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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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White light reduces flight height of birds in low-density migration corridor White light reduces flight height of birds in low-density migration corridor

Artificial light at night (ALAN) has been shown to influence the behavior of migratory birds, yet how different light spectra modulate these effects remains unclear. We conducted a field experiment for 31 nights at a remote site in northern Colorado, USA, using 2 800-W light-emitting diode (LED) floodlights with white, red, amber, and blue lighting treatments during fall migration in...
Authors
Miguel F. Jimenez, Carrie Ann Adams, Carolyn S. Burt, Brian Daniel Gerber, Jeremy White, Riana Zinn, Kyle G. Horton

Genomic data reveal historical introgression and genetic erosion across an imperiled radiation of Caribbean Spondylurus skinks Genomic data reveal historical introgression and genetic erosion across an imperiled radiation of Caribbean Spondylurus skinks

Understanding how island biodiversity originates and persists is central to evolutionary biology and conservation. Caribbean islands, shaped by repeated cycles of isolation and connectivity, provide a natural laboratory to evaluate how dispersal, divergence, and introgression interact during diversification. Here we use low-coverage whole-genome data from modern and historical specimens...
Authors
Danielle Rivera, Nahíra Arocho-Hernandez, Jan P. Zegarra, Erin Rivernbark, Kevin Chovanec, R. Graham Reynolds, Kevin de Queiroz, Alberto Puente-Rolón, Luis Gonzalez-Arocho, Nathan J. Hostetter, Jaime A. Collazo, Rayna C. Bell

Frictional weakening in the highly mobile 2025 Blatten rock and ice avalanche in Switzerland Frictional weakening in the highly mobile 2025 Blatten rock and ice avalanche in Switzerland

Cascading slope failures are increasing as glaciers retreat and slopes adjust to a warming climate, yet reconstructing their full dynamics from precursor to deposition remains challenging. Here we show that the 28 May 2025 Blatten rock-ice avalanche, which mobilized about 9.3 million cubic metres, can be reconstructed from seismic, geomorphological, and geotechnical evidence and...
Authors
Jiahui Kang, Antoine S. Lucas, Anne Mangeney, Johan Gaume, Kate E. Allstadt, Clement Hibert, Liam Toney, Herve Vicari, Michael Dietze, Mylene Jacquemart, Marc Peruzzetto, Lars Blatny, Michael L. Kyburz, Joachim Rimpot, Daniel Farinotti, Fabian Walter

Reassessing water availability in the Nile River Basin using satellite-based irrigation water use accounting Reassessing water availability in the Nile River Basin using satellite-based irrigation water use accounting

Existing estimates of irrigation areas and water use in the Nile River Basin vary widely and are based on inconsistent data and methodologies. This study leverages advances in remote sensing to provide an up-to-date and consistent basin-wide reassessment of water use in the Nile River Basin. Land cover and actual evapotranspiration data from 2013 to 2022 were used to quantify irrigated...
Authors
Mekdelawit M. Deribe, Gabriel B. Senay, Belete B. Kidanewold, A.M. Melesse

Ecological costs of waiting to restore ecosystem engineers: The case of giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands Ecological costs of waiting to restore ecosystem engineers: The case of giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands

In the Galápagos Islands, giant tortoises (Chelonoidis spp.) engineer terrestrial ecosystems. Endemic tortoise lineages have been lost from Floreana and Pinta Islands, resulting in ecosystem shifts, with tortoise population restoration currently being considered using hybrids that include ancestry from the now extinct C. niger of Floreana Island. We combined long-term vegetation...
Authors
Max D. Jones, Washington T. Aguilera, Jorge Carrión-Tacuri, Christian Sevilla, James P. Gibbs, Elizabeth Ann Hunter

Cross-ecosystem transfer of microplastics via emergent aquatic insects to riparian spiders in a municipal wastewater-impacted system Cross-ecosystem transfer of microplastics via emergent aquatic insects to riparian spiders in a municipal wastewater-impacted system

