Publications
Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.
Filter Total Items: 10352
Visitor use and activities detected using trail cameras at forest restoration sites Visitor use and activities detected using trail cameras at forest restoration sites
We used trail cameras to monitor human visits and activities at two sites in northeast Indiana being restored to bottomland hardwood forests. These sites, managed as nature preserves, are close to cities, where trails and parking lots have been added for ease of access. In this study, trail cameras were successfully used to capture visitation rates and activity types. The two sites had...
Authors
Janice L. Albers, Mark L. Wildhaber, Nicholas S. Green, Matthew Struckhoff, Michael J. Hooper
Cold-water corals of the world: Gulf of Mexico Cold-water corals of the world: Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a semi-enclosed sea that borders the USA and Mexico and covers approximately 1.5 million square kilometers. The northern Gulf is topographically complex and is a rich source of oil and gas deposits, which has led to a great deal of research on benthic ecosystems from the coastal zone to the deep sea. While not fully explored, the distribution of cold seeps and deep...
Authors
Sandra Brooke, Amanda Demopoulos, Harry Roberts, Jay J. Lunden, Tracey Sutton, Andrew Davies
A pragmatic approach for integrating molecular tools into biodiversity conservation A pragmatic approach for integrating molecular tools into biodiversity conservation
Molecular tools are increasingly applied for assessing and monitoring biodiversity and informing conservation action. While recent developments in genetic and genomic methods provide greater sensitivity in analysis and the capacity to address new questions, they are not equally available to all practitioners: There is considerable bias across institutions and countries in access to...
Authors
Laura D. Bertola, Anna Bruniche-Olsen, Francine Kershaw, Isa-Rita M. Russo, Anna J. MacDonald, Paul Sunnucks, Michael W. Bruford, Carlos Daniel Cadena, Kyle M. Ewart, Mark de Bruyn, Mark D. B. Eldridge, Richard Frankham, Juan M. Guayasamin, Catherine E. Grueber, Thierry B. Hoareau, Sean M. Hoban, Paul A. Hohenlohe, Margaret Hunter, Antoinette Kotze, Josiah Kuja, Robert C. Lacy, Linda Laikre, Nathan C. Loecker, Mariah H. Meek, Joachim Mergeay, Cinnamon S. Mittan-Moreau, Linda E. Neaves, David O´Brien, Joel W. Ochieng, Rob Ogden, Pablo Orozco-terWengel, Mónica Páez-Vacas, Jennifer Pierson, Katherine Ralls, Robyn E. Shaw, Etotepe A. Sogbohossou, Adam Stow, Tammy Steeves, Cristiano Vernesi, Mrinalini Watsa, Gernot Segelbacher
A Buteo sp. hawk predates a hummingbird (Trochilidae) during autumn migration A Buteo sp. hawk predates a hummingbird (Trochilidae) during autumn migration
Predation can play a significant role on survival during migration as birds find themselves competing for resources in unfamiliar habitats. Here we describe the first documented observation of a Buteo platypterus (Broad-winged Hawk) predating an Archilochus colubris (Ruby-throated Hummingbird) during autumn migration. To our knowledge, this is the first documented record of any Buteo sp...
Authors
Theodore J. Zenzal, Emily J. Lain
Train, inform, borrow, or combine? Approaches to process-guided deep learning for groundwater-influenced stream temperature prediction Train, inform, borrow, or combine? Approaches to process-guided deep learning for groundwater-influenced stream temperature prediction
Although groundwater discharge is a critical stream temperature control process, it is not explicitly represented in many stream temperature models, an omission that may reduce predictive accuracy, hinder management of aquatic habitat, and decrease user confidence. We assessed the performance of a previously-described process-guided deep learning model of stream temperature in the...
Authors
Janet R. Barclay, Simon Nemer Topp, Lauren Elizabeth Koenig, Margaux Jeanne Sleckman, Alison P. Appling
Highway-runoff quality from segments of open-graded friction course and dense-graded hot-mix asphalt pavement on Interstate 95, Massachusetts, 2018–21 Highway-runoff quality from segments of open-graded friction course and dense-graded hot-mix asphalt pavement on Interstate 95, Massachusetts, 2018–21
Highway runoff is a source of sediment and associated constituents to downstream waterbodies that can be managed with the use of stormwater-control measures that reduce sediment loads. The use of open-graded friction course (OGFC) pavement has been identified as a method to reduce loads from highway runoff because it retains sediment in pavement voids; however, few datasets are available...
