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Understanding the distributions of rare species is necessary to guide monitoring and inform species recovery efforts. The rusty patched bumble bee (RPBB; Bombus affinis, Cresson) is an endangered species with an extant, known distribution centered around urban areas of the Midwestern United States. We tested a novel approach for finding undocumented RPBBs...

The transition from Landsat Collection 1 to Collection 2 introduced significant improvements in radiometric and geometric accuracy. However, the improvements cause location misalignment between the existing Landsat-derived land cover products and the new collection. The legacy National Land Cover Database (NLCD) has been used as a cornerstone land cover source...

Mudboils have been documented in the Tully Valley in southern Onondaga County, New York, since the late 1890s. Sediment-laden water from the mudboils flows into Onondaga Creek, which empties into Onondaga Lake at Syracuse 15 miles to the north. Turbidity from the mudboils has degraded the water quality of Onondaga...

Laminated soil carbonate rinds are a Quaternary paleoclimate archive whose isotope composition is linked to soil formation conditions. At Rio Mesa, Utah (USA), we investigated the fidelity of rind records in a river terrace setting by determining the seasonal timing of rind formation and testing for inter-record replication. We infer...

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease of cervids that spreads to uninfected individuals through direct transmission (contact with infected individuals), vertical transmission (from mother to offspring), or indirect transmission (exposure to contaminated environments). The risk of indirect transmission is unevenly distributed on the landscape, and risk levels are...

Mid-range landslide outlooks can facilitate weather-related landslide preparedness and disaster response planning, but seasonal landslide activity remains poorly quantified at continental scales. Leveraging >55,000 reported landslides from across the United States (U.S.), we used circular statistics to quantify landslide seasonality in 67 National Weather Service County Warning...

Pervasive marine pollution can have devastating effects on ocean health. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB), Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), and Organochlorine Pesticides (OCP) are of particular concern given their high level of toxicity and carcinogenicity. These compounds originate from anthropogenic activity, therefore are often ubiquitous in coastal environments close to human sources....

No abstract available....

Ringtails (Bassariscus astutus) are widely distributed in the western United States and across much of Mexico, yet due to their relatively low densities and cryptic nature, little is known about their basic ecology even where they are common. Recent public sightings suggest ringtails may have expanded their...

Mountain regions are highly climate-sensitive, yet long-term observational evidence of elevation and seasonal climate dynamics in Central Asia remains limited. This study examines spatiotemporal trends in temperature (Tmean, Tmax, Tmin, and diurnal temperature range [DTR]) and precipitation across Kazakhstan’s transmountain regions using 74 meteorological stations (1981–2023). Data were analyzed using...

Since invading the Laurentian Great Lakes in the late 1980s, round goby Neogobius melanostomus have become a dominant benthic prey species, resulting in a need to accurately monitor their population abundance to inform fisheries management. Camera-based methods for assessing round goby abundances have gained popularity, but their efficiencies for detecting round goby...

Communication regarding the mission of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Cooperative Research Units Program (CRU) can take many forms, yet clear and concise messaging for various audiences is critical to highlight program accomplishments and increase visibility. Before the work described in this report, CRU did not have a communication strategy;...

The U.S. Geological Survey recently updated the National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (PRVI). The first version of the PRVI NSHM was released in 2003, and therefore this 2025 update includes over 20 years of new geologic, geophysical, and engineering...

Implicit in the construction of seed transfer zones (STZs) are the assumptions that plant populations are adapted to their home climates and that transferring native seed across climate gradients risks maladaptation and poor performance. However, plants are adapted to multiple aspects of their environments that are often excluded from STZ...

Hatchery supplementation is vital for conserving dwindling fish populations. Effective augmentation requires distinguishing hatchery-origin from wild individuals and accurately identifying species, particularly in systems where closely related species coexist. Genetic monitoring is key to quantifying genetic differences, but conventional markers do not distinguish hybrids, especially backcrosses. Misidentifying hybrids in hatchery...

Declining participation in hunting and fishing has been slowed by women who are learning numerous outdoor skills through recruitment, retention, and reactivation [R3] programs. R3 programs are hosted by state agencies, non-governmental organizations, and businesses that take a variety of approaches to develop participant skills and confidence....

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Colorado Department of Transportation, developed peak-, mean-, and low-streamflow regional-regression equations for estimating various statistics for natural streamflow in hydrologic regions of central and western Colorado. The peak-streamflow regression equations were developed using data from 418 streamgages, consisting of 15,202 years...

Noise exposure is a potential stressor for free-ranging marine mammals and is often studied in the absence of other environmental factors. Here, a multi-investigator, interdisciplinary effort was undertaken to examine the response of elephant seals to multiple stressors. An integrated physiological and ecological approach was taken, including immunology, stress physiology,...

Plain Language SummaryMetallurgical coal (met coal; consumed to produce coke for steelmaking) must meet specific chemical and physical specifications. In 2023, the conterminous United States produced 66 million short tons (mst) of met coal, consumed 15.85 mst domestically, exported 51.1 mst, and imported 0.7 mst. Most met coal was produced...

IntroductionInterest in nuclear power for the generation of electricity has risen with the increase in the need for more diverse baseload power, enhanced energy security, and the development of new technologies, such as small modular reactors (SMRs), which could provide power for remote areas, industrial applications, and artificial intelligence...

Background: Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) pose risks to human and animal health.Methods: We investigated the relationship between cyanoHABs and asthma or wheeze-related emergency department (ED) visits near three Wisconsin cities (Green Bay, Madison, and Oshkosh) during 2017–2019. CyanoHAB exposure was approximated using the Cyanobacterial Assessment Network remotely sensed satellite indicator of...

Restoration of salmon populations in the upper Lewis River Basin, Washington, depends on a trap-and-haul program owing to the Lewis River Hydroelectric Project (hereinafter referred to as “Project”) operated by PacifiCorp and Cowlitz Public Utilities District (hereinafter referred to as “Utilities”), which has been a barrier to salmon passage since...

 Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 80.1 trillion cubic feet of shale gas in the Grand Erg/Ahnet Basin Province of Algeria....

A rapid transition to renewable energy is necessary for achieving global decarbonization targets, but siting conflicts, particularly beyond the built environment, remain a key barrier to sustainable development. At the same time, climate-induced pressures on biodiversity intensify the socio-ecological trade-offs within the energy-agriculture-biodiversity nexus. Using New York...

Body and caudal fin locomotion is ubiquitous in aquatic vertebrates, and kinematic models describing it are used in robotics, biomechanics and fisheries research. This paper presents a new algorithm to translate continuous body midlines of fish into a series of interconnected segments by identifying favorable joint positions along the body....