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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 global remote camera data of a solitary species complex to evaluate the drivers of group formation Using global remote camera data of a solitary species complex to evaluate the drivers of group formation
The social system of animals involves a complex interplay between physiology, natural history, and the environment. Long relied upon discrete categorizations of “social” and “solitary” inhibit our capacity to understand species and their interactions with the world around them. Here, we use a globally distributed camera trapping dataset to test the drivers of aggregating into groups in a...
Authors
Joshua P. Twining, Chris Sutherland, Andrzej Zalewski, Michael V. Cove, Johnny Birks, Oliver R. Wearn, Jessica Haysom, Anna Wereszczuk, Emiliano Manzo, Paola Bartolommei, Alessio Mortelliti, Bryn Evans, Brian D. Gerber, Thomas J. McGreevy, Laken S. Ganoe, Juliana Masseloux, Amy E. Mayer, Izabela Wierzbowska, Jan Loch, Jocelyn Akins, Donovan Drummey, William McShea, Stephanie Manke, Lain Pardo, Andy Boyce, Sheng Li, Roslina Binti Ragai, Ronglarp Sukmasuang, Alvaro Jose Villafane Trujillo, Carlos Lopez-Gonzalez, Nalleli Elvira Lara-Diaz, Olivia Cosby, Cristian N. Waggershauser, Jack Bamber, Frances Stewart, Jason Fisher, Angela K. Fuller, Kelly Perkins, Roger A. Powell
Habitat amount and edge effects, not perch proximity, nest exposure, or vegetation diversity affect cowbird parasitism in agricultural landscapes Habitat amount and edge effects, not perch proximity, nest exposure, or vegetation diversity affect cowbird parasitism in agricultural landscapes
Context
Authors
Matthew D. Stephenson, Kyla L. Yuza, Lisa A. Schulte, Robert W. Klaver
Climate-induced tree-mortality pulses are obscured by broad-scale and long-term greening Climate-induced tree-mortality pulses are obscured by broad-scale and long-term greening
Vegetation greening has been suggested to be a dominant trend over recent decades, but severe pulses of tree mortality in forests after droughts and heatwaves have also been extensively reported. These observations raise the question of to what extent the observed severe pulses of tree mortality induced by climate could affect overall vegetation greenness across spatial grains and...
Authors
Yuchao Yan, Shilong Piao, William M. Hammond, Anping Chen, Songbai Hong, Xu Hao, Seth M. Munson, Ranga B. Myneni, Craig D. Allen
Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges, and guidance for indicators of genetic diversity Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges, and guidance for indicators of genetic diversity
Measuring genetic diversity of wild species using DNA-based data remains resource intensive and time consuming for nearly all species. However, genetic assessments are needed for global conservation commitments, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, and for governments and managers to evaluate conservation progress, as well as prioritizing species and populations to preserve...
Authors
Sean M. Hoban, Jessica M. da Silva, Alice C. Hughes, Margaret Hunter, Belma Kalamujic Stroil, Linda Laikre, Alicia Mastretta-Yanes, Katie L Millette, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Lucia Ruiz Bustos, Robyn E. Shaw, Cristiano Vernesi, the Coalition for Conservation Genetics
The decision maker’s lament: If I only had some science! The decision maker’s lament: If I only had some science!
Environmental decision makers lament instances in which the lack of actionable science limits confident decision-making. Their reaction when the needed scientific information is of poor quality, uninformative, unintelligible, or altogether absent is often to criticize scientists, their work, or science in general. The considerations offered here encourage decision makers to explore...
Authors
Gustavo A. Bisbal
Demographic patterns of walleye (Sander vitreus) reproductive success in a Wisconsin population Demographic patterns of walleye (Sander vitreus) reproductive success in a Wisconsin population
Harvest in walleye Sander vitreus fisheries is size-selective and could influence phenotypic traits of spawners; however, contributions of individual spawners to recruitment are unknown. We used parentage analyses using single nucleotide polymorphisms to test whether parental traits were related to the probability of offspring survival in Escanaba Lake, Wisconsin. From 2017 to 2020, 1339...
