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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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Declining American Goshawk (Accipiter atricapillus) nest site habitat suitability in a timber production landscape: Effects of abiotic, biotic, and forest management factors Declining American Goshawk (Accipiter atricapillus) nest site habitat suitability in a timber production landscape: Effects of abiotic, biotic, and forest management factors
Conservation of the American Goshawk (Accipiter atricapillus; hereafter goshawk) has been contentious in relation to forest management. Higher quality goshawk nesting habitat is generally considered to consist of contiguous tracts of mature forest, due to goshawks' large home ranges, territoriality, and food requirements. The large trees of mature forest have the greatest economic value...
Authors
Jason E. Bruggeman, Patricia L. Kennedy, David E. Andersen, Shelly Deisch, Eileen Dowd Stukel
Movement beyond the mean: decoupling sources of individual variation in brook trout movement across seasons Movement beyond the mean: decoupling sources of individual variation in brook trout movement across seasons
Movement is an important eco-evolutionary process that can shape population and ecosystem structure and function. Accordingly, a firm understanding of species movement ecology is often foundational to effective management and conservation. However, despite movement being an inherently individual-level behavior, there remains a tendency to describe dispersal and migration patterns using...
Authors
Shannon L. White, Jason Keagy, Sarah Batchelor, Julia Langlois, Natalie Thomas, Tyler Wagner
Winter distribution of golden eagles in the Eastern USA Winter distribution of golden eagles in the Eastern USA
Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have a Holarctic distribution, but some details of that overall distribution are poorly understood, including parts of the range in eastern North America. Recent studies in the region suggest that Golden Eagles may be more widely distributed than previously recognized. For species specific conservation efforts to be effective, an understanding of the...
Authors
Tricia Miller, Michael Lanzone, Melissa Braham, Adam Duerr, Jeff Cooper, Scott G. Somershoe, David Hanni, Eric C. Soehren, Carrie Threadgill, Mercedes Maddox, Jonathan Stober, Christine A. Kelly, Tom Salo, Andrew Berry, Mark S. Martell, Scott Mehus, Brian Dirks, Robert Sargent, Todd E. Katzner
A workshop to advance invasive species early detection capacity of The Rapid Environmental DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network (READI-Net) A workshop to advance invasive species early detection capacity of The Rapid Environmental DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network (READI-Net)
Early detection and rapid response (EDRR) can minimize the impacts of invasive species, which cost billions of dollars globally. To bolster EDRR across the United States, the U.S. Department of the Interior is working with the U.S. Geological Survey and other partners to advance a National EDRR Framework that strengthens tools, actions, and processes to find and eradicate invasive...
Authors
Devin Nicole Jones-Slobodian, Kaylin R. Clements, Adam Sepulveda
A pragmatic approach for integrating molecular tools into biodiversity conservation A pragmatic approach for integrating molecular tools into biodiversity conservation
Molecular tools are increasingly applied for assessing and monitoring biodiversity and informing conservation action. While recent developments in genetic and genomic methods provide greater sensitivity in analysis and the capacity to address new questions, they are not equally available to all practitioners: There is considerable bias across institutions and countries in access to...
Authors
Laura D. Bertola, Anna Bruniche-Olsen, Francine Kershaw, Isa-Rita M. Russo, Anna J. MacDonald, Paul Sunnucks, Michael W. Bruford, Carlos Daniel Cadena, Kyle M. Ewart, Mark de Bruyn, Mark D. B. Eldridge, Richard Frankham, Juan M. Guayasamin, Catherine E. Grueber, Thierry B. Hoareau, Sean M. Hoban, Paul A. Hohenlohe, Margaret Hunter, Antoinette Kotze, Josiah Kuja, Robert C. Lacy, Linda Laikre, Nathan C. Loecker, Mariah H. Meek, Joachim Mergeay, Cinnamon S. Mittan-Moreau, Linda E. Neaves, David O´Brien, Joel W. Ochieng, Rob Ogden, Pablo Orozco-terWengel, Mónica Páez-Vacas, Jennifer Pierson, Katherine Ralls, Robyn E. Shaw, Etotepe A. Sogbohossou, Adam Stow, Tammy Steeves, Cristiano Vernesi, Mrinalini Watsa, Gernot Segelbacher
Matching existing and future native plant materials to disturbance-driven restoration needs Matching existing and future native plant materials to disturbance-driven restoration needs
Assessing the appropriateness of existing native plant materials can both determine which seed source to utilize for restoration projects, and identify locations for which new seed sources need to be developed. Here, we demonstrate an approach to meet these needs. This method identifies areas of high restoration need based on disturbance patterns, assesses the regional suitability of...
