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At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
USGS2001

A national pilot study of mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems along multiple gradients" Bioaccumulation in fish

Water, sediment, and fish were sampled in the summer and fall of 1998 at 106 sites from 20 U.S. watershed basins to examine relations of mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic ecosystems. Bioaccumulation of Hg in fish from these basins was evaluated in relation to species, Hg and MeHg in surficial sediment and water, and watershed characteristics. Bioaccumulation was strongly (positively) correlated with MeHg in water (r = 0.63, p < 0.001) but only moderately with the MeHg in sediment (r = 0.33, p < 0.001) or total Hg in water (r = 0.28, p < 0.01). Of the other significantly measured parameters, pH, DOC, sulfate, sediment LOI, and the percent wetlands of each basin were also significantly correlated with Hg bioaccumulation in fish. The best model for predicting Hg bioaccumulation included Me Hg in water, PH of the water, % wetlands in the basin, and the AVS content of the sediment. These four variables accounted for 45% of the variability of the fish fillet Hg concentration normalized (divided) by total length; however, the majority was described by MeHg in water. A MeHg water concentration 0.12 ng/L was on average, associated with a fish fillet Hg concentration of 0.3 mg/kg wet weight for an age-3 fish when all species were considered. For age-3 largemouth bass, a MeHg water concentration of 0.058 ng/L was associated with the 0.3 mg/kg fillet concentration. Based on rankings for Hg in sediment, water, and fish, sampling sites from the following five study basins had the greatest Hg contamination: Nevada Basin and Range, South Florida Basin, Sacramento River Basin (California), Santee River Basin and Caostal Drainages (South Carolina), and the Long Island and New Jersey Coastal Drainags. A sampling and analysis strategy based on this pilot study is planned for all USGS/NAWQA study units over the next decade.

Biological Science Report↗
USGS1984

Proposed 10-year plan for continuation of hydrologic studies of the Edwards Aquifer, San Antonio area, Texas

The importance of the Edwards aquifer as a freshwater resource and its susceptibility to being contaminated, being over utilized, or both resulted in the development of a proposed 10-year plan to monitor and study its hydrology. The plan proposes adjustments to the current monitoring activities of computing and measuring recharge, discharge, withdrawals, water levels, and water quality. To conduct the needed special studies , the plan recognizes the need for the construction and drilling of many new wells at specific locations and to selected depths. Many of the wells will be in clusters so that data can be obtained on a stratigraphic basis. Some of the topics identified for special study include: (1) The potential of saline water entering the freshwater zone from the downdip boundary; (2) the possibility of water leaking into the aquifer from an overlying aquifer; (3) the effects of urbanization on ground-water quality in local areas; (4) the movement and dissipation of a recharge water plume; (5) the influx of water from the Glen Rose Formation; (6) the effects of the fault barriers, regional dense bed, and irregular geologic framework on ground-water flow patterns; (7) natural recharge-discharge relationships; (8) the aquifer stage-storage relationship; (9) natural water-quality evolution; and (10) a refinement of the hydrogeologic framework in a local area.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2016

Development of a study design and implementation plan to estimate juvenile salmon survival in Lookout Point Reservoir and other reservoirs of the Willamette Project, western Oregon

Survival estimates for juvenile salmon and steelhead fry in reservoirs impounded by high head dams are coveted data by resource managers. However, this information is difficult to obtain because these fish are too small for tagging using conventional methods such as passive-integrated transponders or radio or acoustic transmitters. We developed a study design and implementation plan to conduct a pilot evaluation that would assess the performance of two models for estimating fry survival in a field setting. The first model is a staggered-release recovery model that was described by Skalski and others (2009) and Skalski (2016). The second model is a parentage-based tagging N -mixture model that was developed and described in this document. Both models are conceptually and statistically sound, but neither has been evaluated in the field. In this document we provide an overview of a proposed study for 2017 in Lookout Point Reservoir, Oregon, that will evaluate survival of Chinook salmon fry using both models. This approach will allow us to test each model and compare survival estimates, to determine model performance and better understand these study designs using field-collected data.

