Geology Reports⌕ Search

SEARCH · Geology Reports

Results for “Publication”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,477 records · Page 82Linked to original sources

Geospatial resources for the geologic community: The USGS National Map

Geospatial data are a key component of investigating, interpreting, and communicating the geological sciences. Locating geospatial data can be time-consuming, which detracts from time spent on a study because these data are not obviously placed in central locations or are served from many disparate databases. The National Map of the US Geological Survey is a publicly available resource for accessing the geospatial base map data needs of the geological community from a central location. The National Map data are available through a viewer and download platform providing access to eight primary data themes, plus the US Topo and scanned historical topographic maps. The eight themes are elevation, orthoimagery, hydrography, geographic names, boundaries, transportation, structures, and land cover, and they are being offered for download as predefined tiles in formats supported by leading geographic information system software. Data tiles are periodically refreshed to capture the most current content and are an efficient method for disseminating and receiving geospatial information. Elevation data, for example, are offered as a download from the National Map as 1° × 1° tiles for the 10- and 30- m products and as 15′ × 15′ tiles for the higher-resolution 3-m product. Vector data sets with smaller file sizes are offered at several tile sizes and formats. Partial tiles are not a download option—any prestaged data that intersect the requesting bounding box will be, in their entirety, part of the download order. While there are many options for accessing geospatial data via the Web, the National Map represents authoritative sources of data that are documented and can be referenced for citation and inclusion in scientific publications. Therefore, National Map products and services should be part of a geologist’s first stop for geospatial information and data.

Journal of Geology↗

Passive tick surveillance, dog seropositivity, and incidence of human Lyme disease

Data on nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks submitted by the public to the University of Rhode Island Tick Research Laboratory for testing from 1991 to 2000 were compared with human case data from the Rhode Island Department of Health to determine the efficacy of passive tick surveillance at assessing human risk of Lyme disease. Numbers of ticks submitted were highly correlated with human cases by county ( r = 0.998, n = 5 counties) and by town ( r = 0.916, n = 37 towns), as were the numbers of positive ticks submitted ( r = 0.989 by county, r = 0.787 by town). Human cases were correlated with ticks submitted by town each year, and with positive ticks in all but 2 years. Thus, passive tick surveillance effectively assessed geographical risk of human Lyme disease. In contrast, tick submissions through time were not correlated with human cases from year to year. Dog seropositivity was significantly correlated with human cases by county in both years tested, but by town in only one of two years. Numbers of ticks submitted were correlated with dog seropositivity by county but not by town, apparently because of high variability among towns with small sample sizes. Our results suggest that passive tick surveillance, using ticks submitted by the public for Lyme spirochete testing, can be used to assess the geographical distribution of Lyme disease risk, but cannot reliably predict Lyme incidence from year to year.

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases↗

A science products inventory for citizen-science planning and evaluation

Citizen science involves a range of practices involving public participation in scientific knowledge production, but outcomes evaluation is complicated by the diversity of the goals and forms of citizen science. Publications and citations are not adequate metrics to describe citizen-science productivity. We address this gap by contributing a science products inventory (SPI) tool, iteratively developed through an expert panel and case studies, intended to support general-purpose planning and evaluation of citizen-science projects with respect to science productivity. The SPI includes a collection of items for tracking the production of science outputs and data practices, which are described and illustrated with examples. Several opportunities for further development of the initial inventory are highlighted, as well as potential for using the inventory as a tool to guide project management, funding, and research on citizen science.

BioScience↗

Retrospective stepwise prioritization of chemicals detected in Great Lakes tributaries (2008–2018)

