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At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
USGS2019

Ecosystem processes, landcover, climate, and human settlement shape dynamic distributions for golden eagle across the western US

Species–environment relationships for highly mobile species outside of the breeding season are often highly dynamic in response to the collective effects of ever‐changing climatic conditions, food resources, and anthropogenic disturbance. Capturing dynamic space‐use patterns in a model‐based framework is critical as model inference often drives place‐based conservation planning. We applied dynamic occupancy models to broad‐scale golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos survey data collected annually from 2006 to 2012 during the late summer post‐fledging period in the western US. We defined survey sites as 10 km transect segments with a 1 km buffer on either transect side ( n = 3540). Derived estimates of occupancy were low (4.4–7.9%) and turnover rates – the probability that occupied sites were newly occupied – were high (88–94%), demonstrating that annual transiency in occupancy dominates late summer behavior for golden eagles. Despite low philopatry during late summer, variation in golden eagle occupancy could be explained by a suite of land cover and annual‐varying covariates including gross primary productivity, drought severity, and human disturbance. Our summary of 13 years of predicted occupancy by golden eagles across the western United States identified areas that are consistently used and that may contribute significantly to golden eagle conservation. Restricting development and targeting mitigation efforts in these areas offers practitioners a framework for conservation prioritization.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New↗
USGS2018

Monitoring mountains in a changing world: New horizons for the Global Network for Observations and Information on Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME)

Mountains are globally distributed environments that provide significant societal benefits, a function that is increasingly compromised by climatic change, environmental stress, political and socioeconomic transformations, and unsustainable use of natural resources. Gaps in our understanding of these processes and their interactions limit our capacity to inform decisions, where both generalities of mountain regions (eg climate processes) and specificities (eg context-specific manifestations of climate risks) matter. The Global Network for Observations and Information on Mountain Environments (GEO-GNOME), a Group on Earth Observations initiative, aims to fill these gaps through accessible Earth Observation (EO) as well as in-situ data and information on global change drivers, conditions, and trends. A workshop convened by the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) revised GEO-GNOME's work plan, galvanizing a network that promotes relevant monitoring of global change in mountains and is responsive to the integrated knowledge needs of policy, research, and management.

Mountain Research and Development↗
USGS2022

Urban landcover differentially drives day and nighttime air temperature across a semi-arid city

Semi-arid urban environments are undergoing an increase in both average air temperatures and in the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. Within cities, different composition and densities of urban landcovers (ULC) influence local air temperatures, either mitigating or increasing heat. Currently, understanding how combinations of ULC influence air temperature at the block to neighborhood scale is necessary for heat mitigation plans, and yet limited due to the complexities integrating high-resolution ULC with spatial and temporally high-resolution microclimate data. We quantify how ULC influences air temperature at 60 m resolution for day and nighttime climate normals and extreme heat conditions by integrating microclimate sensor data sensor and high-resolution (1 m 2 ) ULC for Denver, Colorado's urban core. We derive ULC drivers of air temperature using a structural equation model, then use a random forest algorithm to predict air temperatures for 30-year climate normals and an extreme heat condition. We find that, in conjunction with other ULC, urban tree canopy reduces daytime air temperatures (−0.026 °C per % cover), and the combination of impervious surfaces and buildings increases daytime air temperature (0.021 °C per % cover). Compared to daytime hours, nighttime irrigated turf temperature cooling effects are increased from being non-significant to −0.022 °C per % cover, while tree canopy effects are reduced from −0.026 °C during the day to −0.016 °C at night. Overall, ULC drives ~17% and 25% of local air temperature during the day and night, respectively. ULC influence on daytime air temperatures is altered in extreme heat events, both depending on the ULC type and time of day. Our findings inform urban planners seeking to identify potential hot and cool spots within a semi-arid city and mitigate high urban air temperatures through using ULC within larger urban climate mitigation strategies.

