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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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Pathways of productivity and influences on top consumers in forested streams Pathways of productivity and influences on top consumers in forested streams
Forested stream ecosystems involve complex physical and biotic pathways that can influence fish in numerous ways. Consequently, the responses of fish communities to disturbance can be difficult to understand. In this study, we employed a food web model that links biotic (e.g., physiology, predator–prey interactions) and abiotic (e.g., temperature, sunlight) attributes to address fish...
Authors
Joseph R. Benjamin, Jason B. Dunham, Sherri L Johnson, Linda Ashkenas, Brooke E Penaluna, Robert E Bilby, Douglas S. Bateman, David W. Leer, James R Bellmore
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
Sex‐related differences in aging rate are associated with sex chromosome system in amphibians Sex‐related differences in aging rate are associated with sex chromosome system in amphibians
Sex‐related differences in mortality are widespread in the animal kingdom. Although studies have shown that sex determination systems might drive lifespan evolution, sex chromosome influence on aging rates have not been investigated so far, likely due to an apparent lack of demographic data from clades including both XY (with heterogametic males) and ZW (heterogametic females) systems...
Authors
Hugo Cayuela, Jean-François Lemaître, Jean-Paul Léna, Victor Ronget, Inigo Martinez-Solano, Erin L. Muths, David S. Pilliod, Benedikt Schmidt, Gregorio Sanchez-Montes, Jorge Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Graham Pyke, Kurt Grossenbacher, Omar Lenzi, Jaime Bosch, Karen H. Beard, Lawrence L. Woolbright, Brad A. Lambert, David M. Green, Justin M Garwood, Robert N. Fisher, Kathleen Matthews, David Dudgeon, Anthony Lau, Jeroen Speybroeck, Rebecca Homan, Robert Jehle, Eyup Baskale, Emiliano Mori, Jan W. Arntzen, Pierre Joly, Rochelle Stiles, Michael J Lannoo, John C. Maerz, Winsor H. Lowe, Andres Valenzuela-Sanchez, Ditte Christianson, Claudio Angelini, Jean-Marc Thirion, Juha Merila, Guarino R. Colli, Mariana M. Vasconcellos, Taissa C. Boas, Isis da C. Arantes, Pauline Levionnois, Beth A. Reinke, Cristina Vieira, Gabriel A. B. Marais, Jean-Michael Gaillard, David A.W. Miller
Galliform exclusion from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has produced an alternate conservation path, but no evidence for differences in population status Galliform exclusion from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act has produced an alternate conservation path, but no evidence for differences in population status
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) is critical to avian conservation in the United States, both through its protection of migratory birds and as a catalyst for a century of coordinated avian conservation. While more than 1,000 species are protected by MBTA, of extant bird species native to the continental U.S., only 20 species belonging to the order Galliformes are explicitly excluded
Authors
Erik J. Blomberg, Beth Ross, Casey J. Cardinal, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Daniel Gibson, Adrian P. Monroe, P Schwalenberg
Modelling physiological costs to assess impacts of climate change on amphibians in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A Modelling physiological costs to assess impacts of climate change on amphibians in Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A
Amphibians are vital elements of ecosystems, serving as predator and prey. Their biphasic nature makes them dependent on aquatic and terrestrial habitats; as wet-skinned ectotherms, they are vulnerable to a range of environmental threats, including climate change. Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is becoming warmer and drier, and some wetlands important to amphibians have diminished...
Authors
Paul E. Bartelt, Peter E. Thornton, Robert W. Klaver
Estimating bee abundance: Can mark-recapture methods validate common sampling protocols? Estimating bee abundance: Can mark-recapture methods validate common sampling protocols?
Wild bees are essential pollinators in natural and agricultural systems, but populations of some species have declined. Efforts to assess the status of wild bees are hindered by uncertainty in common sampling methods, such as pan traps and aerial netting, which may or may not provide a valid index of abundance across species and habitats. Mark-recapture methods are a common and effective...
