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At least 559 records · Page 31Linked to original sources
USGS2015

Nutrient attenuation in rivers and streams, Puget Sound Basin, Washington

Nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus are important for aquatic ecosystem health. Excessive amounts of nutrients, however, can make aquatic ecosystems harmful for biota because enhanced growth and decay cycles of aquatic algae can reduce dissolved oxygen in the water. In Puget Sound marine waters, low dissolved oxygen concentrations are observed in a number of marine nearshore areas, and nutrients have been identified as a major stressor to the local ecosystem. Delivery of nutrients from major rivers in the Puget Sound Basin to the marine environment can be large. Therefore, it is important to identify factors related to how nutrients are retained (attenuated) within streams and rivers in the Puget Sound Basin. Physical, chemical, and biological factors related to nutrient attenuation were identified through a review of related scientific literature. Numerous empirical modeling approaches for estimating nutrient attenuation in streams and rivers also were compiled, and a subset of these models was applied to the Puget Sound Basin. In particular, models based on the physical characteristics of a river reach (RivR-N model) and on the physical and biological features of a river reach (v f model) were used and compared for the 17 major rivers draining to the Puget Sound. Data on the relative amount of instream attenuation (the fraction of nutrient input removed per kilometer of stream reach) showed some common and general themes. Firstly, headwater reaches throughout the Puget Sound Basin tend to be better than the main stems of the major rivers at attenuating nitrate and orthophosphorus (ortho-P). Secondly, rivers are more efficient at attenuating nitrate than ortho-P, probably because of the close relation between phosphorus and suspended sediment, which was not captured fully in the models. Thirdly, when comparing the RivR-N and v f models for nitrate, physical characteristics of the channel may be more effective predictors of relative nitrate attenuation for main stem reaches, whereas biological factors may be more effective predictors in headwater reaches. These results are explained in terms of four primary factors of attenuation: sinuosity, channel slope, specific discharge, and uptake velocity (v f ) of the reach. A simple scoring procedure based on these four factors showed that reaches where attenuation scores were high had higher relative attenuation of nutrients from the RivR-N and v f models. This attenuation "scorecard" can be used to quickly assess the potential for a given reach to attenuate nutrients. Seasonal relative attenuation at three case studies was greater in summer months (July through September) and much lower and almost constant from January through June. An analysis of relative attenuation across a range of nutrient concentrations showed that, at some point, relative instream attenuation is minimized. For nitrate, relative attenuation reached a minimum value greater than 3 milligrams of nitrogen per liter (mg N/L) during low flow and 1 mg N/L during high flow. For orthophosphate, minimum relative attenuation was observed at about 0.1 milligram of phosphorus per liter (mg P/L) for both low- and high-flow conditions. Generally, the temporal dynamics of nutrient attenuation are dependent on the travel time through a given reach, the proportion of flow in contact with the sediment, and the amount of biological activity. Improved understanding of nutrient attenuation in Puget Sound Basin will benefit from the compilation of more detailed data for specific discharge, channel slope, and channel sinuosity in Puget Sound streams and rivers. Additionally, field studies examining upstream-downstream changes in nutrient load and field-based measurements of v f are needed. From a management perspective, preservation and improvement of instream nutrient attenuation should focus on increasing the travel time through a reach and contact time of water sediment (reactive) surfaces and lowering nutrient concentrations (and loads) to avoid saturation of instream attenuation and increase attenuation efficiency. These goals can be reached by maintaining and restoring channel-flood plain connectivity, maintaining and restoring healthy riparian zones along streams, managing point and nonpoint nutrient loads to streams and rivers, and restoring channel features that promote attenuation such as the addition of woody debris and maintaining pool-riffle morphologies. Many of these management approaches are already being undertaken during projects aimed to restore quality salmon habitat. Therefore, there is a dual benefit to these projects that also may lead to enhanced potential for nitrogen and phosphorus attenuation.

