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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.
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Potential impact of annual vaccination with reformulated COVID-19 vaccines: Lessons from the US COVID-19 scenario modeling hub Potential impact of annual vaccination with reformulated COVID-19 vaccines: Lessons from the US COVID-19 scenario modeling hub
Background Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause significant hospitalizations and deaths in the United States. Its continued burden and the impact of annually reformulated vaccines remain unclear. Here, we present projections of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the United States for the next 2 years under 2 plausible assumptions about immune escape (20% per year...
Authors
Sung-mok Jung, Sara L Loo, Emily Howerton, Lucie Contamin, Claire P. Smith, Erica Carcelén, Katie Yan, Samantha J Bents, John Levander, Jessi Espino, Joseph C Lemaitre, Koji Sato, Clif D McKee, Alison L Hill, Matteo Chinazzi, Jessica T Davis, Kunpeng Mu, Alessandro Vespignani, Erik T Rosenstrom, Sebastian A Rodriguez-Cartes, Julie S Ivy, Maria E Mayorga, Julie L Swann, Guido Espana, Sean Cavany, Sean M Moore, Alex Perkins, Shi Chen, Rajib Paul, Daniel Janies, Jean-Claude Thill, Ajitesh Srivastava, Majd Al Aawar, Kaiming Bi, Shraddha R Bandekar, Anass Bouchnita, Spencer J Fox, Lauren A. Meyers, Przemyslaw Porebski, Srinivasan Venkatramanan, Aniruddha Adiga, Benjamin Hurt, Brian Klahn, Joseph Outten, Jiangzhuo Chen, Henning Mortveit, Amanda Wilson, Stefan Hoops, Parantapa Bhattacharya, Dustin Machi, Anil Vullikanti, Bryan Lewis, Madhav Marathe, Harry Hochheiser, Michael C. Runge, Katriona Shea, Shaun Truelove, Cécile Viboud, Justin Lessler
Comparison of two methods to detect the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) and the invasive American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in interior northern California Comparison of two methods to detect the northwestern pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata) and the invasive American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) in interior northern California
Knowledge about the distributions of species and the variables influencing their occurrence is important for their management and conservation, but factors affecting occurrence can vary across the range of a species. Northwestern pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata) are widespread generalist turtles, but are nonetheless of conservation concern throughout their range. To better understand...
Authors
Brian J. Halstead, Patrick M. Kleeman, Caren S. Goldberg, Jonathan P. Rose
Biological soil crusts are more prevalent in warmer and drier environments within the Great Basin ecoregion: Implications for managing annual grass invasion Biological soil crusts are more prevalent in warmer and drier environments within the Great Basin ecoregion: Implications for managing annual grass invasion
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) can thrive under environmental conditions that are stressful for vascular plants such as high temperatures and/or extremely low moisture availability. In these settings, and in the absence of disturbance, cover of biocrusts commonly exceeds cover of vascular plants. Arid landscapes are also typically slow to recover from disturbance and prone to altered
Authors
Lea A. Condon, John B. Bradford, Peter S. Coates
Evolving wildlife management cultures of governance through Indigenous Knowledges and perspectives Evolving wildlife management cultures of governance through Indigenous Knowledges and perspectives
Within governance agencies, academia, and communities alike, there are increasing calls to recognize the value and importance of culture within social-ecological systems and to better implement Indigenous sciences in research, policy, and management. Efforts thus far have raised questions about the best ethical practices to do so. Engaging with plural worldviews and perspectives on their...
Authors
Jonathan J. Fisk, Kirsten Leong, Richard Eugene Waggaman Berl, Jonathan W. Long, Adam Landon, Melinda Adams, Don L. Hankins, Christopher J. Williams, Frank K. Lake, Jonathan Salerno
Ecology shapes the genomic and biosynthetic diversification of Streptomyces bacteria from insectivorous bats Ecology shapes the genomic and biosynthetic diversification of Streptomyces bacteria from insectivorous bats
Streptomyces are prolific producers of secondary metabolites from which many clinically useful compounds have been derived. They inhabit diverse habitats but have rarely been reported in vertebrates. Here, we aim to determine to what extent the ecological source (bat host species and cave sites) influence the genomic and biosynthetic diversity of Streptomyces bacteria. We analysed draft...
