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USGS2020

Resilience management for conservation of inland recreational fisheries

Resilience thinking has generated much interest among scientific communities, yet most resilience concepts have not materialized into management applications. We believe that using resilience concepts to characterize systems and the social and ecological processes affecting them is a way to integrate resilience into better management decisions. This situation is exemplified by inland recreational fisheries, which represent complex socioecological systems that face unpredictable and unavoidable change. Making management decisions in the context of resilience is increasingly important given mounting environmental and anthropogenic perturbations to inland systems. Herein, we propose a framework that allows resilience concepts to be better incorporated into management by (i) recognizing how current constraints and management objectives focus on desired or undesired systems (specific fish and anglers), (ii) evaluating the state of a system in terms of how both social and ecological forces enforce or erode the desired or undesired system, (iii) identifying the resilience-stage cycles a system state may undergo, and (iv) determining the broad management strategies that may be viable given the system state and resilience stage. We use examples from inland recreational fisheries to illustrate different system state and resilience stages and synthesize several key results. Across all combinations of socioecological forces, five common types of viable management strategies emerge: (i) adopt a different management preference or focus, (ii) change stakeholder attitudes or behaviors via stakeholder outreach, (iii) engage in (sometimes extreme) biological intervention, (iv) engage in fishery intervention, and (v) adopt landscape-level management approaches focusing on achieving different systems in different waters. We then discuss the challenges and weaknesses of our approach, including specifically the cases in which there are multiple strong social forces (i.e., stakeholders holding competing objectives or values) and situations where waters are not readily divisible, such as rivers or great lakes, and in which spatial separation of competing objectives will be difficult. We end with our vision of how we believe these types of operationalized resilience approaches could improve or transform inland recreational fisheries management.

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution↗

USGS2013

Projecting demographic responses to climate change: adult and juvenile survival respond differently to direct and indirect effects of weather in a passerine population

Few studies have quantitatively projected changes in demography in response to climate change, yet doing so can provide important insights into the processes that may lead to population declines and changes in species distributions. Using a long-term mark-recapture data set, we examined the influence of multiple direct and indirect effects of weather on adult and juvenile survival for a population of Song Sparrows (Melospiza melodia) in California. We found evidence for a positive, direct effect of winter temperature on adult survival, and a positive, indirect effect of prior rainy season precipitation on juvenile survival, which was consistent with an effect of precipitation on food availability during the breeding season. We used these relationships, and climate projections of significantly warmer and slightly drier winter weather by the year 2100, to project a significant increase in mean adult survival (12-17%) and a slight decrease in mean juvenile survival (4-6%) under the B1 and A2 climate change scenarios. Together with results from previous studies on seasonal fecundity and postfledging survival in this population, we integrated these results in a population model and projected increases in the population growth rate under both climate change scenarios. Our results underscore the importance of considering multiple, direct, and indirect effects of weather throughout the annual cycle, as well as differences in the responses of each life stage to climate change. Projecting demographic responses to climate change can identify not only how populations will be affected by climate change but also indicate the demographic process(es) and specific mechanisms that may be responsible. This information can, in turn, inform climate change adaptation plans, help prioritize future research, and identify where limited conservation resources will be most effectively and efficiently spent.

California↗

USGS2005

Streamflow, water-quality, and biological data for three tributaries to Lake Houston near Houston, Texas, 2002-04

During 2002-04 the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Houston-Galveston Area Council and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, conducted a systematic monitoring study on Lake Creek, Peach Creek, and Caney Creek near Houston, Texas, to assess the current water-quality and biological conditions in the three tributaries to Lake Houston. Streamflow and water-quality data (chloride and sulfate, nutrients, biochemical oxygen demand, phytoplankton, indicator bacteria, pesticides, and suspended sediment) were collected at 11 sites, and fish and benthic-macroinvertebrate data were collected at eight of the 11 sites. Graphical comparisons of concentration data for eight water-quality constituents by watershed indicate relatively large differences in concentration distribution among all three watersheds for nitrite plus nitrate nitrogen (medians: Lake, 0.20; Peach, 0.14; and Caney, 0.32 mg/L). Graphical comparisons of these data by season show consistency in distribution of constituent concentrations. The distributions of chlorophyll-a in summer and E. coli bacteria in winter each contain a few relatively large concentrations. Fifty-six species of fish from 15 major families were collected during the study. For all sites except one on Lake Creek, the majority of fish collected were sunfish; minnows dominated at the one Lake Creek site. Invertivores (mostly sunfish and minnows) made up more than 65 percent of the trophic structure, omnivores were the next largest percentage, and piscivores the smallest percentage. Ecoregion-specific index of biotic integrity (ECO-IBI) scores (averages of samples) for three of four upstream Lake Creek sites indicate intermediate aquatic life use, and the most downstream site, high aquatic life use. ECO-IBI scores for the Peach Creek and Caney Creek sites indicate high aquatic life use. The maximum number of aquatic-insect taxa (51) were collected at a site on Peach Creek near Cleveland, and the minimum number of aquatic-insect taxa (17) were collected at site on Caney Creek near New Caney. The benthic-macroinvertebrate index of biotic integrity (B-IBI) scores (averages of samples) for the three upstream Lake Creek sites indicate intermediate aquatic life use, and the B-IBI score for the most downstream site indicates high aquatic life use. B-IBI scores for the Peach Creek sites, in downstream order, are exceptional and high; and scores for the Caney Creek sites, in downstream order, are high and intermediate.

