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: 2891
Fatty acid signatures of stomach oil and adipose tissue of northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) in Alaska: Implications for diet analysis of Procellariiform birds
Procellariiforms are unique among seabirds in storing dietary lipids in both adipose tissue and stomach oil. Thus, both lipid sources are potentially useful for trophic studies using fatty acid (FA) signatures. However, little is known about the relationship between FA signatures in stomach oil and adipose tissue of individuals or whether these signatures provide similar information about diet and
Authors
S.W. Wang, S.J. Iverson, A.M. Springer, Scott A. Hatch
Landward and eastward shift of Alaskan polar bear denning associated with recent sea ice changes
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in the northern Alaska region den in coastal areas and on offshore drifting ice. We evaluated changes in the distribution of polar bear maternal dens between 1985 and 2005, using satellite telemetry. We determined the distribution of maternal dens occupied by 89 satellite collared female polar bears between 137°W and 167°W longitude. The proportion of dens on pack ice
Authors
Anthony S. Fischbach, Steven C. Amstrup, David C. Douglas
Revisiting evolutionary dead ends in sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka) life history
This study challenges recent hypotheses about sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) colonization based on life history and broadens the pathways that investigators should consider when studying sockeye colonization of novel habitats. Most sockeye populations exhibit lake-type life histories. Riverine populations are thought to be more likely to stray from their natal stream to spawn and therefore co
Authors
S.A. Pavey, T.R. Hamon, J.L. Nielsen
Application of ground-penetrating radar imagery for three-dimensional visualisation of near-surface structures in ice-rich permafrost, Barrow, Alaska
Three-dimensional ground-penetrating radar (3D GPR) was used to investigate the subsurface structure of ice-wedge polygons and other features of the frozen active layer and near-surface permafrost near Barrow, Alaska. Surveys were conducted at three sites located on landscapes of different geomorphic age. At each site, sediment cores were collected and characterised to aid interpretation of GPR da
Authors
Jeffrey S. Munroe, James A. Doolittle, Mikhail Kanevskiy, Kenneth M. Hinkel, Frederick E. Nelson, Benjamin M. Jones, Yuri Shur, John M. Kimble
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in Steller's eiders (Polysticta stelleri) and harlequin ducks (Histronicus histronicus) in the Eastern Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA
Seaducks may be affected by harmful levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at seaports near the Arctic. As an indicator of exposure to PAHs, we measured hepatic enzyme 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity (EROD) to determine cytochrome P4501A induction in Steller's eiders (Polysticta stelleri) and Harlequin ducks (Histronicus histronicus) from Unalaska, Popof, and Unga Islands (AK, U
Authors
A.K. Miles, Paul L. Flint, K.A. Trust, M.A. Ricca, S.E. Spring, D.E. Arrieta, T. Hollmen, B.W. Wilson
Methods to assess natural and anthropogenic thaw lake drainage on the western Arctic coastal plain of northern Alaska
Thousands of lakes are found on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska and northwestern Canada. Developed atop continuous permafrost, these thaw lakes and associated drained thaw lake basins are the dominant landscape elements and together cover 46% of the 34,570 km2western Arctic Coastal Plain (WACP). Lakes drain by a variety of episodic processes, including coastal erosion, stream meanderin
Authors
Kenneth M. Hinkel, Benjamin M. Jones, Wendy R. Eisner, Chris J. Cuomo, R.A. Beck, R. Frohn
Genetic investigation of natural hybridization between rainbow and coastal cutthroat trout in the copper River Delta, Alaska
Molecular genetic methods were used to quantify natural hybridization between rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss or steelhead (anadromous rainbow trout) and coastal cutthroat trout O. clarkii clarkii collected in the Copper River delta, Southeast Alaska. Eleven locations were sampled to determine the extent of hybridization and the distribution of hybrids. Four diagnostic nuclear microsatellite loc
Authors
I. Williams, G.H. Reeves, S.L. Graziano, J.L. Nielsen
Moult migration of emperor geese Chen canagica between Alaska and Russia
We studied reproductive success and post-breeding movements of 32 adult female emperor geese Chen canagica that were marked with satellite radio transmitters on their nesting area on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), Alaska 2000–2004. All 16 females that failed to successfully reproduce departed the YKD and moulted remiges either on the north coast of the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia (n=15), or on St
Authors
Jerry W. Hupp, Joel A. Schmutz, Craig R. Ely, E.E. Syroechkovskiy, Alexander V. Kondratyev, W.D. Eldridge, E. Lappo
Survival of breeding Pacific common eiders on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Populations of Pacific common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) breeding in Alaska, USA, have declined markedly over the past 40 years. We studied survival of adult female Pacific common eiders using capture—recapture of nesting hens at 3 sites on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), Alaska from 1994 to 2004. We used data consisting of 268 recapture events from 361 uniquely marked individuals to
Authors
H.M. Wilson, Paul L. Flint, Christine L. Moran, A.N. Powell
North to Alaska: Evidence for conveyor belt transport of Dungeness crab larvae along the west coast of the United States and Canada
We propose and evaluate the hypothesis that Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) larvae from the northwestern coast of the United States and Canada can be transported northward to southeastern Alaska. Larvae collected in southeastern Alaska during May and June 1997–2004 had abundances and stages that varied seasonally, interannually, and spatially. An unexpected presence of late-stage larvae in spring
Authors
W. Park, David C. Douglas, Thomas C. Shirley
Nesting ecology of boreal forest birds following a massive outbreak of spruce beetles
We studied breeding dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis), yellow-rumped warblers (Dendroica coronata), and spruce-nesting birds from 1997 to 1998 among forests with different levels of spruce (Picea spp.) mortality following an outbreak of spruce beetles (Dendroctonus rufipennis) in Alaska, USA. We identified species using live and beetle-killed spruce for nest sites and monitored nests to determine
Authors
Steven M. Matsuoka, Colleen M. Handel
Movements and foraging effort of Steller's Eiders and Harlequin Ducks wintering near Dutch Harbor, Alaska
We studied the movements and foraging effort of radio-marked Steller's Eiders (Polysticta stelleri) and Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) to evaluate habitat quality in an area impacted by industrial activity near Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Foraging effort was relatively low, with Steller's Eiders foraging only 2.7 ± 0.6 (SE) hours per day and Harlequin Ducks 4.1 ± 0.5 hours per day. Low-fora
Authors
John A. Reed, Paul L. Flint