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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

Global genetic diversity status and trends: Towards a suite of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) for genetic composition Global genetic diversity status and trends: Towards a suite of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) for genetic composition

Biodiversity underlies ecosystem resilience, ecosystem function, sustainable economies, and human well-being. Understanding how biodiversity sustains ecosystems under anthropogenic stressors and global environmental change will require new ways of deriving and applying biodiversity data. A major challenge is that biodiversity data and knowledge are scattered, biased, collected with...
Authors
Sean M. Hoban, Frederick I. Archer, Laura D. Bertola, Jason G. Bragg, Martin F. Breed, Michael W. Bruford, Melinda A. Coleman, Robert Ekblom, W. Chris Funk, Catherine E. Grueber, Brian K. Hand, Rodolfo Jaffé, Evelyn Jensen, Jeremy S. Johnson, Francine Kershaw, Libby Liggins, Anna J. MacDonald, Joachim Mergeay, Joshua M. Miller, Frank Muller-Karger, David O'Brien, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Kevin M. Potter, Orly Razgour, Cristiano Vernesi, Margaret Hunter

Increased mercury and reduced insect diversity in linked stream-riparian food webs downstream of a historical mercury mine Increased mercury and reduced insect diversity in linked stream-riparian food webs downstream of a historical mercury mine

Historical mining left a legacy of abandoned mines and waste rock in remote headwaters of major river systems in the western United States. Understanding the influence of these legacy mines on culturally and ecological important downstream ecosystems is not always straight-forward because of elevated natural levels of mineralization in mining-impacted watersheds. To test the ecological...
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, JoAnn M. Holloway, Michael J. Pribil, Ben N. Mcgee, Craig A. Stricker, Danny Rutherford, Andrew S. Todd

Using dissolved organic matter fluorescence to predict total mercury and methylmercury in forested headwater streams, Sleepers River, Vermont USA Using dissolved organic matter fluorescence to predict total mercury and methylmercury in forested headwater streams, Sleepers River, Vermont USA

Aqueous transport of mercury (Hg) across the landscape is closely linked to dissolved organic matter (DOM). Both quantity and quality of DOM affect Hg mobility, as well as the formation and transport of toxic methylmercury (MeHg), but only a limited number of field studies have investigated Hg and MeHg with respect to specific DOM components. We investigated these interactions at the 41...
Authors
James B. Shanley, Vivien F. Taylor, Kevin A. Ryan, Ann T. Chalmers, Julia Perdrial, Aron Stubbins

The Coalition for Conservation Genetics: Working across organizations to build capacity and achieve change in policy and practice The Coalition for Conservation Genetics: Working across organizations to build capacity and achieve change in policy and practice

The Coalition for Conservation Genetics (CCG) brings together four eminent organizations with the shared goal of improving the integration of genetic information into conservation policy and practice. We provide a historical context of conservation genetics as a field and reflect on current barriers to conserving genetic diversity, highlighting the need for collaboration across...
Authors
Francine Kershaw, Michael W. Bruford, W. Chris Funk, Catherine E. Grueber, Sean M. Hoban, Margaret Hunter, Linda Laikre, Anna J. MacDonald, Mariah H. Meek, Cinnamon Mittan, David O´Brien, Rob Ogden, Robyn E. Shaw, Cristiano Vernesi, Gernot Segelbacher

Modeling the impact of invasive species litter on conditions affecting its spread and potential regime shift Modeling the impact of invasive species litter on conditions affecting its spread and potential regime shift

Many introduced plants pose invasion risks globally and threaten the biodiversity of native ecosystems. Such non-native plants can become invasive when they have advantages over native plants, such as having fewer natural enemies. Invasive plants often have the ability to alter ecosystem properties after they have become established, which can make it difficult to eliminate the invasive...
Authors
Yuanming Lu, Donald L. DeAngelis, Junfei Xia, Jiang Jiang

Evaluating temporal and spatial transferability of a tidal inundation model for foraging waterbirds Evaluating temporal and spatial transferability of a tidal inundation model for foraging waterbirds

