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: 42777
Big River bluegill: Combining vital rates and long-term monitoring to understand population dynamics in large rivers Big River bluegill: Combining vital rates and long-term monitoring to understand population dynamics in large rivers
Long-term monitoring indicates bluegill catch rates are relatively stable in some reaches of the Upper Mississippi River and highly variable in others, whereas in the Illinois River, catch rates have decreased. A lack of age structure information precludes understanding population processes responsible for patterns in catch rates. To build a better understanding of why catch rates have...
Authors
Kristen L. Bouska, Levi E. Solomon, Andrew D. Bartels, Melvin C. Bowler, Steven A. DeLain, Eric J. Gittinger, Travis Kueter, Kristopher A. Maxson, Eric N. Ratcliff, John L. West, James T. Lamer, Hae H. Kim, Quinton Edward Phelps
Fungi, fire, and feedbacks: Grasses and wildfire interact to alter ectomycorrhizal fungal communities and decrease tree seedling growth Fungi, fire, and feedbacks: Grasses and wildfire interact to alter ectomycorrhizal fungal communities and decrease tree seedling growth
Wildfire and its effects, including changes to soil biota and the introduction of invasive or seeded grasses, can cause long-term shifts in ecological communities. Post-wildfire establishment of long-lived trees and shrubs is a critical bottleneck to recovering native plant communities. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) can improve plant responses to stressors and influence seedling...
Authors
G.M. Trimber, Sasha C. Reed, John B. Bradford, Cara Marie Lauria, T. Spector, R.J. Rondeau, Michala Lee Phillips, C.A. Gehring
Diurnal patterns of nitrous oxide fluxes from a seasonal prairie wetland Diurnal patterns of nitrous oxide fluxes from a seasonal prairie wetland
Wetlands have spatially and temporally dynamic nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes. Understanding diurnal patterns in N2O fluxes in wetlands can reveal short-term drivers and improve process-based models. An automated chamber system was used to determine N2O flux rates every 2.5 to 4 h in a prairie pothole wetland in North Dakota during the 2013 to 2014 growing seasons under ponded, moist, and...
Authors
Derek R. Faust, Brian Tangen, Sheel Bansal
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 Fitzpatrick, Kenna J. Gierke, James D. Blount, Patrik Mathis Perner, Isaac James Mevis, Heidi Mae 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
Executive Summary Climate change is causing a range of changes that can affect the natural, cultural, and built resources of the Nation’s protected areas and affect opportunities to visit and recreate in these spaces. Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns also affect species and habitats, leading to ecological transformation. This report describes findings from pilot research...
Authors
Amanda E. Cravens, Zachary B. Hough Solomon, Julia B. Goolsby, Heather M. Yocum, Stefan 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
Rising rates of wildfire building destruction in the conterminous United States Rising rates of wildfire building destruction in the conterminous United States
Many regions of the world have seen an increase in highly destructive wildfires, driven by well-documented increases in burned area and growth of housing in the wildland–urban interface (WUI), which exposes more homes to fire. However, it is unclear whether wildfires are also becoming more destructive due to changes in wildfire behavior or in the development patterns of exposed...
Authors
Amanda Renee Carlson, Todd Hawbaker, Miranda H. Mockrin, Volker C. Radeloff, Lucas Bair, Mike Caggiano, James Meldrum, Patricia Alexandre, H. Anu Kramer, Paul F. Steblein
A U.S. scientific community vision for sustained earth observations of greenhouse gases to support local to global action A U.S. scientific community vision for sustained earth observations of greenhouse gases to support local to global action
Managing carbon stocks in the land, ocean, and atmosphere under changing climate requires a globally-integrated view of carbon cycle processes at local and regional scales. The growing Earth Observation (EO) record is the backbone of this multi-scale system, providing local information with discrete coverage from surface measurements and regional information at global scale from...
Authors
N. Parazoo, D. Carroll, J. B. Abshire, Y. M Bar-On, R. A. Birdsey, A. A. Bloom, K. W. Bowman, R. K. Braghiere, L.M. Bruhwiler, B. Byrne, A. Chatterjee, D. Crisp, L. Duncanson, A. F. Feldman, A. M. Fox, C. Frankenberg, B. A. Gay, F. Hopkins, F. M. Hoffman, J. R. Holmquist, L. R. Hutyra, M. Keller, C. D. Koven, Laughner J. L., J. Liu, N. S. Lovenduski, N. Macbean, G. A. McKinley, G. McNicol, D. Menemenlis, A. M. Michalak, C. E. Miller, H. Nesser, T. Oda, E. M. Ordway, L. E. Ott, K. Paustian, Z. A. Pierrat, B. Poulter, Sasha C. Reed, D. S. Schimel, S. P. Serbin, S.S. Saatchi, H. Suto, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, D. Wunch