Articles
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
Browse more than 65,000 articles authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.
Filter Total Items: 77793
Monitoring visitor activity and informal trail disturbance in Yosemite Valley meadows to assess temporal changes in use and impacts Monitoring visitor activity and informal trail disturbance in Yosemite Valley meadows to assess temporal changes in use and impacts
Montane meadows provide vital habitat that supports ecosystems, regulate hydrological processes, and offer valuable recreational opportunities. Meadows account for 3 % of Yosemite National Park's area, including Yosemite Valley, and are particularly susceptible to human impacts such as formation of informal trails. We collected observational data on visitor activity and quantified social...
Authors
Sheri A. Shiflett, Jeffery S. Jenkins, Rachel F. Mattos, Kai Thiry, Peter Christian Ibsen, Melissa Booher, Angela Tricomi, Nicole D Athearn
Histological progression and bacterial load dynamics of Renibacterium salmoninarum in Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Histological progression and bacterial load dynamics of Renibacterium salmoninarum in Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Renibacterium salmoninarum, the cause of bacterial kidney disease (BKD), severely impacts salmonid populations. Much of our understanding of the BKD pathology in salmonids comes from evaluating fatal infections in wild populations or spawning Pacific Northwest salmonids. Our study investigated the histological progression and bacterial load dynamics of R. salmoninarum infection in...
Authors
Riley E. Dils, Tawni B.R. Firestone, Paula A. Schaffer, Dana L. Winkelman, Eric R. Fetherman
Foraging of wading birds on a patchy landscape: Simulating effects of social information, interference competition, and patch selection on prey intake and individual distribution Foraging of wading birds on a patchy landscape: Simulating effects of social information, interference competition, and patch selection on prey intake and individual distribution
Foragers on patchy landscapes must acquire sufficient resources despite uncertainty in the location and amount of the resources. Optimal Foraging Theory posits that foragers deal with this uncertainty by using strategies that optimize resource intake within foraging periods. For species such as wading birds, this optimization is closely linked to their survival and reproductive success
Authors
Hyo Won Lee, Donald L. DeAngelis, Simeon Yurek, Yannis P. Papastamatiou
White‐tailed deer habitat use and implications for chronic wasting disease transmission White‐tailed deer habitat use and implications for chronic wasting disease transmission
Animal space use, activity patterns, and habitat selection—and heterogeneity in these patterns—have important implications for where and when infectious diseases are transmitted. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are habitat generalists, with a high degree of heterogeneity in their movement ecology based on sex, age, season, and region. These heterogeneities have important...
Authors
Marie L.J. Gilbertson, Alison C. Ketz, Matthew A. Hunsaker, Daniel P. Walsh, Daniel J. Storm, Wendy Christine Turner
Bayesian ETAS modeling for the Pacific Northwest: Uncovering effects of tectonic regimes, regional differences, and swarms on aftershock parameters Bayesian ETAS modeling for the Pacific Northwest: Uncovering effects of tectonic regimes, regional differences, and swarms on aftershock parameters
The Pacific Northwest (PNW) of North America has high seismic hazard due to numerous earthquake sources under populated areas. It hosts several tectonic regimes and subregional seismic zones that are hypothesized to have different patterns of earthquake and aftershock occurrence. It is also predisposed to earthquake swarms, which can complicate the statistical modeling of these patterns...
Authors
Max Schneider, Michael Barall, Peter Guttorp, Jeanne L. Hardebeck, Andrew J. Michael, Morgan T. Page, Nicholas van der Elst
Reconciling scale using the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) Framework to improve management of woody encroachment in grasslands Reconciling scale using the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) Framework to improve management of woody encroachment in grasslands
Implementing strategies to navigate large-scale ecological transitions in grasslands is one of this century's greatest conservation challenges. In the US Great Plains, managing areas impacted by woody transitions have been reactive, short-lived, costly, and ineffective. Along with current technological innovation in rangeland monitoring, the promise of early warning science is to provide...
