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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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Refuge identification as a climate adaptation strategy to promote fish persistence during drought Refuge identification as a climate adaptation strategy to promote fish persistence during drought
Climate change is leading to global increases in extreme events, such as drought, that threaten the persistence of freshwater biodiversity. Identification and management of drought refuges, areas that promote resistance and resilience to drought, will be critical for preserving and recovering aquatic biodiversity in the face of climate change and increasing human water use. Although...
Authors
Annika W. Walters, Niall G. Clancy, Thomas P. Archdeacon, Songyan Yu, Jane S. Rogosch, E.A. Reiger
Mantle melting in regions of thick continental lithosphere: Examples from Late Cretaceous and younger volcanic rocks, Southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado (USA) Mantle melting in regions of thick continental lithosphere: Examples from Late Cretaceous and younger volcanic rocks, Southern Rocky Mountains, Colorado (USA)
Major- and trace-element data together with Nd and Sr isotopic compositions and 40Ar/39Ar age determinations were obtained for Late Cretaceous and younger volcanic rocks from north-central Colorado, USA, in the Southern Rocky Mountains to assess the sources of mantle-derived melts in a region underlain by thick (≥150 km) continental lithosphere. Trachybasalt to trachyandesite lava flows...
Authors
Lang Farmer, Leah E. Morgan, Michael A. Cosca, James Mize, Treasure Bailey, Kenzie J. Turner, Cameron Mark Mercer, Eric T Ellison, Aaron Bell
Sod farms drive habitat selection of a migratory grassland shorebird during a critical stopover period Sod farms drive habitat selection of a migratory grassland shorebird during a critical stopover period
Migratory shorebirds are one of the fastest declining groups of North American avifauna. Yet, relatively little is known about how these species select habitat during migration. We explored the habitat selection of Buff-breasted Sandpipers (Calidris subruficollis) during spring and fall migration through the Texas Coastal Plain, a major stopover region for this species. Using tracking...
Authors
Tara Rodkey, Bart M Ballard, T. Lee Tibbitts, Richard B. Lanctot
Using parentage-based tagging to estimate survival of Chinook salmon fry in a large storage reservoir Using parentage-based tagging to estimate survival of Chinook salmon fry in a large storage reservoir
Research efforts focusing on salmonid populations have highlighted the need to better understand demographic parameters for the fry and parr life stages. Monitoring these small fish presents a challenge because negative effects from handling and tagging can bias subsequent parameter estimates. Removal models and associated sampling designs represent one class of mark-recapture models...
Authors
Adam C. Pope, Tobias J. Kock, Russell W. Perry, Karen M. Cogliati, Kathleen G. O'Malley, Christina Amy Murphy, Dalton J. Hance, Scott D. Fielding
Estimating the benefits of floodplain restoration to juvenile Chinook salmon in the upper San Francisco Estuary, United States, under future climate scenarios Estimating the benefits of floodplain restoration to juvenile Chinook salmon in the upper San Francisco Estuary, United States, under future climate scenarios
Many river systems within the Central Valley of California have been disconnected from their floodplains, hypothesized to be partially responsible for declining Chinook salmon populations (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). The primary floodplain of the system, Yolo By-Pass (known regionally as “Yolo Bypass”), offered an opportunity to examine whether improved connectivity between the floodplain...
Authors
Brock M. Huntsman, Marissa L. Wulff, Noah Knowles, Ted Sommer, Frederick V. Feyrer, Larry R. Brown
Winter is not coming: Evaluating impacts of changing winter conditions on coregonine reproductive phenology Winter is not coming: Evaluating impacts of changing winter conditions on coregonine reproductive phenology
Fishes in northern latitude lakes are at risk from climate-induced warming because the seasonality in water temperature is degrading, which can change ecosystem properties and the phenology of life-history events. Temperature-dependent embryo development models were developed for a group of cold, stenothermic fishes (Salmonidae Coregoninae) to assess the potential impacts of climate...
Authors
Taylor R. Stewart, Juha Karjalainen, Matteo Zucchetta, Chloé Goulon, Orlane Anneville, Mark R. Vinson, Josef Wanzenböck, Jason D. Stockwell
Birdwatching preferences reveal synergies and tradeoffs among recreation, carbon, and fisheries ecosystem services in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA Birdwatching preferences reveal synergies and tradeoffs among recreation, carbon, and fisheries ecosystem services in Pacific Northwest estuaries, USA
Coastal ecosystems provide multiple ecosystem services that are valued in diverse ways. The Nisqually River Delta (the Delta), an estuary in Puget Sound, Washington, U.S.A., is co-managed by the Nisqually Indian Tribe and the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. In an ecosystem services assessment, we used different service-appropriate methods including citizen science...
