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At least 595 records · Page 33Linked to original sources
USGS2013

Population ecology of variegate darter (Etheostoma variatum) in Virginia

Variegate darters ( Etheostoma variatum ) were listed as endangered in Virginia in 1992. Reasons for listing included habitat degradation and concerns about current and future impacts of coal mining throughout their Virginia range. Prior to this research, little was known about variegate darter distribution, habitat use, or populations in Virginia. Two primary goals of this research were to gain knowledge about the current population ecology and the relationship between landscape-level factors (e.g., land cover changes, watershed size, isolation from other populations) on current and past variegate darter population sizes. We investigated distribution, habitat suitability, population genetics, and population size and structure of variegate darters in the upper Big Sandy River drainage, Buchanan, Dickenson, and Wise Co., Virginia. Our results indicate variegate darters are primarily found in the Levisa Fork, with highest densities and abundances between its confluence with Dismal Creek and the Virginia-Kentucky border. Sporadic occurrences in smaller tributaries to the Levisa and Tug forks indicate they exist more widely in low densities, especially near the confluence with the Tug and Levisa mainstems. Detection of variegate darters in smaller tributaries was inconsistent, with reach-level occupancy estimates varying among years. We detected young-of-year variegate darters every year we sampled, but age 1 + darters were indistinguishable from older darters based on standard length. Variegate darter population size and stability in Virginia were estimated via multiple methods, including site occupancy surveys, mark-recapture studies, and population genetic analysis. Using mark-recapture methods at five sites, we estimated overall population size in 2011 to be approximately 12,800 individuals in the 35-km reach between the Levisa Fork - Dismal Creek confluence and the Virginia-Kentucky border. Age structure seemed stable, with breeding adults and young-of-year collected annually during 2008-2011. Population genetic analysis indicated variegate darters in the Levisa Fork and its tributaries are part of a single genetic population. Historical and current genetic stability were seen in our analysis of the variegate darter population, with no genetic differentiation among riffles across the upper Levisa Fork watershed, indicating dispersal among these sites is enough to overcome random genetic drift. This population is genetically isolated from downstream populations by the dam at Fishtrap Lake, Pike Co., Kentucky, and is beginning to show genetic isolation from other nearby populations. As expected, the Virginia population is most closely related to those in the Russell Fork and Levisa Fork downstream of the dam. Regular monitoring of variegate darters in the Levisa Fork mainstem from the Dismal Creek confluence to the Virginia-Kentucky border would facilitate better understanding of normal fluctuations of population size and distribution, as well as assessments of population status. This reach encompasses the core of the variegate darter population in Virginia, and its persistence will determine long-term viability of this species. Given that little is known about long-term population trends, we suggest that annual site-occupancy and population size estimates be made at ten randomly selected riffles for at least ten years to understand normal levels of variability. Thereafter, these population parameters could be monitored bi-annually as a way to detect shrinking distribution or abundance, especially after any fish kill or other pollution event in the Levisa Fork. We further suggest that the sites upstream and downstream of the saline diffusor pipe be monitored to detect changes in the extent of the impact zone. Overall, the variegate darter population in Virginia appears stable, although primarily confined to the lower 35 km of the Levisa Fork. Nevertheless, variegate darters in Virginia remain susceptible to extirpation due to catastrophic events, both physical (chemical spill) and biological (disease outbreak or invasive species introduction).

Virginia, West Virginia↗
USGS2025

Effects of nonmotorized recreation on ungulates in the western United States—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 science syntheses to support National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analyses. This report synthesizes science information about the potential effects of nonmotorized recreation on ungulates in the western United States. We conducted a structured literature search to find published science, data, and analysis methods about the characteristics of nonmotorized recreation, ungulate exposure and response to nonmotorized recreation, and approaches to mitigate negative effects of nonmotorized recreation on ungulates. The sections of the report align with standard elements of the NEPA analysis process. We found that timing, intensity, duration, and spatial distribution of nonmotorized recreation are important factors to understand when assessing effects of recreation on ungulates. Several aspects of ungulate biology, which vary by species, population, and individual, affect ungulate susceptibility to effects from recreation, including diet, migration and movement, and seasonal biology. Techniques for assessing effects include basic spatial analyses based on buffers around trails and recreation sites and more technical analytical methods based on displacement or avoidance of recreation sites. Options for mitigating negative effects of nonmotorized recreation on ungulates include timing and type-of-use restrictions, recreator education, and project design features to avoid human-ungulate conflicts. Public land managers can use this report by incorporating it by reference in NEPA analyses or as a general reference to find literature or identify gaps in the literature about the effects of noise from nonmotorized recreation on ungulates.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2015

