Publications
Read publications and other informational products to learn more about USGS science occurring in the Mississippi Basin.
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Genetic composition and connectivity of the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) in Panama Genetic composition and connectivity of the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) in Panama
Genetic diversity and haplotype composition of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) population from the San San Pond Sak wetland in Bocas del Toro, Panama was studied using a segment of mitochondrial DNA (D’loop). No genetic information has been published to date for Panamanian populations. Due to the secretive behavior and small population size of the species in the area, DNA...
Authors
Edgardo Diaz-Ferguson, Margaret Hunter, Hector M. Guzman
Phytoforensics—Using trees to find contamination Phytoforensics—Using trees to find contamination
The water we drink, air we breathe, and soil we come into contact with have the potential to adversely affect our health because of contaminants in the environment. Environmental samples can characterize the extent of potential contamination, but traditional methods for collecting water, air, and soil samples below the ground (for example, well drilling or direct-push soil sampling) are...
Authors
Jordan L. Wilson
Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near St. Louis, Missouri, May 23–27, 2016 Bathymetric and velocimetric surveys at highway bridges crossing the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers near St. Louis, Missouri, May 23–27, 2016
Bathymetric and velocimetric data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation, near 13 bridges at 8 highway crossings of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers in the greater St. Louis, Missouri, area from May 23 to 27, 2016. A multibeam echosounder mapping system was used to obtain channel-bed elevations for river reaches...
Authors
Richard J. Huizinga
Measuring the role of seagrasses in regulating sediment surface elevation Measuring the role of seagrasses in regulating sediment surface elevation
Seagrass meadows provide numerous ecosystem services and their rapid global loss may reduce human welfare as well as ecological integrity. In common with the other ‘blue carbon’ habitats (mangroves and tidal marshes) seagrasses are thought to provide coastal defence and encourage sediment stabilisation and surface elevation. A sophisticated understanding of sediment elevation dynamics in...
Authors
Maria Potouroglou, James C. Bull, Ken W. Krauss, Hilary A. Kennedy, Marco Fusi, Daniele Daffonchio, Mwita M. Mangora, Michael N. Githaiga, Karen Diele, Mark Huxham
Water-level trends and potentiometric surfaces in the Nacatoch Aquifer in northeastern and southwestern Arkansas and in the Tokio Aquifer in southwestern Arkansas, 2014–15 Water-level trends and potentiometric surfaces in the Nacatoch Aquifer in northeastern and southwestern Arkansas and in the Tokio Aquifer in southwestern Arkansas, 2014–15
The Nacatoch Sand in northeastern and southwestern Arkansas and the Tokio Formation in southwestern Arkansas are sources of groundwater for agricultural, domestic, industrial, and public use. Water-level altitudes measured in 51 wells completed in the Nacatoch Sand and 42 wells completed in the Tokio Formation during 2014 and 2015 were used to create potentiometric-surface maps of the...
Authors
Kirk D. Rodgers
The extremely divergent maternally- and paternally-transmitted mitochondrial genomes are co-expressed in somatic tissues of two freshwater mussel species with doubly uniparental inheritance of mtDNA The extremely divergent maternally- and paternally-transmitted mitochondrial genomes are co-expressed in somatic tissues of two freshwater mussel species with doubly uniparental inheritance of mtDNA
Freshwater mussel species with doubly uniparental inheritance (DUI) of mtDNA are unique because they are naturally heteroplasmic for two extremely divergent mtDNAs with ~50% amino acid differences for protein-coding genes. The paternally-transmitted mtDNA (or M mtDNA) clearly functions in sperm in these species, but it is still unknown whether it is transcribed when present in male or...
Authors
Sophie Breton, Karim Bouvet, Gabrielle Auclair, Stephanie Ghazal, Bernard E. Sietman, Nathan A. Johnson, Stefano Bettinazzi, Donald T. Dtewart, Davide Guerra
Fatal attraction? Intraguild facilitation and suppression among predators Fatal attraction? Intraguild facilitation and suppression among predators
Competition and suppression are recognized as dominant forces that structure predator communities. Facilitation via carrion provisioning, however, is a ubiquitous interaction among predators that could offset the strength of suppression. Understanding the relative importance of these positive and negative interactions is necessary to anticipate community-wide responses to apex predator...
