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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Paranannizziopsis spp. Infection in Wild Vipers, Europe
We describe the first detection of Paranannizziopsis sp. in a wild population of vipers in Europe. Fungal infections were severe and one individual likely died from infection. Surveillance efforts are needed to better understand the threat of this pathogen to snake conservation.
Authors
Gaelle Blanvillain, Fernando Martínez-Freiría, Joseph R. Hoyt, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Albert Martinez Silvestre
Forecasting the long-term spatial distribution of earthquakes for the 2023 US National Seismic Hazard Model using gridded seismicity
Probabilistic seismic hazard analyses such as the U.S. National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) typically rely on declustering and spatially smoothing an earthquake catalog to estimate a long‐term time‐independent (background) seismicity rate to forecast future seismicity. In support of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) 2023 update to the NSHM, we update the methods used to develop this background o
Authors
Andrea L. Llenos, Andrew J. Michael, Allison Shumway, Justin Rubinstein, Kirstie Lafon Haynie, Morgan P. Moschetti, Jason M. Altekruse, Kevin R. Milner
Modeling the impacts of Glen Canyon Dam operations on Colorado River resources
At the time of this report, the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is writing two supplemental Environmental Impact Statements (sEIS ) and a new Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will analyze the effects of changing water flow out of Glen Canyon Dam (GCD) (U.S. Department of Interior, 2024). These actions have the potential to affect downstream resources, including threatened and endanger
Authors
Charles Yackulic, Lucas Bair, Drew Elliot Eppehimer, Gerard Lewis Salter, Bridget Deemer, Bradley J. Butterfield, Alan Kasprak, Joshua Caster, Helen C. Fairley, Paul Grams, Bryce Anthony Mihalevich, Emily C. Palmquist, Joel B. Sankey
Methane seeps on the U.S. Atlantic margin: An updated inventory and interpretative framework
Since the discovery of >570 methane flares on the northern U.S. Atlantic margin between Cape Hatteras and Georges Bank in the last decade, the acquisition of thousands of kilometers of additional water column imaging data has provided greater coverage at water depths between the outer continental shelf and the lower continental slope. The additional high-resolution data reveal >1400 gas flares, bu
Authors
Carolyn D. Ruppel, Adam Skarke, Nathaniel C. Miller, Maleen Kidiwela, Jared W. Kluesner, Wayne E. Baldwin
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) case definition for wildlife
Diagnostic laboratories receive carcasses and samples for diagnostic evaluation and pathogen/toxin detection. Case definitions bring clarity and consistency to the evaluation process. Their use within and between organizations allows more uniform reporting of diseases and etiologic agents. The intent of a case definition is to provide scientifically based criteria for determining (a) if an individ
Authors
Aine C. Hawthorn, Michelle Dennis, Yasu Kiryu, Jan Landsberg, Ester Peters, Thierry M. Work
Forest bird populations at the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Hawai'i
Endemic Hawaiian forest birds have experienced dramatic population declines. The Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Refuge Complex) was established for the conservation of endangered forest birds and their habitats. Surveys have been conducted at two units of the Refuge Complex to monitor forest bird populations and their response to management actions. We analyzed survey data from 1987
Authors
Steven J. Kendall, Rachel A. Rounds, Richard J. Camp, Ayesha Genz, Thomas Cady, Donna L. Ball
Ungulate migrations of the Western United States, volume 4
Broadly distributed across the Western United States, ungulates (hooved mammals) play an important role in ecosystem function by affecting vegetation communities and forming the prey base for large carnivores. Additionally, ungulates provide economic benefits to regional communities through tourism and hunting and hold cultural significance for many Tribal communities. Many ungulates migrate seaso
Authors
