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At least 937 records · Page 52Linked to original sources
USGS2012

Why farmers adopt best management practice in the United States: A meta-analysis of the adoption literature

This meta-analysis of both published and unpublished studies assesses factors believed to influence adoption of agricultural Best Management Practices in the United States. Using an established statistical technique to summarize the adoption literature in the United States, we identified the following variables as having the largest impact on adoption: access to and quality of information, financial capacity, and being connected to agency or local networks of farmers or watershed groups. This study shows that various approaches to data collection affect the results and comparability of adoption studies. In particular, environmental awareness and farmer attitudes have been inconsistently used and measured across the literature. This meta-analysis concludes with suggestions regarding the future direction of adoption studies, along with guidelines for how data should be presented to enhance the adoption of conservation practices and guide research.

Journal of Environmental Management↗
USGS2017

Effects of environmental covariates and density on the catchability of fish populations and interpretation of catch per unit effort trends

Article for outlet: Fisheries Research. Abstract: Quantifying temporal and spatial trends in abundance or relative abundance is required to evaluate effects of harvest and changes in habitat for exploited and endangered fish populations. In many cases, the proportion of the population or stock that is captured (catchability or capture probability) is unknown but is often assumed to be constant over space and time. We used data from a large-scale mark-recapture study to evaluate the extent of spatial and temporal variation, and the effects of fish density, fish size, and environmental covariates, on the capture probability of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Colorado River, AZ. Estimates of capture probability for boat electrofishing varied 5-fold across five reaches, 2.8-fold across the range of fish densities that were encountered, 2.1-fold over 19 trips, and 1.6-fold over five fish size classes. Shoreline angle and turbidity were the best covariates explaining variation in capture probability across reaches and trips. Patterns in capture probability were driven by changes in gear efficiency and spatial aggregation, but the latter was more important. Failure to account for effects of fish density on capture probability when translating a historical catch per unit effort time series into a time series of abundance, led to 2.5-fold underestimation of the maximum extent of variation in abundance over the period of record, and resulted in unreliable estimates of relative change in critical years. Catch per unit effort surveys have utility for monitoring long-term trends in relative abundance, but are too imprecise and potentially biased to evaluate population response to habitat changes or to modest changes in fishing effort.

Fisheries Research↗
USGS2023

Prioritizing science efforts to inform decision making on public lands

Public land management agencies in the US are committed to using science-informed decision making, but there has been little research on the types and topics of science that managers need most to inform their decisions. We used the National Environmental Policy Act to identify four types of science information needed for making decisions relevant to public lands: (1) data on resources of concern, (2) scientific studies relevant to potential effects of proposed actions, (3) methods for quantifying potential effects of proposed actions, and (4) effective mitigation measures. We then used this framework to analyze 70 Environmental Assessments completed by the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado. Commonly proposed actions were oil and gas development, livestock grazing, land transactions, and recreation. Commonly analyzed resources included terrestrial wildlife, protected birds, vegetation, and soils. Focusing research efforts on the intersection of these resources and actions, and on developing and evaluating the effectiveness of mitigation measures to protect these resources, could strengthen the science foundation for public lands decision making.

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment↗
USGS2001

USGS Mineral Resources Program; national maps and datasets for research and land planning

The U.S. Geological Survey, the Nation’s leader in producing and maintaining earth science data, serves as an advisor to Congress, the Department of the Interior, and many other Federal and State agencies. Nationwide datasets that are easily available and of high quality are critical for addressing a wide range of land-planning, resource, and environmental issues. Four types of digital databases (geological, geophysical, geochemical, and mineral occurrence) are being compiled and upgraded by the Mineral Resources Program on regional and national scales to meet these needs. Where existing data are incomplete, new data are being collected to ensure national coverage. Maps and analyses produced from these databases provide basic information essential for mineral resource assessments and environmental studies, as well as fundamental information for regional and national land-use studies. Maps and analyses produced from the databases are instrumental to ongoing basic research, such as the identification of mineral deposit origins, determination of regional background values of chemical elements with known environmental impact, and study of the relationships between toxic elements or mining practices to human health. As datasets are completed or revised, the information is made available through a variety of media, including the Internet. Much of the available information is the result of cooperative activities with State and other Federal agencies. The upgraded Mineral Resources Program datasets make geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and mineral occurrence information at the state, regional, and national scales available to members of Congress, State and Federal government agencies, researchers in academia, and the general public. The status of the Mineral Resources Program datasets is outlined below.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2022

Selenium in the Kootenai River Basin, Montana and Idaho, United States, and British Columbia, Canada

