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USGS2023

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from October 2019 to July 2022

Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of management concern for western lands. Previously published reports introduced a methodology for preparing annotated bibliographies to facilitate integration of recent, peer-reviewed science into resource management decisions. Therefore, relevant text from those efforts is reproduced here and built on to incorporate new information. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter “GRSG”) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” under the Endangered Species Act was in part a result of a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the USGS has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. Our most recent GRSG literature summary was published in 2020 (Carter and others, 2020) and included products published through October 2, 2019. Here, we consider products published between October 2, 2019, and July 21, 2022. We compiled and summarized peer-reviewed journal articles, data products, and formal technical reports (such as U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service General Technical Reports and USGS Open-File Reports) on greater sage-grouse. We first systematically searched three reference databases and three government databases using the search phrase “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by removing (1) duplicates, (2) publications not published as research, data products, or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal technical reports, and (3) products for which greater sage-grouse was not a research focus or the study did not present new data or findings about greater sage-grouse. We summarized each product using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and identified management topics addressed by each product; for example, species and population characteristics. We also identified projects that provided new geospatial data. The review process for this annotated bibliography included two initial internal colleague reviews of each summary, requesting input on each summary from an author of the original publication, and formal peer review. Our initial searches resulted in 221 total products, of which 147 met our criteria for inclusion. Across products summarized in the annotated bibliography, broad-scale habitat characteristics, behavior or demographics, site-scale habitat characteristics, habitat selection, and population estimates or targets were the most commonly addressed management topics. The online version of this bibliography, which will be available on the Science for Resource Managers tool ( https://apps.usgs.gov/science-for-resource-managers ), will be searchable by topic, location, and year, and will include links to each original publication. The studies compiled and summarized here may inform planning and management actions that seek to maintain and restore sagebrush landscapes and GRSG populations across the GRSG range.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2009

Impact of wildfire on levels of mercury in forested watershed systems: Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

Atmospheric deposition of mercury to remote lakes in mid-continental and eastern North America has increased approximately threefold since the mid-1800s (Swain and others, 1992; Fitzgerald and others, 1998; Engstrom and others, 2007). As a result, concerns for human and wildlife health related to mercury contamination have become widespread. Despite an apparent recent decline in atmospheric deposition of mercury in many areas of the Upper Midwest (Engstrom and Swain, 1997; Engstrom and others, 2007), lakes in which fish contain levels of mercury deemed unacceptable for human consumption and possibly unacceptable for fish-consuming wildlife are being detected with increasing frequency. In northern Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park (VNP) (fig. 1) protects a series of southern boreal lakes and wetlands situated on bedrock of the Precambrian Canadian Shield. Mercury contamination has become a significant resource issue within VNP as high concentrations of mercury in loons, bald eagle eaglets, grebes, northern pike, and other species of wildlife and fish have been found. The two most mercury-contaminated lakes in Minnesota, measured as methylmercury in northern pike ( Esox lucius ), are in VNP. Recent multidisciplinary U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research demonstrated that the bulk of the mercury in lake waters, soils, and fish in VNP results from atmospheric deposition (Wiener and others, 2006). The study by Wiener and others (2006) showed that the spatial distribution of mercury in watershed soils, lake waters, and age-1 yellow perch ( Perca flavescens ) within the Park was highly variable. The majority of factors correlated for this earlier study suggested that mercury concentrations in lake waters and age-1 yellow perch reflected the influence of ecosystem processes that affected within-lake microbial production and abundance of methylmercury (Wiener and others, 2006), while the distribution of mercury in watershed soils seemed to be partially dependent on forest disturbance, especially the historic forest fire pattern (Woodruff and Cannon, 2002). Forest fire has an essential role in the forest ecosystems of VNP (Heinselman, 1996). Because resource and land managers need to integrate both natural wildfire and prescribed fire in management plans, the potential influence of fire on an element as sensitive to the environment as mercury becomes a critical part of their decisionmaking. A number of recent studies have shown that while fire does have a significant impact on mercury at the landscape level, the observed effects of fire on aquatic environments are highly variable and unpredictable (Caldwell and others, 2000; Garcia and Carrigan, 2000; Kelly and others, 2006; Nelson and others, 2007). Caldwell and others (2000) described an increase in methylmercury in reservoir sediments resulting from mobilization and transport of charred vegetative matter following a fire in New Mexico. Krabbenhoft and Fink (2000) attributed increases in total mercury concentrations in young-of-the-year fish in the Florida Everglades to release of mercury resulting from peat oxidation following fires. A fivefold increase in whole-body mercury accumulation by rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) following a fire in Alberta, Canada, apparently resulted from increased nutrient concentrations that enhanced productivity and restructured the food web of a lake within the fire’s burn footprint (Kelly and others, 2006). For this study, we determined the short-term effects of forest fire on mercury concentrations in terrestrial and aquatic environments in VNP by comparing and contrasting mercury concentrations in forest soils, lake waters, and age-1 yellow perch for a burned watershed and an adjacent lake, with similar samples from watersheds and lakes with no fire activity (control watersheds and lakes). The concentration of total mercury in whole, 1-year-old yellow perch serves as a good biological indicator for monitoring trends in methylmercury concentrations in food webs of lakes in North America (Wiener and others, 2007). With a limited gape, age-1 yellow perch that hatched the previous year and resided in a lake for 1 year feed largely on zooplankton and small benthic invertebrates. Thus, age-1 yellow perch provide a baseline for methylmercury concentrations for individual lakes that can be compared across spatial areas. The nine appendixes that accompany this report contain the complete datasets for soils, lake waters, and age-1 yellow perch collected for this study. This report uses data from these three media to provide a framework for evaluating short-term effects of fire on mercury in forested soils and possible effects of the mobilization of mercury from soils on lake water quality and aquatic health.

