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At least 919 records · Page 51Linked to original sources
USGS1987

Disease control operations

Individual disease outbreaks have killed many thousands of animals on numerous occasions. Tens of thousands of migratory birds have died in single die-offs with as many as 1,000 birds succumbing in 1 day. In mammals, individual disease outbreaks have killed hundreds to thousands of animals with, for example, hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer, distemper in raccoon, Errington's disease in muskrat, and sylvatic plague in wild rodents. The ability to successfully combat such explosive situations is highly dependent n the readiness of field personnel to deal with them. Because many disease agents can spread though wildlife populations very fast, advance preparation is essential in preventing infected animals from spreading disease to additional species and locations. Carefully though-out disease contingency plans should be developed as practical working documents for field personnel and updated as necessary. Such well-designed plans can prove invaluable in minimizing wildlife losses and costs associated with disease control activities. Although requirements for disease control operations vary and must be tailored to each situation, all disease contingency planning involved general concepts and basic biological information. This chapter, intended as a practical guide, identifies the major activities and needs of disease control operations, and relates them to disease contingency planning.

Report↗
USGS2012

Nature's Notebook 2011: Data & participant summary

Introduction The USA National Phenology Network The USA National Phenology Network (USA‐NPN; www.usanpn.org) seeks to engage a diverse range of citizen scientist volunteers, federal, state, and non‐governmental organizations, educators and professional research scientists to collect phenological observations of plants and animals using consistent standards and to contribute their observations to a national data repository. To guide this effort, the USA‐NPN National Coordinating Office (NCO), based in Tucson, Arizona, implemented an online monitoring program for plants and animals, Nature's Notebook , and has developed phenology monitoring protocols and an information management system, which includes the National Phenology Database (NPDb). We are developing a diversity of materials, tools, techniques, and protocols to assist decision making and education related to ecology, wildlife, human health, ecosystem services, natural resource management, biological conservation, and climate change adaptation.

USA-NPN Technical Series↗
USGS1993

Proceedings of the fourth conference on research in California's National Parks

The papers in this proceedings were selected from the 63 presentations given at the Fourth Biennial Conference on Research in National Parks in California. The overall theme for this meeting was a recurring one: “The Integration of Research into National Park Service Resource Management Decisions.” The conference was held at the University of California, Davis, on 10-12 September 1991 and was sponsored by the National Park Service Cooperative Park Studies Unit and the Institute of Ecology at the University of California, Davis. This proceedings highlights a variety of research and resource management efforts to improve the stewardship of our most treasured landscapes. In the future, it will become increasingly more important for federal and state agencies, university scientists and students, and the public to cooperate fully to improve the quantity and quality of science and resource management programs in units of the National Park System. As many of the papers in this proceedings attest, we must look beyond the political boundaries of protected landscapes to incorporate entire ecosystems. Competing resource uses inside and outside parklands must be reexamined to weave a common thread of biological conservation. As scientists, our studies must bridge the gap from plots to landscapes and from landscapes to regions. Our studies must built on information from species and populations to ecosystems and the processes that influence them. The papers in this proceedings are modest but important contribution to those ideals. Each paper represents original research and has been peer-reviewed. Many agencies, institutions, and individuals contributed in the development of this product. In the planning stages, National Park Service Western Region scientists provided advice and assistance in structuring the conference format. University of California, Davis, graduate students, directed by Sharon Lynch, assisted with logistics at the meeting, and provided general assistance with the paper sessions. We thank the students, technicians, and support staff who labored unselfishly behind the scenes to collect data and transfer information important to the completion of each paper. Financial support for this publication was provided with funds from the Western Region Resource Management and Resource Program and the Washington Office Servicewide Publications Program of the National Park Service. We thank Denny Fenn, Stan Albright, Bruce Kilgore, Dave Cherry, Gene Hester, and Donna O'Leary of the National Park Service and Charles Goldman of the University of California, Davis, Institute of Ecology for their support throughout the development of the proceedings. Finally, we are entering into a new age of research in the U.S. Department of the Interior. Recently, plans were announced for the creation of the National Biological Survey, dedicated to improving the quantity and quality of research necessary for the wise stewardship of our natural resources and wildlands. We welcome our new partners and pledge our full support to both the new and old agencies. The papers presented here--and past research efforts in national parks--provide an important stepping stone to the future. While many of us will be transferred administratively to the National Biological Survey, our emotional ties to the National Park Service mission of preserving resources for future generations will remain with us forever.

