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At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources

USGS1984

Bias-elimination in fish population models with stochastic variation in survival of the young

The addition of random variation in survival to a single prereproductive age class in a Leslie matrix population model can alter population growth in the modeled system. Methods are presented to characterize the stochastic variation in survival and to determine a correction factor that, when included in the model, will eliminate the propensity for the modeled population to systematically deviate from the initial conditions. This ability is important for applications of fish population models that seek to evaluate probability distributions of population trends that are associated with stochastic variations in survival, and to forecast the effects of changes in fishing mortality rates in fluctuating environments.

Transactions of the American Fisheries Society↗

USGS2001

Marine recreation and public health microbiology: Quest for the ideal indicator

Four-fifths of the population of the United States live in close proximity to the oceans or Great Lakes, and approximately 100 million Americans use the marine environment for recreation each year ( Thurman 1994 ). Consequently, contamination of lakes, rivers, and coastal waters raises significant public health issues. Among the leading sources of chemical and biological contamination of these waters and associated beaches are sewer systems, septic tanks, stormwater runoff, industrial wastes, wastewater injection wells, cesspits, animal wastes, commercial and private boat wastes, and human recreation. In 1997, 649 beach closings or advisories were caused by sewage spills and overflows ( NRDC 1998 ). In Florida alone, approximately 500 million gallons of sewage were released along the coast each year during the late 1980s ( Neshyba 1987 ). Thus one of the primary concerns in public health is the risk that humans using the marine environment for recreational activities will encounter microbial pathogens.

BioScience↗

USGS2022

Idaho and Landsat

Idaho may be popular for potatoes, but the State’s richness also lies in its scenery and natural resources. Its terrain varies from mountains, rivers, and waterfalls to forests, volcanic rock, and hot springs. A growing population gives Idaho even more reason to use the best information available to serve the needs of its residents while wisely managing its environment and natural resources. Soon after the first Landsat satellite launched, Idaho recognized how useful its data could be. In 1975, the Idaho Department of Water Resources started using data from Landsat 1 and has since used data from every subsequent Landsat satellite. Here is a closer look at Landsat as a key tool for monitoring water, along with other examples of Landsat’s value to Idaho.

Idaho↗

USGS2008

A soil burn severity index for understanding soil-fire relations in tropical forests

Methods for evaluating the impact of fires within tropical forests are needed as fires become more frequent and human populations and demands on forests increase. Short- and long-term fire effects on soils are determined by the prefire, fire, and postfire environments. We placed these components within a fire-disturbance continuum to guide our literature synthesis and develop an integrated soil burn severity index. The soil burn severity index provides a set of indicators that reflect the range of conditions present after a fire. The index consists of seven levels, an unburned level and six other levels that describe a range of postfire soil conditions. We view this index as a tool for understanding the effects of fires on the forest floor, with the realization that as new information is gained, the index may be modified as warranted. ?? Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences 2008.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2026

