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At least 469 records · Page 26Linked to original sources

USGS2013

Habitat use of American eel ( Anguilla rostrata ) in a tributary of the Hudson River, New York

American eel Anguilla rostrata populations are declining over much of their native range. Since American eels spend extended periods in freshwater, understanding their habitat requirements while freshwater residents is important for the management and conservation of this species. As there is little information on American eel habitat use in streams, the ontogenetic, diel, and seasonal habitat use as well as habitat selectivity of three size groups (i.e. ≤199 mm total length, 200–399 mm, ≥400 mm) of eel were examined in a tributary of the Hudson River. American eels in Hannacroix Creek exhibited ontogenetic, diel, and seasonal variation in habitat use as well as habitat selection. During both summer and autumn all sizes of American eels used larger substrate and more cover during the day. American eels ≤199 mm exhibited the strongest habitat selection, whereas eels 200–399 mm exhibited the least. During the autumn all sizes of American eels occupied slower depositional areas where deciduous leaf litter accumulated and provided cover. This may have important implications for in-stream and riparian habitat management of lotic systems used by American eel.

New York↗

USGS2025

Fine-scale farming features drive resource selection of a small carnivore of conservation concern

Anthropogenic factors are accelerating species extinction, with small mammalian carnivores among the most affected. These species play vital ecological roles, yet their conservation needs are often overlooked. Our study focused on the plains spotted skunk ( Spilogale interrupta (Rafinesque, 1820)), a small carnivore that has experienced population declines. We hypothesized that their resource selection was influenced by factors expected to influence prey availability, protection from predators, and human activity. We tracked 14 plains spotted skunks in east-central South Dakota, USA, over 2 years during spring and summer. Using mixed-effects logistic regression, we identified seasonal habitat associations. In spring, plains spotted skunks selected areas near farming structures and human development, avoiding high wetland density and crop cover. In summer, they continued to select areas near farming structures and low human development, but also high wetland density and pasture, while avoiding hay bales and crop cover. Our first analysis of the species’ resource use in the Great Plains indicates that plains spotted skunks select habitats with permanent small-scale agricultural features and varying levels of human development across seasons. Our findings suggest that species’ persistence in the region may depend on conservation strategies that account for seasonal planning, habitat heterogeneity, and key agricultural structures.

Canadian Journal of Zoology↗

USGS2007

Effects of roads on habitat quality for bears in the southern Appalachians: A long-term study

We tested the hypothesis that gravel roads, not paved roads, had the largest negative effect on habitat quality for a population of American black bears (Ursus americanus) that lived in a protected area, where vehicle collision was a relatively minimal source of mortality. We also evaluated whether road use by bears differed by sex or age and whether annual variation in hard mast productivity affected the way bears used areas near roads. In addition, we tested previous findings regarding the spatial extent to which roads affected bear behavior negatively. Using summer and fall home ranges for 118 black bears living in the Pisgah Bear Sanctuary in western North Carolina during 1981-2001, we estimated both home-range-scale (2nd-order) and within-home-range-scale (3rd-order) selection for areas within 250, 500, 800, and 1,600 m of paved and gravel roads. All bears avoided areas near gravel roads more than they avoided areas near paved roads during summer and fall for 2nd-order selection and during summer for 3rd-order selection. During fall, only adult females avoided areas near gravel roads more than they avoided areas near paved roads for 3rd-order selection. We found a positive relationship between use of roads by adults and annual variability in hard mast productivity. Overall, bears avoided areas within 800 m of gravel roads. Future research should determine whether avoidance of gravel roads by bears affects bear survival. ?? 2007 American Society of Mammalogists.

