Publications

The Ellenburger–San Saba aquifer discharges spring flows into the overlying Hamilton Creek bed in Burnet County, central Texas. The aquifer is susceptible to contamination from surface‐water reservoirs because of the presence of dissolution cavities that are hydraulically connected to the reservoirs in some locations. There is concern that preferential groundwater seepage from reservoirs...

Tracking changes in stream nutrient inputs to Lake Erie over multidecadal time scales depends on the use of statistical methods that can remove the influence of year-to-year variability of streamflow but also explicitly consider the influence of long-term trends in streamflow. The methods introduced in this paper include an extended version of Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and...

Although methods are in place through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) program for ploidy testing of feral caught Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), no guidelines exist for carp hauled across state lines. Using 1200 Grass Carp purchased by undercover Ohio law enforcement during 2015–2016, we developed a standardized protocol for discriminating...

All basic processes of ecological populations involve decisions; when and where to move, when and what to eat, and whether to fight or flee. Yet decisions and the underlying principles of decision-making have been difficult to integrate into the classical population-level models of ecology. Certainly, there is a long history of modeling individuals' searching behavior, diet selection, or...

During 2012-2014, we evaluated macroinvertebrate communities in streams draining the non-connected stormwater management region (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4) within the Kansas City metropolitan area utilizing the Missouri bioassessment protocols. Trends in aquatic life impairment status based on Missouri's Macroinvertebrate Stream Condition Index (MSCI), as well as...

The aim of this project was to compare the phenotypic responses of global populations of Lythrum salicaria in cold/dry and hot/humid environments to determine if phenotypic plasticity varied between the native and invasive ranges, and secondarily if this variation was linked to genetic diversity. Common garden studies were conducted in Třeboň, Czech Republic, and Lafayette, Louisiana...

The use of marine offshore benthic habitats by sea turtles is poorly characterized due to the difficulty of obtaining in situ data. Understanding benthic habitat use that is important to the species’ reproduction, foraging, and migrations is critical for guiding management decisions. A towed camera-based assessment survey system (C-BASS) equipped with environmental sensors was used to...

Early–life stage white sturgeon are sensitive to copper (Cu), with adverse behavioral responses observed during previous studies. The objectives of the present study were to quantify the effects of Cu exposure on white sturgeon swimming and feeding behaviors and determine their time to response. Larval sturgeon (1–2, 28, or 35 d posthatch [dph]) were exposed to Cu (0.5–8 μg/L) for 4 to...

While chemical analysis of contaminant mixtures remains an essential component of environmental monitoring, bioactivity-based assessments using in vitro systems increasingly play a role in the detection of biological effects. Historically, in vitro assessments focused on a few biological pathways, e.g., aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) or estrogen receptor (ER) activities. High-throughput...

Variability of sea-surface temperature related to shifts in the mode of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has been implicated as a possible forcing mechanism for the global-scale changes in tropical and subtropical precipitation known as the 4.2 ka event. We review records of coral reef development and paleoceanography from the tropical eastern Pacific (TEP) to evaluate the...

The South Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ) is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest precipitation feature supplying freshwater to 11 million people. Despite its significance, little is known about the location and intensity of SPCZ precipitation prior to instrumental records, hindering attempts to predict precipitation changes in a warming world. Here we use sedimentary molecular fossils to...

Stormwater practitioners need quantitative information about the quality and volume of highway runoff to assess and mitigate potential adverse effects of runoff on the Nation’s receiving waters. The U.S. Geological Survey developed the Highway Runoff Database (HRDB) in cooperation with the FHWA to provide practice-ready information to meet these information needs on the local or national...