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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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Diminishing productivity and hyperstable harvest in northern Wisconsin walleye fisheries Diminishing productivity and hyperstable harvest in northern Wisconsin walleye fisheries
Managing fisheries in a changing socio-ecological environment may require holistic approaches for identifying and adapting to novel ecosystem dynamics. Using 32 years of Ceded Territory of Wisconsin (CTWI) walleye (Sander vitreus) data, we estimated production (P), biomass (B), biomass turnover (P/B), yield (Y), and yield over production (Y/P) and tested for hyperstability in walleye...
Authors
Joseph T. Mrnak, Holly Susan Embke, Max V. Wilkinson, Steph L. Shaw, M. Jake Vander Zanden, Greg G. Sass
Disentangling genetic diversity of Myotis septentrionalis: population structure, demographic history, and effective population size Disentangling genetic diversity of Myotis septentrionalis: population structure, demographic history, and effective population size
Myotis septentrionalis (Northern Long-eared Bat) has recently suffered a >90% decline in population size in North America due to white-nose syndrome (WNS). We assessed genetic diversity, population structure, current effective population size, and demographic history of M. septentrionalis distributed across the United States to determine baseline levels pre-WNS. We analyzed RADseq data...
Authors
Jenna R. Grimshaw, Deahn M. Donner, Roger W. Perry, W. Mark Ford, Alex Silvis, Carlos J. Garcia, Richard D. Stevens, David A. Ray
Return rates of GPS-tagged Pacific Golden-Plovers: A controlled study in Hawaii Return rates of GPS-tagged Pacific Golden-Plovers: A controlled study in Hawaii
In a study of GPS-tagged Pacific Golden-Plovers wintering at Moorea, French Polynesia, Johnson et al. (2020) raised questions about possible tag-induced mortality. Similar concerns in other species have generated considerable attention in recent years. Of 19 tagged plovers that departed Moorea on northward migration, only one bird (5 %) uploaded a complete migratory cycle to Argos...
Authors
Oscar W. Johnson, Michael Weber, David R. Bybee, T. Lee Tibbitts, Susan Scott, Joshua Fisher, Wendy A. Kuntz, Susanne Spiessberger, Sigrid Southworth, Elizabeth Maynard, Laura Zoller, Carolyn Smith
Larval coregonine density and diet composition along beaches of northern Lake Michigan Larval coregonine density and diet composition along beaches of northern Lake Michigan
Recent oligotrophication in Lake Michigan has contributed to reduced biomass of spring zooplankton and a shift in the zooplankton assemblage toward more calanoid copepods. These changes have likely altered prey availability for first feeding native fish species that hatch in early spring, including coregonines. While spring zooplankton density and community composition are routinely...
Authors
Marissa Cubbage, Tomas O. Hook, David Bunnell, Patricia M. Dieter, Amanda Susanne Ackiss, Paris D. Collingsworth
Geolocators, stable isotopes, and citizen science identify migratory timing, route, and spring molt of Smith’s Longspurs Geolocators, stable isotopes, and citizen science identify migratory timing, route, and spring molt of Smith’s Longspurs
Climate change is having a disproportionate impact on the Arctic. For Arctic breeding birds, basic knowledge of their annual cycle, specifically the timing, route, and movement behavior of migration, is needed to understand when and where populations may experience threats. We used a combination of geolocators and stable isotope analysis to identify route and timing of migration in Smith...
Authors
Alexis Will, Heather McFarland, Christopher Latty, Abby Powell
Boom and bust: The effects of masting on seed predator range dynamics and trophic cascades Boom and bust: The effects of masting on seed predator range dynamics and trophic cascades
AimSpatiotemporal variation in resource availability is a strong driver of animal distributions. In the northern hardwood and boreal forests of the northeastern United States, tree mast events provide resource pulses that drive the population dynamics of small mammals, including the American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), a primary songbird nest predator. This study sought to...
Authors
Michael T. Hallworth, Alexej Sirén, William DeLuca, Timothy Duclos, Kent P. McFarland, Jason M. Hill, Christopher C. Rimmer, Toni Lyn Morelli
Incorporating measurements of vertical land motion in wetland surface elevation change analyses Incorporating measurements of vertical land motion in wetland surface elevation change analyses
We compared elevation trajectories from 14 rod surface elevation table (RSET) stations and 60 real-time kinematic (RTK) global positioning system (GPS) transects within the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (BNWR) from 2010–2013. The results were similar, 7.3 ± 0.9 (mean ± standard error; RSET) versus 6.2 ± 0.6 mm year−1 (RTK) (P = 0.216), and were greater than relative sea level rise...
Authors
P. Hensel, Donald R. Cahoon, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, L. G. Mitchell, M. Whitbeck, Galen Scott
USGS adds 100K Topo scale to OnDemand map products USGS adds 100K Topo scale to OnDemand map products
OnDemand Topo map users now have more map scale options available to them with debut of the 100K Topo or 1:100,000-scale mapping capability within the free topoBuilder application.
Authors
Ariel T. Doumbouya
Toward a set of essential biodiversity variables for assessing change in mountains globally Toward a set of essential biodiversity variables for assessing change in mountains globally
Mountain regions harbor unique and rich biodiversity, forming an important part of our global life support system. This rich biodiversity underpins the ecological intactness and functioning of mountain ecosystems, which are imperative for the provision of key ecosystem services. A considerable amount of data are required to assess ecological intactness and ecosystem functioning and...
Authors
Dirk Schmeller, James Thornton, Davnah Urbach, Jake Alexander, Walter Jetz, Aino Kulonen, Robert Mills, Claudia Notornicola, Elisa Pallazi, Harald Pauli, Christophe Randin, Sergey Rosbakh, Roger Sayre, Nasrin Tehrani, William Verbiest, Tom Walker, Sonja Wipf, Carolina Adler
Effective field sampling of rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue for antemortem chronic wasting disease testing in white-tailed deer Effective field sampling of rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue for antemortem chronic wasting disease testing in white-tailed deer
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal prion disease of cervids that has spread across much of North America. Although gold standard CWD diagnostics involve postmortem testing of medial retropharyngeal lymph nodes or obex (brain stem), a key tissue sample for antemortem testing is rectoanal mucosa–associated lymphoid tissue (RAMALT). However, collection of an adequate sample (i.e...
Authors
Marie L. J. Gilbertson, Lindsey J. Long, Heather N. Inzalaco, Wendy Christine Turner, Daniel J. Storm
How does the onset of offset influence geologic slip rates? How does the onset of offset influence geologic slip rates?
Geologic slip rates are typically based on the displacement accrued by a geomorphic or stratigraphic feature and the age of the offset feature. Because slip rates are commonly calculated by dividing the displacement of a faulted marker by its age, they contain two open time intervals: the elapsed time between the age of an offset feature and the age of the earthquake that displaced the...
Authors
Alexandra Elise Hatem, Richard W. Briggs, Ryan D. Gold
Low-flow period seasonality, trends, and climate linkages across the United States Low-flow period seasonality, trends, and climate linkages across the United States
Low-flow period properties, including timing, magnitude, and duration, influence many key processes for water resource managers and ecosystems. We computed annual low-flow period duration and timing metrics from 1951 to 2020 for 1032 conterminous United States (CONUS) streamgages and analyzed spatial patterns, trends through time, and relationships to climate. Results show northwestern...
Authors
Caelan Simeone, Gregory J. McCabe, Jory Seth Hecht, John C. Hammond, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Carolyn G. Olson, Michael Wieczorek, David M. Wolock