Articles
Science Quality and Integrity
The USGS provides unbiased, objective, and impartial scientific information upon which our audiences, including resource managers, planners, and other entities, rely.
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.
Filter Total Items: 78958
Setting and tracking suppression targets for sea lampreys in the Great Lakes Setting and tracking suppression targets for sea lampreys in the Great Lakes
In response to invasive species, the course of action taken by management agencies often evolves over a range of options from a do-nothing approach to suppression to complete eradication. As a case study of suppression targets, we explore the history of approaches used by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in response to the invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by sea lampreys...
Authors
Ted Treska, Mark P. Ebener, Gavin Christie, Jean V. Adams, Michael J Siefkes
Hydrogeomorphic recovery and temporal changes in rainfall thresholds for debris flows following wildfire Hydrogeomorphic recovery and temporal changes in rainfall thresholds for debris flows following wildfire
Wildfire-induced changes to soil and vegetation promote runoff-generated debris flows in steep watersheds. Postfire debris flows are most commonly observed in steep watersheds during the first wet season following a wildfire, but it is unclear how long the elevated threat of debris flow persists and why debris-flow potential changes in recovering burned areas. This work quantifies how...
Authors
Olivia J. Hoch, Luke A. McGuire, Ann M. Youberg, Francis K. Rengers
Carbon and ecohydrological priorities in managing woody encroachment: UAV perspective 63 years after a control treatment Carbon and ecohydrological priorities in managing woody encroachment: UAV perspective 63 years after a control treatment
Woody encroachment, including both woody species expansion and density increase, is a globally observed phenomenon that deteriorates arid and semi-arid rangeland health, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Mechanical and chemical control treatments are commonly performed to reduce woody cover and restore ecohydrologic function. While the immediate impacts of woody control treatments...
Authors
Temuulen T. Sankey, Jackson Leonard, Margaret Moore, Joel B. Sankey, Adam Belmonte
Effects of stocking density on stress response and susceptibility to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in rainbow trout Effects of stocking density on stress response and susceptibility to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in rainbow trout
The goals of this study were to examine the effect of stocking density on the stress response and disease susceptibility in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish were sorted into one of 2 stocking densities (high density "HD", 20-40 kg/m3) or (low density, "LD", 4-8 kg/m3) and 3 stress indices (cortisol levels in serum and water, and neutrophil: lymphocyte (N:L) ratios from...
Authors
Jenna J Klug, Piper M Treuting, George E. Sanders, James Winton, Gael Kurath
Exposure of predatory and scavenging birds to anticoagulant rodenticides in France: Exploration of data from French surveillance programs Exposure of predatory and scavenging birds to anticoagulant rodenticides in France: Exploration of data from French surveillance programs
Wild raptors are widely used to assess exposure to different environmental contaminants, including anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs). ARs are used on a global scale for rodent control, and act by disruption of the vitamin K cycle that results in haemorrhage usually accompanied by death within days. Some ARs are highly persistent and bioaccumulative, which can cause significant exposure of...
Authors
Meg-Anne Moriceau, Sebastien Lefebvre, Isabelle Fourel, Etienne Benoit, Florence Buronfosse, Pascal Orabi, Barnett A. Rattner, Virginie Lattard
Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease Viral-like particles are associated with endosymbiont pathology in Florida corals affected by stony coral tissue loss disease
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) was first documented in 2014 near the Port of Miami, Florida, and has since spread north and south along Florida’s Coral Reef, killing large numbers of more than 20 species of coral and leading to the functional extinction of at least one species, Dendrogyra cylindrus. SCTLD is assumed to be caused by bacteria based on presence of different...
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Tina M. Weatherby, Jan H. Landsberg, Yasunaru Kiryu, Samantha M. Cook, Esther C. Peters
Testing models of Laramide orogenic initiation by investigation of Late Cretaceous magmatic-tectonic evolution of the central Mojave sector of the California arc Testing models of Laramide orogenic initiation by investigation of Late Cretaceous magmatic-tectonic evolution of the central Mojave sector of the California arc
The Mojave Desert region is in a critical position for assessing models of Laramide orogenesis, which is hypothesized to have initiated as one or more seamounts subducted beneath the Cretaceous continental margin. Geochronological and geochemical characteristics of Late Cretaceous magmatic products provide the opportunity to test the validity of Laramide orogenic models. Laramide-aged...
