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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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Floodplain forest tree seedling response to variation in flood timing and duration Floodplain forest tree seedling response to variation in flood timing and duration
The regeneration process is a sensitive period within life cycles of floodplain tree species and can strongly influence forest community composition. Yet, fundamental information remains limited on the relationship between regeneration processes and the flood disturbances that, together, construct floodplain forest landscapes. In a controlled greenhouse experiment we tested the effects...
Authors
W.A. Kroschel, Sammy L. King
Strategic considerations for invasive species managers in the utilization of environmental DNA (eDNA): Steps for incorporating this powerful surveillance tool Strategic considerations for invasive species managers in the utilization of environmental DNA (eDNA): Steps for incorporating this powerful surveillance tool
Invasive species surveillance programs can utilize environmental DNA sampling and analysis to provide information on the presence of invasive species. Wider utilization of eDNA techniques for invasive species surveillance may be warranted. This paper covers topics directed towards invasive species managers and eDNA practitioners working at the intersection of eDNA techniques and invasive...
Authors
Jeffrey Morisette, Stanley Burgiel, Kelsey Brantley, Wesley M. Daniel, John Darling, Jeanette Davis, Thomas W. Franklin, Keith Gaddis, Margaret Hunter, Richard Lance, Tracy Leskey, Yale Passamaneck, Antoinette J. Piaggio, Brian G. Rector, Adam Sepulveda, Melissa Smith, Carol A Stepien, Taylor Wilcox
Optical properties of water for prediction of wastewater contamination, human-associated bacteria, and fecal indicator bacteria in surface water at three watershed scales Optical properties of water for prediction of wastewater contamination, human-associated bacteria, and fecal indicator bacteria in surface water at three watershed scales
Relations between spectral absorbance and fluorescence properties of water and human-associated and fecal indicator bacteria were developed for facilitating field sensor applications to estimate wastewater contamination in waterways. Leaking wastewater conveyance infrastructure commonly contaminates receiving waters. Methods to quantify such contamination can be time consuming, expensive...
Authors
Steven R. Corsi, Laura A. DeCicco, Angela Hansen, Peter L. Lenaker, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Brian A. Pellerin, Debra Dila, Melinda Bootsma, Susan Spencer, Mark A. Borchardt, Sandra L. McLellan
Using the California Waterfowl Tracker to assess proximity of waterfowl to commercial poultry in the Central Valley of California Using the California Waterfowl Tracker to assess proximity of waterfowl to commercial poultry in the Central Valley of California
Migratory waterfowl are the primary reservoir of avian influenza viruses (AIV) which can be spread to commercial poultry. Surveillance efforts that track the location and abundance of wild waterfowl and link those data to inform assessments of risk and sampling for AIV currently do not exist. To assist surveillance and minimize poultry exposure to AIV, here we explored the utility of...
Authors
Sarai Acosta, Todd Kelman, Shane Feirer, Elliott Matchett, Jaclyn A. Smolinsky, Maurice E. Pitesky, Jeffrey J. Buler
Genetic analysis of red lionfish Pterois volitans from Florida, USA, leads to alternative North Atlantic introduction scenarios Genetic analysis of red lionfish Pterois volitans from Florida, USA, leads to alternative North Atlantic introduction scenarios
The red lionfish Pterois volitans is a successful invasive predator across the western North Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. The southeast coast of Florida (USA) has been identified as the original introduction location, but genetic analyses including Florida lionfish have yet to investigate introduction scenarios. Here, we assessed the potential lionfish invasion pathways using...
Authors
Margaret Hunter, Caitlin Beaver, Nathan A. Johnson, Eleanor K. Bors, Antonio A. Mignucci-Giannoni, Brian R. Silliman, Dayne Buddo, Linda Searle, Edgardo Diaz-Ferguson
Analysis of body condition indices reveals different ecotypes of the Antillean manatee Analysis of body condition indices reveals different ecotypes of the Antillean manatee
Assessing the body condition of wild animals is necessary to monitor the health of the population and is critical to defining a framework for conservation actions. Body condition indices (BCIs) are a non-invasive and relatively simple means to assess the health of individual animals, useful for addressing a wide variety of ecological, behavioral, and management questions. The Antillean...
