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Publications

Read publications and other informational products to learn more about USGS science occurring in the Mississippi Basin.

Filter Total Items: 5585

One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents

Human use of oceans has dramatically increased in the 21st century. Sea turtles are vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors in the marine environment because of lengthy migrations between foraging and breeding sites, often along coastal migration corridors. Little is known about how movement and threat interact specifically for male sea turtles. To better understand male sea turtle...
Authors
Micah Ashford, James I. Watling, Kristen Hart

Lacunarity as a tool for assessing landscape configuration over time and informing long-term monitoring: An example using seagrass Lacunarity as a tool for assessing landscape configuration over time and informing long-term monitoring: An example using seagrass

Context Seagrasses are submerged marine plants that have been declining globally at increasing rates. Natural resource managers rely on monitoring programs to detect and understand changes in these ecosystems. Technological advancements are allowing for the development of patch-level seagrass maps, which can be used to explore seagrass meadow spatial patterns.Objectives Our research...
Authors
Nicholas Enwright, Kelly M. Darnell, Greg A. Carter

PCB exposure is associated with reduction of endosymbionts in riparian spider microbiomes PCB exposure is associated with reduction of endosymbionts in riparian spider microbiomes

Microbial communities, including endosymbionts, play diverse and critical roles in host biology and reproduction, but contaminant exposure may cause an imbalance in the microbiome composition with subsequent impacts on host health. Here, we examined whether there was a significant alteration of the microbiome community within two taxa of riparian spiders (Tetragnathidae and Araneidae)...
Authors
Brittany G. Perrotta, Karen A. Kidd, David Walters

Understanding impacts of sea-level rise and land management on critical coastal marsh habitat Understanding impacts of sea-level rise and land management on critical coastal marsh habitat

Coastal wetlands in the Louisiana Mississippi River Deltaic Plain (MRDP) experience some of the highest rates of relative sea-level rise (SLR) in the world, leading to elevated surface water salinity and prolonged flooding. Elevated salinity causes a shift toward more salt-tolerant vegetation communities, associated with changes in ecosystem function and services. As sea level continues...
Authors
Camille Stagg

Bedrock depth influences spatial patterns of summer baseflow, temperature and flow disconnection for mountainous headwater streams Bedrock depth influences spatial patterns of summer baseflow, temperature and flow disconnection for mountainous headwater streams

In mountain headwater streams, the quality and resilience of summer cold-water habitat is generally regulated by stream discharge, longitudinal stream channel connectivity and groundwater exchange. These critical hydrologic processes are thought to be influenced by the stream corridor bedrock contact depth (sediment thickness), a parameter often inferred from sparse hillslope borehole...
Authors
Martin A. Briggs, Phillip J. Goodling, Zachary Johnson, Karli M. Rogers, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Jennifer H. Fair, Craig D. Snyder

A comprehensive assessment of mangrove species and carbon stock on Pohnpei, Micronesia A comprehensive assessment of mangrove species and carbon stock on Pohnpei, Micronesia

Mangrove forests are the most important ecosystems on Pohnpei Island, Federated States of Micronesia, as the island communities of the central Pacific rely on the forests for many essential services including protection from sea-level rise that is occurring at a greater pace than the global average. As part of a multi-component assessment to evaluate vulnerabilities of mangrove forests...
Authors
Victoria Woltz, Elitsa I. Peneva-Reed, Zhiliang Zhu, Eric L. Bullock, Richard A. MacKenzie, Maybeleen Apwong, Ken Krauss, Dean B. Gesch

Sediment and nutrient retention on a reconnected floodplain of an Upper Mississippi River tributary, 2013–2018 Sediment and nutrient retention on a reconnected floodplain of an Upper Mississippi River tributary, 2013–2018

