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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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Regional patterns in U.S. wildfire activity: The critical role of ignition sources Regional patterns in U.S. wildfire activity: The critical role of ignition sources
As extreme wildfires increase globally, understanding their causes is critical for effective management. While climate and housing growth are commonly linked to rising fire activity, the role of specific ignition sources—particularly human-caused—remains understudied. Analyzing a 79-year dataset (1940–2019) from U.S. Forest Service regions across the continental United States, we found...
Authors
Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley, Erin Conlisk, Mike Gough
Causal effects verses causal mechanisms: Two traditions with different requirements and contributions towards causal understanding Causal effects verses causal mechanisms: Two traditions with different requirements and contributions towards causal understanding
The scientific aspiration of building causal knowledge has received little explicit discussion in ecology despite its fundamental importance. When methods are described as ‘causal’, emphasis is increasingly placed on statistical techniques for isolating associations so as to quantify causal effects. In contrast, natural scientists have historically approached the pursuit of causal...
Authors
James Grace, Nick Huntington-Klein, E. William Schweiger, Melinda Martinez, Michael Osland, Laura C. Feher, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Karen M. Thorne
Simulated effects of future water availability and protected species habitat in a perennial wetland, Santa Barbara County, California Simulated effects of future water availability and protected species habitat in a perennial wetland, Santa Barbara County, California
This study evaluates the potential water availability in Barka Slough and the effects of changing hydrological conditions on the aquatic habitat of five protected species. Barka Slough is a historically perennial wetland at the downstream western end of the San Antonio Creek Valley watershed (SACVW). A previously published hydrologic model of the SACVW for 1948–2018 was extended to...
Authors
Geoffrey Cromwell, Daniel Philip Culling, Matthew J. Young, Joshua Larsen
Mahi-mahi metacouplings: Quantifying human–nature interactions in dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) fisheries Mahi-mahi metacouplings: Quantifying human–nature interactions in dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) fisheries
Fisheries encompass humans and fish, but fisheries researchers rarely model human–nature interactions over space and time. I filled this information gap for dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus), a popular, widely distributed species that supports industrial, artisanal, recreational, and subsistence fisheries. Dolphinfish human–nature interactions showed a long-term up-and-down pattern in...
Authors
Andrew Kenneth Carlson
Do mule deer surf peaks in forage quality while on summer range? Do mule deer surf peaks in forage quality while on summer range?
Many animals track ephemeral peaks in food abundance and quality that propagate across landscapes. Migrating ungulates, in particular, track waves of newly emerging plants from low-elevation winter ranges to high-elevation summer ranges—known as “green-wave surfing.” Because plants lose crude protein and gain insoluble fiber with maturation, ruminants are expected to exploit peaks in...
Authors
Anna Ortega, Kevin L. Monteith, Benjamin Wise, Matthew J. Kauffman
Ecologically informed solar enables a sustainable energy transition in U.S. croplands Ecologically informed solar enables a sustainable energy transition in U.S. croplands
United States (U.S.) croplands are ideal recipient environments for solar photovoltaic (PV) energy because they are flat and have a high solar resource. Perceived threats of solar to agriculture have led some stakeholders to suggest that croplands be exclusively used to produce food. However, 12 million hectares of U.S. croplands, an area about the size of New York State, are already...
Authors
Matthew A. Sturchio, Adam Gallaher, Steven Mark Grodsky
Comparative properties of saponitic fault gouge and serpentinite muds cored from mud volcanoes of the Mariana subduction zone Comparative properties of saponitic fault gouge and serpentinite muds cored from mud volcanoes of the Mariana subduction zone
We obtained 12 core samples for physical and chemical characterization from three serpentinite mud volcanoes (Yinazao, Asùt Tesoru, and Fantangisña) located on the forearc of the Mariana subduction system, that were drilled during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 366. Two samples from the Fantangisña mud volcano are interpreted to be clay-rich fault gouges derived from...
