Publications
Browse more than 160,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS. Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.
Science Quality and Integrity
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.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.
Filter Total Items: 174960
Using systematic conservation planning to recover climate resilient habitat for threatened and endangered species while retaining areas of cultural importance Using systematic conservation planning to recover climate resilient habitat for threatened and endangered species while retaining areas of cultural importance
The effective management of at-risk species often requires fine-scale actions by natural resource managers. However, balancing these actions with concurrent land uses is challenging, particularly when compounded by the interplay of climate shifts, and escalating wildland–urban interface conflicts. We used spatial prioritization tools designed for biodiversity conservation to help...
Authors
Christina Leopold, Lucas Fortini, Jonathan Sprague, Rachel Sprague, Steven C. Hess
Range-wide salamander densities reveal a key component of terrestrial vertebrate biomass in eastern North American forests Range-wide salamander densities reveal a key component of terrestrial vertebrate biomass in eastern North American forests
Characterizing the population density of species is a central interest in ecology. Eastern North America is the global hotspot for biodiversity of plethodontid salamanders, an inconspicuous component of terrestrial vertebrate communities, and among the most widespread is the eastern red-backed salamander, Plethodon cinereus. Previous work suggests population densities are high with...
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Elizabeth Bastiaans, Adrianne Brand, Jacey Brooks, Catherine Devlin, Kristen Epp, Matt Evans, M. Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Brian Gratwicke, Kristine Grayson, Natalie Haydt, Raisa Hernandez-Pacheco, Daniel J. Hocking, Amanda Hyde, Michael Losito, Maisie MacKnight, Tanya Matlaga, Louise Mead, David J. Munoz, William B. Peterman, Veronica Puza, Charles Shafer, Sean Sterrett, Chris Sutherland, Lily M. Thompson, Alexa R. Warwick, Alexander D. Wright, Kerry Yurewicz, David A. W. Miller
Wildland fire effects on sediment, salinity, and selenium yields in a basin underlain by Cretaceous marine shales near Rangely, Colorado Wildland fire effects on sediment, salinity, and selenium yields in a basin underlain by Cretaceous marine shales near Rangely, Colorado
Understanding and quantifying soil erosion from rangelands is a high priority for land managers, especially in areas underlain by Cretaceous Mancos Shale, which is a natural source of sediment, salinity, and selenium to surface waters in many areas of western Colorado and eastern Utah. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a U.S. Geological Survey study that assessed...
Authors
Natalie K. Day, Todd M. Preston, Patrick C. Longley
Monitoring and simulation of hydrology, suspended sediment, and nutrients in selected tributary watersheds of Lake Erie, New York Monitoring and simulation of hydrology, suspended sediment, and nutrients in selected tributary watersheds of Lake Erie, New York
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Erie County, New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, collected water-quality samples in nine selected New York tributaries to Lake Erie, computed estimates of suspended sediment and nutrient loads using the R scripting package rloadest and used the Soil and Water...
Authors
Katherine R. Merriman, Benjamin N. Fisher, Elizabeth A. Nystrom, Aubrey R. Bunch, Robert J. Welk, William M. Kappel
Developing version 2 of satellite-estimated precipitation monthly reports for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands Developing version 2 of satellite-estimated precipitation monthly reports for selected locations in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI; also known as the Marshall Islands) is a nation of more than 30 low-lying atolls and islands, most of which are inhabited, dispersed across an Exclusive Economic Zone over 770,000 square miles in the tropical central north Pacific Ocean. The study objectives and methods were originally presented in U.S. Geological Survey Data Report 1181 and are
Authors
Gabriel B. Senay, David A. Helweg, Stefanie Kagone, Thomas Cecere, Tiare Eastmond, Amy Koch, Kurtis Nelson, Jack Randon
Utility of an instantaneous salt dilution method for measuring streamflow in headwater streams Utility of an instantaneous salt dilution method for measuring streamflow in headwater streams
Streamflow records are biased toward large streams and rivers, yet small headwater streams are often the focus of ecological research in response to climate change. Conventional flow measurement instruments such as acoustic Doppler velocimeters (ADVs) do not perform well during low-flow conditions in small streams, truncating the development of rating curves during critical baseflow...
