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USGS2014

Population viability and connectivity of the Louisiana black bear ( Ursus americanus luteolus )

In 1992, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) granted Ursus americanus luteolus (Louisiana black bear) threatened status under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, listing loss and fragmentation of habitat as the primary threats. A study was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the University of Tennessee, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the USFWS to estimate demographic rates and genetic structure of Louisiana black bear populations; evaluate relations between environmental and anthropogenic factors and demographic, genetic, and movement characteristics of Louisiana black bear populations; and develop data-driven stochastic population projection models to assess long-term persistence of individual subpopulations and the overall black bear population in Louisiana. Data were collected with non-invasive DNA sampling, live capture, winter den visits, and radio monitoring from 2002 to 2012 in the four areas supporting breeding subpopulations in Louisiana: Tensas River Basin (TRB), Upper Atchafalaya River Basin (UARB), Lower Atchafalaya River Basin (LARB), and Three Rivers Complex (TRC). Bears were live trapped and radio collared in the TRB and TRC to estimate survival and reproductive rates, deterministic matrix models were used to estimate asymptotic growth rates, and stochastic population models were used to estimate long-term viability. DNA extracted from hair collected at baited, barbed-wire enclosures in the TRB, UARB, and LARB and capture-mark-recapture (CMR) analysis based on Bayesian hierarchical modeling methods were used to estimate apparent survival ( φ ), per capita recruitment ( γ ), abundance ( N ), realized growth rate ( λ ), and long-term viability. From 2002 to 2012, we radio monitored 86 adult females greater than (>) 2 years old within the TRB, and 43 adult females were monitored in the TRC. The mean annual survival rate estimate ranged from 0.97 to 0.99 for the TRB and from 0.93 to 0.97 for the TRC. Fecundity and yearling recruitment in the TRB were 0.47 and 0.15, respectively, whereas estimates for the TRC were 0.37 and 0.18. Depending on estimated carrying capacity, the strength of the density dependence, level of uncertainty, and the treatment of unresolved signals, persistence probabilities for the TRC subpopulation ranged from 0.295 to 0.999. Estimates of N for females in the TRB ranged from 140 to 163 during 2006–12 when detection heterogeneity was assumed to follow a logistic-normal distribution (Model 1) and from 133 to 158 when a 2-point finite mixture distribution was assumed (Model 2). Annual estimates of γ ranged from 0.00 to 0.16 and from 0 to 0.22, depending on the model, and estimates of φ ranged from 0.87 to 0.93 during that period. In the UARB, estimates of N for females ranged from 25 to 44 during the study period, regardless of heterogeneity model. Estimated γ ranged from 0.00 to 0.41, and φ ranged from 0.88 to 0.90 during that period. Estimated N for females in the LARB was from 78 to 97 from 2010 to 2012 based on Model 1 and from 68 to 84 based on Model 2. Estimates of γ were 0.00 for 2010–11 regardless of heterogeneity model and ranged from 0.24 to 0.31 for 2011–12, depending on the model assumptions. We estimated φ as 0.81 for 2010–11, and from 0.84 to 0.85 for 2011–12, depending on model assumptions. We estimated Φ as 0.81 for 2010–11, ranging and from 0.84 to 0.85 for 2011–12, depending on model assumptions. On the basis of vital rate estimates from Model 1 of the CMR analysis, probability of persistence over 100 years for the TRB population was >0.999, 0.975, and 0.958 for process-only, 50-percent (%) credible interval (CI), and 95% CI projections, respectively. Similarly, the probability of persistence based on Model 2 was >0.999, 0.982, and 0.958. For the UARB, probabilities of persistence based on Model 1 were >0.999, 0.971, and 0.958 for process-only, 50% CI, and 95% CI projections, respectively, and 0.993, 0.929, and 0.849 for Model 2. Using the telemetry and reproductive data from the TRC, probabilities of persistence were greater than or equal to 0.95 only for projections based on the most optimistic set of assumptions. Assuming that the dynamics of the TRB, TRC, and UARB populations were independent and using the most pessimistic population-specific persistence probabilities (that is, 0.958, 0.295, and 0.849, respectively), the overall probability of persistence for bears in that population system was 0.996. Genetic methods were used to estimate interchange and structure between subpopulations in Louisiana and in Minnesota (MINN); Mississippi (MISS); and the White River Basin (WRB), Arkansas. Results from the all-population and the WRB–TRB clustering analyses indicate at least five genetically distinct populations. The genetic clustering and migrant analyses combined with capture data provided direct evidence that interchange has occurred from the WRB to the TRB and MISS, from the TRB to MISS, from the UARB to the TRC, and from the TRC to the TRB. Indirect evidence that interchange occurred from the UARB to the TRC and from the UARB to the TRB by way of the TRC was documented. No evidence was found of interchange from any of the subpopulations to the WRB, UARB, or LARB. From April 2010 to April 2012, global positioning system (GPS) radio collars were placed on 8 female and 23 male bears ranging from 1 to 11 years of age to develop a step-selection function model to predict routes and rates of interchange. For both males and females, the probability of a step being selected increased as the distance to natural land cover and agriculture at the end of the step decreased and as distance from roads at the end of a step increased. Of 4,000 correlated random walks, the least potential interchange was between TRB and TRC and between UARB and LARB, but the relative potential for natural interchange between UARB and TRC was high. The step-selection model predicted that dispersals between the LARB and UARB populations were infrequent but possible for males and nearly nonexistent for females. No evidence of natural female dispersal between subpopulations has been documented thus far, which is also consistent with model predictions.

