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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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Birds, breakpoints, and baselines: How citizen science data can reveal ecological boundaries in Kenya’s Upper Tana watershed Birds, breakpoints, and baselines: How citizen science data can reveal ecological boundaries in Kenya’s Upper Tana watershed

Tropical watersheds are increasingly threatened by climate change, land-use conversion, and resource extraction, yet conventional biodiversity monitoring in these systems is often spatially and temporally limited. Citizen science offers a complementary approach, enabling biodiversity data collection over large areas that can supplement professional scientific surveys. We analyzed 10...
Authors
Edwin Njuguna, Christina Amy Murphy, Cynthia Loftin, Malcolm Hunter, David Courtemanch, Peter Njoroge

Evaluating reservoir passage and survival of juvenile Chinook Salmon to support reintroduction upstream of Shasta Dam, California Evaluating reservoir passage and survival of juvenile Chinook Salmon to support reintroduction upstream of Shasta Dam, California

Objective Juvenile Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha that are released upstream of Shasta Reservoir migrate more than 35 km to reach Shasta Dam, although survival through this system is poorly understood. We conducted a reservoir-scale acoustic telemetry study to quantify downstream movement and survival under seasonally variable environmental conditions to inform decisions about...
Authors
Caitlin Louise Stockwell, Joseph Mitchell Morse, Mikaeli Elizabeth Dirling, Claire E. Couch, Cyril J. Michel, Jeremy J. Notch, Tobias J. Kock

A 481 m-high landslide-tsunami in a cruise ship-frequented Alaska fjord A 481 m-high landslide-tsunami in a cruise ship-frequented Alaska fjord

Early in the morning of 10 August 2025, a >64 × 106–cubic meter landslide struck Tracy Arm fjord in Alaska. The landslide was preconditioned by glacial retreat caused by climate change. The resulting 481-meter runup megatsunami followed an initial 100-meter-high breaking wave traveling at >70 meters per second. The landslide was preceded by several days of microseismicity, which...
Authors
Dan H. Shugar, Katherine R. Barnhart, Mira Berdahl, Jacqueline Caplan-Auerbach, Göran Ekström, Aram Fathian, M. Geertsema, Stephen P. Hicks, Bretwood Higman, Erin K. Jensen, Ezgi Karasozen, Patrick J. Lynett, John J. Lyons, Thomas Monahan, Gerard H. Roe, Kristian Svennevig, Liam Toney, Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Michael E. West

GST-1: A high-resolution global sediment thickness model GST-1: A high-resolution global sediment thickness model

Global Sediment Thickness 1 (GST-1) is a high-resolution sedimentary thickness model calculated on a 0.125° x 0.125° grid. It modifies the sediment thickness of the 1° x 1° Earth Crustal Model 1 (ECM1) by means of 3D inversions of free air gravity anomalies. GST-1 is calculated by performing structural inversions on high-density contrasts across two crustal boundaries: the sediment –...
Authors
Dale E. Bird, Walter D. Mooney

Regional conservation planning tool: A spreadsheet model to support spatial prioritization and resource allocation decisions Regional conservation planning tool: A spreadsheet model to support spatial prioritization and resource allocation decisions

Prioritization is a central component of natural resource management because conservation needs routinely exceed available resources. Waterfowl and wetland conservation programs in North America are at the forefront of landscape-scale prioritization and transboundary management decisions due to the migratory nature of ducks, geese, and swans. The growing availability of geographic...
Authors
Anastasia Couvillon, Gregory J. Soulliere, David H. Gordon, Diane Eggeman, Mohammed A Al-Saffar, Dale D. Humburg, James E. Lyons

Sex-specific Atlantic salmon upstream passage and fallback at a natural cascade after dam removal Sex-specific Atlantic salmon upstream passage and fallback at a natural cascade after dam removal

In the Boquet River (NY, USA) a low-head dam set above a ~200-m bedrock cascade was removed in 2015. We used radio-telemetry to assess landlocked Atlantic salmon passage at the remaining cascade (2020, 2022). Across years, 52% of males (13/25) attempted cascade passage whereas females made no discernable attempts (0/11). Attempt probability increased with stream discharge and decreased...
Authors
Kurt C. Heim, Jonah L. Withers, William Arden, Laurie Earley, David Minkoff, Theodore Castro-Santos