Authors
Diane E. Moore, C.A. Morrow, David A. Lockner, Barbara A. Bekins
Using DNA barcoding to evaluate freshwater mussel and fish-host relationships in the Flint River (Georgia, USA) Using DNA barcoding to evaluate freshwater mussel and fish-host relationships in the Flint River (Georgia, USA)
Freshwater mussels have a unique life history in which larval mussels (glochidia) act as obligate parasites to fish hosts. Host selectivity may be species specific, and identification of host fish is a critical step in conservation planning for individual mussel species. The Flint River harbors ~23% of the freshwater mussel (order Unionida) diversity in the state of Georgia, USA. Nine...
Authors
Hayley A. Robinson, John P. Wares, Gail M. Cowie, Shayla D. Williams, Ben F Scott, Matthew T. Rowe, Nathan Johnson, Peter D. Hazelton
Interspecific effects of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) on native nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) Interspecific effects of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) on native nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus)
Biological invasions pose significant risks to ecosystems and native species. Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a highly detrimental invasive species in North America, directly and indirectly affecting native species. Co-occurrence of wild pigs and native species may lead to interspecific interactions that alter ecological communities. Accordingly, we investigated spatial and temporal factors...
Authors
Matthew S. Broadway, Holly M. Todaro, Molly M. Koeck, Courtney N. Dotterweich, Sarah A. Cain, M. Colter Chitwood, Robert Charles Lonsinger
The scientific benefits of a statewide, standardized, coastal wetland monitoring program in Hawaiʻi The scientific benefits of a statewide, standardized, coastal wetland monitoring program in Hawaiʻi
In this viewpoint, we provide a scientific justification for a statewide, standardized, coastal wetland monitoring program for Hawaiʻi, USA. Hawaiian coastal wetlands provide important habitat for endangered waterbirds, invertebrates, plants, and the Hawaiian hoary bat (ʻōpeʻapeʻa; Lasiurus semotus) as well as support Indigenous food systems. Currently, numerous agencies and groups in...
Authors
Judith Z. Drexler, Helen Raine, Carrie L. Harrington, Kawika B. Winter, Kauaoa Matthew Sam Fraiola, Joy Browning, Jeffrey Burgett, David A. Burney, Kim A. Falinski, Scott Fisher, Kristen C. Harmon, Jessica L. Idle, Monica N. Iglecia, Mari-Vaughn Virginia Johnson, Matthew J. Keir, K. Jackson Letchworth, Kirsten Moy, Anthony Olegario, Melissa R. Price, J. Michael Reed, Yoshimi M. Rii, Rachel A. Rounds, Charles B. van Rees, Brett T. Wolfe
Invasive African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) in Washington State: Status, response efforts, and lessons learned Invasive African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis) in Washington State: Status, response efforts, and lessons learned
The African clawed frog (ACF, Xenopus laevis), which is indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa, is an aquatic invasive species known to have severe ecological impacts on native fauna when introduced into non-endemic regions. In 2015, ACFs were detected in Washington State, U.S. for the first time, and the species is now documented at three cities across western Washington: Lacey, Bothell, and...
Authors
Eveline J. Emmenegger, Rebecca A. Lavier, Emily J. Struck, Vasilisa P. Tyurina, Evan A. Eskew, Megan R. Friesen, Mark A. Taylor, Emma K. Bueren, David R. Kyle, Jesse M. Schultz, Allen Pleus, Richard H. Visser, Reed Ojala-Barbour, Christoper D. Anderson, Jeffrey S. Jensen, Martha Keller, Thomas S. Jenkinson, Katherine H. Haman, Tony R. Capps, Kenneth I. Warheit, Timothy Quinn, Justin Bush, Max R. Lambert
Object detection-assisted workflow facilitates cryptic snake monitoring Object detection-assisted workflow facilitates cryptic snake monitoring
Camera traps are an important tool used to study rare and cryptic animals, including snakes. Time-lapse photography can be particularly useful for studying snakes that often fail to trigger a camera's infrared motion sensor due to their ectothermic nature. However, the large datasets produced by time-lapse photography require labor-intensive classification, limiting their use in large...
Authors
Storm Miller, Michael Kirkland, Kristen Hart, Robert A. McCleery