Publications

The Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO),a cooperative program of the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, and the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, has detected unrest at Mount Spurr volcano, located about 125 km west of Anchorage, Alaska, at the northeast end of the Aleutian volcanic arc. This activity consists of increased...

Nesting success of Dusky Canada Geese (Branta canadensis occidentalis) has declined greatly since a major earthquake affected southern Alaska in 1964. To identify nest predators, we collected predation data at goose nests and photographs of predators at natural nests containing artificial eggs in 1997-2000. To document feeding behavior by nest predators, we compiled the evidence from...

We describe several encounters between Brown Bears (Ursus arctos) and Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) that were observed at Katmai National Park and Preserve in southwest Alaska. Katmai Brown Bears and Gray Wolves were observed interacting in a variety of behavioral modes that ranged from agonistic to tolerant. These observations provide additional insight regarding the behavioral plasticity...

The major drivers of Kenai Fjords ecosystems are tectonics and climate. In this overview, we describe how these forces have contributed to the shaping of the lands and ecosystems of Kenai Fjords. Physically, the park is comprised of several distinct components, set within a broader ecophysical framework that includes the Kenai Peninsula and coastal marine waters and islands. Squeezed...

Finely crystalline amphibole or pyroxene rims that form during reaction between silicic host melt and cognate olivine xenocrysts, newly introduced during magma mixing events, can provide information about the timing between mixing and volcanic eruptions. We investigated rim growth experimentally by placing forsteritic olivine in rhyolitic and rhyodacitic melts for times between 25 and...

Sea otters possess physical characteristics and life history attributes that provide both opportunity and constraint to their study. Because of their relatively limited diving ability they occur in nearshore marine habitats that are usually viewable from shore, allowing direct observation of most behaviors. Because sea otters live nearshore and forage on benthic invertebrates, foraging...

In geese, growth regulates survival in the first year. We examined whether early growth, which is primarily governed by environmental conditions, also affects the probability that individuals that survive their first year enter the breeding population. We used logistic regression on a sample of Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) that were weighed at a known age in their first summer...

Microsatellite allelic and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype diversity are analyzed in eight rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) collections: two from tributaries flowing into the upper Santa Ynez River watershed at Gibraltar Reservoir (Camuesa and Gidney creeks); three from tributaries between Gibraltar and Jameson reservoirs (Fox, Blue Canyon, and Alder creeks); one from a tributary...

Detailed geologic mapping in the Iron Creek area, Talkeetna Mountains B-5 Quadrangle, has documented several intrusive bodies and rock units not previously recognized and has extended the geologic history of the area through the Mesozoic and into the Tertiary era. Greenschist-facies metabasalt and metagabbro previously thought to be Paleozoic are intruded by Late Cretaceous to Paleocene...

The Kittlitz's murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a rare seabird that nests in alpine terrain and generally forages near tidewater glaciers during the breeding season. More than 95% of the global population breeds in Alaska, with the remainder occurring in the Russian Far East. A global population estimate using best-available data in the early 1990s was 20,000 individuals. However...

Genetic data are needed to aid in restoring several species of seabirds to the Gulf of Alaska. We analyzed sequence variation in mitochondrial DNA, microsatellite DNA and nuclear introns in samples of commom murres (Uria aalge), pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) and marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) from throughout the North Pacific. Data were analyzed using traditional...

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences shown on the accompanying figure follow. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.