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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: 3110

Fish assemblages in Macrocystis and Nereocystis kelp forests off Central California Fish assemblages in Macrocystis and Nereocystis kelp forests off Central California

The abundance and species composition of conspicuous fishes were compared within two canopy forming kelp forests (giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera, and bull kelp, Nereocystis luetkeana) in Central California. The primary investigative method was a subtidal belt transect, in which visual observation was used. The species composition of fish assemblages in the two canopy types was similar...
Authors
James L. Bodkin

A sublittoral population of Pleurophycus gardneri Setchell and Saunders 1900 (Phaeophyceae: Laminariaceae) in central California A sublittoral population of Pleurophycus gardneri Setchell and Saunders 1900 (Phaeophyceae: Laminariaceae) in central California

Published distributional records for the stipitate kelp Pleurophycus gardneri Setchell and Saunders 1900 (Phaeophyceae: Laminariaceae) indicae a geographic range from Montague Island (59°58’N, 147°22W), Alaska to Fort Bragg (39°27’N, 123°47’W), California (Druehl 1969, 1970; Kjeldsen 1972). P. gardneri is found primarily in rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal locations (Scagel 1967...
Authors
Glenn R. VanBlaricom, Daniel C. Reed, Christopher Harrold, James L. Bodkin

What won't Turnstones eat? What won't Turnstones eat?

The Turnstone Arenaria interpres probably has one of the most varied diets of any wader species. Besides the 'normal' foods taken (see, e.g., Prater 1972, Nettleship 1973, Jones 1975), a considerable variety of 'unusual' foods and feeding behaviours has also been reported. Items taken include soap, gull excrement, dog food, potato peels, cheese, oatmeal, and the flesh of dead animals...
Authors
Robert E. Gill

Pup production, abundance, and breeding distribution of northern elephant seals at San Nicolas Island, winter 1981 Pup production, abundance, and breeding distribution of northern elephant seals at San Nicolas Island, winter 1981

A major breeding colony of northern elephant seals, Mirounga angustirostris, occurs on San Nicolas Island, California. Due to commercial hunting, elephant seals were extinct on San Nicolas Island by the end of the 19th century. Subsequent recovery of the population has been well documented (Table 1). Census data collected since 1949 indicate that the colony has been growing rapidly in...

The Meshik Arc: An eocene to earliest miocene magmatic arc on the Alaska Peninsula The Meshik Arc: An eocene to earliest miocene magmatic arc on the Alaska Peninsula

The Meshik arc is herein defined to include Eocene to earliest Miocene volcanic and hypabyssal rocks and the associated Meshik and Stepovak Formations of the central Alaska Peninsula. Igneous rocks range from basalt to dacite and yielded K-Ar ages of 48 to 22 m.y. The Meshik arc is oriented along the trend of the Alaska Peninsula, subparallel to the present-day Aleutian arc. Rocks of the...
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson

The Emperor Goose The Emperor Goose

Many ornithologists believe the emperor goose (Chen canagicus) is the most beautiful goose in North America. Detailed descriptions of its plumage can be found in Palmer1 and a general description in Bellrose.2 Emperor geese are rather short and squatty, with yellow-orange feet and pink bills. Their bluish-gray body feathers are banded in black and fringed on the outside edge with white...
Authors
Margaret R. Petersen

Foraging recruitment by the Giant Tropical Ant Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Foraging recruitment by the Giant Tropical Ant Paraponera clavata (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Increased foraging of an exceptionally abundant, but ephemeral, food source by ants can result from foraging excitement that does not include pheromone trails, tandem running, or from recruitment of other workers along pheromone trails (Carrol and Janzen, 1973). They also provided rationale for two types of short-lived pheromone trails resulting in mass or group recruitment. These both...
Authors
Bruce A. Barrett, Clive D. Jorgenson, Sandra J. Looman

Research on Alaskan polar bears in 1979 and 1980 Research on Alaskan polar bears in 1979 and 1980

In 1979 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continued its program of mark and recapture. From 31 March to 4 May field crews working at Point Barrow, Alaska, captured and marked a total of 15 polar bears (Table I). The small number was due to very poor ice conditions off the coast of Alaska, making tracking and capturing difficult. Four of the bears were recaptures from previous years. In...
Authors
Steven C. Amstrup

Diving depths of four alcids Diving depths of four alcids

Incidental catches of 12,243 Common Murres (Uria aalge), 875 Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica), 36 Black Guillemots (Cepphus grylle), and 9 Razorbills (Alca torda) were recorded off Newfoundland during the summers of 1980-1982 (26,445 net-days of fishing effort). Most catch occurred in stationary gill nets set on the sea floor at depths of up to 180 m and revealed that murres...
Authors
John F. Piatt, David N. Nettleship

Vertical transmission of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): Isolation of virus from dead eggs and fry Vertical transmission of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka): Isolation of virus from dead eggs and fry

The control of epizootics of infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN) virus in salmonid fishes is presently based on examination and certification of adult brood fish to prevent the introduction of virus-infected eggs into hatcheries (Canadian Fisheries and Marine Service 1976; McDaniel 1979). This strategy is based on the assumption that the virus is vertically transmitted in...
Authors
D. Mulcahy, R.J. Pascho

Summary of data on the age of the Orca Group, Alaska: A section in The United States Geological Survey in Alaska: Accomplishments during 1984 Summary of data on the age of the Orca Group, Alaska: A section in The United States Geological Survey in Alaska: Accomplishments during 1984

The Orca Group is a widespread, thick, complexly deformed accretionary sequence of flysch and tholeiitic basalt in the Prince William Sound area (Winkler, 1976; Winkler and Plafker, 1981) (fig. 49). Despite a number of extensive field studies of the Orca Group, reliable data on the age of the unit have been elusive. On the basis of sparse paleontologic and radiometric data, the sequence...
Authors
George Plafker, Gerta Keller, Steven W. Nelson, Julie A. Dumoulin, Marti L. Miller

Review of radiometric data from the Yukon crystalline terrane, Alaska and Yukon Territory Review of radiometric data from the Yukon crystalline terrane, Alaska and Yukon Territory

The results of more than 20 years of geochronological studies in the Yukon Crystalline Terrane in east-central Alaska and the western Yukon Territory suggest at least six igneous and thermal (metamorphic?) events. Plutonism during Mississippian, Early Jurassic, mid-Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous, and early Tertiary times is indicated. Evidence also indicates that Mississippian, Early...
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson, James G. Smith, Nora B. Shew
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