California↗
USGS2020

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from 2015 to 2019

The greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus ; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. The first GRSG literature summary was published early in 2018. Here we provide an update to that document by adding summaries of articles published between January 6, 2018 and October 2, 2019. To identify articles and reports published about GRSG, we first conducted a structured search of three reference databases (Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar) using the search term “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by (1) removing duplicates, (2) excluding products that were not published as research or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal technical reports, and (3) retaining only those products for which GRSG or their habitat was a research focus. We summarized the contents of each product by using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and assessed the content of each product relevant to a list of 31 management topics. These topics include GRSG biology and habitat characteristics along with potential management actions, land uses, and environmental factors related to GRSG management and conservation. We also noted which articles/reports created new geospatial data. Our original search, conducted on January 7, 2018, and the application of our criteria, resulted in the inclusion of 169 published products (2 of these products were published corrections to journal articles). This update adds summaries of 69 products published between then and October 2, 2019. The management topics most commonly addressed were GRSG behavior or demographics and GRSG habitat selection or habitat characteristics at broad or site scales. Few products addressed captive breeding, recreation, wild horses and burros, and range management structures (including fences). The management topics with the largest increase in representation between the 2018 GRSG literature summary and this update were GRSG survival and GRSG population estimates or targets, which were each addressed in 16 percent of products in the original literature summary document, but were addressed in 30 and 33 percent, respectively, of newly summarized products. Topics with the largest declines in representation were conifer expansion, - 17 to 10 percent, and new geospatial data, -31 to 21 percent. We include in this annotated bibliography the full citation, Digital Object Identifier (DOI), product summary, and management topics addressed by each product. The online version of this bibliography (https://apps.usgs.gov/gsgbib/index.php) is searchable by topic and location and includes links to journal landing pages for each original publication. A substantial body of literature has been compiled on research explicitly related to the conservation, management, monitoring, and assessment of GRSG. These studies may inform planning and management actions that seek to balance conservation, economic, and social objectives and manage diverse resource uses and values across the western United States. The review process for this product included requesting input on each summary from one or more authors of the original peer-reviewed article or report and a formal review of the entire document by three independent reviewers for the original document and by two independent reviewers for the updated document and, subsequently, the USGS Bureau Approving Official. This process is consistent with USGS Fundamental Science Practices.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Mont↗
USGS1988

Maps showing the Seabeam bathymetry and sedimentologic and biologic sample locations on Horizon Guyot, Mid-Pacific Mountains and a summary of existing data

Horizon Guyot (Fig. 1) is a 300-km-long, 75-km-wide volcanic ridge with a relatively flat summit that is diagnostic of guyots (Hess, 1946). The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a study of Horizon Guyot in 1983 as part of a program on the origin, distribution, and composition of ferromanganese-oxide precipitates that encrust the hard substrate of sea floor edifices, such as seamounts and volcanic ridges (Hein and others, 1985a). Mass movement and bedload transport of sediment appears to influence the thickness of these crusts on seamount flanks (Hein and others, 1985b). Because Horizon Guyot has been studied more extensively than any other volcanic edifice in the Mid-Pacific Mountains (Heezen, Fischer, and others, 1971; Lonsdale and others, 1972; Winterer, Ewing, and others, 1973), it was chosen as the principal site for a USGS study of sediment transport processes and the geotechnical behavior of sediment on seamounts (Cacchione and others, 1988; Schwab and others, 1988). In March, 1987, Horizon Guyot was again investigated using the R/V ATLANTIS II and the D.S.R.V. ALVIN (cruise 118-12); sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Although primarily a biologic investigation, observations from 10 submersible dives, bottom samples collected at depth using ALVIN and from the surface using the ATLANTIS II, and Seabeam swath-bathymetry (sponsored by the USGS and the Office of Naval Research) add to the overall Horizon Guyot data set. In this report, we summarize the existing data base, present a Seabeam bathymetric map of the study area, ALVIN dive tracklines, the sample locations, and a brief description of the samples collected or other station activities on the ATLANTIS II cruise 118-12. The detailed bathymetric map of the study area (Plate 1) was constructed by merging data obtained by a Deep-Tow study (Lonsdale and others, 1972) (Fig. 1) with data obtained from the swath-bathymetry mapping system onboard the ATLANTIS II. Detailed information on the Seabeam bathymetric system is given by Renard and Allenou (1979).