Louisiana↗

USGS1995

Environmental auditing: Capabilities and management utility of recreation impact monitoring programs

A recreation impact monitoring system was developed and applied in 1984?1986 and in 1991 to all backcountry river-accessed campsites within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Results suggest that actions implemented by park managers in response to problems identified by the initial survey were highly effective in reducing resource degradation caused by camping. In particular, the elimination of some designated campsites and installation of anchored firegrates reduced the total area of disturbance by 50%. Firegrate installation provided a focal point that increased the concentration of camping activities, allowing peripheral areas to recover. As suggested by predictive models, additional resource degradation caused by increased camping intensities is more than offset by improvements in the condition of areas where use is eliminated. The capabilities and management utility of recreation impact monitoring programs, illustrated by the Delaware Water Gap monitoring program, are also presented and discussed.

Environmental Management↗

USGS2006

Helping Students make the transition from novice learner of ground-water concepts to expert using the Plume Busters software

Environmental and earth science students are novice learners and lack the experience needed to rise to the level of expert. To address this problem we have developed the prototype Plume Busters?? software as a capstone educational experience, in which students take on the role of an environmental consultant. Following a pipeline spill, the environmental consultant is hired by the pipeline owner to locate the resulting plume created by spill and remediate the contaminated aquifer at minimum monetary and time cost. The contamination must be removed from the aquifer before it reaches the river and eventually a downstream public water supply. The software consists of an interactive Java application and accompanying HTML linked pages. The application simulates movement of a plume from a pipeline break throug h a shallow alluvial aquifer towards the river. The accompanying web pages establish the simulated contamination scenario and provide students with background material on ground-water flow and transport principles. To make the role-play more realistic, the student must consider cost and time when making decisions about siting observation wells and wells for the pump-and-treat remediation system.

