Unified Interior Regions
Region 4: Mississippi Basin
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
Science Support for the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project
Since 2007, the USGS (with NPS and USACE) has been mapping the seafloor and substrate around the Mississippi barrier islands to characterize the near-surface stratigraphy and identify the influence it has on island evolution and fate.
Geologic Evolution of Cat Island, Mississippi
The geologic evolution of Cat Island has been influenced by deltaic, lagoonal/estuarine, tidal, and oceanographic processes, resulting in a complex stratigraphic record.
Use of Remote Sensing Data to Quantify Bird and Bat Distributions and Inform Migratory Bird Conservation Efforts
Three federal wildlife refuge complexes on the upper Texas coast include portions of the Columbia Bottomlands and other forests that are important for migratory birds and possibly bats: Texas Mid-Coast, Trinity River, and Chenier Plain.
Use of Remote Sensing Data to Quantify Bird Distributions and Aid in the Environmental Assessment of Energy Development in the Gulf of Mexico Region
Knowing where migratory birds consistently stop to rest and forage is critical for conservation planning, particularly along the northern and western Gulf where there is increased interest in energy development.
Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
A combination of geophysics, sediment sampling, and chronology techniques are used to characterize the regional geomorphologic response of coastal systems to environmental changes.
Barrier Island Evolution
The Barrier Island Evolution Project addresses a research gap between the short time scale of individual storms (hours to days) and the longer time scales associated with the historic and geologic evolution of the coastal system (decades to millennia).
The Gulf of Mexico Water Dashboard: Cross-Center Collaboration Brings Real-time, USGS Water Data to the Gulf Coast through a Spatially Enabled Mapping Application
The USGS Southeast Regional Office has funded a cross-center collaboration between the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center and the Texas Water Science Center for the development of the Gulf of Mexico Water Dashboard. The objective of this effort is to expand the Texas Water Dashboard platform to include the coastal regions of the five Gulf states: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and...
Detecting Differences in Bacterial Metabolism in the Buffalo National River
Each year, the Buffalo National River (BUFF) attracts 1.6 million visitors, many of whom enjoy recreational water activities. Since 2013, a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) for swine has been operating on Big Creek, a BUFF tributary.
Hydrologist visits 4th-graders at Baton Rouge public school
Where: Westdale Heights Academic Magnet school, Baton Rouge, LA
Background: Dennis Demcheck has been volunteering at the public school since 2012, discussing bird identification, migration patterns, and drawing birds. The presentation emphasized scientific observation and the importance of accurate data collection.
Partners/Stakeholders: None. Dennis talked to about 75 students...
Pilot Testing and Protocol Development of Apple Snail Suppression at Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge
The maculata apple snail (Pomacea maculata) has invaded many coastal and some inland areas in south Louisiana. Reports have indicated that the freshwater snails have significantly reduced the amount of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) and floating leaved vegetation (FLV) available for waterfowl and other wildlife.
Lower Mississippi-Gulf WSC - Baton Rouge Sediment Lab Price List - 2018 Fiscal Year
LOWER MISSISSIPPI-GULF WSC - BATON ROUGE SEDIMENT LAB PRICE LIST - 2018 FISCAL YEAR
2018
FISCAL YEAR
(Effective date will begin with samples received
by the Laboratory after October 1, 2017)
Ozark Plateaus Groundwater Availability Study
The U.S. Geological Survey's Groundwater Resources Program (GWRP) is conducting an assessment of groundwater availability throughout the United States to gain a better understanding of the status of the Nation's groundwater resources and how changes in water use and climate may affect those resources.
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The utility of zooarchaeological data to guide listing efforts for an imperiled mussel species (Bivalvia: Unionidae: Pleurobema riddellii)
The status of species in freshwater systems shift over time due to natural and anthropogenic causes. Determining the magnitude and cause of these shifts requires a long‐term perspective. This process is complicated when there are also questions about the taxonomic validity of a species. Addressing these issues is important because both can...