Through the U.S. Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a 10-year, multiagency chemical monitoring effort was undertaken across the Great Lakes. In this effort, 586 chemicals were monitored and 334 were detected in grab/composite water samples. To help inform potential future actions, a stepwise prioritization framework was used to identify compounds for which publicly accessible water quality guidelines or effects information suggested there was potential aquatic ecotoxicity. Because water quality guidelines were only available for some chemicals, this framework used apical toxicity data collated from publicly accessible databases (e.g., the ECOTOXicology Knowledgebase) and alternative data, including literature-derived non-apical effect concentrations, in vitro bioactivities from high-throughput screening, and modeled ecotoxicity. To account for the diverse levels of confidence in these data, chemicals were prioritized within specific action categories, which suggested potential management or experimental activities that may be considered based on the types of data available for each compound. Overall, 11 detected chemicals were identified as high priority in different action categories. This included four chemicals prioritized for environmental management or targeted risk assessment, three chemicals prioritized for effects-based monitoring, one chemical prioritized for apical effects assessment, and three chemicals targeted for non-apical effects evaluation. This framework also identified 164 low-priority chemicals, among which more than 50% were prioritized based on water quality guidelines or apical effect concentrations (thus could be considered low priority for future risk assessment or management activities). Results aim to help regulatory agencies, environmental managers, and other stakeholders focus available resources on carrying out monitoring, experimental, and risk assessments for the chemicals that display the greatest potential to adversely impact Great Lakes ecosystems.

Great Lakes↗

Management of arthropod pathogen vectors in North America: Minimizing adverse effects on pollinators

Tick and mosquito management is important to public health protection. At the same time, growing concerns about declines of pollinator species raise the question of whether vector control practices might affect pollinator populations. We report the results of a task force of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) that examined potential effects of vector management practices on pollinators, and how these programs could be adjusted to minimize negative effects on pollinating species. The main types of vector control practices that might affect pollinators are landscape manipulation, biocontrol, and pesticide applications. Some current practices already minimize effects of vector control on pollinators (e.g., short-lived pesticides and application-targeting technologies). Nontarget effects can be further diminished by taking pollinator protection into account in the planning stages of vector management programs. Effects of vector control on pollinator species often depend on specific local conditions (e.g., proximity of locations with abundant vectors to concentrations of floral resources), so planning is most effective when it includes collaborations of local vector management professionals with local experts on pollinators. Interventions can then be designed to avoid pollinators (e.g., targeting applications to avoid blooming times and pollinator nesting habitats), while still optimizing public health protection. Research on efficient targeting of interventions, and on effects on pollinators of emerging technologies, will help mitigate potential deleterious effects on pollinators in future management programs. In particular, models that can predict effects of integrated pest management on vector-borne pathogen transmission, along with effects on pollinator populations, would be useful for collaborative decision-making.

Journal of Medical Entomology↗

Prevalence of Ehrlichia, Borrelia, and Rickettsial agents in Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from nine states

Ambyomma antericanum (L.) (Acari: Ixodidae) is an aggressive tick that feeds on humans during all postembryonic life stages. In many regions of the United States, it is the tick most commonly found attached to humans. Public health interest has grown recently, due to the recognition of new human pathogens transmitted by A. antericanum and the expanding distribution of the tick. A. americanum is a vector of several bacteria pathogenic to humans. Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii cause moderate-to-severe febrile illness. 'Rickettsia amblyommii,' a member of the spotted fever group Rickettsia, also has recently been implicated as a possible human pathogen based on serologic evidence from persons recovering from illness after a tick bite. We have determined the prevalence of infection of Ehrlichia chaffeensis, E. ewingii, 'Borrelia lonestari,' and R. amblyommii within A. americanum ticks from 29 sites in nine states. Overall infection prevalences were 4.7% for E. chaffeensis (range, 0-27%), 3.5% for E. ewingii (range, 0-18.6%), 2.5% for B. lonestari (range, 0-12.2%), and 41.2% for R. amblyommii (range, 0-84.0%). In addition, 87 ticks (4.3%) were infected with two or more bacteria. This report documents new distribution records for E. ewingii, B. lonestari, and R. amblyommii and underscores the nonhomogeneous distribution of pathogen foci of infection. Additional surveillance throughout the range of A. antericanum is warranted to increase physician and public awareness of the risk of disease to humans from exposure to the agents transmitted by this tick.