Authors
Kirk Smith, Alana B. Spaetzel, Phillip A. Woodford
Assessing microplastics contamination in unviable loggerhead sea turtle eggs Assessing microplastics contamination in unviable loggerhead sea turtle eggs
Sea turtles, in comparison with marine mammals, sea birds, and fishes, are the most affected by microplastics in terms of number of individuals impacted and concentration within each organism. The ubiquitous nature and persistence of microplastics in the environment further compromises sea turtles as many species are currently vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. The...
Authors
Lindsay F. Curl, Samantha A. Hurst, Christopher M. Pomory, Margaret Lamont, Alexis M. Janosik
Evaluating water-quality conditions in the mainstem and tidal reaches of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts, June to September 2020 Evaluating water-quality conditions in the mainstem and tidal reaches of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts, June to September 2020
In summer and early fall (June to September) 2020, water-quality data were collected at 13 stations along the mainstem of the Merrimack River and into the Merrimack River estuary. The data are allocated among three different datasets: discrete water sample data, discrete vertical profile data, and continuous data. The collective purpose of these datasets is to enable assessment of the...
Authors
Kaitlin L. Laabs, Casey Beaudoin, Jason R. Sorenson, Alex Bissell
Two-dimensional inverse energy cascade in a laboratory surf zone for varying wave directional spread Two-dimensional inverse energy cascade in a laboratory surf zone for varying wave directional spread
Surfzone eddies enhance the dispersion and transport of contaminants, bacteria, and larvae across the nearshore, altering coastal water quality and ecosystem health. During directionally spread wave conditions, vertical vortices (horizontal eddies) are injected near the ends of breaking crests. Energy associated with these eddies may be transferred to larger-scale, low-frequency...
Authors
Christine Baker, Melissa Moulton, C Chris Chickadel, Emma Nuss, Margaret L. Palmsten, Katherine L. Brodie
Forecasting water levels using machine (deep) learning to complement numerical modelling in the southern Everglades, USA Forecasting water levels using machine (deep) learning to complement numerical modelling in the southern Everglades, USA
Water level is an important guide for water resource management and wetland ecosystems, defining one of the most basic processes in hydrology. This research seeks to investigate the possibility of complementing numerical modeling with a Machine Learning (ML) model to forecast daily water levels in the southern Everglades in Florida, USA. An exact analytical solution to water level may...
Authors
Courtney S Forde, Biswa Bhattacharya, Dimitri Solomatine, Eric Swain, Nicholas Aumen
A new method for bioassessment of ecosystems with complex communities and environmental gradients A new method for bioassessment of ecosystems with complex communities and environmental gradients
Bioassessment of complex and heterogeneous ecosystems is a challenge when there are multiple, strong, natural environmental gradients; unknown, or spatially varying, mixtures of stressors; and large numbers of taxa with unknown responses to both the environmental gradients and the stressors. Current methods of bioassessment are not designed for use under this set of constraints. To...
Authors
Donald Schoolmaster, Valerie A. Partridge
PCB concentrations in riparian spiders (Tetragnathidae) consistently reflect concentrations in water and aquatic macroinvertebrates, but not sediment: Analysis of a seven-year field study PCB concentrations in riparian spiders (Tetragnathidae) consistently reflect concentrations in water and aquatic macroinvertebrates, but not sediment: Analysis of a seven-year field study
Tetragnathid spiders have been used as sentinels to study the biotransport of contaminants between aquatic and terrestrial environments because a significant proportion of their diet consists of adult aquatic insects. A key knowledge gap in assessing tetragnathid spiders as sentinels is understanding the consistency of the year-to-year relationship between contaminant concentrations in...
Authors
Ryan R. Otter, Marc A. Mills, Ken M. Fritz, James M. Lazorchak, Dalon P. White, Gale B. Beaubien, David Walters