Colorado↗
USGS2017

Landscape capability models as a tool to predict fine-scale forest bird occupancy and abundance

Context Species-specific models of landscape capability (LC) can inform landscape conservation design. Landscape capability is “the ability of the landscape to provide the environment […] and the local resources […] needed for survival and reproduction […] in sufficient quantity, quality and accessibility to meet the life history requirements of individuals and local populations.” Landscape capability incorporates species’ life histories, ecologies, and distributions to model habitat for current and future landscapes and climates as a proactive strategy for conservation planning. Objectives We tested the ability of a set of LC models to explain variation in point occupancy and abundance for seven bird species representative of spruce-fir, mixed conifer-hardwood, and riparian and wooded wetland macrohabitats. Methods We compiled point count data sets used for biological inventory, species monitoring, and field studies across the northeastern United States to create an independent validation data set. Our validation explicitly accounted for underestimation in validation data using joint distance and time removal sampling. Results Blackpoll warbler ( Setophaga striata ), wood thrush ( Hylocichla mustelina ), and Louisiana ( Parkesia motacilla ) and northern waterthrush ( P. noveboracensis ) models were validated as predicting variation in abundance, although this varied from not biologically meaningful (1%) to strongly meaningful (59%). We verified all seven species models [including ovenbird ( Seiurus aurocapilla ), blackburnian ( Setophaga fusca ) and cerulean warbler ( Setophaga cerulea )], as all were positively related to occupancy data. Conclusions LC models represent a useful tool for conservation planning owing to their predictive ability over a regional extent. As improved remote-sensed data become available, LC layers are updated, which will improve predictions.

Landscape Ecology↗
USGS2025

Potential risks of vegetation treatments to introduce and increase invasive annual grasses in rangelands of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota— A science synthesis to inform National Environmental Policy Act analyses

The U.S. Geological Survey is working with Federal land management agencies to develop a series of planned structured science syntheses to support environmental effects analyses that agencies conduct under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This report synthesizes science information relevant to environmental effects analyses concerned with potential increases in the distribution and abundance of invasive annual grasses (IAGs) from proposed vegetation treatments for habitat restoration. The focal environments for this synthesis are rangelands in the intermontane valleys of Montana and the northern Great Plains of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The synthesis is organized to align with the standard elements of NEPA analyses and provides information on relevant scientific studies, data availability, analysis methods, and mitigation measures. We found that the likelihood of increasing IAGs from vegetation treatments depends on treatment type and environmental context. In sagebrush ecosystems of the focal region, prescribed fire often reduces or does not increase IAGs. Treatments that cause soil disturbances, such as mechanical removals of sagebrush or firebreak constructions, are more likely to increase IAGs than other treatments. Herbicides applied to reduce sagebrush cover have not increased the proportion of IAGs in the plant community. Temperature and precipitation have been strong factors in determining IAG responses to vegetation treatments in sagebrush ecosystems of the focal region, where more precipitation in spring and summer likely provides a competitive edge to native, perennial grasses more than winter annual grasses like Bromus tectorum L. (cheatgrass). In grasslands, prescribed fire often reduces IAGs, but effects depend on the abundance of native species and are often short lived. Mowing can increase or decrease IAGs in grassland ecosystems. Grassland site conditions, such as southeast-facing slopes, sandier or rockier sites, or lower native species cover or richness affect the likelihood of invasion by annual grasses. Maintaining adequate cover of perennial vegetation creates rangelands that are resistant and resilient to annual grass invasions. Managers can minimize invasion potential by focusing on treatment type, placement, and seasonal timing. Herbicides also can provide effective mitigation, especially in combination with other controls such as prescribed fire or grazing. This report can be incorporated by reference in NEPA documentation, included in a project record, or provide a general reference for understanding and identifying literature about increases in IAGs associated with vegetation treatments in rangelands in this focal region.

Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota↗
USGS2016

Complementary approaches to diagnosing marine diseases: a union of the modern and the classic

Linking marine epizootics to a specific aetiology is notoriously difficult. Recent diagnostic successes show that marine disease diagnosis requires both modern, cutting-edge technology (e.g. metagenomics, quantitative real-time PCR) and more classic methods (e.g. transect surveys, histopathology and cell culture). Here, we discuss how this combination of traditional and modern approaches is necessary for rapid and accurate identification of marine diseases, and emphasize how sole reliance on any one technology or technique may lead disease investigations astray. We present diagnostic approaches at different scales, from the macro (environment, community, population and organismal scales) to the micro (tissue, organ, cell and genomic scales). We use disease case studies from a broad range of taxa to illustrate diagnostic successes from combining traditional and modern diagnostic methods. Finally, we recognize the need for increased capacity of centralized databases, networks, data repositories and contingency plans for diagnosis and management of marine disease.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B:↗
USGS2013

Economic vulnerability to sea-level rise along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast

The northern Gulf of Mexico coast of the United States has been identified as highly vulnerable to sea-level rise, based on a combination of physical and societal factors. Vulnerability of human populations and infrastructure to projected increases in sea level is a critical area of uncertainty for communities in the extremely low-lying and flat northern gulf coastal zone. A rapidly growing population along some parts of the northern Gulf of Mexico coastline is further increasing the potential societal and economic impacts of projected sea-level rise in the region, where observed relative rise rates range from 0.75 to 9.95 mm per year on the Gulf coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. A 1-m elevation threshold was chosen as an inclusive designation of the coastal zone vulnerable to relative sea-level rise, because of uncertainty associated with sea-level rise projections. This study applies a Coastal Economic Vulnerability Index (CEVI) to the northern Gulf of Mexico region, which includes both physical and economic factors that contribute to societal risk of impacts from rising sea level. The economic variables incorporated in the CEVI include human population, urban land cover, economic value of key types of infrastructure, and residential and commercial building values. The variables are standardized and combined to produce a quantitative index value for each 1-km coastal segment, highlighting areas where human populations and the built environment are most at risk. This information can be used by coastal managers as they allocate limited resources for ecosystem restoration, beach nourishment, and coastal-protection infrastructure. The study indicates a large amount of variability in index values along the northern Gulf of Mexico coastline, and highlights areas where long-term planning to enhance resiliency is particularly needed.

Alabama;Florida;Louisiana;Mississippi;Texas↗
USGS2000

Interim report on the scientific investigations in the Animas River watershed, Colorado to facilitate remediation decisions by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, March 29, 2000 meeting, Denver, Colo.

INTRODUCTION The joint U.S. Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative (AMLI) was developed as a collaborative effort between the Federal land management agencies (FLMA, that is the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 1996. The stated goal of the AML Initiative was to develop a strategy for gathering and communicating the scientific information needed to develop effective and cost-efficient remediation of abandoned mines within the framework of a watershed. Four primary objectives of the AMLI are to: 1. Provide the scientific information needed (in the short-term) by the FLMAs to make decisions related to the design and implementation of cleanup actions, 2. Develop a multi-disciplined, multi-division approach that integrates geologic, hydrologic, geochemical and ecological information into a knowledge base for sound decision making, 3. Transfer technologies developed within the scientific programs of the USGS to the field and demonstrate their suitability to solve real, practical problems, and 4. Establish working relationships among involved members of land management and regulatory agencies within the framework of a watershed approach to the cleanup of abandoned mines. Long-term process-based research, including development of analytical tools, is recognized as being critical to the long-term success in remediating watersheds impacted by historical mining activities (AML 5-year plan, http://amli.usgs.gov/amli). In a meeting of Federal agencies (U.S. Bureau of Land Management [BLM], U.S. Bureau of Reclamation [BOR], U.S. National Park Service [NPS], U.S. Forest Service [USFS], the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [F&WS]), and State agencies (Colorado Division of Public Health and Environment, Colorado Division of Mines and Geology), several watersheds were examined within the state whose water quality was presumed to be impacted by historical mining activities. The Animas River watershed (fig. 1) was selected by the State and Federal agencies as one of two watersheds in the U.S. to be studied in detail by the USGS in the AML Initiative. Beginning in October 1997, each of the four Divisions of the USGS (Water Resources, Geologic, Biological Resources, and National Mapping) initiated a collaborative integrated science study of the watershed. Funds were provided from USGS base funding to each of the four Divisions in response to the priorities set by Congressional action and within the flexibility provided by the budgetary framework funding individual research programs. The AML Initiative provides for a five-year focused scientific effort in the two watersheds with final synthesis of the scientific results from each to be published in 2001. Publications are released on the AML web site on a regular basis (http://amli.usgs.gov/amli). On March 29, 2000, the USGS hosted a meeting for the BLM and USFS to discuss remediation options that were under consideration for the summer of 2000. The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the scientific rational provided by the USGS to meet objective one above, and to summarize our preliminary interpretations of our data. Additional information from sites on private lands have been collected by the State of Colorado, EPA, and the ARSG. Unfortunately, these data have not been fully supplied to the USGS so our conclusions are based only upon our data. These interpretations provide science-based constraints on possible remediation options to be considered by the FLMA, the State, and local property owners in the Animas River watershed. The report is presented in outline format to facilitate discussion of remediation options at the March 29, 2000 meeting. Not all historical mining sites within the watershed are on public lands. This should not be construed to be a final report of the USGS

Denver↗
USGS2010

Spatial and stage-structured population model of the American crocodile for comparison of comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) alternatives