Authors
Rheinhardt Scholtz, Daniel R. Uden, Brady W. Allred, Victoria M. Donovan, Jeremy D. Maestas, Scott L. Morford, Matthew O. Jones, David E. Naugle, Samantha M. Cady, Dillon T. Fogarty, Alexander L. Metcalf, Brian C. Chaffin, Craig Allen, Caleb Powell Roberts, Emily Rowen, Gwendwr R. Meredith, Holly K. Nesbitt, Matthew A. Williamson, Sabrina Gulab, Samantha Hamlin, Sapana Lohani, Dirac Twidwell
Linking fire radiative power to land cover, fire history, and environmental setting in Alaska, 2003–2022 Linking fire radiative power to land cover, fire history, and environmental setting in Alaska, 2003–2022
Background Fire radiative power (FRP) shows promise as a diagnostic and predictive indicator of fire behavior and post-fire effects in Alaska, USA. Aims To investigate relationships between FRP, vegetation functional groups, and environmental settings in Alaska (2003–2022) under various fire history conditions. Methods We tested for distinctness of MODIS FRP distributions associated with...
Authors
Jessica J. Walker, Rachel A. Loehman, Britt Windsor Smith, Christopher E. Soulard
Framework for assessing intranational risk of critical mineral sectors: Case study of India Framework for assessing intranational risk of critical mineral sectors: Case study of India
Recent geopolitical actions regarding the supply of critical minerals have highlighted both the threats posed by countries dominating a critical mineral supply chain, and the potential mitigations served by alternative supplier countries. However, no systematic quantification exists for the intranational factors that determine such threats or mitigations. This study outlines a...
Authors
Keita Federico Decarlo
Clarifying the role of the resist–accept–direct framework in supporting resource management planning processes Clarifying the role of the resist–accept–direct framework in supporting resource management planning processes
No abstract available.
Authors
Gregor W. Schuurman, Wylie Carr, Cat Hawkins Hoffman, David J. Lawrence, Brian W. Miller, Erik A. Beever, Jean Brennan, Katherine R. Clifford, Scott Covington, Shelley D. Crausbay, Amanda E. Cravens, John E. Gross, Linh Hoang, Stephen Jackson, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Wendy Morrison, Elizabeth A. Nelson, Robin O'Malley, Jay O. Peterson, Mark T. Porath, Karen Prentice, Joel H. Reynolds, Suresh A. Sethi, Helen Sofaer, Jennifer L. Wilkening
Kiloyear cycles of carbonate and Mg-silicate replacement at Von Damm hydrothermal vent field Kiloyear cycles of carbonate and Mg-silicate replacement at Von Damm hydrothermal vent field
The Von Damm vent field (VDVF) on the Mid-Cayman Rise in the Caribbean Sea is unique among modern hydrothermal systems in that the chimneys and mounds are almost entirely composed of talc. We analyzed samples collected in 2020 and report that in addition to disordered talc of variable crystallinity, carbonates are a major class of mineral at VDVF. The carbonate minerals include aragonite...
Authors
Amy Gartman, Terrence Blackburn, Kiana Frank, Susan Q. Lang, Jeffrey S. Seewald
Negative growth in body mass of trout and salmon in a small stream network Negative growth in body mass of trout and salmon in a small stream network
In species inhabiting stressful environments, some individuals experience negative growth in body mass during their lives, potentially influencing survival, reproduction, populations, and ecosystems. Using data from a long-term (1997–2015) study of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), brown trout (Salmo trutta), and juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Massachusetts, USA, we...
Authors
Benjamin H. Letcher, Keith Nislow, Matthew O’Donnell, Michael J. Hayden, Todd Dubreuil
Exposure of infants to antibiotics via cord blood, breast milk, and formula: A review on exposure level, temporal variation, and risk assessment Exposure of infants to antibiotics via cord blood, breast milk, and formula: A review on exposure level, temporal variation, and risk assessment
The pervasive use of antibiotics across various sectors, including agriculture, medicine, and aquaculture, has led to a notable increase in environmental antibiotic residues. This phenomenon has raised significant public concern regarding the potential health risks antibiotics may pose, particularly to vulnerable populations such as infants. However, the conceptualization of exposure...
Authors
Jiating Feng, Bentuo Xu, Jason Tyler Magnuson, Jiayi Wang, Yajie Gao, Wenhui Qiu, Rongrong Xuan