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.
Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
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Rebuttal to correspondence on “sediment sources and sealed-pavement area drive polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon and metal occurrence in urban streams
No abstract available.
Authors
Travis S. Schmidt, Christopher C. Fuller, Sharon L. Qi, Allen C. Gellis
Effects of nitrate and conductivity on embryo-larval fathead minnows
Nitrate concentrations have been rising in surface waters over the last century and now frequently exceed drinking water standards and environmental safety benchmarks globally. Health-wise, these trends are concerning because nitrate has been shown to disrupt endocrine function and developmental outcomes. The present study investigated potential sublethal effects of nitrate on developing fathead m
Authors
Thea M. Edwards, Daniel J. Lamm, Joel J. Harvey
Demographics and gross pathology of scoters and scaups killed by the Cosco Busan oil spill in California
Unusual wildlife mortality events provide a unique opportunity to collect information on demographics, disease, and body condition in affected wildlife, which may be useful for informing oil spill damage assessments and future spill responses. In November 2007, the Cosco Busan Oil Spill occurred in San Francisco Bay, California, a globally important wintering area for waterfowl. The spill resulted
Authors
Jessie Beck, Ryan D. Carle, HannahRose M. Nevins, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Erica Donnelly-Greenan
A simplified method for value of information using constructed scales
The value of information is a central concept in decision analysis, used to quantify how much the expected outcome of a decision would be improved if epistemic uncertainty could be resolved prior to committing to a course of action. One of the challenges, however, in quantitative analysis of the value of information is that the calculations are demanding, especially in requiring predictions of out
Authors
Michael C. Runge, Clark S. Rushing, James E. Lyons, Madeleine A. Rubenstein
How do ambient conditions and management actions affect manatee movements and habitat use?
Kings Bay in northwest Florida, USA, is an important winter home of the largest aggregation of Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and the only location in the United States where visitors legally swim and interact with manatees. In addition to ambient conditions, visitors to the area and management actions have the potential to influence manatee behaviors. We tracked 32 manatees wit
Authors
Daniel Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Joyce Kleen, Joyce Palmer
Goldilocks forbs: Survival is highest outside—but not too far outside—of Wyoming big sagebrush canopies
In arid and semiarid systems, positive effects of nurse shrubs generally occur immediately underneath and around shrub canopies, creating microsites that can be targeted to promote plant establishment in restoration settings. Alternatively, the best microsites may occur in the interspace zone immediately surrounding nurse shrubs if positive abiotic effects extend beyond nurse shrub canopy boundari
Authors
Sofia Koutzoukis, David A. Pyke, Mark W. Brunson, Jacopo A. Baggio, Carmen Calzado-Martinez, Kari E. Veblen
Evaluating and mitigating the impact of systematic geolocation error on canopy height measurement performance of GEDI
NASA's Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation (GEDI) is designed to provide high-resolution measurements of forest structure and topography between 52° N and S. However, current geolocation accuracy may limit further science applications of footprint-level products as early adopters have found it difficult to align with in-situ forestry inventory data and high-resolution imagery for calibration a
Authors
Hao Tang, Jason M. Stoker, Scott Luthcke, John Armston, Kyungtae Lee, Bryan Blair, Michelle Hofton
Bilateral palpebral reduction and concurrent mycoplasmosis in a wild Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
A wild Agassiz's desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, with bilateral eyelid reduction and plaques of tissue covering the superior surface of both corneas was examined in the field and subsequently submitted to the University of Florida for diagnostics. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), from a swab of both corneas, was positive for Mycoplasma agassizii. Two months later, the tortoise was euthanatize
Authors
Elliott R. Jacobson, Kristin H. Berry, Dennis E Brooks, John F. Roberts
Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus), Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus), and Coastal California Gnatcatchers (Polioptila californica californica) at the Santa Fe Dam, Los Angeles County, Cali
In 2022, we surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; vireo), Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher), and Coastal California Gnatcatchers (Polioptila californica californica; gnatcatcher) in the Santa Fe Dam detention basin and along the San Gabriel River upstream from the Santa Fe Dam near Irwindale, California. Four vireo surveys were completed be
Authors
Suellen Lynn, Barbara E. Kus
Effects of large-scale disturbance on animal space use: Functional responses by greater sage-grouse after megafire
Global change has altered the nature of disturbance regimes, and megafire events are increasingly common. Megafires result in immediate changes to habitat available to terrestrial wildlife over broad landscapes, yet we know surprisingly little about how such changes shape space use of sensitive species in habitat that remains. Functional responses provide a framework for understanding and predicti
Authors
Bryan S. Stevens, Shane Roberts, Courtney J. Conway, Devin K. Engelstead
Impact of wastewater treatment plant effluent on the winter thermal regime of two urban Colorado South Platte tributaries
Wastewater treatment plant effluent can increase stream water temperature from near freezing to 5°C–12°C in winter months. Recent research in the South Platte River Basin in Colorado showed that this warming alters the reproductive timing of some fishes. However, the spatial extent and magnitude of this warming are unknown. Thus, we created winter water temperature models both upstream and downstr
Authors
Catherine M. Adams, Dana L. Winkelman, Ryan M. Fitzpatrick
Predicting methane emissions and developing reduction strategies for a Central Appalachian Basin, USA, longwall mine through analysis and modeling of geology and degasification system performance
Coal mine methane is a safety concern in active mines due to explosion risk and an environmental concern due to the greenhouse gas (GHG) properties of methane emissions to the atmosphere. Depending on the mine design and operation, structural and stratigraphic characteristics of the geology, and the properties of coal beds affected by mining, a significant amount of methane can be released during
Authors
C. Özgen Karacan