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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: 3099

Educational background and professional participation by federal wildlife biologists: Implications for science, management, and The Wildlife Society Educational background and professional participation by federal wildlife biologists: Implications for science, management, and The Wildlife Society

Over 2,000 people are employed in wildlife biology in the United States federal government. The size of this constituency motivated me to examine the amount of formal education federal biologists have received and the extent of continuing education they undertake by reading journals or attending scientific meetings. Most federal biologists who are members of The Wildlife Society (TWS)...
Authors
Joel A. Schmutz

Lichens from Simeonof Wilderness, Shumagin Island, Southwestern Alaska Lichens from Simeonof Wilderness, Shumagin Island, Southwestern Alaska

One hundred eighty-eight taxa of lichens are reported from Simeonof Island in the Shumagin Islands of southwestern Alaska. Wide-ranging arctic-alpine and boreal species dominate the lichens; a coastal element is moderately represented, while amphi-Beringian species form a minor element. The lichen component of Empetrum nigrum dwarf shrub heath, the dominant vegetation type, was analyzed...
Authors
Stephen S. Talbot, Sandra L. Talbot, J.W. Thomson, F.J.A. Daniels, W.B. Schofield

Blood selenium concentrations and enzyme activities related to glutathione metabolism in wild emperor geese Blood selenium concentrations and enzyme activities related to glutathione metabolism in wild emperor geese

In 1998, we collected blood samples from 63 emperor geese (Chen canagica) on their breeding grounds on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska, USA. We studied the relationship between selenium concentrations in whole blood and the activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase in plasma. Experimental studies have shown that plasma activities of these enzymes...
Authors
J. Christian Franson, David J. Hoffman, Joel A. Schmutz

Waterbird conservation for the Americas: The North American waterbird conservation plan, version 1 Waterbird conservation for the Americas: The North American waterbird conservation plan, version 1

The North American Waterbird Conservation Plan (the Plan) is the product of an independent partnership of individuals and institutions having interest and responsibility for conservation of waterbirds and their habitats in the Americas. This partnership - Waterbird Conservation for the Americas - was created to support a vision in which the distribution, diversity, and abundance of...
Authors
James A. Kushlan, Melanie J. Steinkamp, Katharine C. Parsons, Jack Capp, Martin Acosta Cruz, Malcolm Coulter, Ian Davidson, Loney Dickson, Naomi Edelson, Richard Elliot, R. Michael Erwin, Scott A. Hatch, Stephen Kress, Robert Milko, Steve Miller, Kyra L. Mills, Richard Paul, Roberto Phillips, Jorge E. Saliva, Bill Syderman, John Trapp, Jennifer Wheeler, Kenton D. Wohl

Anesthesia and liver biopsy techniques for pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) suspected of exposure to crude oil in marine environments Anesthesia and liver biopsy techniques for pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) suspected of exposure to crude oil in marine environments

This paper reports on the anesthesia and liver biopsy techniques used in adult and nestling pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) to test for continued exposure to residual crude oil in the marine environment. Populations of pigeon guillemots have declined significantly in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, possibly because of residual effects of crude oil in the environment after the...
Authors
Laurel A. Degernes, Craig A. Harms, Gregory H. Golet, Daniel M. Mulcahy

The central arctic caribou herd The central arctic caribou herd

From the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, use of calving and summer habitats by Central Arctic herd caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) declined near petroleum development infrastructure on Alaska's arctic coastal plain (Cameron et al. 1979; Cameron and Whitten 1980, Smith and Cameron 1983. Whitten and Cameron 1983a, 1985: Dau and Cameron 1986). With surface development continuing to...
Authors
Raymond D. Cameron, Walter T. Smith, Robert G. White, Brad Griffith

Performance of a satellite-linked GPS on Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) Performance of a satellite-linked GPS on Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)

We evaluated the utility of a satellite-linked GPS in obtaining location data from Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). A unit was attached to one of the tusks of each of three adult male walruses in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The units were designed to relay GPS positions through the Argos Data Collection and Location System. The GPS was only minimally effective in obtaining...
Authors
Chadwick V. Jay, Gerald W. Garner

The porcupine caribou herd The porcupine caribou herd

Documentation of the natural range of variation in ecological, life history, and physiological characteristics of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) of the Porcupine caribou herd is a necessary base for detecting or predicting any potential effects of industrial development on the performance (e.g., distribution, demography, weight-gain of individuals) of the herd. To demonstrate an effect of...
Authors
Brad Griffith, David C. Douglas, Noreen E. Walsh, Donald D. Young, Thomas R. McCabe, Donald E. Russell, Robert G. White, Raymond D. Cameron, Kenneth R. Whitten

Land cover Land cover

Documenting the distribution of land-cover types on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain is the foundation for impact assessment and mitigation of potential oil exploration and development. Vegetation maps facilitate wildlife studies by allowing biologists to quantify the availability of important wildlife habitats, investigate the relationships between animal locations and...
Authors
Janet C. Jorgenson, Peter C. Joria, David C. Douglas

Abundance: Population size and density estimation Abundance: Population size and density estimation

Estimates of population size (total number of individuals) or density (number of individuals per unit area) are some of the most basic requirements for wildlife research and management. This article provides a brief overview of approaches for wildlife population estimation. These include habitat-based approaches such as quadrat, line intercept, distance, and repeated count methods, as...
Authors
Mark S. Udevitz, William R. Gould

Magmatic inflation at a dormant stratovolcano: 1996-1998 activity at Mount Peulik volcano, Alaska, revealed by satellite radar interferometry Magmatic inflation at a dormant stratovolcano: 1996-1998 activity at Mount Peulik volcano, Alaska, revealed by satellite radar interferometry

A series of ERS radar interferograms that collectively span the time interval from July 1992 to August 2000 reveal that a presumed magma body located 6.6 ??? 0.5 km beneath the southwest flank of the Mount Peulik volcano inflated 0.051 ??? 0.005 km3 between October 1996 and September 1998. Peulik has been active only twice during historical time, in 1814 and 1852, and the volcano was...
Authors
Zhong Lu, Charles W. Wicks, Daniel Dzurisin, John A. Power, Seth C. Moran, Wayne R. Thatcher
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