Journal of Mammalogy↗

USGS1981

Evaluation of Landsat Multispectral Scanner data for mapping vegetated soil landscapes

Landsat multispectral scanner data for Brazos County, Texas, were evaluated in terms of effectiveness for classifying soils on vegetated landscapes at three times during the year: a time of normally adequate soil water, a time of expected soil water deficit, and a time when soil water is normally being replenished. Six test sites were used to evaluate LARSYS supervised and unsupervised classification of vegetated soil landscapes. Open grassland soils were best separated in the fall during a period when soil moisture was being replenished after the summer period of soil water deficit. Woodland soils were separated by Landsat data in late spring when adequate moisture was available. However, a high degree of accuracy was not achieved using Landsat for separating soil map units. Accurate separation of soil mapping units on vegetated landscapes was not possible during late summer when soil water was deficient. Selected soil properties important to plant growth were separable on the test sites using June and October Landsat data. Particle size and soil moisture regime were separated at both dates. Soils with argillic horizons were separated from soils without argillic horizons.

Texas↗

USGS2010

A new capture fraction method to map how pumpage affects surface water flow

All groundwater pumped is balanced by removal of water somewhere, initially from storage in the aquifer and later from capture in the form of increase in recharge and decrease in discharge. Capture that results in a loss of water in streams, rivers, and wetlands now is a concern in many parts of the United States. Hydrologists commonly use analytical and numerical approaches to study temporal variations in sources of water to wells for select points of interest. Much can be learned about coupled surface/groundwater systems, however, by looking at the spatial distribution of theoretical capture for select times of interest. Development of maps of capture requires (1) a reasonably well-constructed transient or steady state model of an aquifer with head-dependent flow boundaries representing surface water features or evapotranspiration and (2) an automated procedure to run the model repeatedly and extract results, each time with a well in a different location. This paper presents new methods for simulating and mapping capture using three-dimensional groundwater flow models and presents examples from Arizona, Oregon, and Michigan. Journal compilation ?? 2010 National Ground Water Association. No claim to original US government works.

Ground Water↗

USGS2016

Desert bighorn sheep lambing habitat: Parturition, nursery, and predation sites

Fitness of female ungulates is determined by neonate survival and lifetime reproductive success. Therefore, adult female ungulates should adopt behaviors and habitat selection patterns that enhance survival of neonates during parturition and lactation. Parturition site location may play an important role in neonatal mortality of desert bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis mexicana ) when lambs are especially vulnerable to predation, but parturition sites are rarely documented for this species. Our objectives were to assess environmental characteristics at desert bighorn parturition, lamb nursery, and predation sites and to assess differences in habitat characteristics between parturition sites and nursery group sites, and predation sites and nursery group sites. We used vaginal implant transmitters (VITs) to identify parturition sites and capture neonates. We then compared elevation, slope, terrain ruggedness, and visibility at parturition, nursery, and lamb predation sites with paired random sites and compared characteristics of parturition sites and lamb predation sites to those of nursery sites. When compared to random sites, odds of a site being a parturition site were highest at intermediate slopes and decreased with increasing female visibility. Odds of a site being a predation site increased with decreasing visibility. When compared to nursery group sites, odds of a site being a parturition site had a quadratic relationship with elevation and slope, with odds being highest at intermediate elevations and intermediate slopes. When we compared predation sites to nursery sites, odds of a site being a predation were highest at low elevation areas with high visibility and high elevation areas with low visibility likely because of differences in hunting strategies of coyote ( Canis latrans ) and puma ( Puma concolor ). Parturition sites were lower in elevation and slope than nursery sites. Understanding selection of parturition sites by adult females and how habitat characteristics at these sites differ from those at predation and nursery sites can provide insight into strategies employed by female desert bighorn sheep and other species during and after parturition to promote neonate survival.

Journal of Wildlife Management↗

USGS2011

Spatial ecology of white-tailed deer fawns in the northern Great Plains: implications of loss of conservation reserve program grasslands

