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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: 3104

Overview of studies to determine injury caused by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill to marine mammals Overview of studies to determine injury caused by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill to marine mammals

Marine mammal damage assessment studies after the Exxon Valdez oil spill concentrated on sea otters, harbor seals, Steller sea lions, killer whales, and humpback whales. Sea otter and harbor seals were the most affected marine mammal; it was estimated that several thousand otters and several hundred harbor seals died within months of the spill. Steller sea lion, harbor seal
Authors
Thomas R. Loughlin, Brenda E. Ballachey, B.A. Wright

The Emperor Goose: An annotated bibliography The Emperor Goose: An annotated bibliography

This bibliography contains more than 500 published and unpublished references relevant to the emperor goose (Chen canagica). The referenced works date from the early exploration of Beringia and Alaska through the formal description of the species in 1802 to 1993.
Authors
Robert F. Rockwell, Margaret R. Petersen, Joel A. Schmutz

Migration, fidelity, and use of autumn staging grounds in Alaska by Cackling Canada Geese Branta canadensis minima Migration, fidelity, and use of autumn staging grounds in Alaska by Cackling Canada Geese Branta canadensis minima

Cackling Canada Geese were studied annually (1985-88) on autumn migration staging areas in Alaska during a period of rapid population growth. Geese concentrated at two estuaries (Ugashik Bay and Cinder Lagoon) along the north side of the Alaska Peninsula. Birds arrived on the staging areas in late September, numbers peaked during mid-October, and departure occurred by late October or...
Authors
Robert E. Gill, Christopher Babcock, Colleen M. Handel, William R. Butler, Dennis G. Raveling

Assessing variability and trends in Arctic sea ice distribution using satellite data Assessing variability and trends in Arctic sea ice distribution using satellite data

Trends in the annual minimum, minimum monthly-mean, and the sea ice extent at the end of August were investigated for the Barents and western Kara Seas and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean during 1966 to 1994 using data from Russian ice maps (1974-1994), Kosmos-Okean and ALMAZ SAR satellite series (1984-1994), and published literature. Four definitions of sea ice extent were examined...
Authors
G. I. Belchansky, Ilia N. Mordvintsev, David C. Douglas

Allocation of limited reserves to a clutch: A model explaining the lack of a relationship between clutch size and egg size Allocation of limited reserves to a clutch: A model explaining the lack of a relationship between clutch size and egg size

Lack (1967, 1968) proposed that clutch size in waterfowl is limited by the nutrients available to females when producing eggs. He suggested that if nutrients available for clutch formation are limited, then species producing small eggs would, on average, lay more eggs than species with large eggs. Rohwer (1988) argues that this model should also apply within species. Thus, the nutrition...
Authors
Paul L. Flint, J. Barry Grand, James S. Sedinger

Renesting ecology of northern pintails on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska Renesting ecology of northern pintails on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

We used radio telemetry to study renesting by wild, free-ranging Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) on the coastal Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in 1994 and 1995. Fifty-six percent of females (n = 39) renested at least once. Propensity to renest declined among females that initiated later first nests. Renesting interval was not related to female weight, year, or initiation date of first nests. Mean...
Authors
J. Barry Grand, Paul L. Flint

Evidence from cytochrome b sequences and allozymes for a new species of alcid: The long-billed murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix) Evidence from cytochrome b sequences and allozymes for a new species of alcid: The long-billed murrelet (Brachyramphus perdix)

Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) are coastal seabirds that breed predominantly in old-growth forest throughout the North Pacific. Presently they are classified into two phenotypically distinct subspecies: one in North America (B. m. marmoratus) and one in Asia (B. m. perdix). The Asian form was classified as a separate species in 1811, but was lumped with B. marmoratus during...
Authors
Vicki L. Friesen, John F. Piatt, Allan J. Baker

How many seabirds were killed by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill? How many seabirds were killed by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill?

After the Exxon Valdez oil spill of 24 March 1989, 36,115 dead seabirds were recovered from beaches and processed at morgues. Most or all of 1,888 live oiled seabirds brought to rehabilitation centers also died and about 3,260 oiled carcasses were never delivered to morgues. Of these 41,263 carcasses accounted for, we estimated conservatively that only 30,000 were killed by oil pollution...
Authors
John F. Piatt, R. Glenn Ford
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