National Park Service vegetation inventory program: Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, Minnesota

The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MISS) vegetation mapping project is an initiative of the National Park Service (NPS) Vegetation Inventory Program (VIP) to classify and map vegetation types of MISS. (Note: “MISS” is also referred to as “park” throughout this report.) The goals of the project are to adequately describe and map vegetation types of the park and to provide the NPS Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program, resource managers, and biological researchers with useful baseline vegetation information. The MISS vegetation mapping project was officially started in spring 2012, with a scoping meeting wherein partners discussed project objectives, goals, and methods. Major collaborators at this meeting included staff from the NPS MISS, the NPS Great Lakes Network (GLKN), NatureServe, and the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was also in attendance. Common to all NPS VIP projects, the three main components of the MISS vegetation mapping project are as follows: (1) vegetation classification, (2) vegetation mapping, and (3) map accuracy assessment (AA). In this report, each of these fundamental components is discussed in detail. With the completion of the MISS vegetation mapping project, all nine park units within the NPS GLKN have received vegetation classification and mapping products from the NPS and USGS vegetation programs. Voyageurs National Park and Isle Royale National Park were completed during 1996–2001 (as program pilot projects) and another six park units were completed during 2004–11, including the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Grand Portage National Monument, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Natural Resource Report↗
USGS2010

Ecosystem health in mineralized terrane — Data from podiform chromite (Chinese Camp mining district, California), quartz alunite (Castle Peak and Masonic mining districts, Nevada/California), and Mo/Cu porphyry (Battle Mountain mining district, Nevada) deposits

The myriad definitions of soil/ecosystem quality or health are often driven by ecosystem and management concerns, and they typically focus on the ability of the soil to provide functions relating to biological productivity and/or environmental quality. A variety of attempts have been made to create indices that quantify the complexities of soil quality and provide a means of evaluating the impact of various natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Though not without their limitations, indices can improve our understanding of the controls behind ecosystem processes and allow for the distillation of information to help link scientific and management communities. In terrestrial systems, indices were initially developed and modified for agroecosystems; however, the number of studies implementing such indices in nonagricultural systems is growing. Soil quality indices (SQIs) are typically composed of biological (and sometimes physical and chemical) parameters that attempt to reduce the complexity of a system into a metric of a soil’s ability to carry out one or more functions. The indicators utilized in SQIs can be as varied as the studies themselves, reflecting the complexity of the soil and ecosystems in which they function. Regardless, effective soil quality indicators should correlate well with soil or ecosystem processes, integrate those properties and processes, and be relevant to management practices. Commonly applied biological indicators include measures associated with soil microbial activity or function (for example, carbon and nitrogen mineralization, respiration, microbial biomass, enzyme activity. Cost, accessibility, ease of interpretation, and presence of existing data often dictate indicator selection given the number of available measures. We employed a large number of soil biological, chemical, and physical measures, along with measures of vegetation cover, density, and productivity, in order to test the utility and sensitivity of these measures within various mineralized terranes. We were also interested in examining these relations in the context of determining appropriate reference conditions with which to compare reclamation efforts. The purpose of this report is to present the data used to develop indices of soil and ecosystem quality associated with mineralized terranes (areas enriched in metal-bearing minerals), specifically podiform chromite, quartz alunite, and Mo/Cu porphyry systems. Within each of these mineralized terranes, a nearby unmineralized counterpart was chosen for comparison. The data consist of soil biological, chemical, and physical parameters, along with vegetation measurements for each of the sites described below. Synthesis of these data and index development will be the subject of future publications.