Washington↗
USGS1993

Reconnaissance investigation of the geology and hydrogeology of Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas

An investigation at Lackland Air Force Base and Lackland Air Force Base Training Annex (Medina Base) was conducted from May to September 1988 to delineate the subsurface geology, to describe the hydrogeology within the study area, and to determine possible migration pathways for contaminants. Data from this investigation supplement data collected in conjunction with other Air Training Command studies conducted under the Installation Restoration Program. The geologic formations in the vicinity of Lackland Air Force Base and Medina Base consist of sedimentary rocks of Cretaceous, Tertiary, and Quaternary age. The lithology of these formations consists primarily of limestone and marl, with lesser amounts of gravel, sand, silt, shale, and clay. The formations that comprise the geologic setting at Lackland Air Force Base and Medina Base include the Navarro Group of Late Cretaceous age, the Midway Group and Uvalde Gravel of Tertiary age, and the Leona Formation and fluviatile terrace deposits of Quaternary age. The age of the faulting within the study area has not been determined accurately, but the faulting might have occurred during intervals from Early Cretaceous to Holocene time. During these tectonic episodes, uplift of the Edwards Plateau might have occurred. This uplift could have enhanced erosion of the Cretaceous age Edwards Group, which is north of the study area, causing deposition of alluvial deposits south of this tectonic activity. The Leona Formation is composed of limestone gravel deposits forming terraces in the valleys of present streams. In general, these terraces are topographically lower than those formed by the Uvalde Gravel. In contrast, the fluviatile terrace deposits are above flood level along entrenched streams such as Leon and Medio Creeks. The Leona Formation is generally above the level of these fluviatile terrace deposits. A review of the hydrogeologic literature indicated that the Navarro and Midway Groups do not yield water to wells in Bexar County. However, recent studies by the U.S. Geological Survey at Kelly Air Force Base indicate that the uppermost beds of the Navarro Group can be saturated but yield little or no water to wells. Each stream terrace deposit of the Leona Formation and the fluviatile terrace deposits are separate water-bearing units. At Lackland Air Force Base, shallow ground water is present in the Leona Formation and the flow probably is toward Leon Creek. At Medina Base, the fluviatile terrace deposits are present along both banks of Medio Creek and probably are separate water-bearing units. Furthermore, ground-water flow in each of these units probably is toward Medio Creek. The Uvalde Gravel, present only at and west of Medina Base, is not a source of shallow ground water. However, during periods of precipitation, the formation can readily absorb precipitation and surface runoff. Water drains quickly through the formation because of its topographically high position and substantial hydraulic conductivity. Major pathways of potential contaminant migration off the bases include the local streams of Medio and Leon Creeks, and to a lesser extent, the shallow ground water beneath the bases. Although the Uvalde Gravel is not a source of shallow ground water at Medina Base, it drains water quickly, and wastes that might be buried in the gravel could be a potential source of contamination during brief ground-water recharge periods resulting from major precipitation.

Texas↗
USGS2017

Can ozone be used to control the spread of freshwater Aquatic Invasive Species?

The introduction of aquatic invasive species to non-native habitats can cause negative ecological effects and also billions of dollars in economic damage to governments and private industries. Once aquatic invasive species are introduced, eradication may be difficult without adversely affecting native species and habitats, urging resource managers to find preventative methods to protect non-invaded areas. The use of ozone (O 3 ) as a non-physical barrier has shown promise as it is lethal to a wide range of aquatic taxa, requires a short contact time, and is relatively environmentally safe in aquatic systems when compared to other chemicals. However, before O 3 can be considered as an approach to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, its effects on non-target organisms and already established aquatic invasive species must be fully evaluated. A review of the current literature was conducted to summarize data regarding the effects of O 3 on aquatic taxa including fish, macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, phytoplankton, microbes, and pathogens. In addition, we assessed the practicality of ozone applications to control the movement of aquatic invasive species, and identified data gaps concerning the use of O 3 as a non-physical barrier in field applications.

