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.
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Genetic analysis of North American Phragmites australis guides management approaches
Phragmites australis subsp. australis is an invasive and ecologically detrimental plant in multiple regions of North America. Its co-occurrence with the native subspecies, and multiple instances of hybridization, has created the need to differentiate Phragmites subspecies or haplotypes so that management can be appropriately targeted to the invader. We compiled a review of current genetic discrimi
Authors
Denise L. Lindsay, Joanna Freeland, Ping Gong, Xin Guan, Nathan E Harms, Kurt P. Kowalski, Richard F. Lance, Dong-Ha Oh, Bradley T Sartain, Douglas L Wendell
The hydroclimate niche: A tool for predicting and managing riparian plant community responses to streamflow seasonality
Habitat suitability is a consequence of interacting environmental factors. In riparian ecosystems, suitable plant habitat is influenced by interactions between stream hydrology and climate, hereafter referred to as “hydroclimate”. We tested the hypothesis that hydroclimate variables would improve the fit of ecological niche models for a suite of riparian species using occurrence data from the west
Authors
Bradley J. Butterfield, Emily C. Palmquist, Charles Yackulic
Bulk and intramolecular carbon isotopic compositions of hydrocarbon gases from laboratory pyrolysis of oil shale of the Green River Formation: Implications for isotope structures of kerogens
Evaluation of intramolecular isotope distributions within organic compounds can provide important insights into gas formation processes and structural properties of gas-generating precursors, such as kerogen, bitumen, and oil, in natural reservoirs. Until recently, little has been known about the intramolecular isotope distributions within kerogens. In this study, we conducted systematic pyrolysis
Authors
Xiaoqiang Li, Justin E. Birdwell, Juske Horita
Predicted uranium and radon concentrations in New Hampshire (USA) groundwater—Using Multi Order Hydrologic Position as predictors
Two radioactive elements, uranium (U) and radon (Rn), which are of potential concern in New Hampshire (NH) groundwater, are investigated. Exceedance probability maps are tools to highlight locations where the concentrations of undesirable substances in the groundwater may be elevated. Two forms of statistical analysis are used to create exceedance probability maps for U and Rn in NH groundwater. T
Authors
Richard B. Moore, Kenneth Belitz, Joseph D. Ayotte, Terri L. Arnold, Laura Hayes, Jennifer B. Sharpe, J. Jeffrey Starn
Patterns and controls of foliar nutrient stoichiometry and flexibility across United States forests
Plant element stoichiometry and stoichiometric flexibility strongly regulate ecosystem responses to global change. Here, we tested three potential mechanistic drivers (climate, soil nutrients, and plant taxonomy) of both using paired foliar and soil nutrient data from terrestrial forested National Ecological Observatory Network sites across the USA. We found that broad patterns of foliar nitrogen
Authors
Katherine A Kynarski, Fiona M. Soper, Sasha C. Reed, William R Wieder, Cory C Cleveland
Backpack electrofishing does not contribute to external signs of gas bubble trauma in sculpins
We exposed prickly sculpin Cottus asper and reticulate sculpin Cottus perplexus to electroshock and sham treatments in a controlled laboratory setting to determine if backpack electrofishing contributed to or exacerbated external signs of gas bubble trauma (GBT) in fish exposed to elevated total dissolved gas (TDG) levels. Fish were exposed to 115, 120 and 125% TDG (measured as percent of saturati
Authors
Kenneth Tiffan, Nicole Joy Eller
Availability of lesser prairie-chicken nesting habitat impairs restoration success
Regional populations of lesser prairie-chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) have been declining irregularly since the early 1900s (Jensen et al. 2000). Populations in the Sand Sagebrush Prairie Ecoregion of Kansas and Colorado, USA, have been experiencing declines during the last 2 decades. Ecoregion-wide declines included the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands in southwestern Kansas and s
Authors
Liam A. Berigan, Carly S. H. Aulicky, Elisabeth C. Teige, Daniel S. Sullins, David A. Haukos, Kent A. Fricke, Jonathan H. Reitz, Liza G. Rossi, Kraig A. Schultz, Andrew Ricketts
Comparing line feature morphology with scale specific sinuosity distributions: A modified earth mover’s distance
No abstract available.
Authors
Barry J. Kronenfeld, Barbara Buttenfield, Ethan J. Shavers, Larry Stanislawski
Systematic mapping of the ocean-continent transform plate boundary of the Queen Charlotte fault system, southeastern Alaska and western British Columbia—A preliminary bathymetric terrain model
In 2015, U.S. Geological Survey scientists in collaboration with scientists from other institutions began a study of the Queen Charlotte fault—the first systematic study of the fault in more than three decades. The primary goal of the study was to gain a better understanding of the earthquake, tsunami, and underwater-landslide hazards throughout southeastern Alaska, as well as gather data to devel
Authors
Brian D. Andrews, Daniel S. Brothers, Peter Dartnell, J. Vaughn Barrie, Peter J. Haeussler, Kristen M. Green, H. Gary Greene, Nathaniel C. Miller, Jared W. Kluesner, Uri S. ten Brink
Adapting to climate change on desert rangelands: A multi-site comparison of grazing behavior plasticity of heritage and improved beef cattle
Climate change is amplifying the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of desert rangeland forages through its impact on precipitation variability. Foraging behavior plasticity (an animal's ability to alter its behavior to cope with environmental variation) could be a key trait for climate adaptation of beef cattle in arid environments. We analyzed GPS-derived movement and activity data of Criollo and comm
Authors
Andres F. Cibils, Rick E. Estell, Sheri Spiegal, Shelemia Nyamuryekung’e, Matthew M. McIntosh, Danielle M. Duni, Herrera Conegliano, Felipe A. Rodriguez Almeida, Octavio Roacho Estrada, Lisandro J. Blanco, Michael C. Duniway, Santiago A. Utsumi, Alfredo L. Gonzalez
Unified methods in collecting, preserving, and archiving coral bleaching and restoration specimens to increase sample utility and interdisciplinary collaboration
Coral reefs are declining worldwide primarily because of bleaching and subsequent mortality resulting from thermal stress. Currently, extensive efforts to engage in more holistic research and restoration endeavors have considerably expanded the techniques applied to examine coral samples. Despite such advances, coral bleaching and restoration studies are often conducted within a specific disciplin
Authors
R. Vega Thurber, E R Schmeltzer, A G Grottoli, R. van Woesik, R. J. Toonen, M E Warner, K L Dobson, R H McLachlan, K L Barott, D J Barshis, J H Baumann, L Chapron, D J Combosch, A M S Correa, T M DeCarlo, M Hagedorn, Laetitia Hedouin, K D Hoadley, T Felis, C Ferrier-Pages, C D Kenkel, Ilsa B. Kuffner, J L Matthews, Miguel Medina, C P Meyer, C Oster, J T Price, H M Putnam, Y Sawall
Contemporary (1984–2020) fire history metrics for the conterminous United States and ecoregional differences by land ownership
Background: Remotely sensed burned area products are critical to support fire modelling, policy, and management but often require further processing before use.Aim: We calculated fire history metrics from the Landsat Burned Area Product (1984–2020) across the conterminous U.S. (CONUS) including (1) fire frequency, (2) time since last burn (TSLB), (3) year of last burn, (4) longest fire-free interv
Authors
Melanie K. Vanderhoof, Todd Hawbaker, Casey Teske, Joe Noble, Jim Smith