Journal of Geoscience Education↗

USGS2012

Identifying the decision to be supported: a review of papers from environmental modelling and software

Two of the basic tenets of decision support system efforts are to help identify and structure the decisions to be supported, and to then provide analysis in how those decisions might be best made. One example from wetland management would be that wildlife biologists must decide when to draw down water levels to optimise aquatic invertebrates as food for breeding ducks. Once such a decision is identified, a system or tool to help them make that decision in the face of current and projected climate conditions could be developed. We examined a random sample of 100 papers published from 2001-2011 in Environmental Modelling and Software that used the phrase “decision support system” or “decision support tool”, and which are characteristic of different sectors. In our review, 41% of the systems and tools related to the water resources sector, 34% were related to agriculture, and 22% to the conservation of fish, wildlife, and protected area management. Only 60% of the papers were deemed to be reporting on DSS. This was based on the papers reviewed not having directly identified a specific decision to be supported. We also report on the techniques that were used to identify the decisions, such as formal survey, focus group, expert opinion, or sole judgment of the author(s). The primary underlying modelling system, e.g., expert system, agent based model, Bayesian belief network, geographical information system (GIS), and the like was categorised next. Finally, since decision support typically should target some aspect of unstructured decisions, we subjectively determined to what degree this was the case. In only 23% of the papers reviewed, did the system appear to tackle unstructured decisions. This knowledge should be useful in helping workers in the field develop more effective systems and tools, especially by being exposed to the approaches in different, but related, disciplines. We propose that a standard blueprint for reporting on DSS be developed for consideration by journal editors to aid them in filtering papers that use the term, “decision support”.

Leipzig↗

USGS1986

An overview of environmental surveillance of waste management activities at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory

The Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL), in southeastern Idaho, is a principal center for nuclear energy development for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Nuclear Navy. Fifty-two reactors have been built at the INEL, with 15 still operable. Extensive environmental surveillance is conducted at the INEL by DOE's Radiological Environmental Sciences Laboratory (RESL), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), EG&G Idaho, Inc., and Westinghouse Idaho Nuclear Company (WINCO). Surveillance of waste management facilities radiation is integrated with the overall INEL Site surveillance program. Air, warer, soil, biota, and environmental radiation are monitored or sampled routinely at INEL. Results to date indicate very small or no impacts from INEL on the surrounding environment. Environmental surveillance activities are currently underway to address key environmental issues at the INEL.

Idaho↗

USGS2015

Evidence from data storage tags for the presence of lunar and semilunar behavioral cycles in spawning Atlantic cod

Understanding the environmental processes determining the timing and success of reproduction is of critical importance to developing effective management strategies of marine fishes. Unfortunately it has proven difficult to comprehensively study the reproductive behavior of broadcast-spawning fishes. The use of electronic data storage tags (DSTs) has the potential to provide insights into the behavior of fishes. These tags allow for data collection over relatively large spatial and temporal scales that can be correlated to predicted environmental conditions and ultimately be used to refine predictions of year class strength. In this paper we present data retrieved from DSTs demonstrating that events putatively identified as Atlantic cod spawning behavior is tied to a lunar cycle with a pronounced semi-lunar cycle within it. Peak activity occurs around the full and new moon with no evidence of relationship with day/night cycles.

Environmental Biology of Fishes↗

USGS2008

Development and Evaluation of a Riparian Buffer Mapping Tool

Land use and land cover within riparian areas greatly affect the conditions of adjacent water features. In particular, riparian forests provide many environmental benefits, including nutrient uptake, bank stabilization, steam shading, sediment trapping, aquatic and terrestrial habitat, and stream organic matter. In contrast, residential and commercial development and associated transportation infrastructure increase pollutant and nutrient loading and change the hydrologic characteristics of the landscape, thereby affecting both water quality and habitat. Restoring riparian areas is a popular and cost effective restoration technique to improve and protect water quality. Recognizing this, the Chesapeake Executive Council committed to restoring 10,000 miles of riparian forest buffers throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed by the year 2010. In 2006, the Chesapeake Executive Council further committed to 'using the best available...tools to identify areas where retention and expansion of forests is most needed to protect water quality'. The Chesapeake Bay watershed encompasses 64,000 square miles, including portions of six States and Washington, D.C. Therefore, the interpretation of remotely sensed imagery provides the only effective technique for comprehensively evaluating riparian forest protection and restoration opportunities throughout the watershed. Although 30-meter-resolution land use and land cover data have proved useful on a regional scale, they have not been equally successful at providing the detail required for local-scale assessment of riparian area characteristics. Use of high-resolution imagery (HRI) provides sufficient detail for local-scale assessments, although at greater cost owing to the cost of the imagery and the skill and time required to process the data. To facilitate the use of HRI for monitoring the extent of riparian forest buffers, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Geological Survey Eastern Geographic Science Center funded the development of a prototype semiautomated image classification tool, RBMapper, that is designed for use by technicians with limited image processing training. This document provides an overview of the RBMapper tool, includes instructions on how to obtain the RBMapper tool and tutorial datasets, and contains a summary evaluation of the tool

