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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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Seasonal movements between mainstem and tributaries may facilitate the persistence of Roundtail Chub and Flannelmouth Sucker within an altered stream system Seasonal movements between mainstem and tributaries may facilitate the persistence of Roundtail Chub and Flannelmouth Sucker within an altered stream system
Objective Movement enables animals to complete their life history by responding to changing environmental conditions. Linking movement behaviors to life history characteristics can allow more targeted management applications for declining native fish populations. We identified seasonal movement patterns of Roundtail Chub Gila robusta and Flannelmouth Sucker Catostomus latipinnis, two...
Authors
Alissa C. Magruder, Gabriel M. Barrile, Stephen F. Siddons, John D. Walrath, Annika W. Walters
Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion
Two contrasting age models for initial mountain building in the northeastern (NE) Tibetan Plateau (Paleocene-early Eocene versus late Oligocene-early Miocene) have led to the debate on how the deformed continental lithosphere absorbs plate convergence in general. The initial compressional deformation in the West Qinling (WQL) of the NE Tibetan Plateau figures prominently in this ongoing...
Authors
Chaopeng Li, Dewen Zheng, Jingxing Yu, Richard O. Lease, Yizhou Wang, Jianzhang Pang, Ying Wang, Yuqi Hao, Yigang Xu
RegionGrow3D: A deterministic analysis for characterizing discrete three-dimensional landslide source areas on a regional scale RegionGrow3D: A deterministic analysis for characterizing discrete three-dimensional landslide source areas on a regional scale
Regional-scale characterization of shallow landslide hazards is important for reducing their destructive impact on society. These hazards are commonly characterized by (a) their location and likelihood using susceptibility maps, (b) landslide size and frequency using geomorphic scaling laws, and (c) the magnitude of disturbance required to cause landslides using initiation thresholds...
Authors
Nicolas Wahde Mathews, Ben Leshchinksy, Benjamin B. Mirus, Michael J. Olsen, Adam M. Booth
Shifting sands: The influence of coral reefs on shoreline erosion from short-term storm protection to long-term disequilibrium Shifting sands: The influence of coral reefs on shoreline erosion from short-term storm protection to long-term disequilibrium
Climate change is exacerbating shoreline erosion and flooding, posing significant risks to coastal communities. Although traditional coastal defenses such as seawalls, dykes, and breakwaters offer protection from these hazards, their high environmental and economic costs are driving interest in cost-competitive nature-based solutions. Coral reef restoration is a nature-based solution...
Authors
Stephan Bitterwolf, Borja Reguero, Curt D. Storlazzi, Michael W. Beck
Freshwater mussel viromes increase rapidly in diversity and abundance when hosts are released from captivity into the wild Freshwater mussel viromes increase rapidly in diversity and abundance when hosts are released from captivity into the wild
Freshwater mussels create habitat, filter water, and enhance food webs, but they are also among the world’s most imperiled taxa. Conservation efforts largely rely on captive propagation in which mussels are grown in protected aquaculture environments (hatcheries) for later release. Recent evidence has highlighted the importance of pathogens in population losses of freshwater mussels. In...
Authors
Jordan C. Richard, Tim W. Lane, Rose E. Agbalog, Sarah Colletti, Tiffany Leach, Christopher D. Dunn, Nathan Roy Bollig, Addison R. Plate, Joseph T. Munoz, Eric M. Leis, Susan Knowles, Isaac Standish, Diane L. Waller, Tony L. Golberg
Gulf Stream intrusion and deep current upwelling drive dynamic patterns of temperature and food supply within cold-water coral reefs Gulf Stream intrusion and deep current upwelling drive dynamic patterns of temperature and food supply within cold-water coral reefs
One of the most significant features of the Northwest Atlantic, the Gulf Stream influences high magnitude environmental fluctuations in deep habitats across the South Atlantic Bight. Amid this variability, the Blake Plateau harbors extensive reefs formed by cold-water corals that were previously assumed to rely on narrow ranges of temperature, currents, and particulate supply. A benthic...