Management of Biological Invasions↗
USGS2018

Cougar dispersal and natal homing in a desert environment

We present a review of cougar dispersal literature and the first evidence of natural (i.e., unmanipulated) homing behavior by a dispersing male cougar (Puma concolor) that sustained severe injuries crossing the northern Mojave Desert. Based on Global Positioning System and ground tracking data, the male traveled a total distance of 981.1 km at 5.03 km/d, including 170.31 km from the Desert National Wildlife Refuge to the northwestern Grand Canyon, where he sustained severe injuries. The interkill interval increased from 7.1 ± 2.7 d while he was in his natal range to 17.5 ± 4.9 d during dispersal. While homing, the male appeared to consume only reptiles until he died, 33.7 km from his capture site. In desert environments where prey availability is low, homing behavior may be an important strategy for dispersing cougars, providing a mechanism for persistence when the best quality habitats they encounter are already occupied by adult residents. Therefore, managing for habitat connectivity can ensure successful homing as well as dispersal on a greater scale than has been previously suggested. Elucidating the mechanisms that trigger homing during dispersal may provide critical insight into animal movements often overlooked as mundane behavior.

Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah↗
USGS2014

Phytoplankton primary production in the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems

Estuaries are biogeochemical hot spots because they receive large inputs of nutrients and organic carbon from land and oceans to support high rates of metabolism and primary production. We synthesize published rates of annual phytoplankton primary production (APPP) in marine ecosystems influenced by connectivity to land – estuaries, bays, lagoons, fjords and inland seas. Review of the scientific literature produced a compilation of 1148 values of APPP derived from monthly incubation assays to measure carbon assimilation or oxygen production. The median value of median APPP measurements in 131 ecosystems is 185 and the mean is 252 g C m −2 yr −1 , but the range is large: from −105 (net pelagic production in the Scheldt Estuary) to 1890 g C m −2 yr −1 (net phytoplankton production in Tamagawa Estuary). APPP varies up to 10-fold within ecosystems and 5-fold from year to year (but we only found eight APPP series longer than a decade so our knowledge of decadal-scale variability is limited). We use studies of individual places to build a conceptual model that integrates the mechanisms generating this large variability: nutrient supply, light limitation by turbidity, grazing by consumers, and physical processes (river inflow, ocean exchange, and inputs of heat, light and wind energy). We consider method as another source of variability because the compilation includes values derived from widely differing protocols. A simulation model shows that different methods reported in the literature can yield up to 3-fold variability depending on incubation protocols and methods for integrating measured rates over time and depth. Although attempts have been made to upscale measures of estuarine-coastal APPP, the empirical record is inadequate for yielding reliable global estimates. The record is deficient in three ways. First, it is highly biased by the large number of measurements made in northern Europe (particularly the Baltic region) and North America. Of the 1148 reported values of APPP, 958 come from sites between 30 and 60° N; we found only 36 for sites south of 20° N. Second, of the 131 ecosystems where APPP has been reported, 37% are based on measurements at only one location during 1 year. The accuracy of these values is unknown but probably low, given the large interannual and spatial variability within ecosystems. Finally, global assessments are confounded by measurements that are not intercomparable because they were made with different methods. Phytoplankton primary production along the continental margins is tightly linked to variability of water quality, biogeochemical processes including ocean–atmosphere CO 2 exchange, and production at higher trophic levels including species we harvest as food. The empirical record has deficiencies that preclude reliable global assessment of this key Earth system process. We face two grand challenges to resolve these deficiencies: (1) organize and fund an international effort to use a common method and measure APPP regularly across a network of coastal sites that are globally representative and sustained over time, and (2) integrate data into a unifying model to explain the wide range of variability across ecosystems and to project responses of APPP to regional manifestations of global change as it continues to unfold.

Biogeosciences↗
USGS1992

Relating results from earthworm toxicity tests to agricultural soil

The artificial soil tests of the European Economic Community and of the Organization for Economic Cooperation produce data relating earthworm mortality to pesticide concentrations in soil under laboratory conditions. To apply these results to agricultural soils it is necessary to relate these concentrations to amounts of pesticide applied per area. This paper reviews the relevant published literature and suggests a simple relation for regulatory use. Hazards to earthworms from pesticides are suggested to be greatest soon after application, when the pesticides may be concentrated in a soil layer a few millimeters thick. For estimating exposure of earthworms, however, a thicker soil layer should be considered, to account for their movement through soil. During favorable weather conditions, earthworms belonging to species appropriate to the artificial soil test have been reported to confine their activity to a layer about 5 cm. If a 5-cm layer is accepted as relevant for regulatory purposes, then an application of 1 kg/ha would be equivalent to 1-67 ppm (dry) in the artificial soil test.