Open-File Report↗

USGS2016

Development of an adaptive harvest management program for Taiga bean geese

This report describes recent progress in specifying the elements of an adaptive harvest program for taiga bean goose. It describes harvest levels appropriate for first rebuilding the population of the Central Management Unit and then maintaining it near the goal specified in the AEWA International Single Species Action Plan (ISSAP). This report also provides estimates of the length of time it would take under ideal conditions (no density dependence and no harvest) to rebuild depleted populations in the Western and Eastern Management Units. We emphasize that our estimates are a first approximation because detailed demographic information is lacking for taiga bean geese. Using allometric relationships, we estimated parameters of a thetalogistic matrix population model. The mean intrinsic rate of growth was estimated as r = 0.150 (90% credible interval: 0.120 – 0.182). We estimated the mean form of density dependence as   2.361 (90% credible interval: 0.473 – 11.778), suggesting the strongest density dependence occurs when the population is near its carrying capacity. Based on expert opinion, carrying capacity (i.e., population size expected in the absence of hunting) for the Central Management Unit was estimated as K  87,900 (90% credible interval: 82,000 – 94,100). The ISSAP specifies a population goal for the Central Management Unit of 60,000 – 80,000 individuals in winter; thus, we specified a preliminary objective function as one which would minimize the difference between this goal and population size. Using the concept of stochastic dominance to explicitly account for uncertainty in demography, we determined that optimal harvest rates for 5, 10, 15, and 20-year time horizons were h = 0.00, 0.02, 0.05, and 0.06, respectively. These optima represent a tradeoff between the harvest rate and the time required to achieve and maintain a population size within desired bounds. We recognize, however, that regulation of absolute harvest rather than harvest rate is more practical, but our matrix model does not permit one to calculate an exact harvest associated with a specific harvest rate. Approximate harvests for current population size in the Central Management Unit are 0, 1,200, 2,300, and 3,500 for the 5, 10, 15, and 20-year time horizons, respectively. Populations of taiga bean geese in the Western and Eastern Units would require at least 10 and 13 years, respectively, to reach their minimum goals under the most optimistic of scenarios. The presence of harvest, density dependence, or environmental variation could extend these time frames considerably. Finally, we stress that development and implementation of internationally coordinated monitoring programs will be essential to further development and implementation of an adaptive harvest management program.

Conference Paper↗

USGS2005

Hydrogeochemical studies of historical mining areas in the Humboldt River basin and adjacent areas, northern Nevada

The study area comprises the Humboldt River Basin and adjacent areas, with emphasis on mining areas relatively close to the Humboldt River. The basin comprises about 16,840 mi2 or 10,800,000 acres. The mineral resources of the Humboldt Basin have been investigated by many scientists over the past 100 years, but only recently has our knowledge of regional geology and mine geology been applied to the understanding and evaluation of mining effects on water and environmental quality. The investigations reported here apply some of the techniques and perspectives developed in the Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative (AMLI) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a program of integrated geological-hydrological-biological-chemical studies underway in the Upper Animas River watershed in Colorado and the Boulder River watershed in, Montana. The goal of my studies of sites and districts is to determine the character of mining-related contamination that is actively or potentially a threat to water quality and to estimate the potential for natural attenuation of that contamination. These geology-based studies and recommendations differ in matters of emphasis and data collection from the biology-based assessments that are the cornerstone of environmental regulations.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2013

