Publications
Read publications and other informational products to learn more about USGS science occurring in the Mississippi Basin.
Filter Total Items: 5657
Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Program: Lophelia II, continuing ecological research on deep-sea corals and deep-reef habitats in the Gulf of Mexico
The deep sea is a rich environment composed of diverse habitat types. While deep-sea coral habitats have been discovered within each ocean basin, knowledge about the ecology of these habitats and associated inhabitants continues to grow. This report presents information and results from the Lophelia II project that examined deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico. The Lophelia II...
Authors
Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Steve W. Ross, Christina A. Kellogg, Cheryl L. Morrison, Martha S. Nizinski, Nancy G. Prouty, Jill R. Bourque, Julie P. Galkiewicz, Michael A. Gray, Marcus J. Springmann, D. Katharine Coykendall, Andrew Miller, Mike Rhode, Andrea Quattrini, Cheryl L. Ames, Sandra D. Brooke, Jennifer P. McClain-Counts, E. Brendan Roark, Noreen A. Buster, Ryan M. Phillips, Janessy Frometa
Numerical modeling of salt marsh morphological change induced by Hurricane Sandy Numerical modeling of salt marsh morphological change induced by Hurricane Sandy
The salt marshes of Jamaica Bay serve as a recreational outlet for New York City residents, mitigate wave impacts during coastal storms, and provide habitat for critical wildlife species. Hurricanes have been recognized as one of the critical drivers of coastal wetland morphology due to their effects on hydrodynamics and sediment transport, deposition, and erosion processes. In this...
Authors
Kelin Hu, Q. Chen, Hongqing Wang, Ellen K. Hartig, Philip M. Orton
Contaminant gradients in trees: Directional tree coring reveals boundaries of soil and soil-gas contamination with potential applications in vapor intrusion assessment Contaminant gradients in trees: Directional tree coring reveals boundaries of soil and soil-gas contamination with potential applications in vapor intrusion assessment
Contaminated sites pose ecological and human-health risks through exposure to contaminated soil and groundwater. Whereas we can readily locate, monitor, and track contaminants in groundwater, it is harder to perform these tasks in the vadose zone. In this study, tree-core samples were collected at a Superfund site to determine if the sample-collection location around a particular tree...
Authors
Jordan L. Wilson, V.A. Samaranayake, Matthew A. Limmer, John G. Schumacher, Joel G. Burken
Will fluctuations in salt marsh–mangrove dominance alter vulnerability of a subtropical wetland to sea‐level rise? Will fluctuations in salt marsh–mangrove dominance alter vulnerability of a subtropical wetland to sea‐level rise?
To avoid submergence during sea-level rise, coastal wetlands build soil surfaces vertically through accumulation of inorganic sediment and organic matter. At climatic boundaries where mangroves are expanding and replacing salt marsh, wetland capacity to respond to sea-level rise may change. To compare how well mangroves and salt marshes accommodate sea-level rise, we conducted a...
Authors
Karen L. McKee, William Vervaeke
A survey of the amphibians of Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina and Georgia A survey of the amphibians of Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina and Georgia
From 2004 to 2006, we used a variety of sampling techniques to survey the amphibians of Savannah National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR), a large protected area straddling the lower portions of the Savannah River on the border between South Carolina and Georgia. We documented 22 amphibian species—15 frogs and 7 salamanders—with a possible 23rd species present. Species richness was lower than...
Authors
C. Kenneth Dodd, William J. Barichivich
Serrasalmidae — Piranhas and Pacus Serrasalmidae — Piranhas and Pacus
The family Serrasalmidae is a morphologically and ecologically diverse group of South American freshwater fishes consisting of 16 genera and about 91 valid species. This chapter is a summary of the current state of knowledge on serrasalmid taxonomy, species richness, and ecology, and provides an identification key to the genera and references to relevant literature for species-level
Authors
Leo Nico, Michel Jegu, Marcelo C Andrade
Overview of avian toxicity studies for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Overview of avian toxicity studies for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment
The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 establishes liability for injuries to natural resources because of the release or threat of release of oil. Assessment of injury to natural resources resulting from an oil spill and development and implementation of a plan for the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement or acquisition of natural resources to compensate for those injuries is accomplished...
