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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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The influence of drying on the aeolian transport of river-sourced sand The influence of drying on the aeolian transport of river-sourced sand
Transgression and regression of water levels (stages) have impacted the evolution of aeolian landforms and sedimentary deposits throughout geologic history. We studied this phenomenon over a five-day period of reduced flow on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, AZ, USA, in March 2021. These transient low flows exposed river-channel sand deposits to the air, causing...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Joshua Caster, Alan Kasprak, Helen C. Fairley
Porosity, strength, and alteration – Towards a new volcano stability assessment tool using VNIR-SWIR reflectance spectroscopy Porosity, strength, and alteration – Towards a new volcano stability assessment tool using VNIR-SWIR reflectance spectroscopy
Volcano slope stability analysis is a critical component of volcanic hazard assessments and monitoring. However, traditional methods for assessing rock strength require physical samples of rock which may be difficult to obtain or characterize in bulk. Here, visible to shortwave infrared (350–2500 nm; VNIR–SWIR) reflected light spectroscopy on laboratory-tested rock samples from Ruapehu...
Authors
Gabor Kereszturi, Michael J. Heap, Lauren N. Schaefer, Herlan Darmawan, Frances M. Deegan, Ben M. Kennedy, Jean-Christophe Komorowski, Stuart Mead, Marina Rosas-Carbajal, Amy Ryan, Valentin R. Troll, Marlene C. Villeneuve, Thomas R. Walter
Understanding local adaptation to prepare populations for climate change Understanding local adaptation to prepare populations for climate change
Adaptation within species to local environments is widespread in nature. Better understanding this local adaptation is critical to conserving biodiversity. However, conservation practices can rely on species’ trait averages or can broadly assume homogeneity across the range to inform management. Recent methodological advances for studying local adaptation provide the opportunity to fine...
Authors
Mariah H. Meek, Erik A. Beever, Soraia Barbosa, Sarah W. Fitzpatrick, Nicholas K. Fletcher, Cinnamon S. Mittan-Moreau, Brendan N. Reid, Shane C. Campbell-Staton, Nancy Green, Jessica J. Hellmann
Defining biologically relevant and hierarchically nested population units to inform wildlife management Defining biologically relevant and hierarchically nested population units to inform wildlife management
Wildlife populations are increasingly affected by natural and anthropogenic changes that negatively alter biotic and abiotic processes at multiple spatiotemporal scales and therefore require increased wildlife management and conservation efforts. However, wildlife management boundaries frequently lack biological context and mechanisms to assess demographic data across the multiple...
Authors
Michael S. O’Donnell, David R. Edmunds, Cameron L. Aldridge, Julie A. Heinrichs, Adrian P. Monroe, Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Steve E. Hanser, Lief A. Wiechman
Ingested toxicity of antimycin A to grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella and black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus in two carriers Ingested toxicity of antimycin A to grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella and black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus in two carriers
Toxic baits are a potential control mechanism for nuisance carps, but rotenone-based baits for grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella have been ineffective. Failures have been attributed to the palatability of rotenone because innocuous training pellets are readily consumed prior to provision of piscicide baits. Several studies suggest antimycin A, a common alternative piscicide, typically...
Authors
Patrick Kroboth, Duane Chapman, Jeffery A. Steevens, Curtis G. Byrd
Biofilms as potential reservoirs of stony coral tissue loss disease Biofilms as potential reservoirs of stony coral tissue loss disease
Since 2014, corals throughout Florida’s Coral Reef have been plagued by an epizootic of unknown etiology, colloquially termed stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). Although in Florida the movement of this waterborne coral disease has been consistent with natural transport via water currents, outbreaks in the Caribbean have been more sporadic, with infections occurring in locations...
Authors
James S. Evans, Valerie J. Paul, Christina A. Kellogg
Validation of a portable eDNA detection kit for invasive carps Validation of a portable eDNA detection kit for invasive carps
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a rapid molecular detection technique that has been used as a diagnostic tool for detecting human and animal pathogens for over 20 years and is promising for detecting environmental DNA shed by invasive species. We designed a LAMP assay to detect the invasive carps, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp...
Authors
Stacie A. Kageyama, Matthew Regh Hoogland, Tariq Tajjioui, Theresa M. Schreier, Richard A. Erickson, Christopher M. Merkes
Impeding access to tributary spawning habitat and releasing experimental fall-timed floods increases brown trout immigration into a dam's tailwater Impeding access to tributary spawning habitat and releasing experimental fall-timed floods increases brown trout immigration into a dam's tailwater
River ecosystems have been altered by flow regulation and species introductions. Regulated flow regimes often include releases designed to benefit certain species or restore ecosystem processes, and invasive species suppression programs may include efforts to restrict access to spawning habitat. The impacts of these management interventions are often uncertain. Here, we assess hypotheses...
Authors
Brian D. Healy, Charles B. Yackulic, Robert C. Schelly
Demographic effects of a megafire on a declining prairie grouse in the mixed-grass prairie Demographic effects of a megafire on a declining prairie grouse in the mixed-grass prairie
Recent studies have documented benefits of small, prescribed fire and wildfire for grassland-dependent wildlife, such as lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicintus), but wildlife demographic response to the scale and intensity of megafire (wildfire >40,000 ha) in modern, fragmented grasslands remains unknown. Limited available grassland habitat makes it imperative to understand...
Authors
Nicholas J. Parke, Daniel S. Sullin, David A. Haukos, Kent A. Fricke, Christian A. Hagen, Adam A. Ahlers
Elevated winter stream temperatures below wastewater treatment plants shift reproductive development of female Johnny Darter Etheostoma nigrum: A field and histologic approach Elevated winter stream temperatures below wastewater treatment plants shift reproductive development of female Johnny Darter Etheostoma nigrum: A field and histologic approach
River water temperatures are increasing globally, particularly in urban systems. In winter, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent inputs are of particular concern because they increase water temperatures from near freezing to ~7–15 °C. Recent laboratory studies suggest that warm overwinter temperatures impact the reproductive timing of some fishes. To evaluate winter water...
Authors
Catherine M. Adams, Dana L. Winkelman, Paula A. Schaffer, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Jenna E. Cavallin, Michael Ellman, Kelvin Santana Rodriguez, Ryan M. Fitzpatrick
Regional-scale mapping of landscape response to extreme precipitation using repeat lidar and object-based image analysis Regional-scale mapping of landscape response to extreme precipitation using repeat lidar and object-based image analysis
Extreme precipitation events may cause flooding, slope failure, erosion, deposition, and damage to infrastructure over a regional scale, but the impacts of these events are often difficult to fully characterize. Regional-scale landscape change occurred during an extreme rain event in June 2012 in northeastern Minnesota. Landscape change was documented by 8,000 km2 of airborne lidar data...
Authors
Stephen B. DeLong, Morena N Hammer, Zachary T. Engle, Emilie Richard, Andrew Breckenridge, Karen B. Gran, Carrie E. Jennings, Andre Jalobeanu
Longitudinal analyses of catch-at-age data for reconstructing year-class strength, with an application to lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the main basin of Lake Huron Longitudinal analyses of catch-at-age data for reconstructing year-class strength, with an application to lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the main basin of Lake Huron
We investigated using longitudinal models to reconstruct year-class strength (YCS) from catch-at-age data, with an example application to lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the main basin of Lake Huron. The best model structure depended on the age range used for model implementation. The YCS trajectory from the full age range (3–30 years) was similar to the trajectory from a narrow age...
Authors
Ji X. He, Andrew Edgar Honsey, David F. Staples, James R. Bence, Tracy L. Claramunt