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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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Individual heterogeneity influences the effects of translocation on urban dispersal of an invasive reptile Individual heterogeneity influences the effects of translocation on urban dispersal of an invasive reptile
Background Invasive reptiles pose a serious threat to global biodiversity, but early detection of individuals in an incipient population is often hindered by their cryptic nature, sporadic movements, and variation among individuals. Little is known about the mechanisms that affect the movement of these species, which limits our understanding of their dispersal. Our aim was to determine...
Authors
Abigail B. Fueka, Melia G. Nafus, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Larissa L. Bailey, Mevin B. Hooten
Seed germination responses to salinity for three rare wetland plants of spring-fed arid systems Seed germination responses to salinity for three rare wetland plants of spring-fed arid systems
Spring-fed wetlands within arid systems host unique species of plants, many of which are threatened due to the vulnerability of these ecosystems. Increased salinity and drier hydrologic regimes due to anthropogenic activities threaten these systems. Furthermore, limited knowledge regarding key life history traits of species jeopardize the restoration and management of their rare plants...
Authors
Antonio Cantu de Leija, Sammy L. King, Tracy S. Hawkins
Geographic variation and thermal plasticity shape salamander metabolic rates under current and future climates Geographic variation and thermal plasticity shape salamander metabolic rates under current and future climates
Predicted changes in global temperature are expected to increase extinction risk for ectotherms, primarily through increased metabolic rates. Higher metabolic rates generate increased maintenance energy costs which are a major component of energy budgets. Organisms often employ plastic or evolutionary (e.g., local adaptation) mechanisms to optimize metabolic rate with respect to their...
Authors
D. J. Munoz, D. A. W. Miller, R. Schilder, Evan H. Campbell Grant
A machine learning approach to identify barriers in stream networks demonstrates high prevalence of unmapped riverine dams A machine learning approach to identify barriers in stream networks demonstrates high prevalence of unmapped riverine dams
Restoring stream ecosystem integrity by removing unused or derelict dams has become a priority for watershed conservation globally. However, efforts to restore connectivity are constrained by the availability of accurate dam inventories which often overlook smaller unmapped riverine dams. Here we develop and test a machine learning approach to identify unmapped dams using a combination...
Authors
Brian Buchanan, Suresh Sethi, Scott Cuppett, Megan Lung, George Jackman, Liam Zarri, Ethan Duvall, Jeremy Dietrich, Patrick Sullivan, Alon Dominitz, Josephine Archibald, Alexander Flecker, Brian Rahm
A comparison of orbital-resolution, Late Pleistocene Alkenone and foraminiferal assemblage-based sea surface temperature reconstructions from the Southwest Pacific A comparison of orbital-resolution, Late Pleistocene Alkenone and foraminiferal assemblage-based sea surface temperature reconstructions from the Southwest Pacific
Global and regional reconstructions of past climate conditions often incorporate sea surface temperature (SST) estimates from multiple proxies because not every paleotemperature proxy is applicable in all geographic locations. This practice of assimilating estimates from different proxies in global or regional temperature syntheses makes the implicit assumption that estimates derived...
Authors
Emilie A. Henry, Kira T. Lawrence, Laura C. Peterson, Marci M. Robinson
Differences in population characteristics and modeled response to harvest regulations in reestablished Appalachian Walleye populations Differences in population characteristics and modeled response to harvest regulations in reestablished Appalachian Walleye populations
Historically, the Monongahela, Tygart, and Cheat River watersheds in West Virginia were impaired by acidification from acid mine drainage and Walleye Sander vitreus were extirpated from these watersheds by the 1940s. Walleye were reestablished after water quality improvements following passage of environmental legislation and subsequent reintroduction efforts. We compared population
Authors
Dustin M. Smith, Corbin D. Hilling, Stuart A. Welsh, David I. Wellman Jr.
Similar environmental conditions are associated with Walleye and Yellow Perch recruitment success in Wisconsin lakes Similar environmental conditions are associated with Walleye and Yellow Perch recruitment success in Wisconsin lakes
Since the mid-2000s, recruitment of Walleye Sander vitreus in some northern Wisconsin lakes has declined, potentially because of climate-induced changes in lake environments. Yellow Perch Perca flavescens is also an ecologically and culturally important fish species in this region, but mechanisms driving Yellow Perch recruitment are unclear because of a lack of targeted sampling...
