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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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Direct and indirect influences of macrophyte cover on abundance and growth of juvenile Atlantic salmon Direct and indirect influences of macrophyte cover on abundance and growth of juvenile Atlantic salmon
1. The relationships between macrophytes and the physical and biological characteristics of the environments that aquatic organisms inhabit are complex. Previous studies have shown that the macrophytes, Ranunculus (subgenus Batrachium), which are dominant in lowland chalk streams and widespread across Europe, can enhance juvenile Atlantic salmon abundance and growth to a greater degree...
Authors
Jessica E Marsh, J. Iwan Jones, Rasmus B. Lauridsen, James Grace, Pavel Kratina
Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus) Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus)
Rabies virus (RABV) transmitted by the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) poses a threat to agricultural development and public health throughout the Neotropics. The ecology and evolution of rabies host-pathogen dynamics are influenced by two infection-induced behavioral changes. RABV-infected hosts often exhibit increased aggression which facilitates transmission, and rabies also...
Authors
Elsa M. Cárdenas-Canales, Sebastian Stockmaier, Eleanor Cronin, Tonie E. Rocke, Jorge E. Osorio, Gerald G. Carter
Structural properties of the Southern San Andreas fault zone in northern Coachella Valley from magnetotelluric imaging Structural properties of the Southern San Andreas fault zone in northern Coachella Valley from magnetotelluric imaging
The Southern San Andreas fault (SSAF) poses one of the largest seismic risks in California. Yet, there is much ambiguity regarding its deeper structural properties around Coachella Valley, in large part due to the relative paucity of everyday seismicity. Here, we image a multistranded section of the SSAF using a non-seismic method, namely magnetotelluric (MT) soundings, to help inform...
Authors
Pieter-Ewald Share-MacParland, Jared R. Peacock, Steve C. Constable, Frank L. Vernon, Shunguo Wang
Landscape genetics of a sub-alpine toad: Climate change predicted to induce upward range shifts via asymmetrical migration corridors Landscape genetics of a sub-alpine toad: Climate change predicted to induce upward range shifts via asymmetrical migration corridors
Climate change is expected to have a major hydrological impact on the core breeding habitat and migration corridors of many amphibians in the twenty-first century. The Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus canorus) is a species of meadow-specializing amphibian endemic to the high-elevation Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Despite living entirely on federal lands, it has recently faced severe...
Authors
Paul A. Maier, Amy G. Vandergast, Steven M Ostoja, Andres Aguilar, Andrew J. Bohonak
Fires, floods and other extreme events – How watershed processes under climate change will shape our coastlines Fires, floods and other extreme events – How watershed processes under climate change will shape our coastlines
Ongoing sea-level rise has brought renewed focus on terrestrial sediment supply to the coast because of its strong influence on whether and how long beaches, marshes and other coastal landforms may persist into the future. Here, we summarise findings of sediment discharge from several coastal rivers, revealing that infrequent, large-magnitude events have disproportionate influence on the
Authors
Jonathan A. Warrick, Amy E. East, Helen Willemien Dow
Book review: Analytical groundwater modeling: Theory and applications using Python Book review: Analytical groundwater modeling: Theory and applications using Python
No abstract available.
Authors
Michael N. Fienen
Earthquakes in the shadows: Why aftershocks occur at surprising locations Earthquakes in the shadows: Why aftershocks occur at surprising locations
For decades there has been a debate about the relative effects of dynamic versus static stress triggering of aftershocks. According to the static Coulomb stress change hypothesis, aftershocks should not occur in stress shadows—regions where static Coulomb stress has been reduced. We show that static stress shadows substantially influence aftershock occurrence following three M ≥ 7...
Authors
Jeanne L. Hardebeck, Ruth A. Harris
Socioeconomic resilience to climatic extremes in a freshwater fishery Socioeconomic resilience to climatic extremes in a freshwater fishery
Heterogeneity is a central feature of ecosystem resilience, but how this translates to socioeconomic resilience depends on people’s ability to track shifting resources in space and time. Here, we quantify how climatic extremes have influenced how people (fishers) track economically valuable ecosystem services (fishing opportunities) across a range of spatial scales in rivers of the...
Authors
Timothy Joseph Cline, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Ryan P. Kovach, Robert Al-Chokhachy, David Schmetterling, Diane Whited, Abigail J. Lynch
Using a vegetation index to assess wetland condition in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America Using a vegetation index to assess wetland condition in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America
Wetlands deliver a suite of ecosystem services to society. Anthropogenic activities, such as wetland drainage, have resulted in considerable wetland loss and degradation, diminishing the intrinsic value of wetland ecosystems worldwide. Protecting remaining wetlands and restoring degraded wetlands are common management practices to preserve and reclaim wetland benefits to society...
Authors
Brian Tangen, Sheel Bansal, Seth Jones, Cami S. Dixon, Amanda M. Nahlik, Edward S. DeKeyser, Christina L. M. Hargiss, David M. Mushet
Using machine learning techniques with incomplete polarity datasets to improve earthquake focal mechanism determination Using machine learning techniques with incomplete polarity datasets to improve earthquake focal mechanism determination
Earthquake focal mechanisms are traditionally produced using P‐wave first‐motion polarities and commonly require well‐recorded seismicity. A recent approach that is less dependent on high signal‐to‐noise exploits similar waveforms to produce relative polarity measurements between earthquake pairs. Utilizing these relative polarity measurements, it is possible to produce composite focal...
Authors
Robert Skoumal, David R. Shelly, Jeanne L. Hardebeck
Long-term apparent survival of a cold-stunned subpopulation of juveniles green turtles Long-term apparent survival of a cold-stunned subpopulation of juveniles green turtles
Understanding the effects of extreme weather on animal populations is fundamental to ecological and conservation sciences and species management. Climate change has resulted in both warm and cold temperature extremes, including an increased frequency of severe cold snaps at middle latitudes in North America. These unusually cold air masses cause rapid declines in nearshore ocean...
Authors
Robert Michael Mollenhauer, Margaret Lamont, Allen M. Foley
Predation probabilities and functional responses: How piscivorous waterbirds respond to pulses in fish abundance Predation probabilities and functional responses: How piscivorous waterbirds respond to pulses in fish abundance
How predators respond to changes in prey abundance (i.e., functional responses) is foundational to consumer–resource interactions, predator–prey dynamics, and the stability of predator–prey systems. Predation by piscivorous waterbirds on out-migrating juvenile steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is considered a factor affecting the recovery of multiple Endangered Species Act-listed...
Authors
Nathan J. Hostetter, Q. Payton, D.D. Roby, K. Collis, A.F. Evans