Tools for beach health data management, data processing, and predictive model implementation

This fact sheet describes utilities created for management of recreational waters to provide efficient data management, data aggregation, and predictive modeling as well as a prototype geographic information system (GIS)-based tool for data visualization and summary. All of these utilities were developed to assist beach managers in making decisions to protect public health. The Environmental Data Discovery and Transformation (EnDDaT) Web service identifies, compiles, and sorts environmental data from a variety of sources that help to define climatic, hydrologic, and hydrodynamic characteristics including multiple data sources within the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Great Lakes Beach Health Database (GLBH-DB) and Web application was designed to provide a flexible input, export, and storage platform for beach water quality and sanitary survey monitoring data to compliment beach monitoring programs within the Great Lakes. A real-time predictive modeling strategy was implemented by combining the capabilities of EnDDaT and the GLBH-DB for timely, automated prediction of beach water quality. The GIS-based tool was developed to map beaches based on their physical and biological characteristics, which was shared with multiple partners to provide concepts and information for future Web-accessible beach data outlets.

Fact Sheet↗

USGS2005

Feasibility of using benthic invertebrates as indicators of stream quality in Hawaii

Macroinvertebrates were collected from 19 sites on 14 streams on the island of Oahu and from 9 sites on 7 streams on the island of Kauai to evaluate associations between macroinvertebrate assemblages and environmental variables and to determine whether or not it would be feasible, in future studies, to develop macroinvertebrate metrics that would indicate stream quality based on the macroinvertebrate assemblages and/or components of the assemblages. The purpose of applying rapid bioassessment techniques is to identify stream quality problems and to document changes in stream quality. Samples were collected at 10 sites in 1999, 3 sites in 2000, and 5 sites in 2003 on Oahu and at 9 sites on Kauai in 2003. Additionally, multiple year and multiple reach samples were collected at 1 site on Oahu. Macroinvertebrates were collected primarily from boulder/cobble riffles or from the fastest flowing habitat when riffles were absent. Although most streams in Hawaii originate in mountainous, forested areas, the lower reaches often drain urban, agricultural, or mixed land-use areas. The macroinvertebrate community data were used to identify metrics that could best differentiate between sites according to levels of environmental impairment. Environmental assessments were conducted using land-use/land-cover data, bed-sediment and fish-tissue contaminant data, and reach-level environmental data using a calibration set of 15 sites. The final scores of the environmental assessments were used to classify the sites into three categories of impairment: mild, moderate or severe. A number of invertebrate metrics were then tested and calibrated to the environmental assessments scores. The individual metrics that were the best at discerning environmental assessments among the sites were combined into a multimetric benthic index of biotic integrity (BIBI). These metrics were: total invertebrate abundance, taxa richness, insect relative abundance, amphipod abundance, crayfish presence or absence, and native mountain shrimp presence or absence. Because this index is in the preliminary stage of development and additional 'pristine' sites need to be sampled and assessed to develop a more robust measure of biotic integrity, the index will be referred to as a Preliminary Hawaiian Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (P-HBIBI). The P-HBIBI scores were then classified into three categories of impairment: mild, moderate, or severe. The P-HBIBI was then used to assess the remaining sites and classify them into impairment categories. The P-HBIBI was correlated (r2 = 0.72; p < 0.005) with a reduced environmental assessment determined without contaminants data. The results of this study suggest that the development of a reliable Hawaiian benthic index of biotic integrity (HBIBI), based on macroinvertebrate assemblages, is feasible; however, a much larger sample size, including more samples from 'pristine' sites and from the other islands, would be required.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2003

Interactions of an insecticide, herbicide, and natural stressors in amphibian community mesocosms

