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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Mission Area Publications
Mission Area Publications
We are focused on some of the most significant issues society faces, and our science is making a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. Learn more about the major topics our research covers and the programs focused on those topics.
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Tick abundance, diversity and pathogen data collected by the National Ecological Observatory Network
Cases of tick-borne diseases have been steadily increasing in the USA, owing in part to tick range expansion, land cover and associated host population changes, and habitat fragmentation. However, the relative importance of these and other potential drivers remain poorly understood within this complex disease system. Ticks are ectotherms with multi-host lifecycles, which makes them sensitive to ch
Authors
S. H. Paull, K. M. Thibault, Abigail Benson
Airborne electromagnetic survey results near the Poso Creek oil field, San Joaquin Valley, California, fall 2016
An airborne electromagnetic survey west of the Poso Creek oil field, located in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California, was flown in October 2016 to improve understanding of the hydrogeologic setting and the distribution of groundwater salinity in the area. The airborne electromagnetic data were used to develop resistivity models of the subsurface, where the mean depth of investigation is
Authors
Katrina D. Zamudio, Lyndsay B. Ball, Michael J. Stephens
Orbital and in-situ investigation of periodic bedrock ridges in Glen Torridon, Gale Crater, Mars
Wind has been the dominant agent of landscape modification on Mars for the past ~3 billion years. Among the diversity of features formed by aeolian abrasion on the surface of Mars are periodic bedrock ridges (PBRs), a relatively recently recognized class of erosional bedforms on Mars for which Earth analogues are rare. Gale crater, the field site for NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover
Authors
K. M. Stack, W. E. Dietrich, M. P. Lamb, Robert Sullivan, John R. Christian, Claire E Newman, Catherine O'Connell-Cooper, Jonathan W Sneed, Mackenzie D. Day, Mariah Baker, R. A. Arvidson, Christopher M. Fedo, Sabrina Khan, Rebecca Williams, Kristen A. Bennett, A. B. Bryk, Shannon Cofield, Lauren A. Edgar, V. F. Fox, Abigail A. Fraeman, Christopher H House, D. M. Rubin, Vivian Z. Sun, Jason K. Van Beek
Multidecadal trends in body size of Puget Sound Chinook Salmon: Analysis of data from the Tengu Derby, a culturally unique fishery
In Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp., downward trends in size and abundance have been reported for species and stocks for over 40 years, but the patterns are inconsistent among regions and species. Interpretation of these trends is complicated by many possible contributing factors, including short time series, data comprising a mix of stocks, and varying gear types. Here, we present data on the mas
Authors
Thomas P. Quinn, Mark David Scheuerell, James P Losee, Doug Hanada
Local populations of eastern oyster from Louisiana differ in low salinity tolerance
Eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica support a critical commercial industry and provide many ecosystem services to coastal estuaries yet are currently threatened by changing estuarine conditions. A changing climate and the effects of river and coastal management are altering freshwater inflows into productive oyster areas, causing more frequent and extreme salinity exposure. Although eastern oyst
Authors
Lauren Swam, Megan K. La Peyre, Brian Callam, Jerome F. La Peyre
Opportunities for businesses to use and support development of SEEA-aligned natural capital accounts
Global understanding of the interconnections between the environment and economy has increased, driving the development of frameworks and standards that support the measurement and valuation of natural capital and ecosystem services by both governments and businesses. This paper outlines how businesses can use natural capital accounts (NCA) aligned to the System of Environmental Economic Accountin
Authors
Jane Carter Ingram, Kenneth J. Bagstad, Michael Vardon, Charles Rhodes, Stephen M. Posner, Clyde F. Casey, Pierre D. Glynn, Carl D. Shapiro
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Predicting invasion potential of sleeper species
