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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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Cohort strength and body size in co-occurring salmonids in a small stream network: Variation in space and time Cohort strength and body size in co-occurring salmonids in a small stream network: Variation in space and time
Trout and salmon commonly coexist in stream networks. Exploring similarities and differences among species can help explain coexistence and invasive ability. Here, we describe spatial distribution, cohort strengths and size-at-age of three co-occurring species in a small stream network. Spatial distributions varied dramatically among species; native brook trout occupied all stream...
Authors
Benjamin Letcher, Keith H. Nislow, Matthew O’Donnell, Andrew R. Whiteley, Jason A. Coombs, Todd L. Dubreuil
Magnetotelluric sampling and geoelectric hazard estimation: Are national-scale surveys sufficient? Magnetotelluric sampling and geoelectric hazard estimation: Are national-scale surveys sufficient?
At present, the most reliable information for inferring storm-time ground electric fields along electrical transmission lines comes from coarsely sampled, national-scale magnetotelluric (MT) data sets, such as that provided by the EarthScope USArray program. An underlying assumption in the use of such data is that they adequately sample the spatial heterogeneity of the surface...
Authors
Benjamin Scott Murphy, Greg M. Lucas, Jeffrey J. Love, Anna Kelbert, Paul A. Bedrosian, E. Joshua Rigler
Experimental warming differentially affects vegetative and reproductive phenology of tundra plants Experimental warming differentially affects vegetative and reproductive phenology of tundra plants
Rapid climate warming is altering Arctic and alpine tundra ecosystem structure and function, including shifts in plant phenology. While the advancement of green up and flowering are well-documented, it remains unclear whether all phenophases, particularly those later in the season, will shift in unison or respond divergently to warming. Here, we present the largest synthesis to our...
Authors
Courtney G. Collins, Sarah Claire Elmendorf, Robert D. Hollister, Greg Henry, Karin Clark, Anne Bjorkman, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Janet S. Prevey, Isabel Ashton, Jakob J. Assmann, Juha Alatalo, Michele Carbognani, Chelsea Chisholm, Elisabeth J. Cooper, Chiara, Ingibjorg Svala Jonsdottir, Kari Klanderud, Christopher Kopp, Carolyn Livensperger, Marguerite Mauritz, Jeremy May, Ulf Molau, Steven F. Oberbaeur, Emily Ogburn, Zoe Panchen, Alessandro Petraglia, Eric Post, Christian Rixen, Heidi Rodenhizer, Ted Schuur, Phillip Semenchuk, Jane G. Smith, Heidi Steltzer, Ørjan Totland, Marilyn Walker, Jeffrey Welker, Katharine N. Suding
The PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm: A retrospective case study of West Coast, USA, data The PLUM earthquake early warning algorithm: A retrospective case study of West Coast, USA, data
The PLUM (Propagation of Local Undamped Motion) earthquake early warning (EEW) algorithm differs from typical source-based EEW algorithms as it predicts shaking directly from observed shaking without first deriving earthquake source information (e.g., magnitude and epicenter). Here, we determine optimal PLUM event detection thresholds for U.S. West Coast earthquakes using two data sets...
Authors
Debi Kilb, Julian J Bunn, Jessie Kate Saunders, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Sarah E. Minson, Annemarie S. Baltay Sundstrom, Colin T O’Rourke, Mitsuyuki Hoshiba, Yuki Kodera
Abundance of Gulf Coast Waterdogs (Necturus beyeri) along Bayou Lacombe, Saint Tammany Parish, Louisiana Abundance of Gulf Coast Waterdogs (Necturus beyeri) along Bayou Lacombe, Saint Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Few ecological studies have been conducted on Gulf Coast Waterdogs (Necturus beyeri), and published studies have focused on relatively small stream sections of 125 m to 1.75 km. In 2015, we sampled 25 sites along a 13.4-km stretch of Bayou Lacombe (Saint Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA) to better understand factors that may influence the distribution of Gulf Coast Waterdogs within streams...
Authors
Brad Glorioso, Hardin Waddle, Lindy J. Muse, Sidney T Godfrey
Population estimates and trends of three Maui Island-endemic Hawaiian Honeycreepers Population estimates and trends of three Maui Island-endemic Hawaiian Honeycreepers
Population monitoring is critical for informing the management and conservation of rare Hawaiian forest birds. In 2017, we used point-transect distance sampling methods to estimate population densities of birds on Haleakalā Volcano on east Maui island. We estimated the populations and ranges of three island-endemic Hawaiian honeycreepers, including the endangered ‘Ākohekohe (Palmeria...