Microplastics (plastic particles ≤5 mm) are a persistent and widespread pollutant in aquatic ecosystems, where they can accumulate in the larvae of aquatic insects inhabiting benthic habitats. Aquatic insects cross aquatic-terrestrial boundaries through metamorphosis, yet few studies have investigated their role in transporting microplastics to terrestrial ecosystems as emergent adults...
Authors
Colleen M. Wardlaw, Karen A. Kidd, Brittany G. Perrotta, John Fast, Ryan S. Prosser

Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus reproductive development and maturation in the Mississippi River basin Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus reproductive development and maturation in the Mississippi River basin

Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus are native to most major east Asian drainages and are internationally cultured for use as a food-fish or a biological control for molluscs. We describe the reproductive biology of Black Carp from the growing invasive population in the Mississippi River basin through examination of incidental commercial fisheries and biologist captures. Our objectives...
Authors
Patrick Kroboth, Anne M. Herndon, Cayla Lynn Carlson, Fred Williams, Rachel Nicole Alvarez, Amy E. George

Experimentally quantifying how long recreation noise displaces mammals: Recovery over weeks to months varies by disturbance type and species tolerance Experimentally quantifying how long recreation noise displaces mammals: Recovery over weeks to months varies by disturbance type and species tolerance

Outdoor recreation is expanding across public lands, yet managers lack evidence for how long wildlife responses to recreation persist and whether response duration depends on disturbance type and frequency. Using a field-based acoustic playback experiment in the Bridger–Teton National Forest, Wyoming, USA, we isolated recreation noise from other components of human presence and...
Authors
Julia N.D. Daniell, Mark A. Ditmer, William L. Rice, James Wilder, Brian Daniel Gerber, Svea Smith, Elizabeth Reynolds, Jesse R. Barber, Katherine A. Zeller

Serendipitous insight into pre-hatch microstructure formation in larval lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) otoliths Serendipitous insight into pre-hatch microstructure formation in larval lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) otoliths

Otoliths are useful tools to estimate daily age, growth, and ontogenetic shifts in the early life stages of fish, providing information to support management efforts. Little effort, however, has gone into the examination of pre-hatch increment development. To assess variation in pre-hatch otolith size and increment formation, lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) sagittal otoliths were...
Authors
Kaitlyn M. Dawson, Michael R. Lowe, Janet S. McConnell, Brad A. Buechel, Andrew M. Muir

Acute toxicity and tissue concentrations of 6PPD-quinone in Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus, Thymallinae) Acute toxicity and tissue concentrations of 6PPD-quinone in Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus, Thymallinae)

Studies of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine-quinone (6PPDQ) toxicity have identified sensitive and resistant species within the subfamily Salmoninae, but thus far fewer than 10 species, all in two genera (Oncorhynchus and Salvelinus), have shown sensitivity in experiments. The Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus, Salmonidae, Thymallinae) was extirpated from its range in...
Authors
David J. Riecks Soucek, Adam H. Moody, Rebecca A. Consbrock, James S. Candrl, Jeffery A. Steevens

Satellite observations, plume dynamics and volcanic lightning from the 2023 eruption of Shishaldin Volcano, Alaska Satellite observations, plume dynamics and volcanic lightning from the 2023 eruption of Shishaldin Volcano, Alaska

The 2023 eruption of Shishaldin Volcano, Alaska, provided an unusually well-monitored example of a “dry” (non-hydromagmatic) explosive basaltic eruption with sustained, buoyant plumes, and pyroclastic density currents. Here, we examine the 13 basaltic paroxysms that occurred between July and November 2023 using geostationary satellite observations, plume modeling, and volcanic lightning...
Authors
Rui Mota, Alexa R. Van Eaton, Larry G. Mastin, David J. Schneider, Hannah R. Dietterich, José Pacheco, Artur Gil

Bulk location and source mechanisms of repetitive long-period seismicity at Mount St. Helens in July 2005 Bulk location and source mechanisms of repetitive long-period seismicity at Mount St. Helens in July 2005

The 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens exemplified the practical challenges of processing high seismic event rates and data volumes. This protracted multi-year eruptive sequence was accompanied by a near-continuous occurrence of long-period (LP, 0.5–5 Hz) seismicity, but network-based picks and locations have previously been performed for only a relatively small subset of the overall
Authors
Robin Matoza, B. Chouet, Phillip B. Dawson
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