Book chapter↗
USGS2012

Coastal wetlands of Chesapeake Bay

Wetlands are prominent landscapes throughout North America. The general characteristics of wetlands are controversial, thus there has not been a systematic assessment of different types of wetlands in different parts of North America, or a compendium of the threats to their conservation. Wetland Habitats of North America adopts a geographic and habitat approach, in which experts familiar with wetlands from across North America provide analyses and syntheses of their particular region of study. Addressing a broad audience of students, scientists, engineers, environmental managers, and policy makers, this book reviews recent, scientifically rigorous literature directly relevant to understanding, managing, protecting, and restoring wetland ecosystems of North America.

Book chapter↗
USGS2004

An annotated bibliography of selected guides for stream habitat improvement in the Pacific Northwest

This annotated bibliography is a response to widespread interest in stream habitat improvement in the Pacific Northwest by land managers, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and the lay public. Several guides to stream habitat improvement have been written in the past, but may not be easily accessible to people from diverse backgrounds. This annotated bibliography reviews 11 guides to stream habitat improvement so that readers can find literature appropriate to their needs. All reviews begin with summaries of the contents, stated audiences, and goals of each guide. Reviews also include subjective comments on the strengths and weaknesses of each guide. Finally, this bibliography includes recommendations of guides and combinations of guides judged most useful for a range of purposes.

Book↗
USGS2014

Let’s agree on the casing of Lidar

Is it lidar, Lidar, LiDAR, LIDAR, LiDar, LiDaR, or liDAR? A comprehensive review of the scientific/technical literature reveals seven different casings of this short form for light detection and ranging. And there could be more.

LiDAR Magazine↗
USGS2022

Action plan for restoration of coral reef coastal protection services: Case study example and workbook

This report was prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Office of Research and Development, as part of the Air, Climate and Energy (ACE) research program, with support from Tetra Tech, Inc., and in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and The Nature Conservancy. The ACE research program provides scientific information and tools to support USEPA’s commitment to clean air, clean water and sustainable natural resources, even as environmental conditions change. A key component of this is the development of sound science to support adaptation. Adaptation involves preparing for and adjusting to the effects of climate change and its interactions with other global and local stressors. Because these effects are diverse, interactive, and difficult to predict, adapting management of natural resources in this context can be very challenging. Coral reefs—which provide valued ecosystem services such as fisheries, coastal protection, and tourism—are threatened by the effects of increased sea surface temperatures, sea level rise, and intensifying storms. These large-scale stressors are interacting with local stressors such as pollution, overfishing, and recreational misuse to drive ongoing and accelerating declines in coral reef ecosystems. Thus, there is a rising urgency to design and implement climate change adaptation measures that will enable reef resilience in the face of these changes. This includes accounting for, and adjusting to, the combined effects of climate change and local stressors in coral reef protection and restoration efforts. The action plan, example case study, and workbook found in this report demonstrate a structured process for integrating climate-smart design considerations into restoration planning using A Manager’s Guide to Coral Reef Restoration Planning and Design. The focus is a hypothetical coral reef restoration project that has a goal of recovering nature-based coastal protection services using restoration interventions. The intent is to provide readers with a completed example of how to use the Guide workbook to inform a draft action plan, centering on the topic of coastal protection as a burgeoning area of interest in coral reef science and management communities. The information in this hypothetical case study is not intended for direct use; rather, it provides a starting point for more detailed planning that would occur in specific places. And while a full review of the current literature on reef restoration methods is outside the scope of this report, readers are encouraged to use the examples herein as well as in the Guide as a jumping-off point for exploring the rapidly growing body of information on methods, techniques, successes, failures, monitoring challenges and future directions of coral reef restoration in a changing world. The workbook, together with the action plan, can serve as a valuable record of the planning thought process as well as a living document for adaptive management, to be updated through time as improved information becomes available.