Few studies have evaluated how wildlife, and white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ) in particular, respond to Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) grasslands. We conducted a 3-year study (2007–2009) to determine the influence of CRP on fawn ecology during a time of declining CRP enrollment. We captured and radiocollared 81 fawn white-tailed deer during 15 May to 15 June 2007–2009 in north-central South Dakota, collected 6,505 locations, and documented 70 summer home ranges. Mean summer home ranges increased temporally during 2007–2009 ( P < 0.001) and corresponded to a 41% loss of CRP grasslands in the area (2.3% loss in land cover and approx. 21% loss in cover habitat in the study area) over the duration of the study. Additionally, mean movement between daily locations increased ( P < 0.001) from 2007 to 2009. Analysis of covariance models indicated that change in CRP influenced home-range size, and change in CRP and wheat influenced daily movement. Smaller home ranges and reduced movements were associated with greater quantity of CRP available to fawns, and increased movements were associated with more acreage of wheat available to fawns. Fawns shifted resource selection during the summer at a mean age ranging from 48.8 days to 58.6 days, and this shift was associated with height of corn (83–87 cm). During early summer, fawns consistently selected for CRP; selection of wheat progressed temporally from avoidance in 2007 to selection in 2009. During late summer, fawns consistently selected for corn habitat and used CRP at least in proportion to its availability. Reduction in CRP-grasslands seemed to increase fawn home-range size and daily movements and, influenced change in resource selection to wheat. Current legislation mandates continued decrease in CRP enrollment and concomitant increase in the planting of corn for ethanol production. Management of habitat throughout the grasslands of the Northern Great Plains that maximizes cover habitats would provide neonates with adequate cover for protection from predators.

Great Plains↗

USGS2015

Interpretation of hydraulic conductivity in a fractured-rock aquifer over increasingly larger length dimensions

A comparison of the hydraulic conductivity over increasingly larger volumes of crystalline rock was conducted in the Piedmont physiographic region near Bethesda, Maryland, USA. Fluid-injection tests were conducted on intervals of boreholes isolating closely spaced fractures. Single-hole tests were conducted by pumping in open boreholes for approximately 30 min, and an interference test was conducted by pumping a single borehole over 3 days while monitoring nearby boreholes. An estimate of the hydraulic conductivity of the rock over hundreds of meters was inferred from simulating groundwater inflow into a kilometer-long section of a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority tunnel in the study area, and a groundwater modeling investigation over the Rock Creek watershed provided an estimate of the hydraulic conductivity over kilometers. The majority of groundwater flow is confined to relatively few fractures at a given location. Boreholes installed to depths of approximately 50 m have one or two highly transmissive fractures; the transmissivity of the remaining fractures ranges over five orders of magnitude. Estimates of hydraulic conductivity over increasingly larger rock volumes varied by less than half an order of magnitude. While many investigations point to increasing hydraulic conductivity as a function of the measurement scale, a comparison with selected investigations shows that the effective hydraulic conductivity estimated over larger volumes of rock can either increase, decrease, or remain stable as a function of the measurement scale. Caution needs to be exhibited in characterizing effective hydraulic properties in fractured rock for the purposes of groundwater management.

Hydrogeology Journal↗

USGS2022

Quantitative SWOT analysis: A structured and collaborative approach to reintroduction site selection for the endangered Pacific pocket mouse

Species extinction and loss of biodiversity are major crises in the Anthropocene. Translocations of threatened and endangered species, the movement of individuals to augment existing or establish new populations, are increasingly important conservation tools, but have historically had limited success. Selection of a suitable receiver site is essential to translocation success, with poor site suitability cited as one of the most common reasons for relocation failure. We utilized a quantitative SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis to evaluate and prioritize potential receiver sites for the Pacific pocket mouse ( Perognathus longimembris pacificus ), an endangered subspecies of heteromyid rodent endemic to coastal southern California. With only three remaining extant populations, a conservation breeding and reintroduction program is underway with the goal of creating additional wild populations in new or historic locations throughout its indigenous range. Here we describe our use of SWOT analysis and discuss the strengths of this approach as well as improvements that could be made to the evaluation process for other species. Overall, we found that using a structured, transparent, and collaborative process was a valuable tool for prioritizing receiver sites. SWOT analysis is a flexible, repeatable, and proactive approach for identifying receiver sites and the preparations necessary to improve species-specific suitability. This approach has the potential to result in successful relocation compared to less structured site selection processes where poor site suitability is ultimately identified as a major factor in failure to establish wild populations.