Minnesota↗

USGS2000

Gap analysis: Concepts, methods, and recent results

Rapid progress is being made in the conceptual, technical, and organizational requirements for generating synoptic multi-scale views of the earth's surface and its biological content. Using the spatially comprehensive data that are now available, researchers, land managers, and land-use planners can, for the first time, quantitatively place landscape units - from general categories such as 'Forests' or 'Cold-Deciduous Shrubland Formation' to more categories such as 'Picea glauca-Abies balsamea-Populus spp. Forest Alliance' - in their large-area contexts. The National Gap Analysis Program (GAP) has developed the technical and organizational capabilities necessary for the regular production and analysis of such information. This paper provides a brief overview of concepts and methods as well as some recent results from the GAP projects. Clearly, new frameworks for biogeographic information and organizational cooperation are needed if we are to have any hope of documenting the full range of species occurrences and ecological processes in ways meaningful to their management. The GAP experience provides one model for achieving these new frameworks.

Landscape Ecology↗

USGS1989

The ecology of hydric hammocks: a community profile

This community profile is one in a series of Fish and Wildlife Service publications compiled to provide a state-of-knowledge synthesis of scientific information and literature on various coastal habitats. The subject of this profile is the hydric hammock, a distinctive type of forested wetland occurring at low elevations along the gulf coast of Florida from Aripeka to St. Marks and at various inland sites in Florida. Relatively little research has been conducted in hydric hammocks, and no thorough effort has been made previously to define this community. Consequently, no consensus has existed about the extent and nature of this community; some published works and active researchers have differed in their judgments about it; and the entity sometimes is ignored and often is lumped with other types of mixed hardwood forests. The purpose of this profile is to establish or clarify an identification and understanding of the hydric-hammock community. Information for the profile was gathered from published and unpublished literature, from persona 1 communication with many technical experts, and from our own fie 1 d experience. The profile includes some new data gathered in the field for the purpose of defining this community. It is hoped that the content and format of the profile will be useful to a broad spectrum of users, including other scientists, students, resource managers and planners, teachers, and interested citizens. The profile includes structural and functional aspects of the community: its physical setting, plant and animal composition and dynamics, interactions of its flora and fauna, and its relationships with other communities.

