Kelly O Maloney, Ph.D.
Kelly Maloney is a Research Ecologist at Eastern Ecological Science Center located at Kearneysville, WV.
Dr. Kelly O. Maloney is an ecologist whose research focuses on the effects of anthropogenic activities on the quantity and quality of freshwater resources with a goal to synthesize scientific findings into tools to aid in the monitoring, assessment and management of these precious resources. Dr. Maloney conducts and coordinates a highly diverse range of research to address the informational needs of the DOI, its partners, state agencies and NGOs. Dr. Maloney has centered his research program on two areas: 1) ecological flow requirements of aquatic systems, and 2) effects of anthropogenic activities on aquatic ecosystem structure and function. Within each focal area he conducts research to answer questions at multiple scales, employing a combination of field surveys, statistical analyses, computer simulations and meta-analyses.
Professional Experience
2010-Present - U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Ecological Science Center (previously Leetown Science Center)
post-doctoral at the Illinois Natural History Survey and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
post-doctoral at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
Education and Certifications
B.S. Environmental Resource Management, 1994,The Pennsylvania State University
M.S. Earth and Environmental Science, 2000, Lehigh University
M.P.S. Discrete and Statistical Science, 2004, Auburn University
Ph.D. Biological Sciences, 2004, Auburn University
Science and Products
Modeled estimates of altered hydrologic metrics for all NHDPlus v21 reaches in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
North American Bird Banding Program Dataset 1960-2021 retrieved 2021-07-25
Community metrics from inter-agency compilation of inland fish sampling data within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
Fish survey data for Asaph, Straight, Canada and Baldwin Runs, Tioga County, PA, 2012-2017
North American Bird Banding Program Dataset 1960-2020 retrieved 2020-06-26
Land Cover, Climate, and Geological conditions summarized within Maryland DNR Biological Stream Survery (MBSS) Catchments
Chesapeake Bay Watershed historical and future projected land use and climate data summarized for NHDPlusV2 catchments
Shale gas data used in development of the Disturbance Intensity Index for the Pennsylvania portion of the Upper Susquehanna River basin in Maloney et al. 2018.
A random forest approach for bounded outcome variables
Shale gas development has limited effects on stream biology and geochemistry in a gradient-based, multiparameter study in Pennsylvania
The number of horizontally drilled shale oil and gas wells in the United States has increased from nearly 28,000 in 2007 to nearly 127,000 in 2017, and research has suggested the potential for the development of shale resources to affect nearby stream ecosystems. However, the ability to generalize current studies is limited by the small geographic scope as well as limited breadth and integration o
Disentangling the potential effects of land-use and climate change on stream conditions
A preliminary assessment of hyperspectral remote sensing technology for mapping submerged aquatic vegetation in the Upper Delaware River National Parks
Predicting biological conditions for small headwater streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Canopy volume removal from oil and gas development activity in the upper Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania and New York (USA): An assessment using lidar data
Brook trout distributional response to unconventional oil and gas development: Landscape context matters
Water stress from high-volume hydraulic fracturing potentially threatens aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services in Arkansas, United States
A detailed risk assessment of shale gas development on headwater streams in the Pennsylvania portion of the Upper Susquehanna River Basin, U.S.A.
Unconventional oil and gas spills: Materials, volumes, and risks to surface waters in four states of the U.S.
Unconventional oil and gas spills: Risks, mitigation priorities, and state reporting requirements
Transport of hydraulic fracturing waste from Pennsylvania wells: A county-level analysis of road use and associated road repair costs
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
- Data
Filter Total Items: 20
Modeled estimates of altered hydrologic metrics for all NHDPlus v21 reaches in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Data are modeled estimates of flow status (inclined, diminished, or indeterminant) for 12 published hydrologic metrics (HMs) that characterize main components of flow regimes (duration, frequency, magnitude, timing, and rate of change). Model estimates came from random forest models independently built for each HM that predict flow status category using drainage area and previously summarized upstNorth American Bird Banding Program Dataset 1960-2021 retrieved 2021-07-25
The North American Bird Banding Program is directed in the United States by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL), Eastern Ecological Science Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge (EESC) and in Canada by the Bird Banding Office (BBO), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The respective banding offices have similar functions and policies and use the same bands, rCommunity metrics from inter-agency compilation of inland fish sampling data within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
This data release contains calculated metrics which summarize various biodiversity and functional/life history trait information about fish communities sampled across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed as well as ancillary data related to time/place of sampling and sampling methodology. The fish sampling data used to compute these metrics were compiled from various fish sampling programs conducted by stFish survey data for Asaph, Straight, Canada and Baldwin Runs, Tioga County, PA, 2012-2017
Fish survey data for four stream in Tioga County Pennsylvania from 2012-2017. Community data based on 2-3 backpack electrofishing passes with individual lengths and weights.North American Bird Banding Program Dataset 1960-2020 retrieved 2020-06-26
The North American Bird Banding Program is directed in the United States by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Bird Banding Laboratory (BBL), Eastern Ecological Science Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge (EESC) and in Canada by the Bird Banding Office (BBO), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The respective banding offices have similar functions and policies and use the same bands, rLand Cover, Climate, and Geological conditions summarized within Maryland DNR Biological Stream Survery (MBSS) Catchments
This dataset consists of several measures of landscape characteristics, each of which is summarized from raster data within spatial polygons. These spatial polygons represent the land area upstream of sampled stream reaches. These stream reaches were sampled by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources for the Maryland Biological Stream Survey program during survey rounds one, two, and four. LaChesapeake Bay Watershed historical and future projected land use and climate data summarized for NHDPlusV2 catchments
This dataset consists of historical estimates and future projections of land use and climate data summarized within the 1:100,000 National Hydrography Dataset Version 2 (NHDPlusV2) framework for catchments and upstream accumulated watersheds. Historical land use data are for the year 2005 and future land use projections are for the years 2030, 2060, and 2090. The projections offer a unique combinaShale gas data used in development of the Disturbance Intensity Index for the Pennsylvania portion of the Upper Susquehanna River basin in Maloney et al. 2018.
