Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Browse more than 160,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS.  Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.

Filter Total Items: 6076

Coral reef ecosystem health

No abstract available.
Authors
Thierry M. Work

Mangrove forests and climate change: Impacts and interactions

The position of mangrove forests in the dynamic intertidal zone means that they are expected to be heavily impacted by climate change. Much focus is put on mangroves and their response to sea-level rise, but this ecosystem is exposed to a much broader range of climate change stressors, including increased storminess and waves, more dynamic and unpredictable precipitation patterns, and increases in
Authors
Daniel A. Friess, Luzhen Chen, Nicole Cormier, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock, Jacqueline L. Raw, Kerrylee Rogers, Neil Saintilan, Frida Sidik

Blue carbon in a changing climate and a changing context

Blue carbon, a convenient term to encompass the climate mitigation value of coastal carbon dynamics, has received global policy attention and growing datasets to support management actions. Carbon stock assessments in mangroves, seagrass, and tidal marshes document significant carbon storage in soils. Models illustrate significant downward fluxes of carbon dioxide and limited methane emissions, ma
Authors
Lisamarie Windham-Myers

Mesocarnivores of western rangelands

There are 22 species of mesocarnivores (carnivores weighing < 15 kg) belonging to five families that live in rangelands of the western United States. Mesocarnivores are understudied relative to large carnivores but can have significant impacts on ecosystems and human dimensions. In this chapter, we review the current state of knowledge about the biology, ecology, and human interactions of the meso
Authors
Julie K. Young, Andrew R. Butler, Joseph D. Holbrook, Hila Shamon, Clint W. Boal

Waterfowl and wetland birds

The future of wetland bird habitat and populations is intrinsically connected with the conservation of rangelands in North America. Many rangeland watersheds are source drainage for some of the highest functioning extant wetlands. The Central and Pacific Flyways have significant overlap with available rangelands in western North America. Within these flyways, the importance of rangeland management
Authors
Josh L. Vest, David A. Haukos, Neal D. Niemuth, Casey M. Setash, James H. Gammonley, James H. Devries, David K. Dahlgren

Sage-grouse

In this chapter, we summarize the ecology and conservation issues affecting greater (Centrocercus urophasianus) and Gunnison (C. minimus) sage-grouse, iconic and obligate species of rangelands in the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) biome in western North America. Greater sage-grouse are noted for their ability to migrate, whereas Gunnison sage-grouse localize near leks year-round. Seasonal habitats inc
Authors
Jeffrey L. Beck, Thomas J Christiansen, Kirk W. Davies, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Adrian P. Monroe, David E. Naugle, Michael A Schroeder

Manipulation of rangeland wildlife habitat

Rangeland manipulations have occurred for centuries. Those manipulations may have positive or negative effects on multiple wildlife species and their habitats. Some of these manipulations may result in landscape changes that fragment wildlife habitat and isolate populations. Habitat degradation and subsequent restoration may range from simple problems that are easy to restore to complex problems t
Authors
David A. Pyke, Chad S. Boyd

Amphibians and reptiles

Amphibians and reptiles are a diverse group of ectothermic vertebrates that occupy a variety of habitats in rangelands of North America, from wetlands to the driest deserts. These two classes of vertebrates are often referred to as herpetofauna and are studied under the field of herpetology. In U.S. rangelands, there are approximately 66 species of frogs and toads, 58 salamanders, 98 lizards, 111
Authors
David Pilliod, Todd C. Esque

Kesem-Kebena-Dulecha study area, Ethiopia

In 1988 and 1989, the Paleoanthropological Inventory of Ethiopia (PIE) field expedition discovered numerous localities of prehistoric significance across Ethiopia (WoldeGabriel et al., 1992). One of the regions surveyed by the Inventory team was the Dulecha administrative district (Gabi Rasu), Afar Zone (Fig. 1). The surveyed area (geographic reference: 9.407° N, 40.057° E) includes the watershed
Authors
W. Henry Gilbert, V.B. Doronichev, L.V. Golovanova, Leah E. Morgan, Luis Nunez, Laura Rodriguez, Nohemi Sala, D. Cusimano, I. de Gaspar, Paul Mazza, N. Garcia

Mapping planetary bodies

As the United States and its space agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), looks to send humans back to the Moon, many other countries and their space agencies are also sending orbiters, rovers, and sample return missions across the Solar System. We are living in an extraordinary age of planetary exploration, where every mission builds on the decades of advancements in sa
Authors
Trent M. Hare

Porosity and pore-size distribution

Porosity, the fraction of soil volume not occupied by solids, is relatively easy to conceptualize and measure. Pore-size distribution is a complex topic, in part from the lack of a clear and unique concept of a soil pore as a discrete object. Available tools for evaluating pore-size distribution involve traditional conventions and operational definitions applied to hydraulic property characterizat
Authors
John R. Nimmo, Sheela Katuwal, Maik Lucas
Was this page helpful?