Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 10351
Value of information in natural resource management: technical developments and application to pink-footed geese Value of information in natural resource management: technical developments and application to pink-footed geese
The “value of information” (VOI) is a generic term for the increase in value resulting from better information to guide management, or alternatively, the value foregone under uncertainty about the impacts of management (Yokota and Thompson, Medical Decision Making 2004; 24: 287). The value of information can be characterized in terms of several metrics, including the expected value of...
Authors
Byron K. Williams, Fred A. Johnson
Breeding loggerhead marine turtles Caretta caretta in Dry Tortugas National Park, USA, show high fidelity to diverse habitats near nesting beaches Breeding loggerhead marine turtles Caretta caretta in Dry Tortugas National Park, USA, show high fidelity to diverse habitats near nesting beaches
We used satellite telemetry to identify in-water habitat used by individuals in the smallest North-west Atlantic subpopulation of adult nesting loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta during the breeding season. During 2010, 2011 and 2012 breeding periods, a total of 20 adult females used habitats proximal to nesting beaches with various levels of protection within Dry Tortugas National Park...
Authors
Kristen M. Hart, David G. Zawada, Autumn R. Sartain-Iverson, Ikuko Fujisaki
Flood-inundation mapping for the Blue River and selected tributaries in Kansas City, Missouri, and vicinity, 2012 Flood-inundation mapping for the Blue River and selected tributaries in Kansas City, Missouri, and vicinity, 2012
Kansas City, Missouri, has severely flooded many times, most notably in 1951, 1961, 1977, 1984, 1990, 1998, and 2010. During the past 30 years these floods resulted in damages within Kansas City costing tens of millions of dollars and more than 25 casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and City of Kansas City, Missouri, operate multiple streamgages along the Blue River and...
Authors
David C. Heimann, Trina E. Weilert, Brian P. Kelly, Seth E. Studley
Hydrologic record extension of water-level data in the Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN), 1991-99 Hydrologic record extension of water-level data in the Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN), 1991-99
The real-time Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN) has been established to support a variety of scientific and water management purposes. The expansiveness of the Everglades, limited number of gaging stations, and extreme sensitivity of the ecosystem to small changes in water depth have created a need for accurate water-level and water-depth maps. The EDEN water-surface elevation...
Authors
Paul Conrads, Matthew D. Petkewich, Andrew M. O’Reilly, Pamela A. Telis
Bathymetry of the Wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, June 2013 Bathymetry of the Wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, June 2013
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collaborated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility in Duck, North Carolina, to collect shallow water bathymetric data of the Wilderness breach on Fire Island, New York, in June 2013. The breach formed in October 2012 during Hurricane Sandy, and the USGS...
Authors
Andrew T. Brownell, Cheryl J. Hapke, Nicholas J. Spore, Jesse E. McNinch
Evaluating the piscicide rotenone as an option for eradication of invasive Mozambique tilapia in a Hawaiian brackish-water wetland complex Evaluating the piscicide rotenone as an option for eradication of invasive Mozambique tilapia in a Hawaiian brackish-water wetland complex
Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus were recently discovered in ‘Aimakapā Fishpond, a 12-hectare brackish-water wetland complex in Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, on the Island of Hawai’i. As a possible eradication method, we evaluated rotenone, a natural piscicide used in fish management and the active ingredient in plants traditionally used by indigenous Hawaiians for...
Authors
Leo Nico, Ronald A. Englund, Howard L. Jelks
Depth-dependent groundwater quality sampling at City of Tallahassee test well 32, Leon County, Florida, 2013 Depth-dependent groundwater quality sampling at City of Tallahassee test well 32, Leon County, Florida, 2013
Public-supply wells sometimes produce water of less than desirable quality because contaminants can migrate to the open interval of wells through preferential pathways. If these pathways can be identified, zones that produce poor quality water can be excluded during the well-construction process. The U.S. Geological Survey has developed geophysical testing methods that can be used to...
Authors
W. Scott McBride, Michael A. Wacker
Convergent evolution of the genomes of marine mammals Convergent evolution of the genomes of marine mammals
Marine mammals from different mammalian orders share several phenotypic traits adapted to the aquatic environment and therefore represent a classic example of convergent evolution. To investigate convergent evolution at the genomic level, we sequenced and performed de novo assembly of the genomes of three species of marine mammals (the killer whale, walrus and manatee) from three...
Authors
Andrew D. Foote, Yue Liu, Gregg W.C. Thomas, Tomas Vinar, Jessica Alfoldi, Jixin Deng, Shannon Dugan, Cornelis E. van Elk, Margaret Hunter, Vandita Joshi, Ziad Khan, Christie Kovar, Sandra L. Lee, Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, Annalaura Mancia, Rasmus Nielsen, Xiang Qin, Jiaxin Qu, Brian J. Raney, Nagarjun Vijay, Jochen B. W. Wolf, Matthew W. Hahn, Donna M. Muzny, Kim C. Worley, M. Thomas P. Gilbert, Richard A. Gibbs
Enhanced understanding of ectoparasite: host trophic linkages on coral reefs through stable isotope analysis Enhanced understanding of ectoparasite: host trophic linkages on coral reefs through stable isotope analysis
Parasitism, although the most common type of ecological interaction, is usually ignored in food web models and studies of trophic connectivity. Stable isotope analysis is widely used in assessing the flow of energy in ecological communities and thus is a potentially valuable tool in understanding the cryptic trophic relationships mediated by parasites. In an effort to assess the utility...
Authors
Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Paul C. Sikkel
The effects of sample scheduling and sample numbers on estimates of the annual fluxes of suspended sediment in fluvial systems The effects of sample scheduling and sample numbers on estimates of the annual fluxes of suspended sediment in fluvial systems
Since the 1970s, there has been both continuing and growing interest in developing accurate estimates of the annual fluvial transport (fluxes and loads) of suspended sediment and sediment-associated chemical constituents. This study provides an evaluation of the effects of manual sample numbers (from 4 to 12 year−1) and sample scheduling (random-based, calendar-based and hydrology-based)...
Authors
Arthur J. Horowitz, Robin T. Clarke, Gustavo Henrique Merten
Lithologic and hydrologic controls of mixed alluvial-bedrock channels in flood-prone fluvial systems: bankfull and macrochannels in the Llano River watershed, central Texas, USA Lithologic and hydrologic controls of mixed alluvial-bedrock channels in flood-prone fluvial systems: bankfull and macrochannels in the Llano River watershed, central Texas, USA
The rural and unregulated Llano River watershed located in central Texas, USA, has a highly variable flow regime and a wide range of instantaneous peak flows. Abrupt transitions in surface lithology exist along the main-stem channel course. Both of these characteristics afford an opportunity to examine hydrologic, lithologic, and sedimentary controls on downstream changes in channel...
Authors
Frank T. Heitmuller, Paul F. Hudson, William H. Asquith
Core-satellite species hypothesis and native versus exotic species in secondary succession Core-satellite species hypothesis and native versus exotic species in secondary succession
A number of hypotheses exist to explain species’ distributions in a landscape, but these hypotheses are not frequently utilized to explain the differences in native and exotic species distributions. The core-satellite species (CSS) hypothesis predicts species occupancy will be bimodally distributed, i.e., many species will be common and many species will be rare, but does not explicitly...
Authors
Kelsey A. Martinez, David J. Gibson, Beth A. Middleton