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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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Identification of the Gulf of Mexico as an important high-use habitat for leatherback turtles from Central America Identification of the Gulf of Mexico as an important high-use habitat for leatherback turtles from Central America
Endangered leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are wide-ranging, long-distance migrants whose movements are often associated with environmental cues. We examined the spatial distribution and habitat use for 33 satellite-tracked leatherbacks from nesting beaches on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Panama from 2004 to 2018, an important nesting population for the...
Authors
D.R. Evans, R.A. Valverde, C. Ordonez, Raymond R. Carthy
The response of streams in the Adirondack region of New York to projected changes in sulfur and nitrogen deposition under changing climate The response of streams in the Adirondack region of New York to projected changes in sulfur and nitrogen deposition under changing climate
Modeling studies project that in the future surface waters in the northeast US will continue to recover from acidification over decades following reductions in atmospheric sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions. However, these studies generally assume stationary climatic conditions over the simulation period and ignore the linkages between soil and surface water recovery from acid...
Authors
Shuai Shao, Douglas A. Burns, Huizhong Shen, Yilin Chen, Armistead G Russell, Charles T. Driscoll
Merging scientific silos: Integrating specialized approaches for thinking about and using spatial data that can provide new directions for persistent fisheries problems Merging scientific silos: Integrating specialized approaches for thinking about and using spatial data that can provide new directions for persistent fisheries problems
By merging our specialization silos, fisheries professionals can expand the options that are available to them to address difficult fisheries and aquatic conservation problems, which require an understanding of spatial patterns in geographically large systems. Our purpose is to start a profession-wide conversation about additional ways to think about and use spatial data. We use case...
Authors
Martha E. Mather, Joseph M. Smith, Kayla M. Boles, Ryland Taylor, Cristina Kennedy, Sean M. Hitchman, Jane S. Rogosch, Holly Frank
Miocene phosphatization of rocks from the summit of Rio Grande Rise, Southwest Atlantic Ocean Miocene phosphatization of rocks from the summit of Rio Grande Rise, Southwest Atlantic Ocean
Marine phosphorites are an important part of the oceanic phosphorus cycle and are related to the effects of long-term global climate changes. We use petrography, mineralogy, rare earth elements contents, and 87Sr/86Sr-determined carbonate fluorapatite (CFA) and calcite ages to investigate the paragenesis and history of phosphatization of carbonate sediments, limestones, ferromanganese...
Authors
Mariana Benites, James R. Hein, Kira Mizell, Luigi Jovane
Efficiency of bioaerosol samplers: A comparison study Efficiency of bioaerosol samplers: A comparison study
Bioaerosols, including bacteria and fungi, are ubiquitous and have been shown to impact various organisms as well as biogeochemical cycles and human health. However, sample collection poses a challenge for aeromicrobiologists and can determine the success of a study. Establishing a standard collection procedure for bioaerosol sampling could help advance the field. We tested the...
Authors
Esra Mescioglu, Adina Paytan, Bailey W. Mitchell, Dale W. Griffin
Estimates of abundance and harvest rates of female black bears across a large spatial extent Estimates of abundance and harvest rates of female black bears across a large spatial extent
American black bears (Ursus americanus) are an iconic wildlife species in the southern Appalachian highlands of the eastern United States and have increased in number and range since the early 1980s. Given an increasing number of human-bear conflicts in the region, many management agencies have liberalized harvest regulations to reduce bear populations to socially acceptable levels...
Authors
Jacob Humm, Joseph D. Clark
Tandem field and laboratory approaches to quantify attenuation mechanisms of pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical transformation products in a wastewater effluent-dominated stream Tandem field and laboratory approaches to quantify attenuation mechanisms of pharmaceutical and pharmaceutical transformation products in a wastewater effluent-dominated stream
Evolving complex mixtures of pharmaceuticals and transformation products in effluent-dominated streams pose potential impacts to aquatic species; thus, understanding the attenuation dynamics in the field and characterizing the prominent attenuation mechanisms of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products (TPs) is critical for hazard assessments. Herein, we determined the...
Authors
Hui Zhi, Alyssa L Mianecki, Dana W. Kolpin, Rebecca D. Klaper, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Gregory H. LeFevre
A new composite abundance metric detects stream fish declines and community homogenization during six decades of invasions A new composite abundance metric detects stream fish declines and community homogenization during six decades of invasions
Aim We developed a new technique, utilizing species-specific counts of individuals from historical fish community samples, to examine landscape-level, spatio-temporal trends in relative abundance distributions. Abundance-based historical distribution analyses are often plagued by data comparability issues, but provide critical information about community composition trends inaccessible...
Authors
Logan J. Sleezer, Paul L. Angermeier, Emmanuel A. Frimpong, Bryan L. Brown
Accounting for dispersal and local habitat when evaluating tributary use by riverine fishes Accounting for dispersal and local habitat when evaluating tributary use by riverine fishes
Conservation practitioners increasingly recognize the conservation value of tributaries for supporting mainstem, large-river specialist fishes. A tributarys discharge at its mouth is a coarse indicator of large-river specialist fishes found within the tributary, but the relative influences of regional dispersal and local habitat underpinning this species-discharge relationship is often...
Authors
Corey G. Dunn, Craig P. Paukert
Changes in organic carbon source and storage with sea level rise-induced transgression in a Chesapeake Bay marsh Changes in organic carbon source and storage with sea level rise-induced transgression in a Chesapeake Bay marsh
Organic matter (OM) accumulation in marsh soils affects marsh survival under rapid sea-level rise (SLR). This work describes the changing organic geochemistry of a salt marsh located in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge on the eastern shore of Chesapeake Bay that has transgressed inland with SLR over the past 35–75 years. Marsh soils and vegetation were sampled along an elevation...
Authors
Rachel Van Allen, Kathryn M. Schreiner, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Joseph A. Carlin
Assessing potential stock structure of adult Coho Salmon in a small Alaska watershed: Quantifying run timing, spawning locations, and holding areas with radiotelemetry Assessing potential stock structure of adult Coho Salmon in a small Alaska watershed: Quantifying run timing, spawning locations, and holding areas with radiotelemetry
Run timing and spatial locations of spawning habitats are often used to identify stocks for conservation planning or management of salmonid fishes. Although complex stock structure is most common within large watersheds with diverse habitats, even small drainages can produce multiple co-occurring spatially or temporally isolated populations or “stocks.” This project sought to address the...
Authors
M. E. Stratton, H. Finkle, Jeffrey A. Falke, P. A. H. Westley
Dynamics of green and blue water supply stress index across major global cropland basins Dynamics of green and blue water supply stress index across major global cropland basins
Global food and water insecurity could be serious problems in the upcoming decades with growing demands from the increasing global population and more frequent effect of climatic extremes. As the available water resources are diminishing and facing continuous stress, it is crucial to monitor water demand and water availability to understand the associated water stresses. This study...
Authors
Kul Bikram Khand, Gabriel B. Senay, Stefanie Kagone, Gabriel Edwin Lee Parrish