Texas↗

USGS2019

Wind River subbasin restoration annual report of USGS activities January 2017 through December 2017

We used Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagging and a series of instream PIT-tag interrogation systems (PTISs) to investigate life-histories, populations, and efficacy of habitat restoration actions for wild Steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss in the Wind River subbasin, WA. No hatchery Steelhead have been planted in the Wind River subbasin since 1997, and hatchery adults are estimated to be less than one percent of adults in most years (pers comm. Thomas Buehrens, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife). Numerous restoration actions have been implemented in the subbasin, including Hemlock Dam removal on Trout Creek in 2009. Data from our study, and companion work by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), are contributing to Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Research Monitoring and Evaluation (RM&E) Program Strategy of Fish Population Status Monitoring (www.cbfish.org/ProgramStrategy.mvc/ViewProgramStrategySummary/1), specifically the substrategies of: 1) Assessing the Status and Trends of Diversity of Natural Origin Fish Populations and to Uncertainties Research regarding differing life histories of a wild Steelhead population, 2) Assessing the Status and Trend of Adult Natural Origin Fish Populations, and 3) Monitoring and Evaluating the Effectiveness of Tributary Habitat Actions Relative to Environmental, Physical, or Biological Performance Objectives. Our headwaters parr PIT tagging, WDFW parr, smolt, and adult tagging and our instream PTISs are providing data movements and life histories of parr, smolt, and adult Steelhead. During summer 2017, we PIT-tagged age-0 and age-1 Steelhead parr in headwater areas of the Wind River subbasin to characterize population traits and investigate life-history diversity, including growth and pre-smolt downstream movement. Repeat sampling and smolt traps provide opportunities for recapture, and instream PTISs and Columbia River infrastructure provide opportunity for detection of PIT-tagged fish. Throughout the year, we maintained a series of instream PTISs to monitor movement of tagged Steelhead parr, smolts, and adults. This included adding the second array to our upper Wind River PITS, increasing solar capacity and adding improved power cables to some sites. Detections at the instream PTISs have demonstrated trends of age-0 and age-1 parr emigration from natal areas during summer and fall, in addition to the expected movement of parr and smolts in spring. These data are increasing our understanding of varied life histories of juvenile Steelhead; paired with other Steelhead population work in the subbasin we hope to begin to understand factors which may influence parr movements. Long-term monitoring of PIT-tagged fish over multiple years is providing information on contribution of various life-history strategies to smolt production and adult returns. Movements of PIT-tagged adult Steelhead were also recorded at instream PTISs. These data have allowed us to assess adult returns to tributary watersheds within the Wind River subbasin. Determination of adult use of tributary watersheds is providing data to contribute to evaluation of the efficacy of the removal of Hemlock Dam on Trout Creek. Hemlock Dam, located at rkm 2.0 of Trout Creek was removed in summer 2009. The dam had had contributed to hydrologic impairment of Trout Creek and had potential negative effects on Steelhead. The improved upper Wind River PTIS (better site characteristics and grid power) will allow estimates of subbasin adult escapement upstream of that site. Evaluating and planning restoration efforts are of interest to many managers and agencies to ensure efficient use of resources. The evaluation of various life-histories of Lower Columbia River Steelhead within the Wind River subbasin will provide information to better track populations, and to direct habitat restoration and water allocation planning. Increasingly detailed Viable Salmonid Population information, such as that provided by PIT-tagging and instream PTISs networks like those we operate in the Wind River subbasin, will provide data to inform policy and management, as life-history strategies and production bottlenecks are identified and understood.

Washington↗

USGS2010

Biological water-quality assessment of selected streams in the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Planning Area of Wisconsin, 2007

