SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Literature Review”

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

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

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

At least 721 records · Page 40Linked to original sources

USGS1991

[Book review] Birds of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

Although John Warham has worked for at least 40 years on procellariids, this book is much more than just a summary of a distinguished research career. It is a useful synthesis of the vast and often obscure literature on the more than 100 species of shearwaters, petrels, albatrosses, and fulmars that comprise the avian order with the widest range of body mass (19.5 g to 8.7 kg) and widest distribution, throughout the world's oceans, from the tropics to open leads in polar ice packs. The order's literary credentials are also impressive, with contributions from Dionysus (200 AD), St. Augustine, and Cole- ridge (not cited). Warham has also unearthed useful references from journals not examined by many ornithologists, such as Bocagiana , Il-Merill , and the Journal of the Manx Museum . He also appears to have done a good job of covering the Japanese-language literature.

The Auk↗

USGS2011

On the terminology of the spectral vegetation index (NIR – SWIR)/(NIR + SWIR)

The spectral vegetation index (ρNIR – ρSWIR)/(ρNIR + ρSWIR), where ρNIR and ρSWIR are the near-infrared (NIR) and shortwave-infrared (SWIR) reflectances, respectively, has been widely used to indicate vegetation moisture condition. This index has multiple names in the literature, including infrared index (II), normalized difference infrared index (NDII), normalized difference water index (NDWI), normalized difference moisture index (NDMI), land surface water index (LSWI), and normalized burn ratio (NBR), etc. After reviewing each term’s definition, associated sensors, and channel specifications, we found that the index consists of three variants, differing only in the SWIR region (1.2–1.3 µm, 1.55–1.75 µm, or 2.05–2.45 µm). Thus, three terms are sufficient to represent these three SWIR variants; other names are redundant and therefore unnecessary. Considering the spectral representativeness, the term’s popularity, and the “rule of priority” in scientific nomenclature, NDWI, NDII, and NBR, each corresponding to the three SWIR regions, are more preferable terms.

International Journal of Remote Sensing↗

USGS2018

Integrating adaptive management and ecosystem services concepts to improve natural resource management: Challenges and opportunities

Executive Summary—Overview Natural resource managers must make decisions that affect broad-scale ecosystem processes involving large spatial areas, complex biophysical interactions, numerous competing stakeholder interests, and highly uncertain outcomes. Natural and social science information and analyses are widely recognized as important for informing effective management. Chief among the systematic approaches for improving the integration of science into natural resource management are two emergent science concepts, adaptive management and ecosystem services. Adaptive management (also referred to as “adaptive decision making”) is a deliberate process of learning by doing that focuses on reducing uncertainties about management outcomes and system responses to improve management over time. Ecosystem services is a conceptual framework that refers to the attributes and outputs of ecosystems (and their components and functions) that have value for humans. This report explores how ecosystem services can be moved from concept into practice through connection to a decision framework—adaptive management—that accounts for inherent uncertainties. Simultaneously, the report examines the value of incorporating ecosystem services framing and concepts into adaptive management efforts. Adaptive management and ecosystem services analyses have not typically been used jointly in decision making. However, as frameworks, they have a natural—but to date underexplored—affinity. Both are policy and decision oriented in that they attempt to represent the consequences of resource management choices on outcomes of interest to stakeholders. Both adaptive management and ecosystem services analysis take an empirical approach to the analysis of ecological systems. This systems orientation is a byproduct of the fact that natural resource actions affect ecosystems—and corresponding societal outcomes—often across large geographic scales. Moreover, because both frameworks focus on resource systems, both must confront the analytical challenges of systems modeling—in terms of complexity, dynamics, and uncertainty. Given this affinity, the integration of ecosystem services analysis and adaptive management poses few conceptual hurdles. In this report, we synthesize discussions from two workshops that considered ways in which adaptive management approaches and ecosystem service concepts may be complementary, such that integrating them into a common framework may lead to improved natural resource management outcomes. Although the literature on adaptive management and ecosystem services is vast and growing, the report focuses specifically on the integration of these two concepts rather than aiming to provide new definitions or an indepth review or primer of the concepts individually. Key issues considered include the bidirectional links between adaptive decision making and ecosystem services, as well as the potential benefits and inevitable challenges arising in the development and use of an integrated framework. Specifically, the workshops addressed the following questions: How can application of ecosystem service analysis within an adaptive decision process improve the outcomes of management and advance understanding of ecosystem service identification, production, and valuation? How can these concepts be integrated in concept and practice? What are the constraints and challenges to integrating adaptive management and ecosystem services? And, should the integration of these concepts be moved forward to wider application—and if so, how?

