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Science Quality and Integrity
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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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Global environmental changes more frequently offset than intensify detrimental effects of biological invasions Global environmental changes more frequently offset than intensify detrimental effects of biological invasions
Human-induced abiotic global environmental changes (GECs) and the spread of nonnative invasive species are rapidly altering ecosystems. Understanding the relative and interactive effects of invasion and GECs is critical for informing ecosystem adaptation and management, but this information has not been synthesized. We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate effects of invasions, GECs...
Authors
Bianca Lopez, Jenica Allen, Jeffrey Dukes, Jonathan Lenoir, Montserrat Vila, Dana Blumenthal, Evelyn M. Beaury, Emily J. Fusco, Brittany B. Laginhas, Toni Lyn Morelli, Mitchell W. O’Neill, Cascade J.B. Sorte, Alberto Maceda-Veiga, Raj Whitlock, Bethany A. Bradley
#TheSmoreYouKnow and #emergencycute: A conceptual model on the use of humor by science agencies during crisis to create connection, empathy, and compassion #TheSmoreYouKnow and #emergencycute: A conceptual model on the use of humor by science agencies during crisis to create connection, empathy, and compassion
Studies from a variety of disciplines reveal that humor can be a useful method to reduce stress and increase compassion, connection, and empathy between agencies and people they serve during times of crisis. Despite this growing evidence base, humor's use during a geohazard (earthquake, volcanoes, landslides, and tsunami) to aid scientific agencies' crisis communication response has been...
Authors
Sara K. McBride, Jessica L. Ball
Revised taxonomy of rhabdoviruses infecting fish and marine mammals Revised taxonomy of rhabdoviruses infecting fish and marine mammals
Rhabdoviridae is a large family of negative-sense (-) RNA viruses that includes important pathogens of ray-finned fish and marine mammals. As for all viruses, the taxonomic assignment of rhabdoviruses occurs through a process implemented by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). A recent revision of taxonomy conducted in conjunction with the ICTV Rhabdoviridae Study...
Authors
Peter J. Walker, Laurent Bigarre, Gael Kurath, Laurent Dacheux, Laurane Pallandre
Experience preferences and place attachment of Minnesota wildlife management area hunters Experience preferences and place attachment of Minnesota wildlife management area hunters
Hunters in the United States are motivated to obtain and benefit from diverse experiences or experience preferences. Using a mail survey conducted during the 2015–2016 hunting season, we examined goal-oriented, introspective, and leadership experiences among hunters on Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ Wildlife Management Area (WMAs). We used k-means cluster analysis to identify...
Authors
Kelsie LaSharr, David C. Fulton, L. Cornicelli
Reducing uncertainty in climate change responses of inland fishes: A decision-path approach Reducing uncertainty in climate change responses of inland fishes: A decision-path approach
Climate change will continue to be an important consideration for conservation practitioners. However, uncertainty in identifying appropriate management strategies, particularly for understudied species and regions, constrains the implementation of science-based solutions and adaptation strategies. Here, we share a decision-path approach to reduce uncertainty in climate change responses...
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Bonnie Myers, Jesse P. Wong, Cindy Chu, Ralph W. Tingley, Jeffrey A. Falke, Thomas J. Kwak, Craig P. Paukert, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft
Association of antler asymmetry with hoof disease in elk Association of antler asymmetry with hoof disease in elk
Treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD) is an emergent disease of elk (Cervus canadensis) in the Pacific West of the United States. Although lesions are usually restricted to the feet, anecdotal reports suggested increased prevalence of abnormal antlers in affected elk. We used hunter harvest reports for 1,688 adult male elk harvested in southwestern Washington, USA, during 2016-2018...
Authors
Glen A. Sargeant, Margaret A. Wild, Kyle Garrison, Dylan Conradson
Within-marsh and landscape features structure ribbed mussel distribution in Georgia, USA, marshes Within-marsh and landscape features structure ribbed mussel distribution in Georgia, USA, marshes
Ribbed mussels, Geukensia demissa, are marsh fauna that are used in coastal management and restoration due to the ecosystem services they provide. Ribbed mussel restoration efforts may be improved with a greater understanding of the environmental drivers of ribbed mussel distribution at multiple spatial scales to predict areas where restoration could be successful. This study sought to...
Authors
William K. Annis, Elizabeth Ann Hunter, John M. Carroll
S/P amplitude ratios derived from single-component seismograms and their potential use in constraining focal mechanisms for micro-earthquake sequences S/P amplitude ratios derived from single-component seismograms and their potential use in constraining focal mechanisms for micro-earthquake sequences
Focal mechanisms, which reflect the sense of slip in earthquakes, provide important constraints for understanding crustal tectonics and earthquake source physics, including the interactions among earthquakes during mainshock–aftershock sequences or seismic swarms. Focal mechanisms of small (magnitude ≲3.5) earthquakes are usually determined by first‐motion P‐wave polarities, sometimes...
Authors
David R. Shelly, Robert John Skoumal, Jeanne L. Hardebeck
Biophysical methods and data analysis for simulating overland flow in the Everglades Biophysical methods and data analysis for simulating overland flow in the Everglades
The Everglades in south Florida supply fresh drinking water for more than 7 million people, host a National Park, and are classified as a Ramsar wetland of international distinction. Predicting trajectories of water flow and water storage changes in the future is important to managing the Congressionally authorized restoration of the Everglades. Here we describe the needed data sources...
Authors
Judson Harvey, Jay Choi
The importance of lake emergent aquatic vegetation for estimating Arctic-boreal methane emissions The importance of lake emergent aquatic vegetation for estimating Arctic-boreal methane emissions
Areas of lakes that support emergent aquatic vegetation emit disproportionately more methane than open water but are under-represented in upscaled estimates of lake greenhouse gas emissions. These shallow areas are typically less than ∼1.5 m deep and can be detected with synthetic aperture radar (SAR). To assess the importance of lake emergent vegetation (LEV) zones to landscape-scale...
Authors
Ethan D. Kyzivat, Laurence C. Smith, Fenix Garcia-Tigreros, Chang Huang, Chao Wang, Theodore Langhorst, Jessica V. Fayne, Merritt E. Harlan, Yuta Ishitsuka, Dongmei Feng, Wayana Dolan, Lincoln H. Pitcher, Kimberly Wickland, Mark Dornblaser, Robert G. Striegl, Tamlin M. Pavelsky, David E. Butman, Colin J. Gleason
Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns Intrapopulation differences in polar bear movement and step selection patterns
Background The spatial ecology of individuals often varies within a population or species. Identifying how individuals in different classes interact with their environment can lead to a better understanding of population responses to human activities and environmental change and improve population estimates. Most inferences about polar bear (Ursus maritimus) spatial ecology are based on...
Authors
Ryan R. Wilson, Michelle St Martin, Eric V. Regehr, Karyn D. Rode
Environmental drivers of cyanobacterial abundance and cyanotoxin production in backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River Environmental drivers of cyanobacterial abundance and cyanotoxin production in backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River
High densities of cyanobacteria in aquatic ecosystems can cause impacts to ecosystem services because they serve as a poor-quality food resource, produce toxins and can indirectly cause a variety of other negative impacts to water quality. There are many hypotheses about the potential environmental drivers of variation in cyanobacterial abundance and toxicity, but these hypotheses have...
Authors
Shawn M. Giblin, James H. Larson, Jeremy D. King