Changes in the water quality of stream ecosystems in an urban area may manifest in conspicuous ways, such as in murky or smelly streamwater, or in less conspicuous ways, such as fewer native or pollution-sensitive organisms. In 2004, and again in 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey sampled stream organisms—algae, invertebrates, and fish—in 14 Milwaukee area streams to assess water quality as part of the ongoing Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) Corridor Study. In addition, passive-sampling devices (SPMDs, “semipermeable membrane devices”) were deployed at a subset of sites in order to evaluate the potential exposure of stream organisms to certain toxic chemicals. Results of the 2007 sampling effort are the focus of this report. Results of sampling from 2007 are compared with results from 2004. The water quality of sampled streams was assessed by evaluating biological-assemblage data, metrics computed from assemblage data, and an aggregate bioassessment ranking method that combined data for algae, invertebrates, and fish. These data contain information about the abundance (number) of different species in each group of stream organisms and the balance between species that can or cannot tolerate polluted or disturbed conditions. In 2007, the highest numbers of algal, invertebrate, and fish species were found at the Milwaukee River at Milwaukee, the largest sampled site. Algal results indicated water quality concerns at 10 of the 14 sampled sites due to the occurrence of nuisance algae or low percentages of pollution-sensitive algae. When compared to 2004, total algal biovolume was higher in 2007 at 12 of 14 sites, due mostly to more nuisance green algae from unknown causes. Results of several metrics, including the Hilsenhoff Biotic Index (HBI-10), suggest that invertebrate assemblages in the Little Menomonee River, Underwood Creek, and Honey Creek were poorer quality in 2007 compared to 2004. Six sites received “very poor” quality ratings for fish in 2007, mostly because inadequate numbers of fish were collected at five sites to allow computation of an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI); this resulted in three additional sites receiving “very poor” ratings compared to 2004. Some signs of potential improvement in the fish assemblage were evident at Lincoln Creek, possibly reflecting delayed effects of the restoration of stream habitat, completed in 2002; however, algae and invertebrates did not show signs of improvement. Aggregate bioassessment rankings across all groups of organisms for 2004 and 2007 indicated that water quality at the two Milwaukee River main stem sites (at Milwaukee and near Cedarburg), Jewel Creek, and the Menomonee River at Menomonee Falls was the least-degraded among all sampled sites. Rankings for Oak Creek and Little Menomonee suggested water quality was worse in 2007 compared to 2004 and placed these two sites together with Kinnickinnic River and Underwood Creek, two concrete-line sites, indicating the most-degraded water quality among all sampled sites. The aggregate ranking for Lincoln Creek in 2007 would have placed it in the most-degraded category but for the positive influence of the fish ranking when compared to poor algal and invertebrate rankings. Potential toxicity due to certain manmade chemicals, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), was found at all six sites where SPMDs were deployed. As was found in 2004, the highest potential toxicity in 2007 was observed at Lincoln Creek where chemical screening in 2007 also showed the highest total PAHs of all six sites; however, potential toxicity at Little Menomonee River, Honey Creek, and Kinnickinnic River was relatively high compared to Milwaukee River near Cedarburg. Although toxicity and chemical results in 2007 did not agree with aggregate rankings for Lincoln Creek because of fish, nor for Honey Creek, the results did agree with aggregate rankings at four of the six sites. In addition to toxicological and chemical influences, the more urbanized sites have high percentages of impervious surface area, resulting in frequent high stream flows that can adversely affect algal, invertebrate, and fish assemblages. Assessments of the ecological status of different groups of organisms and of potential chemical and physical stressors to organisms are important tools in evaluating streamwater quality.

Wisconsin↗

USGS2019

Flow modification in the Nation’s streams and rivers

This report summarizes a national assessment of flowing waters conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Project and addresses several pressing questions about the modification of natural flows in streams and rivers. The assessment is based on the integration, modeling, and synthesis of monitoring data collected by the USGS and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at more than 7,000 streams and rivers across the conterminous United States from 1980 to 2014. Key findings include the following. First, flow in many of the Nation’s streams and rivers is different from what it would be under natural conditions. In particular, low flows are more frequent, are of shorter duration, and vary less from one year to the next than they would naturally. In addition, high flows have been reduced in magnitude, are of shorter duration, are less frequent, and vary less from one year to the next than they would naturally. Other characteristics of natural flows also have been modified. Second, over the last 60 years (1955–2014), climatic trends have caused a change of 50 percent or more in one or more streamflow attributes at two-thirds of climate-sensitive streamgaging sites. However, these climate-induced changes have been less influential on streamflow modification than have land and water-management practices. Third, in every region assessed, streamflow modification was associated with reduced ecological health, as indicated by two biological communities—invertebrates and fish. Biological communities were increasingly likely to be impaired (defined as having lost a statistically significant number of species) in streams with flows most different from natural conditions. Finally, several case studies are presented that illustrate viable management strategies for balancing the water needs of people and ecosystems.

Circular↗

USGS2001

Systems identification and the adaptive management of waterfowl in the United States

Waterfowl management in the United States is one of the more visible conservation success stories in the United States. It is authorized and supported by appropriate legislative authorities, based on large-scale monitoring programs, and widely accepted by the public. The process is one of only a limited number of large-scale examples of effective collaboration between research and management, integrating scientific information with management in a coherent framework for regulatory decision-making. However, harvest management continues to face some serious technical problems, many of which focus on sequential identification of the resource system in a context of optimal decision-making. The objective of this paper is to provide a theoretical foundation of adaptive harvest management, the approach currently in use in the United States for regulatory decision-making. We lay out the legal and institutional framework for adaptive harvest management and provide a formal description of regulatory decision-making in terms of adaptive optimization. We discuss some technical and institutional challenges in applying adaptive harvest management and focus specifically on methods of estimating resource states for linear resource systems.