Amphibians developing in wetlands embedded within or near agricultural lands may frequently encounter chemical mixtures. The objectives of our study were to determine the effects that post-application concentrations of an insecticide (carbaryl) and an herbicide (atrazine) have on body mass, development, and survival of two anuran species (southern leopard frog, Rana sphenocephala ; American toad, Bufo americanus ) and two caudate species (spotted salamander, Ambystoma maculatum ; small-mouthed salamander, A. texanum ) reared in outdoor cattle tank mesocosms. In one experiment, we manipulated tadpole density (low or high), carbaryl exposure (0, 3.5, 7.0 mg/L), and atrazine exposure (0 or 200 μg/L) to test for effects on development, mass, and survival of larvae. In a second experiment, we manipulated pond hydroperiod (constant or drying), carbaryl exposure (0 or 5 mg/L), and atrazine exposure (0 or 200 μg/L) to test for effects on mass, time, and survival to metamorphosis. Salamanders were virtually eliminated in carbaryl treatments, indicating that at realistic levels, this insecticide could cause population declines for salamanders in contaminated habitats. Carbaryl also had negative effects on toad survival. Exposure to atrazine had negative effects on body size, development, and time to metamorphosis in anuran species, which were associated with reduced chlorophyll levels. Both chemicals interacted significantly with density or hydroperiod, indicating that the environmental conditions could influence the impact of a contaminant. A significant atrazine-by-carbaryl interaction resulted in smaller and less developed spotted salamander larvae than in control ponds. Atrazine exposure, however, appeared to moderate negative effects of carbaryl for spotted salamanders. Our research suggests that important changes in the community's food web result from chemical exposure, which influence the susceptibility of amphibian species to contaminants.

Ecological Applications↗

USGS2018

When portfolio theory can help environmental investment planning to reduce climate risk to future environmental outcomes - and when it cannot

Variability among climate change scenarios produces great uncertainty in what is the best allocation of resources among investments to protect environmental goods in the future. Previous research shows Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) can help optimize environmental investment targeting to reduce outcome risk with minimal loss of expected level of environmental benefits, but no work has yet identified the types of cases for which MPT is most useful. This paper assembles data on 26 different conservation cases in three distinct ecological settings and develops new metrics to evaluate how well MPT can reduce uncertainty in future outcomes of a set of environmental investments. We find MPT is broadly but not universally useful and works best when multiple investments have negatively correlated outcomes across climate scenarios, a second-best investment has expected value almost as good as the value in the best investment; or multiple investments have little uncertainty in ecological outcomes.

Conservation Letters↗

USGS2013

Effects of dietary exposure to brominated flame retardant BDE-47 on thyroid condition, gonadal development and growth of zebrafish

Little is known about the effects of brominated flame retardants in teleosts and some of the information currently available is inconsistent. This study examined effects of dietary exposure to 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) on thyroid condition, body mass and size, and gonadal development of zebrafish. Pubertal, 49-day-old (posthatch) fish were fed diets without BDE-47 (control) or with 1, 5 or 25 μg/g BDE-47/diet. Treatments were conducted in triplicate 30-L tanks each containing 50 zebrafish, and 15 fish per treatment (5 per tank) were sampled at days 40, 80 and 120 of exposure. Measurements were taken of body mass, standard length, head depth and head length. Sex (at 40–120 days of exposure), germ cell stage (at 40 days) and thyroid condition (at 120 days; follicular cell height, colloid depletion, angiogenesis) were histologically determined. Whole-body BDE-47 levels at study completion were within the high end of levels reported in environmentally exposed (wild) fishes. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences among treatments at each sampling time. No effects were observed on thyroid condition or germ cell stage in either sex. Reduced head length was observed in females exposed to BDE-47 at 80 days but not at 40 or 120 days. In males, no apparent effects of BDE-47 were observed at 40 and 80 days, but fish exposed to 25 μg/g had lower body mass at 120 days compared to control fish. These observations suggest that BDE-47 at environmentally relevant whole-body concentrations does not affect thyroid condition or pubertal development of zebrafish but does affect growth during the juvenile-to-adult transition, especially in males.