Toxicity of 6PPD alternatives to salmonid cell lines

Stormwater runoff in urban areas introduces numerous anthropogenic chemicals into surrounding aquatic environments. One such chemical is 6PPD ( N -(1,3-Dimethylbutyl)- N ’-phenyl- p- phenylenediamine), the primary antidegradant responsible for protecting tire rubber from ozone-induced degradation and cracking. When exposed to ozone on the road surface 6PPD is transformed into the toxic transformation product 6PPD-quinone (6PPDQ). This compound is highly lethal to coho salmon ( O ncorhynchus kisutch ), and 24 hour 50% lethal concentrations (LC 50 ; 41-95 ng/L) are frequently detected in urban streams during stormwater runoff events 1-5 . The highest stream concentrations of 6PPDQ and most extensive coho salmon mortality occur in high-traffic urban areas, where tire wear particles accumulate due to the frequent braking and acceleration of cars 6 . In the Seattle area, some coho salmon-bearing streams can lose over 90% of returning females prior to spawning due to 6PPDQ-containing runoff 7 . Prespawn loss of this magnitude could result in the extinction of some urban spawning populations 8 . Importantly, the lethal effects of 6PPDQ have been observed in several other salmonid species, indicating that its impact may threaten fish health for urban aquatic environments globally 9-11 . The ubiquity of 6PPD in automobile tires, high toxicity of the transformation product 6PPDQ, and prevalence of 6PPD and 6PPDQ in environmental matrices has spurred investigations into alternative rubber antiozonants to replace 6PPD that retain tire performance while reducing ecological harm. A technical memorandum provided to the legislature by the Washington State Department of Ecology summarized a list of potential 6PPD alternatives requiring further study, including several structurally similar p-phenylenediamines (PPDs) 12 . However, the structural similarity of other PPDs to 6PPD and their known production of quinone transformation products 13 raises concerns that they may elicit similar toxic effects as 6PPDQ. Currently, investigations into the toxicity of proposed PPD alternatives or their ozonated transformation products in coho salmon are limited, representing a significant data gap in evaluating whether they offer improved environmental safety over 6PPD. This project investigated the toxicity of proposed alternative rubber antiozonants in vitro using immortalized cell lines derived from three salmonid species with known differences in sensitivity to 6PPDQ (coho salmon, Chinook salmon ( O. tshawytscha ), rainbow trout ( O. mykiss )) 1 . These immortalized cell lines replicate toxic responses observed in in vivo studies, while enabling higher-throughput testing and reducing the need for animal use and other resource-intensive procedures. The antiozonants and their transformation products selected for testing were chosen based on multiple criteria, including their inclusion in the Ecology technical memorandum, structural substitutions (e.g., branched/cyclic alkyl vs aryl substitutions), commercial availability, and input from the Washington State Department of Ecology and other industry experts.

Report↗

USGS1995

Seabirds in Alaska

About 100 million seabirds reside in marine waters of Alaska during some part of the year. Perhaps half this population is composed of 50 species of nonbreeding residents, visitors, and breeding species that use marine habitats only seasonally (Gould et al. 1982). Another 30 species include 40-60 million individuals that breed in Alaska and spend most of their lives in U.S. territorial waters (Sowls et al. 1978). Alaskan populations account for more than 95% of the breeding seabirds in the continental United States, and eight species nest nowhere else in North America (USFWS 1992). Seabird nest sites include rock ledges, open ground, underground burrows, and crevices in cliffs or talus. Seabirds take a variety of prey from the ocean, including krill, small fish, and squid. Suitable nest sites and oceanic prey are the most important factors controlling the natural distribution and abundance of seabirds. The impetus for seabird monitoring is based partly on public concern for the welfare of these birds, which are affected by a variety of human activities like oil pollution and commercial fishing. Equally important is the role seabirds serve as indicators of ecological change in the marine environment. Seabirds are long-lived and slow to mature, so parameters such as breeding success, diet, or survival rates often give earlier signals of changing environmental conditions that population size itself. Seabird survival data are of interest because they reflect conditions affecting seabirds in the nonbreeding season, when most annual mortality occurs. Techniques for monitoring seabird populations vary according to habitat types and the breeding behavior of individual species (Hatch and Hatch 1978, 1989; Byrd et al. 1983). An affordable monitoring program can include but a few of the 1,300 seabird colonies identified in Alaska, and since the mid-1970's, monitoring effotrts have emphasized a small selection of surface-feeding and diving species, primarily kittiwakes ( Rissa spp.) and murres ( Uria spp.). Little or no information on trends is available for other seabirds (Hatch 1993a). The existing monitoring program occurs largely on sites within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, which was established primarily for the conservation of marine birds. Data are collected by refuge staff, other state and federal agencies, private organizations, university faculty, and students.

Alaska↗

USGS1997

Late Pleistocene-Holocene cataclysmic eruptions at Nevado de Toluca and Jocotitlan volcanoes, central Mexico