Authors
Robert P. Davis, Levi M. Simmons, Stephanie L. Shaw, Greg G. Sass, Nicholas M. Sard, Daniel A. Isermann, Wesley A. Larson, Jared Joseph Homola
Characterization of the structural–stratigraphic and reservoir controls on the occurrence of gas hydrates in the Eileen Gas Hydrate Trend, Alaska North Slope Characterization of the structural–stratigraphic and reservoir controls on the occurrence of gas hydrates in the Eileen Gas Hydrate Trend, Alaska North Slope
One of the most studied permafrost-associated gas hydrate accumulations in Arctic Alaska is the Eileen Gas Hydrate Trend. This study provides a detailed re-examination of the Eileen Gas Hydrate Trend with a focus on the gas hydrate accumulation in the western part of the Prudhoe Bay Unit. This integrated analysis of downhole well log data and published geophysical data has provided new...
Authors
Margarita Zyrianova, Timothy Collett, Ray Boswell
Paleogene mid-crustal intrusions in the Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex, northeastern Nevada, USA Paleogene mid-crustal intrusions in the Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex, northeastern Nevada, USA
Middle Eocene to early Oligocene intrusions, widespread in the Ruby Mountains–East Humboldt Range metamorphic core complex, Nevada, USA, provide insights into a major Paleogene magmatic episode and its relation to tectonism in the northeastern Great Basin. These intrusions, well-exposed in upper Lamoille Canyon, range in composition from gabbro to leucomonzogranite. They form small...
Authors
A.W. Snoke, C.B. Barnes, Keith A. Howard, A. Romanoski, Wayne R. Premo, C. Hetherington, A. Strike, C. Frost, P. Copeland, S-Y Lee
Modern coral range expansion off southeast Florida falls short of Late Holocene baseline Modern coral range expansion off southeast Florida falls short of Late Holocene baseline
As thermal stress and disease outbreaks decimate coral reefs throughout the tropics, there is growing evidence that higher latitude marine environments may provide crucial refuges for many at-risk, temperature-sensitive coral species. However, our understanding of how coral populations expand into new areas and sustain themselves over time is constrained by the limited scope of modern...
Authors
Peter Alexander Bacon Modys, Lauren T. Toth, William F. Precht, Anton E. Oleinik, Richard A. Mortlock
Self-determination theory as an alternate conceptual foundation for motivation in natural resource research Self-determination theory as an alternate conceptual foundation for motivation in natural resource research
Motivation is a topic that receives substantial interest across the social sciences. However, in the human dimensions of natural resource literature, scholars have primarily treated motivation as a construct narrowly defined by the individual’s desired goal state. In contrast, self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that multiple forms of motivation can influence levels of self...
Authors
Kyle Smith, Adam Landon, David C. Fulton, Gerard Kyle
A multi-sensor approach to characterize winter water-level drawdown patterns in lakes A multi-sensor approach to characterize winter water-level drawdown patterns in lakes
Artificial manipulation of lake water levels through practices like winter water-level drawdown (WD) is prevalent across many regions, but the spatiotemporal patterns are not well documented due to limited in situ monitoring. Multi-sensor satellite remote sensing provides an opportunity to map and analyze drawdown frequency and metrics (timing, magnitude, duration) at broad scales. This...
Authors
Abhishek Kumar, Allison H. Roy, Konstantinos Andreadis, Xinchen He, Caitlyn Butler
Multiple records of the introduced parthenogenetic Smooth-scaled Tegulet, Gymnophthalmus underwoodi Grant 1958, in Puerto Rico Multiple records of the introduced parthenogenetic Smooth-scaled Tegulet, Gymnophthalmus underwoodi Grant 1958, in Puerto Rico
The introduction of invasive species to islands can be devastating to local biota. While many invasive species’ successful colonization of new habitats can be attributed to features like high fecundity or low mate selectivity, parthenogenetic species pose a unique threat in their ability to reproduce asexually at high rates. The Smooth-scaled Tegulet (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi), first...
Authors
Danielle Rivera, Jan P. Zegarra, Alberto R. Puente-Rolon, Nahíra Arocho-Hernandez, Nathan J. Hostetter, Jaime A. Collazo, Rayna C. Bell