Intro:
My unofficial career with the USGS began in 1995 when I was “volunteered” to help USGS Hydrologic Technicians dig orifice lines and haul materials for new gage installations along Ichawaynochaway Creek in Southwest Georgia. I was working as a Hydrologic Technician for the Jones Ecological Research Center and had no idea what a couple days of Georgia Coastal Plain sweat would later bring. It was through this encounter that I was given an invitation to apply for an open student position (STEP in those days) with the USGS after starting graduate studies in Water Resources at the University of Georgia in 1998. Upon completion of my degree, I converted to a Hydrologist position working with the Appalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint Study Unit (ACFB) of the National Water Quality Assessment Program. Twenty plus years of employment have involved participation in and direction of multiple national and regional watershed and groundwater projects, amphibian research in the Southeast, liaison duties with the NPS during the Deep Water Horizon oil spill, many Regional Stream Quality Assessment tours of duty across the country, a wide assortment of scientific publications, and many other varied wonderful ways to make a living working for the USGS and DOI. I now serve as an Assistant Director for Hydrologic Studies in Georgia for the South Atlantic Water Science Center and wouldn’t trade a minute of the time spent with the people with whom I have had the privilege of working.
Personnel of SAWSC
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Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) - Southeast Region Water Quality
Elucidating mechanisms underlying amphibian declines in North America using hierarchical spatial models
Concentration of chemical constituents in lake sediments from selected coring locations on Lake Lanier, Georgia, May 2018
Data from a national survey for the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
Water level data from select wetlands at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge:2010 - 2015
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) not detected in an intensive survey of wild North American amphibians
Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities
Pathogenic lineage of Perkinsea associated with mass mortality of frogs across the United States
Five hydrologic and landscape databases for selected National Wildlife Refuges in the Southeastern United States
Potential interactions among disease, pesticides, water quality and adjacent land cover in amphibian habitats in the United States
Spatial and temporal assessment of back-barrier erosion on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, 2011–2013
Assessment of environmental DNA for detecting presence of imperiled aquatic amphibian species in isolated wetlands
Contaminants in stream sediments from seven United States metropolitan areas: part I: distribution in relation to urbanization
Contaminants in stream sediments from seven United States metropolitan areas: part II—sediment toxicity to the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus dilutus
Occurrence and potential sources of pyrethroid insecticides in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas
Analysis of the herbicide diuron, three diuron degradates, and six neonicotinoid insecticides in water-Method details and application to two Georgia streams
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Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) - Southeast Region Water Quality
The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) began in 2000 with the goal of determining the status and trends of amphibian populations throughout the U.S. The program was designed to provide information useful in determining causes of declines or other changes in population distributions. Personnel in the South Atlantic Water Science Center are...Elucidating mechanisms underlying amphibian declines in North America using hierarchical spatial models
Amphibian populations are declining globally at unprecedented rates but statistically rigorous identification of mechanisms is lacking. Identification of reasons underlying large-scale declines is imperative to plan and implement effective conservation efforts. Most research on amphibian population decline has focused on local populations and local factors. However, the ubiquity of declines across - Data
Concentration of chemical constituents in lake sediments from selected coring locations on Lake Lanier, Georgia, May 2018
The data herein were collected in support of a larger study in Gwinnett County, Georgia, on the potential impacts of on-site waste water treatment (septic systems) on Lake Lanier water quality. Until recently, a missing component in this assessment was the inclusion of historical sediment and associated nutrient accumulation data from the lake to place results in a broader context. To this end, thData from a national survey for the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans
This dataset provides the results of a national survey of the conterminous U.S. for the salamander chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative from May 2014 to August 2017. Sites were sampled by capturing amphibians by hand or by traps or nets that were then swabbed individually using methods that prevWater level data from select wetlands at Saint Marks National Wildlife Refuge:2010 - 2015
Small, seasonal pools and temporary ponds (<4.0 ha) are the most numerous and biologically diverse wetlands in many natural landscapes. Thus, accurate determination of their numbers and spatial characteristics is beneficial for conservation, management, and persistence of biodiversity associated with these freshwater systems. We examined the utility of a topographic position index ( - Publications
