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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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Time to get real with qPCR controls: The frequency of sample contamination and the informative power of negative controls in environmental DNA studies Time to get real with qPCR controls: The frequency of sample contamination and the informative power of negative controls in environmental DNA studies
Environmental (e)DNA methods have enabled rapid, sensitive and specific inferences of taxa presence throughout diverse fields of ecological study. However, use of eDNA results for decision-making has been impeded by uncertainties associated with false positive tests putatively caused by sporadic or systemic contamination. Sporadic contamination is a process that is inconsistent across...
Authors
Patrick Ross Hutchins, Leah Nicole Simantel, Adam Sepulveda
Morphometric sex identification of nestling and free-flying Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax fleayi) Morphometric sex identification of nestling and free-flying Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax fleayi)
The endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax fleayi) is the focus of continued research and conservation efforts. A tool for accurate and efficient identification of the sex of individuals would be a valuable aid to research and management. However, plumages are monomorphic between the sexes, making sex identification difficult without molecular analyses. Our aim was to...
Authors
James M. Pay, Todd E. Katzner, Jason M Wiersma, William E. Brown, Clare E. Hawkins, Kirstin M Proft, Elissa Z. Cameron
Food habits of American Kestrels in the Southern High Plains of Texas Food habits of American Kestrels in the Southern High Plains of Texas
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is in general decline across its North American distribution. In contrast to widespread patterns of decline, kestrel populations appear stable in the southern Great Plains region. Historically, this region had a very low occurrence of kestrels, and their current abundance is highly likely due to vegetation and structures associated with settlement...
Authors
Clint W. Boal, M.A. Thornely, S.D. Mullican
Setting and tracking suppression targets for sea lampreys in the Great Lakes Setting and tracking suppression targets for sea lampreys in the Great Lakes
In response to invasive species, the course of action taken by management agencies often evolves over a range of options from a do-nothing approach to suppression to complete eradication. As a case study of suppression targets, we explore the history of approaches used by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in response to the invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by sea lampreys...
Authors
Ted Treska, Mark P. Ebener, Gavin Christie, Jean V. Adams, Michael J Siefkes
Hydrogeomorphic recovery and temporal changes in rainfall thresholds for debris flows following wildfire Hydrogeomorphic recovery and temporal changes in rainfall thresholds for debris flows following wildfire
Wildfire-induced changes to soil and vegetation promote runoff-generated debris flows in steep watersheds. Postfire debris flows are most commonly observed in steep watersheds during the first wet season following a wildfire, but it is unclear how long the elevated threat of debris flow persists and why debris-flow potential changes in recovering burned areas. This work quantifies how...
Authors
Olivia J. Hoch, Luke A. McGuire, Ann M. Youberg, Francis K. Rengers
Carbon and ecohydrological priorities in managing woody encroachment: UAV perspective 63 years after a control treatment Carbon and ecohydrological priorities in managing woody encroachment: UAV perspective 63 years after a control treatment
Woody encroachment, including both woody species expansion and density increase, is a globally observed phenomenon that deteriorates arid and semi-arid rangeland health, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Mechanical and chemical control treatments are commonly performed to reduce woody cover and restore ecohydrologic function. While the immediate impacts of woody control treatments...
Authors
Temuulen T. Sankey, Jackson Leonard, Margaret Moore, Joel B. Sankey, Adam Belmonte
Effects of stocking density on stress response and susceptibility to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in rainbow trout Effects of stocking density on stress response and susceptibility to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in rainbow trout
The goals of this study were to examine the effect of stocking density on the stress response and disease susceptibility in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish were sorted into one of 2 stocking densities (high density "HD", 20-40 kg/m3) or (low density, "LD", 4-8 kg/m3) and 3 stress indices (cortisol levels in serum and water, and neutrophil: lymphocyte (N:L) ratios from...
