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.
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Alaska's climate sensitive Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta supports seven million Arctic-breeding shorebirds, including the majority of six North American populations Alaska's climate sensitive Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta supports seven million Arctic-breeding shorebirds, including the majority of six North American populations
Baseline information about declining North American shorebird populations is essential to determine the effects of global warming at low-lying coastal areas of the Arctic and subarctic, where numerous taxa breed, and to assess population recovery throughout their range. We estimated population sizes on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska on the eastern edge of the Bering Sea. We...
Authors
James E. Lyons, Stephen C. Brown, Sarah T. Saalfeld, James A. Johnson, Brad A. Andres, Kristine M. Sowl, Robert E. Gill, Brian J. McCaffery, Lindall Kidd, Metta McGarvey, Brad Winn, H. River Gates, Diane A. Granfors, Richard B. Lanctot
Highway-runoff quality from segments of open-graded friction course and dense-graded hot-mix asphalt pavement on Interstate 95, Massachusetts, 2018–21 Highway-runoff quality from segments of open-graded friction course and dense-graded hot-mix asphalt pavement on Interstate 95, Massachusetts, 2018–21
Highway runoff is a source of sediment and associated constituents to downstream waterbodies that can be managed with the use of stormwater-control measures that reduce sediment loads. The use of open-graded friction course (OGFC) pavement has been identified as a method to reduce loads from highway runoff because it retains sediment in pavement voids; however, few datasets are available...
Authors
Kirk P. Smith, Alana B. Spaetzel, Phillip A. Woodford
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
The key to Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) management is providing open grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs for foraging, nesting, and perching. Loggerhead Shrikes have been reported to use habitats with 20–266 centimeters (cm) vegetation height, greater than or equal to (≥) 10 percent grass cover, 3–48 percent forb cover, 2–25 percent shrub cover, 3–40 percent bare ground...
Authors
Lawrence D. Igl, Jill A. Shaffer, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Amy L. Zimmerman, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. Euliss
Trophic ecology of juvenile lean and siscowet lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Superior: Assessing for potential competition Trophic ecology of juvenile lean and siscowet lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Superior: Assessing for potential competition
We investigated the spatial overlap, diet, isotopic niche, and growth of juvenile lean and siscowet lake charr (Salvelinus namaycush) in Lake Superior to address concerns of potential competition with implications to the study of resource polymorphism. Catch data revealed the greatest levels of sympatry in waters from 40 to 60 m. Juvenile lean and siscowet diet changed ontogenetically...
Authors
Brandon S. Gerig, Shawn P. Sitar, Will F Otte, Daniel L. Yule, Heidi K. Swanson, Charles R. Bronte, Dray Carl, Joshua Blankenheim
Prospects of pollinator community surveillance using terrestrial environmental DNA metagenetics Prospects of pollinator community surveillance using terrestrial environmental DNA metagenetics
Current pollinator survey methods exhibit bias, require highly-trained practitioners, and are difficult to scale to large sample sizes. High-throughput sequencing of terrestrial eDNA could provide a complementary tool for studying pollinator communities, but eDNA methods have not been extensively evaluated. We conducted metagenetic analysis of whole arthropod community eDNA from 20...
Authors
Grace Avalos, Regina Trott, John Ballas, Chia Hua Lin, Clayton D. Raines, Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Karen Goodell, Rodney T. Richardson
Identifying structural priors in a hybrid differentiable model for stream water temperature modeling Identifying structural priors in a hybrid differentiable model for stream water temperature modeling
Although deep learning models for stream temperature (Ts) have recently shown exceptional accuracy, they have limited interpretability and cannot output untrained variables. With hybrid differentiable models, neural networks (NNs) can be connected to physically based equations (called structural priors) to output intermediate variables such as water source fractions (specifying what...
Authors
Farshid Rahmani, Alison P. Appling, Dapeng Feng, Kathryn Lawson, Chaopeng Shen
How to handle glacier area change in geodetic mass balance How to handle glacier area change in geodetic mass balance
Innovations in geodesy enable widespread analysis of glacier surface elevation change and geodetic mass balance. However, coincident glacier area data are less widely available, causing inconsistent handling of glacier area change. Here we quantify the bias introduced into meters water equivalent (m w.e.) specific geodetic mass balance results when using a fixed, maximum glacier area...
Authors
Caitlyn Florentine, Louis C. Sass, Christopher J. McNeil, Emily Baker, Shad O'Neel
Do topographic changes tell us about variability in aeolian sediment transport and dune mobility? Analysis of monthly to decadal surface changes in a partially vegetated and biocrust covered dunefield Do topographic changes tell us about variability in aeolian sediment transport and dune mobility? Analysis of monthly to decadal surface changes in a partially vegetated and biocrust covered dunefield
Vegetation and biological soil crust (biocrust) cover can have a stabilizing effect on dunes by fixing sediment in-place and increasing surface roughness, thus limiting dune mobility, sediment transport, and erosion. These biological effects influence rates of aeolian activity and thus surficial changes, though variability in wind and sediment supply may obscure these topographic effects...
Authors
Joshua Caster, Joel B. Sankey, Temuulen Ts. Sankey, Alan Kasprak, Matthew A. Bowker, Taylor Joyal
Environmental DNA as a tool for better understanding the distribution, abundance, and health of Atlantic and Pacific salmon Environmental DNA as a tool for better understanding the distribution, abundance, and health of Atlantic and Pacific salmon
The development and application of approaches to detect and quantify environmental DNA (eDNA) have potential to improve our understanding of the distribution, abundance, and health of Atlantic Salmon Salmo salar and Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. Here, we review 61 articles focusing on eDNA applications pertaining to salmon occupying natural habitat and aquaculture facilities in the...
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Cherie Marie Mckeeman, Eleni Leto Petrou, Damian M. Menning, Ora L. Russ, Andres Lopez
Satellite-derived prefire vegetation predicts variation in field-based invasive annual grass cover after fire Satellite-derived prefire vegetation predicts variation in field-based invasive annual grass cover after fire
Aims
Authors
Christopher A Anthony, Cara Applestein, Matthew J. Germino
Habitat and dissolved organic carbon modulate variation in the biogeochemical drivers of mercury bioaccumulation in dragonfly larvae at the national scale Habitat and dissolved organic carbon modulate variation in the biogeochemical drivers of mercury bioaccumulation in dragonfly larvae at the national scale
We paired mercury (Hg) concentrations in dragonfly larvae with water chemistry in 29 U.S. national parks to highlight how ecological and biogeochemical context (habitat, dissolved organic carbon [DOC]) influence drivers of Hg bioaccumulation. Although prior studies have defined influences of biogeochemical variables on Hg production and bioaccumulation, it has been challenging to...
Authors
Sarah J. Nelson, James Willacker, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Colleen M Flanagan Pritz, Celia Y. Chen, Amanda J Klemmer, David P. Krabbenhoft
Site fidelity of migratory shorebirds facing habitat deterioration: Insights from satellite tracking and mark-resighting Site fidelity of migratory shorebirds facing habitat deterioration: Insights from satellite tracking and mark-resighting
Background
Authors
Ying-Chi Chan, David Tsz-Chung Chan, T. Lee Tibbitts, Chris J. Hassell, Theunis Piersma