Authors
Manuela Montoya-Giraldo, Kathryn R. Piper, Odion O. Ikhimiukor, Cooper J. Park, Nicole A. Caimi, Debbie C. Buecher, Ernest W. Valdez, Diana E. Northup, Cheryl P. Andam
Hunting mode and habitat selection mediate the success of human hunters Hunting mode and habitat selection mediate the success of human hunters
Background As a globally widespread apex predator, humans have unprecedented lethal and non-lethal effects on prey populations and ecosystems. Yet compared to non-human predators, little is known about the movement ecology of human hunters, including how hunting behavior interacts with the environment.Methods We characterized the hunting modes, habitat selection, and harvest success of...
Authors
Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Michael C Mcinturff, Briana L. Abrahms, Alison M. Smith, Justin S. Brashares
High-quality, chromosome-level reference genomes of the viviparous Caribbean skinks Spondylurus nitidus and S. culebrae High-quality, chromosome-level reference genomes of the viviparous Caribbean skinks Spondylurus nitidus and S. culebrae
New World mabuyine skinks are a diverse radiation of morphologically cryptic lizards with unique reproductive biologies. Recent studies examining population-level data (morphological, ecological, and genomic) have uncovered novel biodiversity and phenotypes, including the description of dozens of new species and insights into the evolution of their highly complex placental structures...
Authors
Danielle Rivera, James B. Henderson, Athena W. Lam, Nathan J. Hostetter, Jaime A. Collazo, Rayna C. Bell
A toolbox for improving reclamation success: Joint USGS-BLM report establishes best management practices for oil and gas operations, monitoring methods, and standards A toolbox for improving reclamation success: Joint USGS-BLM report establishes best management practices for oil and gas operations, monitoring methods, and standards
The U. S. Geological Survey, in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, recently published an oil and gas reclamation techniques and methods report that provides land managers and oil and gas operators specific guidance and best management practices for development impacts, successfully reclaiming disturbed lands during and after oil and gas activities. Resource inventory...
Authors
Michael C. Duniway, Meredith A. Hartwell
Vegetation loss following vertical drowning of Mississippi River deltaic wetlands leads to faster microbial decomposition and decreases in soil carbon Vegetation loss following vertical drowning of Mississippi River deltaic wetlands leads to faster microbial decomposition and decreases in soil carbon
Wetland ecosystems hold nearly a third of the global soil carbon pool, but as wetlands rapidly disappear the fate of this stored soil carbon is unclear. The aim of this study was to quantify and then link potential rates of microbial decomposition after vertical drowning of vegetated tidal marshes in coastal Louisiana to known drivers of anaerobic decomposition altered by vegetation loss...
Authors
Courtney Creamer, Mark Waldrop, Camille Stagg, Kristen L. Manies, Melissa Millman Baustian, Claudia Laurenzano, Tiong Gim Aw, Monica Haw, Sergio Merino, Donald R. Schoolmaster, Sabrina N. Sevilgen, Rachel Katherine Villani, Eric Ward
Multi-scale effects of behavioral movement deterrents on invasive carp metapopulations Multi-scale effects of behavioral movement deterrents on invasive carp metapopulations
Behavioral deterrents of among-pool movement represent a promising tool for controlling invasive fish populations. To date, much of the research in this area has been focused on the direct effectiveness of different methods of deterrence. However, the effect of these structures on populations in spatially complex habitats is unknown. We combine a metacommunity model with movement data of...
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, Aaron R. Cupp, Alison A. Coulter, Richard A. Erickson
Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological dynamics of the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain prior to and during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum Paleoenvironmental and paleoecological dynamics of the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain prior to and during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
We studied the rapid paleo-environmental changes and the corresponding biotic responses of benthic foraminifera of a shallow shelf site during the late Paleocene and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). The PETM is globally characterized by a negative δ13C excursion in marine and terrestrial sediments. Isotope data from the Atlantic Coastal Plain from the South Dover Bridge core...
Authors
Monika Doubrawa, Peter Stassen, Marci M. Robinson, Robert P. Speijer
Following the tug of the audience from complex to simplified hazards maps at Cascade Range volcanoes Following the tug of the audience from complex to simplified hazards maps at Cascade Range volcanoes
Volcano-hazard maps are broadly recognized as important tools for forecasting and managing volcanic crises and for disseminating spatial information to authorities and people at risk. As scientists, we might presume that hazards maps can be developed at the time and with the methods of our discretion, yet the co-production of maps with stakeholder groups, who have programmatic needs of...
Authors
Carolyn L. Mastin, David W. Ramsey, William E. Scott, Lisa M. Faust, Joseph A. Bard, Patti Wold