Publications
FORT scientists have produced more than 2000 peer reviewed publications that are registered in the USGS Publications Warehouse, along with many others prior to their work at the USGS or in conjunction with other government agencies.
Filter Total Items: 2400
Native mammalian predators can depredate adult Burmese Pythons in Florida Native mammalian predators can depredate adult Burmese Pythons in Florida
Invasive predators are of conservation concern because they contribute to species declines and extinctions worldwide. Interactions of native fauna and invasive predators can be complex, but understanding these relationships can guide management and restoration. Observations of these interactions are especially important for invaders with low detectability like Python bivittatus (Burmese...
Authors
Matthew F. McCollister, Jillian Maureen Josimovich, Austin Lee Fitzgerald, Deborah K. Jansen, Andrea Faye Currylow
Synthesizing and analyzing long-term monitoring data: A greater sage-grouse case study Synthesizing and analyzing long-term monitoring data: A greater sage-grouse case study
Long-term monitoring of natural resources is imperative for increasing the understanding of ecosystem processes, services, and how to manage those ecosystems to maintain or improve function. Challenges with using these data may occur because methods of monitoring changed over time, multiple organizations collect and manage data differently, and monetary resources fluctuate, affecting...
Authors
Michael S. O’Donnell, David R. Edmunds, Cameron L. Aldridge, Julie A. Heinrichs, Adrian P. Monroe, Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Thomas J Christiansen, Steve E. Hanser, Lief A. Wiechman, Avery A Cook, Shawn P. Espinosa, Lee J. Foster, Kathleen A. Griffin, Jesse L. Kolar, Katherine Miller, Ann M. Moser, Thomas E. Remington, Travis J Runia, Leslie A Schreiber, Michael A Schroeder, San J Stiver, Nyssa I Whitford, Catherine S Wightman
Monitoring long-term riparian vegetation trends to inform local habitat management in a mountainous environment Monitoring long-term riparian vegetation trends to inform local habitat management in a mountainous environment
Riparian ecosystems provide critical habitat for many species, yet assessment of vegetation condition at local scales is difficult to measure when considering large areas over long time periods. We present a framework to map and monitor two deciduous cover types, upland and riparian, occupying a small fraction of an expansive, mountainous landscape in north-central Wyoming. Initially, we...
Authors
Timothy J. Assal, Valerie A. Steen, Todd Caltrider, Travis Cundy, Cheyenne Stewart, Nicholas Manning, Patrick J. Anderson
Effects of elk and bison herbivory on narrowleaf cottonwood Effects of elk and bison herbivory on narrowleaf cottonwood
Ungulate browsing influences the structure and composition of woody plant communities, including species composition and biomass production as well as age distribution, recruitment, and mortality. We evaluated effects of elk and bison herbivory on narrowleaf cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) communities in a semiarid ecosystem in southern Colorado. Cottonwoods in this ecosystem have been...
Authors
Linda C. Zeigenfuss, Kathryn A. Schoenecker
The tundra phenology database: More than two decades of tundra phenology responses to climate change The tundra phenology database: More than two decades of tundra phenology responses to climate change
Observations of changes in phenology have provided some of the strongest signals of the effects of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems. The International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), initiated in the early 1990s, established a common protocol to measure plant phenology in tundra study areas across the globe. Today, this valuable collection of phenology measurements depicts the...
Authors
Janet S. Prevey, Sarah Claire Elmendorf, Anne Bjorkman, J. M. Alatalo, Isabel Ashton, Jakob J. Assmann, Robert G Bjork, Mats P. Bjorkman, Nicoletta Cannone, Michele Carbognani, Chelsea Chisholm, Karin Clark, Courtney G. Collins, Elisabeth J. Cooper, Bo Elberling, Esther R. Frei, Greg Henry, Robert D. Hollister, Toke Thomas Hoye, Ingibjorg Svala Jonsdottir, Jeffrey T. Kerby, Kari Klanderud, Christopher Kopp, Esther Levesque, Marguerite Mauritz, Ulf Molau, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Susan M. Natali, Steven F. Oberbauer, Zoe Panchen, Alessandro Petraglia, Eric Post, Christian Rixen, Heidi Rodenhizer, Sabine B. Rumpf, Niels Martin Schmidt, Ted Schuur, Philipp R. Semenchuk, Jane Griffin Smith, Katharine Suding, Ørjan Totland, Tiffany G. Troxler, Henrik Wahren, Jeffrey M. Welker, Sonja Wipf, Yue Yang
Functional connectivity in a continuously distributed, migratory species as revealed by landscape genomics Functional connectivity in a continuously distributed, migratory species as revealed by landscape genomics
Maintaining functional connectivity is critical for the long-term conservation of wildlife populations. Landscape genomics provides an opportunity to assess long-term functional connectivity by relating environmental variables to spatial patterns of genomic variation resulting from generations of movement, dispersal and mating behaviors. Identifying landscape features associated with...
Authors
Melanie E. F. LaCava, Roderick B. Gagne, Kyle D. Gustafson, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Kevin L. Monteith, Hall Sawyer, Matthew J. Kauffman, Daniel J. Thiele, Holly B. Ernest
Seasonal activity and diets of bats at uranium mines and adjacent areas near the Grand Canyon Seasonal activity and diets of bats at uranium mines and adjacent areas near the Grand Canyon
Little information exists on the habitat use and feeding ecology of insectivorous bats in arid ecosystems, especially at and near uranium mines in northern Arizona, within the Grand Canyon watershed. In 2015–2016, we conducted mist-netting, nightly acoustic monitoring (>1 year), and diet analyses of bats, as well as insect sampling, at 2 uranium mines (Pinenut and Arizona 1) with water...