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Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) not detected in an intensive survey of wild North American amphibians
The salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans [Bsal]) is causing massive mortality of salamanders in Europe. The potential for spread via international trade into North America and the high diversity of salamanders has catalyzed concern about Bsal in the U.S. Surveillance programs for invading pathogens must initially meet challenges that include low rates of occurrence on the lQuantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities
Changing climate will impact species’ ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited to single species and locations. Here we show that amphibian communities are responsive to climatic variability, using >500,000 time-series observations for 81 species across 8ByEcosystems, Water Resources, Species Management Research Program, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research CenterPathogenic lineage of Perkinsea associated with mass mortality of frogs across the United States
Emerging infectious diseases such as chytridiomycosis and ranavirus infections are important contributors to the worldwide decline of amphibian populations. We reviewed data on 247 anuran mortality events in 43 States of the United States from 1999–2015. Our findings suggest that a severe infectious disease of tadpoles caused by a protist belonging to the phylum Perkinsea might represent the thirdFive hydrologic and landscape databases for selected National Wildlife Refuges in the Southeastern United States
This report serves as metadata and a user guide for five out of six hydrologic and landscape databases developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, to describe data-collection, data-reduction, and data-analysis methods used to construct the databases and provides statistical and graphical descriptions of the databases. Six hydrologic and landscapPotential interactions among disease, pesticides, water quality and adjacent land cover in amphibian habitats in the United States
To investigate interactions among disease, pesticides, water quality, and adjacent land cover, we collected samples of water, sediment, and frog tissue from 21 sites in 7 States in the United States (US) representing a variety of amphibian habitats. All samples were analyzed for > 90 pesticides and pesticide degradates, and water and frogs were screened for the amphibian chytrid fungus BatrachochySpatial and temporal assessment of back-barrier erosion on Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, 2011–2013
Much research has been conducted to better understand erosion and accretion processes for the seaward zones of coastal barrier islands; however, at Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, the greater management concern is the effect that erosion is having on the resources of the island’s western shoreline, or the back barrier. Catastrophic slumping and regular rates of erosion greater than 1Assessment of environmental DNA for detecting presence of imperiled aquatic amphibian species in isolated wetlands
Environmental DNA (eDNA) is an emerging tool that allows low-impact sampling for aquatic species by isolating DNA from water samples and screening for DNA sequences specific to species of interest. However, researchers have not tested this method in naturally acidic wetlands that provide breeding habitat for a number of imperiled species, including the frosted salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum), reContaminants in stream sediments from seven United States metropolitan areas: part I: distribution in relation to urbanization
Organic contaminants and trace elements were measured in bed sediments collected from streams in seven metropolitan study areas across the United States to assess concentrations in relation to urbanization. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, the pyrethroid insecticide bifenthrin, and several trace elements were significantly related to urbanizatContaminants in stream sediments from seven United States metropolitan areas: part II—sediment toxicity to the amphipod Hyalella azteca and the midge Chironomus dilutus
Relationships between sediment toxicity and sediment chemistry were evaluated for 98 samples collected from seven metropolitan study areas across the United States. Sediment-toxicity tests were conducted with the amphipod Hyalella azteca (28 day exposures) and with the midge Chironomus dilutus (10 day exposures). Overall, 33 % of the samples were toxic to amphipods and 12 % of the samples were toOccurrence and potential sources of pyrethroid insecticides in stream sediments from seven U.S. metropolitan areas
A nationally consistent approach was used to assess the occurrence and potential sources of pyrethroid insecticides in stream bed sediments from seven metropolitan areas across the United States. One or more pyrethroids were detected in almost half of the samples, with bifenthrin detected the most frequently (41%) and in each metropolitan area. Cyhalothrin, cypermethrin, permethrin, and resmethrinAnalysis of the herbicide diuron, three diuron degradates, and six neonicotinoid insecticides in water-Method details and application to two Georgia streams
A method for the determination of the widely used herbicide diuron, three degradates of diuron, and six neonicotinoid insecticides in environmental water samples is described. Filtered water samples were extracted by using solid-phase extraction (SPE) with no additional cleanup steps. Quantification of the pesticides from the extracted water samples was done by using liquid chromatography with tan - News
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