Authors
D. N. Castelblanco-Martinez, Daniel Slone, S. S. Landeo-Yauri, E. A. Ramos, Anmari Álvarez-Alemán, Fernanda L. N. Attademo, Cathy A. Beck, Robert K. Bonde, Susan M. Butler, L. J. Cabrias-Contreras, D. Caicedo-Herrera, Jamal Galves, I. V. Gomez-Camelo, D. Gonzalez-Socoloske, D. Jiménez-Domínguez, Fabia O. Luna, Y. Mona-Sanabria, J. B. Morales-Vela, L. D. Olivera-Gomez, Janneth Adriana Padilla-Saldivar, James A. Powell, James P. Reid, G. Rieucau, Antonio A. Mignucci-Gianonni
Machine learning can assign geologic basin to produced water samples using major ion geochemistry Machine learning can assign geologic basin to produced water samples using major ion geochemistry
Understanding the geochemistry of waters produced during petroleum extraction is essential to informing the best treatment and reuse options, which can potentially be optimized for a given geologic basin. Here, we used the US Geological Survey’s National Produced Waters Geochemical Database (PWGD) to determine if major ion chemistry could be used to classify accurately a produced water...
Authors
Jenna L. Shelton, Aaron M. Jubb, Samuel Saxe, Emil D. Attanasi, Alexei Milkov, Mark A Engle, Philip A. Freeman, Christopher Shaffer, Madalyn S. Blondes
Clays are not created equal: How clay mineral type affects soil parameterization Clays are not created equal: How clay mineral type affects soil parameterization
Clay minerals dominate the soil colloidal fraction and its specific surface area. Differences among clay mineral types significantly influence their effects on soil hydrological and mechanical behavior. Presently, the soil clay content is used to parameterize soil hydraulic and mechanical properties (SHMP) for land surface models while disregarding the type of clay mineral. This...
Authors
Peter Lehmann, Ben Leshchinsky, Surya Gupta, Benjamin B. Mirus, Samuel Bickel, Ning Lu, Dani Or
The Louisiana Amphibian Monitoring Program from 1997 to 2017: Results, analyses, and lessons learned The Louisiana Amphibian Monitoring Program from 1997 to 2017: Results, analyses, and lessons learned
To determine trends in either frog distribution or abundance in the State of Louisiana, we reviewed and analyzed frog call data from the Louisiana Amphibian Monitoring Program (LAMP). The data were collected between 1997 and 2017 using North American Amphibian Monitoring Program protocols. Louisiana was divided into three survey regions for administration and analysis: the Florida...
Authors
Jacoby Carter, Darren Johnson, Jeff Boundy, William Vermillion
Loss of ice cover, shifting phenology, and more extreme events in Northern Hemisphere lakes Loss of ice cover, shifting phenology, and more extreme events in Northern Hemisphere lakes
Long-term lake ice phenological records from around the Northern Hemisphere provide unique sensitive indicators of climatic variations, even prior to the existence of physical meteorological measurement stations. Here, we updated ice phenology records for 60 lakes with time-series ranging from 107–204 years to provide the first re-assessment of Northern Hemispheric ice trends since 2004...
Authors
Sapna Sharma, David Richardson, R. Iestyn Woolway, M.A. Imrit, Damien Bouffard, Kevin Blagrave, Julia Daly, Alessandro Filazzola, Nikolay Granin, Johanna Korhonen, John J. Magnuson, Wlodzimierz Marszelewski, Shin I Matsuzaki, William J. Perry, Dale M. Robertson, Lars G. Rudstam, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Huaxia Yao
Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation
The Arctic cryosphere is collapsing, posing overlapping environmental risks. In particular, thawing permafrost threatens to release biological, chemical and radioactive materials that have been sequestered for tens to hundreds of thousands of years. As these constituents re-enter the environment, they have the potential to disrupt ecosystem function, reduce the populations of unique...
Authors
Kimberly Miner, Rachel Mackelprang, Juliana D’Andrilli, Arwyn Edwards, Michael J. Malaska, Mark P. Waldrop, Charles E. Miller
Invasion frustration: Can biotic resistance explain the small geographic range of non-native croaking gourami Trichopsis vittata (Cuvier, 1831) in Florida, USA? Invasion frustration: Can biotic resistance explain the small geographic range of non-native croaking gourami Trichopsis vittata (Cuvier, 1831) in Florida, USA?
Croaking gourami Trichopsis vittata is a non-native fish species that has maintained a reproducing population in Florida, USA, since at least the 1970s. However, unlike most other non-native fishes in Florida, T. vittata has not spread beyond its very small (ca. 5 km²) range. We suspected the inability of T. vittata to colonize new habitats may be due to biotic resistance by the native...
Authors
Pam Schofield, Quenton M. Tuckett, Daniel Slone, Kristen Reaver, Jeffrey H. Hill