The US Geological Survey (USGS) is currently (2020) integrating its water science programs to better address the nation’s greatest water resource challenges now and into the future. This integration will rely, in part, on data from 10 or more intensively monitored river basins from across the USA. A team of USGS scientists was convened to develop a systematic, quantitative approach to prioritize candidate basins for this monit...

Summary The Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in a massive influx of hydrocarbons into the Gulf of Mexico (the Gulf). To better understand the fate of the oil, we enriched and isolated indigenous hydrocarbon‐degrading bacteria from deep, uncontaminated waters from the Gulf with oil (Macondo MC252) and dispersant used during the spill (COREXIT 9500). During 20 days of incubation at 5°C, CO 2 evolution, hydrocarbon concentrat...

We gathered mitochondrial DNA sequences (557 bp from the control region in 935 specimens and 668 bp of the cytochrome b gene in 139 specimens) of Pacific herring collected from 20 nearshore localities spanning the species’ extensive range along the North Pacific coastlines of Asia and North America. Haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity were high, and three major phylogeographic lineages (sequence divergences ca. 1.5%)...

Low genetic heterozygosity is associated with loss of fitness in many natural populations. However, it remains unclear whether the mechanism is related to general (i.e. inbreeding) or local effects, in particular from a subset of loci lying close to genes under balancing selection. Here we analyse involving heterozygosity–fitness correlations on neonatal survival of California sea lions and on susceptibility to hookworm ( Unci...

Exotic species have frequently caused declines of native fauna and may contribute to some cases of amphibian decline. Introductions of mosquitofish ( Gambusia affinis ) and bullfrogs ( Rana catesbeiana ) are suspected to have caused the decline of California red‐legged frogs ( Rana aurora draytonii ). We tested the effects of mosquitofish and bullfrog tadpoles on red‐legged frog tadpoles in spatially complex, speciose communit...