Journal of Medical Entomology↗

Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications

Habitat destruction and infectious disease are dual threats to nature and people. The potential to simultaneously advance conservation and human health has attracted considerable scientific and popular interest; in particular, many authors have justified conservation action by pointing out potential public health benefits . One major focus of this debate—that biodiversity conservation often decreases infectious disease transmission via the dilution effect—remains contentious. Studies that test for a dilution effect often find a negative association between a diversity metric and a disease risk metric, but how such associations should inform conservation policy remains unclear for several reasons. For one, diversity and infection risk have many definitions, making it possible to identify measures that conform to expectations. Furthermore, the premise that habitat destruction consistently reduces biodiversity is in question, and disturbance or conservation can affect disease in many ways other than through biodiversity change. To date, few studies have examined the broader set of mechanisms by which anthropogenic disturbance or conservation might increase or decrease infectious disease risk to human populations. Due to interconnections between biodiversity change, economics and human behaviour, moving from ecological theory to policy action requires understanding how social and economic factors affect conservation. This Theme Issue arose from a meeting aimed at synthesizing current theory and data on ‘biodiversity, conservation and infectious disease’ (4–6 May 2015). Ecologists, evolutionary biologists, economists, epidemiologists, veterinary scientists, public health professionals, and conservation biologists from around the world discussed the latest research on the ecological and socio-economic links between conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease, and the open questions and controversies in these areas. By combining ecological understanding with insights from the social and economic sciences, the papers in this Theme Issue address the complex relationships, patterns and ecological mechanisms that influence conservation, infectious disease, and the policy options available to protect nature and human health.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B:↗

Opera Dynamic Surface Water extents for Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (DSWX-HLS) validation activities

We present the validation methodology and results of Dynamic Surface Water eXtent from Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (DSWx-HLS). The DSWx-HLS product is the first of the DSWx suite, comprised of products each which map water from Earth Observation optical and SAR satellites. We detail the generation of high-resolution (3 m) validation datasets from a globally-stratified sample of dry, moderate, and wet sites. We provide the precise accounting of the classification metrics used to verify the Observational Products for End-users from Remote Sensing Analysis (OPERA) project requirements. We also report broader classification metrics across the validation datasets considered. OPERA performs validation in the public domain to ensure that the validation activities are transparent and reproducible. The resulting validation datasets and provisional OPERA products are publicly available; the software used for validation is also open-source.

Conference Paper↗

Integrating presence-only and detection/non-detection data to estimate distributions and expected abundance of difficult-to-monitor species on a landscape-scale

Estimating species distribution and abundance is foundational to effective management and conservation. Using an integrated species distribution model that combines presence-only data from various sources with detection/non-detection data from structured surveys, we estimated the distribution and expected abundance of three difficult-to-monitor mammals of management concern across New York State, namely, coyotes ( Canis latrans ), bobcats ( Lynx rufus ) and black bears ( Ursus americanus ). Three distinct landscape-scale camera trap surveys provided detection/non-detection data over 9 years between 2013 and 2021, and we augmented those data with incidental records of our focal species from public repositories. We used an inhomogeneous Poisson point process to construct an integrated model that fit both data types simultaneously. We demonstrate a simple application of spatial point density of all species records in the accessed public databases to inform the thinning process to account for unknown spatial sampling in the presence-only data, often referred to as the ‘magic covariate’. Using this approach, we examine habitat associations and provide spatially explicit estimates in expected abundance across the entirety of New York State for all three focal species. As expected, coyotes were the most widely distributed and abundant species, with a strong positive association with agricultural land uses. Bobcats exhibited low expected abundance throughout the state and showed positive associations with deciduous forest and forest edge, and a negative association with road density. Finally, we observed considerable spatial variation in abundance of black bears with expected abundance increasing in association with various forest cover and composition covariates and decreasing with crop cover. We present insights into habitat associations and spatial variation in abundance, and provide management implications for each of the species of interest. Synthesis and applications . Our integrated modelling method allows for managers to use citizen sightings combined with detection/non-detection surveys to estimate robust indices of abundance for both high- and low-density, and wide-spread versus patchily distributed species. Through comparison with previous studies, we highlight how broad-scale programmes, such as the statewide efforts to estimate species distributions undertaken here, can benefit substantively from integrated models that leverage additional data (here, incidental records) from a larger region of space, and thus capture more landscape heterogeneity than is plausible within formalized surveys alone.