Circular↗

USGS1998

Assessment of ground-water vulnerability to atrazine leaching in Kent County, Michigan; review, comparison of results of other studies and verification

Model assumptions and parameters used in an earlier study of the vulnerability of ground water in Kent County, Michigan, to atrazine contamination were reviewed and compared with other studies. The review indicated that model assumptions are consistent with those used in other models and that the parameters assigned in the Kent County model are within the broad range commonly found in the literature. Model assumptions most likely to limit the accuracy of the previous study include those of uniform transport and steady-state flow. Simulation results are more sensitive to parameter estimates for atrazine half life, organic-carbon content, and organic-carbon partition coefficient than to other model parameters. Potential atrazine detection probabilities and concentrations of atrazine reported in the previous Kent County Study were compared with data from other studies. Detection probabilities of 14 measurements of atrazine concentrations in ground water from shallow wells in the southern Lower Peninsula of Michigan were compared with detection probabilities based on potential atrazine concentrations computed for Kent County. Results indicate that the distribution of detection probabilities based on measured concentrations is similar to that based on adjusted potential concentrations. Potential concentrations were adjusted for effects of differences between sampling and modeling depths and for differences between the uniform application rate used for potential concentrations and the percentage of Kent County that is likely to be treated with atrazine. Potential concentrations of atrazine in the Kent County Study were within the wide range of concentrations measured in other states. A stratified random sampling strategy was developed to verify expected atrazine concentrations in ground water within Kent County. The strategy helps identify strata, determine the optimum allocation of ground-water samples within defined strata, and project the sampling error. Implementation of the strategy was illustrated by use of potential atrazine concentrations computed in the previous Kent County Study. Once detailed information on historical application rates of atrazine is developed, expected atrazine concentrations can be computed by use of the vulnerability model and used to implement the sampling strategy. Sampling results may be used to verify the effectiveness of the vulnerability model and local estimates of historical atrazine application rates by use of analysis of variance.

Michigan↗

USGS2003

[Book Review] Biology of marine birds

A text devoted to the biology and ecology of marine birds has not been published in the last 15 years. Although a number of more taxa-specific texts have been produced during that period, there has not been a single publication that attempted to review our knowledge of all the major seabird orders since the works of Nelson (1979), Croxall (1987), and Furness and Monaghan (1987). Following the publication of those works, a large and impressive body of literature has been produced. Given the rapid expansion of the field in the last two decades, the time was ripe for production of an extensive compendium on the biology, ecology, and conservation of the world's seabirds. E. A. Schreiber and J. Burger are editors of this CRC publication, Biology of Marine Birds . The book consists of 19 chapters that vary in length from 15 to 51 pages. There are also two extensive appendices: (1) a list of seabird species (restricted to the orders Sphenisciformes, Procellariiformes, Pelecaniformes, and Charadriiformes, the latter limited to Stercorariidae, Laridae, Rhynchopidae, and Alcidae) and their IUCN status, and (2) a very useful table of species-specific life-history traits. The 19 chapters were prepared by 26 authors, among them some of the most respected and published seabird scientists in the world. A brief preface introduces the book, its objective (to provide an examination and summary of the research on seabirds), its audience (researchers, conservationists, managers, and policy-makers), and the taxa covered. The editors coauthored the introductory chapter, Seabirds in the Marine Environment. The authors describe distinctive characteristics of seabird life-histories in comparison to other taxa, hypotheses for why those lifestyles evolved and the potential role of energy limitation in the evolution of seabird life-histories. Along with a discussion of other common seabird traits, such as a propensity for colonial breeding, the authors also suggest directions for future research in seabird ecology.

