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Book Chapters

Browse more than 5,500 book chapters authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.

Filter Total Items: 6071

Ecohydrology and Its Relation to Integrated Groundwater Management

In the twentieth century, groundwater characterization focused primarily on easily measured hydraulic metrics of water storage and flows. Twenty-first century concepts of groundwater availability, however, encompass other factors having societal value, such as ecological well-being. Effective ecohydrological science is a nexus of fundamental understanding derived from two scientific disciplines: (
Authors
Randall J. Hunt, Masaki Hayashi, Okke Batelaan

Ecological resilience

Resilience is the capacity of complex systems of people and nature to withstand disturbance without shifting into an alternate regime, or a different type of system organized around different processes and structures (Holling, 1973). Resilience theory was developed to explain the non-linear dynamics of complex adaptive systems, like social-ecological systems (SES) (Walker & Salt, 2006). It is ofte
Authors
Craig R. Allen, Ahjond S. Garmestiani, Shana Sundstrom, David G. Angeler

Estimating abundance

This chapter provides a non-technical overview of ‘closed population capture–recapture’ models, a class of well-established models that are widely applied in ecology, such as removal sampling, covariate models, and distance sampling. These methods are regularly adopted for studies of reptiles, in order to estimate abundance from counts of marked individuals while accounting for imperfect detection
Authors
Chris Sutherland, Andy Royle

Estimating abundance: Chapter 27

This chapter provides a non-technical overview of ‘closed population capture–recapture’ models, a class of well-established models that are widely applied in ecology, such as removal sampling, covariate models, and distance sampling. These methods are regularly adopted for studies of reptiles, in order to estimate abundance from counts of marked individuals while accounting for imperfect detection
Authors
J. Andrew Royle

Estuaries: Life on the edge: Chapter 19

No abstract available.
Authors
James E. Cloern, Patrick L. Barnard, Erin Beller, John C. Callaway, Letitia Grenier, Edwin D. Grosholz, Robin Grossinger, Kathryn Hieb, James T. Holligaugh, Noah Knowles, Martha Sutula, Samuel Veloz, Kerstin Wasson, Alison Whipple

Evolution of viral virulence: empirical studies

The concept of virulence as a pathogen trait that can evolve in response to selection has led to a large body of virulence evolution theory developed in the 1980-1990s. Various aspects of this theory predict increased or decreased virulence in response to a complex array of selection pressures including mode of transmission, changes in host, mixed infection, vector-borne transmission, environmenta
Authors
Gael Kurath, Andrew R. Wargo

Exotic annual Bromus invasions: Comparisons among species and ecoregions in the western United States

Exotic annual Bromus species are widely recognized for their potential to invade, dominate, and alter the structure and function of ecosystems. In this chapter, we summarize the invasion potential, ecosystem threats, and management strategies for different Bromus species within each of five ecoregions of the western United States. We characterize invasion potential and threats in terms of ecosyste
Authors
Matthew L. Brooks, Cynthia S. Brown, Jeanne C. Chambers, Carla M. D'Antonio, Jon E. Keeley, Jayne Belnap

Exploration and geology of the Karangahake and Rahu epithermal Au-Ag deposits, Hauraki Goldfield

Karangahake was the third largest gold producer in the Hauraki goldfield. In 2009, New Talisman Gold mines was granted a mining permit, and plans are underway to commence underground mine development of the Maria vein, which has a maiden Ore Reserve (consistent with the 2012 JORC Code) of 28 800 oz Au and 127 800 oz Ag. Exploration drilling at Rahu, located 2 km north of Karangahake has identified
Authors
Mark P. Simpson, Murray R Stevens, Jeffrey L. Mauk, Matthew C Harris, Alistair G J Stuart

Fire as an ecosystem process: Chapter 3

This long-anticipated reference and sourcebook for California’s remarkable ecological abundance provides an integrated assessment of each major ecosystem type—its distribution, structure, function, and management. A comprehensive synthesis of our knowledge about this biologically diverse state, Ecosystems of California covers the state from oceans to mountaintops using multiple lenses: past and pr
Authors
Jon E. Keeley, Hugh D. Safford

Fishes of the Mississippi River

No abstract available.
Authors
Harold Schramm, Jay T. Hatch, Robert A. Hrabik, William T. Slack

Geology of the Mount Rogers area, revisited: Evidence of Neoproterozoic continental rifting, glaciation, and the opening and closing of the Iapetus ocean, Blue Ridge, VA–NC–TN

Recent field and geochronological studies in eight 7.5-minute quadrangles near Mount Rogers in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee recognize important stratigraphic and structural relationships for the Neoproterozoic Mount Rogers and Konnarock formations, the northeast end of the Mountain City window, the separation of Mesoproterozoic rocks of the Blue Ridge into three age groups, and timing an

Authors
Arthur J. Merschat, C. Scott Southworth, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Ryan J. McAleer

Geometallurgy of ironsand from the Waikato North Head deposit, New Zealand

The Waikato North Head deposit produces a magnetic mineral concentrate from Quaternary sands that formed in a coastal setting in the North Island of New Zealand. Detailed examination of the magnetic mineral fraction of the different stratigraphic horizons mined at Waikato North Head shows that the youngest units yield concentrates with significant concentrations of gangue minerals that are include
Authors
Jeffrey L. Mauk, Helen A Cocker, Harold Rogers, Jamie Ogiliev, Alex B Padya