Data on 17 metrics of shale gas development in the Pennsylvania portion of the Upper Susquehanna River basin that was collated from a variety of sources and summarized at the upstream catchment scale. Data were also standardized by upstream area and transformed into rank scores based on metric distribution and then summarized into a Disturbance Intensity Index (DII). See Maloney et al. 2018 for de - Multimedia
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Filter Total Items: 43
A random forest approach for bounded outcome variables
Random forests have become an established tool for classication and regres- sion, in particular in high-dimensional settings and in the presence of non-additive predictor-response relationships. For bounded outcome variables restricted to the unit interval, however, classical modeling approaches based on mean squared error loss may severely suer as they do not account for heteroscedasticity in theAuthorsLeonie Weinhold, Matthias Schmid, Richard M. Mitchell, Kelly O. Maloney, Marvin N. Wright, Moritz BergerShale gas development has limited effects on stream biology and geochemistry in a gradient-based, multiparameter study in Pennsylvania
The number of horizontally drilled shale oil and gas wells in the United States has increased from nearly 28,000 in 2007 to nearly 127,000 in 2017, and research has suggested the potential for the development of shale resources to affect nearby stream ecosystems. However, the ability to generalize current studies is limited by the small geographic scope as well as limited breadth and integration o
AuthorsAdam Mumford, Kelly O. Maloney, Denise M. Akob, Sarah Nettemann, Arianne Proctor, Jason Ditty, Luke Ulsamer, Josh Lookenbill, Isabelle M. CozzarelliDisentangling the potential effects of land-use and climate change on stream conditions
Land‐use and climate change are significantly affecting stream ecosystems, yet understanding of their long‐term impacts is hindered by the few studies that have simultaneously investigated their interaction and high variability among future projections. We modeled possible effects of a suite of 2030, 2060, and 2090 land‐use and climate scenarios on the condition of 70,772 small streams in the ChesAuthorsKelly O. Maloney, Kevin P. Krause, Claire Buchanan, Lauren Hay, Gregory J. McCabe, Zachary M. Smith, Terry L. Sohl, John A. YoungA preliminary assessment of hyperspectral remote sensing technology for mapping submerged aquatic vegetation in the Upper Delaware River National Parks
Hyperspectral remote sensing of submerged aquatic vegetation is a complex and difficult process that is affected by unique constraints on the energy flow profile near and below the water surface. In addition, shallow, winding, lotic systems, such as the Upper Delaware River, present additional remote sensing problems in the form of specular reflectance, variable depth and constituents in the wateAuthorsE. Terrence Slonecker, Siddiq Kalaly, John A. Young, Mary Ann Furedi, Kelly O. Maloney, Don Hamilton, Richard Evans, Elizabeth ZineckerPredicting biological conditions for small headwater streams in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
A primary goal for Chesapeake Bay watershed restoration is to improve stream health and function in 10% of stream miles by 2025. Predictive spatial modeling of stream conditions, when accurate, is one method to fill gaps in monitoring coverage and estimate baseline conditions for restoration goals. Predictive modeling can also monitor progress as additional data become available. We developed a raAuthorsKelly O. Maloney, Zachary M. Smith, Claire Buchanan, Andrea Nagel, John A. YoungCanopy volume removal from oil and gas development activity in the upper Susquehanna River basin in Pennsylvania and New York (USA): An assessment using lidar data
Oil and gas development is changing the landscape in many regions of the United States and globally. However, the nature, extent, and magnitude of landscape change and development, and precisely how this development compares to other ongoing land conversion (e.g. urban/sub-urban development, timber harvest) is not well understood. In this study, we examine land conversion from oil and gas infrastrAuthorsJohn A. Young, Kelly O. Maloney, E. Terrence Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, David SiripoonsupBrook trout distributional response to unconventional oil and gas development: Landscape context matters