For ecosystem models to be applicable outside their context of development, temporal and spatial transferability must be demonstrated. This presents a challenge for modeling intertidal ecosystems where spatiotemporal variation arises at multiple scales. Models specializing in tidal dynamics are generally inhibited from having wider ecological applications by coarse spatiotemporal...
Authors
Marisa T. Martinez, Leonardo Calle, Stephanie Romanach, Dale E. Gawlik

A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules A biological condition gradient for coral reefs in the US Caribbean Territories: Part I. Coral narrative rules

As coral reef condition and sustainability continue to decline worldwide, losses of critical habitat and their ecosystem services have generated an urgency to understand and communicate reef response to management actions, environmental contamination, and natural disasters. Increasingly, coral reef protection and restoration programs emphasize the need for robust assessment tools for...
Authors
Deborah L. Santavy, Susan K. Jackson, Benjamin Jessup, Jeroen Gerritsen, Caroline Rogers, William S. Fisher, Ernesto Weil, Alina Szmant, David Cuevas-Miranda, Brian K. Walker, Christopher F G Jeffrey, Patricia Bradley, David Ballantine, Loretta Roberson, Hector Ruiz-Torres, Brandi Todd, Tyler B. Smith, Randy Clark, Ernesto L. Diaz, Jorge Bauza-Ortega, Christina Horstmann, Sandy Raimondo

Interlaboratory comparison of three sediment bioaccumulation tests Interlaboratory comparison of three sediment bioaccumulation tests

Standard bioaccumulation tests are commonly conducted using Macoma nasuta (clam), and Alitta virens (polychaete) for marine tests, and Lumbriculus variegatus (an oligochaete) for freshwater tests. Because the interlaboratory variability associated with these tests is unknown, four experienced laboratories conducted standard 28-day bioaccumulation tests with the above species using...
Authors
Guilherme R. Lotufo, James M. Biedenbach, J. Daniel Farrar, Michael K. Chanov, Brian W. Hester, Charles R. Warbritton, Jeffery A. Steevens, Jenifer M. Netchaev, Anthony J. Bednar, David W. Moore

Chloride toxicity to native freshwater species in natural and reconstituted prairie pothole waters Chloride toxicity to native freshwater species in natural and reconstituted prairie pothole waters

Oil and gas extraction in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of the northern USA has resulted in elevated chloride concentrations in ground and surface water due to widespread contamination with highly saline produced water, or brine. The toxicity of chloride is poorly understood in the high hardness waters characteristic of the region. We evaluated the toxicity of chloride to two endemic...
Authors
David Harper, Holly J. Puglis, Bethany K. Kunz, Aida Farag

Uncertainty analysis of index-velocity meters and discharge computations at the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, water years 2006–16 Uncertainty analysis of index-velocity meters and discharge computations at the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois, water years 2006–16

Monitoring discharge in the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal is critical for the accounting done by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of the diversion of water from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River Basin by the State of Illinois. The primary streamgage used for this discharge monitoring, the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal near Lemont, Illinois (U.S. Geological Survey station...
Authors
Thomas M. Over, Marian Muste, James J. Duncker, Heng-Wei Tsai, P. Ryan Jackson, Kevin K. Johnson, Frank L. Engel, Crystal D. Prater

Novel insights on aquatic mammal MHC evolution: Evidence from manatee DQB diversity Novel insights on aquatic mammal MHC evolution: Evidence from manatee DQB diversity

The low diversity in marine mammal major histocompatibility complex (MHC) appears to support the hypothesis of reduced pathogen selective pressure in aquatic systems compared to terrestrial environments. However, the lack of characterization of the aquatic and evolutionarily distant Sirenia precludes drawing more generalized conclusions. Therefore, we aimed to characterize the MHC DQB...
Authors
Andre L.A. de, Pamela K.B. Baker, Breanna Breaux, Jairo M. Oliveira, Alex de Macedo Klautau, Kristian Legatzki, Fabia de Oliveira Luna, Fernanda L.N. Attademo, Margaret Hunter, Michael F. Criscitiello, Maria P. Schneider, Leonardo Sena
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