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
Are migratory waterfowl vectors of seagrass pathogens?
Migratory waterfowl vector plant seeds and other tissues, but little attention has focused on the potential of avian vectoring of plant pathogens. Extensive meadows of eelgrass (Zostera marina) in southwest Alaska support hundreds of thousands of waterfowl during fall migration and may be susceptible to plant pathogens. We recovered DNA of organisms pathogenic to eelgrass from environmental samp
Authors
Damian M. Menning, David H. Ward, Sandy Wyllie-Echeverria, Kevin Sage, Megan C. Gravley, Hunter Gravley, Sandra L. Talbot
Conservation genomics in a changing arctic
Although logistically challenging to study, the Arctic is a bellwether for global change and is becoming a model for questions pertinent to the persistence of biodiversity. Disruption of Arctic ecosystems is accelerating, with impacts ranging from mixing of biotic communities to individual behavioral responses. Understanding these changes is crucial for conservation and sustainable economic develo
Authors
Jocelyn P. Colella, Sandra L. Talbot, Christian Brochmann, Eric B. Taylor, Eric P. Hoberg, Joseph A. Cook
Extending seasonal discharge records for streamgage sites on the North Fork Fortymile and Middle Fork Fortymile Rivers, Alaska, through water year 2019
Daily mean discharge values were estimated for May 20–September 30 for 1976–82 and 2006–18 for the U.S. Geological Survey North Fork Fortymile River and Middle Fork Fortymile River streamgage sites in Alaska. A relation between study streamgage discharge and discharge for an index streamgage on the main-stem Fortymile River for a concurrent period in 2019 was developed using the maintenance of var
Authors
Janet H. Curran
Infrasound generated by the 2016-2017 shallow submarine eruption of Bogoslof volcano, Alaska
The 2016–2017 shallow submarine eruption of Bogoslof volcano produced numerous infrasound signals over 9 months that were recorded on six Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) arrays at ranges of 59 to over 800 km from the volcano. The lack of geophysical monitoring near Bogoslof and the repeated production of volcanic clouds to flight levels made monitoring by remote infrasound critical during the eru
Authors
John J. Lyons, Alexandra M. Iezzi, David Fee, Hans Schwaiger, Aaron Wech, Matthew M. Haney
Multi-decadal patterns of vegetation succession after tundra fire on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska
Alaska’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) is one of the warmest parts of the
Arctic tundra biome and tundra fires are common in its upland areas. Here we combine
field measurements, Landsat observations, and quantitative cover maps for tundra plant
functional types (PFTs) to characterize multi-decadal succession and landscape change
after fire in lichen-dominated upland tundra of the YKD, where extensi
Authors
Gerald Frost, Rachel A. Loehman, Lisa Saperstein, Matthew J. Macander, Peter Nelson, David Paradis, Sue M. Natali
Simulation modeling of complex climate, wildfire, and vegetation dynamics to address wicked problems in land management
Complex, reciprocal interactions among climate, disturbance, and vegetation
dramatically alter spatial landscape patterns and influence ecosystem dynamics.
As climate and disturbance regimes shift, historical analogs and past empirical studies
may not be entirely appropriate as templates for future management. The need for a
better understanding of the potential impacts of climate changes on ecosy
Authors
Rachel A. Loehman, Robert E. Keane, Lisa M. Holsinger
Fatty acid-based diet estimates suggest ringed seal remain the main prey of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears despite recent use of onshore food resources
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the southern Beaufort Sea (SB) subpopulation have traditionally fed predominantly upon ice‐seals; however, as the proportion of the subpopulation using onshore habitat has recently increased, foraging on land‐based resources, including remains of subsistence‐harvested bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) and colonial nesting seabirds has been observed. Adipose tis
Authors
Jennifer Bourque, Todd C. Atwood, George J. Divoky, Connie Stewart, Melissa A. McKinney
Catalogue of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) maternal den locations in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and nearby areas, 1910–2018
This report presents data on the approximate locations and methods of discovery of 530 polar bear (Ursus maritimus) maternal dens observed in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and neighboring areas from 1910 to 2018, and archived partly by the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, and partly by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management, in Anchorage, Alaska. A description
Authors
George M. Durner, Steven C. Amstrup, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas, Anthony S. Fischbach, Jay W. Olson, Karyn D. Rode, Ryan H. Wilson
The clock keeps ticking: Circadian rhythms of free-ranging polar bears
Life in the Arctic presents organisms with multiple challenges, including extreme photic conditions, cold temperatures, and annual loss and daily movement of sea ice. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) evolved under these unique conditions, where they rely on ice to hunt their main prey, seals. However, very little is known about the dynamics of their daily and seasonal activity patterns. For many orga
Authors
Jasmine V. Ware, Karyn D. Rode, Charles T. Robbins, T. Leise, C.R. Weil, Heiko T. Jansen
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Central North Slope of Alaska, 2020
Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 3.6 billion barrels of oil and 8.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (associated and nonassociated) in conventional accumulations in Mississippian through Paleogene strata in the central North Slope of Alaska.
Authors
David W. Houseknecht, Katherine J. Whidden, Christopher D. Connors, Richard O. Lease, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, William A. Rouse, Palma J. Botterell, Rebecca A. Smith, Margaret M. Sanders, William H. Craddock, Christina A. DeVera, Christopher P. Garrity, Marc L. Buursink, C. Özgen Karacan, Samuel J. Heller, Thomas E. Moore, Julie A. Dumoulin, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Katherine L. French, Cheryl A. Woodall, Ronald M. Drake, Kristen R. Marra, Thomas M. Finn, Scott A. Kinney, Chilisa M. Shorten
Genetic confirmation of a natural hybrid between a Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and a Cooper’s Hawk (A. cooperii)
Although hybrids between captive Accipiter species are known, and hybrids between wild Accipiter species in North America have long been suspected, none have been confirmed to date. However, in 2014, a hatching year Accipiter captured at Cape May, New Jersey, during fall migration, appeared intermediate in size and plumage between a Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) and a Cooper's Hawk (A. coo
Authors
Christy Haughey, Arthur Nelson, Paul Napier, R. N. Rosenfield, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Sandra L. Talbot
Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016
About 62,000 dead or dying common murres (Uria aalge), the trophically dominant fish-eating seabird of the North Pacific, washed ashore between summer 2015 and spring 2016 on beaches from California to Alaska. Most birds were severely emaciated and, so far, no evidence for anything other than starvation was found to explain this mass mortality. Three-quarters of murres were found in the Gulf of Al
Authors
John F. Piatt, Julia K. Parrish, Heather M. Renner, Sarah K. Schoen, Timothy Jones, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Kathy J. Kuletz, Barbara Bodenstein, Marisol Garcia-Reyes, Rebecca Duerr, Robin Corcoran, Robb S.A. Kaler, Gerard J. McChesney, Richard T. Golightly, Heather A. Coletti, Robert M. Suryan, Hillary K. Burgess, Jackie Lindsey, Kirsten Lindquist, Peter Warzybok, Jaime Jahncke, Jan Roletto, William J. Sydeman