Publications
Read publications and other informational products to learn more about USGS science occurring in the Mississippi Basin.
Filter Total Items: 5566
Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges, and guidance for indicators of genetic diversity Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges, and guidance for indicators of genetic diversity
Measuring genetic diversity of wild species using DNA-based data remains resource intensive and time consuming for nearly all species. However, genetic assessments are needed for global conservation commitments, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, and for governments and managers to evaluate conservation progress, as well as prioritizing species and populations to preserve...
Authors
Sean M. Hoban, Jessica M. da Silva, Alice C. Hughes, Margaret Hunter, Belma Kalamujic Stroil, Linda Laikre, Alicia Mastretta-Yanes, Katie L Millette, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Lucia Ruiz Bustos, Robyn E. Shaw, Cristiano Vernesi, the Coalition for Conservation Genetics
A gender and social vulnerability assessment approach A gender and social vulnerability assessment approach
The report on an approach for gender and social vulnerability assessment is a supporting tool – or a guiding note – to assist the MRC to conduct the gender and vulnerability assessment in the Lower Mekong Basin. While the approach focuses on floods, droughts, and extreme storm events for the MRC’s future application, the overall gender and vulnerability framework described in this report...
Authors
Saira Haider, Kathryn Powlen, Nina Burkardt, Matthew E. Andersen
Consumer isoscapes reveal heterogeneous food webs in deep-sea submarine canyons and adjacent slopes Consumer isoscapes reveal heterogeneous food webs in deep-sea submarine canyons and adjacent slopes
The deep sea is the largest biome on earth, but one of the least studied despite its critical role in global carbon cycling and climate buffering. Deep-sea organisms largely rely on particulate organic matter from the surface ocean for energy – these organisms in turn play critical roles in energy transport, transformation, storage, and sequestration of carbon. Within the deep sea...
Authors
Amanda Demopoulos, Brian J. Smith, Jill Bourque, Jason Chaytor, Jennifer McClain Counts, Nancy G. Prouty, Steve W. Ross, Sandra Brooke, Gerard Duineveld, Furu Mienis
When to target control efforts? Using novel GPS telemetry to quantify drivers of invasive Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) movement When to target control efforts? Using novel GPS telemetry to quantify drivers of invasive Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) movement
In South Florida, the Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), a large, omnivorous lizard, has become a recent threat to the Everglades ecosystem. The increase in tegu observations, especially near ecologically sensitive areas such as Everglades National Park, makes informed management critical to contain the tegu population. Using Very High Frequency (VHF) and Global...
Authors
Brittany M. Mason, Sergio A. Balaguera-Reina, Adam Benjamin, Frank J. Mazzotti, Hartwig H. Hochmair, Hardin Waddle
Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications
The global decline of freshwater mussels and their crucial ecological services highlight the need to understand their phylogeny, phylogeography and patterns of genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. Such knowledge is urgently needed for Unio crassus, a highly imperilled species originally widespread throughout Europe and southwest Asia. Recent studies have resurrected several...
Authors
Manuel Lopes-Lima, Juergen Geist, Sarah Egg, Lubos Beran, Ani Bikashvili, Bert Van Bocxlaer, Arthur E. Bogan, Ivan N. Bolotov, O. A. Chelpanovskaya, Karel Douda, Vasco Fernandes, André Gomes-dos-Santos, Duarte V. Goncalves, Mustafa E. Gurlek, Nathan Johnson, Ioannis Karaouzas, Umit Kebapci, Alexander V. Kondakov, Ralph Kuehn, Jasna Lajtner, Levan Mumladze, Karl-Otto Nagel, Eike Neubert, Martin Osterling, John M. Pfeiffer, Vincent Prie, Nicoletta Riccardi, Jerzy Sell, Lea D. Schneider, Spase Shumka, Ioan Sirbu, Grita Skujiene, Chase H. Smith, Ronaldo Sousa, Katharina Stockl, Jouni Taskinen, Amílcar Teixeira, Milcho Todorov, Teodora Trichkova, Maria Urbanska, Santtu Valila, Simone Varandas, Joana Verissimo, Ilya V. Vikhrev, G. Woschitz, Katarzyna Zajac, Tadeusz Zajac, David T. Zanatta, Alexandra Zieritz, Stamatis Zogaris, Elsa Froufe
Writing SMART objectives for natural resource and environmental management Writing SMART objectives for natural resource and environmental management
In natural resource and environmental management, well-written objectives are critical for effective decision-making and the achievement of desired outcomes. This article aims to improve practitioners' ability to identify and write SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) objectives for natural resource and environmental management.We differentiate between research...