Oregon↗
USGS2022

Genomics-informed delineation of conservation units in a desert amphibian

Delineating conservation units (CUs, e.g., evolutionarily significant units, ESUs, and management units, MUs) is critical to the recovery of declining species because CUs inform both listing status and management actions. Genomic data have strengths and limitations in informing CU delineation and related management questions in natural systems. We illustrate the value of using genomic data in combination with landscape, dispersal, and occupancy data, to inform CU delineation in Nevada populations of the Great Basin Distinct Population Segment of the Columbia spotted frog ( Rana luteiventris ). R. luteiventris occupies naturally fragmented aquatic habitats in this xeric region, but beaver removal, climate change, and other factors have put many of these populations at high risk of extirpation without management intervention. We addressed three objectives: (1) assessing support for ESUs within Nevada; (2) evaluating and revising, if warranted, the current delineation of MUs; and (3) evaluating genetic diversity, effective population size, adaptive differentiation, and functional connectivity to inform ongoing management actions. We found little support for ESUs within Nevada but did identify potential revisions to MUs based on unique landscape drivers of connectivity that distinguish these desert populations from those in the northern portion of the species range. Effective sizes were uniformly small, with low genetic diversity and weak signatures of adaptive differentiation. Our findings suggest that management actions, including translocations and genetic rescue, might be warranted. Our study illustrates how a carefully planned genetic study, designed to address priority management goals that include CU delineation, can provide multiple insights to inform conservation action.

Molecular Ecology↗
USGS1979

Hydrologic and related data for water-supply planning in an intensive-study area, northeastern Wichita County, Kansas

Data are presented that result from an intensive geohydrologic study for water-supply planning in a 12-square-mile area in northeastern Wichita County, Kansas. These data include records of wells, test drilling, chemical analyses, ground-water levels, rainfall, soilmoisture, well yield, solar radiation, crop yield, and crop acreage. Data indicate that water levels in the unconsolidated aquifer are declining at an average annual rate of about 1 to 2 feet per year (1950-78). This decline is the aquifer's response to pumping by irrigation wells for watering corn, wheat, grain sorghum, and other crops.

Kansas↗
USGS2019

Flood-inundation maps for Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York

In 2016, digital flood-inundation maps along the shoreline of Lake Champlain in Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and northern Clinton County in New York were created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the International Joint Commission (IJC). This report discusses the creation of updated static digital flood-inundation mapping, in 2018, to include the entire shoreline of Lake Champlain in the United States. The flood-inundation maps, which can be accessed through the USGS Flood Inundation Mapping Science website at http://water.usgs.gov/osw/flood_inundation/ , depict estimates of the areal extent of flooding corresponding to selected water-surface elevations (stages) at the USGS lake gages on Lake Champlain. As a result of the record setting floods of May 2011 in Lake Champlain and the Richelieu River, the U.S. and Canadian governments requested that the IJC issue a reference for a study to identify how flood forecasting, preparedness, and mitigation could be improved in the Lake Champlain–Richelieu River Basin. The IJC submitted the Lake Champlain–Richelieu River Plan of Study to the governments of Canada and the United States in 2013. The flood-inundation maps in this study are one aspect of the task work outlined in the IJC 2013 Plan of Study. Wind and seiche effects (standing oscillating wave with a long wavelength) that can influence flooding along the Lake Champlain shoreline were not represented. The flood-inundation maps reflect 11 stages for Lake Champlain that are static for the entire area of the lake. Near-real-time stages at the USGS gages on Lake Champlain may be obtained from the USGS National Water Information System website at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ ( https://doi.org/10.5066/F7P55KJN ) or from the National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service at http://water.weather.gov/ahps/ . Updated static flood-inundation boundary extents were created for Lake Champlain in Franklin, Chittenden, Addison, Rutland, and Grand Isle Counties in Vermont and Clinton, Essex, and Washington Counties in New York by using recently acquired (2009, 2012, 2014, and 2015) light detection and ranging (lidar) data. The corresponding flood-inundation maps may be referenced to any of the four active USGS lake gages on Lake Champlain. Of these four active lake gages, USGS lake gage 04295000, Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y.; USGS lake gage 04294500, Lake Champlain at Burlington, Vt.; USGS lake gage 04279085 Lake Champlain north of Whitehall, N.Y.; and USGS lake gage 04294413, Lake Champlain at Port Henry, N.Y., only the Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y., gage also serves as a National Weather Service prediction location. Lake Champlain static flood-inundation map boundary extents corresponding to the May 2011 peak flood stage (103.20 feet [ft], National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929 [NGVD 29], as recorded at the USGS Rouses Point lake gage, were compared to the flood-inundation area extents determined from satellite imagery for the May 2011 flood (which incorporated documented high-water marks from the flood of May 2011) and were found to be in good agreement. The May 2011 flood is the highest recorded lake water level (stage) at the Rouses Point, N.Y., and Burlington, Vt., lake gages. Flood stages greater than 101.5 ft (NGVD 29) exceed the “major flood stage” as defined by the National Weather Service for USGS lake gage 04295000. Updated digital elevation models (DEMs) were created from the recent lidar data for Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York. These DEMs were used in determining the flood-inundation boundary and associated depth grids for 11 flood stages at 0.5-ft or 1-ft intervals from 100.0 to 106.0 ft (NGVD 29) as referenced to the USGS lake gages. In addition, the May 2011 flood-inundation area for elevation 103.20 ft (NGVD 29) (102.77 ft, North American Vertical Datum of 1988) was determined from these updated DEMs. The availability of these maps, along with online information regarding current stages at the USGS lake gages and forecasted high-flow stages from the National Weather Service at USGS lake gage 04295000, Richelieu River (Lake Champlain) at Rouses Point, N.Y., will provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood response activities such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for post-flood recovery efforts.