Wildlife Biology↗

USGS2014

Long-term growth-increment chronologies reveal diverse influences of climate forcing on freshwater and forest biota in the Pacific Northwest

Analyses of how organisms are likely to respond to a changing climate have focused largely on the direct effects of warming temperatures, though changes in other variables may also be important, particularly the amount and timing of precipitation. Here, we develop a network of eight growth-increment width chronologies for freshwater mussel species in the Pacific Northwest, United States and integrate them with tree-ring data to evaluate how terrestrial and aquatic indicators respond to hydroclimatic variability, including river discharge and precipitation. Annual discharge averaged across water years (October 1–September 30) was highly synchronous among river systems and imparted a coherent pattern among mussel chronologies. The leading principal component of the five longest mussel chronologies (1982–2003; PC1 mussel ) accounted for 47% of the dataset variability and negatively correlated with the leading principal component of river discharge (PC1 discharge ; r = −0.88; P < 0.0001). PC1 mussel and PC1 discharge were closely linked to regional wintertime precipitation patterns across the Pacific Northwest, the season in which the vast majority of annual precipitation arrives. Mussel growth was also indirectly related to tree radial growth, though the nature of the relationships varied across the landscape. Negative correlations occurred in forests where tree growth tends to be limited by drought while positive correlations occurred in forests where tree growth tends to be limited by deep or lingering snowpack. Overall, this diverse assemblage of chronologies illustrates the importance of winter precipitation to terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and suggests that a complexity of climate responses must be considered when estimating the biological impacts of climate variability and change.

Idaho, Oregon, Washington↗

USGS2020

Integrating multiple data sources and multi-scale land-cover data to model the distribution of a declining amphibian

Determining the spatial scale at which landscape features influence population persistence is an important task for conservation planning. One challenge is that sampling biases confound factors that influence species occurrence and survey effort. Recent developments in Point Process Models (PPMs) enable researchers to disentangle the sampling process from ecological drivers of species' distributions. Land-cover change is a driver of decline for the western spadefoot (Spea hammondii), which has been extirpated from much of its range in California. Assessing this species' status requires information on the current distribution of suitable habitat within its historical range, but little is known about the effect of the landscape surrounding breeding ponds on spadefoot occurrence. Critically, surveys for western spadefoots often occur along roads, potentially biasing data used to fit species distribution models. We created PPMs integrating historical presence/non-detection and presence-only data for western spadefoots and land-cover data at multiple spatial scales to model the distribution of this species while removing the influence of sampling bias. There was spatial sampling bias in presence-only data; records were more likely to be reported near roads and urban centers and PPMs that removed sampling bias outperformed models that ignored sampling bias. The occurrence of western spadefoots was positively related to the proportion of grassland within a 2000 m buffer. The remaining habitat for western spadefoots is largely found in the foothills surrounding California's Central Valley. Our study illustrates how PPMs can improve projections of habitat suitability and our understanding of the drivers of species' distributions.

California↗

USGS2013

Effects of sex pheromones and sexual maturation on locomotor activity in female sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

Synchronization of male and female locomotor rhythmicity can play a vital role in ensuring reproductive success. Several physiological and environmental factors alter these locomotor rhythms. As sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus, progress through their life cycle, their locomotor activity rhythm changes multiple times. The goal of this study was to elucidate the activity patterns of adult female sea lamprey during the sexual maturation process and discern the interactions of these patterns with exposure to male pheromones. During these stages, preovulated and ovulated adult females are exposed to sex pheromone compounds, which are released by spermiated males and attract ovulated females to the nest for spawning. The locomotor behavior of adult females was monitored in a natural stream with a passive integrated tag responder system as they matured, and they were exposed to a sex pheromone treatment (spermiated male washings) or a control (prespermiated male washings). Results showed that, dependent on the hour of day, male sex pheromone compounds reduce total activity (p < 0.05) and cause increases in activity during several daytime hours in preovulated and ovulated females. These results are one of the first examples of how sex pheromones modulate a locomotor rhythm in a vertebrate, and they suggest that the interaction between maturity stage and sex pheromone exposure contributes to the differential locomotor rhythms found in adult female sea lamprey. This phenomenon may contribute to the reproductive synchrony of mature adults, thus increasing reproductive success in this species.

Journal of Biological Rhythms↗

USGS2004

Incorporating uncertainty into mercury-offset decisions with a probabilistic network for National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit holders: An interim report