Selenium entering the 90-mile long transboundary Koocanusa Reservoir (also called Lake Koocanusa) in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, and northwestern Montana, United States, has been measured at concentrations above State and Federal water-quality and aquatic life standards. The reservoir is within the international Kootenai (or “Kootenay” in Canada) drainage basin, which contains critical habitat for native fish species and is impounded by Libby Dam 16 miles upstream from Libby, Montana. Since 1984, selenium concentrations have ranged from below detection to greater than 8 micrograms per liter in the Elk River, measured 2.2 miles above its discharge into Koocanusa Reservoir at a British Columbia environmental monitoring station (site 0200016). Selenium is a required micro-nutrient, but elevated concentrations in water bioaccumulate in egg-laying fish and birds, causing various sublethal effects and death. One possible source of selenium in the Kootenai River Basin is the excavation of bedrock in the Elk River Valley to access coal seams for metallurgical steelmaking and coal production. Five open-pit coal mines are operating in this region of southeastern British Columbia that produce about 21 million tons of metallurgical coal annually. Site-specific selenium standards were established for the reservoir in 2020 following collaborative work by the U.S. Geological Survey, Montana Department of Environmental Quality, the British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, the Lake Koocanusa Monitoring and Research Working Group, and the Selenium Technical Subcommittee. The standards of 0.8 microgram per liter for dissolved selenium in the water column and 15.1 milligrams per kilogram dry weight for fish egg (ovary) tissue (in addition to the muscle and wholebody standards) were adopted into Montana State law in 2020 and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2021.

British Columbia, Idaho, Montana↗
USGS2018

Wrangling distributed computing for high-throughput environmental science: An introduction to HTCondor

Biologists and environmental scientists now routinely solve computational problems that were unimaginable a generation ago. Examples include processing geospatial data, analyzing -omics data, and running large-scale simulations. Conventional desktop computing cannot handle these tasks when they are large, and high-performance computing is not always available nor the most appropriate solution for all computationally intense problems. High-throughput computing (HTC) is one method for handling computationally intense research. In contrast to high-performance computing, which uses a single "supercomputer," HTC can distribute tasks over many computers (e.g., idle desktop computers, dedicated servers, or cloud-based resources). HTC facilities exist at many academic and government institutes and are relatively easy to create from commodity hardware. Additionally, consortia such as Open Science Grid facilitate HTC, and commercial entities sell cloud-based solutions for researchers who lack HTC at their institution. We provide an introduction to HTC for biologists and environmental scientists. Our examples from biology and the environmental sciences use HTCondor, an open source HTC system.

PLOS Computational Biology↗
USGS2021

Extent of impact of deep-sea nodule mining midwater plumes is influenced by sediment loading, turbulence and thresholds

Deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining research activity has substantially increased in recent years, but the expected level of environmental impact is still being established. One environmental concern is the discharge of a sediment plume into the midwater column. We performed a dedicated field study using sediment from the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone. The plume was monitored and tracked using both established and novel instrumentation, including acoustic and turbulence measurements. Our field studies reveal that modeling can reliably predict the properties of a midwater plume in the vicinity of the discharge and that sediment aggregation effects are not significant. The plume model is used to drive a numerical simulation of a commercial-scale operation in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone. Key takeaways are that the scale of impact of the plume is notably influenced by the values of environmentally acceptable threshold levels, the quantity of discharged sediment, and the turbulent diffusivity in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone.

Communications Earth & Environment↗
USGS2003

The challenge and opportunity of recovering wolf populations

The gray wolf once inhabited a wide variety of habitats throughout most of the northern hemisphere north of 20°N latitude. Because the animal preyed on livestock and competed with humans for wild prey, it was extirpated from much of its range outside of wilderness areas. Environmental awareness in the late 1960s brought for the wolf legal protection, increased research, and favorable media coverage. The species has increased in both Europe and North America, is beginning to reoccupy semiwilderness and agricultural land, and is causing increased damage to livestock. Because of the wolf's high reproductive rate and long dispersal tendencies, the animal can recolonize many more areas. In most such areas control will be necessary, but the same public sentiments that promoted wolf recovery reject control. If wolf advocates could accept control by the public rather than by the government, wolves could live in far more places. Insistence on government control discourages some officials and government agencies from promoting recovery. The use of large- or small-scale zoning for wolf management may help resolve the issue. Public education is probably the most effective way to minimize the problem and maximize wolf recovery, but the effort must begin immediately.

