathew G. Wells, P. Ryan Jackson, Nicholas E. Mandrak

A graphical causal model for resolving species identity effects and biodiversity–ecosystem function correlations A graphical causal model for resolving species identity effects and biodiversity–ecosystem function correlations

Identifying and clearly communicating the drivers of ecosystem function is a crucially important goal for both basic and applied ecology. This has proven difficult because the putative causes (e.g., environment, species identity, biodiversity, and functional traits) are numerous and correlated. The problem is exacerbated by a lack of a formal framework for unambiguously relating...
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, Chad R Zirbel, James P. Cronin
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