Articles
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
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.
Filter Total Items: 77848
Leveraging community science data for population assessments during a pandemic Leveraging community science data for population assessments during a pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted field research programs, making conservation and management decision-making more challenging. However, it may be possible to conduct population assessments using integrated models that combine community science data with existing data from structured surveys. We developed a space-time integrated model to characterize spatial and temporal variability in
Authors
Paige Howell, Patrick Devers, Orin J. Robinson, J. Andrew Royle
Parasites in kelp-forest food webs increase food-chain length, complexity, and specialization, but reduce connectance Parasites in kelp-forest food webs increase food-chain length, complexity, and specialization, but reduce connectance
We explored whether parasites are important in kelp forests by examining their effects on a high-quality, high-resolution kelp-forest food web. After controlling for generic effects of network size, parasites affected kelp-forest food web structure in some ways consistent with other systems. Parasites increased the trophic span of the web, increasing top predator vulnerability and the...
Authors
Dana N. Morton, Kevin D. Lafferty
North American tree migration paced by climate in the West, lagging in the East North American tree migration paced by climate in the West, lagging in the East
Tree fecundity and recruitment have not yet been quantified at scales needed to anticipate biogeographic shifts in response to climate change. By separating their responses, this study shows coherence across species and communities, offering the strongest support to date that migration is in progress with regional limitations on rates. The southeastern continent emerges as a fecundity...
Authors
Shubhi Sharma, Robert Andrus, Yves Bergeron, Michal Bogdziewicz, Don C. Bragg, Dale G. Brockway, Natalie L. Cleavitt, Benoit Courbaud, Adrian Das, Michael Dietze, Timothy J. Fahey, Jerry F. Franklin, Gilbert S. Gregory, Cathryn H. Greenberg, Qinfeng Guo, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Ines Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Christopher L. Kilner, Johannes M. H. Knops, Walter D. Koenig, Georges Kunstler, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Diana Macias, Emily V. Moran, Jonathan A. Myers, Robert Parmenter, Ian S. Pearse, Renata Poulton-Kamakura, Miranda D. Redmond, Chantal D. Reid, Kyle C. Rodman, C. Lane Scher, William H. Schlesinger, Michael A. Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jennifer J. Swenson, Margaret Swift, Thomas T. Veblen, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, Andreas P. Wion, Christopher W. Woodall, Roman Zlotin, James S. Clark
From crystals to crustal-scale seismic anisotropy: Bridging the gap between rocks and seismic studies with digital geologic map data in Colorado From crystals to crustal-scale seismic anisotropy: Bridging the gap between rocks and seismic studies with digital geologic map data in Colorado
Deep continental crustal structures are enigmatic due to lack of direct exposures and limited tools to investigate them remotely. Seismic waves can sample these rocks, but most seismic methods focus on coarse crustal structures while laboratory measurements concentrate on crystal-scale rock properties, and little work has been conducted to bridge this interpretation gap. In some places...
Authors
Michael G. Frothingham, Kevin H. Mahan, Vera Schulte-Pelkum, Jonathan Saul Caine, Frederick W. Vollmer
Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate
Global concerns for desertification have focused on the slow recovery of extensive and expanding drylands following disturbance, which may be exacerbated by climate change. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are photosynthetic soil communities found in drylands worldwide, which are central to the stability and resilience of dryland ecosystems, but vulnerable to global change. Here we use...
Authors
Michala Lee Phillips, Brandon E McNellis, Armin J. Howell, Cara Marie Lauria, Jayne Belnap, Sasha C. Reed
Where groundwater seeps: Evaluating modeled groundwater discharge patterns with thermal infrared surveys at the river-network scale Where groundwater seeps: Evaluating modeled groundwater discharge patterns with thermal infrared surveys at the river-network scale
Predicting baseflow dynamics, protecting aquatic habitat, and managing legacy contaminants requires explicit characterization and prediction of groundwater discharge patterns throughout river networks. Using handheld thermal infrared (TIR) cameras, we surveyed 47 km of stream length across the Farmington River watershed (1,570 km2; CT and MA, USA), mapping locations of bank and waterline
Authors
Janet R. Barclay, Martin A. Briggs, Eric Moore, J. Jeffrey Starn, Ann E.H. Hanson, Ashley Helton
Species-specific responses to landscape features shaped genomic structure within Alaska galliformes Species-specific responses to landscape features shaped genomic structure within Alaska galliformes
Aim Connectivity is vital to the resiliency of populations to environmental change and stochastic events, especially for cold-adapted species as Arctic and alpine tundra habitats retract as the climate warms. We examined the influence of past and current landscapes on genomic connectivity in cold-adapted galliformes as a critical first step to assess the vulnerability of Alaska ptarmigan...