Open-File Report↗
USGS2024

Glacier National Park bumble bee survey report 2023

Glacier National Park's grasslands provide important contributions to the character and ecology of the park. In 1999-2001, Glacier National Park (hereafter, the park) established 155 permanent vegetation monitoring plots to inventory grassland vegetation communities east of the Continental Divide. In June of 2023, the Blackfeet Nation (Amskapi Piikuni) re-introduced a herd of free roaming bison on adjacent tribal land (the linnii Initiative), and those bison may enter the park. Because grasslands are important areas for bison grazing, and because biological communities have likely changed since the initial inventories, the park’s vegetation program began revisiting grassland monitoring plots in 2018. New data will provide insights into how these grasslands, and the wildlife that depend on them, have changed over the past two decades. Data on pollinators in these grasslands, however, are limited. Bison have been shown to influence plant communities, for example, by increasing herbaceous forb diversity and drought resilience (Elson and Hartnett 2017; Ratajczak et al. 2022). These changes directly influence resources available to foraging pollinators. To provide understanding of pollinators prior to bison reintroduction, bumble bee surveying at these grassland plots began in 2020 and has continued through 2023. Target sites for 2020-2022 focused on collecting data at plots where new vegetation surveys were recently completed to match current vegetation data with the bumble bee data.

Montana↗
USGS1995

U.S. Geological Survey Federal-State Cooperative Water-Resources Program fiscal year 1994

The Federal-State Cooperative Program is a major U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) activity for the collection, analysis, and reporting of information on the quantity, quality, and use of the Nation's water resources. The fundamental characteristic of the program is that most of the work is undertaken by the USGS through joint-funding agreements, with State, regional, and local agencies providing at least one-half the funds. The main objectives of the program are (1) to collect, on a systematic basis, data needed for the continuing determination and evaluation of the quantity, quality, and use of the Nation's water resources; and (2) to appraise the availability and the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of surface and ground water through data analysis and interpretive water-resources investigations and research. During fiscal year (FY)1994, Cooperative Program activities were underway in offices in every State, Puerto Rico, and several territories in concert with about 1,100 cooperating agencies. In FY 1994, Federal funding of $63.5 million was matched by cooperating agencies, which also provided more than $25 million unmatched for a total program of about $152 million. This amounted to nearly 40 percent of the total funds for the USGS's water-resources activities. This report presents examples of FY 1994 investigations, as well as updated information on hydrologic data collection activities.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2010

Perchlorate data for streams and groundwater in selected areas of the United States, 2004

This report presents data collected as part of a reconnaissance study to evaluate the occurrence of perchlorate in rivers and streams and in shallow aquifers in selected areas of the United States. Perchlorate, a component in rocket fuels, fireworks, and some explosives is soluble in water and persists in soils and water for long periods. It is biologically active at relatively low-levels in the environment, and has been identified as an endocrine-disrupting chemical. The purpose of this reconnaissance was to determine the occurrence of perchlorate in agricultural areas of the Midwestern and North-Central United States and in arid Central and Western parts of the United States. Samples were collected from 171 sites on rivers and streams and 146 sites from wells during the summer and early fall of 2004. Samples were collected from surface-water sites in 19 states and from wells in 5 states. Perchlorate was detected in samples collected in 15 states and was detected in 34 of 182 samples from rivers and streams and in 64 of 148 groundwater samples at concentrations equal to or greater than 0.4 micrograms per liter. Perchlorate concentrations were 1.0 micrograms per liter or greater in surface-water samples from seven states and in groundwater samples in four states. Only one surface-water and one groundwater sample had concentrations greater than 5.0 micrograms per liter. Perchlorate concentrations in followup samples collected from 1 to 3 months after the initial sample were unchanged at four of five stream sites.

Data Series↗
USGS1996

U.S. Geological Survey federal-state cooperative water-resources program, fiscal year 1995

The Federal-State Cooperative Program is a major U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) activity for the collection, analysis, and reporting of information on the quantity, quality, and use of the Nation's water resources. The fundamental characteristic of the program is that most of the work is undertaken by the USGS through joint-funding agreements, with State, regional, and local agencies providing at least one-half the funds. The main objectives of the program are (1) to collect, on a systematic basis, data needed for the continuing determi- nation and evaluation of the quantity, quality, and use of the Nation's water resources; and (2) to appraise the availability and the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of surface and ground water through data analysis and interpretive water-resources investigations and research. During fiscal year (FY) 1995, Cooperative Program activities were underway in offices in every State, Puerto Rico, and several territories in concert with about 1,100 cooperating agencies. In FY 1995, Federal funding of $62.1 million as matched by cooperating agencies, which also provided more than $28.2 million unmatched for a total program of about $152 million. This amounted to nearly 38 percent of the total funds for the USGS's water-resources activities. This report presents examples of FY 1995 investigations, as well as information on hydrologic data collection and water-use activities.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2025