Authors
Kristin B. Byrd, Isa Woo, Laurie Anne Hall, Emily Pindilli, Monica Moritsch, Anthony Good, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Melanie J. Davis, Glynnis Nakai
Event classification, seismicity, and eruption forecasting at Great Sitkin Volcano, Alaska: 1999–2023 Event classification, seismicity, and eruption forecasting at Great Sitkin Volcano, Alaska: 1999–2023
The frequency content of volcanogenic seismicity is often used to classify events and their spatial and temporal progression is then used to map subsurface volcanic processes. The progression of volcano-seismic events and associated source processes also plays a critical role in eruption forecasting. Here we develop and evaluate a computerized methodology for characterizing volcano...
Authors
John Power, Diana Roman
Design, development, and implementation of IsoBank: A centralized repository for isotopic data Design, development, and implementation of IsoBank: A centralized repository for isotopic data
Stable isotope data have made pivotal contributions to nearly every discipline of the physical and natural sciences. As the generation and application of stable isotope data continues to grow exponentially, so does the need for a unifying data repository to improve accessibility and promote collaborative engagement. This paper provides an overview of the design, development, and...
Authors
Oliver N. Shipley, Anna J. Dabrowski, Gabriel J. Bowen, Brian Hayden, Jonathan N. Pauli, Christopher Jordan, Lesleigh Anderson, Adriana Bailey, Clement P. Bataille, Carla Cicero, Hilary G. Close, Craig Cook, Joseph A. Cook, Ankur R. Desai, Jaivime Evaristo, Tim R. Filley, Christine France, Sora Lee Kim, Sebastian H. Kopf, Julie Loisel, Philip J. Manlick, Jamie M. McFarlin, Bailey C. McMeans, Tamsin C. O’Connel, Brice X. Semmens, Chris Stantis, Paul Szejner, Suzanne E. Pilaar Birch, Annie L. Putman, Craig A. Stricker, Tara L.E. Trammell, Mark D. Uhen, Samantha Weintraub-Leff, Matthew J. Wooller, John W. Williams, Christopher T. Yarnes, Hanna B. Vander Zanden, Seth D. Newsome
Functional turnover in a prairie-river fish community over 130 years Functional turnover in a prairie-river fish community over 130 years
Objective In many Great Plains rivers, functional turnover—the change in proportional dominance of members in biological communities that fill certain ecological roles—has occurred due to impoundment and habitat alteration. The Powder River of Montana and Wyoming remains one of the few unregulated prairie rivers, but long-term monitoring is limited, so we analyzed changes over time at...
Authors
Niall G. Clancy, Jonathan A. McFarland, Megan G. Ahern, Annika W. Walters
Methane fluxes in tidal marshes of the conterminous United States Methane fluxes in tidal marshes of the conterminous United States
Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with atmospheric concentrations that have nearly tripled since pre-industrial times. Wetlands account for a large share of global CH4 emissions, yet the magnitude and factors controlling CH4 fluxes in tidal wetlands remain uncertain. We synthesized CH4 flux data from 100 chamber and 9 eddy covariance (EC) sites across tidal marshes in the...
Authors
Ariane Arias-Ortiz, Jaxine Wolfe, Scott D. Bridgham, Sara Knox, Gavin McNicol, Brian A. Needelman, Julie Shahan, Ellen J. Stuart-Haëntjens, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Patty Oikawa, Dennis D. Baldocchi, Joshua S. Caplan, Margaret Capooci, Kenneth M. Czapla, R. Kyle Derby, Heida L. Diefenderfer, Inke Forbrich, Gina Groseclose, Jason Keller, Cheryl Kelley, Amr E. Keshta, Helena S. Kleiner, Ken W. Krauss, Robert R. Lane, Sarah Mack, Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Thomas Mozdzer, Peter Mueller, Scott C. Neubauer, Genevieve Noyce, Karina V.R. Schäfer, Rebecca Sanders-DeMott, Charles A Schutte, Rodrigo Vargas, Nathaniel B Weston, Benjamin Wilson, J. Patrick Megonigal, James R. Holmquist
Aspects of the demography of a relict population of southwestern pond turtles (Actinemys pallida) in a West Mojave Desert stream in California Aspects of the demography of a relict population of southwestern pond turtles (Actinemys pallida) in a West Mojave Desert stream in California
We studied Actinemys pallida (Southwestern Pond Turtle) in Amargosa Creek, near Palmdale, CA, from 1997 to 2023. The population in the upper creek was the focus of a mark–recapture study from 1997 to 2003 during monitoring required by a road-construction project. An estimated 193 (95% CI = 142–256) turtles were present in 1997 or recruited to the upper creek population between 1997 and...
Authors
David Muth, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Rodrigo Macip-Rios, Doug Gomez, Kristy L. Cummings, Michele R. Puffer, Charles B. Yackulic