Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

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

Filter Total Items: 16785

Effects of methyl mercury on reproduction in American kestrels

Methyl mercury (MeHg) readily passes through biological membranes, accumulates in individuals, and biomagnifies in higher order predators. It is acutely toxic to some birds at 5-15 parts per million (ppm) wet weight in the diet, and it can damage the central nervous system, impair reproduction, and retard growth and development. The effects of MeHg on reproduction in wild raptors are poorly know
Authors
P.H. Albers, M.T. Koterba, R. Rossmann, J.B. French, R.S. Bennett, W.C. Bauer, W. A. Link

Environmental contaminant exposure data and monitoring priorities for wild terrestrial vertebrates at national parks in coastal and estuarine habitat

The Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends (BEST) Project of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) assesses the exposure and effects of environmental contaminants on select species and habitats in the United States. One of the many BEST Project activities entails the development of decision-support tools to assist in the identification of chemical threats to species and lands under the stew
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, B.K. Ackerson, K.M. Eisenreich, M.A. McKernan

Migration, home range, and important use areas of Florida sub-adult bald eagles

Long distance movements of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) have prevented a thorough documentation of their migration when monitored with traditional methods of banding and radio telemetry. I used satellite telemetry to determine diurnal and nocturnal important use areas (IUAs), migration routes, stopover sites, and home ranges of 69 migratory and non-migratory Florida sub-adult Bald Eagle
Authors
E.K. Mojica

Final report (2002-2004): Benthic macroinvertebrate communities of reconstructed freshwater tidal wetlands in the Anacostia River, Washington, D.C

Considerable work has been conducted on the benthic communities of inland aquatic systems, but there remains a paucity of effort on freshwater tidal wetlands. This study characterized the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of recently reconstructed urban freshwater tidal wetlands along the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. The focus of the study was on the two main areas of Kingman Marsh, w
Authors
K.D. Brittingham, R.S. Hammerschlag

Final Report: Five years of monitoring reconstructed freshwater tidal wetlands in the urban Anacostia River (2000-2004)

The Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. USA consisted of over 809 hectares (2000 acres) of freshwater tidal wetlands before mandatory dredging removed most of them in the first half of the 20th century. Much of this13 kilometer (8 mile) reach was transferred to the National Park Service (NPS). Planning processes in the 1980?s envisioned a restoration (rejuvenation) of some wetlands for habitat,
Authors
R.S. Hammerschlag, A.H. Baldwin, C.C. Krafft, K. P. Neff, M.M. Paul, K.D. Brittingham, K. Rusello, J. S. Hatfield

Avian comparisons between Kingman and Kenilworth Marshes: Final report 2001-2004

In 2001 avi-fauna was added as a parameter to be monitored as an indicator of the status and relative success of the two reconstructed freshwater tidal wetlands residing in the Anacostia River estuary in Washington, D.C. at that time. They were Kenilworth Marsh which was reconstructed in 1993 and Kingman Marsh seven years later in 2000. Other studies were already underway looking at vegetation,
Authors
M. Paul, C. Krafft, D. Hammerschlag

Contaminant exposure and potential effects on terrestrial vertebrates residing in the National Capital Region network and Mid-Atlantic network

Part of the mission of the National Park Service is to preserve the natural resources, processes, systems, and associated values of its units in an unimpaired condition. Environmental contamination and pollution processes are well recognized stressors addressed by its management policies and plans. A recent study indicates that contemporary terrestrial vertebrate ecotoxicological data are lacking
Authors
Barnett A. Rattner, B.K. Ackerson

Occupancy Estimation and Modeling : Inferring Patterns and Dynamics of Species Occurrence

This is the first book to examine the latest methods in analyzing presence/absence data surveys. Using four classes of models (single-species, single-season; single-species, multiple season; multiple-species, single-season; and multiple-species, multiple-season), the authors discuss the practical sampling situation, present a likelihood-based model enabling direct estimation of the occupancy-rela
Authors
D.I. MacKenzie, J. D. Nichols, J. Andrew Royle, K. H. Pollock, L.L. Bailey, J. E. Hines

Reconnaissance borehole geophysical, geological, and hydrological data from the proposed hydrodynamic compartments of the Culpeper Basin in Loudoun, Prince William, Culpeper, Orange, and Fairfax Counties, Virginia

The Culpeper basin is part of a much larger system of ancient depressions or troughs, that lie inboard of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, and largely within the Applachian Piedmont Geologic Province of eastern North America, and the transition region with the neighboring Blue Ridge Geologic Province. This basin system formed during an abortive attempt to make a great ocean basin during the Late Triass
Authors
Michael P. Ryan, Herbert A. Pierce, Carole D. Johnson, David M. Sutphin, David L. Daniels, Joseph P. Smoot, John K. Costain, Cahit Coruh, George E. Harlow

Determination of the δ15N of total nitrogen in solids; RSIL lab code 2893

The purpose of the Reston Stable Isotope Laboratory (RSIL) lab code 2893 is to determine the δ(15N/14N), abbreviated as δ15N , of total nitrogen in solid samples. A Carlo Erba NC 2500 elemental analyzer (EA) is used to convert total nitrogen in a solid sample into N2 gas. The EA is connected to a continuous flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometer (CF-IRMS), which determines relative difference in the
Authors
Kinga Revesz, Haiping Qi, Tyler B. Coplen