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
Weak effects of geolocators on small birds: a meta‐analysis controlled for phylogeny and publication bias
Currently, the deployment of tracking devices is one of the most frequently used approaches to study movement ecology of birds. Recent miniaturisation of light‐level geolocators enabled studying small bird species whose migratory patterns were widely unknown. However, geolocators may reduce vital rates in tagged birds and may bias obtained movement data.There is a need for a thorough assessment of
Authors
Vojtěch Brlík, Jaroslav Koleček, Malcolm Burgess, Steffen Hahn, Diana Humple, Milos Krist, Janne Ouwehand, Emily L. Weiser, Peter Adamik, José A. Alves, Debora Arlt, Sanja Barišić, Detlef Becker, Eduardo J. Belda, Vaclav Beran, Christiaan Both, Susana P. Bravo, Martins Briedis, Chutný Bohumír, Davor Ćiković, Nathan W. Cooper, Joana S. Costa, Víctor R. Cueto, Tamara Emmenegger, Kevin Fraser, Olivier Gilg, Marina Guerrero, Michael T. Hallworth, Chris Hewson, Frédéric Jiguet, James Johnson, Tosha Kelly, Dmitry Kishkinev, Michel Leconte, Terje Lislevand, Simeon Lisovski, Cosme López, Kent P. McFarland, Peter P. Marra, Steven M. Matsuoka, Matyjasiak. Piotr, Christoph M. Meier, Benjamin Metzger, Juan S. Monrós, Roland Neumann, Amy Newman, Ryan Norris, Tomas Pärt, Václav Pavel, Noah Perlut, Markus Piha, Jeroen Reneerkens, Christopher C. Rimmer, Amélie Roberto-Charro, Chiara Scandolara, Natalia Sokolova, Makiko Takenaka, Dirk Tolkmitt, Herman van Oosten, Arndt H. J. Wellbrock, Hazel Wheeler, Jan van der Winden, Klaudia Witte, Brad Woodworth, Petr Procházka
Dropstones in lacustrine sediments as a record of snow avalanches - A validation of the proxy by combining satellite imagery and varve chronology at Kenai Lake (south-central Alaska)
Snow avalanches cause many fatalities every year and damage local economies worldwide. The present-day climate change affects the snowpack and, thus, the properties and frequency of snow avalanches. Reconstructing snow avalanche records can help us understand past variations in avalanche frequency and their relationship to climate change. Previous avalanche records have primarily been reconstructe
Authors
Sien Thys, Maarten Van Daele, Nore Praet, Britta J.L. Jensen, Thomas Van Dyck, Peter J. Haeussler, Elke Vandekerkhove, Veerle Cnudde, Marc De Batist
The black brant population is declining based on mark recapture
Annual survival and recruitment in black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) have declined since the 1990s, yet aerial surveys of the global population have been stable or even increasing over the past decade. We used a combination of a Lincoln estimator based on harvest information and band recoveries, and marked‐unmarked ratios in bag checks in 1 harvest area in Mexico to estimate the number of ad
Authors
James S. Sedinger, Thomas V. Riecke, Alan G. Leach, David H. Ward
Flexible timing of annual movements across consistently used sites by Marbled Godwits breeding in Alaska
The study of avian movement has detailed a spectrum of strategies for the timing and use of sites throughout the annual cycle, from near randomness to complete consistency. New tracking devices now permit the repeated tracking of individual animals throughout the annual cycle, detailing previously unappreciated levels of variation within migratory systems. Godwits (genus Limosa) have featured prom
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, T. Lee Tibbitts, Robert E. Gill
Spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant
On average, band recovery rates of adult black brant (Branta bernicla nigricans) more than doubled between the 2000s and 2010s. However, the spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant has not been reported. Our objective was to describe the spatial distribution of band recoveries of black brant since 1990. We found that Alaska, California, and Mexico accounted for ≥89% of band recoveri
Authors
Alan G. Leach, David H. Ward, James S. Sedinger, Thomas V. Riecke, Jerry W. Hupp, Robert J. Ritchie
Pace and process of active folding and fluvial incision across the Kantishna Hills anticline, central Alaska