The Auk↗

USGS2001

Geochemical constraints on the origin of the Sterling Hill and Franklin zinc deposits, and the furnace magnetite bed, northwestern New Jersey

T he p urpose of this chapter is to review two aspects of the geochemistry of the Sterling Hill and Franklin zinc-ironmanganese deposits and the Furnace magnetite bed that underlies the Franklin deposit. These are (1) oxidation and sulfidation states determined from heterogeneous phase equilibria, and (2) stable isotopic compositions determined from analyses of carbonate, silicate, oxide, and sulfide minerals. The data place constraints on the genesis of the ores, which is the topic of the final section of the chapter. This review draws heavily from the results of my own dissertation research on Sterling Hill (Johnson, 1990; Johnson et al., 1990a) and from recent and continuing projects (Johnson et al., 1990b, Johnson, 1994, 1996, 1997; Volkert et al., 2000); it also includes the sulfur isotope results obtained by Ault (1957). For a complete review of the geology of the deposits, the reader is referred to the chapter by Metsger (2001), and to Metsger et al. (1958) and Frondel and Baum (1974). A complete catalog of the extensive literature on the deposits is given by Dunn (1995).

New Jersey↗

USGS2012

Book review: Earthquakes and water

It is really nice to see assembled in one place a discussion of the documented and hypothesized hydrologic effects of earthquakes. The book is divided into chapters focusing on particular hydrologic phenomena including liquefaction, mud volcanism, stream discharge increases, groundwater level, temperature and chemical changes, and geyser period changes. These hydrologic effects are inherently fascinating, and the large number of relevant publications in the past decade makes this summary a useful milepost. The book also covers hydrologic precursors and earthquake triggering by pore pressure. A natural need to limit the topics covered resulted in the omission of tsunamis and the vast literature on the role of fluids and pore pressure in frictional strength of faults. Regardless of whether research on earthquake-triggered hydrologic effects ultimately provides insight into the physics of earthquakes, the text provides welcome common ground for interdisciplinary collaborations between hydrologists and seismologists. Such collaborations continue to be crucial for investigating hypotheses about the role of fluids in earthquakes and slow slip. Review info: Earthquakes and Water. By Wang, C.-Y. and Manga, M., 2010. ISBN: 9783642008092, 218 pp.

Geofluids↗

USGS2009

Diffusion-equation representations of landform evolution in the simplest circumstances: Appendix C

The diffusion equation is one of the three great partial differential equations of classical physics. It describes the flow or diffusion of heat in the presence of temperature gradients, fluid flow in porous media in the presence of pressure gradients, and the diffusion of molecules in the presence of chemical gradients. [The other two equations are the wave equation, which describes the propagation of electromagnetic waves (including light), acoustic (sound) waves, and elastic (seismic) waves radiated from earthquakes; and LaPlace’s equation, which describes the behavior of electric, gravitational, and fluid potentials, all part of potential field theory. The diffusion equation reduces to LaPlace’s equation at steady state, when the field of interest does not depend on t. Poisson’s equation is LaPlace’s equation with a source term.] Joseph Fourier developed the diffusion equation for heat conduction in 1807, and it has significant associations with probability theory (Narasimhan, 2009), as we will see shortly. In a novel and fascinating application, Gene Humphreys has employed solutions of the diffusion equation to describe the density of desert tortoises in the presence of population gradients caused by new dirt roads cut in the Mojave Desert. These new dirt roads induce an immediate line sink for unsuspecting tortoises. As of this writing in early September, I am not sure whether Gene has published this work. Most of us here know that the diffusion equation has also been used to describe the evolution through time of scarp-like landforms, including fault scarps, shoreline scarps, or a set of marine terraces. The methods, models, and data employed in such studies have been described in the literature many times over the past 25 years. For most situations, everything you will ever need (or want) to know can be found in Hanks et al. (1984) and Hanks (2000), the latter being a review of numerous studies of the 1980s and 1990s and a summary of available estimates of the mass diffusivity κ. The geometric parameterization of scarp-like landforms is shown in Figure 1.