Authors
Ernest W. Valdez, Mollie K Hanttula, Jo Ellen Hinck
Using fecal DNA and closed-capture models to estimate feral horse population size Using fecal DNA and closed-capture models to estimate feral horse population size
Accurate population estimates provide the foundation for managing feral horses (Equus caballus ferus) across the western United States. Certain feral horse populations are protected by the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or the United States Forest Service on designated herd management areas (HMAs) or wild horse...
Authors
Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Sarah R. B. King, L. Stefan Ekernas, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
2020 National Park Visitor Spending Effects Economic Contributions to Local Communities, States,and the Nation 2020 National Park Visitor Spending Effects Economic Contributions to Local Communities, States,and the Nation
The National Park Service (NPS) manages the Nation’s most iconic destinations that attract millions of visitors from across the Nation and around the world. Trip-related spending by NPS visitors generates and supports economic activity within park gateway communities. This report summarizes the annual economic contribution analysis that measures how NPS visitor spending cycles through...
Authors
Catherine Cullinane Thomas, Lynne Koontz
Putting people first: Using social science to reduce risk Putting people first: Using social science to reduce risk
Wildland-urban interface residents, who occupy the areas where wildlands meet and mix with human development, are both contributors to and recipients of the disastrous effects of wildland fires. They contribute through fire starts, flammable homes, unmitigated properties, opposition to mitigation on nearby public lands, and land use planning efforts. We argue that successful, sustainable...
Authors
Patricia A. Champ, Christopher M. Barth, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Lilia C. Falk, Jamie Gomez, James R. Meldrum
Conservation status of the world’s skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk Conservation status of the world’s skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk
Our knowledge of the conservation status of reptiles, the most diverse group of terrestrial vertebrates, has improved dramatically over the past decade, but still lags behind that of the other tetrapod groups. Here, we conduct the first comprehensive assessment (~92% of the world’s ~1,714 described species) of the conservation status of skinks (Scincidae), the most speciose reptile...
Authors
David G. Chapple, Uri Roll, Monika Böhm, Rocio Aguilar, Andrew P. Amey, Chris C. Austin, Maureen Baling, Anthony J. Barley, Michael F. Bates, Aaron M. Bauer, Daniel G. Blackburn, Phil Bowles, Rafe M. Brown, S. R. Chandramouli, Laurent Chirio, Hal Cogger, Guarino R. Colli, Werner Conradie, Patrick J. Couper, Mark A. Cowan, Michael D. Craig, Indraneil Das, Aniruddha Datta-Roy, Chris R. Dickman, Ryan J. Ellis, Aaron L. Fenner, Stewart Ford, S. R. Ganesh, Michael G. Gardner, Peter Geissler, Graeme R. Gillespie, Frank Glaw, Matthew J. Greenlees, Oliver W. Griffith, L. Lee Grismer, Margaret L. Haines, D. James Harris, S. Blair Hedges, Rod A. Hitchmough, Conrad J. Hoskin, Mark N. Hutchinson, Ivan Ineich, Jordi Janssen, Gregory R. Johnston, Benjamin R. Karin, J. Scott Keogh, Frederick Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Petros Lymberakis, Rafaqat Masroor, Peter J. McDonald, Sven Mecke, Jane Melville, Sabine Melzer, Damian R. Michael, Aurelien Miralles, Nicola J. Mitchell, Nicola J. Nelson, Truong Q. Nguyen, Cristiano de Campos Nogueira, Hidetoshi Ota, Panayiotis Pafilis, Olivier S. G. Pauwels, Ana Perera, Daniel Pincheira-Donoso, Robert Reed, Marco A. Ribeiro-Junior, Julia L. Riley, Sara Rocha, Pamela L. Rutherford, Ross A. Sadlier, Boaz Shacham, Glenn M. Shea, Richard Shine, Alex Slavenko, Adam Stow, Joanna Sumner, Oliver J. S. Tallowin, Roy Teale, Omar Torres-Carvajal, Jean-Francois Trape, Peter Uetz, Kanishka D. B. Ukuwela, Leonie E. Valentine, James U. Van Dyke, Dylan van Winkel, Raquel Vasconcelos, Miguel Vences, Philipp Wagner, Erik Wapstra, Geoffrey M. While, Martin J. Whiting, Camilla M. Whittington, Steve Wilson, Thomas Ziegler, Reid Tingley, Shai Meiri
U.S. Geological Survey wildland fire science strategic plan, 2021–26 U.S. Geological Survey wildland fire science strategic plan, 2021–26
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Wildland Fire Science Strategic Plan defines critical, core fire science capabilities for understanding fire-related and fire-responsive earth system processes and patterns, and informing management decision making. Developed by USGS fire scientists and executive leadership, and informed by conversations with external stakeholders, the Strategic Plan is...
Authors
Paul F. Steblein, Rachel A. Loehman, Mark P. Miller, Joseph R. Holomuzki, Suzanna C. Soileau, Matthew L. Brooks, Mia Drane-Maury, Hannah M. Hamilton, Jason W. Kean, Jon E. Keeley, Mason, Alexa McKerrow, James R. Meldrum, Edmund B. Molder, Sheila F. Murphy, Birgit Peterson, Geoffrey S. Plumlee, Douglas J. Shinneman, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Alison York
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Natural Hazards Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis, and Research Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Alaska Science Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Geologic Hazards Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wildland Fire Science