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Sara L Eldridge

Sara is a Microbiologist in the Studies Section.

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High-Resolution, Interagency Biosurveillance of Threatened Surface Waters in the United States

Advances in information technology now provide large volume, high-frequency data collection which may improve real-time biosurveillance and forecasting. But, big data streams present challenges for data management and timely analysis. As a first step in creating a data science pipeline for translating large datasets into meaningful interpretations, we created a cloud-hosted PostgreSQL database tha
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Community for Data Integration (CDI)
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High-Resolution, Interagency Biosurveillance of Threatened Surface Waters in the United States

Advances in information technology now provide large volume, high-frequency data collection which may improve real-time biosurveillance and forecasting. But, big data streams present challenges for data management and timely analysis. As a first step in creating a data science pipeline for translating large datasets into meaningful interpretations, we created a cloud-hosted PostgreSQL database tha
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Using High-Throughput DNA Sequencing, Genetic Fingerprinting, and Quantitative PCR as Tools for Monitoring Bloom-Forming and Toxigenic Cyanobacteria in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2013 and 2014

Monitoring the community structure and metabolic activities of cyanobacterial blooms in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, is critical to lake management because these blooms degrade water quality and produce toxic microcystins that are harmful to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Genetic tools, such as DNA fingerprinting by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, high-
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Oregon Water Science Center

Integrating environmental DNA results with diverse data sets to improve biosurveillance of river health

Autonomous, robotic environmental (e)DNA samplers now make it possible for biological observations to match the scale and quality of abiotic measurements collected by automated sensor networks. Merging these automated data streams may allow for improved insight into biotic responses to environmental change and stressors. Here, we merged eDNA data collected by robotic samplers installed at three U.
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Ecosystems, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

Quantification of trace element loading in the upper Tenmile Creek drainage basin near Rimini, Montana, September 2011

The principle sources of trace elements entering upper Tenmile Creek, Montana, during September 2011, four trace metals and the metalloid arsenic, were identified and quantified by combining and analyzing streamflow data determined from tracer injection with trace-element concentrations and related water-quality data determined from synoptic sampling. The study reach was along upper Tenmile Creek,
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Water Resources, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Contaminant concentrations in sediments, aquatic invertebrates, and fish in proximity to rail tracks used for coal transport in the Pacific Northwest: A baseline assessment

Railway transport of coal poses an environmental risk because coal dust contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), mercury (Hg), and other trace metals. In the Pacific Northwest, proposed infrastructure projects could result in an increase in coal transport by train through the Columbia River corridor. Baseline information is needed on current distributions, levels, and spatial patterns of
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Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center

Annual variations in microcystin occurrence in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, based on high-throughput DNA sequencing, qPCR, and environmental parameters

Cyanobacteria-dominated blooms in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, create poor water quality and produce microcystins that may be detrimental to local wildlife and human health. Genetic tools, including high-throughput DNA sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), have been shown to improve the identification and quantification of key groups associated with these blooms over more tr
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Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center

Nutrient loads in the Lost River and Klamath River Basins, south-central Oregon and northern California, March 2012–March 2015

The U.S. Geological Survey and Bureau of Reclamation collected water-quality data from March 2012 to March 2015 at locations in the Lost River and Klamath River Basins, Oregon, in an effort to characterize water quality and compute a nutrient budget for the Bureau of Reclamation Klamath Reclamation Project. The study described in this report resulted in the following significant findings:Total pho
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Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center

Using high-throughput DNA sequencing, genetic fingerprinting, and quantitative PCR as tools for monitoring bloom-forming and toxigenic cyanobacteria in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2013 and 2014

Monitoring the community structure and metabolic activities of cyanobacterial blooms in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, is critical to lake management because these blooms degrade water quality and produce toxic microcystins that are harmful to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Genetic tools, such as DNA fingerprinting by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis, high-
By
Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center

Statistical analysis of the water-quality monitoring program, Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and optimization of the program for 2013 and beyond

Upper Klamath Lake in south-central Oregon has become increasingly eutrophic over the past century and now experiences seasonal cyanobacteria-dominated and potentially toxic phytoplankton blooms. Growth and decline of these blooms create poor water-quality conditions that can be detrimental to fish, including two resident endangered sucker species. Upper Klamath Lake is the primary water supply to
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Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center

Water-quality data from Upper Klamath and Agency Lakes, Oregon, 2009-10

The U.S. Geological Survey Upper Klamath Lake water-quality monitoring program collected data from multiparameter continuous water-quality monitors, weekly water-quality samples, and meteorological stations during 2009 and 2010 from May through November each year. The results of these measurements and sample analyses, as well as quality-control data for the water-quality samples, are presented in
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Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center

Spatial and temporal dynamics of cyanotoxins and their relation to other water quality variables in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2007-09

Phytoplankton blooms dominated by cyanobacteria that occur annually in hypereutrophic Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, produce microcystins at concentrations that may contribute to the decline in populations of endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose (Chasmistes brevirostris) suckers. During 2007–09, water samples were collected from Upper Klamath Lake to determine the presence and conc
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Water Resources, Oregon Water Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Eldridge SLC, Wood TM, Echols KR, Topping BR. 2013. Microcystins, nutrient dynamics, and other environmental factors during blooms of non-microcystin-producing Aphanizomenon flos-aquae in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, 2009. Lake and Reserv Manage. 29(1):68–81. doi: 10.1080/10402381.2013.775199.
Caldwell, S. , Liu, Y. , Ferrera, I. , Beveridge, T. , & Reysenbach, A. (2010). Thermocrinis minervae sp. nov., a hydrogen‐ and sulfur‐oxidizing, thermophilic member of the Aquificales from a Costa Rican terrestrial hot spring. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 60(2), 338–343. 10.1099/ijs.0.010496-0
Caldwell et al., 2008
S.L. Caldwell, J.R. Laidler, E.A. Brewer, J.O. Eberly, S.C. Sandborgh, F.S. Colwell
Anaerobic oxidation of methane: mechanisms, bioenergetics, and the ecology of associated microorganisms. Environ. Sci. Technol., 42 (2008), pp. 6791-6799, 10.1021/es800120b

Science and Products

**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.