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: 42978
Introduction to the Wetland Book 1: Wetland structure and function, management, and nethods Introduction to the Wetland Book 1: Wetland structure and function, management, and nethods
The Wetland Book 1 is designed as a ‘first port-of-call’ reference work for information on the structure and functions of wetlands, current approaches to wetland management, and methods for researching and understanding wetlands. Contributions by experts summarize key concepts, orient the reader to the major issues, and support further research on such issues by individuals and...
Authors
Nick C. Davidson, Beth A. Middleton, Robert J. McInnes, Mark Everard, Kenneth Irvine, Anne A. Van Dam, C. Max Finlayson
Life history with emphasis on geographic variation Life history with emphasis on geographic variation
Every organism is defined by a set of vital rates that evolve to enhance lifetime reproductive fitness and survival of individuals and their progeny. These traits vary due to the complex but sometimes predictable interactions between individuals, populations and their environments. Collectively, these attributes are referred to as life history traits and include age and size of maturity...
Authors
Jeffrey E. Lovich, J. Whitfield Gibbons, Kathryn Greene
Habitat Needs Assessment‐II for the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Linking science to management perspectives Habitat Needs Assessment‐II for the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program: Linking science to management perspectives
The Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program vision statement is for a healthier and more resilient Upper Mississippi River ecosystem that sustains the river’s multiple uses. To address this vision, the UMRR Program recently developed a suite of 12 indicators that quantify aspects of ecosystem health and resilience (i.e., connectivity, redundancy and diversity, and controlling...
Authors
Kat McCain, Sara Schmuecker, Nathan R. De Jager
Direct and indirect controls on organic matter decomposition in four coastal wetland communities along a landscape salinity gradient Direct and indirect controls on organic matter decomposition in four coastal wetland communities along a landscape salinity gradient
Coastal wetlands store more carbon than most ecosystems globally. As sea level rises, changes in flooding and salinity will potentially impact ecological functions, such as organic matter decomposition, that influence carbon storage. However, little is known about the mechanisms that control organic matter loss in coastal wetlands at the landscape scale. As sea level rises, how will the...
Authors
Camille L. Stagg, Melissa M. Baustian, Carey L. Perry, Tim J. B. Carruthers, Courtney T. Hall
Improving ecological restoration to curb biotic invasion - A practical guide Improving ecological restoration to curb biotic invasion - A practical guide
Common practices for invasive species control and management include physical, chemical, and biological approaches. The first two approaches have clear limitations and may lead to unintended (negative) consequences, unless carefully planned and implemented. For example, physical removal rarely completely eradicates the targeted invasive species and can cause disturbances that facilitate...
Authors
Qinfeng Guo, Dale G. Brockway, Diane L. Larson, Deli Wang, Hai Ren
Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds
Many Arctic shorebird populations are declining, and quantifying adult survival and the effects of anthropogenic factors is a crucial step toward a better understanding of population dynamics. We used a recently developed, spatially explicit Cormack–Jolly–Seber model in a Bayesian framework to obtain broad-scale estimates of true annual survival rates for 6 species of shorebirds at 9...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Richard B. Lanctot, Stephen C. Brown, H. River Gates, Rebecca L. Bentzen, Joel Bety, Megan L. Boldenow, Willow B. English, Samantha E. Franks, Laura Koloski, Eunbi Kwon, Jean-François Lamarre, David B. Lank, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Laura McKinnon, Erica Nol, Jennie Rausch, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Nathan R. Senner, David H. Ward, Paul F. Wood, Brett K. Sandercock
Using colony monitoring devices to evaluate the impacts of land use and nutritional value of forage on honey bee health Using colony monitoring devices to evaluate the impacts of land use and nutritional value of forage on honey bee health
Colony monitoring devices used to track and assess the health status of honey bees are becoming more widely available and used by both beekeepers and researchers. These devices monitor parameters relevant to colony health at frequent intervals, often approximating real time. The fine-scale record of hive condition can be further related to static or dynamic features of the landscape...
Authors
Matthew Smart, Clint Otto, Robert S. Cornman, Deborah D. Iwanowicz
Lake Sturgeon, Lake Whitefish, and Walleye egg deposition patterns with response to fish spawning substrate restoration in the St. Clair–Detroit River system Lake Sturgeon, Lake Whitefish, and Walleye egg deposition patterns with response to fish spawning substrate restoration in the St. Clair–Detroit River system
Egg deposition and use of restored spawning substrates by lithophilic fishes (e.g., Lake Sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens, Lake Whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis, and Walleye Sander vitreus) were assessed throughout the St. Clair–Detroit River system from 2005 to 2016. Bayesian models were used to quantify egg abundance and presence/absence relative to site-specific variables (e.g., depth...
Authors
Jason L. Fischer, Jeremy J. Pritt, Edward F. Roseman, Carson G. Prichard, Jaquelyn M. Craig, Gregory W. Kennedy, Bruce A. Manny
Ecotypic variation in population dynamics of reintroduced bighorn sheep Ecotypic variation in population dynamics of reintroduced bighorn sheep
Selection of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) for translocation historically has been motivated by preservation of subspecific purity rather than by adaptation of source stocks to similar environments. Our objective was to estimate cause‐specific, annual, and age‐specific mortality of introduced bighorn sheep that originated at low elevations in southern British Columbia, Canada (BC...
Authors
Vernon C. Bleich, Glen A. Sargeant, Brett P. Wiedmann
The nitrogen window for arctic herbivores: plant phenology and protein gain of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus) The nitrogen window for arctic herbivores: plant phenology and protein gain of migratory caribou (Rangifer tarandus)
Terrestrial plants are often limited by nitrogen (N) in arctic systems, but constraints of N supply on herbivores are typically considered secondary to those of energy. We tested the hypothesis that forage N is more limiting than energy for arctic caribou by collecting key forages (three species of graminoids, three species of woody browse, and one genus of forb) over three summers in...
Authors
Perry S. Barboza, Lindsay L. Van Someren, David D. Gustine, M. Syndonia Bret-Harte
Morphodynamic evolution following sediment release from the world’s largest dam removal Morphodynamic evolution following sediment release from the world’s largest dam removal
Sediment pulses can cause widespread, complex changes to rivers and coastal regions. Quantifying landscape response to sediment-supply changes is a long-standing problem in geomorphology, but the unanticipated nature of most sediment pulses rarely allows for detailed measurement of associated landscape processes and evolution. The intentional removal of two large dams on the Elwha River
Authors
Andrew C. Ritchie, Jonathan A. Warrick, Amy E. East, Christopher S. Magirl, Andrew W. Stevens, Jennifer A. Bountry, Timothy J. Randle, Christopher A. Curran, Robert C. Hilldale, Jeffrey J. Duda, Ian M. Miller, George R. Pess, Emily Eidam, Melissa M. Foley, Randall McCoy, Andrea S. Ogston
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Arizona Water Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Washington Water Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Sediment Lab Suite and Carbon Analysis Laboratory
Informing our successors: What botanical information for Santa Cruz Island will researchers and conservation managers in the century ahead need the most? Informing our successors: What botanical information for Santa Cruz Island will researchers and conservation managers in the century ahead need the most?
Climate changes are predicted to drive changes in plant species composition and vegetation cover around the world. Preserved specimens and other botanical information that we gather today—a period future practitioners may look back on as an early stage of modern anthropogenic climate change—will be of value to conservation managers and conservation biologists in the decades and centuries...
Authors
John M. Randall, Kathryn McEachern, John Knapp, Paula Power, Steve Junak, Kristina Gill, Denise Knapp, Matt Guilliams