Authors
Daniel E. Winkler, Sarah Sterner, John B. Bradford, Adrienne M. Pilmanis, Robert Massatti
The effects of estradiol-17β on the sex reversal, survival, and growth of Red Shiner and its use in the development of YY individuals The effects of estradiol-17β on the sex reversal, survival, and growth of Red Shiner and its use in the development of YY individuals
Objective The Red Shiner Cyprinella lutrensis is one of the most prolific and ecologically destructive invasive fish species in the southwestern United States. The production and release of YY individuals as Trojan sex chromosome carriers can theoretically eradicate invasive fish populations by eventually eliminating phenotypic females.Methods The YY individuals are typically produced...
Authors
Chad N. Teal, Daniel J. Schill, Javan Mathias Bauder, Susan B. Fogelson, Kevin Fitzsimmons, William T. Stewart, Melanie Culver, Scott A. Bonar
How long have we been mistaken? Multi-tools shedding light into the systematics of the widespread deep-water genus Madrepora Linnaeus, 1758 (Scleractinia) How long have we been mistaken? Multi-tools shedding light into the systematics of the widespread deep-water genus Madrepora Linnaeus, 1758 (Scleractinia)
Deep-water coral reefs are found worldwide and harbor biodiversity levels that are comparable to their shallow-water counterparts. However, the genetic diversity and population structure of deep-water species remain poorly explored, and historical taxonomical issues still need to be resolved. Here we used microsatellite markers as well as ultraconserved elements (UCE) and exons to shed...
Authors
Katia C. C. Capel, Carla Zilberberg, Raphael M. Carpes, Cheryl Morrison, Claudia F. Vaga, Andrea M. Quattrini, Randolph Z. B. Quek, Danwei Huang, Stephen D. Cairns, Marcelo V. Kitahara
Usurpation and brooding of Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) chicks by Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) Usurpation and brooding of Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) chicks by Common Terns (Sterna hirundo)
While nest usurpation and subsequent incubation of eggs and even brooding of chicks from other species has been reported for Common Terns (Sterna hirundo), such behavior is considered rare. We report an observation of a Common Tern pair usurping the Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) nest and brooding the Least Tern chicks. While the Least Tern pair attempted to provide care for the chicks...
Authors
Jeffery D. Sullivan, Jonathan Irons, Anna Treadway, Ayla McDonough, Alyssa Lee, Amy O’Donnell, Carl R. Callahan, Peter C. McGowan, Diann J. Prosser
Biophysical drivers of coastal treeline elevation Biophysical drivers of coastal treeline elevation
Sea level rise is leading to the rapid migration of marshes into coastal forests and other terrestrial ecosystems. Although complex biophysical interactions likely govern these ecosystem transitions, projections of sea level driven land conversion commonly rely on a simplified “threshold elevation” that represents the elevation of the marsh-upland boundary based on tidal datums alone. To...
Authors
Grace Molino, Joel A. Carr, Neil K. Ganju, Mathew Kirwan
A Buteo sp. hawk predates a hummingbird (Trochilidae) during autumn migration A Buteo sp. hawk predates a hummingbird (Trochilidae) during autumn migration
Predation can play a significant role on survival during migration as birds find themselves competing for resources in unfamiliar habitats. Here we describe the first documented observation of a Buteo platypterus (Broad-winged Hawk) predating an Archilochus colubris (Ruby-throated Hummingbird) during autumn migration. To our knowledge, this is the first documented record of any Buteo sp...
Authors
Theodore J. Zenzal, Emily J. Lain
The USGS 2023 Conterminous U.S. time‐independent earthquake rupture forecast The USGS 2023 Conterminous U.S. time‐independent earthquake rupture forecast
We present the 2023 U.S. Geological Survey time‐independent earthquake rupture forecast for the conterminous United States, which gives authoritative estimates of the magnitude, location, and time‐averaged frequency of potentially damaging earthquakes throughout the region. In addition to updating virtually all model components, a major focus has been to provide a better representation...
Authors
Edward H. Field, Kevin R. Milner, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Peter M. Powers, Frederick Pollitz, Andrea L. Llenos, Yuehua Zeng, Kaj M. Johnson, Bruce E. Shaw, Devin McPhillips, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Allison Shumway, Andrew J. Michael, Zheng-Kang Shen, Eileen L. Evans, Elizabeth H. Hearn, Charles Mueller, Arthur D. Frankel, Mark D. Petersen, Christopher DuRoss, Richard W. Briggs, Morgan T. Page, Justin Rubinstein, Julie A. Herrick