California↗
USGS2014

Identifying non-point sources of endocrine active compounds and their biological impacts in freshwater lakes

Contaminants of emerging concern, particularly endocrine active compounds (EACs), have been identified as a threat to aquatic wildlife. However, little is known about the impact of EACs on lakes through groundwater from onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS). This study aims to identify specific contributions of OWTS to Sullivan Lake, Minnesota, USA. Lake hydrology, water chemistry, caged bluegill sunfish ( Lepomis macrochirus ), and larval fathead minnow ( Pimephales promelas ) exposures were used to assess whether EACs entered the lake through OWTS inflow and the resultant biological impact on fish. Study areas included two OWTS-influenced near-shore sites with native bluegill spawning habitats and two in-lake control sites without nearby EAC sources. Caged bluegill sunfish were analyzed for plasma vitellogenin concentrations, organosomatic indices, and histological pathologies. Surface and porewater was collected from each site and analyzed for EACs. Porewater was also collected for laboratory exposure of larval fathead minnow, before analysis of predator escape performance and gene expression profiles. Chemical analysis showed EACs present at low concentrations at each study site, whereas discrete variations were reported between sites and between summer and fall samplings. Body condition index and liver vacuolization of sunfish were found to differ among study sites as did gene expression in exposed larval fathead minnows. Interestingly, biological exposure data and water chemistry did not match. Therefore, although results highlight the potential impacts of seepage from OWTS, further investigation of mixture effects and life history factor as well as chemical fate is warranted.

Minnesota↗
USGS2012

An annotated bibliography for lamprey habitat in the White Salmon River, Washington

The October 2011 decommissioning of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River at river kilometer (rkm) 5.3 removed a significant fish passage barrier from the White Salmon River basin for the first time in nearly a century. This affords an opportunity to regain a potentially important drainage basin for Pacific lamprey ( Entosphenus tridentatus ) production. In anticipation of Pacific lamprey recolonization or reintroduction, aquatic resource managers, such as the Yakama Nation (YN), are planning to perform surveys in the White Salmon River and its tributaries. The likely survey objectives will be to investigate the presence of lamprey, habitat conditions, and habitat availability. In preparation for this work, a compilation and review of the relevant aquatic habitat and biological information on the White Salmon River was conducted. References specific to the White Salmon River were collected and an annotated bibliography was produced including reports containing: •Spatial information about where various habitat surveys or monitoring have occurred over the past 20 years; •Database information relevant to habitat attributes (for example, pools, riffles, or glides); •Riparian surveys along major tributary streams; •Water temperature and sediment information; •Lamprey surveys, observations, and collections; •Spawning gravel surveys; and •Surveys that inventory habitat degradation or other environmental factors that may limit potential future productivity of lamprey.

Washington↗
USGS2016

Groundwater science relevant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: A status report

When the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) was signed in 1972 by the Governments of Canada and the United States (the “Parties”) (Environment Canada, 2013a), groundwater was not recognized as important to the water quality of the Lakes. At that time, groundwater and surface water were still considered as two separate systems, with almost no appreciation for their interaction. When the GLWQA was revised in 1978 (US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 2012), groundwater contamination, such as that reported at legacy industrial sites such as those at Love Canal near the Niagara River, was squarely in the news. Consequently, the potential impacts of contaminated groundwater from such sites on Great Lakes water quality became a concern (Beck, 1979), and Annex 16 was added to the agreement, to address “pollution from contaminated groundwater” (Francis, 1989). However, no formal process for reporting under this annex was provided. The GLWQA Protocol in 1987 modified Annex 16 and called for progress reports beginning in 1988 (USEPA, 1988). The Protocol in 2012 provided a new Annex 8 to address groundwater more holistically (Environment 2 Canada, 2013b). Annex 8 (Environment Canada, 2013b) commits the Parties to coordinate groundwater science and management actions; as a first step, to “publish a report on the relevant and available groundwater science” by February 2015 (this report); and to “identify priorities for science activities and actions for groundwater management, protection, and remediation…” The broader mandate of Annex 8 is to (1) “identify groundwater impacts on the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the Waters of the Great Lakes;” (2) “analyze contaminants, including nutrients in groundwater, derived from both point and non-point sources impacting the Waters of the Great Lakes;” (3) “assess information gaps and science needs related to groundwater to protect the quality of the Waters of the Great Lakes;” and (4) “analyze other factors, such as climate change, that individually or cumulatively affect groundwater’s impact on the quality of the Waters of the Great Lakes.” A binational Annex 8 Subcommittee was formed to lead efforts to fulfill the mandate of this annex (members listed on p. i of this report). In turn, this subcommittee has recruited a task team to prepare this report (listed as authors of each chapter). This report addresses all of the above four objectives, based on a compilation of the “relevant and available groundwater science.” Specifically, the second objective (to “analyze contaminants”) is addressed by incorporating information obtained in ongoing monitoring and research activities conducted by the Parties, and by various other members of the Great Lakes Executive Committee.

Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, ↗