Publications
Read publications and other informational products to learn more about USGS science occurring in the Mississippi Basin.
Filter Total Items: 5583
Lotic freshwater: Rivers Lotic freshwater: Rivers
Ecosystems associated with rivers are intricately connected to their entire watershed. The river ecosystem includes the channel of active water flow, floodplain, and riparian and hyporheic zones. This ecosystem is shaped by interactions among the natural flow of water, sediments within the river and entering the river, and large wood regimes within the riparian zone. River integrity...
Authors
Ellen Wohl, R. O. Hall, David Walters
Biological effects of elevated major ions in surface water contaminated by a produced water from oil production Biological effects of elevated major ions in surface water contaminated by a produced water from oil production
Produced water (PW) from oil and gas extraction processes has been shown to contain elevated concentrations of major ions. The objective of this study was to determine the potential effects of elevated major ions in PW-contaminated surface water on a fish (fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas) and a unionid mussel (fatmucket, Lampsilis siliquoidea) in short-term (7-day) exposures. The...
Authors
Ning Wang, James L. Kunz, Danielle M. Cleveland, Jeffery A. Steevens, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Improving eDNA yield and inhibitor reduction through increased water volumes and multi-filter isolation techniques Improving eDNA yield and inhibitor reduction through increased water volumes and multi-filter isolation techniques
To inform management and conservation decisions, environmental DNA (eDNA) methods are used to detect genetic material shed into the water by imperiled and invasive species. Methodological enhancements are needed to reduce filter clogging, PCR inhibition, and false-negative detections when eDNA is at low concentrations. In the first of three simple experiments, we sought to ameliorate...
Authors
Margaret Hunter, Jason Ferrante, Gaia Meigs-Friend, Amelia Ulmer
Interactive mapping of nonindigenous species in the Laurentian Great Lakes Interactive mapping of nonindigenous species in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Nonindigenous species pose significant risks to the health and integrity of ecosystems around the world. Tracking and communicating the spread of these species has been of interest to ecologists and environmental managers for many years, particularly in the bi-national Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. In this paper, we introduce the Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species...
Authors
Joseph P. Smith, El K. Lower, Felix A. Martinez, Catherine M. Riseng, Lacey A. Mason, Edward S. Rutherford, Matthew E. Neilson, Pam Fuller, Kevin E. Wehrly, Rochelle A. Sturtevant
Multi-species duck harvesting using dynamic programming and multi-criteria decision analysis Multi-species duck harvesting using dynamic programming and multi-criteria decision analysis
1.Multiple species are often exposed to a common hunting season, but harvest and population objectives may not be fully achieved if harvest potential varies among species and/or species abundances are not correlated through time. Our goal was to develop an approach for setting a common hunting season that would recognize heterogeneity in species productivity and would select annual...
Authors
Fred Johnson, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Min Huang, Paul I. Padding, Greg Balkcom, Michael C. Runge, Patrick K. Devers
Mississippi river sediment diversions and coastal wetland sustainability: Synthesis of responses to freshwater, sediment, and nutrient inputs Mississippi river sediment diversions and coastal wetland sustainability: Synthesis of responses to freshwater, sediment, and nutrient inputs
Management and restoration of coastal wetlands require insight into how inundation, salinity, and the availability of mineral sediment and nutrients interact to influence ecosystem functions that control sustainability. The Mississippi River Delta, which ranks among the world's largest and most productive coastal wetland complexes, has experienced extensive deterioration over the last...
Authors
Tracy Elsey-Quirk, Sean A. Graham, Irving A. Mendelssohn, Gregg Snedden, John W. Day, Gary P. Shaffer, Leigh Anne Sharp, Robert R. Twilley, James Pahl, R.R. Lane
Resource concentration mechanisms facilitate foraging success in simulations of a pulsed oligotrophic wetland Resource concentration mechanisms facilitate foraging success in simulations of a pulsed oligotrophic wetland
Context Movement of prey on hydrologically pulsed, spatially heterogeneous wetlands can result in transient, high prey concentrations, when changes in landscape features such as connectivity between flooded areas alternately facilitate and impede prey movement. Predators track and exploit these concentrations, depleting them as they arise. Objectives We sought to describe how prey pulses...
Authors
Simeon Yurek, Donald L. DeAngelis
Invasive plant species Invasive plant species
Invasive species may be one of the worts environmental problems facing the conservation of natural areas, because of their role in changing ecosystem function. At the same time, invasive species cause much human suffering and economic loss. The approach to eliminating invasive species can be improved by a better understanding of the various types of invasive species, and the scientific...
Authors
Beth A. Middleton
Flood-inundation maps for Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York Flood-inundation maps for Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York
In 2016, digital flood-inundation maps along the shoreline of Lake Champlain in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and northern Clinton County in New York were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission (IJC). This report discusses the creation of updated static digital flood-inundation mapping, in...
Authors
Robert H. Flynn, Laura Hayes
Coastal habitat change and marine megafauna behavior: Florida manatees encountering reduced food provisions in a prominent winter refuge Coastal habitat change and marine megafauna behavior: Florida manatees encountering reduced food provisions in a prominent winter refuge
A decline in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) within Florida’s spring-fed thermal refuges raises questions about how these systems support winter foraging of Florida manatees Trichechus manatus latirostris. We analyzed telemetry data for 12 manatees over 7 yr to assess their use of Kings Bay, a winter refuge with diminished SAV. After accounting for the effect of water temperature, we
Authors
Chanda J. Littles, Robert K. Bonde, Susan M. Butler, Charles A. Jacoby, Sky K. Notestein, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Thomas K. Frazer
Unprocessed atmospheric nitrate in waters of the Northern Forest Region in the USA and Canada Unprocessed atmospheric nitrate in waters of the Northern Forest Region in the USA and Canada
Little is known about the regional extent and variability of nitrate from atmospheric deposition that is transported to streams without biological processing in forests. We measured water chemistry and isotopic tracers (δ18O and δ15N) of nitrate sources across the Northern Forest Region of the U.S. and Canada and reanalyzed data from other studies to determine when, where, and how...
Authors
Stepen D Sebestyen, Donald D Ross, James B. Shanley, Emily M. Elliott, Carol Kendall, John L. Campbell, D Bryan Dail, Ivan J Fernandez, Christine L Goodale, Gregory B. Lawrence, Gary M. Lovett, Patrick J McHale, Myron J Mitchell, Sarah J. Nelson, Michelle D Shattuck, Trent R Wickman, Rebecca T. Barnes, Joel T. Bostic, Anthony R Buda, Douglas A Burns, Keith N. Eshleman, Jacques C. Finlay, David M. Nelson, Nobuhito Ohte, Linda H Pardo, Lucy A Rose, Robert J Sabo, Sherry L. Schiff, John Spoelstra, Karl W Williard
The plant diversity sampling design for The National Ecological Observatory Network The plant diversity sampling design for The National Ecological Observatory Network
The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is designed to facilitate an understanding of the impact of environmental change on ecological systems. Observations of plant diversity—responsive to changes in climate, disturbance, and land use, and ecologically linked to soil, biogeochemistry, and organisms—result in NEON data products that cross a range of organizational levels...
Authors
David T. Barnett, Peter B. Adler, Benjamin R. Chemel, Paul A. Duffy, Brian J. Enquist, James B. Grace, Susan P. Harrison, Robert K. Peet, David S. Schimel, Thomas J. Stohlgren, Mark Vellend