This interim report describes an alternative approach for evaluating the efficacy of using mercury (Hg) offsets to improve water quality. Hg-offset programs may allow dischargers facing higher-pollution control costs to meet their regulatory obligations by making more cost effective pollutant-reduction decisions. Efficient Hg management requires methods to translate that science and economics into a regulatory decision framework. This report documents the work in progress by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Geographic Science Center in collaboration with Stanford University toward developing this decision framework to help managers, regulators, and other stakeholders decide whether offsets can cost effectively meet the Hg total maximum daily load (TMDL) requirements in the Sacramento River watershed. Two key approaches being considered are: (1) a probabilistic approach that explicitly incorporates scientific uncertainty, cost information, and value judgments; and (2) a quantitative approach that captures uncertainty in testing the feasibility of Hg offsets. Current fate and transport-process models commonly attempt to predict chemical transformations and transport pathways deterministically. However, the physical, chemical, and biologic processes controlling the fate and transport of Hg in aquatic environments are complex and poorly understood. Deterministic models of Hg environmental behavior contain large uncertainties, reflecting this lack of understanding. The uncertainty in these underlying physical processes may produce similarly large uncertainties in the decisionmaking process. However, decisions about control strategies are still being made despite the large uncertainties in current Hg loadings, the relations between total Hg (HgT) loading and methylmercury (MeHg) formation, and the relations between control efforts and Hg content in fish. The research presented here focuses on an alternative analytical approach to the current use of safety factors and deterministic methods for Hg TMDL decision support, one that is fully compatible with an adaptive management approach. This alternative approach uses empirical data and informed judgment to provide a scientific and technical basis for helping National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit holders make management decisions. An Hg-offset system would be an option if a wastewater-treatment plant could not achieve NPDES permit requirements for HgT reduction. We develop a probabilistic decision-analytical model consisting of three submodels for HgT loading, MeHg, and cost mitigation within a Bayesian network that integrates information of varying rigor and detail into a simple model of a complex system. Hg processes are identified and quantified by using a combination of historical data, statistical models, and expert judgment. Such an integrated approach to uncertainty analysis allows easy updating of prediction and inference when observations of model variables are made. We demonstrate our approach with data from the Cache Creek watershed (a subbasin of the Sacramento River watershed). The empirical models used to generate the needed probability distributions are based on the same empirical models currently being used by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Cache Creek Hg TMDL working group. The significant difference is that input uncertainty and error are explicitly included in the model and propagated throughout its algorithms. This work demonstrates how to integrate uncertainty into the complex and highly uncertain Hg TMDL decisionmaking process. The various sources of uncertainty are propagated as decision risk that allows decisionmakers to simultaneously consider uncertainties in remediation/implementation costs while attempting to meet environmental/ecologic targets. We must note that this research is on going. As more data are collected, the HgT and cost-mitigation submodels are updated and the uncertainties may be reduced. Subsequently, the value of using a probabilistic framework for estimating and explicitly stating these uncertainties within a decisionmaking process can be estimated when new data are collected. Future work includes the design and implementation of a Bayesian network decision support system (BN-DSS) to produce mitigation scenarios for offset-project evaluation in the Cache Creek watershed. The decisionmaker, a wastewater-treatment plant, is expected to evaluate potential Hg-offset programs in terms of changes in HgT load changes, MeHg-production potential, project cost, and other suitability criteria. Subsequently, scenarios can be analyzed by performing sensitivity analyses and ranking environmental and economic uncertainties in terms of the decisionmaker’s preferences and risk choices. Such an analysis allows decisionmakers and stakeholders to explore various scenarios and predict the consequences of different stated preferences over outcomes.

Open-File Report↗

USGS2019

Evolutionary history predicts high-impact invasions by herbivorous insects

A long‐standing goal of invasion biology is to identify factors driving highly variable impacts of non‐native species. Although hypotheses exist that emphasize the role of evolutionary history (e.g., enemy release hypothesis & defense‐free space hypothesis), predicting the impact of non‐native herbivorous insects has eluded scientists for over a century. Using a census of all 58 non‐native conifer‐specialist insects in North America, we quantified the contribution of over 25 factors that could affect the impact they have on their novel hosts, including insect traits (fecundity, voltinism, native range, etc.), host traits (shade tolerance, growth rate, wood density, etc.), and evolutionary relationships (between native and novel hosts and insects). We discovered that divergence times between native and novel hosts, the shade and drought tolerance of the novel host, and the presence of a coevolved congener on a shared host, were more predictive of impact than the traits of the invading insect. These factors built upon each other to strengthen our ability to predict the risk of a non‐native insect becoming invasive. This research is the first to empirically support historically assumed hypotheses about the importance of evolutionary history as a major driver of impact of non‐native herbivorous insects. Our novel, integrated model predicts whether a non‐native insect not yet present in North America will have a one in 6.5 to a one in 2,858 chance of causing widespread mortality of a conifer species if established (R2 = 0.91) Synthesis and applications. With this advancement, the risk to other conifer host species and regions can be assessed, and regulatory and pest management efforts can be more efficiently prioritized.

Ecology and Evolution↗

USGS2012

The macroecology of sustainability

The discipline of sustainability science has emerged in response to concerns of natural and social scientists, policymakers, and lay people about whether the Earth can continue to support human population growth and economic prosperity. Yet, sustainability science has developed largely independently from and with little reference to key ecological principles that govern life on Earth. A macroecological perspective highlights three principles that should be integral to sustainability science: 1) physical conservation laws govern the flows of energy and materials between human systems and the environment, 2) smaller systems are connected by these flows to larger systems in which they are embedded, and 3) global constraints ultimately limit flows at smaller scales. Over the past few decades, decreasing per capita rates of consumption of petroleum, phosphate, agricultural land, fresh water, fish, and wood indicate that the growing human population has surpassed the capacity of the Earth to supply enough of these essential resources to sustain even the current population and level of socioeconomic development.

