Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Articles

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: 77863

Mapping bedrock outcrops in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (California, USA) using machine learning Mapping bedrock outcrops in the Sierra Nevada Mountains (California, USA) using machine learning

Accurate, high-resolution maps of bedrock outcrops can be valuable for applications such as models of land–atmosphere interactions, mineral assessments, ecosystem mapping, and hazard mapping. The increasing availability of high-resolution imagery can be coupled with machine learning techniques to improve regional bedrock outcrop maps. In the United States, the existing 30 m U.S...
Authors
Apoorva Ramesh Shastry, Corina Cerovski-Darriau, Brian Coltin, Jonathan D. Stock

Forecasting sea otter recolonization: Insights from isotopic analysis of modern and zooarchaeological populations Forecasting sea otter recolonization: Insights from isotopic analysis of modern and zooarchaeological populations

Retrospective datasets offer essential context for conservation by revealing species’ ecological roles before industrial-era human impacts. We analysed isotopic compositions of pre-industrial and modern sea otters (Enhydra lutris) to reconstruct pre-extirpation ecology and offer insights for management. Our study focuses on southeast Alaska (SEAK), where sea otters are recolonizing, and...
Authors
Emma A. Elliott Smith, Madonna L. Moss, Hannah P. Wellman, Verena A. Gill, Daniel Monson, Seth D. Newsome

The effectiveness of wildfire at meeting restoration goals across a fire severity gradient in the Sierra Nevada The effectiveness of wildfire at meeting restoration goals across a fire severity gradient in the Sierra Nevada

As a consequence of both warming temperatures and over a century of fire suppression, wildfires in the historically frequent-fire forests of the western US have increased both in size and intensity, resulting in large patches of high severity fire that are well outside the historic range of variation. Postfire fuels research has often focused on such high severity patches because of the...
Authors
Adrian Das, Lisa Rosenthal, Kristen L. Shive

What 25+ years of "Did You Feel It" intensities tell us about shaking in California What 25+ years of "Did You Feel It" intensities tell us about shaking in California

“When will the Big One happen?” is a question that people often have for earthquake scientists. But while waiting for the “Big One” to occur, people will usually experience frightening or damaging shaking from multiple relatively smaller‐magnitude earthquakes. Given this context, it raises the question: “Where does most of the damage come from?” Could smaller, yet more frequent...
Authors
Jenna Marie Chaffeur, Jessie K. Saunders, Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Susan E. Hough, Vince Quitoriano, Morgan T. Page, James Luke Blair

A comprehensive assessment of membrane bioreactor contaminant removal efficacy through analytical chemistry, fish exposures, and microbiome characterization A comprehensive assessment of membrane bioreactor contaminant removal efficacy through analytical chemistry, fish exposures, and microbiome characterization

Treated municipal wastewater effluent is an important pathway for Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) to enter aquatic ecosystems. As the aging wastewater infrastructure in many industrialized countries requires upgrades or replacement, assessing new treatment technologies in the context of CEC effects may provide additional support for science-based resource management. Here, we used...
Authors
Charles H. Christen, Sarah M. Elliott, Richard L. Kiesling, Alissa VanDenBoom, Satomi Kohno, Carrie E. Givens, Heiko L. Schoenfuss

The importance of method selection when estimating diet composition with quantitative fatty acid signature analysis The importance of method selection when estimating diet composition with quantitative fatty acid signature analysis

Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a common method of estimating the composition of prey species in the diets of consumers from polar and temperate ecosystems in which lipids are an important source of energy. A key characteristic of QFASA is that the large number of fatty acids that typically comprise lipids permits the dietary contributions of a correspondingly large...
Authors
Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Todd C. Atwood, Karyn D. Rode

Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) abundance in a National Conservation Area in Idaho has increased since the 1970s–1990s Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) abundance in a National Conservation Area in Idaho has increased since the 1970s–1990s

The Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area (NCA), in southwestern Idaho, USA supports a large population of breeding Prairie Falcons (Falco mexicanus). Abundance of Prairie Falcons in the NCA was previously monitored in 1976–1978 and 1990–1994. That research indicated maximum counts for each period in 1976 and 1992 and a possible population decline across that...
Authors
Steven Alsup, James R. Belthoff, Karen Steenhof, Michael N. Kochert, Todd E. Katzner

Hotter temperatures alter riparian plant outcomes under regulated river conditions Hotter temperatures alter riparian plant outcomes under regulated river conditions

Climate change and river regulation alter environmental controls on riparian plant occurrence and cover worldwide. Simultaneous changes to river flow and air temperature could result in unanticipated plant responses to novel environmental conditions. Increasing temperature could alter riparian plant response to hydrology and other factors, while river regulation may exacerbate...
Authors
Emily C. Palmquist, Kiona Ogle, Bradley J. Butterfield, Thomas G. Whitham, Gerard J. Allan, Patrick B. Shafroth

Infection by the marine cestode Hepatoxylon trichiuri in returning Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawners in Patagonia: Implications for a novel fishery Infection by the marine cestode Hepatoxylon trichiuri in returning Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawners in Patagonia: Implications for a novel fishery

Parasitological information may be useful for managing economically important fisheries by providing insights into population dynamics and health effects. The Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), an invasive species with high socio-ecological importance in South America, supports recreational and incipient artisanal fisheries. In Southern Chile, the recent approval of coastal...
Authors
Guillermo Figueroa-Munoz, Patricio Torres, J. Marcos Rodriguez, Christina Amy Murphy

American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) as wetland ecosystem carbon stock regulators American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) as wetland ecosystem carbon stock regulators

Blue carbon refers to organic carbon sequestered by oceanic and coastal ecosystems. This stock has gained global attention as a high organic carbon repository relative to other ecosystems. Within blue carbon ecosystems, tidally influenced wetlands alone store a disproportionately higher amount of organic carbon than other blue carbon systems. North America harbors 42% of tidally...
Authors
Christopher M. Murray, Tyler S. Coleman, Wray Gabel, Ken Krauss

Integrated analysis of marked and count data to characterizefine-scale stream fish movement Integrated analysis of marked and count data to characterizefine-scale stream fish movement

Immigration and emigration are key demographic processes of animal population dynamics. However, 3 we have limited knowledge on how fine-scale movement varies over space and time. We developed a 4 Bayesian integrated population model using individual mark-recapture and count data to characterize 5 fine-scale movement of stream fish at 20-m resolution every two months for 28 months. Our...
Authors
Yoichiro Kanno, Kasey Celene Pregler, Seoghyun Kim
Was this page helpful?