Publications
This list of publications includes peer-review journal articles, official USGS publications series, reports and more authored by scientists in the Ecosystems Mission Area. A database of all USGS publications, with advanced search features, can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 43131
Conserving climate-change refugia: Insights from research and practice Conserving climate-change refugia: Insights from research and practice
As the impacts of anthropogenic climate change increase, conservation of climate-change refugia has become a key strategy for effective environmental stewardship. Over the last 5 years, the field of climate-change refugia conservation has made exciting advances, shifting from concepts and theory to refugia mapping and implementation. However, few studies have advanced to action on the...
Authors
Toni Lyn Morelli, Tina G. Mozelewski, Cybil Nicole Cavalieri, Andrew J Caven, Lindsay M. Dreiss, Rachel A. Hovel, Melissa Hua, Megan K. Jennings, Aji John, Gregory Kehm, Gunnar Keppel, Meg A. Krawchuk, Stephen F. Langdon, Joshua J. Lawler, Lauren Lyon, Garrett W. Meigs, Melissa Mora-Gonzalez, Christopher P. Nadeau, Sandra Slowinska, Jessica Stolar, James H. Thorne, Jordon C. Tourville, Benjamin Zuckerberg, Diana Stralberg
Integrating refugia modeling and decision science to support climate-adaptive conservation in the Sierra Nevada Integrating refugia modeling and decision science to support climate-adaptive conservation in the Sierra Nevada
To reduce detrimental impacts of anthropogenic change, natural resource managers often look for place-based solutions to minimize biodiversity loss. Climate-change refugia, areas buffered from contemporary climate change, can enable the persistence of valued natural resources and prolong the benefits of conservation action. Here we combine climate-change refugia modeling with structured...
Authors
Tina G Mozelewski, Claudia Mengelt, Katherine Powelson, Nicole Athearn, Robert L. Grasso, Andrea J Adams, Toni Lyn Morelli
SiMPL wildlife magnets: A camera trap tool for detecting all creatures great and small SiMPL wildlife magnets: A camera trap tool for detecting all creatures great and small
We created the SiMPL wildlife magnet—a baited camera trap design that allows passive monitoring of wildlife, particularly small- to medium-sized mammals. The SiMPL wildlife magnet is inexpensive and easy to construct. To evaluate its effectiveness, we conducted a two-year case study using 9 camera stations along an elevation gradient in the White Mountains of the northeastern United...
Authors
Jahiya Clark, A. P.K. Siren, J. Loesberg, Toni Lyn Morelli
Climate change refugia hotspots for priority species: A case study in East Africa Climate change refugia hotspots for priority species: A case study in East Africa
Natural resource managers and policymakers need actionable climate data to guide conservation decisions. Conserving climate change refugia, areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change, is increasingly considered an effective strategy for adaptation. Despite tropical species facing heightened vulnerability to climate change, the tropics remain underserved in climate...
Authors
Cavalieri C. N., Devolent Tomas Mtui, Alex L. Lobora, Toni Lyn Morelli
From models to management: Implementing the climate-change refugia conservation cycle in national parks of the northeastern United States From models to management: Implementing the climate-change refugia conservation cycle in national parks of the northeastern United States
Managing climate-change refugia is a commonly recommended strategy for conserving biodiversity. However, few efforts have moved beyond the modeling phase of refugia science to management. Here, we present two case studies that move beyond modeling to testing models and management. In the first case study, we model refugia for two plant species (three-toothed cinquefoil [Sibbaldia...
Authors
Christopher P. Nadeau, Jennifer R. Smetzer, Sara Wisner, Kyle Lima, A. Randall Hughes, Abraham J. Miller-Rushing, Jesse S. Wheeler, Toni Lyn Morelli, Tina G Mozelewski
Phytoplankton biomass dynamics in wet (2019) and dry (2023) years in Lake Pontchartrain estuary, Louisiana from Sentinel 2-MSI and PACE-OCI observations Phytoplankton biomass dynamics in wet (2019) and dry (2023) years in Lake Pontchartrain estuary, Louisiana from Sentinel 2-MSI and PACE-OCI observations
This study provides a comprehensive assessment of phytoplankton biomass dynamics in Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, by combining monthly water quality data with multispectral and hyperspectral satellite observations using a machine learning algorithm. A machine learning model based on Variational Autoencoder (VAE), globally applicable, was used to estimate phytoplankton biomass via...
