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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.

Filter Total Items: 175006

Clarifying the trophic state concept to advance macroscale freshwater science and management Clarifying the trophic state concept to advance macroscale freshwater science and management

For over a century, ecologists have used the concept of trophic state (TS) to characterize an aquatic ecosystem's biological productivity. However, multiple TS classification schemes, each relying on a variety of measurable parameters as proxies for productivity, have emerged to meet use-specific needs. Frequently, chlorophyll a, phosphorus, and Secchi depth are used to classify TS based...
Authors
Michael Frederick Meyer, Benjamin M. Kraemer, Carolina C. Barbosa, Davi G.F. Cuhna, Walter Dodds, Stephanie E. Hampton, César Ordóñez, Rachel M. Pilla, Amina Pollard, Joshua A. Culpepper, Alexander K. Fremier, Tyler V. King, Robert Ladwig, Dina M. Leech, Shin-Ichiro S Matsuzaki, Isabella Oleksy, Simon N. Topp, R. Iestyn Woolway, Ludmila S. Brighenti, Kate Fickas, Brian P. Lanouette, Jianning Ren, Mortimer Werther, Xiao Yang

Grammar to graph—An approach for semantic transformation of annotations to triples Grammar to graph—An approach for semantic transformation of annotations to triples

Data annotation is the process of labeling data to show the outcome that a related data model should predict. In this study, annotation data were transformed into semantic graph triples, mainly for use with the Resource Description Framework (RDF), a type of entity-relationship-attribute data model for graph databases. The transformation of annotation data to semantic graph triples...
Authors
Dalia E. Varanka, Emily Abbott

Manipulation of the Symbiodiniaceae microbiome confers multigenerational impacts on symbioses and reproductive ecology of its Exaiptasia diaphana host Manipulation of the Symbiodiniaceae microbiome confers multigenerational impacts on symbioses and reproductive ecology of its Exaiptasia diaphana host

Symbiodiniaceae-associated microbiota strongly influence cnidarian symbioses. We systematically reduced the bacterial and fungal communities associated with Symbiodiniaceae to study potential effects on the cnidarian holobiont Exaiptasia diaphana (Aiptasia). Clonal anemones were inoculated with xenic Breviolum minutum (SSB01) and microbiome-manipulated cultures after antibacterial or...
Authors
Mark Mccauley, Federica Montesanto, Samuel A. Bedgood, Cody Miner, Keyla Plichon, Virginia M. Weis, Sandra Loesgen

Satellite tracking reveals heavy use of local MPAs by green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting in southeast Florida, USA Satellite tracking reveals heavy use of local MPAs by green turtles (Chelonia mydas) nesting in southeast Florida, USA

Florida hosts a regionally important nesting aggregation of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the North Atlantic, yet internesting and post-nesting movements for this rookery remain poorly understood. Here, we used satellite telemetry to track 23 green turtles nesting on southeast Florida beaches from 2017 to 2021 to investigate their spatial ecology and use of marine protected areas...
Authors
Glenn D. Goodwin, Kristen Hart, Abby C. Evans, Derek A. Burkholder

A scientific vision and roadmap for earthquake rupture forecast developments, a USGS perspective A scientific vision and roadmap for earthquake rupture forecast developments, a USGS perspective

We articulate a scientific vision and roadmap for the development of improved Earthquake Rupture Forecast models, which are one of the two main modeling components used in modern seismic hazard and risk analysis. One primary future objective is to provide fully time-dependent models that include both elastic rebound and spatiotemporal clustering nationwide, which is particularly...
Authors
Edward H. Field, Alexandra Elise Hatem, Bruce E. Shaw, Morgan T. Page, P. Martin Mai, Kevin Ross Milner, Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Frederick Pollitz, Jessica Ann Thompson Jobe, Thomas E. Parsons, Olaf Zielke, David R. Shelly, Alice-Agnes Gabriel, Devin McPhillips, Richard W. Briggs, Elizabeth S. Cochran, Nico Luco, Mark D. Petersen, Peter M. Powers, Justin Rubinstein, Allison Shumway, Nicholas van der Elst, Yuehua Zeng, Christopher DuRoss, Jason M. Altekruse

ECCOE Landsat quarterly calibration and validation report—Quarter 1, 2025 ECCOE Landsat quarterly calibration and validation report—Quarter 1, 2025

