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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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Using integrated step selection to determine effects of predation risk on bison habitat selection and movement Using integrated step selection to determine effects of predation risk on bison habitat selection and movement
Animal movement is a fundamental mechanism that shapes communities and ecosystems. Ungulates alter the ecosystems they inhabit and understanding their movements and distribution is critical for linking habitat with population dynamics. Predation risk has been shown to strongly influence ungulate movement patterns, such that ungulates may select habitat where predation risk is lower...
Authors
Skye Salganek, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Miranda L.N. Terwilliger
Modeling the potential habitat gained by planting sagebrush in burned landscapes Modeling the potential habitat gained by planting sagebrush in burned landscapes
Many revegetation projects are intended to benefit wildlife species. Yet, there are few a priori evaluations that assess the potential efficiency of restoration actions in recovering wildlife habitats. We developed a spatial vegetation–habitat recovery model to gauge the degree to which field planting strategies could be expected to recover multi-factor habitat conditions for wildlife...
Authors
Julie A. Heinrichs, Michael S. O’Donnell, Elizabeth Kari Orning, David A. Pyke, Mark A. Ricca, Peter S. Coates, Cameron L. Aldridge
Probabilistic assessment of postfire debris-flow inundation in response to forecast rainfall Probabilistic assessment of postfire debris-flow inundation in response to forecast rainfall
Communities downstream of burned steep lands face increases in debris-flow hazards due to fire effects on soil and vegetation. Rapid postfire hazard assessments have traditionally focused on quantifying spatial variations in debris-flow likelihood and volume in response to design rainstorms. However, a methodology that provides estimates of debris-flow inundation downstream of burned...
Authors
A. B. Prescott, L. A. McGuire, K.-S. Jun, Katherine R. Barnhart, N. S. Oakley
Exploring spatial and temporal symptoms of the freshwater salinization syndrome in a rural to urban watershed Exploring spatial and temporal symptoms of the freshwater salinization syndrome in a rural to urban watershed
The freshwater salinization syndrome (FSS), a concomitant watershed-scale increase in salinity, alkalinity, and major-cation and trace-metal concentrations, over recent decades, has been described for major rivers draining extensive urban areas, yet few studies have evaluated temporal and spatial FSS variations, or causal factors, at the subwatershed scale in mixed-use landscapes. This...
Authors
Nicole K. Marks, Charles A. Cravotta, Marissa Lee Rossi, Camila Silva, Peleg Kremer, Steven T. Goldsmith
Palaeontological signatures of the Anthropocene are distinct from those of previous epochs Palaeontological signatures of the Anthropocene are distinct from those of previous epochs
The “Great Acceleration” beginning in the mid-20th century provides the causal mechanism of the Anthropocene, which has been proposed as a new epoch of geological time beginning in 1952 CE. Here we identify key parameters and their diagnostic palaeontological signals of the Anthropocene, including the rapid breakdown of discrete biogeographical ranges for marine and terrestrial species...
Authors
Mark Williams, Jan Zalasiewicz, Anthony D. Barnosky, Reinhold Leinfelder, Martin J. Head, Colin N. Waters, Francine M.G. McCarthy, Alejandro Cearreta, David C. Aldridge, Mary McGann, Bruce Hamilton, Colin P. Summerhayes, Jaia Syvitski, Jens Zinke, Andrew B. Cundy, Barbara Fialkiewicz-Koziel, J.R. McNeill, Michinobu Kuwae, Neil L. Rose, Simon D. Turner, Yoshiki Saito, Michael Wagreich, M. Allison Stegner, Moriaki Yasuhara, Yongming Han, Amy Wrisdale, Rachael Holmes, Juan Carlos Berrio
Rising seas could cross thresholds for initiating coastal wetland drowning within decades across much of the United States Rising seas could cross thresholds for initiating coastal wetland drowning within decades across much of the United States
Accelerated sea-level rise is an existential threat to coastal wetlands, but the timing and extent of wetland drowning are debated. Recent data syntheses have clarified future relative sea-level rise exposure and sensitivity thresholds for drowning. Here, we integrate these advances to estimate when and where rising sea levels could cross thresholds for initiating wetland drowning across...
