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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Comparing maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods for fitting hidden Markov models to multi-state capture-recapture data of invasive carp in the Illinois River
BackgroundHidden Markov Models (HMMs) are often used to model multi-state capture-recapture data in ecology. However, a variety of HMM modeling approaches and software exist, including both maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. The diversity of these methods obscures the underlying HMM and can exaggerate minor differences in parameterization.MethodsIn this paper, we describe a general framework
Authors
Charles J. Labuzzetta, Alison A. Coulter, Richard A. Erickson
Can the planetary health concept save freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems?
People clearly need and benefit from healthy freshwater ecosystems; Given the precarious state of these important systems and services, current efforts to address the freshwater biodiversity crisis remain insufficient. Planetary health is an emerging framework that aims to secure the state of natural systems within environmental limits that ensure humanity can flourish. The planetary health concep
Authors
Steven J. Cooke, Abigail Lynch, David Tickner, Robin Abell, Tatenda Dalu, Kathryn J. Fiorella, Rajeev Raghavan, Ian J. Harrison, Sonja C. Jähnig, Derek Vollmer, Steve Carpenter
Subsurface redox interactions regulate ebullitive methane flux in heterogeneous Mississippi River deltaic wetland
As interfaces connecting terrestrial and ocean ecosystems, coastal wetlands develop temporally and spatially complex redox conditions, which drive uncertainties in greenhouse gas emission as well as the total carbon budget of the coastal ecosystem. To evaluate the role of complex redox reactions in methane emission from coastal wetlands, a coupled reactive-transport model was configured to represe
Authors
Jiaze Wang, Theresa O'Meara, Sophie LaFond-Hudson, Songjie He, Kanchan Maiti, Eric Ward, Benjamin N. Sulman
Widespread chemical dilution of streams continues as long-term effects of acidic deposition slowly reverse
Studies of recovery from acidic deposition have focused on reversal of acidification and its associated effects, but as recovery proceeds slowly, chemical dilution of surface waters is emerging as a key factor in the recovery process that has significant chemical and biological implications. This investigation uses long-term chemical records from 130 streams in the Adirondack region of New York, U
Authors
Gregory B. Lawrence, Kevin Alexander Ryan
Planning hydrological restoration of coastal wetlands: Key model considerations and solutions
The hydrological restoration of coastal wetlands is an emerging approach for mitigating and adapting to climate change and enhancing ecosystem services such as improved water quality and biodiversity. This paper synthesises current knowledge on selecting appropriate modelling approaches for hydrological restoration projects. The selection of a modelling approach is based on project-specific factor
Authors
Alice Twomey, Karinna Nunez, Joel A. Carr, Steve Crooks, Daniel A. Friess, William Glamore, Michelle Orr, Ruth Reef, Kerrylee Rogers, Nathan Waltham, Catherine E. Lovelock
Complex landslide patterns explained by local intra-unit variability of stratigraphy and structure: Case study in the Tyee Formation, Oregon, USA
Lithology and geologic structure are important controls on landslide susceptibility and are incorporated into many regional landslide hazard models. Typically, metrics for mapped geologic units are used as model input variables and a single set of values for material strength are assumed, regardless of spatial heterogeneities that may exist within a map unit. Here we describe how differences in be
Authors
Sean Richard LaHusen, Alex R. R. Grant
Environmental and geographical factors influence the occurrence and abundance of the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, in Hawai‘i
Hawaiian honeycreepers, a group of endemic Hawaiian forest birds, are being threatened by avian malaria, a non-native disease that is driving honeycreepers populations to extinction. Avian malaria is caused by the parasite Plasmodium relictum, which is transmitted by the invasive mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus. Environmental and geographical factors play an important role in shaping mosquito-born
Authors
Oswaldo Villena, Katherine Maria McClure, Richard J. Camp, Dennis Lapointe, Carter T. Atkinson, Helen Sofaer, Lucas Fortini
The geographic extent of bird populations affected by renewable-energy development
Bird populations are declining globally. Wind and solar energy can reduce emissions of fossil fuels that drive anthropogenic climate change, yet renewable-energy production represents a potential threat to bird species. Surveys to assess potential effects at renewable-energy facilities are exclusively local, and the geographic extent encompassed by birds killed at these facilities is largely unkno
Authors
Hannah Vander Zander, David H. Nelson, Tara Conkling, Taber Allison, James E. Diffendorfer, Thomas Dietsch, Amy L Fesnock, Scott Loss, Patricia Ortiz, Robin Paulmann, Krysta Rodgers, Peter M. Sanzenbacher, Todd E. Katzner
Limitations of invasive snake control tools in the context of a new invasion on an island with abundant prey
In October 2020, a new population of invasive brown treesnakes (Boiga irregularis) was discovered on the 33-ha Cocos Island, 2.5 km off the south coast of Guam. Cocos Island is a unique conservation resource, providing refuge for many lizards and birds, including endangered species, which were extirpated from mainland Guam by invasive predators including brown treesnakes. We sought to evaluate the
Authors
Shane R. Siers, Melia Gail Nafus, Jaried E. Calaor, Rachel M. Volsteadt, Matthew S. Grassi, Megan Volsteadt, Aaron F. Collins, Patrick D Barnhart, Logan Tanner Huse, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Diane L. Vice
Heterogeneous multi-stage accretionary orogenesis — Evidence from the Gunnison block in the Yavapai Province, southwest USA
Proterozoic rocks exposed in the southwestern U.S.A. represent one of the best examples of crustal growth by arc-related magmatism and accretionary orogenesis. Within the Southwest the 1.8–1.7 Ga Yavapai Province is widely regarded as a classic example of juvenile arc crust, however 1.8–2.5 Ga inherited zircon and Nd and Hf model ages have been recognized near Gunnison in central Colorado. These d
Authors
Ian William Hillenbrand, Amy K. Gilmer, Michael L. Williams, Karl E. Karlstrom, Amanda (Kate) Souders, Jorge A. Vazquez, Wayne R. Premo
Spawning habitat selection and egg deposition by reintroduced Lake Sturgeon in a tributary to Cayuga Lake, NY
In June 2017, we documented the first observed spawning event by a reintroduced population of Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in Fall Creek, a tributary to Cayuga Lake, New York, USA. This is the first observed spawning encounter of adult Lake Sturgeon since the beginning of the multi-agency Lake Sturgeon restoration effort in Cayuga Lake initiated in 1995 by the New York State Department of
Authors
Dawn E. Dittman, Marc Chalupnicki, Phyllis Randall, Emily C. Zollweg‐Horan
The importance of nodal plane orientation diversity for earthquake focal mechanism stress inversions
Inversions of earthquake focal mechanisms are among the most accessible and reliable methods for determining crustal stress. However, the use of this method varies widely, and assumptions that underpin it are often violated, potentially compromising stress estimates. We investigate the consequences of violating the little-studied assumption that the focal mechanisms have diverse orientations. Our
Authors
Jens-Erik Lundstern, Eric Beauce, Orlando J. Teran