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
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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A suction pump sampler for invertebrate drift detects exceptionally high concentrations of small invertebrates that drift nets miss
Invertebrate drift is a key process in riverine ecosystems controlling aquatic invertebrate movement, distribution, and availability to fish as prey. However, accurately sampling drift across a wide range of invertebrate sizes is difficult because small invertebrates slip through coarse-mesh drift nets, and fine mesh clogs more easily, which reduces filtration efficiency and measurement accuracy.
Authors
Jason R. Neuswanger, Erik R. Schoen, Mark S. Wipfli, Carol J. Volk, James W. Savereide
A framework to integrate innovations in invasion science for proactive management
Invasive alien species (IAS) are a rising threat to biodiversity, national security, and regional economies, with impacts in the hundreds of billions of U.S. dollars annually. Proactive or predictive approaches guided by scientific knowledge are essential to keeping pace with growing impacts of invasions under climate change. Although the rapid development of diverse technologies and approaches ha
Authors
Charles B. van Rees, Brian K. Hand, Sean C. Carter, Charles Bargeron, Timothy Joseph Cline, Wesley M. Daniel, Jason A. Ferrante, Keith Gaddis, Margaret E. Hunter, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Melodie A. McGeoch, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Matthew E. Neilson, Helen E. Roy, Mary Ann Rozance, Adam Sepulveda, Rebekah D. Wallace, Diane Whited, Taylor Wilcox, John S. Kimball, Gordon Luikart
Defining oyster resource zones across coastal Louisiana for restoration and aquaculture
Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are a critical ecological and commercial resource in the northern Gulf of Mexico facing changing environmental conditions from river management and climate change. In Louisiana, USA, development of restored reefs, and off-bottom aquaculture would benefit from the identification of locations supportive of sustainable oyster populations (i.e., metapopulations)
Authors
Lauren M. Swam, Brady Couvillion, Brian Callam, Jerome F. La Peyre, Megan K. La Peyre
Golden Eagle (Aquila chysaetos)
The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is commonly recognized as an indicator of ecosystem health and was selected as an important indicator species for the ecological health of lands owned and managed by East Bay Stewardship Network (Network) partner agencies within the area of focus for this project (See map, Chapter 1). Based on national conservation goals and past and current golden eagle resear
Authors
David Wiens, Patrick Kolar, Douglas A. Bell
A novel herpesvirus detected in 3 different species of chelonians
Herpesviruses are found in free-living and captive chelonian populations, often in association with morbidity and mortality. To date, all known chelonian herpesviruses fall within the subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae. We detected a novel herpesvirus in 3 species of chelonians: a captive leopard tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis) in western TX, USA; a steppe tortoise (Testudo [Agrionemys] horsfieldii) fo
Authors
John M. Winter, James F. X. Wellehan, Kathleen Apakupakul, Jamie Palmer, Maris Brenn-White, Kali Standorf, Kristin H. Berry, April L. Childress, Pete Koplos, Michael M. Garner, Sharon L. Deem
Final Report: Predicting impacts to mule deer of changing forage using landscape surface phenology metrics
No abstract available.
Authors
Tabitha Graves
The North American Freshwater Migratory Fish Database (NAFMFD): Characterizing the migratory life histories of freshwater fishes of Canada, the United States and Mexico
AimMigratory freshwater fishes are those that must access discrete habitats to complete their life cycles. Freshwater fish migrations occur around the world and provide numerous ecosystem services for humans and natural systems; however, many migratory species are in decline globally. A limiting factor to successfully conserve freshwater migratory fishes is that the migratory life histories of man
Authors
Emily M. Dean, Arthur R. Cooper, Lizhu Wang, Wesley M. Daniel, Solomon David, Clayton Ernzen, Keith B. Gido, Edward Hale, Tim J. Haxton, William Kelso, Nancy J. Leonard, Chris Lido, Joseph Margraf, Michael D. Porter, Casey A. Pennock, David L. Propst, Jared Ross, Michelle Staudinger, Dana M. Infante, Gary Whelan
Topographic controls on ice flow and recession for Juneau Icefield (Alaska/British Columbia)
Globally, mountain glaciers and ice caps are losing dramatic volumes of ice. The resultant sea-level rise is dominated by contributions from Alaska. Plateau icefields may be especially sensitive to climate change due to the non-linear controls their topography imparts on their response to climate change. However, Alaskan plateau icefields have been subject to little structural glaciological or reg
Authors
Bethan Davies, Jacob Bendle, Jonathan Carrivick, Robert McNabb, Christopher J. McNeil, Mauri Pelto, Seth Campbell, Tom Holt, Jeremy Ely, Bradley Markle
Ecological and social strategies for managing fisheries using the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework
Fisheries management is a complex task made even more challenging by rapid and unprecedented socioecological transformations associated with climate change. The Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework can be a useful tool to support fisheries management in facing the high uncertainty and variability associated with aquatic ecosystem transformations. Here, RAD strategies are presented to address ecolo
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Frank J. Rahel, Douglas Limpinsel, Suresh Sethi, Agustin C. Engman, David J. Lawrence, Katherine E. Mills, Wendy Morrison, Jay O. Peterson, Mark T. Porath
Biogeochemical and ecosystem properties in three adjacent semiarid grasslands are resistant to nitrogen deposition but sensitive to edaphic variability
Drylands have low nitrogen stocks and are predicted to be sensitive to modest increases in reactive nitrogen availability, but direct evidence that atmospheric nitrogen deposition will have sustained effects on dryland ecosystems is sparse and conflicting.We used three long-running in situ nitrogen deposition simulation experiments and a complementary laboratory incubation experiment to address fu
Authors
Brooke Bossert Osborne, Carla M Roybal, Robin H. Reibold, Christopher D Collier, Erika L. Geiger, Michala Lee Phillips, Michael N Weintraub, Sasha C. Reed
Neuroendocrine regulation of plasma cortisol levels during smoltification and seawater acclimation of Atlantic salmon
Diadromous fishes undergo dramatic changes in osmoregulatory capacity in preparation for migration between freshwater and seawater. One of the primary hormones involved in coordinating these changes is the glucocorticoid hormone, cortisol. In Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), cortisol levels increase during the spring smoltification period prior to seawater migration; however, the neuroendocrine fact
Authors
Brett M Culbert, Amy M. Regish, Daniel J Hall, Stephen D. McCormick, Nicholas J. Bernier
Deep-ocean polymetallic nodules and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the global ocean: New sources for critical metals
The transition from a global hydrocarbon economy to a green energy economy and the rapidly growing middle class in developing countries are driving the need for considerable new sources of critical materials. Deep-ocean minerals, namely cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts and polymetallic nodules, are two such new resources generating interest.Polymetallic nodules are essentially two-dimensional min
Authors
James R. Hein, Kira Mizell