Authors
Steven J. Bursian, C. R. Alexander, Dave Cacela, Fred L. Cunningham, Karen M. Dean, Brian S. Dorr, Christine K. Ellis, Celine A.J. Godard-Codding, Christopher G. Guglielmo, Katie C. Hanson-Dorr, Kendall E. Harr, Katherine A. Healy, Michael J. Hooper, Katherine E. Horak, John P. Isanhart, Lisa V. Kennedy, Jane E. Link, Ivan Maggini, John K. Moye, Christina R. Perez, Chris A. Pritsos, Susan A. Shriner, Kinberly A. Trust, Peter L. Tuttle
Metabarcoding of environmental DNA samples to explore the use of uranium mine containment ponds as a water source for wildlife Metabarcoding of environmental DNA samples to explore the use of uranium mine containment ponds as a water source for wildlife
Understanding how anthropogenic impacts on the landscape affect wildlife requires a knowledge of community assemblages. Species surveys are the first step in assessing community structure, and recent molecular applications such as metabarcoding and environmental DNA analyses have been proposed as an additional and complementary wildlife survey method. Here, we test eDNA metabarcoding as...
Authors
Katy E. Klymus, Catherine A. Richter, Nathan Thompson, Jo Ellen Hinck
Investigating seagrass in Toxoplasma gondii transmission in Florida (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and Antillean (T. m. manatus) manatees Investigating seagrass in Toxoplasma gondii transmission in Florida (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and Antillean (T. m. manatus) manatees
Toxoplasma gondii is a feline protozoan reported to cause morbidity and mortality in manatees and other marine mammals. Given the herbivorous nature of manatees, ingestion of oocysts from contaminated water or seagrass is presumed to be their primary mode of infection. The objectives of this study were to investigate oocyst contamination of seagrass beds in Puerto Rico and determine the
Authors
Heidi M. Wyrosdick, Richard W. Gerhold, Chunlei Su, Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, Robert K. Bonde, Alycia Chapman, Carla Riviera-Perez, Jessica Martinez, Debra L. Miller
The effect of beaver ponds on water quality in rural coastal plain streams The effect of beaver ponds on water quality in rural coastal plain streams
We compared water-quality effects of 13 beaver ponds on adjacent free-flowing control reaches in the Coastal Plain of rural North Carolina. We measured concentrations of nitrate, ammonium, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), and suspended sediment (SS) upstream and downstream of paired ponds and control reaches. Nitrate and SS concentrations decreased, ammonium concentrations increased...
Authors
Christopher W. Bason, Daniel Kroes, Mark M. Brinson
Effects of host injury on susceptibility of marine reef fishes to ectoparasitic gnathiid isopods Effects of host injury on susceptibility of marine reef fishes to ectoparasitic gnathiid isopods
The importance of the role that parasites play in ecological communities is becoming increasingly apparent. However much about their impact on hosts and thus populations and communities remains poorly understood. A common observation in wild populations is high variation in levels of parasite infestation among hosts. While high variation could be due to chance encounter, there is...
Authors
William G. Jenkins, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Paul C. Sikkel
Concepts and practices: Estimating abundance of prey species using hierarchical model-based approaches Concepts and practices: Estimating abundance of prey species using hierarchical model-based approaches
Tigers predominantly prey on large ungulate species, such as sambar (Cervus unicolor), red deer (Cervus elaphus), gaur (Bos gaurus), banteng (Bos javanicus), chital (Axis axis), muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak), wild pig (Sus scrofa), and bearded pig (Sus barbatus). The density of a tiger population is strongly correlated with the density of such prey species (Karanth et al. 2004). In the...
Authors
Robert Dorazio, N. Samba Kumar, J. Andrew Royle, Arjun M. Gopalaswamy