Publications
USGS research activities relevant to Alaska have yielded more than 9400 historical publications. This page features some of the most recent newsworthy research findings.
Filter Total Items: 2885
Preliminary geologic map of the Cold Bay and False Pass quadrangles, Alaska Peninsula
This map of the Cold Bay and False Pass 1:250,000-scale quadrangles on the Alaska Peninsula is a compilation based in part on the mapping conducted as part of the Alaska Mineral Resource Assessment Program (AMRAP) and the Geothermal Energy Program. Field studies by the authors began as early as 1973 in the quadrangles, but systematic mapping was not begun until 1988. Systematic mapping remains to
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson, Thomas P. Miller, Robert L. Detterman
Intraspecific mitochondrial DNA variation in North American cervids
Intraspecific variation in mitochondrial DNA of North American cervids was assessed with restriction enzymes to determine relationships among populations and subspecies. No variation was detected in moose (Alces alces) and little in elk (Cervus elaphus). Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) possessed considerable variation. Ch
Authors
M. A. Cronin
The distribution of seabirds and fish in relation to ocean currents in the southeastern Chukchi Sea
In late August 1988, we studied the distribution of seabirds in the southeastern Chukchi Sea, particularly in waters near a major seabird colony at Cape Thompson. Foraging areas were characterized using hydrographic data obtained from hydroacoustic surveys for fish. Murres (Uria spp.) and Black-legged Kitttiwakes Rissa tridactyla breeding at Cape Thompson fed mostly on Arctic cod, which are known
Authors
John F. Piatt, John L. Wells, Andrea MacCharles, Brian S. Fadely
The velocity field along the San Andreas Fault in central and southern California
The velocity field within a 100‐km‐broad zone centered on the San Andreas fault between the Mexican border and San Francisco Bay has been inferred from repeated surveys of trilateration networks in the 1973–1989 interval. The velocity field has the appearance of a shear flow that remains parallel to the local strike of the fault even through such major deflections as the big bend of the San Andrea
Authors
Michael Lisowski, James C. Savage, W.H. Prescott
Variable first prebasic molt in Rio Grande and Merriam's wild turkeys
Gallinaceous birds typically retain the juvenal ninth (JIX) and tenth (JX) primary wing feathers during the first prebasic molt (Petrides 1945, terminology follows Humphrey and Parkes 1959). However, not all Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) retain JIX and JX during this molt. Some retain only JX (reviewed by Lewis 1967), and in 21% of 125 Florida Wild Turkeys (M. g. osceola), all 10 juvenal pri
Authors
Joel A. Schmutz, Richard W. Hoffman
Effects of oil pollution on marine bird populations
Worldwide oil pollution has killed millions of marine birds in this century but it has been difficult to directly link these losses to population declines. Estimated bird losses from acute spills and chronic pollution are not precise because we usually do not know the proportion of birds killed at sea that are detected on beach surveys or the origin of those birds. Data required to assess effects
Authors
John F. Piatt, Harry R. Carter, David N. Nettleship
How do foraging seabirds sample their environment?
No abstract available.
Authors
G.L. Hunt, John F. Piatt, Kjell Einar Erikstad
The ecological and evolutionary consequences of body size: Introductory remarks
No abstract available.
Authors
John F. Piatt
Body size and foraging behavior in birds
No abstract available.
Authors
R. Ian Goudie, John F. Piatt
Observations on habitat use, breeding chronology and parental care in Bristle-thighed Curlews on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska
Results from an intensive survey in 1989 of one of the two known breeding localities of Bristle-thighed Curlews Numenius tahitiensis are reported. During the pre-nesting period birds confined most of their activity to two vegetation communities: shrub meadow tundra and low shrub/tussock tundra. During nesting more than half the Curlews seen were observed on shrub meadow tundra, whilst during brood
Authors
Robert E. Gill, Richard B. Lanctot, J.D. Mason, Colleen M. Handel
Birds of the Kilbuck and Ahklun mountain region, Alaska
Between 1952 and 1988, we studied the abundance, distribution, occurrence, and habitats used by birds in the northwest portion of Bristol Bay and the adjacent Kilbuck and Ahklun mountains. In the 809 days we were present, we conducted 53 studies or surveys of birds in the region. We gathered information on 185 species, of which 65% (121) nested, 10% (19) probably nested, and 11% (21) were permanen
Authors
Margaret R. Petersen, Douglas N. Weir, Matthew H. Dick
Seasonal abundance and vertical distribution of capelin (Mallotus villosus) in relation to water temperature at a coastal site off eastern Newfoundland
The seasonal abundance and vertical distribution of capelin in relation to water temperature have been investigated by conducting repeated hydroacoustic surveys at a coastal site off eastern Newfoundland. Water temperatures were warmer in 1983 than in 1984 as indicated by the earlier appearance and greater depth of the seasonal thermocline. Correspondingly, schools of capelin appeared earlier, wer
Authors
David A. Methven, John F. Piatt