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry↗

USGS1998

Effect of environmental setting on sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations in Albemarle-Pamlico drainage basin, North Carolina and Virginia, USA

Environmental settings were defined, through an overlay process, as areas of coincidence between categories of three mapped variables - land use, surficial geology, and soil drainage characteristics. Expert judgment was used in selecting factors thought to influence sediment and nutrient concentrations in the Albemarle-Pamlico drainage area. This study's findings support the hypothesis that environmental settings defined using these three variables can explain variations in the concentration of certain sediment and nutrient constituents. This finding underscores the importance of developing watershed management plans that account for differences associated with the mosaic of natural and anthropogenic factors that define a basin's environmental setting. At least in the case of sediment and nutrients in the Albemarle-Pamlico region, a watershed management plan that focuses only on anthropogenic factors, such as point-source discharges, and does not account for natural characteristics of a watershed and the influences of these characteristics on water quality, may lead to water-quality goals that are over- or underprotective of key environmental features and to a misallocation of the resources available for environmental protection.

Environmental Management↗

USGS2019

Environmental and biological factors influence migratory Sea Lamprey catchability: Implications for tracking abundance in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Sea Lamprey Petromyzon marinus population trends in the Great Lakes are tracked by trapping migratory adults in tributaries and using mark and recapture techniques to estimate abundance. Understanding what environmental and biological factors influence Sea Lamprey capture in tributaries is crucial to developing efficient trapping methods and reliable abundance estimates. We analyzed data from trapping sites located on eight Great Lakes tributaries using Cormack-Jolly-Seber models and examined how water temperature, discharge, sex, and length influenced Sea Lamprey apparent survival and capture probability. Sea Lamprey apparent survival was negatively associated with water temperature in all tributaries. Additionally, the odds of small Sea Lamprey (≤45 cm) remaining available to capture were 39% less (95% CI: 63% decrease – 1% increase) than large (>45 cm) lamprey odds. These observed relationships were used to investigate if bias in abundance estimates using the pooled-Petersen estimator and Jolly-Seber models was expected to be similar across trapping locations or influenced by variable environmental conditions and biological traits. Pooled-Petersen abundance estimates had a positive bias when datasets were generated from simulated populations with empirical relationships between environmental characteristics and catchability. The degree of bias depended upon changes in stream warming patterns and was not consistent among trapping locations. Jolly-Seber models using data from either weekly-batch-marked or uniquely-marked individuals generated abundance estimate with low bias when data quality was high, but performed poorly in scenarios with few recaptured Sea Lamprey. This research can promote improved Sea Lamprey monitoring efforts by providing insight into the reliability of the pooled-Petersen abundance estimator as a tool for tracking Sea Lamprey populations and demonstrating the limitations of adopting more robust methods when data are sparse.

Laurentian Great lakes↗

USGS2021

Literature review for candidate chemical control agents for nonnative crayfish

Nonnative crayfish are an immediate and pervasive threat to aquatic environments and their biodiversity. Crayfish control can be achieved by physical methods, water chemistry modification, biological methods, biocidal application, and application of crayfish physiology modifiers. The purpose of this report is to identify suitable candidates for potential control of nonnative crayfish through a comprehensive literature review. This review focuses on control methods, specifically on the available data to support registration of a crayfish pesticide. The literature search resulted in 28,058 documents, which were searched to determine if they contained information on physical, chemical, biological, and (or) biocidal approaches to control crayfish. Pesticides directly toxic to crayfish in this literature review include: pyrethroids (natural pyrethrins and synthetic), fipronil, mirex, antimycin-A, and rotenone. Some chemicals, such as diflubenzuron and emamectin benzoate, alter crayfish physiology resulting in a lower pesticide dose needed to control crayfish. Environmental damage, application rate, exposure duration, nontarget effects, environmental persistence, and registration data gaps were used as criteria to define which pesticides are potentially selective to crayfish, along with which have the greatest amount of data to support registration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Synthetic pyrethroids were identified as the most likely candidate to be developed into a crayfish pesticide. A type-2 synthetic pyrethroid, cyfluthrin, has the greatest potential for eradicating nonnative crayfish. Although other invertebrate species will be negatively affected at the concentrations required for crayfish control, compared with other pyrethroids and other potential control chemicals, cyfluthrin offers rapid ecosystem recovery due to being more selective, having fewer effects on native fish, and having a short aquatic persistence. Cyfluthrin also has few data gaps for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency registration purposes.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2009