Authors
Caleb A. Aldridge, Michael E. Colvin
Exploring landscape and geologic controls on spatial patterning of streambank groundwater discharge in a mixed land use watershed Exploring landscape and geologic controls on spatial patterning of streambank groundwater discharge in a mixed land use watershed
Preferential groundwater discharge features along stream corridors are ecologically important at local and stream network scales, yet we lack quantification of the multiscale controls on the spatial patterning of groundwater discharge. Here we identify physical attributes that best explain variation in the presence and lateral extent of preferential groundwater discharges along two 5th...
Authors
Kevin E. Jackson, Eric M. Moore, Ashley M. Helton, Adam B. Haynes, Janet R. Barclay, Martin A. Briggs
Nerodia clarkii (Saltmarsh Watersnake). Predation Nerodia clarkii (Saltmarsh Watersnake). Predation
Predators of Nerodia clarkii are suspected to include larger species of crabs, fish, wading birds, snakes, alligators, and crocodiles. To our knowledge, there have only been two published observations of predation on N. clarkii, including a predation attempt from a Callinectes sapidus (Blue Crab) in Mississippi, USA and a successful predation by a Grus americana (Whooping Crane) in Texas...
Authors
Bryna L. Daykin, Sidney T. Godfrey, Michael Cherkiss, Gareth Blakemore, Frank J. Mazzotti
Sea turtle density surface models along the United States Atlantic coast Sea turtle density surface models along the United States Atlantic coast
Spatially explicit estimates of marine species distribution and abundance are required to quantify potential impacts from human activities such as military training and testing, fisheries interactions, and offshore energy development. There are 4 protected species of sea turtle (loggerhead, green, Kemp’s ridley, and leatherback) commonly found along the east coast of the USA, our study...
Authors
Andrew DiMatteo, Jason J. Roberts, D. Todd Jones-Farrand, Lance Garrison, Kristen Hart, Robert D. Kenney, William A. McLellan, Kate Lomac-MacNair, Debra Palka, Meghan E. Rickard, Kelsey E. Roberts, Ann M. Zoidis, L. Sparks
Immunomodulation in adult largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exposed to a model estrogen or mixture of endocrine disrupting contaminants during early gonadal recrudescence Immunomodulation in adult largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) exposed to a model estrogen or mixture of endocrine disrupting contaminants during early gonadal recrudescence
Disease outbreaks, skin lesions, fish kill events, and reproductive abnormalities have been observed in wild populations of Centrarchids in watersheds throughout the United States. Occurrence of synthetic and natural hormones from wastewater treatment plants and livestock operations, pesticides from agricultural land use, and phytoestrogens have been implicated as potential causes of...
Authors
Jessica Kristin Leet, Catherine A. Richter, Rachel Claunch, Robert Gale, Donald E. Tillitt, Luke R. Iwanowicz
Flow cytometric assessments of metabolic activity in bacterial assemblages provide insight into ecosystem condition along the Buffalo National River, Arkansas Flow cytometric assessments of metabolic activity in bacterial assemblages provide insight into ecosystem condition along the Buffalo National River, Arkansas
The Buffalo National River (BNR), on karst terrain in Arkansas, is considered an extraordinary water resource. Water collected in Spring 2017 along BNR was metagenomically analyzed using 16S rDNA, and for 17 months (5/2017–11/2018), bacterial responses were measured in relation to nutrients sampled along a stretch of BNR near a concentrated animal feed operation (CAFO) on Big Creek...
Authors
Jill Jenkins, Rassa Dale, Nina M. Hoffpauir, Brooke A Baudoin, Caroline Matkin, Lucas Driver, Shawn W Hodges, Bonnie L. Brown
Stable isotopes reveal that foraging strategy dictates trophic response of salt marsh residents to black mangrove Avicennia germinans range expansion Stable isotopes reveal that foraging strategy dictates trophic response of salt marsh residents to black mangrove Avicennia germinans range expansion
Climate warming has facilitated the expansion of black mangrove Avicennia germinans (hereafter ‘Avicennia’) into smooth cordgrass Spartina alterniflora (hereafter ‘Spartina’) salt marshes in southeastern Louisiana (USA). As macrophytes contribute to soil organic matter (SOM) and primary production, this transition could alter the basal energy pathways supporting salt marsh food webs. We...
Authors
Katherine B. Loesser, Christina E. Powell, Brandeus Davis, Melissa Millman Baustian, Michael J. Polito