Book↗

USGS2024

Mass-balance-consistent geological stock accounting: A new approach toward sustainable management of mineral resources

Global resource extraction raises concerns about environmental pressures and the security of mineral supply. Strategies to address these concerns depend on robust information on natural resource endowments, and on suitable methods to monitor and model their changes over time. However, current mineral resources and reserves reporting and accounting workflows are poorly suited for addressing mineral depletion or answering questions about the long-term sustainable supply. Our integrative review finds that the lack of a robust theoretical concept and framework for mass-balance (MB)-consistent geological stock accounting hinders systematic industry-government data integration, resource governance, and strategy development. We evaluate the existing literature on geological stock accounting, identify shortcomings of current monitoring of mine production, and outline a conceptual framework for MB-consistent system integration based on material flow analysis (MFA). Our synthesis shows that recent developments in Earth observation, geoinformation management, and sustainability reporting act as catalysts that make MB-consistent geological stock accounting increasingly feasible. We propose first steps for its implementation and anticipate that our perspective as “resource realists” will facilitate the integration of geological and anthropogenic material systems, help secure future mineral supply, and support the global sustainability transition.

Environmental Science and Technology↗

USGS2024

Refuge identification as a climate adaptation strategy to promote fish persistence during drought

Climate change is leading to global increases in extreme events, such as drought, that threaten the persistence of freshwater biodiversity. Identification and management of drought refuges, areas that promote resistance and resilience to drought, will be critical for preserving and recovering aquatic biodiversity in the face of climate change and increasing human water use. Although several reviews have addressed the effects of droughts and highlighted the role of refuges, a need remains on how to identify functional refuges that can be used in a drought management framework to support fish assemblages. We synthesize literature on drought refuges and propose a framework to identify and manage functional refuges that incorporate species physiological tolerances, behaviours and life-history strategies. Stream pools, perennial reaches and off-channel habitat were identified as important drought refuges for fish. The ability of refuges to improve species resistance and resilience to drought requires careful consideration of the biology of the target species and targeted management to promote persistence, quality and connectivity of refuges. Case studies illustrate that management of drought refuges can be challenging because of competing demands for water, incomplete knowledge of ecological requirements for target species and the increasing occurrence of multi-year droughts. Climate adaptation is increasingly important, and drought refuges can increase fish resistance and resilience to climate-related drought across the riverscape.

Fish and Fisheries↗

USGS2017

Ecology of the macrophyte Podostemum ceratophyllum Michx. (Hornleaf riverweed), a widespread foundation species of eastern North American rivers

Podostemum ceratophyllum , commonly called Hornleaf Riverweed, occurs in mid-order montane and piedmont rivers of eastern North America, where the plant grows submerged and attached to rocks and stable substrates in swift, aerated water. Multiple studies, mostly conducted in the southern portions of the plant’s range, have shown that Podostemum can variously influence benthic communities in flowing waters. However, a synthetic review of the biology and ecology of the plant is needed to inform conservation, particularly because P. ceratophyllum is reported to be in decline in much of its range, for mostly unknown reasons. We have thus summarized the literature showing that Podostemum provides substantial habitat for invertebrates and fish, may be consumed by invertebrates, turtles, and other vertebrates, removes and sequesters dissolved elements (i.e., nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, zinc, etc.) from the water column, and contributes organic matter to the detrital pool. Podostemum may be tolerant to some forms of pollution but appears vulnerable to sedimentation, epiphytic over-growth, and hydrologic changes that result in desiccation, and possibly increased herbivory pressure. Much remains unknown about Podostemum , including aspects of morphological variation, seed dispersal, and tolerance to changes in temperature and water chemistry. Nonetheless, Podostemum may be considered a foundation species, whose loss from eastern North American rivers is likely to affect higher trophic levels and ecosystem processes.