This field guide describes a five day trip to examine deposits of Late Pleistocene-Holocene cataclysmic eruptions at Nevado de Toluca and Jocotitlan volcanoes in central Mexico. We will discuss the stratigraphy, petrology, and sedimentological characteristics of these deposits which provide insights into the eruptive history, type of volcanic activity, and transport and emplacement mechanisms of pyroclastic materials. These parameters will allow us to discuss the kinds of hazards and the risk that they pose to populations around these volcanoes. The area to be visited is tectonically complex thus we will also discuss the location of the volcanoes with respect to the tectonic environment. The first four days of the field trip will be dedicated to Nevado de Toluca Volcano (19 degrees 09'N; 99 degrees 45'W) located at 23 km. southwest of the City of Toluca, and is the fourth highest peak in the country, reaching an elevation of 4,680 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.). Nevado de Toluca is an andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano, composed of a central vent excavated upon the remains of older craters destroyed by former events. Bloomfield and Valastro, (1974, 1977) concluded that the last cycle of activity occurred nearly equal 11,600 yr. ago. For this reason Nevado de Toluca has been considered an extinct volcano. Our studies, however, indicate that Nevado de Toluca has had at least two episodes of cone destruction by sector collapse as well as several explosive episodes including plinian eruptions and dome-destruction events. These eruptions occurred during the Pleistocene but a very young eruption characterized by surge and ash flows occurred ca. 3,300 yr. BP. This new knowledge of the volcano's eruptive history makes the evaluation of its present state of activity and the geological hazards necessary. This is important because the area is densely populated and large cities such as Toluca and Mexico are located in its proximity.

Brigham Young University Geology Studies↗

USGS2016

Sensitivity of the projected hydroclimatic environment of the Delaware River basin to formulation of potential evapotranspiration

The Delaware River Basin (DRB) encompasses approximately 0.4 % of the area of the United States (U.S.), but supplies water to 5 % of the population. We studied three forested tributaries to quantify the potential climate-driven change in hydrologic budget for two 25-year time periods centered on 2030 and 2060, focusing on sensitivity to the method of estimating potential evapotranspiration (PET) change. Hydrology was simulated using the Water Availability Tool for Environmental Resources (Williamson et al. 2015 ). Climate-change scenarios for four Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) global climate models (GCMs) and two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) were used to derive monthly change factors for temperature (T), precipitation (PPT), and PET according to the energy-based method of Priestley and Taylor ( 1972 ). Hydrologic simulations indicate a general increase in annual (especially winter) streamflow (Q) as early as 2030 across the DRB, with a larger increase by 2060. This increase in Q is the result of (1) higher winter PPT, which outweighs an annual actual evapotranspiration (AET) increase and (2) (for winter) a major shift away from storage of PPT as snow pack. However, when PET change is evaluated instead using the simpler T-based method of Hamon ( 1963 ), the increases in Q are small or even negative. In fact, the change of Q depends as much on PET method as on time period or RCP. This large sensitivity and associated uncertainty underscore the importance of exercising caution in the selection of a PET method for use in climate-change analyses.

Climatic Change↗

USGS2023

Assembling the right pieces: Developing an interdisciplinary team to study disease, decline, and recovery of a world-class Smallmouth Bass fishery

Managing and understanding fisheries dynamics are becoming more complex as new and seemingly more complicated environmental factors are identified. Often management requires resources beyond that of any one entity and calls for collaboration among partners with differing priorities and backgrounds to account for the complexity of factors influencing fisheries. We present a collaborative case study from the Susquehanna River basin, Pennsylvania, where Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu have faced population declines, mortality events, and notable signs of disease in recent years. Collaboration was required to study many facets of the fishery and the environment simultaneously to better understand risk factors and underlying relationships influencing Smallmouth Bass health. The outcomes from this interdisciplinary collaboration allowed for identification of contributing risk factors, led to the development of products and analytical techniques that were mutually beneficial to all partners involved, and provided knowledge that was integrated into fish health and fisheries management.

Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania↗

USGS2019

Health and disease treatment in captive and reintroduced Whooping Cranes

The principles and applications of medicine in Whooping Cranes ( Grus americana ) are similar to that for other crane species, though the necessity of managing Whooping Crane health across the captive, reintroduced, and remnant populations poses particular challenges. In this chapter, we review the important aspects of crane medicine relevant to managing Whooping Cranes in captive and reintroduced environments. We pay special attention to viral, parasitic, fungal, and bacterial diseases that are important to manage for reintroduction efforts to be successful. We also introduce some common aspects of treatment and surgery. Anesthesia is important for successful surgery and is discussed. Radio transmitter implant surgery, as it applies to studying causes of mortality in wild Whooping Crane chicks, is included as a subject of special interest to recovery efforts. Orthopedic problems, which pose a major challenge to the healthy development of young, captive-reared cranes, are discussed. Treatment and vaccination recommendations are made to aid in producing healthy Whooping Cranes for reintroduction to the wild. The literature about crane medicine is reviewed along with the personal insights of the three authors, and an overview of the development of crane medicine programs is included.

