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: 2886
Anesthesia and liver biopsy techniques for pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) suspected of exposure to crude oil in marine environments
This paper reports on the anesthesia and liver biopsy techniques used in adult and nestling pigeon guillemots (Cepphus columba) to test for continued exposure to residual crude oil in the marine environment. Populations of pigeon guillemots have declined significantly in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, possibly because of residual effects of crude oil in the environment after the Exxon Valdez o
Authors
Laurel A. Degernes, Craig A. Harms, Gregory H. Golet, Daniel M. Mulcahy
Reduction of provisioning effort in response to experimental manipulation of chick nutritional status in the Horned Puffin
Using a supplemental feeding experiment, we investigated the ability of adult Horned Puffins to decrease provisioning effort in response to reduced nutritional requirements of chicks. We found no difference between experimental and control groups in parental provisioning before supplementary feeding was initiated. After receiving supplemental food for seven days, experimental chicks grew faster, g
Authors
A.M.A. Harding, Thomas I. van Pelt, John F. Piatt, A.S. Kitaysky
Life and death of the Resurrection Plate
No abstract available.
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, D. C. Bradley, R.E. Wells, Marti L. Miller
Land cover
Documenting the distribution of land-cover types on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain is the foundation for impact assessment and mitigation of potential oil exploration and development. Vegetation maps facilitate wildlife studies by allowing biologists to quantify the availability of important wildlife habitats, investigate the relationships between animal locations and the distri
Authors
Janet C. Jorgenson, Peter C. Joria, David C. Douglas
The porcupine caribou herd
Documentation of the natural range of variation in ecological, life history, and physiological characteristics of caribou (Rangifer tarandus) of the Porcupine caribou herd is a necessary base for detecting or predicting any potential effects of industrial development on the performance (e.g., distribution, demography, weight-gain of individuals) of the herd. To demonstrate an effect of development
Authors
Brad Griffith, David C. Douglas, Noreen E. Walsh, Donald D. Young, Thomas R. McCabe, Donald E. Russell, Robert G. White, Raymond D. Cameron, Kenneth R. Whitten
Effects of food stress on survival and reproductive performance of seabirds
Traditional field methods of assessing effects of fluctuations in food supply on the survival and reproductive performance of seabirds may give equivocal results. In this project we applied an additional tool: The measure of stress hormones in free-ranging seabirds. Food stress can be quantified by measuring base levels of stress hormones such as corticosterone in the blood of seabirds, or the ris
Authors
John F. Piatt, Sasha Kitaysky
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
No abstract available
Authors
Colleen M. Handel, Robert E. Gill
Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1999
The collection of nine papers that follow continue the series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigative reports in Alaska under the broad umbrella of the geologic sciences. The series presents new and sometimes preliminary findings that are of interest to earth scientists in academia, government, and industry; to land and resource managers; and to the general public. Reports presented in Geol
Observations of earthquake source parameters at 2 km depth in the Long Valley Caldera, eastern California
To investigate seismic source parameter scaling and seismic efficiency in the Long Valley caldera, California, we measured source parameters for 41 earthquakes (M 0.5 to M 5) recorded at 2 km depth in the Long Valley Exploratory Well. Borehole recordings provide a wide frequency bandwidth, typically 1 to 200–300 Hz, and greatly reduce seismic noise and path effects compared to surface recordings.
Authors
Stephanie G. Prejean, William L. Ellsworth
Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project
No abstract available.
Authors
Geoff S. York, P.R. Becker, Lyman K. Thorsteinson
Effects of recent climate warming on caribou habitat and calf survival
Migratory Barren-Ground Caribou Rangifer tarandus granti are the most important subsistence resource for northern indigenous peoples. They are likely to respond to global climatic changes that affect the distribution of their forage resources and the availability of forage through the year. The Porcupine Caribou herd is a large, internationally migratory herd of about 128,000 individuals that occu
Authors
Brad Griffith, David C. Douglas, Donald E. Russell, Robert G. White, Thomas R. McCabe, Kenneth R. Whitten