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.
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: 174667
Responding to ecological transformation in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah—Employee perspectives from pilot interviews from the Cross-Park Resist-Assist-Direct Project Responding to ecological transformation in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah—Employee perspectives from pilot interviews from the Cross-Park Resist-Assist-Direct Project
Executive Summary Climate change is causing a range of changes that can affect the natural, cultural, and built resources of the Nation’s protected areas and affect opportunities to visit and recreate in these spaces. Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns also affect species and habitats, leading to ecological transformation. This report describes findings from pilot research...
Authors
Amanda E. Cravens, Zachary B. Hough Solomon, Julia B. Goolsby, Heather M. Yocum, Stefan Tangen, Wylie Carr
The anatomy and lethality of the Siberian Traps large igneous province The anatomy and lethality of the Siberian Traps large igneous province
Emplacement of the Siberian Traps large igneous province (LIP) around 252 Ma coincided with the most profound environmental disruption of the past 500 million years. The enormous volume of the Siberian Traps, its ability to generate greenhouse gases and other volatiles, and a temporal coincidence with extinction all suggest a causal link. Patterns of marine and terrestrial extinction...
Authors
Seth D. Burgess, Benjamin A. Black
Complexity and integration of recreational fisheries Complexity and integration of recreational fisheries
Recreational fisheries are interconnected, complex, adaptive systems characterized by multiple direct and indirect interactions among ecological and human subsystems. This is important for many reasons, including that feedbacks between the social and ecological dimensions lead to difficult-to-predict, often entirely unexpected, outcomes and because many management and governance systems...
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Len M. Hunt, A. Ben Beardmore, Brett T. van Poorten, Kevin L. Pope, Robert Arlinghaus
Best practices for understanding recreational fishers Best practices for understanding recreational fishers
In this closing chapter of our edited book, we summarize what we believe are best practices for understanding recreational fishers. Fishers are an integral part of the recreational fishery social-ecological system, and we emphasize the importance of placing them in that context. We begin with an overview of the process of developing a project and conclude with some broad suggestions for
Authors
Brett van Poorten, Len M. Hunt, E. Arlo Richardson, Abigail Lynch, Kevin L. Pope
Bacterial community diversity and potential eco-physiological roles in toxigenic blooms composed of Microcystis, Aphanizomenon or Planktothrix Bacterial community diversity and potential eco-physiological roles in toxigenic blooms composed of Microcystis, Aphanizomenon or Planktothrix
Cyanobacterial toxicity, cyanotoxins, and their impact on aquatic ecosystems and human health are well documented. In comparison, less is known about bloom-associated bacterial communities. Co-occurring bacteria can influence bloom development, physiology and collapse, and may also provide a niche for pathogenic bacteria. Existing research focuses on the cyanosphere of Microcystis...
Authors
Joanna Mankiewicz-Boczek, Arnoldo Font Nájera, Karina Yew_Hoong Gin, Jennifer L. Graham, Dominik Strapagiel, Rebecca Michelle Gorney, Jerome Wai Kok, Shu Harn Te, Magdalena Kluska, Milena Skóra, Michał Seweryn, Francisco Josue Hun
Preface Preface
Despite more than 50 years of research into the human dimensions of recreational f isheries, there is no textbook to present the theoretical grounding, operationalisation, and interpretation of the most elemental social components involved in fisheries management – namely, outcomes and trade-offs, behaviours (and antecedents or predictors of it), and the relationships among actors...
Authors
Kevin L. Pope, Robert Arlinghaus, Len M. Hunt, Abigail Lynch, Brett T. van Poorten
The US EPA’s National Nutrient Inventory: Critical shifts in US nutrient pollution sources from 1987 to 2017 The US EPA’s National Nutrient Inventory: Critical shifts in US nutrient pollution sources from 1987 to 2017
Efforts to constrain the negative environmental impacts of excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are costly and challenging, due in part to inconsistent reporting of nutrient sources at temporal and spatial scales relevant for local decision making. To meet this challenge, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Nutrient Inventory provides estimates of major agricultural...
Authors
Meredith Brehob, Michael Pennino, Jana Compton, Qian Zhang, Marc H. Weber, Ryan A. Hill, Selia Markley, Brian Pickard, Maddie Keefer, Sarah M. Stackpoole, Lauren A Knose, Gerardo J. Ruiz-Mercado, Christopher M. Clark, Anne W. Rea, James N. Carleton, Jiajia Lin, Jesse O. Bash, Kristen M. Foley, Christian Hogrefe, Robert D. Sabo
Mitigation of human cognitive bias in volcanic eruption forecasting Mitigation of human cognitive bias in volcanic eruption forecasting
Modern operational eruption forecasting methods rely heavily on human judgment in the face of uncertainty and are thus susceptible to myriad cognitive biases and errors by the scientist-forecasters. Recent developments in the behavioral sciences have elucidated cognitive biases across a wide spectrum of human behaviors and found ways to mitigate them. These insights have led to...
Authors
Heather M. Wright, J. D. Pesicek, Stephen A. Spiller
Greater white-fronted goose habitat use in Louisiana provides water depth management insights Greater white-fronted goose habitat use in Louisiana provides water depth management insights
Numerous waterfowl species have altered their geographic distribution in recent decades. The greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) has shifted its wintering distribution from coastal marshes in Texas and Louisiana, USA, to interior landscapes, creating challenges for conservation managers. Although the range shift has been primarily attributed to landscape-scale changes in rice...
Authors
William S. Beatty, Paul T. Link, Brett Leach, Steven C. Houdek, Elisabeth B. Webb
Advancing an adaptable and practical framework to address water quality challenges in a changing world Advancing an adaptable and practical framework to address water quality challenges in a changing world
As water-quality challenges intensify, the widely used Weighted Regressions on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method offers an adaptable and practical framework for global water-quality science and management.
Authors
Qian Zhang, Robert M. Hirsch, Laura DeCicco, Jennifer C. Murphy
Rising rates of wildfire building destruction in the conterminous United States Rising rates of wildfire building destruction in the conterminous United States
Many regions of the world have seen an increase in highly destructive wildfires, driven by well-documented increases in burned area and growth of housing in the wildland–urban interface (WUI), which exposes more homes to fire. However, it is unclear whether wildfires are also becoming more destructive due to changes in wildfire behavior or in the development patterns of exposed...
Authors
Amanda Renee Carlson, Todd Hawbaker, Miranda H. Mockrin, Volker C. Radeloff, Lucas Bair, Mike Caggiano, James Meldrum, Patricia Alexandre, H. Anu Kramer, Paul F. Steblein
Data standardization and management to facilitate large-scale and interdisciplinary approaches access Data standardization and management to facilitate large-scale and interdisciplinary approaches access
Bringing data related to recreational fishers and fisheries together across large scales can provide tremendous insight. Methods for collecting, analysing, and storing data can vary dramatically, which can have significant implications for the use of these data. Efforts to standardise data within organisations often increase the ability to compare datasets from different areas, monitor...
Authors
Nicholas Allen Sievert, Rebecca M. Krogman, Holly Susan Embke