Florida↗

USGS2007

Coral microbiology

In the last 30 years, there has been approximately a 30% loss of corals worldwide, largely due to emerging diseases (Harvell et al., 2002, 2007; Hughes et al., 2003). Coral microbiology is a new field, driven largely by a desire to understand the interactions between corals and their symbiotic microorganisms and to use this knowledge to eventually prevent the spread of coral diseases.

Oceanography↗

USGS1984

Defining geologic Hazards for natural resources management using tree-ring analysis

Landslides, avalanches, floods, and other geologic hazards impair natural resources management by jeopardizing public safety, damaging or restricting resource utilization, and necessitating expenditures for corrective measures The negative impact of geologic hazard events can be reduced by tailoring resources management to hazard potential of an area This requires assessment of where and how frequently the events occur National forests and other managed wildlands often lack monitoring or historical records to compute frequency of hazard occurrence Tree-ring analysis, based on internal growth response to external events such as tilting and abrasion, can provide frequency data Two examples of the use of tree-ring analysis to date landslide activity illustrate advantages and limitations of the technique An example from the Fishlake National Forest in central Utah illustrates assessment for planning purposes An example from the Sierra National Forest in east-central California shows assessment applied to project design Many geologic hazards in addition to landslides are suited to tree-ring analysis to establish frequency of occurrence Hazard reduction efforts in natural resources management could be enhanced by careful application of tree-ring analysis ?? 1984 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Environmental Geology and Water Sciences↗

USGS2010

Paradigms and proboscideans in the southern Great Lakes region, USA

Thirteen new chronometric dates for Illinois proboscideans are considered in relation to well-dated pollen records from northeastern and central Illinois. These dates span an interval from 21,228 to 12,944 cal BP. When compared to pollen spectra, it is evident that Mammut americanum inhabited spruce (Picea) and black ash (Fraxinus nigra) forest during the B??lling-Aller??d (14,700-12,900 cal BP) and early Younger Dryas (12,900-11,650 cal BP) chronozones. Both Mammuthus jeffersonii and Mammuthus primigenius inhabited spruce dominated open-woodland during the Oldest Dryas chronozone, while M.??primigenius persisted in a forest of predominantly black ash during the Aller??d chronozone. A newly discovered specimen from Lincoln, IL, clarifies the taxonomic distinction between M. primigenius and M.??jeffersonii. Hitherto, a paradigm of proboscidean succession during the full- to late-glacial periods was based on the vegetation succession of steppe tundra-like vegetation to spruce forest to spruce-deciduous forest. The presumed proboscidean succession was that of cold, dry steppe-adapted M. primigenius succeeded by more mesic-tolerant M. jeffersonii that in turn was succeeded by the wet forest-adapted M.??americanum. Reported data do not support this view and indicate a need for re-evaluation of assumptions of proboscidean ecology and history, e.g., the environmental tolerances and habits of M.??primigenius in regions south of 55??N, and its dynamic relationship with other proboscidean taxa. ?? 2009 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.

Quaternary International↗

USGS2025

Global terrestrial nitrogen fixation and its modification by agriculture

Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) is the largest natural source of new nitrogen (N) that supports terrestrial productivity 1,2 , yet estimates of global terrestrial BNF remain highly uncertain 3,4 . Here we show that this uncertainty is partly because of sampling bias, as field BNF measurements in natural terrestrial ecosystems occur where N fixers are 17 times more prevalent than their mean abundances worldwide. To correct this bias, we develop new estimates of global terrestrial BNF by upscaling field BNF measurements using spatially explicit abundances of all major biogeochemical N-fixing niches. We find that natural biomes sustain lower BNF, 65 (52–77) Tg N yr −1 , than previous empirical bottom-up estimates 3,4 , with most BNF occurring in tropical forests and drylands. We also find high agricultural BNF in croplands and cultivated pastures, 56 (54–58) Tg N yr −1 . Agricultural BNF has increased terrestrial BNF by 64% and total terrestrial N inputs from all sources by 60% over pre-industrial levels. Our results indicate that BNF may impose stronger constraints on the carbon sink in natural terrestrial biomes and represent a larger source of agricultural N than is generally considered in analyses of the global N cycle 5,6 , with implications for proposed safe operating limits for N use 7,8 .