Authors
Emma L. Briggs, Christopher Baranski, Olivia Munzer Schaetz, Gabriela Garrison, Elsa Youngsteadt, Jaime A. Collazo
Characterizing the oral and distal gut microbiota of the threatened southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) to enhance conservation practice Characterizing the oral and distal gut microbiota of the threatened southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) to enhance conservation practice
The southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) is a threatened sub-species in coastal ecosystems. To understand better the role of diet, monitor health, and enhance management of this and other marine mammal species, we characterized the oral (gingival) and distal gut (rectal and fecal) microbiota of 158 wild southern sea otters living off the coast of central California, USA, and 12...
Authors
Natasha K Dudek, Alexandra D Switzer, Elizabeth K Costello, Michael J. Murray, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Michelle M. Staedler, M. Tim Tinker, D. Relman
Loss of phylogenetic diversity under landscape change Loss of phylogenetic diversity under landscape change
Habitat alteration and destruction are primary drivers of biodiversity loss. However, the evolutionary dimensions of biodiversity loss remain largely unexplored in many systems. For example, little is known about how habitat alteration/loss can lead to phylogenetic deconstruction of ecological assemblages at the local level. That is, while species loss is evident, are some lineages...
Authors
Christopher M. Swan, Matthew Baker, Dorothy Borowy, Anna Johnson, Mariya Shcheglovitova, April Sparkman, Francisco V. Neto, Molly Van Appledorn, Nicole Voelker
The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs The impacts of mangrove range expansion on wetland ecosystem services in the southeastern United States: Current understanding, knowledge gaps, and emerging research needs
Climate change is transforming ecosystems and affecting ecosystem goods and services. Along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the southeastern United States, the frequency and intensity of extreme freeze events greatly influences whether coastal wetlands are dominated by freeze-sensitive woody plants (mangrove forests) or freeze-tolerant grass-like plants (salt marshes). In...
Authors
Michael Osland, A. Randall Hughes, Anna R. Armitage, Steven B. Scyphers, Just Cebrian, Savannah H. Swinea, Christine C. Shepard, Michael S. Allen, Laura Feher, James A. Nelson, Cherie L. O’Brien, Colt R. Sanspree, Delbert L. Smee, Caitlin M. Snyder, Andrew P. Stetter, Philip W. Stevens, Kathleen M. Swanson, Lauren H. Williams, Janell M. Brush, Joseph Marchionno, Remi Bardou
Temporal trends in macroscopic indicators of fish health in the South Branch of the Potomac River Temporal trends in macroscopic indicators of fish health in the South Branch of the Potomac River
Over recent decades, the South Branch of the Potomac River, WV, has experienced fish kills and episodes of suppressed health in adult fishes that have spanned small stretches to nearly 120 km of contiguous habitat. Although factors such as endocrine disruption, chemical contaminants, and infectious agents have been detected, no single causal mechanism has been identified. To gain...
Authors
Brandon J. Keplinger, James Hedrick, Vicki S. Blazer
Explosive activity on Kilauea’s Lower East Rift Zone fueled by a volatile-rich, dacitic melt Explosive activity on Kilauea’s Lower East Rift Zone fueled by a volatile-rich, dacitic melt
Magmas with matrix glass compositions ranging from basalt to dacite erupted from a series of 24 fissures in the first two weeks of the 2018 Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) eruption of Kīlauea Volcano. Eruption styles ranged from low spattering and fountaining to strombolian activity. Major element trajectories in matrix glasses and melt inclusions hosted by olivine, pyroxene and plagioclase...
Authors
Penny E. Wieser, Marie Edmonds, Cheryl Gansecki, John Maclennan, Frances E. Jenner, Barbara Kunz, Paula Antoshechkina, Frank A. Trusdell, R. Lopaka Lee
Cross-platform analysis of public responses to the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence on Twitter and Reddit Cross-platform analysis of public responses to the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquake sequence on Twitter and Reddit
Online social networks (OSNs) have become a powerful tool to study collective human responses to extreme events such as earthquakes. Most previous research concentrated on a single platform and utilized users’ behaviors on a single platform to study people’s general responses. In this study, we explore the characteristics of people’s behaviors on different OSNs and conduct a cross...
Authors
Tao Ruan, Qingkai Kong, Sara K. McBride, Amatullah Sethjiwala, Qin Lv