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.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.
Filter Total Items: 175006
Thinking beyond the closure assumption: Designing surveys for estimating biological truth with occupancy models Thinking beyond the closure assumption: Designing surveys for estimating biological truth with occupancy models
Occupancy models estimate distributions of imperfectly detected species, but violations of the closure assumption can bias results. However, researchers working with mobile animals may find it impossible to eliminate such violations. Here, we tested the hypothesis that occupancy models fit to realistic sampling data can generate unbiased occupancy estimates for an itinerant Wood Thrush...
Authors
Jonathon Joseph Valente, Vitek Jirinec, Matthias Leu
Amphibian monitoring in hardwood forests: Optimizing methods for contaminant‐based compensatory restorations Amphibian monitoring in hardwood forests: Optimizing methods for contaminant‐based compensatory restorations
Amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders provide important services in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and have been proposed as useful indicators of progress and success for ecological restoration projects. Limited guidance is available, however, on the costs and benefits of different amphibian monitoring techniques that might be applied to sites restored in compensation for
Authors
Bethany K. Kunz, Hardin Waddle, Nicholas S. Green
Paddlefish movement and dam passage in the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, West Virginia Paddlefish movement and dam passage in the Ohio and Kanawha Rivers, West Virginia
The Paddlefish (Polyodon spathula), a large-bodied and highly migratory species of large river systems, has experienced population declines or extirpation in parts of its native range. As an effort to reestablish a Paddlefish population in the Ohio River of West Virginia, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has stocked fingerling Paddlefish in the previous two decades. Post...
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Katherine J. Zipfel, Andrew W. Peters, David C. Hoffman, Cameron M. Layne
Comparative behavioral responses of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), and silver carp (H. molitrix) to free amino acids in water Comparative behavioral responses of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), and silver carp (H. molitrix) to free amino acids in water
Control and elimination of invasive fishes, like carps (Order Cypriniformes), may be possible by using chemical stimuli to congregate them for removal. To this end, we tested behavioral responses of grass (Ctenopharyngodon idella), bighead (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), and silver carp (H. molitrix) to L-alanine, L-arginine, L-glutamic acid, and L-aspartic acid. In grass carp, the first...
Authors
Mark L. Wildhaber, Zachary D Beaman, Karlie K Ditter, Benjamin M West
Climatic drought and trophic disruption in an endemic subalpine Hawaiian forest bird Climatic drought and trophic disruption in an endemic subalpine Hawaiian forest bird
Overexploitation, habitat conversion, and introduced species have caused unprecedented extinctions and heavily degraded native bird populations in island ecosystems. In the Hawaiian Islands, stemming these losses has proven difficult as the highly specialized avifauna are often impacted – among other things – by poorly understood trophic disruptions as well as persistent climatic shifts...
Authors
Kyle S. Van Houtan, Tyler O. Gagné, Paul C. Banko, Molly E. Hagemann, Robert W. Peck, Christopher T. Yarnes
Predicted occurrence of Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) across the northeastern United States Predicted occurrence of Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens viridescens) across the northeastern United States
Effective conservation is becoming more difficult as threats to wildlife increase. Natural resource managers are pressured to make difficult decisions with limited resources, and in many instances, large uncertainty. Scientists and managers tasked with the conservation of a species need tools to help guide efficient decision-making. Often, information for management decisions is...
Authors
Lindsey Pekurny, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Brittany A. Mosher
Rappahannock tributary summary: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985-2022 Rappahannock tributary summary: A summary of trends in tidal water quality and associated factors, 1985-2022
The Rappahannock Tributary Summary outlines change over time for a suite of monitored tidal water quality parameters and associated potential drivers of those trends for the period of 1985 to 2022, and provides a brief description of the current state of knowledge explaining these observed changes. Water quality parameters described include surface (above pycnocline) total nitrogen (TN)...
Authors
Breck Maura Sullivan, Kaylyn Gootman, Alex Gunnerson, Sarah Betts, Cindy Johnson, Christopher A. Mason, Elgin Perry, Gopal Bhatt, Jennifer L. Keisman, James S. Webber, Jon Harcum, Michael F. Lane, Olivia Devereux, Qian Zhang, Rebecca Murphy, Renee Karrh, Thomas Butler, Vanessa Van Note, Angie Wei
Editorial: Natural methane emissions in a changing arctic – implications for climate and environment Editorial: Natural methane emissions in a changing arctic – implications for climate and environment
No abstract available.
Authors
K. Andreassen, Carolyn D. Ruppel, S. Liebner, A. Hodson, J. Knies
Edge effects along roadside fuel treatments in sagebrush steppe Edge effects along roadside fuel treatments in sagebrush steppe
Increasing wildfire has motivated the construction of fuel breaks on many rangelands to improve prospects for wildfire suppression. However, the linear shape of fuel breaks greatly increases treatment perimeter: area and thus increased potential for edge effects, e.g., invasions by exotic plants. Potential for edge effects are further increased by the disturbances associated with fuel...
Authors
Samuel J. Price, Matthew J. Germino, Chloe Rose Watt
From causes of conflict to solutions: Shifting the lens on human–carnivore coexistence research From causes of conflict to solutions: Shifting the lens on human–carnivore coexistence research
Human-carnivore conflicts pose significant challenges in the management and conservation of carnivores across the globe. Abundant research has led to generalizable insights into the causes of such conflicts. For example, conflicts predictably occur when carnivores have access to human food resources, particularly when their natural foods are scarce. However, similar insights into the...
Authors
Kyle Artelle, Heather E. Johnson, Rebecca M. McCaffery, Christopher Schell, Tyus Williams, Seth Wilson
Correction to A regime shift in sediment export from a coastal watershed during a record wet winter, California: Implications for landscape response to hydroclimatic extremes Correction to A regime shift in sediment export from a coastal watershed during a record wet winter, California: Implications for landscape response to hydroclimatic extremes
In the referenced article, the authors would like to correct text in the first paragraph on page 2571, Figure 9 and its caption. The changes reflect an error made in the processing of the rainfall intensity-duration data used to compare storms to published debris flow triggering thresholds. The correctly processed data does not change the interpretations made in the paper but does...
Authors
Amy E. East, Andrew W. Stevens, Andrew C. Ritchie, Patrick L. Barnard, Pamela L. Campbell‐Swarzenski, Brian D. Collins, Christopher H. Conaway
White-backed hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus Leuconotus) occurrence in the Oklahoma panhandle White-backed hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus Leuconotus) occurrence in the Oklahoma panhandle
The white-backed hog-nosed skunk (Conepatus leuconotus) is an understudied mesocarnivore thought to be declining throughout its range in the southwestern United States. With the exception of a single skull of unknown age, hog-nosed skunks have not been documented in Oklahoma since 1930. We conducted a camera trapping survey in Cimarron County, Oklahoma during summer 2022 and confirmed...
Authors
Bailey A. Kleeberg, Robert Charles Lonsinger, W. Sue Fairbanks