Publications
USGS research activities relevant to Alaska have yielded more than 9400 historical publications. This page features some of the most recent newsworthy research findings.
Filter Total Items: 3111
New technologies at the Desert Research Institute make a difference in wildland fire management New technologies at the Desert Research Institute make a difference in wildland fire management
No abstract available.
Authors
Timothy J. Brown, Crystal A. Kolden
Tower counts Tower counts
Counting towers provide an accurate, low-cost, low-maintenance, low-technology, and easily mobilized escapement estimation program compared to other methods (e.g., weirs, hydroacoustics, mark-recapture, and aerial surveys) (Thompson 1962; Siebel 1967; Cousens et al. 1982; Symons and Waldichuk 1984; Anderson 2000; Alaska Department of Fish and Game 2003). Counting tower data has been...
Authors
Carol Ann Woody
Weirs: Counting and sampling adult salmonids in streams and rivers Weirs: Counting and sampling adult salmonids in streams and rivers
Weirs—which function as porous barriers built across stream—have long been used to capture migrating fish in flowing waters. For example, the Netsilik peoples of northern Canada used V-shaped weirs constructed of river rocks gathered onsite to capture migrating Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus (Balikci 1970). Similarly, fences constructed of stakes and a latticework of willow branches or...
Authors
Christian E. Zimmerman, Laura M. Zabkar
Assessment of marine-derived nutrients in the Copper River Delta, Alaska, using natural abundance of the stable isotopes of nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon Assessment of marine-derived nutrients in the Copper River Delta, Alaska, using natural abundance of the stable isotopes of nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon
We performed nitrogen, sulfur, and carbon stable isotope analysis (SIA) on maturing and juvenile anadromous sockeye and coho salmon, and periphyton in two Copper River delta watersheds of Alaska to trace salmonderived nutrients during 2003–2004. Maturing salmon were isotopically enriched relative to alternate freshwater N, S, and C sources as expected, with differences consistent with...
Authors
Thomas C. Kline, Carol Ann Woody, Mary Anne Bishop, Sean P. Powers, E. Eric Knudsen
Concordance of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers in detecting a founder event in Lake Clark sockeye salmon Concordance of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA markers in detecting a founder event in Lake Clark sockeye salmon
Genetic bottleneck effects can reduce genetic variation, persistence probability, and evolutionary potential of populations. Previous microsatellite analysis suggested a bottleneck associated with a common founding of sock-eye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka populations of Lake Clark, Alaska, about 100 to 400 generations ago. The common foundingevent occurred after the last glacial recession...
Authors
Kristina M. Ramstad, Carol Ann Woody, Chris Habicht, G. Kevin Sage, James E. Seeb, Fred W. Allendorf
Marine ecoregions of Alaska: Chapter 6.1 Marine ecoregions of Alaska: Chapter 6.1
No abstract available.
Authors
John F. Piatt, A.M. Springer
Exhumation and continental strike-slip fault systems: Introduction Exhumation and continental strike-slip fault systems: Introduction
Metamorphic rocks adjacent to and within strike-slip faultsystems occur in a wide range of tectonic settings. Detailed studies show that for a number of these locales a significant part of the exhumation occurred during strike-slip fault motion, but the specific processes involved are often cryptic. Although some sites share characteristic features, such as metamorphic rocks exhumed in...
Authors
S. M. Roeske, A.B. Till, D.A. Foster, J.C. Sample
Detrital zircon geochronology of some neoproterozoic to triassic rocks in interior Alaska Detrital zircon geochronology of some neoproterozoic to triassic rocks in interior Alaska
No abstract available.
Authors
D. C. Bradley, W.C. McClelland, J. L. Wooden, A.B. Till, S. M. Roeske, Marti L. Miller, Susan M. Karl, J.G. Abbott
The geophysical character of southern Alaska - Implications for crustal evolution The geophysical character of southern Alaska - Implications for crustal evolution
The southern Alaska continental margin has undergone a long and complicated history of plate convergence, subduction, accretion, and margin-parallel displacements. The crustal character of this continental margin is discernible through combined analysis of aeromagnetic and gravity data with key constraints from previous seismic interpretation. Regional magnetic data are particularly...
Authors
R. W. Saltus, T. L. Hudson, Frederic H. Wilson
North to Alaska: Evidence for conveyor belt transport of Dungeness crab larvae along the west coast of the United States and Canada North to Alaska: Evidence for conveyor belt transport of Dungeness crab larvae along the west coast of the United States and Canada
We propose and evaluate the hypothesis that Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) larvae from the northwestern coast of the United States and Canada can be transported northward to southeastern Alaska. Larvae collected in southeastern Alaska during May and June 1997–2004 had abundances and stages that varied seasonally, interannually, and spatially. An unexpected presence of late-stage larvae...
Authors
W. Park, David C. Douglas, Thomas C. Shirley
Nesting ecology of boreal forest birds following a massive outbreak of spruce beetles Nesting ecology of boreal forest birds following a massive outbreak of spruce beetles
We studied breeding dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), yellow-rumped warblers (Dendroica coronata), and spruce-nesting birds from 1997 to 1998 among forests with different levels of spruce (Picea spp.) mortality following an outbreak of spruce beetles (Dendroctonus rufipennis) in Alaska, USA. We identified species using live and beetle-killed spruce for nest sites and monitored nests to...
Authors
Steven M. Matsuoka, Colleen M. Handel
Movements and foraging effort of Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks wintering near Dutch Harbor, Alaska Movements and foraging effort of Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks wintering near Dutch Harbor, Alaska
We studied the movements and foraging effort of radio-marked Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) and Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) to evaluate habitat quality in an area impacted by industrial activity near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Foraging effort was relatively low, with Steller's Eiders foraging only 2.7 ± 0.6 (SE) hours per day and Harlequin Ducks 4.1 ± 0.5 hours per day...
Authors
John A. Reed, Paul L. Flint