EPA Report↗
USGS2022

Data resources for NGA-subduction project

A relational database was developed over a five-year period to support ground motion model (GMM) development for the Next Generation Attenuation-Subduction (NGA-Sub) project. The relational database has components that interact according to a database schema, including a source and path component used to describe attributes of seismic sources in global subduction regions and to compute source-to-site distances, a site component that describes attributes of sites where recordings have been made, and a ground motion component. The source component of the database has information for 1880 earthquakes, mainly from the following regions: the Pacific Northwest region of North America, Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, South America, Central America, and Mexico. Of the 1880 earthquakes, 88 have finite fault models (FFMs) from the literature that were systematically reviewed, distilled to one more rectangular shapes, and trimmed according to procedures based on percentage of total slip. For earthquakes without FFMs, a simulation routine is used to represent finite fault effects required for distance calculations. This simulation routine was adjusted and made more uniform in its application than in prior NGA projects. All earthquakes are classified as interface, intraslab, shallow crustal, or outer rise, using uniform protocols developed for this project. All earthquakes are also assigned class designations adapted from a prior NGA project for active regions, that allows foreshock, mainshock, and aftershock events to be distinguished. The site component of the database is described in a companion paper (Ahdi et al. 2020 [1]). The ground motion component of the database consists of median – and maximum – horizontal component peak parameters (peak ground acceleration, PGA and peak ground velocity, PGV) and pseudo-spectral accelerations (PSa) at 111 oscillator periods and 11 damping ratios. Response spectra were also computed for the vertical component. Fourier amplitude spectra (FAS) and duration metrics were also computed. The ground motion recordings were obtained from collaborating organizations world-wide as uncorrected (Vol 1) digital recordings, that were corrected (componentspecific low – and high – pass filters and baseline correction, as needed) following Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER)/NGA protocols. The relational database operates on each of these (and other) database components to dynamically draw relevant parameters into a single file, known as a flatfile, that is used by researchers engaged in GMM development. The flatfiles used in model development are being published with the NGA-Sub GMMs as products of the NGA-Sub project.

Extramural-Authored Publication Paper↗
USGS2019

Sediment oxygen demand: A review of in situ methods

Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) plays a fundamental role in biological and chemical processes within the benthic layer of a water body. Land use, including agricultural land use, can affect SOD. However, a wide variety of approaches have been used for in situ SOD chamber construction and data collection, and modelers frequently use SOD values from the literature, without consideration of the differences in methods. Here, we review existing literature on SOD chambers (32 papers, 1974–2016), compare the differences between in situ and laboratory methods, evaluate the effects of in situ chamber mixing, and discuss common challenges associated with deployment. A cohesive in situ sealed chamber design for use with a multiparameter water-quality instrument is presented as an effort toward standardizing SOD methodology, an important consideration that may facilitate integration of SOD data sets among multiple research efforts.

Journal of Environmental Quality↗
USGS2023

Captive breeding, husbandry, release, and translocation of sciurids

Captive breeding and release programs have been instrumental in preventing the extinction of some wildlife species, but these programs have been less successful for other species. Evaluating initial guidelines for procedures to start a captive breeding and release program for a particular species is an important first step in the process of initiating such a program. The Mohave ground squirrel ( Xerospermophilus mohavensis ) is a diurnal sciurid endemic to the Mojave Desert in southern California. Ongoing drought conditions in California, impacts of climate change, and reliance of Mohave ground squirrels on sufficient precipitation for successful reproduction appear to have resulted in recent extirpations of the species from part of its restricted range. Thus, designing a captive breeding and release program has been identified as a top priority for this species. The purpose of this report is to review and document the scientific literature on captive breeding and release, and wild-to-wild translocation, programs for other related sciurid species, as well as some non-sciurid rodent species. This review is important because captive breeding has never been attempted for Mohave ground squirrels, so models of similar species can provide good metrics and guidance in program development. We then use this review to identify key questions that underpin effective design of a captive breeding and release, or translocation, program for Mohave ground squirrels.