Nature↗

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:↗

USGS2022

Characteristics of day-roosts used by the Northern Long-eared Bat (Myotis septentrionalis) in coastal New York

In North America, Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Bat) has experienced precipitous declines from white-nose syndrome. As these bats become rare and difficult to capture, additional day-roost assessments to inform management may fill gaps in our understanding, particularly in habitats and regions where such roosts have never been surveyed. Over 2 summers, we radio-tracked 16 individuals from a maternity colony on Long Island, NY, in a small forested patch surrounded by development and ocean. These bats disproportionately selected small, suppressed Robinia pseudoacacia (Black Locust) trees or snags for roosting. Generally, roosts occurred within the interior or edges of this forest patch, rather than surrounding suburbia, reinforcing the hypothesis that Northern Long-eared Bats are forest adapted. Our study shows even small tracts of forest in coastal, urban areas may have conservation value in providing day-roost and foraging habitat.

New York↗

USGS2010

Summary of Hydrologic Data for the Tuscarawas River Basin, Ohio, with an Annotated Bibliography

The Tuscarawas River Basin drains approximately 2,600 square miles in eastern Ohio and is home to 600,000 residents that rely on the water resources of the basin. This report summarizes the hydrologic conditions in the basin, describes over 400 publications related to the many factors that affect the groundwater and surface-water resources, and presents new water-quality information and a new water-level map designed to provide decisionmakers with information to assist in future data-collection efforts and land-use decisions. The Tuscarawas River is 130 miles long, and the drainage basin includes four major tributary basins and seven man-made reservoirs designed primarily for flood control. The basin lies within two physiographic provinces-the Glaciated Appalachian Plateaus to the north and the unglaciated Allegheny Plateaus to the south. Topography, soil types, surficial geology, and the overall hydrology of the basin were strongly affected by glaciation, which covered the northern one-third of the basin over 10,000 years ago. Within the glaciated region, unconsolidated glacial deposits, which are predominantly clay-rich till, overlie gently sloping Pennsylvanian-age sandstone, limestone, coal, and shale bedrock. Stream valleys throughout the basin are filled with sands and gravels derived from glacial outwash and alluvial processes. The southern two-thirds of the basin is characterized by similar bedrock units; however, till is absent and topographic relief is greater. The primary aquifers are sand- and gravel-filled valleys and sandstone bedrock. These sands and gravels are part of a complex system of aquifers that may exceed 400 feet in thickness and fill glacially incised valleys. Sand and gravel aquifers in this basin are capable of supporting sustained well yields exceeding 1,000 gallons per minute. Underlying sandstones within 300 feet of the surface also provide substantial quantities of water, with typical well yields of up to 100 gallons per minute. Although hydraulic connection between the sandstone bedrock and the sands and gravels in valleys is likely, it has not been assessed in the Tuscarawas River Basin. In 2001, the major land uses in the basin were approximately 40 percent forested, 39 percent agricultural, and 17 percent urban/residential. Between 1992 and 2001, forested land use decreased by 2 percent with correspondingly small increases in agricultural and urban land uses, but from 1980 to 2005, the 13-county area that encompasses the basin experienced a 7.1-percent increase in population. Higher population density and percentages of urban land use were typical of the northern, headwaters parts of the basin in and around the cities of Akron, Canton, and New Philadelphia; the southern area was rural. The basin receives approximately 38 inches of precipitation per year that exits the basin through evapotranspiration, streamflow, and groundwater withdrawals. Recharge to groundwater is estimated to range from 6 to 10 inches per year across the basin. In 2000, approximately 89 percent of the 116 million gallons per day of water used in the basin came from groundwater sources, whereas 11 percent came from surface-water sources. To examine directions of groundwater flow in the basin, a new dataset of water-level contours was developed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The contours were compiled on a map that shows that groundwater flows from the uplands towards the valleys and that the water-level surface mimics surface topography; however, there are areas where data were too sparse to adequately map the water-level surface. Additionally, little is known about deep groundwater that may be flowing into the basin from outside the basin and groundwater interactions with surface-water bodies. Many previous reports as well as new data collected as part of this study show that water quality in the streams and aquifers in the Tuscarawas River Basin has been degraded by urban, suburban, and rural