PLoS Biology↗

USGS2005

GIS compilation of data collected from the Pulley Ridge Deep Coral Reef region

Pulley Ridge is a chain of drowned barrier islands that extends almost 200 km in 60-90 m water depths (Fig. 1). This drowned ridge is located on the Florida Platform in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico about 250 km west of Cape Sable, Florida (Jarrett and others, 2005). These islands formed during the early Holocene marine transgression approximately 12,000 - 14,000 years before present, and were then submerged by sea level rise and preserved near the outer edge of the Florida Platform. The southern portion of Pulley Ridge is the focus of this study. This area hosts zooxanthellate scleractinian corals, green, red and brown macro algae, and a mix of deep and typically shallow-water tropical fishes. This largely photosynthetic community is unique in that it thrives with less than 5% of the light typically associated with shallow-water reefs with similar fauna. Several factors help to account for the existence of this unique deep-water community. First, the underlying drowned barrier islands provide both elevated topography and lithified substrate for the establishment of the hardbottom community. Second, the region is commonly bathed by the Loop Current, which brings relatively clear and warm water to this area. Third, the ridge's position on the continental shelf places it within the thermocline which provides nutrients to the reef during upwelling (Halley and others, 2003). The USGS has made two proposals to resource managers for the designation of marine protected areas based on the geophysical and photographic data in this report. The proposals describe areas that may require some regulatory protection of marine life utilizing the sea floor (Fig. 1). The first proposal is that the area of greatest hermatypic coral cover (Fig. 1) is considered for future management actions and designated a Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. HAPCs are identified on the basis of habitat level considerations: The importance of the ecological function provided by the habitat. The extent to which the habitat is sensitive to human-induced environmental degradation. Whether and to what extent development activities are or will be stressing the habitat. The rarity of the habitat type. The second proposed area is for Coral Essential Fish Habitat (CEFH, Fig. 1). CEFHs are defined as "those waters and substrate necessary to corals for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity." The following definitions are provided for clarification: waters is defined as "aquatic areas and their associated physical, chemical, and biological properties that are used by corals" substrate means "sediment, hard bottom, structures underlying the waters, and associated biological communities" necessary means "the habitat required to support a sustainable population and the managed species' contribution to a healthy ecosystem" spawning,breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity covers the full life cycle of a species. The CEFH shown in Figure 1 is the greatest coral cover in the region as determined by the bottom photo and video transects acquired during this study. This report presents the geophysical and photographic data that were collected to describe the surficial and shallow subsurface geologic framework of the area where these deep-water corals are known to occur. The data types include multibeam bathymetry, sidescan-sonar imagery, images of high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles, and bottom photographs. In addition, the tracklines for the seismic data, locations of bottom photographs and camera drifts, and tracklines along which submersible and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) observations were made are contained in the GIS files accompanying this report. Unfortunately, video footage from the camera drifts, submersible, and ROV cruises is not available on this DVD due to the quantity of data. The bottom photograph data set has been previously published (Cross and others, 2004), however it is included in this publication in an effort to integrate the varying data sets in one location. This integration is accomplished through the GIS data included on this DVD.

Florida↗

USGS2016

Effects of aquifer storage and recovery activities on water quality in the Little Arkansas River and Equus Beds Aquifer, south-central Kansas, 2011–14

