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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: 970

Be a wolf researcher! Wolf pup ethogram

Ethology is the study of behavior, and an ethogram is a list of behaviors, typically of a single species. For this ethogram we have selected a few representative behaviors that pups will exhibit during various growth phases, and therefore, this ethogram is not exhaustive. You will likely observe behaviors not detailed in this booklet (be sure to keep notes of your observations on the pages in th
Authors
Lori J. Schmidt, Shannon Barber-Meyer, D. Ann Raspberry

User Guide: Creating a WHISPers morbidity/mortality event

A step-by-step guide to “put a dot on the WHISPers map” by creating an event. Available to users assigned Partner User, Partner Manager, and Partner Administrator roles.

Groundwater resource development: Effect and sustainability

No abstract available.
Authors
Leonard F. Konikow, John D. Bredehoeft

Drought early warning and forecasting

Drought risk management involves three pillars: drought early warning, drought vulnerability and risk assessment, and drought preparedness, mitigation, and response. This book collects in one place a description of all the key components of the first pillar, and describes strategies for fitting these pieces together. The best modern drought early warning systems incorporate and integrate a broad a
Authors
Chris Funk, Shraddhanand Shukla

Drivers of landscape change in the northwest boreal region

The northwest boreal region (NWB) of North America is a land of extremes. Extending more than 1.3 million square kilometers (330 million acres), it encompasses the entire spectrum between inundated wetlands below sea level to the tallest peak in North America. Permafrost gradients span from nearly continuous to absent. Boreal ecosystems are inherently dynamic and continually change over decades to

Bayesian statistics for beginners: A step-by-step approach

Bayesian statistics is currently undergoing something of a renaissance. At its heart is a method of statistical inference in which Bayes' theorem is used to update the probability for a hypothesis as more evidence or information becomes available. It is an approach that is ideally suited to making initial assessments based on incomplete or imperfect information; as that information is gathered and
Authors
Therese M. Donovan, Ruth M. Mickey

Bringing Bayesian models to life

Bringing Bayesian Models to Life empowers the reader to extend, enhance, and implement statistical models for ecological and environmental data analysis. We open the black box and show the reader how to connect modern statistical models to computer algorithms. These algorithms allow the user to fit models that answer their scientific questions without needing to rely on automated Bayesian software
Authors
Mevin Hooten, Trevor J. Hefley

Alaska Shorebird Conservation Plan, Version III

In recognition of declines among perhaps half of Alaska’s breeding shorebirds, ongoing or emerging threats to shorebirds and their habitats, and considerable knowledge of Alaska’s shorebirds acquired over the past decade, the Alaska Shorebird Group decided that the Alaska Shorebird Conservation Plan was due for updates. Similar to Version II (2008), we structured the plan in two parts: Part I iden
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff

Adjudicating groundwater: A judge’s guide to understanding groundwater and modeling

Dividing the Waters offers this groundwater science bench book that cannot be matched by any other scientific or judicial publication.  Adjudicating Groundwater combines the expertise and experience of academic scientists (UC Davis/Stanford), federal scientists (U.S. Geological Survey), and judicial officers to create a resource that can fulfill the needs of judges tackling the most difficult grou
Authors
Thomas Harter, Tara Moran, Eric Wildman

Field volcanology: A tribute to the distinguished career of Don Swanson

Don Swanson has profoundly influenced generations of volcanologists and has made major contributions to our understanding of both silicic and basaltic volcanic systems. He provides an exceptional example of how a gifted scientist can develop entirely new paradigms related to large-scale problems on the basis of decades of study, as exemplified by his work on the emplacement of flood basalts, monit

American Recent Eulipotyphla: Nesophontids, Solenodons, Moles, and Shrews in the New World

The mammalian taxonomic order Eulipotyphla is comprised of the living taxonomic families Erinaceidae (gymnures, hedgehogs, and moonrats), Solenodontidae (solenodonts), Soricidae (shrews), and Talpidae (desmans and moles). Morphological and molecular studies continue to alter our view of relationships within and among these families, and this research has added considerably to our understanding of
Authors
Neal Woodman

Wild migrations: Atlas of Wyoming's ungulates

No abstract available.
Authors
William J. Rudd, Matthew Kauffman, James Meacham, Hall Sawyer, Emilene Ostlind, Alethea Steingisser