Scientific Investigations Report↗
USGS2022

Factors affecting post-challenge survival of Flavobacterium psychrophilum in susceptible rainbow trout from the literature

Infectious bacterial pathogens are a concern for aquaculture as estimates suggest that billions of US dollars are lost annually in aquaculture due to disease. One of the most prevalent salmonid pathogens is the bacterium Flavobacterium psychrophilum that causes bacterial coldwater disease. We reviewed the published F. psychrophilum literature and conducted a Bayesian analysis to examine large-scale patterns in rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) mortality associated with laboratory challenge. We incorporated factors that were common across a majority of the laboratory exposure studies and these included bacterial dose, culture time, exposure method, bacterial isolate, experimental duration, and fish weight. The comparison showed that injection as the exposure method produced higher mortality than bath immersion, bacterial isolates differed in their effect on mortality, and bacterial dose has an interactive effect with fish weight and exposure method. Our comparison allows for inference on factors affecting rainbow trout mortality due to exposure to F. psychrophilum and suggests avenues to further optimize research protocols to better reach study goals.

Pathogens↗
USGS2020

Gas hydrates in sustainable chemistry

Gas hydrates have received considerable attention due to their important role in flow assurance for the oil and gas industry, their extensive natural occurrence on Earth and extraterrestrial planets, and their significant applications in sustainable technologies including but not limited to gas and energy storage, gas separation, and water desalination. Given not only their inherent structural flexibility depending on the type of guest gas molecules and formation conditions, but also the synthetic effects of a wide range of chemical additives on their properties, these variabilities could be exploited to optimise the role of gas hydrates. This includes increasing their industrial applications, understanding and utilising their role in Nature, identifying potential methods for safely extracting natural gases stored in naturally occurring hydrates within the Earth, and for developing green technologies. This review summarizes the different properties of gas hydrates as well as their formation and dissociation kinetics and then reviews the fast-growing literature reporting their role and applications in the aforementioned fields, mainly concentrating on advances during the last decade. Challenges, limitations, and future perspectives of each field are briefly discussed. The overall objective of this review is to provide readers with an extensive overview of gas hydrates that we hope will stimulate further work on this riveting field.

Chemical Society Reviews↗
USGS2023

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from October 2019 to July 2022

Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of management concern for western lands. Previously published reports introduced a methodology for preparing annotated bibliographies to facilitate integration of recent, peer-reviewed science into resource management decisions. Therefore, relevant text from those efforts is reproduced here and built on to incorporate new information. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter “GRSG”) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” under the Endangered Species Act was in part a result of a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the USGS has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. Our most recent GRSG literature summary was published in 2020 (Carter and others, 2020) and included products published through October 2, 2019. Here, we consider products published between October 2, 2019, and July 21, 2022. We compiled and summarized peer-reviewed journal articles, data products, and formal technical reports (such as U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service General Technical Reports and USGS Open-File Reports) on greater sage-grouse. We first systematically searched three reference databases and three government databases using the search phrase “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by removing (1) duplicates, (2) publications not published as research, data products, or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal technical reports, and (3) products for which greater sage-grouse was not a research focus or the study did not present new data or findings about greater sage-grouse. We summarized each product using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and identified management topics addressed by each product; for example, species and population characteristics. We also identified projects that provided new geospatial data. The review process for this annotated bibliography included two initial internal colleague reviews of each summary, requesting input on each summary from an author of the original publication, and formal peer review. Our initial searches resulted in 221 total products, of which 147 met our criteria for inclusion. Across products summarized in the annotated bibliography, broad-scale habitat characteristics, behavior or demographics, site-scale habitat characteristics, habitat selection, and population estimates or targets were the most commonly addressed management topics. The online version of this bibliography, which will be available on the Science for Resource Managers tool ( https://apps.usgs.gov/science-for-resource-managers ), will be searchable by topic, location, and year, and will include links to each original publication. The studies compiled and summarized here may inform planning and management actions that seek to maintain and restore sagebrush landscapes and GRSG populations across the GRSG range.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2018