The Equus Beds aquifer in south-central Kansas is aprimary water source for the city of Wichita. The Equus Beds aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) project was developed to help the city of Wichita meet increasing current (2016) and future water demands. The Equus Beds ASR project pumps water out of the Little Arkansas River during above-base flow conditions, treats it using drinking-water quality standards as a guideline, and recharges it into the Equus Beds aquifer for later use. Phase II of the Equus Beds ASR project currently (2016) includes a river intake facility and a surface-water treatment facility with a 30 million gallon per day capacity. Water diverted from the Little Arkansas River is delivered to an adjacent presedimentation basin for solids removal. Subsequently, waste from the surface-water treatment facility and the presedimentation basin is returned to the Little Arkansas River through a residuals return line. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Wichita, developed and implemented a hydrobiological monitoring program as part of the ASR project to characterize and quantify the effects of aquifer storage and recovery activities on the Little Arkansas River and Equus Beds aquifer water quality. Data were collected from 2 surface-water sites (one upstream and one downstream from the residuals return line), 1 residuals return line site, and 2 groundwater well sites (each having a shallow and deep part): the Little Arkansas River upstream from the ASR facility near Sedgwick, Kansas (upstream surface-water site 375350097262800), about 0.03 mile (mi) upstream from the residuals return line site; the Little Arkansas River near Sedgwick, Kans. (downstream surface-water site 07144100), about 1.68 mi downstream from the residuals return line site; discharge from the Little Arkansas River ASR facility near Sedgwick, Kansas (residuals return line site 375348097262800); 25S 01 W 07BCCC01 SMW–S11 near CW36 (MW–7 shallow groundwater well site 375327097285401); 25S01 W 07BCCC02 DMW–S10 near CW36 (MW–7 deep groundwater well site 375327097285402); 25S 01W 07BCCA01 SMW–S13 near CW36 (MW–8 shallow groundwater well site 375332097284801); and 25S 01W 07BCCA02 DMW–S14 near CW36 (MW–8 deep groundwater well site 375332097284802). The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the city of Wichita, assessed the effects of the ASR Phase II facility residuals return line discharges on stream quality of the Little Arkansas River by measuring continuous physicochemical properties and collecting discrete water-quality and sediment samples for about 2 years pre- (January 2011 through April 2013) and post-ASR (May 2013 through December 2014) Phase II facility operation upstream and downstream from the ASR Phase II facility. Additionally, habitat variables were quantified and macroinvertebrate and fish communities were sampled upstream and downstream from the ASR Phase II facility during the study period. To assess the effects of aquifer recharge on Equus Beds groundwater quality, continuous physicochemical properties were measured and discrete water-quality samples were collected before and during the onset of Phase II aquifer recharge in two (shallow and deep) groundwater wells. Little Arkansas River streamflow was about 10 times larger after the facility began operating because of greater rainfall. Residuals return line release volumes were a very minimal proportion (0.06 percent) of downstream streamflow volume during the months the ASR facility was operating. Upstream and downstream continuously measured water temperature and dissolved oxygen median differences were smaller post-ASR than pre-ASR. Turbidity generally was smaller at the downstream site throughout the study period and decreased at both sites after the ASR Phase II facility began discharging despite a median residuals return line turbidity that was about an order of magnitude larger than the median turbidity at the downstream site. Upstream and downstream continuously measured turbidity median differences were larger post-ASR than pre-ASR. Median post-ASR continuously measured nitrite plus nitrate and continuously computed total suspended solids and suspended-sediment concentrations were smaller than pre-ASR likely because of higher streamflows and dilution; whereas, median continuously computed dissolved and total organic carbon concentrations were larger likely because of higher streamflows and runoff conditions. None of the discretely measured water-quality constituents (dissolved and suspended solids, primary ions, suspended sediment, nutrients, carbon, trace elements, viral and bacterial indicators, and pesticides) in surface water were significantly different between the upstream and downstream sites after the ASR Phase II facility began discharging; however, pre-ASR calcium, sodium, hardness, manganese, and arsenate concentrations were significantly larger at the upstream site, which indicates that some water-quality conditions at the upstream and downstream sites were more similar post-ASR. Most of the primary constituents that make up dissolved solids decreased at both sites after the ASR Phase II facility began operation. Discretely collected total suspended solids concentrations were similar between the upstream and downstream sites before the facility began operating but were about 27 percent smaller at the downstream site after the facility began operating, despite the total suspended solids concentrations in the residuals return line being 15 times larger than the downstream site. Overall habitat scores were indicative of suboptimal conditions upstream and downstream from the ASR Phase II facility throughout the study period. Substrate fouling and sediment deposition mean scores indicated marginal conditions at the upstream and downstream sites during the study period, demonstrating that sediment deposition was evident pre- and post-ASR and no substantial changes in these habitat characteristics were noted after the ASR Phase II facility began discharging. Macroinvertebrate community composition (evaluated using functional feeding, behavioral, and tolerance metrics) generally was similar between sites during the study period. Fewer macroinvertebrate metrics were significant between the upstream and downstream sites post-ASR (6) than pre-ASR (14), which suggests that macroinvertebate communities were more similar after the ASR facility began discharging. Upstream-downstream comparisons in macroinvertebrate aquatic-life-support metrics had no significant differences for the post-ASR time period and neither site was fully supporting for any of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment aquatic-life-support metrics (Macroinvertebrate Biotic Index; Kansas Biotic Index with tolerances for nutrients and oxygen-demanding substances; Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera [EPT] richness; and percentage of EPT species). Overall, using macroinvertebrate aquatic life-support criteria from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, upstream and downstream sites were classified as partially supporting before and after the onset of ASR facility operations. Fish community trophic status and tolerance groups generally were similar among sites during the study period. Fish community Little Arkansas River Basin Index of Biotic Integrity scores at the upstream and downstream sites were indicative of fair-to-good conditions before the facility began operating and decreased to fair conditions after the facility began operating. Groundwater physicochemical changes concurrent with the beginning of recharge operations at the Sedgwick basin were more pronounced in shallow groundwater. No constituent concentrations in the pre-recharge period in comparison to the post-recharge period increased to concentrations exceeding drinking water regulations; however, nitrate decreased significantly from a pre-recharge exceedance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency maximum contaminant level to a post recharge nonexceedance. Shallow groundwater chemical concentrations or rates of detection increased after artificial recharge began for the ions potassium, chloride, and fluoride; phosphorus and organic carbon species; trace elements barium, manganese, nickel, arsenate, arsenic, and boron; agricultural pesticides atrazine, metolachlor, metribuzin, and simazine; organic disinfection byproducts bromodichloromethane and trichloromethane; and gross beta levels. Additionally, water temperature, and pH were larger after recharge began; and total solids and slime-forming bacteria concentrations and densities were smaller. Total solids, nitrate, and selenium significantly decreased; and potassium, chloride, nickel, arsenic, fluoride, phosphorus and carbon species, and gross beta levels significantly increased in shallow groundwater after artificial recharge. Results of biological activity reaction tests indicated that water quality microbiology was different before and after artificial recharge began; at times, these differences may lead to changes in dominant bacterial populations that, in turn, may lead to formation and expansion in populations that may cause bioplugging and other unwanted effects. Calcite, iron (II) hydroxide, hydroxyapatite, and similar minerals, had shifts in saturation indices that generally were from undersaturation toward equilibrium and, in some cases, toward oversaturation. These shifts toward neutral saturation indices might suggest reduced weathering of the minerals present in the Equus Beds aquifer. Chemical weathering in the shallow parts of the aquifer may be accelerated because of the increased water temperatures and the system is more vulnerable to clogged pores and mineral dissolution as the equilibrium state is affected by recharge and withdrawal. When oversaturation is indicated for iron minerals, plugging of aquifer materials may happen.