Book chapter↗

USGS2021

Understanding mast seeding for conservation and land management

Masting, the intermittent and synchronous production of large seed crops, can have profound consequences for plant populations and the food webs that are built on their seeds. For centuries, people have recorded mast crops because of their importance in managing wildlife populations. In the past 30 years, we have begun to recognize the importance of masting in conserving and managing many other aspects of the environment: promoting the regeneration of forests following fire or other disturbance, conserving rare plants, conscientiously developing the use of edible seeds as non-timber forest products, coping with the consequences of extinctions on seed dispersal, reducing the impacts of plant invasions with biological control, suppressing zoonotic diseases and preventing depredation of endemic fauna. We summarize current instances and future possibilities of a broad set of applications of masting. By exploring in detail several case studies, we develop new perspectives on how solutions to pressing conservation and land management problems may benefit by better understanding the dynamics of seed production. A lesson common to these examples is that masting can be used to time management, and often, to do this effectively, we need models that explicitly forecast masting and the dynamics of seed-eating animals into the near-term future.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B:↗

USGS1994

Bald eagle nest site characteristics in South Florida

Florida had nearly 20% of the coterminous United States population of nesting bald eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) in 1990 (U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. 1991), yet the nesting ecology of bald eagles in subtropical environments has not been investigated. We examined nest site selection (n = 156 sites) by bald eagles in Florida Bay, Florida, from 1959 to 1990. Black ( Avicennia germinans ) and red mangroves ( Rhizophora mangle ) were used as nest trees almost exclusively (96.9%), and more than half were snags. Eagles also built nests on the ground (n = 3) and raised young on the ground after nests collapsed (n = 5). Eagles preferred (P < 0.05) higher keys (grass, hardwood-buttonwood [ Conocarpus erecta ]) over low-lying keys (mangrove, marsh) for nesting. Management strategies should include the preservation of live and dead mangroves and large, undisturbed keys as potential nesting sites for bald eagles in the subtropical portion of the eagle's range.

Florida↗

USGS1970

Water laws and concepts

Throughout human history various laws and customs have developed concerning the individual rights and rights in common to the waters of the earth. Many existing laws and concepts are clearly influenced by the environment in which they originated and reflect the relative abundance or scarcity of water. Many concepts reflect the people's original interests in the water and once established have been passed from generation to generation with little modification. Some laws and concepts have been carried by people in their migrations and colonial expansions to vastly different environments, with rather curious consequences. In many places water laws that had been well adapted to the natural environment have become less tenable because of man's activities in modifying that environment, or because of increasing use of water: Increasing consumptive use shifts the water economy toward lesser abundance or increasing deficiency; increasing nonconsumptive use results in pollution of the water resources, so that they become less suitable for other users. The water-rights systems in the United States vary from State to State: some are reasonably fitted to their environment, some have outlived their place in history, some are wasteful of water, some show favoritism to certain special interests or segments of the population. Water-use rights are universally recognized as real property, with constitutional protection against deprivation without due process of law.

Circular↗

USGS2000

Archive of Boomer Subbottom Data Collected During USGS Cruise SEAX 96004, New York Bight, 1 May - 9 June 1996

Beginning in 1995, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New York District, began a program to generate reconnaissance maps of the sea floor offshore of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, one of the most populated coastal regions of the United States. The goal of this mapping program is to provide a regional synthesis of the sea-floor environment, including a description of sedimentary environments, sediment texture, seafloor morphology, and geologic history to aid in understanding the impacts of anthropogenic activities, such as ocean dumping. This mapping effort differs from previous studies of this area by obtaining digital, sidescan sonar images that cover 100 percent of the sea floor. This investigation was motivated by the need to develop an environmentally acceptable solution for the disposal of dredged material from the New York - New Jersey Port, by the need to identify potential sources of sand for renourishment of the southern shore of Long island, and by the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the transport and long-term fate of contaminants by investigations of the present distribution of materials discharged into the New York Bight over the last 100+ years (Schwab and others, 1997). Data collected in 1996, USGS cruise SEAX 96004, augments data collected in 1995 with sidescan sonar and seismic reflection data collected within the New York Bight Apex region. This report is an archive of the boomer seismic reflection data collected in 1996.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2000

