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Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16784

Occupancy modeling and estimation of the holiday darter species complex within the Etowah River system

Documenting the status of rare fishes is a crucial step in effectively managing populations and implementing regulatory mechanisms of protection. In recent years, site occupancy has become an increasingly popular metric for assessing populations, but species distribution models that do not account for imperfect detection can underestimate the proportion of sites occupied and the strength of the re
Authors
Gregory B. Anderson, Mary Freeman, Megan M. Hagler, Byron J. Freeman

Variation in wind and piscivorous predator fields affecting the survival of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, in the Gulf of Maine

Observations relevant to the North American stock complex of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., suggest that marine mortality is influenced by variation in predation pressure affecting post‐smolts during the first months at sea. This hypothesis was tested for Gulf of Maine (GOM) stocks by examining wind pseudostress and the distribution of piscivorous predator fields potentially affecting post‐smolt
Authors
K.D. Friedland, J.P. Manning, Jason S. Link, J.R. Gilbert, A.T. Gilbert, A.F. O'Connell

Hormesis associated with a low dose of methylmercury injected into mallard eggs

We injected mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) eggs with methylmercury chloride at doses of 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, and 6.4 μg mercury/g egg contents on a wet-weight basis. A case of hormesis seemed to occur because hatching success of eggs injected with 0.05 μg/g mercury (the lowest dose) was significantly greater (93.3%) than that of controls (72.6%), whereas hatching success decreased
Authors
Gary H. Heinz, David J. Hoffman, Jon D. Klimstra, Katherine R. Stebbins, Shannon L. Kondrad, Carol A. Erwin

Integrating scales of seagrass monitoring to meet conservation needs

We evaluated a hierarchical framework for seagrass monitoring in two estuaries in the northeastern USA: Little Pleasant Bay, Massachusetts, and Great South Bay/Moriches Bay, New York. This approach includes three tiers of monitoring that are integrated across spatial scales and sampling intensities. We identified monitoring attributes for determining attainment of conservation objectives to protec
Authors
Hilary A. Neckles, Blaine S. Kopp, Bradley J. Peterson, Penelope S. Pooler

Spatial patterns and temporal trends in mercury concentrations, precipitation depths, and mercury wet deposition in the North American Great Lakes region, 2002-2008

Annual and weekly mercury (Hg) concentrations, precipitation depths, and Hg wet deposition in the Great Lakes region were analyzed by using data from 5 monitoring networks in the USA and Canada for a 2002-2008 study period. High-resolution maps of calculated annual data, 7-year mean data, and net interannual change for the study period were prepared to assess spatial patterns. Areas with 7-year me
Authors
Martin R. Risch, David A. Gay, Kathleen K. Fowler, Gerard J. Keeler, Sean M. Backus, Pierrette Blanchard, James A. Barres, J. Timothy Dvonch

Litterfall mercury dry deposition in the eastern USA

Mercury (Hg) in autumn litterfall from predominately deciduous forests was measured in 3 years of samples from 23 Mercury Deposition Network sites in 15 states across the eastern USA. Annual litterfall Hg dry deposition was significantly higher (median 12.3 micrograms per square meter (μg/m2), range 3.5–23.4 μg/m2) than annual Hg wet deposition (median 9.6 μg/m2, range 4.4–19.7 μg/m2). The mean ra
Authors
Martin R. Risch, John F. DeWild, David P. Krabbenhoft, Randall K. Kolka, Leiming Zhang

Evidence from 12-year study links ecosystem changes in the Gulf of Maine with climate change

Investigators at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences (East Boothbay, Maine) and the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated to study ecosystem changes in the Gulf of Maine. As part of the Gulf of Maine North Atlantic Time Series (GNATS), a comprehensive long-term study of hydrographic, biological, optical and chemical properties, multiple cruises have been conducted each year since 2001 by usin
Authors
George R. Aiken, Thomas G. Huntington, William Balch, David Drapeau, Bruce Bowler

Small-scale lacustrine drifts in Lake Champlain, Vermont

High resolution CHIRP (Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse) seismic profiles reveal the presence of two lacustrine sediment drifts located in Lake Champlain's Juniper Deep. Both drifts are positive features composed of highly laminated sediments. Drift B sits on a basement high while Drift A is built on a trough-filling acoustically-transparent sediment unit inferred to be a mass-transport event
Authors
Patricia L. Manley, T.O. Manley, Kathryn Hayo, Thomas Cronin

Short-term survival of ammonites in New Jersey after the end-Cretaceous bolide impact

A section containing the Cretaceous/Paleogene (= Cretaceous/Tertiary) boundary in Monmouth County, New Jersey, preserves a record of ammonites extending from the end of the Cretaceous into possibly the beginning of the Danian. The section includes the upper part of the Tinton Formation and lower part of the Hornerstown Formation. The top of the Tinton Formation is represented by a richly fossilife
Authors
Neil H. Landman, Matthew P. Garb, Remy Rovelli, Denton S. Ebel, Lucy E. Edwards

Cerulean Warbler Technical Group: Coordinating international research and conservation

Effective conservation for species of concern requires interchange and collaboration among conservationists and stakeholders. The Cerulean Warbler Technical Group (CWTG) is a consortium of biologists and managers from government agencies, non-governmental organizations, academia, and industry, who are dedicated to finding pro-active, science-based solutions for conservation of the Cerulean Warbler
Authors
D.K. Dawson, T.B. Wigley, P.D. Keyser

Standardizing texture and facies codes for a process-based classification of clastic sediment and rock

Proposed here is a universally applicable, texturally based classification of clastic sediment that is independent from composition, cementation, and geologic environment, is closely allied to process sedimentology, and applies to all compartments in the source-to-sink system. The classification is contingent on defining the term "clastic" so that it is independent from composition or origin and i
Authors
K.M. Farrell, W.B. Harris, D. J. Mallinson, S.J. Culver, S.R. Riggs, J. Pierson, J.C. Lautier

Prevalent flucocorticoid and androgen activity in US water sources

Contamination of the environment with endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is a major health concern. The presence of estrogenic compounds in water and their deleterious effect are well documented. However, detection and monitoring of other classes of EDCs is limited. Here we utilize a high-throughput live cell assay based on sub-cellular relocalization of GFP-tagged glucocorticoid and androgen r
Authors
Diana A. Stavreva, Anuja A. George, Paul Klausmeyer, Lyuba Varticovski, Daniel Sack, Ty C. Voss, R. Louis Schiltz, Vicki Blazer, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Gordon L. Hager