Aquatic Botany↗

USGS1958

Rate for flood insurance

Soon after the 1951 floods on the Kansas and lower Missouri Rivers, President Truman submitted to Congress (82d Cong., 1st sess., 1951) a proposal for a national flood insurance fund. Although the proposal was not acted upon by the 82d Congree, there was considerable discussion of it in the press and in the technical literature. Among the latter were papers by Langbein (1953), Foster (1954), and by the Insurance Executive Association (1952). The paper by Langbein discussed flood insurance as a means of promoting wise use of the flood plain. Foster's paper reviewed his work for the Insurance Executive Association without, however, reaching any independent decision as to the workability of hydrologic techniques in an insurance program. The report of the Insurance Executive Association presented mainly the industries viewpoint that flood insurance is not feasible. It is interesting to note, however, that in a recent report McGuinness (1957), of the Allstate Insurance Co., says "This position has been taken without recourse to actuarial or statistical methods which might be used to fit an insurance company's underwriting retentions to the exposures it would meet."

Open-File Report↗

USGS2015

Groundwater: The disregarded component in lake water and nutrient budgets, Part 1: Effects of groundwater on hydrology

Lake eutrophication is a large and growing problem in many parts of the world, commonly due to anthropogenic sources of nutrients. Improved quantification of nutrient inputs is required to address this problem, including better determination of exchanges between groundwater and lakes. This first of a two-part review provides a brief history of the evolution of the study of groundwater exchange with lakes, followed by a listing of the most commonly used methods for quantifying this exchange. Rates of exchange between lakes and groundwater compiled from the literature are statistically summarized for both exfiltration (flow from groundwater to a lake) and infiltration (flow from a lake to groundwater), including per cent contribution of groundwater to lake-water budgets. Reported rates of exchange between groundwater and lakes span more than five orders of magnitude. Median exfiltration is 0.74 cm/day, and median infiltration is 0.60 cm/day. Exfiltration ranges from near 0% to 94% of input terms in lake-water budgets, and infiltration ranges from near 0% to 91% of loss terms. Median values for exfiltration and infiltration as percentages of input and loss terms of lake-water budgets are 25% and 35%, respectively. Quantification of the groundwater term is somewhat method dependent, indicating that calculating the groundwater component with multiple methods can provide a better understanding of the accuracy of estimates. The importance of exfiltration to a lake budget ranges widely for lakes less than about 100 ha in area but generally decreases with increasing lake area, particularly for lakes that exceed 100 ha in area. No such relation is evident for lakes where infiltration occurs, perhaps because of the smaller sample size. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Hydrological Processes↗

USGS2026

Advances and applications of Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) research in landscape ecology

Landscape ecologists have long depended on satellite and aerial remote sensing to address questions about landscape pattern and process, structure, and change (Foody 2023 ). Unoccupied aerial systems/vehicles (UAS/UAV, a.k.a. drones) technology is becoming an increasingly popular research tool in environmental sciences allowing scientists to generate low-cost, high-quality, and high-resolution imagery on demand that can be tailored to specific research questions. While satellite data are of a fixed resolution and temporal interval, UAS offer researchers control and flexibility to design studies and collect data at resolutions and scales that provide ecologically relevant information at finer spatial resolutions (e.g., < 30 cm) than what is currently available from satellite platforms (typically > 3m), thus helping capture objects such as individual plant canopies, micro-topography, and individual animals. Unlike satellites with fixed orbits, UAS can be deployed at more optimal temporal frequencies for ecological monitoring. We organized the special collection “Advances and Applications of Unoccupied Aerial Systems (UAS) Research in Landscape Ecology” to showcase the many ways that UAS tools and technologies are currently applied to advance landscape ecological research. When we announced the collection in 2023, only 11 papers published in the journal Landscape Ecology used UAS data, which was a notably small number compared to many other general ecology, environmental science and remote sensing journals. In an attempt to understand why UAS were not more widely used in landscape ecology and provide possible solutions, we published a review article (Villarreal et al. 2025) that identified the challenges, knowledge gaps, and obstacles for the adoption of UAS technologies in landscape ecology research. The main issues we identified include: (1) an abundance of UAS methods papers in the existing literature, with comparatively few studies demonstrating how UAS can be applied to address ecological questions; (2) a perceived scale mismatch between the geographic extent of UAS data collection (local) compared to larger study areas (landscapes) and a need to design robust scaling approaches to connect fine-scale UAS data with broader ecological patterns; and (3) a need for improved integration of UAS data with other commonly used remote sensing datasets including historical high resolution aerial imagery. Additionally, researchers new to UAS remote sensing may be discouraged or overwhelmed by the general lack of scientific consensus and standardized protocols for typical tasks such as data collection, vegetation classification, and change detection, as well as restrictive and/or confusing policy, regulatory, and legal issues surrounding UAS operations (Villarreal et al. 2025).

