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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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Potential effect of low-rise, downcast artificial lights on nocturnally migrating land birds Potential effect of low-rise, downcast artificial lights on nocturnally migrating land birds

Artificial light at night (ALAN) on tall or upward-pointed lighting installations affects the flight behavior of night-migrating birds. We hypothesized that common low-rise lights pointing downward also affect the movement of nocturnal migrants. We predicted that birds in flight will react close to low-rise lights, and be attracted and grounded near light sources, with a stronger effect...
Authors
Sergio A. Cabrera-Cruz, Ronald P. Larkin, Maren E. Gimpel, James G. Gruber, Theodore J. Zenzal, Jeffrey J. Buler

Managing for RADical ecosystem change: Applying the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework Managing for RADical ecosystem change: Applying the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework

Ecosystem transformation involves the emergence of persistent ecological or social–ecological systems that diverge, dramatically and irreversibly, from prior ecosystem structure and function. Such transformations are occurring at increasing rates across the planet in response to changes in climate, land use, and other factors. Consequently, a dynamic view of ecosystem processes that...
Authors
Abigail J. Lynch, Laura Thompson, Erik A. Beever, Augustin C. Engman, Cat Hawkins Hoffman, Stephen T. Jackson, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, David J Lawrence, Douglas Limpinsel, Robert T. Magill, Tracy Melvin, John M. Morton, Robert Newman, Jay Peterson, Mark T. Porath, Frank J. Rahel, Gregor Schuurman, Suresh Sethi, Jennifer L. Wilkening

Distilling professional opinion to gauge vulnerability of Guam avifauna to Brown Treesnake predation Distilling professional opinion to gauge vulnerability of Guam avifauna to Brown Treesnake predation

The avifauna of Guam was devastated by the introduction of the Brown Treesnake, and the restoration of native birds would need to address the problem with eradication or suppression of BTS. With eradication of the snake unlikely in the near term, and suppression capabilities limited to specific finite areas, key information for reintroductions is how low BTS abundance will likely need to...
Authors
Robert McElderry, Eben H. Paxton, An Nguyen, Shane R. Siers

Genetic diversity is considered important but interpreted narrowly in country reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity: Current actions and indicators are insufficient Genetic diversity is considered important but interpreted narrowly in country reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity: Current actions and indicators are insufficient

International agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have committed to conserve, and sustainably and equitably use, biodiversity. The CBD is a vital instrument for global conservation because it guides 195 countries and the European Union in setting priorities and allocating resources, and requires regular reporting on progress. However, the CBD and similar...
Authors
Sean M. Hoban, Catriona D. Campbell, Jessica M. da Silva, Robert Ekblom, W. Chris Funk, Brittany A. Garner, Jose A. Godoy, Francine Kershaw, Anna J. MacDonald, Joachim Mergeay, Melissa Minter, David O'Brien, Ivan Paz Vinas, Sarah K. Pearson, Silvia Perez-Espona, Kevin M. Potter, Isa-Rita M. Russo, Gernot Segelbacher, Cristiano Vernesi, Margaret Hunter

Investigation of scale-dependent groundwater/surface-water exchange in rivers by gradient self-potential logging: Numerical modeling and field experiments Investigation of scale-dependent groundwater/surface-water exchange in rivers by gradient self-potential logging: Numerical modeling and field experiments

Exchanges of groundwater and surface-water are fundamental to a wide range of water-supply and water-quality management issues but challenging to map beyond the reach scale. Waterborne gradient self-potential (SP) measurements are directly sensitive to water flow through riverbed sediments and can be used to infer exchange locations, direction (gain versus loss), scale, and relative...
Authors
Scott Ikard, Martin A. Briggs, John W. Lane

A Bayesian nonparametric approach to unmixing detrital geochronologic data A Bayesian nonparametric approach to unmixing detrital geochronologic data

Sedimentary deposits constitute the primary record of changing environmental conditions that have acted on Earth’s surface over geologic time. Clastic material is eroded from source locations (parents) in sediment routing systems and deposited at sink locations (children). Both parents and children have characteristics that vary across many different dimensions, including grain size...
Authors
John R. Tipton, Glenn R. Sharman, Samuel Johnstone