Authors
Jenna J Klug, Piper M Treuting, George E. Sanders, James Winton, Gael Kurath
Exposure of predatory and scavenging birds to anticoagulant rodenticides in France: Exploration of data from French surveillance programs Exposure of predatory and scavenging birds to anticoagulant rodenticides in France: Exploration of data from French surveillance programs
Wild raptors are widely used to assess exposure to different environmental contaminants, including anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs). ARs are used on a global scale for rodent control, and act by disruption of the vitamin K cycle that results in haemorrhage usually accompanied by death within days. Some ARs are highly persistent and bioaccumulative, which can cause significant exposure of...
Authors
Meg-Anne Moriceau, Sebastien Lefebvre, Isabelle Fourel, Etienne Benoit, Florence Buronfosse, Pascal Orabi, Barnett A. Rattner, Virginie Lattard
Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first documented in 2014 near the Port of Miami, Florida, and has since spread north and south along Florida’s Coral Reef, killing large numbers of more than 20 species of coral and leading to the functional extinction of at least one species, Dendrogyra cylindrus. SCTLD is assumed to be caused by bacteria based on presence of different...
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Tina M. Weatherby, Jan H. Landsberg, Yasunaru Kiryu, Samantha M. Cook, Esther C. Peters
Testing models of Laramide orogenic initiation by investigation of Late Cretaceous magmatic-tectonic evolution of the central Mojave sector of the California arc Testing models of Laramide orogenic initiation by investigation of Late Cretaceous magmatic-tectonic evolution of the central Mojave sector of the California arc
The Mojave Desert region is in a critical position for assessing models of Laramide orogenesis, which is hypothesized to have initiated as one or more seamounts subducted beneath the Cretaceous continental margin. Geochronological and geochemical characteristics of Late Cretaceous magmatic products provide the opportunity to test the validity of Laramide orogenic models. Laramide-aged...
Authors
R.C Economos, Andrew P. Barth, J.L. Wooden, S. R Paterson, Brody Friesenhahn, B.A Weigand, J.L. Anderson, J.L. Roell, E.F. Palmer, A.J. Ianno, Keith A. Howard
The Boreal-Arctic Wetland and Lake Dataset (BAWLD) The Boreal-Arctic Wetland and Lake Dataset (BAWLD)
Methane emissions from boreal and arctic wetlands, lakes, and rivers are expected to increase in response to warming and associated permafrost thaw. However, the lack of appropriate land cover datasets for scaling field-measured methane emissions to circumpolar scales has contributed to a large uncertainty for our understanding of present-day and future methane emissions. Here we present...
Authors
David Olefeldt, Mikael Hovemyr, M.A. Kuhn, D Bastviken, T.J. Bohn, J. Connolly, P.M. Crill, E.S. Euskirchen, S.A. Finkelstein, H. Genet, G. Grosse, L.I. Harris, L. Heffernan, M. Helbig, G. Hugelium, R. Hutchins, S. Juutinen, M.J. Lara, A. Malhotra, Kristen L. Manies, A.D. McGuire, S.M. Natali, J. A. O’Donnell, F-J.W. Parmentier, A. Rasanen, C. Schaedel, O. Sonnentag, M. Strack, S.E. Tank, C. C. Treat, R.K. Varner, T. Virtanen, J.D. Watts, R.K. Warren
Monitoring and modeling tree bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) occurrence using acoustics on structures off the mid-Atlantic coast—Implications for offshore wind development Monitoring and modeling tree bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) occurrence using acoustics on structures off the mid-Atlantic coast—Implications for offshore wind development
In eastern North America, “tree bats” (Genera: Lasiurus and Lasionycteris) are highly susceptible to collisions with wind energy turbines and are known to fly offshore during migration. This raises concern about ongoing expansion of offshore wind-energy development off the Atlantic Coast. Season, atmospheric conditions, and site-level characteristics such as local habitat (e.g., forest...
Authors
Michael C. True, Richard J. Reynolds, W. Mark Ford