New York, Vermont↗
USGS2025

Mapping potential sensitivity to hydrogeomorphic change in the UMRS riverscape

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

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Sout↗
USGS2021

What's left before participatory modeling can fully support real-world environmental planning processes: A case study review

In environmental participatory modeling (PM), both computer and non-computer-based modeling techniques are used to aid participatory problem description, solution, and decision-making actions in environmental contexts. Although many PM case studies have been published, few efforts have sought to systematically describe and understand dominant PM processes or establish best practices for PM. As a first step, we have reviewed a random sample of environmental PM case study articles (n = 60) using a novel PM process evaluation instrument. We found that significant work likely remains for PM to fully support participatory and integrated planning processes. While PM reports systematically address knowledge integration and learning, they often neglect the facilitation of a multi-value perspective within a democratic process , and the integration across organizations within a governance system. If not reported, we suspect these aspects are also neglected in practice. We conclude with key research and practice issues for improving PM as an approach for real-world participatory planning and governance.

Environmental Modelling & Software↗
USGS2016

Planning and setting objectives in field studies: Chapter 2

This chapter enumerates the steps required in designing and planning field studies on the ecology and conservation of reptiles, as these involve a high level of uncertainty and risk. To this end, the chapter differentiates between goals (descriptions of what one intends to accomplish) and objectives (the measurable steps required to achieve the established goals). Thus, meeting a specific goal may require many objectives. It may not be possible to define some of them until certain experiments have been conducted; often evaluations of sampling protocols are needed to increase certainty in the biological results. And if sampling locations are fixed and sampling events are repeated over time, then both study-specific covariates and sampling-specific covariates should exist. Additionally, other critical design considerations for field study include obtaining permits, as well as researching ethics and biosecurity issues.

Book chapter↗
USGS1983

Work plan for the Sangamon River basin, Illinois

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Division of Water Resources of the Illinois Department of Transportation and other State agencies, recognizes the need for basin-type assessments in Illinois. This report describes a plan of study for a water-resource assessment of the Sangamon River basin in central Illinois. The purpose of the study would be to provide information to basin planners and regulators on the quantity, quality, and use of water to guide management decisions regarding basin development. Water quality and quantity problems in the Sangamon River basin are associated primarily with agricultural and urban activities, which have contributed high concentrations of suspended sediment, nitrogen, phosphorus, and organic matter to the streams. The impact has resulted in eutrophic lakes, diminished capacity of lakes to store water, low concentrations of dissolved oxygen, and turbid stream and lake waters. The four elements of the plan of study include: (1) determining suspended sediment and nutrient transport, (2) determining the distribution of selected inorganic and organic residues in streambed sediments, (3) determining the waste-load assimilative capacity of the Sangamon River, and (4) applying a hydraulic model to high streamflows. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1980