Landscape Ecology↗

USGS1989

Subsurface-water flow and solute transport: federal glossary of selected terms

The purpose of this report is to provide a glossary of selected terms for saturated and unsaturated flow and related processes involved in transport of contaminants in the subsurface. The glossary contains five tables. Table 1 is a list of parameters with associated symbols and units. Tables 2 to 5 are conversion charts. The original manuscript was prepared by Thomas J. Nicholson, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It was subsequently examined by the Ground-Water Glossary Working Group and experts within and outside the Federal Government, whose recommendations were accommodated where appropriate in the glossary. It is hoped that the glossary will aid in the communications between soil scientists, hydrologists, and hydrogeologists. The terms defined in the glossary were selected after an extensive survey of glossaries and reports in the areas of (1) ground-water geology, hydraulics, and chemistry, (2) soil-water physics and chemistry, (3) contaminant transport, (4) unsaturated-zone hydrology, (5) chemistry and transport of solutes, and (6) ground-water quality. Some of the definitions have been modified for clarity from a variety of technical sources. Where more than one definition appears for the selected term, the first one was determined by the working group to be the most appropriate general definition, followed by other, more specialized, definitions. Some terms and definitions are not currently in use by all agencies; however, they are included in the glossary because they can be found in the literature. The reader is encouraged to consult with the original source cited for more explanatory comments. Additional regulatory definitions, which are underlined and are taken directly from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and Federal laws (USC), were added following review by the various Federal agencies in May 1986. The definitions and conversion charts are from two principal sources provided herein. The first is the 11Glossary11 compiled by A. I. Johnson in the 1981 report by the American Society of Testing and Materials titled Permeability and Groundwater Contaminant Transport. The second is Manu a 1 40, 11Ground-water Management, 11 produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1985.

Report↗

USGS2017

Guidance documents: Continued support to improve operations of fish hatcheries and field sites to reduce the impact or prevent establishment of New Zealand Mudsnails and other invasive mollusks

This project tested and revised a risk assessment/management tool authored by Moffitt and Stockton designed to provide hatchery biologists and others a structure to measure risk and provide tools to control, prevent or eliminate invasive New Zealand mudsnails (NZMS) and other invasive mollusks in fish hatcheries and hatchery operations. The document has two parts: the risk assessment tool, and an appendix that summarizes options for control or management. The framework of the guidance document for risk assessment/hatchery tool combines approaches used by the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process with those developed by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, in the Tri-National Risk Assessment Guidelines for Aquatic Alien Invasive Species. The framework approach for this attached first document assesses risk potential with two activities: probability of infestation and consequences of infestation. Each activity is treated equally to determine the risk potential. These two activities are divided into seven basic elements that utilize scientific, technical, and other relevant information in the process of the risk assessment. To determine the probability of infestation four steps are used that have scores reported or determined and averaged. This assessment follows a familiar HACCP process to assess pathways of entry, entry potential, colonization potential, spread potential. The economic, environmental and social consequences are considered as economic impact, environmental impact, and social and cultural influences. To test this document, the Principal Investigator worked to identify interested hatchery managers through contacts at regional aquaculture meetings, fish health meetings, and through the network of invasive species managers and scientists participating in the Western Regional Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species and the 100th Meridian Initiative's Columbia River Basin Team, and the Western New Zealand Mudsnail Conference in Seattle. Targeted hatchery workshops were conducted with staff at Dworshak National Fish Hatchery Complex (ID), Similkameen Pond, Oroville WA, and Ringold Springs State Hatchery (WA). As a result of communications with hatchery staff, invasive species managers, and on site assessments of hatchery facilities, the document was modified and enhanced. Additional resources were added to keep it up to date. The result is a more simplified tool that can lead hatchery or management personnel through the process of risk assessment and provide an introduction to the risk management and communication process. In addition to the typical HACCP processes, this tool adds steps to rate and consider uncertainty and the weight of evidence regarding options and monitoring results . Uncertainty of outcome exists in most tools that can be used to control or prevent NZMS or other invasive mollusks from infesting an area. In additional this document emphasizes that specific control tools and plans must be tailored to each specific setting to consider the economic, environmental and social influences. From the testing and evaluation process, there was a strong recognition that a number of control and prevention tools previously suggested and reported in the literature from laboratory and small scale trials may not be compatible with regional and national regulations, economic constraints, social or cultural constraints, engineering or water chemistry characteristics of each facility. The options for control are summarized in the second document, Review of Control Measures for Hatcheries Infested with NZMS (Appendix A) that provides sources for additional resources and specific tools, and guidance regarding the feasibility and success of each approach. This tool also emphasizes that management plans need to be adaptive and incorporate oversight from professionals familiar with measuring risks of fish diseases, and treatments (e.g. the fish health practitioners and water quality and effluent management teams). Finally, with such a team, the adaptive management approach must be ongoing, and become a regular component of hatchery operations. Although it was the intent that this two part document would be included as part of the revised National Management and Control Plan for the NZMS proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and others, it is provided as a stand-alone document.

