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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: 175645

Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic

Co-occurring species with similar resource requirements often partition ecological niches at different spatial and temporal scales. In the Northwest Atlantic (NWA), federally endangered roseate terns Sterna dougallii nest almost exclusively in coastal island colonies alongside common terns S. hirundo. Roseate terns are prey specialists compared to common terns, which are opportunistic...
Authors
Henry Legett, Jeffrey Lucas, Elizabeth Craig, Michelle Staudinger

A review of lethal thermal tolerance among freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida) within the North American faunal region A review of lethal thermal tolerance among freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida) within the North American faunal region

Freshwater mussels of the order Unionida are currently one of the most imperiled groups of organisms in the North American faunal region. Accurate risk assessments and development of effective management strategies for remaining populations require knowledge of thermal limits in the face of increasing surface water temperature due to climate change and various anthropogenic factors. We...
Authors
Kaelyn J. Fogelman, Jennifer M. Archambault, Elise R. Irwin, Maureen Walsh, Shannon K. Brewer, James A. Stoeckel

Caddisfly dives for oviposition: Record-shattering depths and poor life choices in a dammed river system Caddisfly dives for oviposition: Record-shattering depths and poor life choices in a dammed river system

Oviposition is a critical step in the life cycles of aquatic insects. Adult caddisflies exhibit a variety of oviposition methods. In some species, females enter freshwaters to oviposit on submerged substrates. Here, we compile information on North American caddisflies that are known to dive and swim to oviposit and have sexually dimorphic leg characteristics that may be adaptations for...
Authors
William J. Gerth, Christina Amy Murphy, Ivan Arismendi

Distribution of summer-habitat for the Indiana bat on the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia Distribution of summer-habitat for the Indiana bat on the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia

Hierarchical conservation and management of Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) habitat may benefit from use of species distribution models. White-nose syndrome has caused additional declines for this endangered bat, requiring use of historical presence locations for habitat-related analy- ses. We created random forest presence/pseudo-absence models to assess the distribution and availability...
Authors
J.L. De La Cruz, W. Mark Ford, S. Beaux Jones, J.R. Johnson, A. Silvis

Environmental correlates of walleye spawning movements in an Appalachian hydropower reservoir Environmental correlates of walleye spawning movements in an Appalachian hydropower reservoir

Understanding walleye (Sander vitreus) spawning behavior is important for managing walleye fisheries, but such information is limited for Appalachian reservoirs. We assessed spawning movements and spawning locations for a reestablished walleye population in Cheat Lake, West Virginia. We tagged fifty-two walleye with acoustic telemetry transmitters to evaluate environmental correlates...
Authors
Dustin M. Smith, Stuart A. Welsh, Corbin David Hilling

Sources of yearly variation in gray bat activity in the Clinch River watershed, Virginia Sources of yearly variation in gray bat activity in the Clinch River watershed, Virginia

The gray bat (Myotis grisescens) is a cave-obligate species that has been listed as federally endangered since 1976, following population declines from human disturbance at hibernation and maternity caves. However, with cave protection, most gray bat populations have increased. As part of a project examining bat use of transportation structures as day-roosts, we continuously acoustically...
Authors
H. Taylor, K. Powers, W. Orndorff, Rick Reynolds, E. M. Hallerman, W. Mark Ford

Flood warning toolset for the Sabinal River near Utopia, Texas Flood warning toolset for the Sabinal River near Utopia, Texas

Introduction Floods are one of the most frequent and expensive natural disasters that occur across the United States. Rapid, high-water events that occur in local areas—flash floods—are especially difficult for emergency managers to predict and provide advance warning to the public, and insufficient data can hamper postflood recovery efforts. Central Texas is hilly, and it is known as a...
Authors
Namjeong Choi

City-scale geothermal energy everywhere to support renewable resilience – A transcontinental cooperation City-scale geothermal energy everywhere to support renewable resilience – A transcontinental cooperation

Cities have important and varying incentives to transform their energy sector to all-electric with low carbon emissions. However, they often encounter a number of impediments when attempting to implement such a change. For example, while urban areas have the highest energy demand-density, cities often lack the space for installing additional energy generation and/or long-duration energy...
Authors
Gregor Goetzl, Erick R. Burns, Andrew J. Stumpf, Yu-Feng Lin, Amanda Kolker, Maciej R. Klonowski, Cornelia Steiner, Ryan Cain Cahalan, Jeffrey D. Pepin

Development and application of a coastal change likelihood assessment for the northeast region, Maine to Virginia Development and application of a coastal change likelihood assessment for the northeast region, Maine to Virginia

Coastal resources are increasingly affected by erosion, extreme weather events, sea level rise, tidal flooding, and other potential hazards related to climate change. These hazards have varying effects on coastal landscapes because of the compounding of geologic, oceanographic, ecologic, and socioeconomic factors that exist at a given location. An assessment framework is introduced in...
Authors
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Erika E. Lentz, Travis K. Sterne, Rachel E. Henderson

Experimental manipulation of soil-surface albedo alters phenology and growth of Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) Experimental manipulation of soil-surface albedo alters phenology and growth of Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)

Purpose The sensitivity of wildland plants to temperature can be directly measured using experimental manipulations of temperature in situ. We show that soil surface temperature and plant density (per square meter) have a significant impact on the germination, growth, and phenology of Bromus tectorum L., cheatgrass, a short-statured invasive winter-annual grass, and assess a new...
Authors
Toby M. Maxwell, Matthew J. Germino, Seth Romero, Lauren M. Porensky, Dana M. Blumenthal, Cynthia S. Brown, Peter B. Adler

Years of magma intrusion primed Kīlauea Volcano (Hawai'i) for the 2018 eruption: Evidence from olivine diffusion chronometry and monitoring data Years of magma intrusion primed Kīlauea Volcano (Hawai'i) for the 2018 eruption: Evidence from olivine diffusion chronometry and monitoring data

The mechanisms that led to the exceptionally large Kīlauea 2018 eruption are still poorly understood and actively debated. External processes such as rainfall events or flank sliding have been proposed to play a triggering role. Here, we present field, geophysical, and petrological observations to show that internal changes within the magmatic plumbing system most likely led to the...
Authors
Adrien J. Mourey, Tom Shea, Fidel Costa, Brian Shiro, Ryan J. Longman

Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program—2022 year in review Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program—2022 year in review

Established in 1935, the CRU program is a unique cooperative partnership among State Fish and Wildlife agencies, host universities, Wildlife Management Institute, U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Designed to meet the scientific needs of natural resource management agencies and to produce trained wildlife management professionals, the program has grown from...
Authors
Elise R. Irwin, Donald E. Dennerline, J. Barry Grand, Jonathan R. Mawdsley
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