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2012

Reconciling estimates of the contemporary North American carbon balance among terrestrial biosphere models, atmospheric inversions, and a new approach for estimating net ecosystem exchange from inventory-based data

We develop an approach for estimating net ecosystem exchange (NEE) using inventory-based information over North America (NA) for a recent 7-year period (ca. 2000–2006). The approach notably retains information on the spatial distribution of NEE, or the vertical exchange between land and atmosphere of all non-fossil fuel sources and sinks of CO 2 , while accounting for lateral transfers of forest and crop products as well as their eventual emissions. The total NEE estimate of a -327 ± 252 TgC yr -1 sink for NA was driven primarily by CO 2 uptake in the Forest Lands sector (-248 TgC yr -1 ), largely in the Northwest and Southeast regions of the US, and in the Crop Lands sector (-297 TgC yr -1 ), predominantly in the Midwest US states. These sinks are counteracted by the carbon source estimated for the Other Lands sector (+218 TgC yr -1 ), where much of the forest and crop products are assumed to be returned to the atmosphere (through livestock and human consumption). The ecosystems of Mexico are estimated to be a small net source (+18 TgC yr -1 ) due to land use change between 1993 and 2002. We compare these inventory-based estimates with results from a suite of terrestrial biosphere and atmospheric inversion models, where the mean continental-scale NEE estimate for each ensemble is -511 TgC yr -1 and -931 TgC yr -1 , respectively. In the modeling approaches, all sectors, including Other Lands, were generally estimated to be a carbon sink, driven in part by assumed CO 2 fertilization and/or lack of consideration of carbon sources from disturbances and product emissions. Additional fluxes not measured by the inventories, although highly uncertain, could add an additional -239 TgC yr -1 to the inventory-based NA sink estimate, thus suggesting some convergence with the modeling approaches.

Global Change Biology↗

USGS2026

Hakalau’s moving castle: How climate change and restoration are shifting an island fortress for forest birds

Hakalau Forest Unit of the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (hereafter, Hakalau) protects the largest area with the highest endemic forest bird diversity in Hawaiʻi, including four federally listed species. Hakalau’s higher elevation montane forest provides refuge from avian malaria ( Plasmodium relictum ), a primary driver of Hawaiian honeycreeper extinctions. However, recent declines in Hakalau’s birds at lower elevations could indicate that conditions have become suitable for disease vector Culex quinquefasciatus . We evaluated the statuses of Hakalau’s bird populations in the context of recent climatic changes using new survey data from point-transect distance sampling, producing abundance estimates from 1999 to 2024. We stratified our analysis across four elevation ranges (<1500 m, 1500–1700 m, 1700–1900 m, and >1900 m) and assessed trends for each species using state-space models (SSMs). We constrained population trajectories to be biologically realistic by incorporating population dynamic models within the SSMs. We observed highly species-specific abundance trends below 1500 m, predominantly stable to upward trends within 1500–1700 m, stable trends within 1700–1900 m, and upward trends above 1900 m. Declines in Hawaiʻi ʻamakihi ( Chlorodrepanis v. virens ) and endangered ʻakiapōlāʻau ( Hemignathus wilsoni ) abundance coincided with lengthening warm seasonal temperatures indicative of shrinking disease-free habitat below 1700 m. Above 1900 m, however, increases in nearly all species indicate that reforestation has likely restored disease-free habitat since 1999. While most species were stable to increasing overall, surveillance for mosquitoes and disease at lower elevations, documenting changes in habitat, and continuing bird population monitoring can help to gauge their long-term persistence at Hakalau.

