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
Evaluating light-based geolocation for estimating demersal fish movements in high latitudes
We evaluated light-based geolocation estimates from pop-up satellite tags in high latitudes because some of the largest fisheries in the world are in areas where this technique has not been assessed. Daily longitude and latitude were estimated by using two Wildlife Computers software programs: 1) Argos Message Processor (AMP), which summarizes light intensity data transmitted to satellites, and 2)
Authors
Andrew C. Seitz, Brenda L. Norcross, Derek Wilson, Jennifer L. Nielsen
Tracking the movements of Denali's wolves
The wolves of Denali National Park (formerly Mount McKinley National Park) were the subject of some of the earliest research on wolf ecology. From 1939 to 1941, Adolph Murie performed groundbreaking studies of wolves, observing wolves and their prey and collecting wolf scats and prey remains. His work resulted in one of the first major scientific publications about wolves, The Wolves of Mount McKi
Authors
T.J. Meier, John W. Burch, Layne G. Adams
Demography, genetics, and the value of mixed messages
Iverson et al. (2004) used estimates of the homing rate for molting adult Harlequin Ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) in Alaska to draw inferences about population structure. Homing rates, defined as one minus the ratio of birds recaptured elsewhere to those recaptured at the original banding site, were high (0.95–1.00) for males and females. Iverson et al. (2004) concluded that these high rates o
Authors
John M. Pearce, Sandra L. Talbot
North Kona slump: Submarine flank failure during the early(?) tholeiitic shield stage of Hualalai Volcano
The North Kona slump is an elliptical region, about 20 by 60 km (1000-km2 area), of multiple, geometrically intricate benches and scarps, mostly at water depths of 2000–4500 m, on the west flank of Hualalai Volcano. Two dives up steep scarps in the slump area were made in September 2001, using the ROV Kaiko of the Japan Marine Science and Technology Center (JAMSTEC), as part of a collaborative Jap
Authors
P. W. Lipman, M.L. Coombs
Piggyback tectonics: Long-term growth of Kilauea on the south flank of Mauna Loa
Compositional and age data from offshore pillow lavas and volcaniclastic sediments, along with on-land geologic, seismic, and deformation data, provide broad perspectives on the early growth of Kilauea Volcano and the long-term geometric evolution of its rift zones. Sulfur-rich glass rinds on pillow lavas and volcaniclastic sediments derived from them document early underwater growth of a large co
Authors
Peter W. Lipman, Thomas W. Sisson, Michelle L. Coombs, Andrew T. Calvert, Jun-Ichi Kimura
Polar bear maternal den habitat in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) give birth during mid-winter in dens of ice and snow. Denning polar bears subjected to human disturbances may abandon dens before their altricial young can survive the rigors of the Arctic winter. Because the Arctic coastal plain of Alaska is an area of high petroleum potential and contains existing and planned oil field developments, the distribution of polar bear de
Authors
George M. Durner, Steven C. Amstrup, Ken J. Ambrosius
Microsatellite DNA and mitochondrial DNA variation in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, Alaska
Radiotelemetry data have shown that polar bears (Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774) occur in separate subpopulations in the Chukchi Sea and the southern Beaufort Sea. However, segregation is not absolute, and there is overlap of ranges of animals in each subpopulation. We used genetic variation at eight microsatellite DNA loci and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to further assess the degree of spatial struct
Authors
M. A. Cronin, Steven C. Amstrup, K.T. Scribner
Deformation driven by subduction and microplate collision: Geodynamics of Cook Inlet basin, Alaska
Late Neogene and younger deformation in Cook Inlet basin is caused by dextral transpression in the plate margin of south-central Alaska. Collision and subduction of the Yakutat microplate at the northeastern end of the Aleutian subduction zone is driving the accretionary complex of the Chugach and Kenai Mountains toward the Alaska Range on the opposite side of the basin. This deformation creates b
Authors
R.L. Bruhn, Peter J. Haeussler
Vascular flora of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, westernmost Alaska Peninsula, Alaska
The vascular flora of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), where few previous collections had been reported, was collected and recorded at sites selected to represent the totality of environmental variation. A total of 349 species (339 native and 10 introduced) was identified. To provide a comparative phytogeographic framework, we analyzed data from published reports that categorized vascular p
Authors
Stephen S. Talbot, Sandra Looman Talbot, Wilfred B. Schofield
Comparison of cytochrome P450 1A induction in blood and liver cells of sea otters
Sea otters in oiled areas of western PWS had elevated levels of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A), a biomarker of hydrocarbon exposure, measured in blood samples collected from otters in 1996- 98. In summer 2001, as part of project 01423, we have proposed to resample CYP1A in blood from sea otters in oiled and unoiled areas of PWS. Herein we describe a complementary effort to project 01423. We propose al
Authors
Brenda E. Ballachey, Paul W. Snyder, Tamara Kondratyuk
Central Alaska Network vital signs monitoring plan
Denali National Park and Preserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve have been organized into the Central Alaska Network (CAKN) for the purposes of carrying out ecological monitoring activities under the National Park Services’ Vital Signs Monitoring program. The Phase III Report is the initial draft of the Vital Signs Monitoring Plan for the
Authors
Margaret C. MacCluskie, Karen L. Oakley, Trent McDonald, Doug Wilder
Genetic characterization of brown bears of the Kodiak Archipelago
Here we examine genetic characteristics of brown bears of Kodiak and Afognak islands, using 14 variable nuclear microsatellite loci and nucleotide sequence information including the hypervariable domain I of the mtDNA control region (Wakely 1993). Because these markers, or a subset of them, have been used to characterize brown bears of the Kenai Peninsula (Jackson et al. 2005), Katmai National Par
Authors
Sandra L. Talbot, Judy R. Gust, George K. Sage, Anthony S. Fischbach, Kristin S. Amstrup, William Leacock, Larry Van Daele