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015

The greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. To identify articles and reports published about GRSG, we first conducted a structured search of three reference databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) using the search term “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by (1) removing duplicates, (2) excluding products that were not published as research or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal government technical reports, and (3) retaining only those products for which GRSG or their habitat was a research focus. We summarized the contents of each product by using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and assessed the content of each product relevant to a list of 31 management topics. These topics include GRSG biology and habitat characteristics along with potential management actions, land uses, and environmental factors related to GRSG management and conservation. We also noted which articles/reports created new geospatial data. The final search was conducted on January 6, 2018, and application of our criteria resulted in the inclusion of 169 published products (2 of these products were published corrections to journal articles). The management topics most commonly addressed were GRSG behavior or demographics and GRSG habitat selection or habitat characteristics at broad or site scales. Few products addressed captive breeding, recreation, wild horses and burros, and range management structures (including fences). We include in this annotated bibliography the full citation, product summary, and management topics addressed by each product. The online version of this bibliography ( https://apps.usgs.gov/gsgbib/index.php ) is searchable by topic and location and includes links to the original publications. A substantial body of literature has been compiled based on research explicitly related to the conservation, management, monitoring, and assessment of GRSG. These studies may inform planning and management actions that seek to balance conservation, economic, and social objectives and manage diverse resource uses and values across the western United States. The review process for this product included requesting input on each summary from one or more authors of the original peer-reviewed article or report and a formal review of the entire document by three independent reviewers and, subsequently, the USGS Bureau Approving Official. This process is consistent with USGS Fundamental Science Practices.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2020

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from 2015 to 2019

The greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. The first GRSG literature summary was published early in 2018. Here we provide an update to that document by adding summaries of articles published between January 6, 2018 and October 2, 2019. To identify articles and reports published about GRSG, we first conducted a structured search of three reference databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) using the search term “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by (1) removing duplicates, (2) excluding products that were not published as research or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal technical reports, and (3) retaining only those products for which GRSG or their habitat was a research focus. We summarized the contents of each product by using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and assessed the content of each product relevant to a list of 31 management topics. These topics include GRSG biology and habitat characteristics along with potential management actions, land uses, and environmental factors related to GRSG management and conservation. We also noted which articles/reports created new geospatial data. Our original search, conducted on January 7, 2018, and the application of our criteria, resulted in the inclusion of 169 published products (2 of these products were published corrections to journal articles). This update adds summaries of 69 products published between then and October 2, 2019. The management topics most commonly addressed were GRSG behavior or demographics and GRSG habitat selection or habitat characteristics at broad or site scales. Few products addressed captive breeding, recreation, wild horses and burros, and range management structures (including fences). The management topics with the largest increase in representation between the 2018 GRSG literature summary and this update were GRSG survival and GRSG population estimates or targets, which were each addressed in 16 percent of products in the original literature summary document, but were addressed in 30 and 33 percent, respectively, of newly summarized products. Topics with the largest declines in representation were conifer expansion, - 17 to 10 percent, and new geospatial data, -31 to 21 percent. We include in this annotated bibliography the full citation, Digital Object Identifier (DOI), product summary, and management topics addressed by each product. The online version of this bibliography (https://apps.usgs.gov/gsgbib/index.php) is searchable by topic and location and includes links to journal landing pages for each original publication. A substantial body of literature has been compiled on research explicitly related to the conservation, management, monitoring, and assessment of GRSG. These studies may inform planning and management actions that seek to balance conservation, economic, and social objectives and manage diverse resource uses and values across the western United States. The review process for this product included requesting input on each summary from one or more authors of the original peer-reviewed article or report and a formal review of the entire document by three independent reviewers for the original document and by two independent reviewers for the updated document and, subsequently, the USGS Bureau Approving Official. This process is consistent with USGS Fundamental Science Practices.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mont↗