Planning and design of studies for river-quality assessment in the Truckee and Carson River basins, California and Nevada

The objectives of the Geological Survey 's river-quality assessment in the Truckee and Carson River basins in California and Nevada are to identify the significant resource management problems; to develop techniques to assess the problems; and to effectively communicate results to responsible managers. Six major elements of the assessment to be completed by October 1981 are (1) a detailing of the legal, institutional, and structural development of water resources in the basins and the current problems and conflicts; (2) a compilation and synthesis of the physical hydrology of the basins; (3) development of a special workshop approach to involve local management in the direction and results of the study; (4) development of a comprehensive streamflow model emcompassing both basins to provide a quantitative hydrologic framework for water-quality analysis; (5) development of a water-quality transport model for selected constituents and characteristics on selected reaches of the Truckee River; and (6) a detailed examination of selected fish habitats for specified reaches of the Truckee River. Progress will be periodically reported in reports, maps, computer data files, mathematical models, a bibliography, and public presentations. In building a basic framework to develop techniques, the basins were viewed as a single hydrologic unit because of interconnecting diversion structures. The framework comprises 13 hydrographic subunits to facilitate modeling and sampling. Several significant issues beyond the scope of the assessment were considered as supplementary proposals; water-quality loadings in Truckee and Carson Rivers, urban runoff in Reno and management alternatives, and a model of limnological processes in Lahontan Reservoir. (USGS)

California, Nevada↗
USGS2026

A template for integrated ecological restoration planning, implementation, and monitoring: Case study from the Little Saint Francis River Chat Pile mining site

We present here a template for integrated ecological restoration planning and monitoring, using a case study from the Little Saint Francis River chat pile restoration site in Madison County, Missouri, USA. We used US Department of Agriculture Ecological Site Descriptions (ESDs) to identify a range of potential target vegetation communities given the site's biophysical setting. Preliminary site inspection allowed qualitative assessment of current vegetation condition in relation to potential ESD community types and identification of broad restoration goals (for example, “restore woodlands”). By examining the results of the site assessment with ESD descriptions, we identified specific and achievable objectives for those goals as well as relevant metrics for monitoring vegetation change through time. Pre-restoration vegetation sampling enabled refinement of objectives and quantified conditions against which to assess change as restorations mature. Because the sampling methods were adopted to address the specific objectives for the restoration, they continue to provide the framework for monitoring vegetation changes following restoration implementation. Herein we describe how this approach was applied in each of the broad community types encountered at the Little Saint Francis River site, relating pre-restoration species abundance measures to abundance values typical of community types associated with each ESD. In so doing, we demonstrate an iterative, data-driven process that can be applied to restoration planning and monitoring in many ecological systems and restoration contexts.

Missouri↗
USGS2024

Designing count-based studies in a world of hierarchical models

Advances in hierarchical modeling have improved estimation of ecological parameters from count data, especially those quantifying population abundance, distribution, and dynamics by explicitly accounting for observation processes, particularly incomplete detection. Even hierarchical models that account for incomplete detection, however, cannot compensate for data limitations stemming from poorly planned sampling. Ecologists therefore need guidance for planning count-based studies that follow established sampling theory, collect appropriate data, and apply current modeling approaches to answer their research questions. We synthesize available literature relevant to guiding count-based studies. Considering the central historical and ongoing contributions of avian studies to ecological knowledge, we focus on birds as a case study for this review, but the basic principles apply to all populations whose members are sufficiently observable to be counted. The sequence of our review represents the thought process in which we encourage ecologists to engage 1) the research question(s) and population parameters to measure, 2) sampling design, 3) analytical framework, 4) temporal design, and 5) survey protocol. We also provide 2 hypothetical demonstrations of these study plan components representing different research questions and study systems. Mirroring the structure of hierarchical models, we suggest researchers primarily focus on the ecological processes of interest when designing their approach to sampling, and wait to consider logistical constraints of data collection and observation processes when developing the survey protocol. We offer a broad framework for researchers planning count-based studies, while pointing to relevant literature elaborating on particular tools and concepts.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗
USGS2012

