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Publications

These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16783

The relative stability of planktic foraminifer thermal preferences over the past 3 million years

Stationarity of species’ ecological tolerances is a first-order assumption of paleoenvironmental reconstruction based upon analog methods. To test this and other assumptions used in quantitative analysis of foraminiferal faunas for paleoceanographic reconstruction, we analyzed paired alkenone unsaturation ratio (UK′37) 37′)  sea surface temperature (SST) estimates and relative abundances of plankt
Authors
Harry J. Dowsett, Marci M. Robinson, Kevin M. Foley, Timothy D. Herbert, Steve Hunter, Carin Andersson, Whittney Spivey

Decision making for Centennial Valley Arctic Grayling conservation on Red Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuge

This report describes a decision analysis process that was conducted in support of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Environmental Assessment on Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) on Red Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuge in the Centennial Valley, Montana.
Authors
Jonathan D. Cook, Kyle Flynn, Donovan A. Bell, Matthew E. Jaeger, Jeff Warren, Ryan Kreiner, Jarrett Payne, Jaron Andrews, Andrew Brummond, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Sarah Nelson Sells

Unravelling the influence of landscape alteration from flow alteration on benthic macroinvertebrate assemblage response in the Delaware River Basin

Quantifying the effects of streamflow alteration on assemblage response is central to understanding the role humans play in shaping aquatic environments. These changes represent a level of complexity that impedes developing quantitative links between flow and ecological response because stream hydrology is strongly intertwined with natural and anthropogenic factors. Better management outcomes requ
Authors
Jonathan Kennen, Thomas F. Cuffney

Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic

Co-occurring species with similar resource requirements often partition ecological niches at different spatial and temporal scales. In the Northwest Atlantic (NWA), federally endangered roseate terns Sterna dougallii nest almost exclusively in coastal island colonies alongside common terns S. hirundo. Roseate terns are prey specialists compared to common terns, which are opportunistic generalists;
Authors
Henry Legett, Jeffrey Lucas, Elizabeth Craig, Michelle Staudinger

Development and application of a coastal change likelihood assessment for the northeast region, Maine to Virginia

Coastal resources are increasingly affected by erosion, extreme weather events, sea level rise, tidal flooding, and other potential hazards related to climate change. These hazards have varying effects on coastal landscapes because of the compounding of geologic, oceanographic, ecologic, and socioeconomic factors that exist at a given location. An assessment framework is introduced in this report
Authors
Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Erika Lentz, Travis K. Sterne, Rachel E. Henderson

Estimating streamflow for base flow conditions at partial-record streamgaging stations at Acadia National Park, Maine

The objective of the work presented in this report is to develop equations that can be used to extend the base flow record at multiple partial-record streamgaging stations at Acadia National Park in eastern coastal Maine based on nearby continuous-record streamgaging stations. Daily mean streamflow values at U.S. Geological Survey continuous-record streamgaging station Otter Creek near Bar Harbor,
Authors
Pamela J. Lombard

National map of focus areas for potential critical mineral resources in the United States

Introduction The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) launched the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) to modernize the surface and subsurface geologic mapping of the United States, with a focus on identifying areas that may have the potential to contain critical mineral resources. EarthMRI can inform strategies to ensure secure and reliable domestic critical mineral supplies for the United St
Authors
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Douglas C. Kreiner, Connie L. Dicken, Laurel G. Woodruff

Tracking status and trends in seven key indicators of stream health in the Chesapeake Bay watershed

“The Bay Connects us, the Bay reflects us” writes Tom Horton in the book “Turning the Tide—Saving the Chesapeake Bay”. The Chesapeake Bay watershed contains the largest estuary in the United States. The watershed stretches north to Cooperstown, New York, south to Lynchburg and Virginia Beach, Virginia, west to Pendleton County, West Virginia, and east to Seaford, Delaware, and Scranton, Pennsylvan
Authors
Samuel H. Austin, Matthew Joseph Cashman, John W. Clune, James E. Colgin, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Kevin P. Krause, Emily Majcher, Kelly O. Maloney, Chris A. Mason, Doug L. Moyer, Tammy M. Zimmerman

Qualitative value of information provides a transparent and repeatable method for identifying critical uncertainty

Conservation decisions are often made in the face of uncertainty because the urgency to act can preclude delaying management while uncertainty is resolved. In this context, adaptive management is attractive, allowing simultaneous management and learning. An adaptive program design requires the identification of critical uncertainties that impede the choice of management action. Quantitative evalua
Authors
Michelle L Stantial, Abigail Jean Lawson, Auriel M.V. Fournier, Peter J. Kappes, Chelsea S. Kross, Michael C. Runge, Mark S. Woodrey, James E. Lyons

Conservation genomics reveals low connectivity among populations of threatened roseate terns (Sterna dougallii) in the Atlantic Basin

While the effects of barriers to dispersal such as population declines, habitat fragmentation, and geographic distance have been well-documented in terrestrial wildlife, factors impeding the dispersal of highly vagile taxa such as seabirds are less well understood. The roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) is a globally distributed seabird species, but populations tend to be both fragmented and small, a
Authors
Paige A. Byerly, R. Terry Chesser, Robert C. Fleischer, Nancy McInerney, Natalia Przelomska, Paul S Leberg

Outlining potential biomarkers of exposure and effect to critical minerals: Nutritionally essential trace elements and the rare earth elements

Emerging and low-carbon technologies and innovations are driving a need for domestic sources, sustainable use, and availability of critical minerals (CMs)—those vital to the national and economic security of the United States. Understanding the known and potential health effects of exposures to such mineral commodities can inform prudent and environmentally responsible handling and harvesting. We
Authors
Jill Jenkins, MaryLynn Musgrove, Sarah Jane White

Waterfowl recently infected with low pathogenic avian influenza exhibit reduced local movement and delayed migration

Understanding relationships between infection and wildlife movement patterns is important for predicting pathogen spread, especially for multispecies pathogens and those that can spread to humans and domestic animals, such as avian influenza viruses (AIVs). Although infection with low pathogenic AIVs is generally considered asymptomatic in wild birds, prior work has shown that influenza-infected b
Authors
Claire S. Teitelbaum, Michael L. Casazza, Fiona McDuie, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Cory T. Overton, Laurie Anne Hall, Elliott Matchett, Josh T. Ackerman, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Andrew M. Ramey, Diann Prosser