Hawaii↗

USGS2012

Ecology and conservation biology of avian malaria

Avian malaria is a worldwide mosquito-borne disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. These parasites occur in many avian species but primarily affect passerine birds that have not evolved with the parasite. Host pathogenicity, fitness, and population impacts are poorly understood. In contrast to continental species, introduced avian malaria poses a substantial threat to naive birds on Hawaii, the Galapagos, and other archipelagoes. In Hawaii, transmission is maintained by susceptible native birds, competence and abundance of mosquitoes, and a disease reservoir of chronically infected native birds. Although vector habitat and avian communities determine the geographic distribution of disease, climate drives transmission patterns ranging from continuous high infection in warm lowland forests, seasonal infection in midelevation forests, and disease-free refugia in cool high-elevation forests. Global warming is expected to increase the occurrence, distribution, and intensity of avian malaria across this elevational gradient and threaten high-elevation refugia, which is the key to survival of many susceptible Hawaiian birds. Increased temperatures may have already increased global avian malaria prevalence and contributed to an emergence of disease in New Zealand.

Hawai'i↗

USGS2015

Incorporating phosphorus cycling into global modeling efforts: a worthwhile, tractable endeavor

Myriad field, laboratory, and modeling studies show that nutrient availability plays a fundamental role in regulating CO 2 exchange between the Earth's biosphere and atmosphere, and in determining how carbon pools and fluxes respond to climatic change. Accordingly, global models that incorporate coupled climate–carbon cycle feedbacks made a significant advance with the introduction of a prognostic nitrogen cycle. Here we propose that incorporating phosphorus cycling represents an important next step in coupled climate–carbon cycling model development, particularly for lowland tropical forests where phosphorus availability is often presumed to limit primary production. We highlight challenges to including phosphorus in modeling efforts and provide suggestions for how to move forward.

New Phytologist↗

USGS2016

Streamflow and estimated loads of phosphorus and dissolved and suspended solids from selected tributaries to Lake Ontario, New York, water years 2012–14

This report presents results of the evaluation and interpretation of hydrologic and water-quality data collected as part of a cooperative program between the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Streamflow, phosphorus, and solids dissolved and suspended in stream water were the focus of monitoring by the U.S. Geological Survey at 10 sites on 9 selected tributaries to Lake Ontario during the period from October 2011 through September 2014. Streamflow yields (flow per unit area) were the highest from the Salmon River Basin due to sustained yields from the Tug Hill aquifer. The Eighteenmile Creek streamflow yields also were high as a result of sustained base flow contributions from a dam just upstream of the U.S. Geological Survey monitoring station at Burt. The lowest streamflow yields were measured in the Honeoye Creek Basin, which reflects a decrease in flow because of withdrawals from Canadice and Hemlock Lakes for the water supply of the City of Rochester. The Eighteenmile Creek and Oak Orchard Creek Basins had relatively high yields due in part to groundwater contributions from the Niagara Escarpment and seasonal releases from the New York State Barge Canal. Annual constituent yields (load per unit area) of suspended solids, phosphorus, orthophosphate, and dissolved solids were computed to assess the relative contributions and allow direct comparison of loads among the monitored basins. High yields of total suspended solids were attributed to agricultural land use in highly erodible soils at all sites. The Genesee River, Irondequoit Creek, and Honeoye Creek had the highest concentrations and largest mean yields of total suspended solids (165 short tons per square mile [t/mi 2 ], 184 t/mi 2 , and 89.7 t/mi 2 , respectively) of the study sites. Samples from Eighteenmile Creek, Oak Orchard Creek at Kenyonville, and Irondequoit Creek had the highest concentrations and largest mean yields of phosphorus (0.27 t/mi 2 , 0.26 t/mi 2 , and 0.20 t/mi 2 , respectively) and orthophosphate (0.17 t/mi 2 , 0.13 t/mi 2 , and 0.04 t/mi 2 , respectively) of the study sites. These results were attributed to a combination of sources, including discharges from wastewater treatment plants, diversions from the New York State Barge Canal, and manure and fertilizers applied to agricultural land. Yields of phosphorus also were high in the Genesee River Basin (0.17 t/mi 2 ) and were presumably associated with nutrient and sediment transport from agricultural land and from streambank erosion. The Salmon and Black Rivers, which drain a substantial amount of forested land and are influenced by large groundwater discharges, had the lowest concentrations and yields of phosphorus and orthophosphate of the study sites. Mean annual yields of dissolved solids were the highest in Irondequoit Creek due to a high percentage of urbanized area in the basin and in Oak Orchard Creek at Kenyonville and in Eighteenmile Creek due to groundwater contributions from the Niagara Escarpment. High yields of dissolved solids of 840 t/mi 2 , 829 t/mi 2 , and 715 t/mi 2 , respectively, from these basins can be attributed to seasonal chloride yields associated with use of road deicing salts. The Niagara Escarpment can produce large amounts of dissolved solids from the dissolution of minerals (a continual process reflected in base flow samples). Groundwater inflows in the Salmon River have very low concentrations of dissolved solids due to minimal bedrock interaction along the Tug Hill Plateau and discharge from the Tug Hill sand and gravel aquifer, which has minimal mineralization.