Conservation Biology↗
USGS2009

Investigating different mechanisms for biogenic selenite transformations: Geobacter sulfurreducens , Shewanella oneidensis and Veillonella atypica

The metal-reducing bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens, Shewanella oneidensis and Veillonella atypica, use different mechanisms to transform toxic, bioavailable sodium selenite to less toxic, non-mobile elemental selenium and then to selenide in anaerobic environments, offering the potential for in situ and ex situ bioremediation of contaminated soils, sediments, industrial effluents, and agricultural drainage waters. The products of these reductive transformations depend on both the organism involved and the reduction conditions employed, in terms of electron donor and exogenous extracellular redox mediator. The intermediary phase involves the precipitation of elemental selenium nanospheres and the potential role of proteins in the formation of these structures is discussed. The bionanomineral phases produced during these transformations, including both elemental selenium nanospheres and metal selenide nanoparticles, have catalytic, semiconducting and light-emitting properties, which may have unique applications in the realm of nanophotonics. This research offers the potential to combine remediation of contaminants with the development of environmentally friendly manufacturing pathways for novel bionanominerals. ?? 2009 Taylor & Francis.

Environmental Technology↗
USGS2010

Distribution and community characteristics of staging shorebirds on the northern coast of Alaska

Avian studies conducted in the 1970s on Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) indicated that coastal littoral habitats are important to Arctic-breeding shorebirds for staging prior to fall migration. However, relatively little recent, broad-scale, or quantitative information exists on shorebird use of staging areas in this region. To locate possible shorebird concentration areas in the littoral zone of the ACP, we conducted aerial surveys from the southwest end of Kasegaluk Lagoon on the Chukchi Sea to Demarcation Point on the Beaufort Sea during the summers of 2005–07. These surveys identified persistent within- and between-year concentrations of staging shorebirds at Peard Bay, Point Barrow/Elson Lagoon, Cape Simpson, and Smith Bay to Cape Halkett. Among river deltas in the Beaufort Sea, the Sagavanirktok and Kongakut deltas had large concentrations of staging shorebirds. We also collected data on shorebird community characteristics, staging phenology, and habitat use in 2005 and 2006 by conducting land-based surveys at six camps: Kasegaluk Lagoon, Peard Bay, Point Barrow/Elson Lagoon, Colville Delta, Sagavanirktok Delta, and Okpilak Delta. The shorebird community was more even and diverse (evenness E and Shannon Weiner H’ ) along the Beaufort Sea compared to the Chukchi Sea and in 2005 versus 2006. Staging phenology varied by species and location and differed for several species from that reported in previous studies. Our results suggest the existence of three foraging habitat guilds among the shorebird species observed in this study: gravel beach, mudflat, and salt marsh/pond edge. A comparison to data collected in the mid-1970s suggests that these foraging associations are conserved through time. Results from this research will be useful to land managers for monitoring the effects of changing environmental conditions and human activity on shorebirds and their habitats in Arctic Alaska.

Arctic↗
USGS2013

Nocturnal activity of nesting shrubland and grassland passerines: Chapter 9

Nocturnal activity of nesting passerines is largely undocumented in field situations. We used video recordings to quantify sleep patterns of four shrubland and three grassland bird species during the nestling period. All species exhibited “back sleep” (bill tucked under scapular feathers); individuals woke frequently for vigils of their surroundings. Sleep-bout duration varied from 6 minutes (grasshopper sparrow) to 28 minutes (blue-winged warbler, field sparrow). Duration on nest varied from 6.4 hours (field sparrow) to 8.8 hours (indigo bunting). Adults woke 20–30 minutes before sunrise. First morning absence from the nest was short; nestlings were fed within 12 minutes of a parent’s departure. Further research is needed to understand energetic costs of sleep and behavioral adaptations to environmental pressures.

Connecticut↗
USGS2007

U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program - Science Supporting Mineral Resource Stewardship

The United States is the world's largest user of mineral resources. We use them to build our homes and cities, fertilize our food crops, and create wealth that allows us to buy goods and services. Individuals rarely use nonfuel mineral resources in their natural state - we buy light bulbs, not the silica, soda ash, lime, coal, salt, tungsten, copper, nickel, molybdenum, iron, manganese, aluminum, and zinc used to convert electricity into light. The USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP) is the sole Federal source of scientific information and unbiased research on nonfuel mineral potential, production, and consumption, as well as on the environmental effects of minerals. The MRP also provides baseline geochemical, geophysical, and mineral-deposit data used to understand environmental issues related to extraction and use of mineral resources. Understanding how minerals, water, plants, and organisms interact contributes to our understanding of the environment, which is essential for maintaining human and ecosystem health. To support creation of economic and national security policies in a global context, MRP collects and analyzes data on essential mineral commodities from around the world.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2011

An evaluation of traditional and emerging remote sensing technologies for the detection of fugitive contamination at selected Superfund hazardous waste sites

