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Following a request from the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey, the writer was assigned by the Director of the U.S. Geological Survey to make a preliminary geological investigation of the Salt Plains area in Oklahoma. He spent the period from January 13 to January 22, 1934, in the field making this study. (available as photostat copy only)
Acid water from abandoned coal mines in the vicinity of Morris Run and Blossburg, Pa., severely alter the aquatic environment of the Tioga River. From Morris Run to Crooked Creek, a reach of 19 miles, the river bed is influenced by a smothering blanket of heavy metal precipitates and highly acidic water. Biologically, this reach of the river is devoid of fishlife and nearly devoid of benthic macroinvertebrates. Downstream from Crooked Creek the water quality and biota are slowly restored. At Presho, N.Y., the river again supports an abundant and diversified population of fish and bottom-dwelling organisms.
A water-quality assessment of the Rock Creek (Cass) watershed was made June 12 and 13, 1974. Nutrients were resampled November 7, 1974. Surface waters within the watershed were calcium bicarbonate types with very similar concentrations of major dissolved constituents. Samples collected June 13 contained between 7.4 and 14 milligrams per litre dissolved nitrate (as N), between 0.05 and 1.3 milligrams per litre dissolved phosphate (as P), and between 2.3 to 4.0 milligrams per litre dissolved organic carbon. Samples collected November 7 contained less than 0.22 milligrams per litre dissolved nitrate (as N). The concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria ranged from 450 to 14,000 colonies per 100 millilitres. The concentrations of fecal streptococci bacteria ranged from 600 to 8,500 colonies per 100 millilitres. The bed materials of an upper Rock Creek site contained moderately high concentrations of dieldrin and chlordane (17 and 19 micrograms per kilogram, respectively) and also contained less than 6 micrograms per kilogram aldrin, DDD, heptachlor epoxide, and PCB's. Bed materials in a lower Rock Creek site contained less than 4.2 micrograms per kilogram of all the above compounds except PCB's. Biologic diversity indices of 2.7 and 2.2, which do not typify healthy benthic communities, were found in the upper and lower Rock Creek sampling sites, respectively. The benthic communities were dominated by midge larvae at both sites. Diatoms (Navicula sp) dominated the phytoplankton communities at both sites.
Hydrologic data are presented that may be useful in the permitapplication procedure required under current Office of Surface Mining regulations. The material is presented in a format which may serve as a guide for subsequent permit applications. Data on the quality and quantity of surface water and ground water for the mine plan, adjacent, and general areas are presented. The data are presented in three general categories: measured and estimated current conditions, estimated annual variations, and predicted effects of mining and reclamation. Current surface-water, ground-water, and biological conditions are the easiest to define. Seasonal variations in surface-water flow can be estimated with some confidence, but seasonal variations in surface-water quality, biological quality, and ground-water levels and quality are difficult to estimate with the insufficient field data available. The effects of mining and reclamation cannot be predicted through the use of the scant data collected and current predictive tools.
Ninety-seven grizzly bears Ursus arctos horribilis were radio-located 6299 times during 1975–1987. Annual range sizes differed by sex, age, reproductive status and amount of precipitation. Females exhibited greater fidelity to seasonal and annual ranges than males. Weaned female offspring generally remained in the vicinity of the maternal range, while weaned males often made substantial movements to unexplored country. Average total home range size was 884 km 2 for females and 3757 km 2 for males. Males consistently exhibited greater indices of movement and range sizes than females. All cohorts had larger mean ranges during this study than during the period 1959–1969 when the population had access to open garbage dumps. Movements and elevational distribution of all cohorts were related to availability of whitebark pine Pinus albicaulis seeds. We hypothesized that females with cubs-of-the-year and yearlings were displaced from most productive habitats during seasons and years of limited food availability.