As part of the U.S. Geological Survey Priority Ecosystems Science (PES) initiative to provide the ecological science required during Everglades restoration, we have integrated current regional hydrologic models with American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) research and monitoring data to create a model that assesses the potential impact of Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) efforts on the American crocodile. A list of indicators was created by the Restoration Coordination and Verification (RECOVER) component of CERP to help determine the success of interim restoration goals. The American crocodile was established as an indicator of the ecological condition of mangrove estuaries due to its reliance upon estuarine environments characterized by low salinity and adequate freshwater inflow. To gain a better understanding of the potential impact of CERP restoration efforts on the American crocodile, a spatially explicit crocodile population model has been created that has the ability to simulate the response of crocodiles to various management strategies for the South Florida ecosystem. The crocodile model uses output from the Tides and Inflows in the Mangroves of the Everglades (TIME) model, an application of the Flow and Transport in a Linked Overland/Aquifer Density Dependent System (FTLOADDS) simulator. TIME has the capability to link to the South Florida Water Management Model (SFWMM), which is the primary regional tool used to assess CERP restoration scenarios. A crocodile habitat suitability index and spatial parameter maps that reflect salinity, water depth, habitat, and nesting locations are used as driving functions to construct crocodile finite rate of increase maps under different management scenarios. Local stage-structured models are integrated with a spatial landscape grid to display crocodile movement behavior in response to changing environmental conditions. Restoration efforts are expected to affect salinity levels throughout the habitat of the American crocodile. This modeling effort examines how CERP restoration alternatives will affect growth and survival rates of hatchling and juvenile crocodiles, hatchling dispersal to suitable nursery habitat, and relative abundance and distribution in response to changing salinity and water depth for all stage classes of crocodiles. The response of the American crocodile to restoration efforts will provide a quantifiable measure of restoration success. By applying the crocodile model to proposed restoration alternatives and predicting population responses, we can choose alternatives that approximate historical conditions, enhance habitat for multiple species, and identify future research needs.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2001

Coastline complexity: A parameter for functional classification of coastal environments

To understand the role of the world's coastal zone (CZ) in global biogeochemical fluxes (particularly those of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments) we must generalise from a limited number of observations associated with a few well-studied coastal systems to the global scale. Global generalisation must be based on globally available data and on robust techniques for classification and upscaling. These requirements impose severe constraints on the set of variables that can be used to extract information about local CZ functions such as advective and metabolic fluxes, and differences resulting from changes in biotic communities. Coastal complexity (plan-view tortuosity of the coastline) is a potentially useful parameter, since it interacts strongly with both marine and terrestrial forcing functions to determine coastal energy regimes and water residence times, and since 'open' vs. 'sheltered' categories are important components of most coastal habitat classification schemes. This study employs the World Vector Shoreline (WVS) dataset, originally developed at a scale of 1:250 000. Coastline complexity measures are generated using a modification of the Angle Measurement Technique (AMT), in which the basic measurement is the angle between two lines of specified length drawn from a selected point to the closest points of intersection with the coastline. Repetition of these measurements for different lengths at the same point yields a distribution of angles descriptive of the extent and scale of complexity in the vicinity of that point; repetition of the process at different points on the coast provides a basis for comparing both the extent and the characteristic scale of coastline variation along different reaches of the coast. The coast of northwestern Mexico (Baja California and the Gulf of California) was used as a case study for initial development and testing of the method. The characteristic angle distribution plots generated by the AMT analysis were clustered using LOICZVIEW, a high dimensionality clustering routine developed for large-scale coastal classification studies. The results show distinctive differences in coastal environments that have the potential for interpretation in terms of both biotic and hydrogeochemical environments, and that can be related to the resolution limits and uncertainties of the shoreline data used. These objective, quantitative measures of coastal complexity as a function of scale can be further developed and combined with other data sets to provide a key component of functional classification of coastal environments. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2010

An automated approach for reconstructing recent forest disturbance history using dense Landsat time series stacks