Authors
Kelly J. Sivy, Casey B. Pozzanghera, James B. Grace, Laura R. Prugh
Observations of raccoon (Procyon lotor) predation on the invasive Maculata apple snail (Pomacea maculata) in southern Louisiana Observations of raccoon (Procyon lotor) predation on the invasive Maculata apple snail (Pomacea maculata) in southern Louisiana
We used camera traps to determine which predators were responsible for depredated Pomacea maculata (Maculata Apple Snail) shells at 2 different study sites. Evidence of predation at these sites included operculums near the shells with a small amount of flesh attached and shells accumulating a meter or more from the water’s edge with no evidence of recent flooding. In both locations, the...
Authors
Jacoby Carter, Sergio Merino, Drew Prejean, Gary LaFleur
Assessing coastal wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: Gaps and opportunities for developing a coordinated regional sampling network Assessing coastal wetland vulnerability to sea-level rise along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast: Gaps and opportunities for developing a coordinated regional sampling network
Coastal wetland responses to sea-level rise are greatly influenced by biogeomorphic processes that affect wetland surface elevation. Small changes in elevation relative to sea level can lead to comparatively large changes in ecosystem structure, function, and stability. The surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) approach is being used globally to quantify the relative...
Authors
Michael J. Osland, Kereen T. Griffith, Jack C. Larriviere, Laura C. Feher, Donald R. Cahoon, Nicholas M. Enwright, David A. Oster, John M. Tirpak, Mark S. Woodrey, Renee C. Collini, Joseph J. Baustian, Joshua L. Breithaupt, Julia A Cherry, Jeremy R. Conrad, Nicole Cormier, Carlos A. Coronado-Molina, Joseph F. Donoghue, Sean A. Graham, Jennifer W. Harper, Mark W. Hester, Rebecca J. Howard, Ken W. Krauss, Daniel Kroes, Robert R. Lane, Karen L. McKee, Irving A. Mendelssohn, Beth A. Middleton, Jena A. Moon, Sarai Piazza, Nicole M. Rankin, Fred H. Sklar, Gregory D. Steyer, Kathleen M. Swanson, Christopher M. Swarzenski, William Vervaeke, Jonathan M Willis, K. Van Wilson
Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds Holistic assessment of occurrence and fate of metolachlor within environmental compartments of agricultural watersheds
Background: Metolachlor [(RS)-2-Chloro-N-(2-ethyl-6-methyl-phenyl)-N-(1-methoxypropan-2-yl)acetamide] and two degradates (metolachlor ethane-sulfonic acid and metolachlor oxanilic acid) are commonly observed in surface and groundwater. The behavior and fate of these compounds were examined over a 12-year period in seven agricultural watersheds in the United States. They were quantified...
Authors
Claire E. Rose, Richard H. Coupe, Paul D. Capel, Richard M. Webb
The state of the world’s mangroves in the 21st century under climate change The state of the world’s mangroves in the 21st century under climate change
Concerted mangrove research and rehabilitation efforts over the last several decades have prompted a better understanding of the important ecosystem attributes worthy of protection and a better conservation ethic toward mangrove wetlands globally. While mangroves continue to be degraded and lost in specific regions, conservation initiatives, rehabilitation efforts, natural regeneration...
Authors
Ilka C. Feller, Daniel A. Friess, Ken W. Krauss, Roy R. Lewis
A reservoir morphology database for the conterminous United States A reservoir morphology database for the conterminous United States
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Reservoir Fisheries Habitat Partnership, combined multiple national databases to create one comprehensive national reservoir database and to calculate new morphological metrics for 3,828 reservoirs. These new metrics include, but are not limited to, shoreline development index, index of basin permanence, development of volume, and other
Authors
Kirk D. Rodgers