To inform planning for long-term ecological monitoring, we sampled vegetation and soil-surface attributes across a range of terrestrial ecosystems (physiognomic types) in seven National Park Service units on the Colorado Plateau. Primary objectives were (1) to evaluate a suite of sampling methods according to measures of repeatability, efficiency, and impacts on plot conditions; and (2) to characterize within- and among-plot variability in monitoring measures. This work was designed to support NPS staff in selecting the combination of methods that best meets their monitoring objectives and resource constraints. We found no differences among cover-estimation techniques in terms of repeatability between observers (measurement precision). Estimates for total live understory canopy cover, cover of individual species, and cover of soil-surface features were highly repeatable between observers for 10-m2 quadrats, 1-m2 quadrats, and line-point intercept sampling methods. Estimates of shrub and tree density in 10-m2 quadrats also were repeatable between observers, although sample sizes for were small for many species. At 10 of 11 ecological sites, we found that sampling with 10-m2 quadrats was the most efficient cover-estimation technique with respect to within-plot variability in cover estimates and numbers of subsamples required to estimate plot-level cover with 20 percent precision. According to these same measures, sampling with 1-m2 quadrats was the least efficient cover-estimation technique at eight of 11 ecological sites. The line-point technique was most efficient at eight of 11 ecological sites in terms of the amount of time required to estimate total plot-level cover with 20 percent precision - largely because 10-m2 quadrats were more time consuming and 1-m2 quadrats had greater within-plot variability relative to line-point sampling. However, there was no statistical difference among methods with respect to median subsampling times for 20 percent precision. There also were no differences among methods with respect to mean and median measures of among-plot variability in total live understory canopy cover. But among-plot variability was least for the line-point technique at seven of 11 ecological sites. Sampling activities had greatest impacts on plot conditions at macroplots where there was a high degree of cover by biological and physical soil crusts. Of all sampling procedures, 10-m2 quadrat sampling, line-point sampling, and gap-intercept sampling had the most impacts on soil conditions due to trampling of soil crusts by the field team.
Airborne digital-image data were collected for the Arizona part of the Colorado River ecosystem below Glen Canyon Dam in 2009. These four-band image data are similar in wavelength band (blue, green, red, and near infrared) and spatial resolution (20 centimeters) to image collections of the river corridor in 2002 and 2005. These periodic image collections are used by the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center (GCMRC) of the U.S. Geological Survey to monitor the effects of Glen Canyon Dam operations on the downstream ecosystem. The 2009 collection used the latest model of the Leica ADS40 airborne digital sensor (the SH52), which uses a single optic for all four bands and collects and stores band radiance in 12-bits, unlike the image sensors that GCMRC used in 2002 and 2005. This study examined the performance of the SH52 sensor, on the basis of the collected image data, and determined that the SH52 sensor provided superior data relative to the previously employed sensors (that is, an early ADS40 model and Zeiss Imaging's Digital Mapping Camera) in terms of band-image registration, dynamic range, saturation, linearity to ground reflectance, and noise level. The 2009 image data were provided as orthorectified segments of each flightline to constrain the size of the image files; each river segment was covered by 5 to 6 overlapping, linear flightlines. Most flightline images for each river segment had some surface-smear defects and some river segments had cloud shadows, but these two conditions did not generally coincide in the majority of the overlapping flightlines for a particular river segment. Therefore, the final image mosaic for the 450-kilometer (km)-long river corridor required careful selection and editing of numerous flightline segments (a total of 513 segments, each 3.2 km long) to minimize surface defects and cloud shadows. The final image mosaic has a total of only 3 km of surface defects. The final image mosaic for the western end of the corridor has areas of cloud shadow because of persistent inclement weather during data collection. This report presents visual comparisons of the 2002, 2005, and 2009 digital-image mosaics for various physical, biological, and cultural resources within the Colorado River ecosystem. All of the comparisons show the superior quality of the 2009 image data. In fact, the 2009 four-band image mosaic is perhaps the best image dataset that exists for the entire Arizona part of the Colorado River.
Periodic water-quality data were collected at four landfills in Hillsborough County from January 1974 through October 1977. Water samples were analyzed for nitrogen and phosphorous species, cations, trace metals, chloride, specific conductance, chemical oxygen demand, biological oxygen demand, and coliforms. Select ground-water samples were analyzed for herbicide and pesticide. Results of chemical and bacteriological analysis form four landfills are presented as basic data. Geologic logs and well descriptions are presented for wells drilled at the landfills after January 1974.
The chemical, physical and biologic properties of Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida were investigated from January 1969 through April 1971. Purposes were to define the condition of the lake with respect to its state of eutrophication and to provide needed base-line data from which water-management decisions might be made.