Randklev, Charles R.; Wolverton, Steve; Johnson, Nathan; Smith, Chase H.; DuBose, Traci; Robertson, Clint; Conley, Julian A new species of freshwater mussel in the genus Popenaias Frierson, 1927, from the Gulf coastal rivers of central Mexico (Bivalvia: Unionida: Unionidae) with comments on the genus
The Gulf coastal drainages of central Mexico are a faunal transition zone between North and South America and harbor a unique assemblage of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida). However, little information is available regarding the taxonomy, distribution, and evolutionary history of the Mexican mussel fauna due to limited sampling over the...
Inoue, Kentaro; Cummings, Kevin S.; Tiemann, Jeremy S.; Miller, Thomas D.; Johnson, Nathan; Smith, Chase H.; Randklev, Charles R. Salinity, water level, and forest structure contribute to baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) rhizosphere and endosphere community structure
As rising sea levels alter coastal ecosystems, there is a pressing need to examine the effects of saltwater intrusion on coastal communities. Using 16S Illumina profiling, we characterized the communities of baldcypress tree (Taxodium distichum) root endosphere and rhizosphere soil bacteria. Our study utilized established sites along salinity and...
Lumibao, Candice Y; Kimbrough, Elizabeth; Formel, Steven; Day, Richard; From, Andrew; Conner, William H.; Krauss, Ken; Van Bael, Sunshine A A comparative phylogeographic approach to facilitate recovery of an imperiled freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionida: Potamilus inflatus)
North American freshwaters are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems, and freshwater mussels are among the most imperiled inhabiting these systems. A critical aspect of conservation biology is delineating patterns of genetic diversity, which can be difficult when a taxon has been extirpated from a significant portion of its historical range...
Smith, Chase H.; Johnson, Nathan Wastewater-based epidemiology pilot study to examine drug use in the Western United States
The extent of prescription and illicit drug abuse in geographically isolated rural and micropolitan communities in the intermountain western United States (US) has not been well tracked. The goal of this pilot study was to accurately measure drug dose consumption rates (DCR) between two select populations, normalize the data and compare the DCRs...
Bishop, Nicholas; Jones-Lepp, Tammy; Margetts, Miranda; Sykes, Jordan; Alvarez, David; Keil, Deborah Comparative phylogenomics reveal complex evolution of life history strategies in a clade of bivalves with parasitic larvae (Bivalvia: Unionoida: Ambleminae)
Freshwater mussels are a species‐rich group with biodiversity patterns strongly shaped by a life history strategy that includes an obligate parasitic larval stage. In this study, we set out to reconstruct the life history evolution and systematics in a clade of freshwater mussels adapted to parasitizing a molluscivorous host fish. Anchored hybrid...
Smith, Chase H.; Pfeiffer, John M.; Johnson, Nathan Preserving connectivity under climate and land-use change: No one-size-fits-all approach for focal species in similar habitats
Habitat connectivity is essential for maintaining populations of wildlife species, especially as climate changes. Knowledge about the fate of existing habitat networks in a changing climate and in light of land-use change is critical for determining which types of conservation actions must be taken to maintain those networks. However, information...
Costanza, Jennifer K.; Watling, James I.; Sutherland, Ron; Belyea, Curtis; Dilkina, Bistra; Cayton, Heather; Bucklin, David N.; Romanach, Stephanie; Haddad, Nick M. Using NASA Earth observations and Google Earth Engine to map winter cover crop conservation performance in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Winter cover crops such as barley, rye, and wheat help to improve soil structure by increasing porosity, aggregate stability, and organic matter, while reducing the loss of agricultural nutrients and sediments into waterways. The environmental performance of cover crops is affected by choice of species, planting date, planting method, nutrient...