Range-wide relative abundance of Pyrgus centaureae wyandot (W.H. Edwards, 1863) (Appalachian Grizzled Skipper) Range-wide relative abundance of Pyrgus centaureae wyandot (W.H. Edwards, 1863) (Appalachian Grizzled Skipper)

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has designated the butterfly Pyrgus centaureae wyandot (Appalachian Grizzled Skipper [AGS]) to be at-risk, based on its declining populations and the lack of information on its status. Our objective was to conduct range-wide surveys to locate extant AGS colonies and to quantify the number of AGS observed at each location. From 2021 to 2024, we conducted...
Authors
Nimish B. Vyas, Betsy Leppo, Ellison Orcutt, Jakob Goldner, Peter Woods, Erin White, David Cuthrell, Donovan Drummey, Laurie Hamon, Jennifer Selfridge, Andrew Rapp, Leah Card, Eileen Wyza, J. Merrill Lynch, Anthony Tur, Kathryn Nolan, Judith Ratcliffe, Robert Somes, Susan Olcott

Alternative approaches to dryland reclamation enhance vegetation cover and soil stability at a former uranium mine Alternative approaches to dryland reclamation enhance vegetation cover and soil stability at a former uranium mine

Introduction Conventional reclamation methods to recover dryland ecosystems after mineral extraction often have low success. Alternative reclamation techniques may help overcome the many challenges to establishing persistent native vegetation and stable soils. Objectives Compare conventional reclamation approaches that focus primarily on soil stabilization to alternative approaches that...
Authors
Kathryn Delores Eckhoff, Rebecca K. Mann, Seth M. Munson, Katherine Walton-Day, Jo Ellen Hinck, Michael C. Duniway

Fisheries sustainability: Perceptions from the ninth World Fisheries Congress Fisheries sustainability: Perceptions from the ninth World Fisheries Congress

The World Fisheries Congress (WFC) is one of the largest global gatherings of fisheries professionals and scientists. It is held every 4 years with the purpose of sharing ideas and perspectives about new research, emerging issues, scientific breakthroughs, and governance related to fisheries science, industry, conservation, and management. The ninth WFC, held in Seattle (USA) in 2024...
Authors
Gretchen L. Stokes, Edward V. Camp, Julie E. Claussen, Chelsey A. Crandall, Jeffrey J. Duda, M. Gabriela Palomo, Abigail J. Lynch

A comprehensive inventory of communication tower infrastructure across the range of greater and Gunnison sage-grouse A comprehensive inventory of communication tower infrastructure across the range of greater and Gunnison sage-grouse

We compiled and verified a comprehensive inventory dataset of communication tower infrastructure across the range of the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus), two species of conservation concern that are viewed as ecosystem health indicators for the entire sagebrush biome within the United States. Our dataset includes all known...
Authors
Sarah C. Webster, Shawn Szabo, Jacqueline B. Cupples, Shawn T. O’Neil, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Steve Abele, Jennifer M. Hill, John Christopher Tull, Michael P. Chenaille, Peter S. Coates

Identifying potential invasion hotspots for non-native fluvial fishes throughout the conterminous United States Identifying potential invasion hotspots for non-native fluvial fishes throughout the conterminous United States

Identifying habitats that non-native fluvial fishes are likely to invade provides information for proactive management, conservation planning, and understanding the ecology of biological invasions. We identified streams in the conterminous United States with high invasion risk from 20 non-native fluvial fish species. Specifically, we (1) developed habitat suitability models for each...
Authors
Hao Yu, Arthur R. Cooper, Jared A. Ross, Wesley M. Daniel, Jack E. Taylor, Alina Sargsyan, Dana M. Infante

USGS 2025 critical minerals review USGS 2025 critical minerals review

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) provides scientific information for the Department of Interior and the nation, consistent with its original mission expressed in the Organic Act of 1879 (43 U.S.C. 31): “the classification of the public lands and examination of the geological structure, mineral resources, and products within and outside the national domain.” Legislation such as...
Authors
James V. Jones, Tanya Gallegos, Mojisola Abosede Kunledare, Charlotte E. Riggs
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