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Publications

Browse more than 160,000 publications authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS.  Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more.

Filter Total Items: 171158

Positioning aquatic animals with acoustic transmitters

Geolocating aquatic animals with acoustic tags has been ongoing for decades, relying on the detection of acoustic signals at multiple receivers with known positions to calculate a 2D or 3D position, and ultimately recreate the path of an aquatic animal from detections at fixed stations.This method of underwater geolocation is evolving with new software and hardware options available to help invest
Authors
Robert J. Lennox, Kim Aarestrup, Josep Alós, Robert Arlinghaus, Eneko Aspillaga, Michael G. Bertram, Kim Birnie-Gauvin, Tomas Brodin, Steven J. Cooke, Lotte S. Dahlmo, Félicie Dhellemmes, Karl Ø. Gjelland, Gustav Hellström, Henry Hershey, Christopher Holbrook, Thomas Klefoth, Susan K. Lowerre-Barbieri, Christopher T. Monk, Cecilie Iden Nilsen, Ina Pauwels, Renanel Pickholtz, Marie Prchalová, Jan Reubens, Milan Říha, David Villegas-Ríos, Knut Wiik Vollset, Samuel Westrelin, Henrik Baktoft

Food web changes reflected in age-0 piscivore diets and growth

Lake Erie walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) recruitment fluctuates annually and depends partially on their diet and growth during their first year of life. In recent decades, age-0 walleye diet and growth may be responding to food web changes in western Lake Erie. To determine how age-0 walleye have responded to changes in prey species and abundance, we compared diet between 2019, 2014 and 1994–1999.
Authors
T. Yang, Christine M Mayer, Robin L. DeBruyne, Edward F. Roseman, Mark Richard Dufour, Eric J. Weimer

Sage-grouse

In this chapter, we summarize the ecology and conservation issues affecting greater (Centrocercus urophasianus) and Gunnison (C. minimus) sage-grouse, iconic and obligate species of rangelands in the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) biome in western North America. Greater sage-grouse are noted for their ability to migrate, whereas Gunnison sage-grouse localize near leks year-round. Seasonal habitats inc
Authors
Jeffrey L. Beck, Thomas J Christiansen, Kirk W. Davies, Jonathan B. Dinkins, Adrian P. Monroe, David E. Naugle, Michael A Schroeder

Manipulation of rangeland wildlife habitat

Rangeland manipulations have occurred for centuries. Those manipulations may have positive or negative effects on multiple wildlife species and their habitats. Some of these manipulations may result in landscape changes that fragment wildlife habitat and isolate populations. Habitat degradation and subsequent restoration may range from simple problems that are easy to restore to complex problems t
Authors
David A. Pyke, Chad S. Boyd

Amphibians and reptiles

Amphibians and reptiles are a diverse group of ectothermic vertebrates that occupy a variety of habitats in rangelands of North America, from wetlands to the driest deserts. These two classes of vertebrates are often referred to as herpetofauna and are studied under the field of herpetology. In U.S. rangelands, there are approximately 66 species of frogs and toads, 58 salamanders, 98 lizards, 111
Authors
David Pilliod, Todd C. Esque

North American wintering mallards infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza show few signs of altered local or migratory movements

Avian influenza viruses pose a threat to wildlife and livestock health. The emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds and poultry in North America in late 2021 was the first such outbreak since 2015 and the largest outbreak in North America to date. Despite its prominence and economic impacts, we know relatively little about how HPAI spreads in wild bird populations. In J
Authors
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Nicholas Masto, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Allison Keever, Rebecca L. Poulson, Deborah Carter, Abigail Blake-Bradshaw, Corey Highway, Jamie Feddersen, Heath M. Hagy, Richard W. Gerhold, Bradley S. Cohen, Diann Prosser

Giardia and Cryptosporidium in resident wildlife species in Arctic Alaska

Giardia and Cryptosporidium are zoonotic protozoan parasites that can infect humans and other taxa, including wildlife, often causing gastrointestinal illness. Both have been identified as One Health priorities in the Arctic, where climate change is expected to influence the distribution of many wildlife and zoonotic diseases, but little is known about their prevalence in local wildlife. To help f
Authors
Caroline R. Van Hemert, Lora Ballweber, David R. Sinnett, Todd C. Atwood, Anthony S. Fischbach, David Gustine, Kristy Pabilonia

Potential effects of climate change on Acipenser fulvescens (lake sturgeon)

Acipenser fulvescens (Rafinesque, 1817; lake sturgeon) are the only sturgeon species native to the Great Lakes region and are threatened across most of their range. They are historically vulnerable because of overfishing and habitat fragmentation with the potential for climate change acting as an increasing stressor in the future. Lake sturgeon span multiple habitats during their long lifespans, i
Authors
Holly S. Embke, Catherine A. Nikiel, Marta P. Lyons

Predicting exotic annual grass abundance in rangelands of the western United States using various precipitation scenarios

Expansion of exotic annual grass (EAG), such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L.) and medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae [L.] Nevski), could cause irreversible changes to arid and semiarid rangeland ecosystems in the western United States. The distribution and abundance of EAG species are highly affected by weather variables such as temperature and precipitation. The study's goal is to understan
Authors
Devendra Dahal, Stephen P. Boyte, Michael Oimoen

Genomes & islands & evolution: Oh my!

A central question in evolutionary biology is how lineages quickly diversify to occupy different ecological niches, along with determining genomic factors that facilitate evolutionary change. Isolated, oceanic archipelagos are famous for adaptive radiations characterized by endemic, species-rich clades with substantial ecological variation, yet genome resources key to determining eco-evo processes
Authors
Mona Renee Bellinger

Fluorine-rich mafic lower crust in the southern Rocky Mountains: The role of pre-enrichment in generating fluorine-rich silicic magmas and porphyry Mo deposits

Fluorine-rich granites and rhyolites occur throughout the southern Rocky Mountains, but the origin of F-enrichment has remained unclear. We test if F-enrichment could be inherited from ancient mafic lower crust by: (1) measuring amphibole compositions, including F and Cl contents, of lower crustal mafic granulite xenoliths from northern Colorado to determine if they are unusually enriched in halog
Authors
Joshua Mark Rosera, Ryan Edward Frazer, Ryan D. Mills, Kristin Jacob, Sean P. Gaynor, Drew S. Coleman, G. Lang Farmer

Changes in chemical occurrence, concentration, and bioactivity in the Colorado River before and after replacement of the Moab, Utah wastewater treatment plant

Long-term (2010–19) water-quality monitoring on the Colorado River downstream from Moab Utah indicated the persistent presence of Bioactive Chemicals (BC), such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals. This stream reach near Canyonlands National Park provides critical habitat for federally endangered species. The Moab wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfall discharges to the Colorado River and is the
Authors
William A. Battaglin, Paul M. Bradley, Rebbecca Weissinger, Brett R. Blackwell, Jenna E. Cavallin, Daniel L. Villeneuve, Laura A. DeCicco, Julie Kinsey