Rates of northern Alaska Range thrust system deformation are poorly constrained. Shortening at the system's west end is focused on the Kantishna Hills anticline. Where the McKinley River cuts across the anticline, the landscape records both Late Pleistocene deformation and climatic change. New optically stimulated luminescence and cosmogenic 10Be depth profile dates of three McKinley River terrace
Authors
Adrian Bender, Richard O. Lease, Peter J. Haeussler, Tammy M. Rittenour, Lee B. Corbett, Paul R. Bierman, Marc W. Caffee
Wasting disease and static environmental variables drive sea star assemblages in the northern Gulf of Alaska
Sea stars are ecologically important in rocky intertidal habitats where they can play an apex predator role, completely restructuring communities. The recent sea star die-off throughout the eastern Pacific, known as Sea Star Wasting Disease, has prompted a need to understand spatial and temporal patterns of sea star assemblages and the environmental variables that structure these assemblages. We e
Authors
Brenda Konar, Timothy J. Mitchell, K. Iken, Thomas Dean, Daniel Esler, Mandy Lindeberg, Benjamin Pister, Ben P. Weitzman
Micro-geographic population genetic structure within Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) in Beaufort Sea of Alaska
Many marine organisms show significant levels of genetic heterogeneity on local spatial scales despite exhibiting limited genetic structure at large geographic scales which can be produced through a variety of mechanisms. The Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) is a circumpolar species and is a vital species in Arctic food webs. To examine population genetic structure of Arctic cod at macro- and micro-g
Authors
Robert E. Wilson, George K. Sage, Kate Wedemeyer, Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Damian M. Menning, Megan C. Gravley, R. John Nelson, Sandra L. Talbot
Heightened immune system function in polar bears using terrestrial habitats
Climate change is altering the distribution of some wildlife species while warming temperatures are facilitating the northward expansion of pathogens, potentially increasing disease risk. Melting of Arctic sea ice is causing polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the Southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) to increasingly spend summer on land, where they may encounter novel pathogens. Here, we tested whether SBS po
Authors
John P. Whiteman, Henry J. Harlow, George M. Durner, Eric V. Regehr, Steven C. Amstrup, Merav Ben-David
Brood size affects future reproduction in a long-lived bird with precocial young
Estimation of trade-offs between current reproduction and future survival and fecundity of long-lived vertebrates is essential to understanding factors that shape optimal reproductive investment. Black brant geese (Branta bernicla nigricans) fledge more goslings, on average, when their broods are experimentally enlarged to be greater than the most common clutch size of four eggs. Thus, we hypothes
Authors
Alan Leach, James Sedinger, Thomas Riecke, Amanda Van Dellen, David H. Ward, Sean Boyd
Seasonal distribution of Dall's porpoise in Prince William Sound, Alaska
Dall's porpoise, Phocoenoides dalli, are a conspicuous predator in the Prince William Sound ecosystem, yet there has been little effort directed towards monitoring this species since the 1980s, prior to the Exxon Valdez oil spill. We used vessel-based surveys to examine the seasonal distribution of Dall's porpoise in the waters of Prince William Sound during eight years from 2007 to 2015. Over the
Authors
J.R. Moran, M.B. O'Dell, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Jan M Straley, D.M.S. Dickson
Implications of introgression for wildlife translocations: the case of North American martens
The evolutionary consequences of natural introgression provide a rare opportunity to retrospectively evaluate how the introduction of exotics or genetic rescue efforts may impact endemic faunas. Phylogeographic structure among mainland, endemic insular, and introduced North American marten (Martes americana and M. caurina) populations have been shaped by a complex history of natural, post-glacial
Authors
Jocelyn P. Colella, Robert E. Wilson, Sandra L. Talbot, Joseph A. Cook