California↗

USGS1989

Adaptive modeling, identification, and control of dynamic structural systems. I. Theory

A concise review of the fheory of adaptive modeling, identification, and control of dynamic structural systems based on discrete‐time recordings is presented. Adaptive methods have four major advantages over the classical methods: (1) Removal of the noise from the signal is done over the whole frequency band; (2) time‐varying characteristics of systems can be tracked; (3) systems with unknown characteristics can be controlled; and (4) a small segment of the data is needed during the computations. Included in the paper are the discrete‐time representation of single‐input single‐output (SISO) systems, models for SISO systems with noise, the concept of stochastic approximation, recursive prediction error method (RPEM) for system identification, and the adaptive control. Guidelines for model selection and model validation and the computational aspects of the method are also discussed in the paper. The present paper is the first of two companion papers. The theory given in the paper is limited to that which is necessary to follow the examples for applications in structural dynamics presented in the second paper.

Journal of Engineering Mechanics↗

USGS2017

A comparison of age, size, and fecundity of harvested and reference White Sucker populations

White Suckers Catostomus commersonii are an important source of fresh bait for the Maine lobster fishery. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife began issuing commercial harvest permits in 1991, without reporting requirements or limits on the number of permits. There is recent concern that overfishing may be occurring. To infer impact, we investigated demographic differences between White Sucker populations in lakes open to harvest and those in lakes closed to harvest. Each of three harvested lakes was paired to a nearby closed lake as a reference based on general size, morphometry, and information on harvest pressure. In total, 976 spawning White Suckers were collected from the six lakes in 2014 (120–282 individuals/lake). Fish size, estimated age, fecundity, and mortality rates were compared between lakes. We hypothesized that we would find smaller, younger, and less-fecund individuals in harvested lakes compared to reference lakes. Size and age distributions for both sexes differed between nearly all lake pairs (except between males from one pair). White Suckers from reference lakes were larger and older and had greater gonadosomatic indices and fecundity than fish from harvested lakes. Estimated annual mortality rates were at least twofold higher in harvested lakes than in reference lakes. We detected some differences in von Bertalanffy growth parameters between lake pairs, as might occur under selective harvest pressure. The growth coefficient was smaller for reference lakes than for harvested lakes, while asymptotic length was greater for reference lakes than for harvested lakes. The data suggest that current levels of exploitation are resulting in greater age truncation in existing White Sucker populations.

Maine↗

USGS2022

The global seismographic network reveals atmospherically coupled normal modes excited by the 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption

The eruption of the submarine Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai (Hunga Tonga) volcano on 15 January 2022, was one of the largest volcanic explosions recorded by modern geophysical instrumentation. The eruption was notable for the broad range of atmospheric wave phenomena it generated and for their unusual coupling with the oceans and solid Earth. The event was recorded worldwide across the Global Seismographic Network (GSN) by seismometers, microbarographs and infrasound sensors. The broad-band instrumentation in the GSN allows us to make high fidelity observations of spheroidal solid Earth normal modes from this event at frequencies near 3.7 and 4.4 mHz. Similar normal mode excitations were reported following the 1991 Pinatubo (Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6) eruption and were predicted, by theory, to arise from the excitation of mesosphere-scale acoustic modes of the atmosphere coupling with the solid Earth. Here, we compare observations for the Hunga Tonga and Pinatubo eruptions and find that both strongly excited the solid Earth normal mode 0 S 29 (3.72 mHz). However, the mean modal amplitude was roughly 11 times larger for the 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption. Estimates of attenuation ( Q ) for 0 S 29 across the GSN from temporal modal decay give Q = 332 ± 101, which is higher than estimates of Q for this mode using earthquake data ( Q = 186.9 ± 5). Two microbarographs located at regional distances (<1000 km) to the volcano provide direct observations of the fundamental acoustic mode of the atmosphere. These pressure oscillations, first observed approximately 40 min after the onset of the eruption, are in phase with the seismic Rayleigh wave excitation and are recorded only by microbarographs in proximity (<1500 km) to the eruption. We infer that excitation of fundamental atmospheric modes occurs within a limited area close to the site of the eruption, where they excite select solid Earth fundamental spheroidal modes of similar frequencies that are globally recorded and have a higher apparent Q due to the extended duration of atmospheric oscillations.