The connection of rivers with their floodplains has been greatly reduced in agricultural drainage basins, especially in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The restriction of the Mississippi River from its floodplain has reduced the sediment trapping and nutrient deposition capabilities of the floodplain, exacerbating water quality problems in the river and in downstream waterbodies. A...
Authors
Lynn A. Bartsch, Rebecca M. Kreiling, Lance R. Gruhn, Jessica D. Garrett, William B. Richardson, Greg M. Nalley

Documenting the multiple facets of a subsiding landscape from coastal cities and wetlands to the continental shelf Documenting the multiple facets of a subsiding landscape from coastal cities and wetlands to the continental shelf

Land subsidence is a settling, sinking, or collapse of the land surface. In the southeastern United States, subsidence is frequently observed as sinkhole collapse in karst environments, wetland degradation and loss in coastal and other low-lying areas, and inundation of coastal urban communities. Human activities such as fluid extraction, mining, and overburden alteration can cause or...
Authors
James G. Flocks, Eileen McGraw, John Barras, Julie Bernier, Mike Bradley, Devin L. Galloway, James Landmeyer, W. Scott McBride, Christopher Smith, Kathryn E.L. Smith, Christopher Swarzenski, Lauren T. Toth

Biennial progress report 2020-2021 Biennial progress report 2020-2021

No abstract available.
Authors
Jessica Kristin Leet, Barnett Rattner, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Natalie Karouna-Renier, Gavin N. Saari, Jon Amberg

Constraints on the adjustment of tidal marshes to accelerating sea level rise Constraints on the adjustment of tidal marshes to accelerating sea level rise

Much uncertainty exists about the vulnerability of valuable tidal marsh ecosystems to relative sea level rise. Previous assessments of resilience to sea level rise, to which marshes can adjust by sediment accretion and elevation gain, revealed contrasting results, depending on contemporary or Holocene geological data. By analyzing globally distributed contemporary data, we found that...
Authors
Neil Saintilan, Katya E. Kovalenko, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Kerrylee Rogers, James C. Lynch, Donald R. Cahoon, Catherine E. Lovelock, Daniel A. Friess, Erica Ashe, Ken Krauss, Nicole Cormier, Tom Spencer, Janine Adams, Jacqueline Raw, Carles Ibanez, Francesco Scarton, Stijn Temmerman, Patrick Meire, Tom Maris, Karen M. Thorne, John Brazner, Gail L. Chmura, Tony Bowron, Vishmie Palepitiya Gamage, Kimberly Cressman, Charlie Endris, Christina Marconi, Pamela Marcum, Kari St. Laurent, William G. Reay, Kenneth B. Raposa, Jason A. Garwood, Nicole Kahn

Temporal and spatial relationships of Yellowfin Tuna to deepwater petroleum platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico Temporal and spatial relationships of Yellowfin Tuna to deepwater petroleum platforms in the northern Gulf of Mexico

In 2006–2007, 110 Yellowfin Tuna Thunnus albacares were tagged with acoustic transmitters near deepwater oil platforms and one drillship in the northern Gulf of Mexico off the Mississippi River delta to determine the extent to which platforms act as fish aggregating devices (FADs). Vemco acoustic receivers were installed on six deepwater platforms to detect the presence of tagged...
Authors
Melissa E. Price, Michael T. Randall, Kenneth J. Sulak, Randy E. Edwards, Margaret Lamont

Geomorphic controls on floodplain connectivity, ecosystem services, and sensitivity to climate change: An example from the lower Missouri River Geomorphic controls on floodplain connectivity, ecosystem services, and sensitivity to climate change: An example from the lower Missouri River

Floodplains of large rivers are exploited for agricultural production, industrial and municipal development, and transportation infrastructure. Recently, increased frequency of costly floods has prompted consideration of whether offsetting benefits might accrue from management of floodplains for ecosystem services. We employed a simple inundation model for 800 km of the Lower Missouri...
Authors
R. B. Jacobson, Kristen L. Bouska, Edward Bulliner, Garth A. Lindner, Craig Paukert
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