Thieme, Alison; Yadav, Sunita; Oddo, Perry C.; Fitz, John M.; McCartney, Sean; King, LeeAnn; Keppler, Jason; McCarty, Gregory W.; Hively, W. Dean Beloniformes: Belonidae (Needlefishes) and Hemiramphidae (Halfbeaks)
The order Beloniformes (or Synentognathi) contains two suborders, six families, 37 genera, and about 235 species of atherinomorph fishes (Rosen & Parenti 1981; Collette et al. 1984; Collette 2004). Features common to these fishes include dorsal and anal fins on the rear half of the body, abdominal pelvic fins with six soft rays, no fin spines...
Bruce B. Collette; Walsh, Stephen Methods to quality assure, plot, summarize, interpolate, and extend groundwater-level information—Examples for the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer
Large-scale computational investigations of groundwater levels are proposed to accelerate science delivery through a workflow spanning database assembly, statistics, and information synthesis and packaging. A water-availability study of the Mississippi River alluvial plain, and particularly the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer (MRVA), is...
Asquith, William H.; Seanor, Ronald C.; McGuire, Virginia L.; Kress, Wade Space use and relative habitat selection for immature green turtles within a Caribbean marine protected area
Background A better understanding of sea turtle spatial ecology is critical for the continued conservation of imperiled sea turtles and their habitats. For resource managers to develop the most effective conservation strategies, it is especially important to examine how turtles use and select for habitats within their developmental foraging...
Griffin, Lucas P; Smith, Brian J.; Cherkiss, Michael; Crowder, Andrew; Pollock, Clayton G; Hillis-Starr, Zandy; Danylchuk, Andy J.; Hart, Kristen Urban stream syndrome and contaminant uptake in salamanders of Central Texas
We studied the ecological health of springs experiencing varying levels of urban development to assess impacts to rare endemic salamanders (Eurycea spp.) of Central Texas. We evaluated measures of invertebrate species richness, water quality, and contaminant uptake by salamanders to determine how springs and their inhabitants were being...
Diaz, Peter H.; Orsak, Erik L.; Weckerly, Floyd W.; Montagne, Mike A.; Alvarez, David
Pallid sturgeon free embryo at approximately 10 days post-hatch
Pallid sturgeon free embryo at approximately 10 days post-hatch, approximately 19-20 mm (about 0.77 of an inch) in length.
Newly hatched pallid sturgeon free embryos.
Pallid sturgeon free embryos on the day of hatch, approximately 8-9 mm (about 0.33 of an inch) in length.
Pallid sturgeon free embryo at approximately 2 days post-hatch
Pallid sturgeon free embryo at approximately 2 days post-hatch, approximately 11-12 mm (about 0.45 of an inch) in length.
Oaxaca Cave Sleeper is a newly discovered species
This Oaxaca Cave Sleeper is one of thirteen specimens collected from a cave beneath a reservoir on Mexico's Tonto River. It lacks eyes, is unpigmented, and has sensory adaptations characteristic of fish that live in total darkness. Thuis is the holotype, the example used to describe and name this newly identified species. Credit: Howard L. Jelks and Stephen J. Walsh, USGS
A laboratory specimen shows the cavefish's absence of eyes
A laboratory preparation of a Oaxaca Cave Sleeper specimen shows the absence of eyes in this newly identified cavefish species. Credit: Stephen J. Walsh, USGS
Farm in northeast Iowa
A corn farm in northeast Iowa. A new USGS report shows that drought periods followed by rainfall caused nitrate levels to increase to the highest ever measured in some Midwest streams during a 2013 study.
Stan Musial bridge in St. Louis, Missouri
Photo of the Stan Musial bridge in St. Louis, Missouri.
A new assessment of channel bed erosion near 13 highway bridges in the greater St. Louis, Missouri, area is now available in an online report from the U.S. Geological Survey, produced in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Transportation.