A highly automated algorithm called vegetation change tracker (VCT) has been developed for reconstructing recent forest disturbance history using Landsat time series stacks (LTSS). This algorithm is based on the spectral–temporal properties of land cover and forest change processes, and requires little or no fine tuning for most forests with closed or near close canopy cover. It was found very efficient, taking 2–3 h on average to analyze an LTSS consisting of 12 or more Landsat images using an average desktop PC. This LTSS-VCT approach has been used to examine disturbance patterns with a biennial temporal interval from 1984 to 2006 for many locations across the conterminous U.S. Accuracy assessment over 6 validation sites revealed that overall accuracies of around 80% were achieved for disturbances mapped at individual year level. Average user's and producer's accuracies of the disturbance classes were around 70% and 60% in 5 of the 6 sites, respectively, suggesting that although forest disturbances were typically rare as compared with no-change classes, on average the VCT detected more than half of those disturbances with relatively low levels of false alarms. Field assessment revealed that VCT was able to detect most stand clearing disturbance events, including harvest, fire, and urban development, while some non-stand clearing events such as thinning and selective logging were also mapped in western U.S. The applicability of the LTSS-VCT approach depends on the availability of a temporally adequate supply of Landsat imagery. To ensure that forest disturbance records can be developed continuously in the future, it is necessary to plan and develop observational capabilities today that will allow continuous acquisition of frequent Landsat or Landsat-like observations.

Remote Sensing of Environment↗
USGS2012

Science implementation of Forecast Mekong for food and environmental security

Forecast Mekong is a significant international thrust under the Delta Research and Global Observation Network (DRAGON) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and was launched in 2009 by the U.S. Department of State and the Foreign Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam under U.S. Department of State Secretary Hillary R. Clinton's Lower Mekong Initiative to enhance U.S. engagement with countries of the Lower Mekong River Basin in the areas of environment, health, education, and infrastructure. Since 2009, the USGS has worked closely with the U.S. Department of State; personnel from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam; nongovernmental organizations; and academia to collect and use research and data from the Lower Mekong River Basin to provide hands-on results that will help decisionmakers in future planning and design for restoration, conservation, and management efforts in the Lower Mekong River Basin. In 2012 Forecast Mekong is highlighting the increasing cooperation between the United States and Lower Mekong River Basin countries in the areas of food and environmental security. Under the DRAGON, Forecast Mekong continues work in interactive data integration, modeling, and visualization system by initiating three-dimensional bathymetry and river flow data along with a pilot study of fish distribution, population, and migratory patterns in the Lower Mekong River Basin. When fully developed by the USGS, in partnership with local governments and universities throughout the Mekong River region, Forecast Mekong will provide valuable planning tools to visualize the consequences of climate change and river management.

Phnom Penh↗
USGS2025

Mapping potential sensitivity to hydrogeomorphic change in the UMRS riverscape

In 2020 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program, began a new project to characterize potential hydrogeomorphic change associated with hydrogeomorphic units (HGUs) and their catenae (units linked by their association with sediment sources and flow origins). The goal of the project was to develop a geographic information system (GIS) database of HGUs for the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS) available to both scientists and river managers working on UMRR studies and HREP planning and design studies. The characterization was based on a hydrogeomorphic change hierarchical classification developed previously for the UMRS. The products were generated with automated techniques in a GIS using systemic datasets. Landforms were mapped from the 2015 UMRS topobathymetric dataset with geomorphon (shape-based) tools tailored for the large riverscape, valley bottom environments in the UMRS. A clustering analysis was applied to the resulting landforms to identify HGUs associated with zones of perennial low flows, bankfull flows, and overbank floodplains. Catenae were assembled based on the proximity of the units to the main channel, tributary mouths, and side channels from previously published aquatic areas (USACE, 2018) coupled with least-cost flowpath linkages between potential sediment origins and planform change units developed by Rogala, Fitzpatrick, and Henderson (2020). These GIS-based analyses were successful at identifying a range of HGUs using an automated technique with available data across the entire riverscape, with emphasis on those that have the potential for hydrogeomorphic change. Most of the resulting features are depositional, as expected in a large river system. However, this is the first attempt of linking tributary inputs, side channel erosion and levee breaches with their depositional counterparts. The approach was successfully piloted in Pools 8 and 10 in the Upper Impounded Reach and Pool 14 in the Lower Impounded Reach, with next steps for application in reaches of the unimpounded section and Illinois River. This report emphasizes results from Pool 10, which was the focus of most of our attention during the pilot phase.

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Sout↗
USGS2020

What to do when invaders are out of control?