Authors
Jane V. Carrick, Furu Mienis, Erik E. Cordes, Amanda Demopoulos, Andrew J. Davies
Bayesian approaches to proxy uncertainty quantification in paleoecology: A mathematical justification and practical integration Bayesian approaches to proxy uncertainty quantification in paleoecology: A mathematical justification and practical integration
Paleoenvironmental data are essential for reconstructing environmental conditions in the distant past, and these reconstructions strongly depend on proxies and age–depth models. Proxies are indirect measurements that substitute for variables that cannot be directly measured, such as past precipitation. Conversely, an age–depth model is a tool that correlates the observed proxy with a...
Authors
Marco A. Aquino-Lopez, Lysanna Anderson, Joan-Albert Sanchez-Cabeza, Ana Carolina Ruiz-Fernandez, J. Andres Christen
Methane emissions associated with bald cypress knees across the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley Methane emissions associated with bald cypress knees across the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley
In freshwater forested wetlands, bald cypress knees (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) have the potential to emit large amounts of methane (CH4), but only a few studies have examined their greenhouse gas contribution. In this study, we measured CH4 fluxes associated with cypress knees across various climate and flooding gradients of the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley in southcentral...
Authors
Melinda Martinez, Robert Bordelon, Beth Middleton, Jorge A. Villa, Hojeong Kang, Inyoung Jang
Wave runup and total water level observations from time series imagery at several sites with varying nearshore morphologies Wave runup and total water level observations from time series imagery at several sites with varying nearshore morphologies
Coastal imaging systems have been developed to measure wave runup and total water level (TWL) at the shoreline, which is a key metric for assessing coastal flooding and erosion. However, extracting quantitative measurements from coastal images has typically been done through the laborious task of hand-digitization of wave runup timestacks. Timestacks are images created by sampling a...
Authors
Mark L. Buckley, Daniel Buscombe, Justin J. Birchler, Margaret L. Palmsten, Eric Swanson, Jenna A. Brown, Michael Itzkin, Curt D. Storlazzi, Shawn R. Harrison
The skin I live in: Pathogenesis of white-nose syndrome of bats The skin I live in: Pathogenesis of white-nose syndrome of bats
The emergence of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America has resulted in mass mortalities of hibernating bats and total extirpation of local populations. The need to mitigate this disease has stirred a significant body of research to understand its pathogenesis. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of WNS, is a psychrophilic (cold-loving) fungus that resides within the...
Authors
Marcos Isidoro-Ayza, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Bruce S. Klein
Developing a range-wide sampling framework for endangered species: A case study with light-footed Ridgway’s rail Developing a range-wide sampling framework for endangered species: A case study with light-footed Ridgway’s rail
Monitoring provides the foundation for evaluating recovery of endangered species, yet many species lack monitoring programs designed to integrate a species’ unique attributes, specific monitoring objectives, and principles of statistical sampling theory. We developed a framework for monitoring and assessment of endangered light-footed Ridgway’s rails (Rallus obsoletus levipes) across...
Authors
Bryan S. Stevens, Courtney J. Conway, Kimberley A. Sawyer, Lauren Kershek, Giselle Block, Sandra E. Hamilton, Rebecca Kolstrom
Water-level changes impact angler effort in a large lake: Implications for climate change Water-level changes impact angler effort in a large lake: Implications for climate change
Climate change is expected to influence aquatic habitats and associated fish populations, yet we know little about the impact on recreational anglers. Our goal was to explore whether interannual fluctuations in waterbody surface area and other explanatory variables could be used as indicators of changes in angler fishing effort. Our approach leveraged a combination of remotely sensed...
Authors
Matthew L. Maldonado, Taufique H. Mahmood, David P. Coulter, Alison A. Coulter, Steven R. Chipps, Maddy K. Siller, Michaela L. Neal, Ayon Saha, Mark A. Kaemingk