This report represents a remote sensing research effort conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the EPA Office of Inspector General. The objective of this investigation was to explore the efficacy of remote sensing as a technology for postclosure monitoring of hazardous waste sites as defined under the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-510, 42 U.S.C. §9601 et seq.), also known as \"Superfund.\" Five delisted Superfund sites in Maryland and Virginia were imaged with a hyperspectral sensor and visited for collection of soil, water, and spectral samples and inspection of general site conditions. This report evaluates traditional and hyperspectral imagery and field spectroscopic measurement techniques in the characterization and analysis of fugitive (anthropogenic, uncontrolled) contamination at previously remediated hazardous waste disposal sites.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2025

Cell penetrating peptide-mediated delivery of gene-silencing nucleic acids to the invasive common reed Phragmites australis via foliar application

As a popular tool for gene function characterization and gene therapy, RNA interference (RNAi)-based gene silencing has been increasingly explored for potential applications to control invasive species. At least two major hurdles exist when applying this approach to invasive plants: (1) the design and screening of species- and gene-specific biomacromolecules (i.e., gene-silencing agents or GSAs) made of DNA, RNA, or peptides that can suppress the expression of target genes efficiently, and (2) the delivery vehicle needed to penetrate plant cell walls and other physical barriers (e.g., leaf cuticles). In this study, we investigated the cell-penetrating peptide (CPP)-mediated delivery of multiple types of GSAs (e.g., double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), artificial microRNA (amiRNA), and antisense oligonucleotide (ASO)) to knock down a putative phytoene desaturase ( PDS ) gene in the invasive common reed ( Phragmites australis spp. australis ). Both microscopic and quantitative gene expression evidence demonstrated the CPP-mediated internalization of GSA cargos and transient suppression of PDS expression in both treated and systemic leaves up to 7 days post foliar application. Although various GSA combinations and application rates and frequencies were tested, we observed limitations, including low gene-silencing efficiency and a lack of physiological trait alteration, likely owing to low CPP payload capacity and the incomplete characterization of the PDS-coding genes (e.g., the recent discovery of two PDS paralogs) in P. australis . Our work lays a foundation to support further research toward the development of convenient, cost-effective, field-deployable, and environmentally benign gene-silencing technologies for invasive P. australis management.

Mississippi, Ohio↗
USGS2018

“Naturalness” in designated Wilderness: Long-term changes in non-native plant dynamics on campsites, Boundary Waters, Minnesota

Wilderness areas in the United States are preserved for their untrammeled naturalness and opportunities for unconfined recreation. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has these qualities, but long-term recreation visitation pressures on campsites can cause significant ecological changes. This article explores changes on campsites, specifically examining non-native plant ecology over 3 decades. The research replicates a 1982 study analyzing vegetation composition and cover on campsites and environmentally paired controls. Camping activities have removed substantial tree cover on campsites, altering their ecological conditions and perceived wilderness character. Over the span of 32 years, the number of non-native plant species found on campsites has not risen, although their mean relative cover has increased significantly and they have spread to more sites. Of the 23 non-native herbs and grasses found on the campsites, only Cirsium arvense is considered a noxious weed by the state of Minnesota. Other noninvasive, non-native plants fall into a gray area in the context of "naturalness" for an area protected as Wilderness because they provide some positive ecological services even as they degrade wilderness character. Thus, wilderness managers face a difficult challenge in coping with the long-term impacts of visitor use on wilderness conditions and character.

Minnesota↗
USGS1975

History of fish toxicants in the United States

Many bodies of water have been overrun with fish species that are undesirable for the well-being of endemic aquatic biota and are of little or no interest to anglers. This situation has resulted from the transplanting of fish, creation of new waters, increasing fishing pressure and changing water quality. Although as many as 30 toxicants have been tried, only about 30 major piscicides have been used in rehabilitation programs to remove the unwanted species. Explicit knowledge of the mode of action of toxicants in the environment and improvements in fish farming, have permitted fishery managers to reduce the amount of control chemical that is applied to obtain a desired result. The number and volume of waters being reclaimed have increased, but this trend may change soon because environmental laws involving the use of registered pesticides are becoming more restrictive. Registration research has established the safety of some fish toxicants but has eliminated others. Only four piscicides are presently registered (or nonfood use application: antimycin and rotenone as general fish toxicants and 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and Bayluscide as selective lampricides.