Tidal wetlands in Tampa Bay, Florida, consist of mangrove forests and salt marshes. Wetlands buffer storm surges, provide fish and wildlife habitat, and enhance water quality through the removal of water-borne nutrients and contaminants. Substantial areas of both mangroves and salt marshes have been lost to agricultural, residential, and industrial development in this urban estuary. Wetlands researchers are characterizing the biological components of tidal wetlands and examining the physical factors such as salinity, tidal flushing, and sediment deposition that control the composition of tidal wetland habitats. Wetlands restoration is a priority of resource managers in Tampa Bay. Baseline studies such as these are needed for successful restoration planning and evaluation.
Jumbo multiple plate samplers were suspended in a river at 0.3 and 1 m depth in one of three orientations: interplate spaces closed to downwelling light and open to flow, open to light and flow, or open to light and closed to flow. Mean numbers of colonizing taxa and individuals were not significantly different among orientations after eight weeks of submergence. All variables tested decreased significantly with depth. Mean number of taxa, number of individuals (1 m only), and insect diversity decreased between samplings at four and eight weeks for samplers that were closed to light and open to flow. All orientations, depths, and durations had one‐half to two‐thirds of the total taxa. Colonization was affected by location in the river and position on sampler suspension equipment. The results indicate lack of orientation effects on colonization or high variability that obscured such effects. The sampler suspension equipment possibly increased among‐sampler variability by forming artificial snag habitats, and interplate light and flow conditions at different orientations may not have been sufficiently distinct to elicit different biological responses. Individual samplers provided diverse microhabitats regardless of orientation, but it would be prudent to include orientation among the variables considered in use of multiple plate samplers.
Using multiple-proxy biological indicators, a paleoecological history of the past 550 years of Featherbed Bank, Biscayne Bay, has been reconstructed from a short (2.26 m) sediment core. Paleoecological changes in ostracode, mollusc, and foraminifer assemblages show that core SEI297-FB-1 can be divided into three distinctly different zones, which together provide evidence for distinct changes in historical environmental conditions at Featherbed Bank. Assemblages from fossil biotic communities within zone 1, representing approximately 1440 to 1550 AD, are characterized by open-marine biota with relatively limited numbers of epiphytic biota. Molluscan faunal indicators suggest the sediment was capable of supporting infaunal organisms and that faunal richness was relatively limited during this time period. A change in the biotic community occurred around 1550 AD and continued until the late 1800's distinguishing zone 2. Fossil biotic indicators from zone 2 show a strong dominance of epiphytic organisms within all of the biotic communities examined. Foraminifers, molluscs, and ostracodes capable of subsisting in salinities slightly lower than normal marine begin to flourish in this time period, and there is a marked decline in infaunal molluscs. Zone 2 assemblages are replaced around 1900 AD by increased numbers of organisms that typify open-marine conditions and a return to decreased epiphytic assemblages, similar to zone 1. Zone 3 assemblages, however, show some strong dissimilarities from zone 1, including limited infaunal molluscs, increased abundances of the ostracode Malzella floridana, and a significant increase in molluscan faunal richness.
Seagrasses are a widespread type of marine flowering plants that grow in nearshore intertidal and subtidal zones. Seagrass beds are ecologically important because they affect physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of nearshore habitat, and they are sensitive to changes in coastal water quality (Stevenson and others, 1993; Koch, 2001; Martinez-Crego and others, 2008). Zostera marina, commonly known as eelgrass, is protected by a no-net-loss policy in Washington State where it may be used as spawning habitat by herring, a key prey species for salmon, seabirds, and marine mammals (Bargmann, 1998). Eelgrass forms broad meadows in shallow embayments or narrow fringes on open shorelines (Berry and others, 2003). Anthropogenic activities that increase turbidity, nutrient loading, and physical disturbance at the coast can result in dramatic seagrass decline (Ralph and others, 2006).
