Publications
These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.
Filter Total Items: 16784
Animal migration and risk of spread of viral infections
The potential contribution of migration towards the spread of disease is as varied as the ecology of the pathogens themselves and their host populations. This chapter outlines multiple examples of viral diseases in animal populations and their mechanisms of viral spread. Many species of insects, mammals, fish, and birds exhibit migratory behavior and have the potential to disperse diseases over lo
Authors
Diann J. Prosser, Jessica L. Nagel, John Y. Takekawa
Structured decision making
Wildlife management is a decision-focused discipline. It needs to integrate traditional wildlife science and social science to identify actions that are most likely to achieve the array of desires society has surrounding wildlife populations. Decision science, a vast field with roots in economics, operations research, and psychology, offers a rich set of tools to help wildlife managers frame, deco
Authors
Michael C. Runge, J. Barry Grand, Michael S. Mitchell
Seismic hazard from the Hispaniola subduction zone: correction to "Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region"
No abstract available
Authors
Uri S. ten Brink, William H. Bakun, Claudia H. Flores
Coastal processes influencing water quality at Great Lakes beaches
In a series of studies along the Great Lakes, U.S. Geological Survey scientists are examining the physical processes that influence concentrations of fecal indicator bacteria and related pathogens at recreational beaches. These studies aim to estimate human health risk, improve management strategies, and understand the fate and transport of microbes in the nearshore area. It was determined that em
Authors
Real-time assessments of water quality: expanding nowcasting throughout the Great Lakes
Nowcasts are systems that inform the public of current bacterial water-quality conditions at beaches on the basis of predictive models. During 2010–12, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) worked with 23 local and State agencies to improve existing operational beach nowcast systems at 4 beaches and expand the use of predictive models in nowcasts at an additional 45 beaches throughout the Great Lakes.
Authors
Effects of sea-level rise on barrier island groundwater system dynamics: ecohydrological implications
We used a numerical model to investigate how a barrier island groundwater system responds to increases of up to 60 cm in sea level. We found that a sea-level rise of 20 cm leads to substantial changes in the depth of the water table and the extent and depth of saltwater intrusion, which are key determinants in the establishment, distribution and succession of vegetation assemblages and habitat sui
Authors
John P. Masterson, Michael N. Fienen, E. Robert Thieler, Dean B. Gesch, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant
The North American Breeding Bird Survey 1966–2011: Summary analysis and species accounts
The North American Breeding Bird Survey is a roadside, count-based survey conducted by volunteer observers. Begun in 1966, it now is a primary source of information on spatial and temporal patterns of population change for North American birds. We analyze population change for states, provinces, Bird Conservation Regions, and the entire survey within the contiguous United States and southern Canad
Authors
John R. Sauer, William A. Link, Jane E. Fallon, Keith L. Pardieck, David J. Ziolkowski
A 600-ka Arctic sea-ice record from Mendeleev Ridge based on ostracodes
Arctic paleoceanography and sea-ice history were reconstructed from epipelagic and benthic ostracodes from a sediment core (HLY0503-06JPC, 800 m water depth) located on the Mendeleev Ridge, Western Arctic Ocean. The calcareous microfaunal record (ostracodes and foraminifers) covers several glacial/interglacial cycles back to estimated Marine Isotope Stage 13 (MIS 13, ∼500 ka) with an average sedim
Authors
Thomas M. Cronin, L.V. Polyak, D. Reed, E. S. Kandiano, R. E. Marzen, E. A. Council
A hierarchical nest survival model integrating incomplete temporally varying covariates
Nest success is a critical determinant of the dynamics of avian populations, and nest survival modeling has played a key role in advancing avian ecology and management. Beginning with the development of daily nest survival models, and proceeding through subsequent extensions, the capacity for modeling the effects of hypothesized factors on nest survival has expanded greatly. We extend nest surviva
Authors
Sarah J. Converse, J. Andrew Royle, Peter H. Adler, Richard P. Urbanek, Jeb A. Barzan
Selecting among competing models of electro-optic, infrared camera system range performance
Range performance is often the key requirement around which electro-optical and infrared camera systems are designed. This work presents an objective framework for evaluating competing range performance models. Model selection based on the Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) is presented for the type of data collected during a typical human observer and target identification experiment. These met
Authors
Jonathan M. Nichols, James E. Hines, James D. Nichols
Evidence for 20th century climate warming and wetland drying in the North American Prairie Pothole Region
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America is a globally important resource that provides abundant and valuable ecosystem goods and services in the form of biodiversity, groundwater recharge, water purification, flood attenuation, and water and forage for agriculture. Numerous studies have found these wetlands, which number in the millions, to be highly sensitive to climate variability. Her
Authors
B. A. Werner, W. Carter Johnson, Glenn R. Guntenspergen