Authors
Seth Judge, Christopher C Warren, Richard J. Camp, Laura K Berthold, Hanna L. Mounce, Patrick J. Hart, Ryan J. Monello
A review of sand detachment in modern deep marine environments: Analogues for upslope stratigraphic traps A review of sand detachment in modern deep marine environments: Analogues for upslope stratigraphic traps
Isolated, detached sands provide opportunities for large-volume stratigraphic traps in many deepwater petroleum systems. Here we provide a review of the different types of sandbody detachments based on published data from the modern-day seafloor and recent (generally Quaternary-present), shallow-buried strata. Detachment mechanisms can be classified based on their timing of formation...
Authors
John W. Counts, Lawrence Amy, Aggeliki Georgiopoulou, Peter Haughton
Identification of Aphanomyces invadans, the cause of epizootic ulcerative syndrome, in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Cheat River, West Virginia, USA Identification of Aphanomyces invadans, the cause of epizootic ulcerative syndrome, in smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) from the Cheat River, West Virginia, USA
The oomycete Aphanomyces invadans (Saprolegniales, Oomycetes), the cause of epizootic ulcerative syndrome (EUS), is an OIE (World Organization for Animal Health) reportable pathogen, capable of infecting many fish species worldwide in both freshwater and estuarine environments (Iberahim et al. 2018). Since the discovery of EUS in Japan in 1971 (Egusa and Masuda 1971), it has spread...
Authors
Heather L. Walsh, Vicki S. Blazer, Patricia M. Mazik
Caution is warranted when using animal space-use and movement to infer behavioral states Caution is warranted when using animal space-use and movement to infer behavioral states
Background Identifying the behavioral state for wild animals that can’t be directly observed is of growing interest to the ecological community. Advances in telemetry technology and statistical methodologies allow researchers to use space-use and movement metrics to infer the underlying, latent, behavioral state of an animal without direct observations. For example, researchers studying...
Authors
Frances E. Buderman, Tess M. Gingery, Duane R. Diefenbach, Laura C. Gigliotti, Danielle Begley-Miller, Marc E. McDill, Bret D. Wallingford, Christopher S. Rosenberry, Patrick J. Drohan
Diet composition and body condition of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to sea ice habitat in the Canadian High Arctic Diet composition and body condition of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in relation to sea ice habitat in the Canadian High Arctic
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely on sea ice for hunting marine mammal prey. Declining sea ice conditions associated with climate warming have negatively affected polar bears, especially in the southern portion of their range. At higher latitudes, the transition from multi-year ice to thinner annual ice has been hypothesized to increase biological productivity and potentially improve...
Authors
Katie R. N. Florko, Gregory W. Thiemann, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, Evan S. Richardson
Lateral shoreline erosion and shore-proximal sediment deposition on a coastal marsh from seasonal, storm and decadal measurements Lateral shoreline erosion and shore-proximal sediment deposition on a coastal marsh from seasonal, storm and decadal measurements
The persistence of coastal marsh is dependent on its ability to maintain elevation relative to sea level, particularly for marshes experiencing high rates of shoreline erosion due to wave-attack, storms, and sea level rise. Sediments eroded at the marsh edge are either delivered onto the marsh platform or into the estuary, the latter resulting in a net loss of marsh sediments and soil...
Authors
Kathryn E.L. Smith, Joseph F. Terrano, Nicole S. Khan, Christopher G. Smith, Jonathan L Pitchford
The biophysical role of water and ice within permafrost nearing collapse: Insights from novel geophysical observations The biophysical role of water and ice within permafrost nearing collapse: Insights from novel geophysical observations
The impact of permafrost thaw on hydrologic, thermal, and biotic processes remains uncertain, in part due to limitations in subsurface measurement capabilities. To better understand subsurface processes in thermokarst environments, we collocated geophysical and biogeochemical instruments along a thaw gradient between forested permafrost and collapse-scar bogs at the Alaska Peatland...
Authors
Stephanie R. James, Burke J. Minsley, Jack McFarland, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Colin W. Edgar, Mark Waldrop