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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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Freshwater turtle assemblages and densities in agricultural ditches and aquaculture ponds of eastern Arkansas Freshwater turtle assemblages and densities in agricultural ditches and aquaculture ponds of eastern Arkansas
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) of Arkansas is a landscape where many wetlands have been altered for use as aquaculture ponds or agricultural ditches. Commercial harvest of freshwater turtles within the MAP is not restricted or limited, with reported harvest numbers for 2019 alone exceeding 4000 for spiny softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera) and 39,000 for red-eared sliders...
Authors
Andrhea D. Massey, John D. Willson, Brett Alexander DeGregorio
Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk Ultralong, supershear rupture of the 2025 Mw 7.7 Mandalay earthquake reveals unaccounted risk
The 28 March 2025 moment magnitude (Mw) 7.7 earthquake in Mandalay, Burma (Myanmar), ruptured 475 kilometers of the Sagaing Fault, which was more than twice the length predicted by magnitude scaling relationships. Kinematic slip models and observation of a Rayleigh Mach wave that passed through parts of Thailand confirmed that rupture occurred at supershear velocities of greater than 5...
Authors
Dara Elyse Goldberg, William L. Yeck, Catherine Elise Hanagan, James William Atterholt, Haiyang Liam Kehoe, Nadine G. Reitman, William D. Barnhart, David R. Shelly, Alexandra Elise Hatem, David Wald, Paul S. Earle
A spatiotemporal interrogation of hydrologic drought model performance for machine learning model interpretability A spatiotemporal interrogation of hydrologic drought model performance for machine learning model interpretability
The predictive accuracy of regional hydrologic models often varies across both time and space. Interpreting relationships between watershed characteristics, hydrologic regimes, and model performance can reveal potential areas for model improvement. In this study, we use machine learning to assess model performance of a regional hydrologic model to forecast the occurrence of streamflow...
Authors
Ali Dadkhah, Scott Douglas Hamshaw, Ryan van der Heijden, Donna M. Rizzo
Comparative life history of mud turtles (genus: Kinosternon) from the North American deserts Comparative life history of mud turtles (genus: Kinosternon) from the North American deserts
The warm deserts of North America are characterized by diverse environments that include the transition zone between tropical and temperate regions on the continent. This vast region includes the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, which have different precipitation regimes and are composed of different floras and faunas, separated by the Cochise Filter Barrier. Inhabiting these deserts are...
Authors
Rodrigo Macipríos, Jeffrey E. Lovich
Earthquake stress-drop values delineate spatial variations in maximum shear stress in the Japanese forearc lithosphere Earthquake stress-drop values delineate spatial variations in maximum shear stress in the Japanese forearc lithosphere
Earthquake stress drop (Δσ) may increase with depth and stress in the brittle lithosphere. However, the range of uncertainty in Δσ and the lack of constraints on absolute stress make it difficult to establish whether they are correlated. Here, we investigate Δσ dependence on depth and maximum shear stress (τmax) based on ~11 years of seismicity in the northeastern Japanese forearc...
Authors
Gian Maria Bocchini, Armin Dielforder, Kilian B. Kemna, Rebecca M. Harrington, Elizabeth S. Cochran
Climatological effects on survival, recruitment, and possible extirpation of a Sierra Nevada anuran Climatological effects on survival, recruitment, and possible extirpation of a Sierra Nevada anuran
The drivers of population dynamics are a primary interest of ecologists, and predicting the consequences of climate variability on wildlife populations benefits from an understanding of how weather causes variation in the vital rates of populations. Given recent and projected extremes in annual precipitation in the Sierra Nevada of California, USA, including two severe droughts, we...
Authors
Brian Halstead, Patrick M. Kleeman, Jonathan P. Rose, Robert L. Grasso, Gary M. Fellers
Apparent annual survival of adult Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) may not differ by sex or region Apparent annual survival of adult Golden-winged Warblers (Vermivora chrysoptera) may not differ by sex or region
Understanding range-wide demographic, spatial, and temporal variation in annual survival is essential for managing species of conservation concern. Multi-population models are useful tools for integrating diverse datasets, reducing biases, and deriving survival estimates across differing spatial scales. We conducted a range-wide, multi-population apparent annual survival analysis for a...