We conducted a large-scale assessment of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development effects on brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) distribution. We compiled 2231 brook trout collection records from the Upper Susquehanna River Watershed, USA. We used boosted regression tree (BRT) analysis to predict occurrence probability at the 1:24,000 stream-segment scale as a function of natural and anthropogAuthorsEric R. Merriam, J. Todd Petty, Kelly O. Maloney, John A. Young, Stephen Faulkner, E. Terrence Slonecker, Lesley E. Milheim, Atesmachew Hailegiorgis, Jonathan M. NilesWater stress from high-volume hydraulic fracturing potentially threatens aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem services in Arkansas, United States
Demand for high-volume, short duration water withdrawals could create water stress to aquatic organisms in Fayetteville Shale streams sourced for hydraulic fracturing fluids. We estimated potential water stress using permitted water withdrawal volumes and actual water withdrawals compared to monthly median, low, and high streamflows. Risk for biological stress was considered at 20% of long-term meAuthorsSally Entrekin, Anne Trainor, James Saiers, Lauren Patterson, Kelly O. Maloney, Joseph Fargione, Joseph M. Kiesecker, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Katherine E. Konschnik, Hannah Wiseman, Jean-Philippe Nicot, Joseph N. RyanA detailed risk assessment of shale gas development on headwater streams in the Pennsylvania portion of the Upper Susquehanna River Basin, U.S.A.
The development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) involves infrastructure development (well pads, roads and pipelines), well drilling and stimulation (hydraulic fracturing), and production; all of which have the potential to affect stream ecosystems. Here, we developed a fine-scaled (1:24,000) catchment-level disturbance intensity index (DII) that included 17 measures of UOG capturing all stepsAuthorsKelly O. Maloney, John A. Young, Stephen Faulkner, Atesmachew Hailegiorgis, E. Terrence Slonecker, Lesley MilheimUnconventional oil and gas spills: Materials, volumes, and risks to surface waters in four states of the U.S.
Extraction of oil and gas from unconventional sources, such as shale, has dramatically increased over the past ten years, raising the potential for spills or releases of chemicals, waste materials, and oil and gas. We analyzed spill data associated with unconventional wells from Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2014, where we defined unconventional wells as horizontAuthorsKelly O. Maloney, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Lauren A. Patterson, Jean-Philippe Nicot, Sally Entrekin, Joe E. Fargione, Joseph M. Kiesecker, Kate E. Konschnik, Joseph N. Ryan, Anne M. Trainor, James E. Saiers, Hannah J. WisemanUnconventional oil and gas spills: Risks, mitigation priorities, and state reporting requirements
Rapid growth in unconventional oil and gas (UOG) has produced jobs, revenue, and energy, but also concerns over spills and environmental risks. We assessed spill data from 2005 to 2014 at 31 481 UOG wells in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania. We found 2–16% of wells reported a spill each year. Median spill volumes ranged from 0.5 m3 in Pennsylvania to 4.9 m3 in New Mexico; the lAuthorsLauren A. Patterson, Katherine E. Konschnik, Hannah Wiseman, Joseph Fargione, Kelly O. Maloney, Joseph M. Kiesecker, Jean-Philippe Nicot, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Sally Entrekin, Anne Trainor, James SaiersTransport of hydraulic fracturing waste from Pennsylvania wells: A county-level analysis of road use and associated road repair costs
Pennsylvania’s rapid unconventional oil and gas (UOG) development—from a single well in 2004 to more than 6700 wells in 2013—has dramatically increased UOG waste transport by heavy trucks. This study quantified the amount of UOG waste and the distance it traveled between wells and disposal facilities on each type of road in each county between July 2010 and December 2013. In addition, the study esAuthorsLauren A. Patterson, Kelly O. MaloneyNon-USGS Publications**
Dale, V. H., P. J. Mulholland, L. M. Olsen, J. W. Feminella, K. O. Maloney, D. C. White, A. Peacock, and T. Foster. 2004. Selecting a suite of ecological indicators for resource management. L. A. Kapustka, H. Gilbraith, M. Luxon, and G. R. Biddinger (editors). Landscape ecology and wildlife habitat evaluation: critical information for ecological risk assessment, land-use, management activities and biodiversity enhancement practices. American Society for Testing and Materials STP 1458. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA.Maloney, K.O. and D.E. Weller. 2011. Anthropogenic disturbance and streams: land use and land-use change affect stream ecosystems via multiple pathways. Freshwater Biology 56: 611-626. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2010.02522.x**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.