In northern marine habitats, the presence or absence of sea ice results in variability in the distribution of many species and the quality and availability of pelagic winter habitat. To understand the effects of ice on intra- and inter-annual winter site fidelity and movements in a northern sea-duck species, we marked 25 adult Pacific Common Eiders ( Somateria mollissima v-nigrum ) on their nesting area at Cape Espenberg, Alaska, with satellite transmitters and monitored their movements to their wintering areas in the northern Bering Sea for a 2-year period. We examined changes in winter fidelity in relation to home-range characteristics and ice. Characteristics of polynyas (areas with persistent open water during winter) varied substantially and likely had an effect on the size of winter ranges and movements within polynyas. Movements within polynyas were correlated with changes in weather that affected ice conditions. Ninety-five percent of individuals were found within their 95% utilization distribution (UD) of the previous year, and 90% were found within their 50% UD. Spatial distributions of winter locations between years changed for 32% of the individuals; however, we do not consider these subtle movements biologically significant. Although ice conditions varied between polynyas within and between years, the Common Eiders monitored in our study showed a high degree of fidelity to their winter areas. This observation is counterintuitive, given the requirement that resources are predictable for site fidelity to occur; however, ice may not have been severe enough to restrict access to other resources and, subsequently, force birds to move.
The mission of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program is to describe the status and trends in the quality of a large, representative part of the nation's surface- and ground-water resources and to improve understanding of the primary natural and human factors affecting the quality of these resources. This report is a collection of 1,364 bibliographic references to water-related information and studies that are pertinent to these goals in the Acadian-Ponchartrain Study Unit of the National Water- Quality Assessment Program This study unit includes all or parts of 39 parishes in southern Louisiana and 5 counties in southwestern Mississippi. These references encompass a large range of subjects, including aquatic biology, climate, geology, land use, liminology, salinity, sedimentation, subsidence, surface-and ground-water hydrology, urban runoff, water chemistry, and water use and management. Publication dates for references range from 1863 through 2000. Whenever possible, an abstract is included in addition to the bibliographic information.
This report summarizes the U. S. Geological Survey 's Water Resources Division 's program in Ohio in 1985. The work of the Ohio District is carried out through the District office in Columbus and a field office in New Philadelphia. Collection of basic data needed for continuing determination and evaluation of the quantity, quality, and use of Ohio 's water resources is the responsibility of the District 's Hydrologic Surveillance Section. The Hydrologic Investigations Section conducts analytical and interpretive water-resource appraisals describing the occurrence, availability, and the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of surface and groundwater. In addition to introductory material describing the structure of the Ohio District, information is presented on current projects, sites at which basic surface- and groundwater data are collected , and reports of Ohio 's water resources published by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating agencies. (USGS)
The breeding ecology of south temperate bird species is less widely known than that of north temperate species, yet because they comprise a large portion of the world's avian diversity, knowledge of their breeding ecology can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the geographic diversity of avian reproductive traits and life history strategies. We provide the first detailed examination of the reproductive strategies of 18 forest passerines of subtropical, northwestern Argentina. Mean clutch sizes were smaller and egg mass was greater than for north temperate birds, but differed among species and nest types, with cavity-nesters having larger clutches than species with open-cup and enclosed nests. Across all species, the average breeding season duration was 50 days; thus, the common perception that southern species have smaller clutch sizes because of longer breeding seasons is not supported in this community. Daily nest predation rates were influenced by nest type, cavity nests suffering the least from predation, as found in north temperate systems. Only females incubated eggs in all but one species, whereas both parents fed and cared for nestlings in all species. Mean nest attentiveness was low compared to north temperate passerines. Mean hourly nestling feeding rates differed among species and were negatively related to nest predation risk. In short, coexisting species in this subtropical forest varied in their life history strategies, in part correlated with variation in nest predation risk, but also differing from north temperate species. ?? The Cooper Ornithological Society 2007.
In 1999, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recommended that NOAA 's National Marine Fisheries Service establish two approximately 11-square-mile areas on the shelf edge in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico as no-fishing areas. One of the areas, the Madison-Swanson Marine Protected Area ( MPA ) lies about 100 km south of Panama City, Florida. The second area, Steamboat Lumps MPA lies about 150 km SSE of Madison-Swanson. The high-resolution seismic-reflection data contained herein were collected as part of a larger study of the effectiveness of no-fishing reserves in protecting grouper spawning aggregations. These subbottom profiles will be used in conjunction with other data to map the seafloor geology and the character and extent of benthic habitats within and surrounding the two MPAs. They show the shape and acoustic impedence of the seafloor and the thicknesses and orientations of shallow subsurface horizons. These data may be helpful in the following applications: choosing biological monitoring sites management decisions in the MPA s choosing sites for future MPA s studies of paleo-sealevel studies of the inter-relationships between seafloor geology and benthic ecology studies of sedimentary geology and geologic framework of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico