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Publications

Publications from USGS science centers throughout the Southeast Region.

Filter Total Items: 10361

Water quality in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park — Trends and spatial characteristics of selected constituents Water quality in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park — Trends and spatial characteristics of selected constituents

Seasonal changes in water levels and flows in Big Cypress National Preserve (BICY) and Everglades National Park (EVER) affect water quality. As water levels and flows decline during the dry season, physical, geochemical and biological processes increase the breakdown of organic materials and the build-up of organic waste, nutrients, and other constituents in the remaining surface water...
Authors
Ronald L. Miller, Benjamin F. McPherson, Robert Sobczak, Christine Clark

The effect of soil composition and hydration on the bioavailability and toxicity of cadmium to hibernating juvenile American toads (Bufo americanus) The effect of soil composition and hydration on the bioavailability and toxicity of cadmium to hibernating juvenile American toads (Bufo americanus)

The soil ecotoxicology literature has focused primarily on a few major taxa, to the neglect of other fossorial organisms such as amphibians. We selected cadmium (Cd) and the American toad (Bufo americanus) as a model contaminant and biological species to assess the impact of soil contamination on amphibian hibernation survival and post-hibernation condition. Soil sand composition (50, 70...
Authors
Stacy M. James, Edward E. Little, Raymond D. Semlitsch

The occurrence of lysogenic bacteria and microbial aggregates in the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica The occurrence of lysogenic bacteria and microbial aggregates in the lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

The McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica form the coldest and driest ecosystem on Earth. Within this region there are a number of perennially ice-covered (3–6 m thick) lakes that support active microbial assemblages and have a paucity of metazoans. These lakes receive limited allochthonous input of carbon and nutrients, and primary productivity is limited to only 6 months per year owing to...
Authors
J.T. Lisle, J.C. Priscu

Intra-strain dioxin sensitivity and morphometric effects in swim-up rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Intra-strain dioxin sensitivity and morphometric effects in swim-up rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Inter and intra-specific differences in sensitivity of early life stage salmonids to 2,3,7,8-TCDD exposure have been reported, but intra-strain differences have not been found in the literature. Our results indicate that intra-strain variability in terms of embryo mortality (LD50) is small in Eagle Lake strain of rainbow trout, LD50 values ranging from 285 to 457 pg TCDD egg g−1. These...
Authors
Paulo S. M. Carvalho, Douglas B. Noltie, D. E. Tillitt

Effectiveness of riparian buffers in controlling ground-water discharge of nitrate to streams in selected hydrogeologic settings of the North Carolina Coastal Plain Effectiveness of riparian buffers in controlling ground-water discharge of nitrate to streams in selected hydrogeologic settings of the North Carolina Coastal Plain

Water-quality and hydrologic information were collected along ground-water flow paths from two well-drained and two poorly drained Coastal Plain settings in North Carolina to evaluate the relative effectiveness of riparian buffers in reducing discharge of nitrate to streams. At one well-drained site with a 100 m buffer, little or no effect was detected on surface-water quality by...
Authors
T.B. Spruill

Overview and comparison of lipid-containing semipermeable membrane devices and oysters (Crassostrea gigas) for assessing organic chemical exposure Overview and comparison of lipid-containing semipermeable membrane devices and oysters (Crassostrea gigas) for assessing organic chemical exposure

We performed 20-d, flow-through exposures of lipid-containing semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas) to three concentrations (nominally 10, 100, and 250 ng/L) of a diverse mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Exposure water was seawater free of particulates larger than 0.1 μm. The results of these controlled laboratory studies...
Authors
J.N. Huckins, H.F. Prest, J. D. Petty, J.A. Lebo, M.M. Hodgins, R.C. Clark, D.A. Alvarez, W.R. Gala, A. Steen, R. Gale, C.G. Ingersoll

Effects of an insecticide on amphibians in large-scale experimental ponds Effects of an insecticide on amphibians in large-scale experimental ponds

We examined the effects of the insecticide carbaryl on larval amphibian communities in large-scale experimental ponds. Tadpoles of two anurans, Woodhouse's toad (Bufo woodhousii) and southern leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala), were reared in ponds (800 m3 volume) to determine the effects of tadpole density and carbaryl exposure on mass at metamorphosis and on time and survival to...
Authors
M.D. Boone, R. D. Semlitsch, J.F. Fairchild, B.B. Rothermel

Hazard assessment of a simulated oil spill on intertidal areas of the St. Lawrence River with SPMD-TOX Hazard assessment of a simulated oil spill on intertidal areas of the St. Lawrence River with SPMD-TOX

Phytoremediation in a simulated crude oil spill was studied with a “minimalistic” approach. The SPMD-TOX paradigm—a miniature passive sorptive device to collect and concentrate chemicals and microscale tests to detect toxicity—was used to monitor over time the bioavailability and potential toxicity of an oil spill. A simulated crude oil spill was initiated on an intertidal freshwater...
Authors
B. Thomas Johnson, J. D. Petty, J.N. Huckins, Kenneth Lee, J. Gauthier

Empirical, dimensionless, cumulative-rainfall hyetographs developed from 1959-86 storm data for selected small watersheds in Texas Empirical, dimensionless, cumulative-rainfall hyetographs developed from 1959-86 storm data for selected small watersheds in Texas

A database of incremental cumulative-rainfall values for storms that occurred in small urban and rural watersheds in north and south central Texas during the period from 1959 to 1986 was used to develop empirical, dimensionless, cumulative-rainfall hyetographs. Storm-quartile classifications were determined from the cumulative-rainfall values, which were divided into data groups on the...
Authors
Tara Williams-Sether, William H. Asquith, David B. Thompson, Theodore G. Cleveland, Xing Fang

Bioenergetics-based modeling of individual PCB congeners in nestling tree swallows from two contaminated sites on the Upper Hudson River, New York Bioenergetics-based modeling of individual PCB congeners in nestling tree swallows from two contaminated sites on the Upper Hudson River, New York

A bioenergetics-based model was used to simulate the accumulation of total PCBs and 20 PCB congeners by nestling tree swallows at two contaminated sites on the Upper Hudson River, New York. PCB concentrations in birds were calculated as the sum of inherited residues and those acquired through consumption of contaminated insects. Close agreement between simulations and measured residues...
Authors
John W. Nichols, Kathy R. Echols, Donald E. Tillitt, Anne L. Secord, John P. McCarty
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