Authors
Karli M. Rogers, Jennifer H. Fair, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Karmann G. Kessler, Zachary A. Kelly, Martin A. Briggs
Fish size structures in lakes of the Lower Mississippi River floodplain Fish size structures in lakes of the Lower Mississippi River floodplain
The Lower Mississippi River has a floodplain that includes >1350 perennial lakes carved by shifts in river courses and other hydro-fluvial processes over eons. Notwithstanding their similar provenances, these waterbodies exhibit an immense variety of morphologies and successional stages that illustrate their natural trajectory from aquatic to forested wetlands. A result of this...
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, D.J. Dembkowski
Large-scale dam removal and ecosystem restoration Large-scale dam removal and ecosystem restoration
Rivers underpin vital ecosystems that support aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity and many ecosystem services, including food, water, culture, and recreation (Dudgeon et al. 2006). After centuries of building dams on rivers across the world, river restoration via dam removal is receiving increased public attention, financial investment, and scientific study because of various issues of...
Authors
Rebecca M. McCaffery, Jeffrey J. Duda, Laura Soissons, Jean-Marc Roussel
Redistribution of debris-flow sediment following severe wildfire and floods in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA Redistribution of debris-flow sediment following severe wildfire and floods in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA
Severe fire on steep slopes increases stormwater runoff and the occurrence of runoff-initiated debris flows. Predicting locations of debris flows and their downstream effects on trunk streams requires watershed-scale high-resolution topographic data. Intense precipitation in July and September 2013 following the June 2011 Las Conchas Fire in the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, led to...
Authors
Jonathan M. Friedman, Anne C. Tillery, Samuel J. Alfieri, Elizabeth Rachaelann Skaggs, Patrick B. Shafroth, Craig D. Allen
Developing, testing, and communicating earthquake forecasts: Current practices and future directions Developing, testing, and communicating earthquake forecasts: Current practices and future directions
While deterministically predicting the time and location of earthquakes remains impossible, earthquake forecasting models can provide estimates of the probabilities of earthquakes occurring within some region over time. To enable informed decision-making of civil protection, governmental agencies, or the public, Operational Earthquake Forecasting (OEF) systems aim to provide...
Authors
Leila Mizrahi, Irina Dallo, Nicholas van der Elst, Annemarie Christophersen, Ilaria Spassiani, Maximillian J. Werner, Pablo Iturrieta, Jose Bayona, Iunio Iervolino, Max Schneider, Morgan T. Page, Jiancang Zhuang, Marcus Herrmann, Andrew J. Michael, Guiseppe Falcone, Warner Marzocchi, David A. Rhoades, Matthew Gerstenberger, Laura Gulia, Danijel Schorlemmer, Julia Becker, Marta Han, Lorena Kuratle, Michele Marti, Stefan Wiemer
Effects of temporal hydrologic shifts on the population biology of an endangered freshwater fish in a dryland river ecosystem Effects of temporal hydrologic shifts on the population biology of an endangered freshwater fish in a dryland river ecosystem
Species occupying dryland river ecosystems often experience “boom-and-bust” demographic cycles that coincide with shifts in habitat availability. Knowing whether declines are within natural thresholds versus those caused by acute human disturbance is critical for managing protected species. We investigated temporal shifts in abundance and habitat use of an endangered population of the...
Authors
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Philip Robert Gould, Jennifer Pareti, Andrew Aitken, Eric Morrissette, Adam R. Backlin, Chris Dellith, Robert N. Fisher
Variation in dietary ecology of two invasive American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) populations in Southern California Variation in dietary ecology of two invasive American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) populations in Southern California
Invasive American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) are a threat to native species in riparian ecosystems worldwide. They are indiscriminate predators consuming both vertebrate and invertebrate prey, negatively affecting biodiversity. Documenting the diet and feeding ecology of invasive L. catesbeianus can help management agencies identify affected species and facilitate eradication...
Authors
Nathan W. Smith, Ryan J. Hanscom, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Robert N. Fisher, Rulon W. Clark