New York↗

Supporting diverse data providers in the open water data initiative: Communicating water data quality and fitness of use

Shared, trusted, timely data are essential elements for the cooperation needed to optimize economic, ecologic, and public safety concerns related to water. The Open Water Data Initiative (OWDI) will provide a fully scalable platform that can support a wide variety of data from many diverse providers. Many of these will be larger, well-established, and trusted agencies with a history of providing well-documented, standardized, and archive-ready products. However, some potential partners may be smaller, distributed, and relatively unknown or untested as data providers. The data these partners will provide are valuable and can be used to fill in many data gaps, but can also be variable in quality or supplied in nonstandardized formats. They may also reflect the smaller partners' variable budgets and missions, be intermittent, or of unknown provenance. A challenge for the OWDI will be to convey the quality and the contextual “fitness” of data from providers other than the most trusted brands. This article reviews past and current methods for documenting data quality. Three case studies are provided that describe processes and pathways for effective data-sharing and publication initiatives. They also illustrate how partners may work together to find a metadata reporting threshold that encourages participation while maintaining high data integrity. And lastly, potential governance is proposed that may assist smaller partners with short- and long-term participation in the OWDI.

Journal of the American Water Resources Associatio↗

The underlying causes of differential migration: Assumptions, hypotheses, and predictions

Mechanisms governing the migratory decisions of birds have long fascinated ecologists and sparked considerable debate. Identifying factors responsible for variation in migration distance, also known as differential migration, has been a popular approach to understanding the mechanisms underlying migratory behaviour more generally. However, research progress has been slowed by the continued testing of overlapping, non-mechanistic, and circular predictions among a small set of historically entrenched hypotheses. We highlight the body size hypothesis and suggest that the predictions commonly tested have impeded progress because body size relationships with migration distance are predictions made by several distinct hypotheses with contrasting mechanisms. The cost of migration itself has not been adequately accounted for in most hypotheses, and we propose two flight efficiency hypotheses with time- and energy-minimizing mechanisms that allow individuals to mitigate the risks inherent to longer migrations. We also advance two conceptual versions of the social dominance hypothesis based on two distinct underlying mechanisms related to distance minimization and food maximization that will help clarify the role of competition in driving migratory decisions. Overall, we describe and refine 12 mechanistic hypotheses proposed to explain differential migration (along with several other special-case hypotheses), seven of which have underlying mechanisms related to food limitation as past research has identified this to be an important driver of differential migration. We also thoroughly reviewed 145 publications to assess the amount of support for 10 critical assumptions underlying alternative hypotheses for differential migration in birds. Our review reveals that surprisingly few studies explicitly evaluate assumptions within a differential migration context. Generating and testing strong predictions and critical assumptions underlying mechanisms of alternative hypotheses will improve our ability to differentiate among these explanations of differential migration. Additionally, future intraspecific progress will be greatest if investigators continue to focus on mechanisms underlying variation in migration distance within rather than among demographic classes, as previous research has found differing mechanisms to be responsible for differential migration among demographic classes. Interspecifically, a thorough comparative analysis that seeks to explain variation in migration distance among species would broaden both our understanding of the mechanisms regulating current differential migration patterns and those that led to the evolution of migration more generally. Collectively, we provide a framework that, together with advances in animal-borne tracking and other technology, can be used to advance our understanding of the causes of differential migration distance, and migratory decisions more generally.

Biological Reviews↗

A typology of time-scale mismatches and behavioral interventions to diagnose and solve conservation problems

Ecological systems often operate on time scales significantly longer or shorter than the time scales typical of human decision making, which causes substantial difficulty for conservation and management in socioecological systems. For example, invasive species may move faster than humans can diagnose problems and initiate solutions, and climate systems may exhibit long-term inertia and short-term fluctuations that obscure learning about the efficacy of management efforts in many ecological systems. We adopted a management-decision framework that distinguishes decision makers within public institutions from individual actors within the social system, calls attention to the ways socioecological systems respond to decision makers’ actions, and notes institutional learning that accrues from observing these responses. We used this framework, along with insights from bedeviling conservation problems, to create a typology that identifies problematic time-scale mismatches occurring between individual decision makers in public institutions and between individual actors in the social or ecological system. We also considered solutions that involve modifying human perception and behavior at the individual level as a means of resolving these problematic mismatches. The potential solutions are derived from the behavioral economics and psychology literature on temporal challenges in decision making, such as the human tendency to discount future outcomes at irrationally high rates. These solutions range from framing environmental decisions to enhance the salience of long-term consequences, to using structured decision processes that make time scales of actions and consequences more explicit, to structural solutions aimed at altering the consequences of short-sighted behavior to make it less appealing. Additional application of these tools and long-term evaluation measures that assess not just behavioral changes but also associated changes in ecological systems are needed.