Authors
Ethan J. Brandt, Zachary S. Feiner, Alexander W. Latzka, Daniel A. Isermann
Wildfire effects on mass and thermal tolerance of Hydropsyche oslari (Trichoptera) in southwestern USA montane grassland streams Wildfire effects on mass and thermal tolerance of Hydropsyche oslari (Trichoptera) in southwestern USA montane grassland streams
Large-scale disturbances, such as wildfire, can markedly affect streams for years. As terrestrial areas within a watershed slowly recover, stream environments and biota can experience repeated and long-lasting challenges. In 2011, the Las Conchas wildfire burned 1/3 of the Valles Caldera National Preserve in northern New Mexico, USA. Seven y post-fire, streams located near the burn...
Authors
Lauren Kremer, Colleen A. Caldwell
Drivers, dynamics and impacts of changing Arctic coasts Drivers, dynamics and impacts of changing Arctic coasts
Arctic coasts are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels and the loss of permafrost, sea ice and glaciers. Assessing the influence of anthropogenic warming on Arctic coastal dynamics, however, is challenged by the limited availability of observational, oceanographic and environmental data. Yet, with the majority of permafrost coasts being erosive...
Authors
Anna M. Irrgang, Mette Bendixen, Louise M. Farquharson, Alisa V. Baranskaya, Li H. Erikson, Ann E. Gibbs, Stanislav A. Ogorodov, Pier Paul Overduin, Hugues Lantuit, Mikhail N. Grigoriev, Benjamin M. Jones
Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands Nutrient identity modifies the destabilising effects of eutrophication in grasslands
Nutrient enrichment can simultaneously increase and destabilise plant biomass production, with co-limitation by multiple nutrients potentially intensifying these effects. Here, we test how factorial additions of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium with essential nutrients (K+) affect the stability (mean/standard deviation) of aboveground biomass in 34 grasslands over 7 years
Authors
Oliver Carroll, Evan Batzer, Siddharth Bharath, Elizabeth T. Borer, Sofia Campana, Ellen Esch, Yann Hautier, Timothy Ohlert, Eric W. Seabloom, Peter B. Adler, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori A. Biederman, Miguel N. Bugalho, Maria Caldeira, Qingqing Chen, Kendi F. Davies, Philip A. Fay, Johannes M. H. Knops, Kimberly Komatsu, Jason P. Martina, Kevin S. McCann, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Taofeek O. Muraina, Brooke Bossert Osborne, Anita C. Risch, Carly J. Stevens, Peter A. Wilfahrt, Laura Yahdjian, Andrew S. MacDougall
Multi-year, spatially extensive, watershed-scale synoptic stream chemistry and water quality conditions for six permafrost-underlain Arctic watersheds Multi-year, spatially extensive, watershed-scale synoptic stream chemistry and water quality conditions for six permafrost-underlain Arctic watersheds
Repeated sampling of spatially distributed river chemistry can be used to assess the location, scale, and persistence of carbon and nutrient contributions to watershed exports. Here, we provide a comprehensive set of water chemistry measurements and ecohydrological metrics describing the biogeochemical conditions of permafrost-affected Arctic watersheds. These data were collected in...
Authors
Arial Shogren, Jay P. Zarnetske, Benjamin Abbott, Samuel P. Bratsman, Brian C. Brown, Michael P. Carey, Randy Fulweiber, Heather Greaves, Emma Haines, Frances Iannucci, Joshua C. Koch, Alex Medvedeff, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Leika Patch, Brett Poulin, Tanner J. Williamson, William B. Bowden
Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum” Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum”
Madsen et al. question the reliability of calibrated radiocarbon ages associated with human footprints discovered recently in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA. On the basis of the geologic, hydrologic, stratigraphic, and chronologic evidence, we maintain that the ages are robust and conclude that the footprints date to between ~23,000 and 21,000 years ago.Madsen et al. (1)...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos, Thomas M. Urban, Vance T. Holliday, Sally C. Reynolds, Daniel Odess