Economic costs of invasive carps in the United States: Case study and management implications

Biological invasions can have far-reaching impacts and incur enormous monetary costs. Economic considerations play an important role in management decision-making. We used the invasion of U.S. waterways by silver ( Hypophthalmichthys molitrix ) and bighead ( H. nobilis ) carp as a case study of the costs of aquatic invasive species. Although these carps are well-known invaders, published reports on their economic costs are lacking. Our study included market values for commercial fisheries, non-market values for recreational fisheries, and management costs. Our results showed that by 2020, U.S. federal and state agencies had spent nearly $592 million in cumulative management costs. A difference-in-difference model testing for the effect of invasive carp on commercial harvest in invaded versus uninvaded reaches of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers showed no statistical significance. A benefit transfer analysis of invasion effects on total economic value of recreational fishing, an important ecosystem service, in a heavily invaded section of the Illinois River estimated a total loss of more than $10 million over 10 years. While there are other known impacts on ecosystem services, including alteration of aquatic food webs, plankton communities, and native fish communities, these could not be quantified in economic terms in our analysis.

conterminous United States↗
USGS2011

Geology for a changing world 2010-2020-Implementing the U.S. Geological Survey science strategy

This report describes a science strategy for the geologic activities of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the years 2010-2020. It presents six goals with accompanying strategic actions and products that implement the science directions of USGS Circular 1309, 'Facing Tomorrow's Challenges-U.S. Geological Survey Science in the Decade 2007-2017.' These six goals focus on providing the geologic underpinning needed to wisely use our natural resources, understand and mitigate hazards and environmental change, and understand the relationship between humans and the environment. The goals emphasize the critical role of the USGS in providing long-term research, monitoring, and assessments for the Nation and the world. Further, they describe measures that must be undertaken to ensure geologic expertise and knowledge for the future. The natural science issues facing today's world are complex and cut across many scientific disciplines. The Earth is a system in which atmosphere, oceans, land, and life are all connected. Rocks and soils contain the answers to important questions about the origin of energy and mineral resources, the evolution of life, climate change, natural hazards, ecosystem structures and functions, and the movements of nutrients and toxicants. The science of geology has the power to help us understand the processes that link the physical and biological world so that we can model and forecast changes in the system. Ensuring the success of this strategy will require integration of geological knowledge with the other natural sciences and extensive collaboration across USGS science centers and with partners in Federal, State, and local agencies, academia, industry, nongovernmental organizations and, most importantly, the American public. The first four goals of this report describe the scientific issues facing society in the next 10 years and the actions and products needed to respond to these issues. The final two goals focus on the expertise and infrastructure needed to ensure the long-term sustainability of the geological sciences in the USGS. The ultimate goal of USGS science and of the strategy laid out in this document is to contribute to the development of a sustainable society that operates in harmony with the Earth systems that society depends upon. As we begin the second decade of the 21st century, our Nation faces growing challenges in resource availability, climate and environmental change, and natural hazards. Meeting these challenges will require strong collaboration across the natural and social sciences and extensive partnerships with both the public and private sectors. The six goals described in this document represent a mix of scientific focus areas and operational necessities that together provide a comprehensive roadmap for USGS geologic science to effectively contribute to the USGS mission, providing science for a changing world.

Circular↗
USGS2016

Baylisascaris Larva Migrans

Summary Baylisascaris procyonis , the common raccoon roundworm, is the most commonly recognized cause of clinical larva migrans (LM) in animals, a condition in which an immature parasitic worm or larva migrates in a host animal’s tissues, causing obvious disease. Infection with B. procyonis is best known as a cause of fatal or severe neurologic disease that results when the larvae invade the brain, the spinal cord, or both; this condition is known as neural larva migrans (NLM). Baylisascariasis is a zoonotic disease, that is, one that is transmissible from animals to humans. In humans, B. procyonis can cause damaging visceral (VLM), ocular (OLM), and neural larva migrans. Due to the ubiquity of infected raccoons around humans, there is considerable human exposure and risk of infection with this parasite. The remarkable disease-producing capability of B. procyonis in animals and humans is one of the most significant aspects of the biology of ascarids (large roundworms) to come to light in recent years. Infection with B. procyonis has important health implications for a wide variety of free-ranging and captive wildlife, zoo animals, domestic animals, as well as human beings, on both an individual and population level. This report, eighth in the series of U.S. Geological Survey Circulars on zoonotic diseases, will help us to better understand the routes of Baylisascaris procyonis infections and how best to adequately monitor this zoonotic disease.