Matthew Kauffman, Blake Lowrey, Chloe Beaupre, Scott Bergen, Stefanie Bergh, Kevin Blecha, Samantha Bundick, Hunter Burkett, James W. Cain III, Peyton Carl, David Casady, Corey Class, Alyson Courtemanch, Michelle Cowardin, Jennifer Diamond, Katie Dugger, Orrin Duvuvuei, Joanna R. Ennis, Michelle Flenner, Jessica Fort, Gary Fralick, Ian Freeman, Jeff Gagnon, David Garcelon, Kyle Garrison, Emily Gelzer, Evan Greenspan, Valerie Hinojoza-Rood, Pat Hnilicka, Andy Holland, Brian Hudgens, Bart Kroger, Art Lawson, Cody McKee, Jennifer L. McKee, Jerod Merkle, Tony W. Mong, Haley Nelson, Brendan Oates, Marie-Pier Poulin, Craig Reddell, Robert Ritson, Hall Sawyer, Cody Schroeder, Jessie Shapiro, Scott Sprague, Erik Steiner, Alethea Steingisser, Sam Stephens, Blair Stringham, Patrick Ryan Swazo-Hinds, Nicole Tatman, Cody F. Wallace, Don Whittaker, Benjamin Wise, Heiko U. Wittmer, Erin Wood
Global patterns of allochthony in stream–riparian meta-ecosystems
Ecosystems that are coupled by reciprocal flows of energy and nutrient subsidies can be viewed as a single “meta-ecosystem.” Despite these connections, the reciprocal flow of subsidies is greatly asymmetrical and seasonally pulsed. Here, we synthesize existing literature on stream–riparian meta-ecosystems to quantify global patterns of the amount of subsidy consumption by organisms, known as “allo
Authors
Daniel C. Allen, James H. Larson, Christina Amy Murphy, Erica A. Garcia, Kurt E. Anderson, Michelle H. Busch, Alba Argerich, Alice M. Belskis, Kierstyn T. Higgins, Brooke E Penaluna, Veronica Saenz, Jay E. Jones, Matt R. Whiles
Integrating social-ecological outcomes into invasive species management: The Tamarix case
Incorporating societal considerations into decisions related to invasive species management is desirable, but can be challenging because it requires a solid understanding of the ecological functions and socio-cultural and economic benefits and values of the invaded environment before and after invasion. The ecosystem service (ES) concept was designed to facilitate such decision-making by establish
Authors
Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Patrick B. Shafroth, Francesc Baro
Tracking magma pathways and surface faulting in the Southwest Rift Zone and the Koaʻe fault system (Kīlauea volcano, Hawai ‘i) using photogrammetry and structural observations
Volcanic islands are often subject to flank instability, resulting from a combination of magmatic intrusions along rift zones and gravitational spreading causing extensional faulting at the surface. Here, we study the Koaʻe fault system (KFS), located south of the summit caldera of Kīlauea volcano in Hawaiʻi, one of the most active volcanoes on Earth, prone to active faulting, episodic dike intrus
Authors
Stefano Mannini, Joël Ruch, Richard W. Hazlett, Drew T. Downs, Carolyn Parcheta, Steven P. Lundblad, James Anderson, Ryan L. Perroy, Nicolas Oestreicher
Contribution of host species and pathogen clade to snake fungal disease hotspots in Europe
Infectious diseases are influenced by interactions between host and pathogen, and the number of infected hosts is rarely homogenous across the landscape. Areas with elevated pathogen prevalence can maintain a high force of infection and may indicate areas with disease impacts on host populations. However, isolating the ecological processes that result in increases in infection prevalence and inten
Authors
Gaëlle Blanvillain, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Nicolas Joudrier, Stanislaw Bury, Thibault Cuenot, Michael Franzen, Fernando Martinez-Freiria, Gaëtan Guiller, Bálint Halpern, Aleksandra Kolanek, Katarzyna Kurek, Olivier Lourdais, Alix Michon, Radka Musilová, Silke Schweiger, Barbara Szulc, Sylvain Ursenbacher, Oleksandr Zinenko, Joseph R. Hoyt
Where east meets west: Phylogeography of the high Arctic North American brant goose
Genetic variation in Arctic species is often influenced by vicariance during the Pleistocene, as ice sheets fragmented the landscape and displaced populations to low- and high-latitude refugia. The formation of secondary contact or suture zones during periods of ice sheet retraction has important consequences on genetic diversity by facilitating genetic connectivity between formerly isolated popul
Authors
Robert Wilson, Sean Boyd, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, David H. Ward, Preben Clausen, Kathryn Dickson, Bartwolt Ebbinge, Gudmundur Gudmundsson, George Sage, Jolene Rearick, Dirk V. Derksen, Sandra Talbot