Hydrogeology and Simulation of Groundwater Flow in the Plymouth-Carver-Kingston-Duxbury Aquifer System, Southeastern Massachusetts

The glacial sediments that underlie the Plymouth-Carver-Kingston-Duxbury area of southeastern Massachusetts compose an important aquifer system that is the primary source of water for a region undergoing rapid development. Population increases and land-use changes in this area has led to two primary environmental effects that relate directly to groundwater resources: (1) increases in pumping that can adversely affect environmentally sensitive groundwater-fed surface waters, such as ponds, streams, and wetlands; and (2) adverse effects of land use on the quality of water in the aquifer. In response to these concerns, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, began an investigation in 2005 to improve the understanding of the hydrogeology in the area and to assess the effects of changing pumping and recharge conditions on groundwater flow in the Plymouth-Carver-Kingston-Duxbury aquifer system. A numerical flow model was developed based on the USGS computer program MODFLOW-2000 to assist in the analysis of groundwater flow. Model simulations were used to determine water budgets, flow directions, and the sources of water to pumping wells, ponds, streams, and coastal areas. Model-calculated water budgets indicate that approximately 298 million gallons per day (Mgal/d) of water recharges the Plymouth-Carver-Kingston-Duxbury aquifer system. Most of this water (about 70 percent) moves through the aquifer, discharges to streams, and then reaches the coast as surface-water discharge. Of the remaining 30 percent of flow, about 25 percent of the water that enters the aquifer as recharge discharges directly to coastal areas and 5 percent discharges to pumping wells. Groundwater withdrawals are anticipated to increase from the current (2005) rate of about 14 Mgal/d to about 21 Mgal/d by 2030. Pumping from large-capacity production wells decreases water levels and increases the potential for effects on surface-water bodies, which are affected by pumping and wastewater disposal locations and rates. Pumping wells that are upgradient of surface-water bodies potentially capture water that would otherwise discharge to these surface-water bodies, thereby reducing streamflow and pond levels. The areas most affected by proposed increases in groundwater withdrawals are in the Towns of Plymouth and Wareham where more than half of the proposed increase in pumping will occur. In response to an increase of about 7 Mgal/d of pumping, groundwater discharge to streams is reduced by about 6 cubic feet per second (ft3/s) (about 4 Mgal/d) from a total of about 325 ft3/s. Reduction in streamflow is moderated by an increase of artificial recharge from wastewater returned to the aquifer by onsite domestic septic systems and centralized wastewater treatment facilities. It is anticipated that about 3 Mgal/d of the 7 Mgal/d of increase in pumped water will be returned to the aquifer as wastewater by 2030. Currently (2005) about 3 percent of groundwater discharge to streams is from wastewater return flow to the aquifer during average conditions. During drought conditions, the component of streamflow augmented by wastewater return flow doubles as wastewater recharge remains constant and aquifer recharge rates decrease. Wastewater return flow, whether as direct groundwater discharge to streams or as an additional source of aquifer recharge, increases the height of the water table near streams, thereby moderating the effects of increased groundwater withdrawals on streamflow. An analysis of a simulated drought similar to the 1960s drought of record indicates that the presence of streams moderates the effects on water levels of reduced aquifer recharge. The area where water-table altitudes were least affected by drought was in the Weweantic River watershed in the Town of Carver. Water levels decreased by less than 2 feet from current average conditions compared to decreases of greater than 5

Scientific Investigations Report↗