Sylvatic plague vaccine and management of prairie dogs

Scientists at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC), in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Wisconsin (UW), have developed a sylvatic plague vaccine that shows great promise in protecting prairie dogs against plague (Mencher and others, 2004; Rocke and others, 2010). Four species of prairie dogs reside in the United States and Canada, and all are highly susceptible to plague and regularly experience outbreaks with devastating losses. Along with habitat loss and poisoning, plague has contributed to a significant historical decline in prairie dog populations. By some estimates, prairie dogs now occupy only 1 to 2 percent of their former range (Proctor and others, 2006), with prairie dog colonies being now much smaller and fragmented than they were historically, making individual colonies more vulnerable to elimination by plague (Antolin and others, 2002). At least one species, the Utah prairie dog ( Cynomys parvidens ) is listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) as "threatened." Controlling plague is a vital concern for ongoing management and conservation efforts for prairie dogs. Current efforts to halt the spread of plague in prairie dog colonies typically rely on dusting individual prairie dog burrows with pesticides to kill plague-infected fleas. Although flea-control insecticides, such as deltamethrin, are useful in stopping plague outbreaks in these prairie dog colonies, dusting of burrows is labor intensive and time consuming and may affect other insects and arthropods. As an alternative approach, NWHC and UW scientists developed a sylvatic plague vaccine (SPV) for prairie dogs that can be delivered via oral bait. Laboratory studies have shown that consumption of this vaccine-laden bait by different prairie dog species results in significant protection against plague infection that can last for at least 9 months (Rocke and others, 2010; Rocke, unpublished). Work has now shifted to optimizing baits and distribution methods for field delivery of the vaccine. Ultimately, the bait will be formulated in a size and shape that facilitates distribution by plane or overland vehicle. Field studies to assess the safety and efficacy of SPV are being planned. These studies will require involvement from numerous partners, including state and federal land management agencies, tribal organizations, private landowners and non-government agencies.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2010

Analysis of California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) use of six management units using location data from global positioning system transmitters, southern California, 2004-09-Initial report

This report provides an analysis of California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus) space use of six management units in southern California (Hopper Mountain and Bitter Creek National Wildlife Refuges, Wildlands Conservancy-Wind Wolves Preserve, Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and the Tejon Ranch excluding Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan and California Condor Study Area). Space use was analyzed to address urgent management needs using location data from Global Positioning System transmitters. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided the U.S. Geological Survey with location data (2004-09) for California Condors from Global Positioning System transmitters and Geographic Information System data for the six management units in southern California. We calculated relative concentration of use estimates for each management unit for each California Condor (n = 21) on an annual basis (n = 39 annual home ranges) and evaluated resource selection for the population each year using the individual as our sampling unit. The most striking result from our analysis was the recolonization of the Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and Tejon Ranch management units during 2008. During 2004-07, the home range estimate for two (25 percent) California Condors overlapped the Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and Tejon Ranch management units (n = 8), and use within the annual home range generally was bimodal and was concentrated on the Bitter Creek and Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuges. However, 10 (77 percent) California Condor home ranges overlapped the Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and Tejon Ranch management units during 2008 (n = 13), and by 2009, the home range of every condor carrying a Global Positioning System transmitter (n = 14) overlapped these management units. Space use was multimodal within the home range during 2008-09 and was concentrated on Hopper Mountain Refuge in the south, Bittercreek Refuge and the Wind Wolves Preserve in the northwest, and the Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and Tejon Ranch management units in the northeast. Recolonization of the Tejon Mountain Village Specific Plan, California Condor Study Area, and Tejon Ranch management units reestablished traditional condor movement and foraging patterns in southern California and provides the travel corridor (approximately 20 kilometers wide) for recolonization of the northeastern part of the species historical range.

Open-File Report↗