Circular↗
USGS2013

Advanced and applied remote sensing of environmental conditions

"Remote sensing” is a general term for monitoring techniques that collect information without being in physical contact with the object of study. Overhead imagery from aircraft and satellite sensors provides the most common form of remotely sensed data and records the interaction of electromagnetic energy (usually visible light) with matter, such as the Earth’s surface. Remotely sensed data are fundamental to geographic science. The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Eastern Geographic Science Center (EGSC) is currently conducting and promoting the research and development of several different aspects of remote sensing science in both the laboratory and from overhead instruments. Spectroscopy is the science of recording interactions of energy and matter and is the bench science for all remote sensing. Visible and infrared analysis in the laboratory with special instruments called spectrometers enables the transfer of this research from the laboratory to multispectral (5–15 broad bands) and hyperspectral (50–300 narrow contiguous bands) analyses from aircraft and satellite sensors. In addition, mid-wave (3–5 micrometers, µm) and long-wave (8–14 µm) infrared data analysis, such as attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectral analysis, are also conducted. ATR is a special form of vibrational infrared spectroscopy that has many applications in chemistry and biology but has recently been shown to be especially diagnostic for vegetation analysis.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2015

Social and Economic Analysis Branch: integrating policy, social, economic, and natural science

The Fort Collins Science Center's Social and Economic Analysis Branch provides unique capabilities in the U.S. Geological Survey by leading projects that integrate social, behavioral, economic, and natural science in the context of human–natural resource interactions. Our research provides scientific understanding and support for the management and conservation of our natural resources in support of multiple agency missions. We focus on meeting the scientific needs of the Department of the Interior natural resource management bureaus in addition to fostering partnerships with other Federal and State managers to protect, restore, and enhance our environment. The Social and Economic Analysis Branch has an interdisciplinary group of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities. Management and research issues associated with human-resource interactions typically occur in a unique context and require knowledge of both natural and social sciences, along with the skill to integrate multiple science disciplines. In response to these challenging contexts, Social and Economic Analysis Branch researchers apply a wide variety of social science concepts and methods which complement our rangeland/agricultural, wildlife, ecology, and biology capabilities. The goal of the Social and Economic Analysis Branch's research is to enhance natural-resource management, agency functions, policies, and decisionmaking.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2011

Southeast Ecological Science Center: Who we are, what we do

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Southeast Ecological Science Center (SESC) is a research center that studies the biology and ecology of aquatic environments in the United States and around the world. This brochure offers a glimpse of the diverse issues addressed by SESC researchers.

General Information Product↗
USGS2022

Protocols for collecting and processing macroinvertebrates from the benthos and water column in depressional wetlands

Freshwater aquatic macroinvertebrates are key links in food webs and nutrient cycles, and thus often serve as biological indicators of ecosystem health. Macroinvertebrate investigations in research and monitoring require consistent and reliable field and laboratory procedures. Comprehensive standard operating procedures for sampling macroinvertebrates from depressional wetlands, which can range from riverine floodplain lakes to wetlands of any size and hydrologic regime, remain relatively sparse. This report provides step-by-step protocols for efficient use of time and resources while collecting and processing aquatic macroinvertebrate samples; for example, a single wetland can typically be field surveyed in less than 1 hour, and the samples can be processed in the laboratory in less than 2 hours. Samples can be collected from inside a motorboat or canoe or while wading. This procedures manual describes dip netting to collect macroinvertebrates from the wetland bottom and water column separately to facilitate investigations of habitat use by species occupying different areas of the wetland. This report also provides descriptive supplemental materials and data sheets to assist with the preparation of survey maps, the acquisition of field and laboratory equipment, and the calculation of macroinvertebrate densities from the wetland bottom and water column. These procedures can be applied to most macroinvertebrate species and communities that inhabit a variety of wetland sizes and types. Uses and applications can range from elementary and secondary environmental education to rigorous scientific evaluations of community abundance, diversity, distribution, or species-habitat relations.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1988

Methods for collection and analysis of aquatic biological and microbiological samples

Chapter A4, methods for collection and analyses of aquatic biological and microbiological samples, contains methods used by the U.S. Geological Survey to collect, preserve, and analyze waters to determine their biological and microbiological properties. Part 1 consists of detailed descriptions of more than 45 individual methods, including those for bacteria, phytoplankton, zooplankton, seston, periphyton, macrophytes, benthic invertebrates, fish and other vertebrates, cellular contents, productivity and bioassay. Each method is summarized, and the applications, interferences, apparatus, reagents, analyses, calculations, reporting of results, precisions, and references are given. Part 2 consists of a glossary. Part 3 is a list of taxonomic references. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