Authors
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Robert E. Wilson, Sandra L. Talbot
Long-term ocean observing for international capacity development around tsunami early warning Long-term ocean observing for international capacity development around tsunami early warning
The 2004 magnitude (M) 9.1 Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered the deadliest tsunami ever, killing more than 230,000 people. In response, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established three additional Intergovernmental Coordination Groups (ICGs) for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Early Warning System: for...
Authors
Danielle F. Sumy, Sara K. McBride, Christa von Hillebrandt-Andrade, Monica D. Kohler, John Orcutt, Shuichi Kodaira, Kate Moran, Daniel McNamara, Takane Hori, Elizabeth Vanacore, Benoit Pirenne, John A. Collins
gTOOLS, an open-source MATLAB program for processing high precision, relative gravity data for time-lapse gravity monitoring gTOOLS, an open-source MATLAB program for processing high precision, relative gravity data for time-lapse gravity monitoring
gTOOLS is an open-source software for the processing of relative gravity data. gTOOLS is available in MATLAB and as a compiled executable to be run under the free MATLAB Runtime Compiler. The software has been designed for time-lapse (temporal) gravity monitoring. Although programmed to read the Scintrex CG-5 and CG-6 gravimeters output data files, it can be easily modified to read data...
Authors
Maurizio Battaglia, Antonina Calahorrano-Di Patre, Ashton F. Flinders
Climate and land change impacts on future managed wetland habitat: A case study from California’s Central Valley Climate and land change impacts on future managed wetland habitat: A case study from California’s Central Valley
Concept California’s Central Valley provides critical habitat for migratory waterbirds, yet only 10% of naturally occurring wetlands remain. Competition for limited water supplies and climate change will impact the long-term viability of these intensively managed habitats.Objectives Forecast the distribution, abundance, and connectivity of surface water and managed wetland habitats...
Authors
Tamara Wilson, Elliott Matchett, Kristin B. Byrd, Erin Conlisk, Matthew E. Reiter, Cynthia Wallace, Lorraine E. Flint, Alan L. Flint, Monica Mei Jeen Moritsch
Stoneflies in the genus Lednia (Plecoptera: Nemouridae): Sentinels of climate change impacts on mountain stream biodiversity Stoneflies in the genus Lednia (Plecoptera: Nemouridae): Sentinels of climate change impacts on mountain stream biodiversity
Rapid recession of glaciers and snowfields is threatening the habitats of cold-water biodiversity worldwide. In many ice-sourced headwaters of western North America, stoneflies in the genus Lednia (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) are a prominent member of the invertebrate community. With a broad distribution in mountain streams and close ties to declining glacier cover, Lednia has emerged as a...
Authors
Matthew D. Green, Lusha M. Tronstad, J. Joseph Giersch, Alisha A. Shah, Candace E. Fallon, Emilie Blevins, Taylor Kai, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Debra S. Finn, Scott Hotaling
Examination of the interaction between age-specific predation and chronic disease in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Examination of the interaction between age-specific predation and chronic disease in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Predators may create healthier prey populations by selectively removing diseased individuals. Predators typically prefer some ages of prey over others, which may, or may not, align with those prey ages that are most likely to be diseased.The interaction of age-specific infection and predation has not been previously explored and likely has sizable effects on disease dynamics. We...
Authors
Ellen E. Brandell, Paul C. Cross, Douglas W. Smith, William J. Rogers, Nathan L. Galloway, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, John J. Treanor, Peter J. Hudson