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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: 3082

Use of satellite telemetry to identify common loon migration routes, staging areas and wintering range Use of satellite telemetry to identify common loon migration routes, staging areas and wintering range

We developed a satellite transmitter attachment technique for adult Common Loons (Gavia immer) that would help in identifying important migration routes, staging areas, and the location of wintering grounds of birds that breed in the north central United States. During the autumn and winter of 1998, the migration of six adult loons that were radio marked in northern Wisconsin and...
Authors
Kevin P. Kenow, Michael W. Meyer, David Evers, David C. Douglas, J. Hines

Sea otter population status and the process of recovery from the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill Sea otter population status and the process of recovery from the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill

Sea otter Enhydra lutris populations were severely affected by the 1989 'Exxon Valdez' oil spill in western Prince William Sound, AK, and had not fully recovered by 2000. Here we present results of population surveys and incorporate findings from related studies to identify current population status and factors affecting recovery. Between 1993 and 2000, the number of sea otters in the...
Authors
James L. Bodkin, Brenda E. Ballachey, T.A. Dean, Allan K. Fukuyama, S.C. Jewett, L. McDonald, Daniel H. Monson, Charles E. O’Clair, G.R. VanBlaricom

Paleoseismology at high latitudes: Seismic disturbance of upper Quaternary deposits along the Castle Mountain fault near Houston, Alaska Paleoseismology at high latitudes: Seismic disturbance of upper Quaternary deposits along the Castle Mountain fault near Houston, Alaska

Most paleoseismic studies are at low to moderate latitudes. Here we present results from a high-latitude (61°30′ N) trenching study of the Castle Mountain fault in south-central Alaska. This fault is the only one known in the greater Anchorage, Alaska, area with historical seismicity and a Holocene fault scarp. It strikes east-northeast and cuts glacial and postglacial sediments in an...
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, Timothy C. Best, Christopher F. Waythomas

Research plan for lands administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Interior Columbia Basin and Snake River Plateau Research plan for lands administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior in the Interior Columbia Basin and Snake River Plateau

This document presents a long-term research strategy designed to address current and future research needs for management of Department of the Interior-administered ecosystems in the Intermountain West. Although the research plan was developed in the context of the Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project, the plan addresses many high-priority issues facing land managers...
Authors
Erik A. Beever, David A. Pyke

Does food availability affect energy expenditure rates of nesting seabirds? A supplemental-feeding experiment with Black-Legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) Does food availability affect energy expenditure rates of nesting seabirds? A supplemental-feeding experiment with Black-Legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla)

We used a supplemental-feeding experiment, the doubly labeled water technique, and a model-selection approach based upon the Akaike Information Criterion to examine effects of food availability on energy expenditure rates of Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) raising young. Energy expenditure rates of supplementally fed females (n = 14) and males (n = 16) were 34 and 20% lower...
Authors
Patrick G.R. Jodice, Daniel D. Roby, Scott A. Hatch, Verena A. Gill, Richard B. Lanctot, G. Henk Visser

The polar bear management agreement for the southern Beaufort Sea: An evaluation of the first ten years of a unique conservation agreement The polar bear management agreement for the southern Beaufort Sea: An evaluation of the first ten years of a unique conservation agreement

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the southern Beaufort Sea population, distributed from approximately Icy Cape, west of Point Barrow, to Pearce Point, east of Paulatuk in Canada, are harvested by hunters from both countries. In Canada, quotas to control polar bear hunting have been in place, with periodic modifications, since 1968. In Alaska, passage of the United State Marine Mammal...
Authors
C.D. Brower, A. Carpenter, M.L. Branigan, W. Calvert, T. Evans, Anthony S. Fischbach, J.A. Nagy, S. Schliebe, I. Stirling

Using satellite telemetry to define spatial population structure in polar bears in the Norwegian and western Russian Arctic Using satellite telemetry to define spatial population structure in polar bears in the Norwegian and western Russian Arctic

1. Animal populations, defined by geographical areas within a species’ distribution where population dynamics are largely regulated by births and deaths rather than by migration from surrounding areas, may be the correct unit for wildlife management. However, in heterogeneous landscapes varying habitat quality may yield subpopulations with distinct patterns in resource use and demography
Authors
Mette Mauritzen, Andrew E. Derocher, Øystein Wiig, Stanislav Belikov, Andrei N. Boltunov, Gerald W. Garner

Persistent organic pollutants in murre eggs from the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea Persistent organic pollutants in murre eggs from the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea

No abstract available.
Authors
John R. Kucklick, Stacy S. Vander Pol, P.R. Becker, Rebecca S. Pugh, Kristin S. Simac, G.W. York, D.G. Rosenau

Activity patterns and monitoring numbers of Horned Puffins and Parakeet Auklets Activity patterns and monitoring numbers of Horned Puffins and Parakeet Auklets

Nearshore counts of birds on the water and time-lapse photography were used to monitor seasonal activity patterns and interannual variation in numbers of Horned Puffins (Fratercula corniculata) and Parakeet Auklets (Aethia psittacula) at the Semidi Islands, Alaska. The best period for over-water counts was mid egg-laying through hatching in auklets and late prelaying through early...
Authors
Scott A. Hatch

Growth and abundance of Pacific Sand Lance, Ammodytes hexapterus, under differing oceanographic regimes Growth and abundance of Pacific Sand Lance, Ammodytes hexapterus, under differing oceanographic regimes

Dramatic changes in seabird and marine mammal stocks in the Gulf of Alaska have been linked to shifts in abundance and composition of forage fish stocks over the past 20 years. The relative value (e.g., size and condition of individual fish, abundance) of specific forage fish stocks to predators under temporally changing oceanographic regimes is also expected to vary. We inferred...
Authors
Martin D. Robards, Floyd Gray, John F. Piatt
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