Authors
R.C Economos, Andrew P. Barth, J.L. Wooden, S. R Paterson, Brody Friesenhahn, B.A Weigand, J.L. Anderson, J.L. Roell, E.F. Palmer, A.J. Ianno, Keith A. Howard
The Boreal-Arctic Wetland and Lake Dataset (BAWLD) The Boreal-Arctic Wetland and Lake Dataset (BAWLD)
Methane emissions from boreal and arctic wetlands, lakes, and rivers are expected to increase in response to warming and associated permafrost thaw. However, the lack of appropriate land cover datasets for scaling field-measured methane emissions to circumpolar scales has contributed to a large uncertainty for our understanding of present-day and future methane emissions. Here we present...
Authors
David Olefeldt, Mikael Hovemyr, M.A. Kuhn, D Bastviken, T.J. Bohn, J. Connolly, P.M. Crill, E.S. Euskirchen, S.A. Finkelstein, H. Genet, G. Grosse, L.I. Harris, Lena Heffernan, Manuel Helbig, G. Hugelium, R. Hutchins, S. Juutinen, M.J. Lara, Avni Malhotra, Kristen L. Manies, A.D. McGuire, S.M. Natali, J. A. O’Donnell, F-J.W. Parmentier, A. Rasanen, C. Schaedel, Oliver Sonnentag, M. Strack, S.E. Tank, C. C. Treat, R.K. Varner, T. Virtanen, J.D. Watts, R.K. Warren
Monitoring and modeling tree bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) occurrence using acoustics on structures off the mid-Atlantic coast—Implications for offshore wind development Monitoring and modeling tree bat (Genera: Lasiurus, Lasionycteris) occurrence using acoustics on structures off the mid-Atlantic coast—Implications for offshore wind development
In eastern North America, “tree bats” (Genera: Lasiurus and Lasionycteris) are highly susceptible to collisions with wind energy turbines and are known to fly offshore during migration. This raises concern about ongoing expansion of offshore wind-energy development off the Atlantic Coast. Season, atmospheric conditions, and site-level characteristics such as local habitat (e.g., forest...
Authors
Michael C. True, Richard J. Reynolds, W. Mark Ford
Proportions, timing, and re-equilibration progress during the 1959 Summit Eruption of Kīlauea: An example of magma mixing processes operating during OIB petrogenesis Proportions, timing, and re-equilibration progress during the 1959 Summit Eruption of Kīlauea: An example of magma mixing processes operating during OIB petrogenesis
Petrographic and chemical analysis of scoria samples collected during the 1959 Kīlauea summit eruption illustrates the progress of thermal and chemical homogenization of the melts, and the gradual growth and/or re-equilibration of olivine phenocrysts, over the course of the eruption. Glass compositions show that thermal equilibration was largely complete within the span of the eruption...
Authors
Rosalind L. Helz
Olfactory lures in predator control do not increase predation risk to birds in areas of conservation concern Olfactory lures in predator control do not increase predation risk to birds in areas of conservation concern
Context: Lethal control of predators is often undertaken to protect species of conservation concern. Traps are frequently baited to increase capture efficacy, but baited traps can potentially increase predation risk by attracting predators to protected areas. This is especially important if targeted predators can escape capture due to low trap success. Snake traps using live mouse lures...
Authors
Page E. Klug, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Robert Reed
Reply to “comment on ‘which earthquake accounts matter?’ by Susan E. Hough and Stacey S. Martin” by David J. Wald Reply to “comment on ‘which earthquake accounts matter?’ by Susan E. Hough and Stacey S. Martin” by David J. Wald
We thank David Wald (Wald, 2021; henceforth, W21) for his interest in our recent article (Hough and Martin, 2021; henceforth, HM21). Although different perspectives are vital in science, we are concerned that W21 misrepresents HM21 as an oblique criticism of the U.S. Geological Survey “Did You Feel It?” (DYFI) system, calling for HM21 to be retracted. Readers who are interested in the...
Authors
Susan E. Hough, Stacey S. Martin