View of Old Mans Creek near Iowa City, Iowa
View of Old Mans Creek near Iowa City, Iowa upstream from a bridge used for collecting water-quality samples (USGS Site ID: 05455100). This site was part of the sampling network for the first reconnaissance study to assess
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WRP Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana
Wetlands Reserve Program site in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. Ten years ago, this landowner worked with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service through the Wetlands Reserve Program to design and construct this slough as part of a plan to restore this field’s natural wetland hydrology.
WRP Morehouse Parish, Louisiana
Wetlands Reserve Program site in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana. Green tree frogs rest on a Wetlands Reserve Program easement boundary sign in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Southeast Ecological Science Center in Gainesville and the National Wetlands Research Center in Lafayette, Louisiana will merge under the same leadership effective October 1, 2015.
Fish exposed to the endocrine-disrupting chemicals bisphenol A (BPA) or 17a-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in a laboratory have been found to pass adverse reproductive effects onto their offspring up to three generations later, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Missouri.
Newly released US Topo maps for Missouri now feature selected trails and other substantial updates. The data for the trails is provided to the USGS through a nation-wide “crowdsourcing” project managed by the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA).
BOZEMAN – Pallid sturgeon come from a genetic line that has lived on this planet for tens of millions of years; yet it has been decades since anyone has documented any of the enormous fish successfully producing young that survive to adulthood in the upper Missouri River basin.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s South Central Climate Science Center is awarding nearly $550,000 to universities and other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s Northeast Climate Science Center (NE CSC) is awarding nearly $700,000 to universities and other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s Southeast Climate Science Center is awarding nearly $150,000 to its host university and other partners for research to guide managers of parks, refuges and other cultural and natural resources in planning how to help species and ecosystems adapt to climate change.
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced today that Interior’s North Central Climate Science Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, is awarding nearly $400,000 to universities and other partners.
As part of the continued US Topo maps revision and improvement cycle, the USGS will be including mountain bike trails to upcoming quadrangles on a state-aligned basis.
The bear species nicknamed “teddy” more than a century ago that inspired the iconic stuffed toy still popular today will likely survive at least another century, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.
Nesting loggerhead sea turtles in the northern Gulf of Mexico feed among areas that were oiled by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill and where human activities occur, several of which are known to pose threats to sea turtles, a new U.S Geological study showed.
The U.S. Virgin Islands are now available for structure updates with The National Map Corps crowd-sourcing volunteers
Contacts
Locations
Region 4: Mississippi Basin
Fork Polk Project Office
Phone: (337) 531-4522 Fax:
Fax: (337) 531-6039
Louisiana Water Science Center
Phone: (225) 298-5481
Fax: (225) 298-5490
Arkansas Water Science Center
Phone: (501) 228-3600
Fax: (501) 228-3601
Ruston Program Office
Phone: (318) 251-9630
Fax: (318) 251-0372
Missouri Water Science Center
Phone: 573-308-3667
Fax: (573) 308-3645
National Geospatial Technical Operations Center - Rolla, MO
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Little Rock, AR Office
Phone: (501) 228-3600
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Jackson, MS Office
Phone: (601) 933-2900
Fax: (601) 933-2901
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Baton Rouge, LA Office
Phone: (225) 298-5481
Fax: (225) 298-5490
Wetland and Aquatic Research Center - Lafayette, LA
Phone: 337-266-8500
Fax: 337-266-8513
Columbia Environmental Research Center
Phone: 573-875-5399
Iowa Water Science Center
Phone: 319-337-4191
Fax: (319) 358-3606
Western Iowa Field Office - Council Bluffs
Phone: 712-323-0824
Fax: 712-322-7775
Central Iowa Field Office - Fort Dodge
Phone: 515-576-4571
Fax: 515-576-1692
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Ruston, LA Office
Phone: (318) 251-9630
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Fayetteville, AR Office
Phone: (479) 442-4888
Western Missouri Field Office - Lee's Summit
Phone: 816-554-3489
Fax: 816-554-9273
Eastern Missouri - Olivette
Phone: 314-567-7077 or 314-567-5440
Fax: 314-567-7641