Authors
Emily N. Filiberti, Amber M. Roth, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Ethan J. Royal, Kyle R. Aldinger, Ruth E. Bennett, David A. Buehler, Lesley P. Bulluck, Ronald A. Canterbury, Richard Chandler, Sarah J. Clements, Cameron J. Fiss, Keith A. Hobson, John Anthony Jones, David A. King, Gunnar R. Kramer, Jeffery L. Larkin, Darin J. McNeil, Jeffrey D. Ritterson, Anna Buckardt Thomas, Rachel Vallender, Steven L. Van Wilgenburg, Petra B. Wood
Movements and survival of hatchery reared juvenile cisco (Coregonus artedi) in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron Movements and survival of hatchery reared juvenile cisco (Coregonus artedi) in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron
Background Cisco (Coregonus artedi) were historically abundant throughout Lake Huron, including Saginaw Bay, but only a few remnant populations remain in northern Lake Huron today. Reestablishment of cisco is an important component of management plans to restore sustainable fisheries in Lake Huron. Cisco restoration efforts have focused on the release of hatchery-reared fish, but the...
Authors
Todd Hayden, Christopher Holbrook, Thomas R. Binder, Andrew Edgar Honsey, Roger Gordon, Kevin McDonnell, David G. Fielder, Aaron T. Fisk
Non-native bird populations respond differently to their environment and exhibit shifts in ecological niche limits across continents Non-native bird populations respond differently to their environment and exhibit shifts in ecological niche limits across continents
Aim The degree to which species' niches remain stable over space and time–the niche conservatism hypothesis–is critical for predicting species' responses to environmental change. Tests of this hypothesis typically focus on changes in niche centroids and boundaries. An outstanding question is whether species' environmental associations differ within the interior of their niche space–that...
Authors
Kristin P. Davis, Helen Sofaer, Henrik G. Smith, Henning Heldbjerg, Anna Gamero, Ainārs Auniņš, Lluís Brotons, Tomasz Chodkiewicz, Daniel Palm Eskildsen, Benoît Fontaine, John Atle Kålås, Primož Kmecl, Petras Kurlavičius, Aleksi Lehikoinen, Åke Lindström, Ingar Jostein Øien, Jiří Reif, Nicolas Strebel, Tibor Szép, Chris A.M. van Turnhout, Thomas Vikstrøm, Liba Pejchar
Application of fin tissue for nonlethal stable isotope analysis of small-bodied fishes Application of fin tissue for nonlethal stable isotope analysis of small-bodied fishes
Stable isotopes are commonly used to characterize food web structure and resource use by aquatic organisms. White muscle is generally preferred for stable isotope analysis of fishes. However, obtaining white muscle tissue typically requires lethal take or invasive sampling techniques, which are undesirable for small-bodied species or those of conservation concern. We assessed the use of...
Authors
Wade M. Wilson, Jane S. Rogosch, Scott F. Collins, Bart W. Durham, Kevin B. Mayes, Sarah M. Robertson
Seasonal increases in global dryland gross primary production are modulated by root soil moisture and temperature Seasonal increases in global dryland gross primary production are modulated by root soil moisture and temperature
Dryland ecosystems, which are highly sensitive to environmental variability across space and through time, play a critical role in the global carbon cycle. To understand the carbon sink role of drylands, this study used different sources of global dryland gross primary productivity (GPP) and evaluated the spatiotemporal variations in seasonal GPP in response to climatic and soil water...
Authors
Lihua Lan, Seth Munson, Kailiang Yu, Zhongxiang Fang, Xiuzhi Chen, Weiguang Zhao, Siao Sun, Zhenbo Wang, Fei He, Yuan Liang
Practical pathways for protecting headwater streams in urbanizing areas Practical pathways for protecting headwater streams in urbanizing areas
Headwater streams are diverse ecosystems and important sources of water and dissolved and particulate resources to the downstream river network. However, across the world, they are rapidly being degraded or lost through human activities, particularly urban development. This degradation and loss have negative consequences for the structure and function of headwater streams, as well as...
Authors
Belinda Hatt, Chamantha Athapaththu, Jonathan Behrens, Sally Boer, Matthew J. Burns, Ryan Burrows, Riley de Jong, Caroline Elsner, Vaughn Grey, Moss Imberger, Brianna Williams, Rhys Coleman