Authors
Michael Osland, Bogdan Chivoiu, James B. Grace, Nicholas Enwright, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Kevin J. Buffington, Karen M. Thorne, Joel A. Carr, William V. Sweet, Brady Couvillion
Epidemiological modeling of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) reveals conditions for introduction and widespread transmission Epidemiological modeling of SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) reveals conditions for introduction and widespread transmission
Emerging infectious diseases with zoonotic potential often have complex socioecological dynamics and limited ecological data, requiring integration of epidemiological modeling with surveillance. Although our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 has advanced considerably since its detection in late 2019, the factors influencing its introduction and transmission in wildlife hosts, particularly...
Authors
Elias Rosenblatt, Jonathan D. Cook, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Fernando Arce, Kimberly M Pepin, F. Javiera Rudolph, Michael C. Runge, Susan A. Shriner, Daniel P. Walsh, Brittany A. Mosher
Pliocene–Pleistocene warm-water incursions and water mass changes on the Ross Sea continental shelf (Antarctica) based on foraminifera from IODP Expedition 374 Pliocene–Pleistocene warm-water incursions and water mass changes on the Ross Sea continental shelf (Antarctica) based on foraminifera from IODP Expedition 374
International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 374 sailed to the Ross Sea in 2018 to reconstruct paleoenvironments, track the history of key water masses, and assess model simulations that show warm-water incursions from the Southern Ocean led to the loss of marine-based Antarctic ice sheets during past interglacials. IODP Site U1523 (water depth 828 m) is located at the...
Authors
Julia Lynn Seidenstein, R. Mark Leckie, Robert McKay, L. De Santis, David Harwood
Silver Chub spawning confirmed in the Maumee River, a tributary of Lake Erie Silver Chub spawning confirmed in the Maumee River, a tributary of Lake Erie
Objective
Authors
Ryan E. Brown, Christine M. Mayer, Nathan Thompson, Corbin David Hilling, James J. Roberts, Catherine A. Richter
Drought as an emergent driver of ecological transformation in the twenty-first century Drought as an emergent driver of ecological transformation in the twenty-first century
Under climate change, ecosystems are experiencing novel drought regimes, often in combination with stressors that reduce resilience and amplify drought’s impacts. Consequently, drought appears increasingly likely to push systems beyond important physiological and ecological thresholds, resulting in substantial changes in ecosystem characteristics persisting long after drought ends (i.e
Authors
Wynne Emily Moss, Shelley Crausbay, Imtiaz Rangwala, Jay Wason, Clay Trauernicht, Camille S. Stevens-Rumann, Anna Sala, Caitlin M. Rottler, Gregory T. Pederson, Brian W. Miller, Dawn Magness, Jeremy S. Littell, Lee Frelich, Abby G. Frazier, Kimberly R. Davis, Jonathan Coop, Jennifer M. Cartwright, Robert K Booth
Vegetation-generated turbulence does not impact the erosion of natural cohesive sediment Vegetation-generated turbulence does not impact the erosion of natural cohesive sediment
Previous studies have demonstrated that vegetation-generated turbulence can enhance erosion rate and reduce the velocity threshold for erosion of non-cohesive sediment. This study considered whether vegetation-generated turbulence had a similar influence on natural cohesive sediment. Cores were collected from a black mangrove forest with aboveground biomass and exposed to stepwise...
Authors
Autumn R. Deitrick, David K. Ralston, Christopher R. Esposito, Melissa Millman Baustian, Maricel Beltran Burgos, Andrew J. Courtois, Heidi M. Nepf
A conceptual framework to assess post-wildfire water quality: State of the science and knowledge gaps A conceptual framework to assess post-wildfire water quality: State of the science and knowledge gaps
Wildfire substantially alters aquatic ecosystems by inducing moderate to catastrophic physical and chemical changes. However, the relations of environmental and watershed variables that drive those effects are complex. We present a Driver-Factor-Stressor-Effect (DFSE) conceptual framework to assess the current state of the science related to post-wildfire water-quality. We reviewed 64...
Authors
Sarah M. Elliott, Michelle I. Hornberger, Donald O. Rosenberry, Rebecca J. Frus, Richard M. Webb