Kansas↗

USGS2023

Range-wide trends in tiger conservation landscapes, 2001 - 2020

Of all the ways human beings have modified the planet over the last 10,000 years, habitat loss is the most important for other species. To address this most critical threat to biodiversity, governments, non-governmental actors, and the public need to know, in near real-time, where and when habitat loss is occurring. Here we present an integrated habitat modelling system at the range-wide scale for the tiger ( Panthera tigris ) to measure and monitor changes in tiger habitat at range-wide, national, biome, and landscape scales, as often as the underlying inputs change. We find that after nearly 150 years of decline, effective potential habitat for the tiger seems to have stabilized at around 16% of its indigenous extent (1.817 million km 2 ). As of the 1st of January 2020, there were 63 Tiger Conservation Landscapes in the world, covering 911,920 km 2 shared across ten of the 30 modern countries which once harbored tiger populations. Over the last 20 years, the total area of Tiger Conservation Landscapes (TCLs) declined from 1.025 million km 2 in 2001, a range-wide loss of 11%, with the greatest losses in Southeast Asia and southern China. Meanwhile, we documented expansions of modelled TCL area in India, Nepal, Bhutan, northern China, and southeastern Russia. We find significant potential for restoring tigers to existing habitats, identified here in 226 Restoration Landscapes. If these habitats had sufficient prey and were tigers able to find them, the occupied land base for tigers might increase by 50%. Our analytical system, incorporating Earth observations, in situ biological data, and a conservation-oriented modelling framework, provides the information the countries need to protect tigers and enhance habitat, including dynamic, spatially explicit maps and results, updated as often as the underlying data change. Our work builds on nearly 30 years of tiger conservation research and provides an accessible way for countries to measure progress and report outcomes. This work serves as a model for objective, range-wide, habitat monitoring as countries work to achieve the goals laid out in the Sustainable Development Goals, the 30×30 Agenda, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Frontiers in Conservation Science↗

USGS2021

Emerging control strategies for integrated pest management of invasive carps

Invasive carps are ecologically and economically problematic fish species in many large river basins in the United States and pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems throughout much of North America. Four species of invasive carps: black carp ( Mylopharyngodon piceus ), grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ), silver carp ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ) and bighead carp ( Hypophthalmichthys nobilis ), are particularly concerning for native ecosystems because they occupy and disrupt a variety of food and habitat niches. In response, natural resource agencies are developing integrated pest management (IPM) plans to mitigate invasive carps. Control tools are one key component within a successful IPM program and have been a focal point for development by governmental agencies and academic researchers. For example, behavioural deterrents and barriers that block migratory pathways could limit carps range expansion into new areas, while efficient removal methods could suppress established carp populations. However, control tools are sometimes limited in practice due to uncertainty with deployment, efficacy and availability. This review provides an overview of several emerging modelling approaches and control technologies that could inform and support future invasive carp IPM programs.

Journal of Vertebrate Biology↗

USGS2009

Using indirect methods to constrain symbiotic nitrogen fixation rates: A case study from an Amazonian rain forest

Human activities have profoundly altered the global nitrogen (N) cycle. Increases in anthropogenic N have had multiple effects on the atmosphere, on terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, and even on human health. Unfortunately, methodological limitations challenge our ability to directly measure natural N inputs via biological N fixation (BNF)-the largest natural source of new N to ecosystems. This confounds efforts to quantify the extent of anthropogenic perturbation to the N cycle. To address this gap, we used a pair of indirect methods -analytical modeling and N balance-to generate independent estimates of BNF in a presumed hotspot of N fixation , a tropical rain forest site in central Rondônia in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Our objectives were to attempt to constrain symbiotic N fixation rates in this site using indirect methods , and to assess strengths and weaknesses of this approach by looking for areas of convergence and disagreement between the estimates. This approach yielded two remarkably similar estimates of N fixation . However, when compared to a previously published bottom-up estimate, our analysis indicated much lower N inputs via symbiotic BNF in the Rondônia site than has been suggested for the tropics as a whole. This discrepancy may reflect errors associated with extrapolating bottom-up fluxes from plot-scale measures, those resulting from the indirect analyses, and/or the relatively low abundance of legumes at the Rondônia site. While indirect methods have some limitations, we suggest that until the technological challenges of directly measuring N fixation are overcome, integrated approaches that employ a combination of model-generated and empirically-derived data offer a promising way of constraining N inputs via BNF in natural ecosystems.

Biogeochemistry↗