Special Publication↗
USGS2015

The fate of cyanide in leach wastes at gold mines: an environmental perspective

This paper reviews the basic chemistry of cyanide, methods by which cyanide can be analyzed, and aspects of cyanide behavior that are most relevant to environmental considerations at mineral processing operations associated with gold mines. The emphasis is on research results reported since 1999 and on data gathered for a series of U.S. Geological Survey studies that began in the late 1990s. Cyanide is added to process solutions as the CN − anion, but ore leaching produces numerous other cyanide-containing and cyanide-related species in addition to the desired cyanocomplex of gold. These can include hydrogen cyanide (HCN); cyanometallic complexes of iron, copper, zinc, nickel, and many other metals; cyanate (CNO − ); and thiocyanate (SCN − ). The fate of these species in solid wastes and residual process solutions that remain once gold recovery activities are terminated and in any water that moves beyond the ore processing facility dictates the degree to which cyanide poses a risk to aquatic organisms and aquatic-dependent organisms in the local environment. Cyanide-containing and cyanide-related species are subject to attenuation mechanisms that lead to dispersal to the atmosphere, chemical transformation to other carbon and nitrogen species, or sequestration as cyanometallic precipitates or adsorbed species on mineral surfaces. Dispersal to the atmosphere and chemical transformation amount to permanent elimination of cyanide, whereas sequestration amounts to storage of cyanide in locations from which it can potentially be remobilized by infiltrating waters if conditions change. From an environmental perspective, the most significant cyanide releases from gold leach operations involve catastrophic spills of process solutions or leakage of effluent to the unsaturated or saturated zones. These release pathways are unfavorable for two important cyanide attenuation mechanisms that tend to occur naturally: dispersal of free cyanide to the atmosphere and sunlight-catalyzed dissociation of strong cyanometallic complexes, which produces free cyanide that can then disperse to the atmosphere. The widest margins of environmental safety will be achieved where mineral processing operations are designed so that time for offgassing, aeration, and sunlight exposure are maximized in the event that cyanide-bearing solutions are released inadvertently.

Applied Geochemistry↗
USGS2014

Brine contamination to aquatic resources from oil and gas development in the Williston Basin, United States

The Williston Basin, which includes parts of Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota in the United States and the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada, has been a leading domestic oil and gas producing region for more than one-half a century. Currently, there are renewed efforts to develop oil and gas resources from deep geologic formations, spurred by advances in recovery technologies and economic incentives associated with the price of oil. Domestic oil and gas production has many economic benefits and provides a means for the United States to fulfill a part of domestic energy demands; however, environmental hazards can be associated with this type of energy production in the Williston Basin, particularly to aquatic resources (surface water and shallow groundwater) by extremely saline water, or brine, which is produced with oil and gas. The primary source of concern is the migration of brine from buried reserve pits that were used to store produced water during recovery operations; however, there also are considerable risks of brine release from pipeline failures, poor infrastructure construction, and flow-back water from hydraulic fracturing associated with modern oilfield operations. During 2008, a multidisciplinary (biology, geology, water) team of U.S. Geological Survey researchers was assembled to investigate potential energy production effects in the Williston Basin. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey participated in field tours and met with representatives from county, State, tribal, and Federal agencies to identify information needs and focus research objectives. Common questions from agency personnel, especially those from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, were “are the brine plumes (plumes of brine-contaminated groundwater) from abandoned oil wells affecting wetlands on Waterfowl Production Areas and National Wildlife Refuges?” and “are newer wells related to Bakken and Three Forks development different than the older, abandoned wells (in terms of potential for affecting aquatic resources)?” Of special concern were the wetland habitats of the ecologically important Prairie Pothole Region, which overlays a part of the Williston Basin and is recognized for the production of a majority of North America’s migratory waterfowl. On the basis of the concerns raised by on-the-ground land managers, as well as findings from previous research, a comprehensive study was developed with the following goals: summarize existing information pertaining to oil and gas production and aquatic resources in the Williston Basin; assess brine plume migration from new and previously studied sites in the Prairie Pothole Region; perform a regional, spatial evaluation of oil and gas production activities and aquatic resources; assess the potential for brine contamination to wetlands and streams; and hold a decision analysis workshop with key stakeholders to discuss issues pertaining to oil and gas production and environmental effects and to identify information gaps and research needs. This report represents an initial, multidisciplinary evaluation of measured and potential environmental effects associated with oil and gas production in the Williston Basin and Prairie Pothole Region. Throughout this report there are reviews of current knowledge, and discussions relating to data gaps and research needs. On the basis of the information presented, future research needs include: regional geophysical and water-quality assessments to establish baselines for current conditions and estimate the extent of previous brine contamination, investigations into the direct effects of brine to biotic communities, and evaluations to identify the most effective techniques to mitigate brine contamination.

Montana, North Dakota↗