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
Forage quantity and quality Forage quantity and quality
The Porcupine caribou herd has traditionally used the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, for calving. Availability of nutritious forage has been hypothesized as one of the reasons the Porcupine caribou herd migrates hundreds of kilometers to reach the coastal plain for calving (Kuropat and Bryant 1980, Russell et al. 1993). Forage quantity and quality and the...
Authors
Janet C. Jorgenson, Mark S. Udevitz, Nancy A. Felix
Life and death of the Resurrection Plate Life and death of the Resurrection Plate
No abstract available.
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, D. C. Bradley, R.E. Wells, Marti L. Miller
First record of a Greater Shearwater (Puffinus gravis) in Alaska First record of a Greater Shearwater (Puffinus gravis) in Alaska
The Greater Shearwater (Puffinus gravis) breeds in the southern Atlantic Ocean and disperses after breeding to the North Atlantic. On 3 August 2001, I observed and photographed an unidentified shearwater (Figure 1) in the Gulf of Alaska, about 30 km off the southern coast of Montague Island (59°50' N, 148°00' W). The bird was subsequently identified as a Greater Shearwater. This...
Authors
John M. Pearce
Population genetic structure in Lahontan cutthroat trout Population genetic structure in Lahontan cutthroat trout
We used 10 microsatellite loci to examine the genetic population structure of cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki within the Lahontan Basin complex. Genetic diversity was analyzed for trout from Nevada, California, and Utah representing three putative subspecies: Lahontan O. c. henshawi, Paiute O. c. seleniris, and Humboldt (an unnamed subspecies) cutthroat trout. We found significant...
Authors
Jennifer L. Nielsen, George K. Sage
Life-history implications of large-scale spatial variation in adult survival of black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) Life-history implications of large-scale spatial variation in adult survival of black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans)
We used capture-recapture methods to estimate adult survival rates for adult female Black Brant (Branta bernicla nigricans; hereafter “brant”) from three colonies in Alaska, two on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, and one on Alaska's Arctic coast. Costs of migration and reproductive effort varied among those colonies, enabling us to examine variation in survival in relation to variation in...
Authors
James S. Sedinger, Nathan Chelgren, Mark S. Lindberg, Tim Obritchkewitch, Morgan T. Kirk, Philip D. Martin, Betty A. Anderson, David H. Ward
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
Effects of food stress on survival and reproductive performance of seabirds Effects of food stress on survival and reproductive performance of seabirds
Traditional field methods of assessing effects of fluctuations in food supply on the survival and reproductive performance of seabirds may give equivocal results. In this project we applied an additional tool: The measure of stress hormones in free-ranging seabirds. Food stress can be quantified by measuring base levels of stress hormones such as corticosterone in the blood of seabirds...
Authors
John F. Piatt, Sasha Kitaysky
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala) Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
No abstract available
Authors
Colleen M. Handel, Robert E. Gill
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica
No abstract available
Authors
Brian J. McCaffery, Robert E. Gill
USGS Mineral Resources Program; national maps and datasets for research and land planning USGS Mineral Resources Program; national maps and datasets for research and land planning
The U.S. Geological Survey, the Nation’s leader in producing and maintaining earth science data, serves as an advisor to Congress, the Department of the Interior, and many other Federal and State agencies. Nationwide datasets that are easily available and of high quality are critical for addressing a wide range of land-planning, resource, and environmental issues. Four types of digital...
Authors
S. W. Nicholson, D. B. Stoeser, S. D. Ludington, Frederic H. Wilson
Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1999 Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1999
The collection of nine papers that follow continue the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigative reports in Alaska under the broad umbrella of the geologic sciences. The series presents new and sometimes preliminary findings that are of interest to earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers; and to the general public. Reports...