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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

Annual survival and site fidelity of northern pintails banded on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

We banded northern pintails (Anas acuta; n = 13,645) at a single site on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), Alaska, USA, from 1990 to 2001. We used recaptures from our site in combination with hunter recoveries to model annual survival, recovery rates, and fidelity to our capture location. Most recoveries (>90%) occurred in the Pacific Flyway with 64% reported from California's Central Valley. Our t
Authors
Christopher A. Nicolai, Paul L. Flint, Michael L. Wege

Effects of maternal characteristics and climatic variation on birth masses of Alaskan caribou

Understanding factors that influence birth mass of mammals provides insights to nutritional trade-offs made by females to optimize their reproduction, growth, and survival. I evaluated variation in birth mass of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) in central Alaska relative to maternal characteristics (age, body mass, cohort, and nutritional condition as influenced by winter severity) during 11 years with
Authors
Layne G. Adams

Physiological response of wild rainbow trout to angling: Impact of angling duration, fish size, body condition, and temperature

This study evaluated the immediate physiological response of wild rainbow trout to catch-and-release angling in the Alagnak River, southwest Alaska. Information was recorded on individual rainbow trout (n = 415) captured by angling including landing time and the time required to remove hooks (angling duration), the time to anesthetize fish in clove oil and withdraw blood, fish length and weight, a
Authors
Julie M. Meka, S. D. McCormick

Verification of sex from harvested sea otters using DNA testing

We used molecular genetic methods to determine the sex of 138 sea otters (Enhydra lutris) harvested from 3 regions of Alaska from 1994 to 1997, to assess the accuracy of post‐harvest field‐sexing. We also tested each of a series of factors associated with errors in field‐sexing of sea otters, including male or female bias, age‐class bias, regional bias, and bias associated with hunt characteristic
Authors
Kim T. Scribner, Ben A. Green, Carol Gorbics, James L. Bodkin

Circumpolar variation in morphological characteristics of Greater White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons

Capsule: Greater White-fronted Geese show significant variation in body size from sampling locations throughout their circumpolar breeding range. Aims: To determine the degree of geographical variation in body size of Greater White-fronted Geese and identify factors contributing to any apparent patterns in variation. Methods: Structural measures of >3000 geese from 16 breeding areas throughout the
Authors
Craig R. Ely, A.D. Fox, R.T. Alisauskas, A. Andreev, R.G. Bromley, Andrei G. Degtyarev, B. Ebbinge, E.N. Gurtovaya, R. Kerbes, Alexander V. Kondratyev, I. Kostin, A.V. Krechmar, K.E. Litvin, Y. Miyabayashi, J.H. Moou, R.M. Oates, D.L. Orthmeyer, Yutaka Sabano, S. G. Simpson, D.V. Solovieva, Michael A. Spindler, Y.V. Syroechkovsky, John Y. Takekawa, A. Walsh

Survival of Western Sandpiper broods on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska

The rate of chick growth in high-latitude breeding shorebirds is rapid, but little is known about the effect of chick mass, growth, and brood movements on subsequent brood survival. To address these topics, we monitored chick growth patterns, daily brood movements, and survival of Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri) on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska. We assessed the effect of chick age, mass, a
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Brian J. McCaffery

A comparison of seismic event detection with IASPEI and earthworm acquisition systems at Alaskan volcanoes

Since 1988, Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) has been continually monitoring seismicity at active volcanoes in Alaska (Dixon et al., 2004). The AVO seismic network has grown from 27 stations on the Cook Inlet volcanoes (Augustine, Iliamna, Redoubt, and Spurr) to 160 stations on 27 volcanoes in 2004 (Figure 1). Each seismograph subnetwork on an individual volcano typically consists of five short-pe
Authors
James P. Dixon, John A. Power, Scott D. Stihler

A signal for independent coastal and continental histories among North American wolves

Relatively little genetic variation has been uncovered in surveys across North American wolf populations. Pacific Northwest coastal wolves, in particular, have never been analysed. With an emphasis on coastal Alaska wolf populations, variation at 11 microsatellite loci was assessed. Coastal wolf populations were distinctive from continental wolves and high levels of diversity were found within thi
Authors
Byron V. Weckworth, Sandra L. Talbot, George K. Sage, David K. Person, Joseph Cook

Oceanographic conditions structure forage fishes into lipid-rich and lipid-poor communities in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA

Forage fishes were sampled with a mid-water trawl in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska, USA, from late July to early August 1996 to 1999. We sampled 3 oceanographically distinct areas of lower Cook Inlet: waters adjacent to Chisik Island, in Kachemak Bay, and near the Barren Islands. In 163 tows using a mid-water trawl, 229 437 fishes with fork length < 200 mm were captured. More than 39 species were capt
Authors
Alisa A. Abookire, John F. Piatt

Prey consumption and energy transfer by marine birds in the Gulf of Alaska

We investigated prey consumption by marine birds and their contribution to cross-shelf fluxes in the northern Gulf of Alaska. We utilized data from the North Pacific Pelagic Seabird Database for modeling energy demand and prey consumption. We found that prey consumption by marine birds was much greater over the continental shelf than it was over the basin. Over the shelf, subsurface-foraging marin
Authors
G.L. Hunt, G.S. Drew, J. Jahncke, John F. Piatt

From the field: Brown bear habituation to people — Safety, risks, and benefits

Recently, brown bear (Ursus arctos) viewing has increased in coastal Alaska and British Columbia, as well as in interior areas such as Yellowstone National Park. Viewing is most often being done under conditions that offer acceptable safety to both people and bears. We analyze and comment on the underlying processes that lead brown bears to tolerate people at close range. Although habituation is a
Authors
Stephen Herrero, Tom Smith, Terry D. DeBruyn, Kerry Gunther, Colleen A. Matt

Seasonal marine growth of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in relation to competition with Asian pink salmon (O. gorbuscho) and the 1977 ocean regime shift

Recent research demonstrated significantly lower growth and survival of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) during odd-numbered years of their second or third years at sea (1975, 1977, etc.), a trend that was opposite that of Asian pink salmon (O. gorbuscha) abundance. Here we evaluated seasonal growth trends of Kvichak and Egegik river sockeye salmon (Bristol Bay stocks) during even-
Authors
Gregory T. Ruggerone, Ed Farley, Jennifer L. Nielsen, Peter Hagen