Archive of water gun subbottom data collected during USGS cruise SEAX 96004, New York Bight, 1 May - 9 June 1996

Open-File Report↗

USGS2001

Archive of water gun subbottom data collected during USGS cruise SEAX 95007 New York Bight, 7-25, May 1995

New Jersey, New York↗

USGS1999

Archive of 15 cubic inch water gun data collected during USGS Cruise ALPH98013, New York Bight, 10-22, September, 1998

Background This CD-ROM contains copies of the navigation and field water gun subbottom data collected aboard the F/V Alpha & Omega II. The USGS Cruise ALPH98013 was conducted from 10-22 September, 1998, and is a collaborative involving the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, New York District and the United States Geological SurveyCoastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Field Center. In 1995, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), New York District, began a program to generate reconnaissance maps of the sea floor offshore of the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area, one of the most populated coastal regions of the United States. The goal of this mapping program is to provide a regional synthesis of the sea-floor environment, including a description of sedimentary environments, sediment texture, sea-floor morphology, and geologic history to aid in understanding the impacts of anthropogenic activities, such as ocean dumping. This mapping effort differs from previous studies of this area by obtaining digital, sidescan sonar images that cover 100 percent of the sea floor. This investigation was motivated by the need to develop an environmentally acceptable solution for the disposal of dredged material from the New York - New Jersey Port, by the need to identify potential sources of sand for renourishment of the southern shore of Long island, and by the opportunity to develop a better understanding of the transport and long-term fate of contaminants by investigations of the present distribution of materials discharged into the New York Bight over the last 100+ years (Schwab and others, 1997). Sidescan-sonar data collected during USGS Cruises Seax95007 and Seax96004 (May 1995 and May 1996, respectively) were digitally mosaicked to provide a base suitable for use in Geographic Information Systems of the New York Bight Apex region. During USGS Cruise Alph98013, supplemental sidescan sonar and seismic reflection data were collected within the New York Bight Apex region, primarily to augment the seismic reflection portion of the mapping project. Additional sidescan sonar and seismic reflection data were collected east of the Seax95007 and Seax96004 survey areas. These data abut sidescan sonar and seismic reflection data collected off the Southern Long Island shoreline during USGS Cruises Dian96040, Dian97011, and Dian97032 (September 1996, May 1997, October 1997, respectively).

Open-File Report↗

USGS2026

Improving building footprint extraction using NAIP and 3DEP lidar derived features with deep learning

Accurate building footprint extraction is critical for applications ranging from population estimation to disaster management. Although optical imagery provides detailed spectral information, it often struggles with shadows, occlusions, and background clutter in dense urban environments. Lidar data, by contrast, offer precise elevation and structural attributes but face challenges such as variable point density and noise. This study integrates multispectral imagery from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) with lidar-derived feature height and intensity from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) to improve footprint extraction using a U-Net–based deep learning model. A six-band input stack (RGB, near-infrared, height, intensity) was developed, normalized, and tiled for training and evaluation against Microsoft Global Building Footprints (GBF). Results from the Houston, TX test site show that the six-band model achieved a precision of 0.86, recall of 0.88, F1 score of 0.87, and Intersection-over-Union (IoU) of 0.76, consistently outperforming four-band baselines by reducing false positives while maintaining sensitivity. Predictions on withheld Houston tiles confirmed strong within-region generalization, yielded a precision of 0.78, recall of 0.81, F1 score of 0.79, and IoU of 0.66. Qualitative analysis further revealed limitations stemming from both training label quality and vegetation–building confusion. These findings demonstrate the complementary value of integrating spectral and structural information for robust building footprint extraction and how domain adaptation strategies can be used to enhance cross-regional transferability.

Texas↗