Sleeper species are non-native species that are established in a region and could become invasive as climate change makes conditions more favorable for many non-native species. Before we can manage potential sleepers, we must first know their identity. We analyzed non-native, established plants in the Northeast United States (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT) using the Environmental Impact Classificatio
Authors
Ayodele O'Uhuru, Audrey Barker-Plotkin, Justin Dalaba, Will Pfadenhauer, Amanda Suzzi, Toni Lyn Morelli
Vegetation type conversion in the US Southwest: Frontline observations and management responses
Forest and nonforest ecosystems of the western United States are experiencing major transformations in response to land-use change, climate warming, and their interactive effects with wildland fire. Some ecosystems are transitioning to persistent alternative types, hereafter called “vegetation type conversion” (VTC). VTC is one of the most pressing management issues in the southwestern US, yet cur
Authors
Christopher H. Guiterman, Rachel M. Gregg, Laura A.E. Marshall, Jill Beckmann, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Donald A. Falk, Jon Keeley, Anthony C. Caprio, Jonathan D. Coop, Paula J. Fornwalt, Collin Haffey, R. Keala Hagmann, Stephen Jackson, Ann M. Lynch, Ellis Margolis, Christopher Marks, Marc D. Meyer, Hugh Safford, Alexandra Dunya Syphard, Alan H. Taylor, Craig Wilcox, Dennis Carril, Carolyn Armstrong Enquist, David W. Huffman, Jose Iniguez, Nicole A. Molinari, Christina M Restaino, Jens T. Stevens
Long-term change in metabolism phenology in north temperate lakes
The phenology of dissolved oxygen (DO) dynamics and metabolism in north temperate lakes offers a basis for comparing metabolic cycles over multi-year time scales. Although proximal control over lake DO can be attributed to metabolism and physical processes, how those processes evolve over decades largely remains unexplored. Metabolism phenology may reveal the importance of coherence among lakes an
Authors
Robert Ladwig, Alison P. Appling, Austin D. Delany, Hilary A. Dugan, Qiantong Gao, Noah R. Lottig, Jemma Stachelek, Paul C. Hanson
Streambank and floodplain geomorphic change and contribution to watershed material budgets
Stream geomorphic change is highly spatially variable but critical to landform evolution, human infrastructure, habitat, and watershed pollutant transport. However, measurements and process models of streambank erosion and floodplain deposition and resulting sediment fluxes are currently insufficient to predict these rates in all perennial streams over large regions. Here we measured long-term lat
Authors
Gregory Noe, Kristina G. Hopkins, Peter Claggett, Edward R. Schenk, Marina Metes, Labeeb Ahmed, Thomas Rossiter Doody, Cliff R. Hupp
Ecological divergence of wild birds drives avian influenza spillover and global spread
The diversity of influenza A viruses (IAV) is primarily hosted by two highly divergent avian orders: Anseriformes (ducks, swans and geese) and Charadriiformes (gulls, terns and shorebirds). Studies of IAV have historically focused on Anseriformes, specifically dabbling ducks, overlooking the diversity of hosts in nature, including gull and goose species that have successfully adapted to human habi
Authors
Nichola J. Hill, Mary Anne Bishop, Nidia S. Trovao, Katherine Ineson, Anne Schaefer, Wendy B. Puryear, Katherine Zhou, Alexa Foss, Dan Clark, Ken McKenzie, Jonathan D. Jr. Gass, Laura Borkenhagen, Jeffrey S. Hall, Jonathan A. Runstadler
Integrating data types to estimate spatial patterns of avian migration across the Western Hemisphere
For many avian species, spatial migration patterns remain largely undescribed, especially across hemispheric extents. Recent advancements in tracking technologies and high-resolution species distribution models (i.e., eBird Status and Trends products) provide new insights into migratory bird movements and offer a promising opportunity for integrating independent data sources to describe avian migr
Authors
Timothy Meehan, Sarah P. Saunders, William DeLuca, Nicole L Michel, Joanna Grand, JIll Deppe, MIguel JImenez, Erika Knight, Nathaniel E. Seavy, Melanie A. Smith, Lotem Taylor, Chad Witko, Michael Akresh, David S. Barber, David Bayne, James Beasley, Jerrold L. Belant, Richard O Bierregaard Jr., Keith L. Bildstein, Than J. Boves, John N. Brzorad, Steven B. Campbell, Antonio Celis-Murillo, Hillary Cooke, Robert Domenech, Laurie J. Goodrich, Elizabeth A. Gow, Aaron Haines, Michael T. Hallworth, Jason M. Hill, Amanda E. Holland, Scott Jennings, Roland Kays, Tommy King, Kent MacFarland, Stewart Mckenzie, Peter P. Marra, Rebbeca McCabe, Kent P. McFarland, Michael J. McGrady, John Melcer Jr., Ryan Norris, Russell Norvell, Olin Rhodes Jr., Christopher C. Rimmer, Amy L. Scarpignato, Adam Shreading, Jesse Watson, Chad Wilsey