Conservation Biology↗

Governance principles for wildlife conservation in the 21st century

Wildlife conservation is losing ground in the U.S. for many reasons. The net effect is declines in species and habitat. To address this trend, the wildlife conservation institution (i.e., all customs, practices, organizations and agencies, policies, and laws with respect to wildlife) must adapt to contemporary social–ecological conditions. Adaptation could be supported by clear guidelines reflecting contemporary expectations for wildlife governance. We combine elements of public trust thinking and good governance to produce a broad set of wildlife governance principles. These principles represent guidance for ecologically and socially responsible wildlife conservation. They address persistent, systemic problems and, if adopted, will bring the institution into line with modern expectations for governance of public natural resources. Implementation will require changes in values, objectives, and processes of the wildlife conservation institution. These changes may be difficult, but promise improved wildlife conservation outcomes and increased support for conservation. We introduce challenges and opportunities associated with the principles, and encourage dialogue about them among scientists, practitioners, and other leaders in U.S. wildlife conservation. The principles alone will not change the course of conservation for the better, but may be necessary for such change to occur.

Conservation Letters↗

Elevating human dimensions of amphibian and reptile conservation, a USA perspective

Increasing threats to amphibian and reptile species raise the urgency of their conservation. However, relative to other vertebrate groups at risk, amphibians and reptiles have low and more variable social capital; they are not generally high-priority natural goods and services valued by people. Consequently, relative to other groups such as birds, mammals, and economically important fish, they garner fewer conservation resources. With increasing risks, their situation degrades. We examine five societal sectors with herpetofaunal conservation interests in the United States (local communities, people in defined geographies and jurisdictions, species and threat specialists and advocates, associated researchers, managers, and policy makers) to understand challenges of low and variable social capital for herpetofauna. With current trends of US public values changing from traditionalist consumerism of wildlife to mutualist coexistence philosophies, a refocus of outreach and inreach efforts could help reframe priorities toward species at greatest risk, rather than broad taxonomic biases. Integrated teams of engaged natural resource managers, researchers, and the interested public can help promote species- and issue-based programs to forestall losses, hence programmatically raising social capital. Heightened recognition of the importance of human relationships and herpetofaunal diversity among researchers, managers, policy makers, educators, artists, authors, citizens, and children could provide inertia to reframe conservation program effectiveness at local-to-national scales.

Conservation Science and Practice↗

Biodiversity connections—‘ties that bind’

Connectivity is a foundational concept in ecology and conservation and was the organising theme for the 2022 Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Fishes Council, a professional organisation dedicated to the study and conservation of freshwater fishes native to the southeast region of the United States (US). We introduce a Special Contribution of six papers selected from presentations at that meeting that illustrate perspectives on connections created by fish migration and dispersal, evolved life histories and habitat affinities and interspecific facilitation. Although focused on streams of the southeast US, each of these topics is broadly relevant to freshwater fish conservation, particularly with respect to causes and consequences of migratory fish depletion, population fragmentation and species declines. Many other connections relevant to the ecology and conservation of freshwater fishes remain relatively unexplored but could substantively advance conservation. We highlight the potential that species evolutionary histories, that is connections through time, reconstructed using species distributions and phylogenies may improve predictions of species responses to environmental change. Identifying species interdependencies, including undiscovered interactions that support survival or reproduction, could provide insights into how species losses may cascade as aquatic communities unravel. Finally, efforts to elucidate diverse connections between people and freshwater biodiversity, particularly where fisheries are historic and streams mostly go unnoticed, may prove essential to building public support for conservation measures. A research agenda anchored on ‘biodiversity connections’ has the potential to advance ecological understanding and public engagement, elements essential to conserving freshwater fishes.