Distributed memory parallel groundwater modeling for the Netherlands Hydrological Instrument Distributed memory parallel groundwater modeling for the Netherlands Hydrological Instrument

Worldwide, billions of people rely on fresh groundwater reserves for their domestic, agricultural and industrial water use. Extreme droughts and excessive groundwater pumping put pressure on water authorities in maintaining sustainable water usage. High-resolution integrated models are valuable assets in supporting them. The Netherlands Hydrological Instrument (NHI) provides the Dutch...
Authors
Jarno Verkaik, Joseph D. Hughes, van Walsum, G.H.P. Oude Essink, H.X. Lin, M.F.P. Bierkens

Factors influencing distributional shifts and abundance at the range core of a climate-sensitive mammal Factors influencing distributional shifts and abundance at the range core of a climate-sensitive mammal

Species are frequently responding to contemporary climate change by shifting to higher elevations and poleward to track suitable climate space. However, depending on local conditions and species’ sensitivity, the nature of these shifts can be highly variable and difficult to predict. Here, we examine how the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a philopatric, montane lagomorph, responds to...
Authors
Peter D Billman, Erik A. Beever, Dave B. McWethy, Lindsey Thurman, Kenny C Wilson

Robust earthquake early warning at a fraction of the cost: ASTUTI Costa Rica Robust earthquake early warning at a fraction of the cost: ASTUTI Costa Rica

We show that a fixed smartphone network can provide robust Earthquake Early Warning for at least two orders of magnitude less cost than scientific-grade networks. Our software and cloud-based data architecture that we have constructed for the Alerta Sismica Temprana Utilizando Teléfonos Inteligentes (ASTUTI; Earthquake Early Warning Utilizing Smartphones) network in Costa Rica is easily...
Authors
Benjamin A. Brooks, Marino Protti, Todd Ericksen, Julian Bunn, Floribeth Vega, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Chris Duncan, Jonathan Avery, Sarah E. Minson, Esteban J. Chaves, Juan Carlos Baez, James H. Foster, Craig L. Glennie

Juvenile moose stress and nutrition dynamics related to winter ticks, landscape characteristics, climate-mediated factors and survival Juvenile moose stress and nutrition dynamics related to winter ticks, landscape characteristics, climate-mediated factors and survival

Moose populations in the northeastern United States have declined over the past 15 years, primarily due to the impacts of winter ticks. Research efforts have focused on the effects of winter tick infestation on moose survival and reproduction, but stress and nutritional responses to ticks and other stressors remain understudied. We examined the influence of several environmental factors...
Authors
Elias Rosenblatt, Jacob Debow, Joshua Blouin, Therese M. Donovan, James Murdoch, Scott Creel, Will Rogers, Katherina Gieder, Nick Fortin, Cedric Alexander

Detrital zircon record of magmatism and sediment dispersal across the North American Cordilleran arc system (28-48°N) Detrital zircon record of magmatism and sediment dispersal across the North American Cordilleran arc system (28-48°N)

As zircon U-Pb geochronology has become a leading method in sediment provenance studies and basin analysis over the past 20 years, the volume of detrital zircon data made available in published literature has enabled researchers to go beyond source-to-sink provenance studies to explore increasingly complex geologic problems. In this review, we utilize the growing body of detrital zircon...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Kathleen D. Surpless, Joseph P. Colgan, Samuel Johnstone, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma

Wastewater disposal has not significantly altered the regional stress state in southern Kansas Wastewater disposal has not significantly altered the regional stress state in southern Kansas

Wastewater disposal is primarily responsible for the increased seismicity rate since ~2013 in southern Kansas. Previous work that used shear wave splitting (SWS) in southern Kansas interpreted a ~90º temporal rotation in the fast polarization direction and attributed it to increased pore pressures resulting from fluid injection. However, this interpreted rotation coincided with a change...
Authors
Robert Skoumal, Elizabeth S. Cochran
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