New York↗

USGS2000

Effects of residential and agricultural land uses on the chemical quality of baseflow of small streams in the Croton Watershed, southeastern New York

Data on the chemical quality of baseflow from 33 small streams that drain basins of differing land-use type and intensity within the Croton watershed were collected seasonally for 1 year to identify and characterize the quality of ground-water contributions to surface water. The watershed includes twelve of New York City's water-supply reservoirs. Baseflow samples were collected a minimum of three days after the most recent precipitation and were analyzed for major ions, boron, and nutrients. Findings— Concentrations of selected chemical constituents in baseflow were strongly affected by the predominant land use in a given basin. Land uses included forested undeveloped, unsewered residential, sewered residential, and agricultural (horse and dairy farms). A positive linear relation was indicated for chloride concentration in baseflow and the basin's annual rate of road-salt application (or density of two-lane roads). Chloride concentration exhibits a relatively stable relation to road-salt application rate or 2-lane road density throughout the year. Positive linear relations were indicated for nitrate concentration in baseflow and the basins unsewered housing density. Nitrate is characterized by a different relation to unsewered housing density for each season, with the highest observed nitrate concentrations during the winter and the lowest concentrations during the summer. Baseflow nitrate concentrations in sewered basins, and in unsewered basins with riparian wetland buffers between residential development and the stream, were lower than concentrations predicted from unsewered-housing density.

Connecticut, New York↗

USGS2017

Vegetation history since the last glacial maximum in the Ozark highlands (USA): A new record from Cupola Pond, Missouri

The timing and drivers of vegetation dynamics and formation of no-analog plant communities during the last deglaciation in the unglaciated southeastern US are poorly understood. We present a multi-proxy record spanning the past 19,800 years from Cupola Pond in the Ozarks Mountains, consisting of replicate high-resolution pollen records, 25 AMS radiocarbon dates, and macrofossil, charcoal, and coprophilous spore analyses. Full-glacial Pinus and Picea forests gave way to no-analog vegetation after 17,400 yr BP, followed by development of Quercus -dominated Holocene forests, with late Holocene rises in Pinus and Nyssa . Vegetation transitions, replicated in different cores, are closely linked to hemispheric climate events. Rising Quercus abundances coincide with increasing Northern Hemisphere temperatures and CO 2 at 17,500 yr BP, declining Pinus and Picea at 14,500 yr BP are near the Bølling-Allerød onset, and rapid decline of Fraxinus and rise of Ostrya/Carpinus occur 12,700 yr BP during the Younger Dryas. The Cupola no-analog vegetation record is unusual for its early initiation (17,000 yr BP) and for its three vegetation zones, representing distinct rises of Fraxinus and Ostrya/Carpinus . Sporormiella was absent and sedimentary charcoal abundances were low throughout, suggesting that fire and megaherbivores were not locally important agents of disturbance and turnover. The Cupola record thus highlights the complexity of the late-glacial no-analog communities and suggests direct climatic regulation of their formation and disassembly.

Missouri↗