Biological invasions threaten species and ecosystems worldwide. Impacts from invasions are especially prevalent in freshwaters, where managers have struggled to contain the problem. Conventional approaches to managing invaders focus on prevention and control. In practice, these measures have proven to be variably effective. Control or eradication of established invaders is particularly difficult and, even if ecologically feasible, it may not be socially desirable. Here we propose a new alternative to managing invasive species: managing impact modifiers (MIM). The MIM approach focuses on managing impacts, rather than controlling the invader directly. We reviewed the literature for the world's worst invasive fishes in freshwaters to show there is strong evidence to support the potential for MIM as an effective means of managing impacts of invasions. This included evidence pointing to characteristics of the environment or species themselves that modify impacts of invasions. Detail of three case studies reinforces the potential for MIM as a viable option. Although MIM appears promising, effective application could involve significant investment in an information gathering phase to identify impact modifiers and the means to manage them. Accordingly, MIM is best incorporated into management plans that include a strong learning or adaptive component. Ultimately, MIM may be one of the only viable alternatives for managing invasive species that are truly out of control.

WIREs Water↗
USGS2023

Development of a Surface-Water Index of Permanence to assess surface-water availability for ecohydrological refugia

Surface-water availability has major implications for the environment and society in the 21st century. With climate change, increased drought severity, and altered water and land use, future water availability is predicted to continue to decline in many areas, including much of the western United States. An understanding of where and when water will be available at multiple scales is crucial for the planning and management of wildlife health, recreation, and energy development. Currently, indices describing water presence and permanence exist for specific surface-water components (for example, streams and wetlands); however, a general surface-water permanence index that includes all major surface-water components is lacking. Developing a Surface-Water Index of Permanence can provide a reliable metric to understand future river reach- to region-scale surface-water permanence and availability and inform land management and policy decisions.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS1980

Geohydrology of southwestern Kansas

Southwestern Kansas is one of the principal areas of ground-water development for irrigation in the State, and many reports are available concerning ground-water conditions in the area. The purposes of this investigation were to consolidate and update data, to determine the extent and effects of irrigation development on the ground-water resource, to determine the chemical quality of the ground water in relation to irrigation use, to describe the general operation of the hydrologic system, and to identify problem areas where intensive quantitative studies will be needed by State and local agencies for planning and management of the resource. This study began in 1972 as part of a cooperative program of ground-water investigations between the Kansas Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey. Support in this study was provided by the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas State Board of Agriculture and the Division of Environment of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Kansas↗
USGS2020

Statistical methods in water resources

This text began as a collection of class notes for a course on applied statistical methods for hydrologists taught at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Training Center. Course material was formalized and organized into a textbook, first published in 1992 by Elsevier as part of their Studies in Environmental Science series. In 2002, the work was made available online as a USGS report. The text has now been updated as a USGS Techniques and Methods Report. It is intended to be a text in applied statistics for hydrology, environmental science, environmental engineering, geology, or biology that addresses distinctive features of environmental data. For example, water resources data tend to have many variables with a lower bound of zero, tend to be more skewed than data from many other disciplines, commonly contain censored data (less than values), and assumptions that the data are normally distributed are not appropriate. Computer-intensive methods (bootstrapping and permutation tests) now improve upon and replace the dependence on t-intervals, t-tests, and analysis of variance. A new chapter on sampling design addresses questions such as “How many observations do I need?” The chapter also presents distribution-free methods to help plan sampling efforts. The trends chapter has been updated to include the WRTDS (Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season) method for analysis of water-quality data. This new version contains updated graphics and updated guidance on the use of statistical techniques. The text utilizes R, a programming language and open-source software environment, for all exercises and most graphics, and the R code used to generate figures and examples is provided for download.

Techniques and Methods↗
USGS2020

Managing climate refugia for freshwater fishes under an expanding human footprint

Within the context of climate adaptation, the concept of climate refugia has emerged as a framework for addressing future threats to freshwater fish populations. We evaluated recent climate‐refugia management associated with water use and landscape modification by comparing efforts in the US states of Oregon and Massachusetts, for which there are contrasting resource use patterns. Using these examples, we discuss tools and principles that can be applied more broadly. Although many early efforts to identify climate refugia have focused on water temperature, substantial gains in evaluating other factors and processes regulating climate refugia (eg stream flow, groundwater availability) are facilitating refined mapping of refugia and assessment of their ecological value. Major challenges remain for incorporating climate refugia into water‐quality standards, evaluating trade‐offs among policy options, addressing multiple species’ needs, and planning for uncertainty. However, with a procedurally transparent and conceptually sound framework to build upon, recent efforts have revealed a promising path forward.

Massachusetts, Oregon↗