Cooperator Science Series↗

USGS2022

The potential of Prairie Pothole wetlands as an agricultural conservation practice: A synthesis of empirical data

Nutrient pollution causing harmful algal blooms and eutrophication is a major threat to aquatic systems. Throughout North America, agricultural activities are the largest source of excess nutrients entering these systems. Agricultural intensification has also been a driver in the historical removal of depressional wetlands, contributing to increased hydrological connectivity across watersheds, and moving more nutrient runoff into terminal waterbodies such as the Laurentian Great Lakes and Gulf of Mexico. The Prairie Pothole Region of North America (PPR) supports grassland, cropland, wetland, and riverine systems that connect to the Missouri, Mississippi, and Red River Basins. There is a need to synthesize scientific understanding to guide more targeted conservation efforts and better understand knowledge gaps. We reviewed 200 empirical studies and synthesized results from across a minimum of 9 and maximum of 43 wetland basins (depending on the variable data available). We found an average wetland removal rate of nitrate and phosphate of 53% and 68%, respectively. Literature also showed sedimentation rates to be twice as high in wetland basins situated within croplands compared to grasslands. Our synthesis enhances understanding of nutrient processing in wetlands of the PPR and highlights the need for more empirical field-based studies throughout the region.

Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dako↗

USGS2008

Ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity in fish as a biomarker of chemical exposure

This review compiles and evaluates existing scientific information on the use, limitations, and procedural considerations for EROD activity (a catalytic measurement of cytochrome P4501A induction) as a biomarker in fish. A multitude of chemicals induce EROD activity in a variety of fish species, the most potent inducers being structural analogs of 2,3,7,8-tetracholordibenzo- p -dioxin. Although certain chemicals may inhibit EROD induction/activity, this interference is generally not a drawback to the use of EROD induction as a biomarker. The various methods of EROD analysis currently in use yield comparable results, particularly when data are expressed as relative rates of EROD activity. EROD induction in fish is well characterized, the most important modifying factors being fish species, reproductive status and age, all of which can be controlled through proper study design. Good candidate species for biomonitoring should have a wide range between basal and induced EROD activity (e.g., common carp, channel catfish, and mummichog). EROD activity has proven value as a biomarker in a number of field investigations of bleached kraft mill and industrial effluents, contaminated sediments, and chemical spills. Research on mechanisms of CYP1A-induced toxicity suggests that EROD activity may not only indicate chemical exposure, but also may also precede effects at various levels of biological organization. A current research need is the development of chemical exposure-response relationships for EROD activity in fish. In addition, routine reporting in the literature of EROD activity in standard positive and negative control material will enhance confidence in comparing results from different studies using this biomarker.

Critical Reviews in Toxicology↗