Executive Summary The U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) Center of Excellence (ECCOE) focuses on improving the accuracy, precision, calibration, and product quality of remote-sensing data, leveraging years of multiscale optical system geometric and radiometric calibration and characterization experience. The ECCOE Landsat...
Authors
Md Obaidul Haque, Nahid Hasan, Ashish Shrestha, Rajagopalan Rengarajan, Mark Lubke, Daniel Steinwand, Paul Bresnahan, Jerad L. Shaw, Kathryn Ruslander, Esad Micijevic, Michael J. Choate, Cody Anderson, Jeff Clauson, Kurt Thome, Ed Kaita, Amit Angal, Raviv Levy, Jeff Miller, Leibo Ding, Cibele Teixeira Pinto

Fish composition in a complex freshwater estuary: Environmental DNA metabarcoding versus capture surveys Fish composition in a complex freshwater estuary: Environmental DNA metabarcoding versus capture surveys

Objective The potential for environmental DNA (eDNA) to disperse widely from source organisms enables high detection efficiency but raises questions about eDNA's ability to differentiate fine-scale spatial patterns relative to conventional fish capture data.Methods We evaluate these questions in the St. Louis River estuary—a hydrologically and spatially complex coastal system within Lake...
Authors
Anett S Trebitz, Joel C. Hoffman, Gregory S. Peterson, Chelsea I. Hatzenbuhler, Erik M. Pilgrim, Sara L. Okum, W. Lindsay Chadderton, Andrew J. Tucker, Nicholas Bogyo, Jared Thomas Myers

Critical mineral inventory of select IOA-IOCG deposits, southwestern USA Critical mineral inventory of select IOA-IOCG deposits, southwestern USA

Critical minerals are necessary for modern technology and strategic purposes. Their increasing importance requires finding new and nontraditional resources. Samples of ore, altered, and unaltered host rock were collected from 26 iron mines and prospects in California, Nevada, and Utah to assess the potential of these deposits to host economic quantities of different critical minerals...
Authors
Ryan D. Taylor, Corey J. Meighan, Albert H. Hofstra

Assessing diet and genotyping success of goat pellet surveys from 2019 in Glacier National Park Assessing diet and genotyping success of goat pellet surveys from 2019 in Glacier National Park

Fecal pellets contain genetic information and can be used to identify individuals, their diet, and more. Individual identification can be useful in understanding movements of individuals, developing population estimates, assessing vital rates, genetic diversity and structure, and evaluating trends over time (e.g., Epps et al 2024). Successful genotyping depends on the quality of the...
Authors
Salix Scoresby, Lindsay M Dose, Jami Belt, Tabitha A. Graves

Disturbance is the primary determinant of food chain length when the top predator is constant Disturbance is the primary determinant of food chain length when the top predator is constant

Food chain length (FCL) is a primary determinant of food web structure and is hypothesized to be influenced by habitat size, productivity, and disturbance. Understanding the environmental characteristics that determine food chain length can assist in understanding how food webs may be impacted due to changes in habitats and environmental characteristics. This study examines the impact of
Authors
Sarah F. Sorensen, Daniel D. Magoulick

Living with wildfire in Estes Valley Fire Protection District, Larimer County, Colorado: 2023 Data report Living with wildfire in Estes Valley Fire Protection District, Larimer County, Colorado: 2023 Data report

Homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and preparedness are critical components of community wildfire readiness. This report describes the data collected through two efforts conducted in the Estes Valley Fire Protection District of Larimer County, Colorado, study area: (1) parcel-level rapid wildfire risk assessments performed by trained assessors and (2) homeowner surveys in which...
Authors
Colleen Donovan, Patricia A. Champ, Suzanne Wittenbrink, Wilynn Formeller, Christine Taniguchi, Jon Landkamer, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, James Meldrum, Christopher M. Barth, Carolyn Wagner

Comparison of creek and bay influences on salt marsh sediment budget and deposition patterns Comparison of creek and bay influences on salt marsh sediment budget and deposition patterns

The resilience of salt marshes with low organic production depends on their effective capture and retention of mineral sediment from adjacent waters. Little prior work has directly compared mechanisms of sediment import from wave-influenced marsh boundaries against those of tidal creeks. We used simultaneous deployment of net-deposition tiles and oceanographic sensors to identify the...
Authors
Lukas T. WinklerPrins, Jessica R. Lacy, Mark T. Stacey, Karen M. Thorne, McKenna Leigh Bristow, Scott Jones
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