Ecology of Freshwater Fish↗

Insect communities in big sagebrush habitat are altered by wildfire and post‐fire restoration seeding

Natural resource managers sow grass, forb, and shrub seeds across millions of hectares of public lands in the western United States to restore sagebrush‐steppe ecosystems burned by wildfire. The effects of post‐fire vegetation treatments on insect communities in these ecosystems have not been investigated. We conducted the first investigation of insect community responses to post‐fire seeding on public rangelands by comparing the composition of insect communities at burned‐and‐seeded (treatment) and burned‐and‐unseeded (control) sagebrush‐steppe ecological sites in southwestern Idaho. Insect communities in burned areas were compared to unburned (reference) areas. Insect communities in burned plots did not resemble those in reference plots. Treatment plots had greater inter‐annual variability in insect community composition than control or reference plots, suggesting that communities may be less stable in seeded areas. The vegetation composition of the landscape surrounding plots influenced mobile species. Wildfire and post‐fire seeding may have lasting effects on insect communities in sagebrush‐steppe ecosystems. Wildfires decrease shrub cover. Post‐fire seeding increases perennial bunchgrasses and, where successful, reduces non‐native annual grasses. These habitat changes influence insect community composition. Future studies are needed to expand the inference of this study.

Insect Conservation and Diversity↗

Quantifying the hydrological responses to climate change in an intact forested small watershed in southern China

Responses of hydrological processes to climate change are key components in the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) assessment. Understanding these responses is critical for developing appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies for sustainable water resources management and protection of public safety. However, these responses are not well understood and little long-term evidence exists. Herein, we show how climate change, specifically increased air temperature and storm intensity, can affect soil moisture dynamics and hydrological variables based on both long-term observation and model simulations using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in an intact forested watershed (the Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve) in Southern China. Our results show that, although total annual precipitation changed little from 1950 to 2009, soil moisture decreased significantly. A significant decline was also found in the monthly 7-day low flow from 2000 to 2009. However, the maximum daily streamflow in the wet season and unconfined groundwater tables have significantly increased during the same 10-year period. The significant decreasing trends on soil moisture and low flow variables suggest that the study watershed is moving towards drought-like condition. Our analysis indicates that the intensification of rainfall storms and the increasing number of annual no-rain days were responsible for the increasing chance of both droughts and floods. We conclude that climate change has indeed induced more extreme hydrological events (e.g. droughts and floods) in this watershed and perhaps other areas of Southern China. This study also demonstrated usefulness of our research methodology and its possible applications on quantifying the impacts of climate change on hydrology in any other watersheds where long-term data are available and human disturbance is negligible.

Guangdong Province↗

Effects of Groundwater Development on Uranium: Central Valley, California, USA

Uranium (U) concentrations in groundwater in several parts of the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California, have exceeded federal and state drinking water standards during the last 20 years. The San Joaquin Valley is located within the Central Valley of California and is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. Increased irrigation and pumping associated with agricultural and urban development during the last 100 years have changed the chemistry and magnitude of groundwater recharge, and increased the rate of downward groundwater movement. Strong correlations between U and bicarbonate suggest that U is leached from shallow sediments by high bicarbonate water, consistent with findings of previous work in Modesto, California. Summer irrigation of crops in agricultural areas and, to lesser extent, of landscape plants and grasses in urban areas, has increased Pco2 concentrations in the soil zone and caused higher temperature and salinity of groundwater recharge. Coupled with groundwater pumping, this process, as evidenced by increasing bicarbonate concentrations in groundwater over the last 100 years, has caused shallow, young groundwater with high U concentrations to migrate to deeper parts of the groundwater system that are tapped by public-supply wells. Continued downward migration of U-affected groundwater and expansion of urban centers into agricultural areas will likely be associated with increased U concentrations in public-supply wells. The results from this study illustrate the potential longterm effects of groundwater development and irrigation-supported agriculture on water quality in arid and semiarid regions around the world.

California↗