Geophysical Journal International↗

USGS2020

Pallid sturgeon seasonal habitat selection in a large free-flowing river, the lower Mississippi River

Pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus (Forbes & Richardson, 1905, Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, 1905, 7, 37) are an endangered riverine sturgeon native to the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and declining numbers have been attributed to multiple stressors, including habitat loss and alteration. The lower Mississippi River provides a useful context to assess pallid sturgeon habitat selection because, although altered for flood control and navigation, it provides a free-flowing system with a diversity of habitats and a minimally altered hydrograph. A discrete choice model of data collected year-round from two reaches for 3–5 years revealed changes in habitat selection across water temperatures and river stages representative of seasonal variation in habitat for 116 telemetry-tagged pallid sturgeon. Natural bank, island tip, and secondary channel were positively selected and main channel, although frequently used, was avoided. The degree of selection varied among river stages, water temperatures, and reaches. Habitat selection appears to be strongly influenced by preference for locations with moderate depth (median 11.7 m; lower and upper quartiles 8.1 m and 16.3 m) and moderate current velocity (median 0.9 m/s; lower and upper quartiles 0.7 m/s and 1.2 m/s).

Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi↗

USGS2007

Tag return models allowing for harvest and catch and release: Evidence of environmental and management impacts on striped bass fishing and natural mortality rates

Catch-and-release fisheries have become very important in the management of overexploited recreational fish stocks. Tag return studies, where the tag is removed regardless of fish disposition, have been used to assess the effectiveness of restoration efforts for these fisheries. We extend the instantaneous rate formulation of tag return models to allow for catch and release as well as harvest. The key point of our methods is that, given an estimate of the tag reporting rate, the fishing mortality rate (F) is separated into two components: the mortality on harvested fish and the "mortality" on tags (because the lags are removed) of fish released alive. The total fishing mortality rate for untagged fish is the sum of the Fs due to harvest and hooking mortality suffered by fish released alive. Natural mortality rates can also be estimated. Both age-independent models and age-dependent models are constructed, and the age-dependent models are illustrated by application to data from a study of striped bass Morone saxatilis in Chesapeake Bay from 1991 to 2003 by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. By fitting models of the natural mortality rate with limited age and year dependence, we demonstrate an overall decrease in natural mortality rates as fish age and provide evidence of an increase in natural mortality beginning in the late 1990s, when an outbreak of the disease mycobacteriosis is thought to have begun. Our results indicate that fishing mortality is age dependent; selectivity increases up to age 6, when fish appear to be fully recruited to the fishery. There is also evidence of an increase in fishing mortality since 1995, when regulations were relaxed. ?? Copyright by the American Fisheries Society 2007.

North American Journal of Fisheries Management↗

USGS2008

Hierarchical modeling of cluster size in wildlife surveys

Clusters or groups of individuals are the fundamental unit of observation in many wildlife sampling problems, including aerial surveys of waterfowl, marine mammals, and ungulates. Explicit accounting of cluster size in models for estimating abundance is necessary because detection of individuals within clusters is not independent and detectability of clusters is likely to increase with cluster size. This induces a cluster size bias in which the average cluster size in the sample is larger than in the population at large. Thus, failure to account for the relationship between delectability and cluster size will tend to yield a positive bias in estimates of abundance or density. I describe a hierarchical modeling framework for accounting for cluster-size bias in animal sampling. The hierarchical model consists of models for the observation process conditional on the cluster size distribution and the cluster size distribution conditional on the total number of clusters. Optionally, a spatial model can be specified that describes variation in the total number of clusters per sample unit. Parameter estimation, model selection, and criticism may be carried out using conventional likelihood-based methods. An extension of the model is described for the situation where measurable covariates at the level of the sample unit are available. Several candidate models within the proposed class are evaluated for aerial survey data on mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos).

Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environme↗

USGS2022

Predictive models of phosphorus concentration and load in stormwater runoff from small urban residential watersheds in fall season

Urban street trees are a key part of public green infrastructure in many cities, however, leaf litter on streets is a critical biogenic source of phosphorus (P) in urban stormwater runoff during Fall. This study identified mass of street leaf litter (M leaf ) and antecedent dry days (ADD) as the top two explanatory parameters that have significant predictive power of event end-of-pipe P concentrations through multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis. M leaf and volume of runoff (Vol) were the top two key explanatory parameters of event end-of-pipe P loads. Two-predictor MLR models were developed with these explanatory parameters using a 40-storm dataset derived from six small urban residential watersheds in Wisconsin, USA, and evaluated using storms specific to each study basin. The MLR model validation results indicated sensitivity to storm composition in the datasets. Our analysis shows selected parameters can be used by environmental managers to facilitate end-of-pipe P prediction in urban areas. This information can be used to reduce the amount of P in stormwater runoff by adjusting the timing and frequency of municipal leaf collection and street cleaning programs in urban areas.

Wisconsin↗

USGS2021

Selective host attachment by Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae): Tick-lizard associations in the southeastern United States

Questing behavior and host associations of immature blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis Say, from the southeastern United States are known to differ from those in the north. To elucidate these relationships we describe host associations of larval and nymphal I. scapularis from 8 lizard species sampled from 5 sites in the southeastern U.S. Larvae and nymphs attached in greater numbers to larger lizards than to smaller lizards, with differential levels of attachment to different lizard species. Blacklegged ticks are generally attached to skinks of the genus Plestiodon in greater numbers per unit lizard weight than to anoles ( Anolis ) or fence lizards ( Sceloporus ). The broad-headed skink, Plestiodon laticeps (Schneider), was a particularly important host for immature I. scapularis in our study and in several previous studies of tick–host associations in the southeast. Blacklegged ticks show selective attachment to Plestiodon lizard hosts in the southeast, but whether this results from behavioral host preferences or from ecological factors such as timing or microhabitat distributions of tick questing and host activity remains to be determined.

Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, ↗

USGS2024

Propensity score matching mitigates risk of faulty inferences in observational studies of effectiveness of restoration trials

Determining effectiveness of restoration treatments is an important requirement of adaptive management, but it can be non-trivial where only portions of large and heterogeneous landscapes of concern can be treated and sampled. Bias and non-randomness in the spatial deployment of treatment and thus sampling is nearly unavoidable in the data available for large-scale management trials, and the biophysical landscape characteristics underlying the bias are key but rare considerations in analyses of treatment effects. Treatment effects from large-scale management trials are typically estimated with multivariable regression (MVR) models. However, this method is unsuited to reliable estimations of treatment effects when treated and untreated areas differ in their underlying biophysical variability. An alternative to conventional regression is to use propensity score (PS) matching, which can limit the differences in confounding variables among treatment groups and assure the data collected or selected for analysis are more consistent with a randomized and unconfounded experiment. Thus, PS is expected to identify treatment effects more accurately. We used data from a large-scale monitoring effort of a megafire to evaluate the efficacy of PS matching in making inferences on treatment effects when treatments are applied non-randomly over a large heterogeneous area. We compared the resulting inference to both traditional MVR methods and to “naïve” methods that do not consider treatment allocation bias. Treatment effects varied between the different statistical methods for controlling selection bias and confounding biophysical factors. The PS-matched model revealed a weaker treatment effect of drill seeding and a greater effect of herbicide spraying on the cover of perennial bunchgrasses when compared to MVR or naïve modelled estimates. The inferences from the PS-matched model are considered more reliable because the treated and untreated plots are more similar in their underlying biophysical characteristics. Synthesis and applications . Failure to consider the non-random and selective deployment of restoration treatments by managers leads to faulty inference on their effectiveness. However, tools such as propensity-score matching can be used to remove the bias from analyses of the outcomes of management trials or to devise sampling plans that efficiently protect against the bias.

Journal of Applied Ecology↗