Authors
Shiwani Shrestha, Bingqing Liu, Jiang Li, Wei Huang, Melissa Millman Baustian, Eurico J. D'Sa, Sibel Bargu, Francesca Messina, Ioannis Y. Georgiou, Abhishek Kumar, Angelina Freeman, Scott Mize
Changing dynamic phosphorus forms from field to stream during surface runoff events Changing dynamic phosphorus forms from field to stream during surface runoff events
The risk of water quality impairment from agricultural runoff depends on nutrient source, transport, and bioavailability. Phosphorus (P) spirals between dissolved and particulate forms as it is transported with suspended sediment (SS) from agricultural fields, through the stream network, to receiving water bodies. This dynamic sorption-desorption influences bioavailability. We quantified...
Authors
Rebecca M. Kreiling, Tanja N. Williamson, Faith A. Fitzpatrick, Kenna J. Gierke, James D. Blount, Patrik Mathis Perner, Isaac James Mevis, Heidi M. Broerman, Katherine R. Merriman, Matthew J. Komiskey
Virulence evolution of a salmonid virus following a host jump Virulence evolution of a salmonid virus following a host jump
Emergent viral diseases remain a critical obstacle to welfare across landscapes and species, encompassing humans, wildlife, and agriculture. Following a jump to a novel host, the severity of disease resulting from infection is a critical determinant of the overall emergent pathogen threat. Conventional wisdom posits that virulence, defined here as host mortality, attenuates to...
Authors
Malina Mariko Loeher, Gael Kurath, David A. Kennedy, Joanne E. Salzer, William N. Batts, Rachel B. Breyta, Andrew R. Wargo
Responding to ecological transformation in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah—Employee perspectives from pilot interviews from the Cross-Park Resist-Assist-Direct Project Responding to ecological transformation in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah—Employee perspectives from pilot interviews from the Cross-Park Resist-Assist-Direct Project
Authors
Amanda E. Cravens, Zachary B. Hough Solomon, Julia B. Goolsby, Heather M. Yocum, Stefan Gabriel Tangen, Wylie Carr
Best practices for understanding recreational fishers Best practices for understanding recreational fishers
In this closing chapter of our edited book, we summarize what we believe are best practices for understanding recreational fishers. Fishers are an integral part of the recreational fishery social-ecological system, and we emphasize the importance of placing them in that context. We begin with an overview of the process of developing a project and conclude with some broad suggestions for
Authors
Brett van Poorten, Len M. Hunt, E. Arlo Richardson, Abigail J. Lynch, Kevin L. Pope
Preface Preface
Despite more than 50 years of research into the human dimensions of recreational f isheries, there is no textbook to present the theoretical grounding, operationalisation, and interpretation of the most elemental social components involved in fisheries management – namely, outcomes and trade-offs, behaviours (and antecedents or predictors of it), and the relationships among actors...
Authors
Kevin L. Pope, Robert Arlinghaus, Len M. Hunt, Abigail J. Lynch, Brett T. van Poorten
Greater white-fronted goose habitat use in Louisiana provides water depth management insights Greater white-fronted goose habitat use in Louisiana provides water depth management insights
Numerous waterfowl species have altered their geographic distribution in recent decades. The greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) has shifted its wintering distribution from coastal marshes in Texas and Louisiana, USA, to interior landscapes, creating challenges for conservation managers. Although the range shift has been primarily attributed to landscape-scale changes in rice...
Authors
William S. Beatty, Paul T. Link, Brett Leach, Steven C. Houdek, Elisabeth B. Webb