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: 2380
Logistic quantile regression provides improved estimates for bounded avian counts: A case study of California Spotted Owl fledgling production Logistic quantile regression provides improved estimates for bounded avian counts: A case study of California Spotted Owl fledgling production
Counts of avian fledglings, nestlings, or clutch size that are bounded below by zero and above by some small integer form a discrete random variable distribution that is not approximated well by conventional parametric count distributions such as the Poisson or negative binomial. We developed a logistic quantile regression model to provide estimates of the empirical conditional...
Authors
Brian S. Cade, Barry R. Noon, Rick D. Scherer, John J. Keane
Monitoring the southwestern Wyoming landscape—A foundation for management and science Monitoring the southwestern Wyoming landscape—A foundation for management and science
Natural resource monitoring involves repeated collections of resource condition data and analyses to detect possible changes and identify underlying causes of changes. For natural resource agencies, monitoring provides the foundation for management and science. Specifically, analyses of monitoring data allow managers to better understand effects of land-use and other changes on important...
Authors
Daniel J. Manier, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy J. Assal, Geneva W. Chong, Cynthia P. Melcher
A large-scale environmental flow experiment for riparian restoration in the Colorado River delta A large-scale environmental flow experiment for riparian restoration in the Colorado River delta
Managing streamflow is a widely-advocated approach to provide conditions necessary for seed germination and seedling establishment of trees in the willow family (Salicaceae). Experimental flow releases to the Colorado River delta in 2014 had a primary objective of promoting seedling establishment of Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii) and Goodding's willow (Salix gooddingii). We...
Authors
Patrick B. Shafroth, Karen Schlatter, Martha Gomez-Sapiens, Erick Lundgren, Matthew R. Grabau, Jorge Ramirez-Hernandez, J. Eliana Rodriguez-Burgeueno, Karl W. Flessa
Integrating active restoration with environmental flows to improve native riparian tree establishment in the Colorado River Delta Integrating active restoration with environmental flows to improve native riparian tree establishment in the Colorado River Delta
Drastic alterations to river hydrology, land use change, and the spread of the nonnative shrub, tamarisk (Tamarix spp.), have led to the degradation of riparian habitat in the Colorado River Delta in Mexico. Delivery of environmental flows to promote native cottonwood (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.) recruitment in human-impacted riparian systems can be unsuccessful due to flow...
Authors
Karen Schlatter, Matthew R. Grabau, Patrick B. Shafroth, Francisco Zamora-Arroyo
Evidence of compounded disturbance effects on vegetation recovery following high-severity wildfire and spruce beetle outbreak Evidence of compounded disturbance effects on vegetation recovery following high-severity wildfire and spruce beetle outbreak
Spruce beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) outbreaks are rapidly spreading throughout subalpine forests of the Rocky Mountains, raising concerns that altered fuel structures may increase the ecological severity of wildfires. Although many recent studies have found no conclusive link between beetle outbreaks and increased fire size or canopy mortality, few studies have addressed whether...
Authors
Amanda R. Carlson, Jason S. Sibold, Timothy J. Assal, Jose F. Negron
Using multi-date satellite imagery to monitor invasive grass species distribution in post-wildfire landscapes: An iterative, adaptable approach that employs open-source data and software Using multi-date satellite imagery to monitor invasive grass species distribution in post-wildfire landscapes: An iterative, adaptable approach that employs open-source data and software
Among the most pressing concerns of land managers in post-wildfire landscapes are the establishment and spread of invasive species. Land managers need accurate maps of invasive species cover for targeted management post-disturbance that are easily transferable across space and time. In this study, we sought to develop an iterative, replicable methodology based on limited invasive species
Authors
Amanda M. West, Paul H. Evangelista, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Sunil Kumar, Aaron Swallow, Matthew Luizza, Steve Chignell
Where you stand depends on where you sit: Qualitative inquiry into notions of fire adaptation Where you stand depends on where you sit: Qualitative inquiry into notions of fire adaptation
Wildfire and the threat it poses to society represents an example of the complex, dynamic relationship between social and ecological systems. Increasingly, wildfire adaptation is posited as a pathway to shift the approach to fire from a suppression paradigm that seeks to control fire to a paradigm that focuses on “living with” and “adapting to” wildfire. In this study, we seek insights...
Authors
Hannah Brenkert-Smith, James Meldrum, Patricia A. Champ, Christopher M. Barth
Mechanisms associated with an advance in the timing of seasonal reproduction in an urban songbird Mechanisms associated with an advance in the timing of seasonal reproduction in an urban songbird
The colonization of urban environments by animals is often accompanied by earlier breeding and associated changes in seasonal schedules. Accelerated timing of seasonal reproduction in derived urban populations is a potential cause of evolutionary divergence from ancestral populations if differences in physiological processes that regulate reproductive timing become fixed over time. We...
Authors
Adam M. Fudickar, Timothy J Greives, Mikas Abolins-Abols, Jonathan W. Atwell, Simone L. Meddle, Guillermo Friis, Craig A. Stricker, Ellen D. Ketterson
A multi-species synthesis of physiological mechanisms in drought-induced tree mortality A multi-species synthesis of physiological mechanisms in drought-induced tree mortality
Widespread tree mortality associated with drought has been observed on all forested continents and global change is expected to exacerbate vegetation vulnerability. Forest mortality has implications for future biosphere–atmosphere interactions of carbon, water and energy balance, and is poorly represented in dynamic vegetation models. Reducing uncertainty requires improved mortality...
Authors
Henry D. Adams, Melanie Zeppel, William R.L. Anderegg, Henrik Hartmann, Simon M. Landhausser, David T. Tissue, Travis E. Huxman, Patrick J. Hudson, Trenton E. Franz, Craig D. Allen, Leander D. L. Anderegg, Greg A. Barron-Gafford, David Beerling, David D. Breshears, Timothy J. Brodribb, Harald Bugmann, Richard C. Cobb, Adam D. Collins, L. Turin Dickman, Honglang Duan, Brent E. Ewers, Lucia Galiano, David A. Galvez, Nuria Garcia-Forner, Monica L. Gaylord, Matthew J. Germino, Arthur Gessler, Uwe G. Hacke, Rodrigo Hakamada, Andy Hector, Michael W. Jenkins, Jeffrey M. Kane, Thomas E. Kolb, Darin J. Law, James D. Lewis, Jean-Marc Limousin, David Love, Alison K. Macalady, Jordi MartĂnez-Vilalta, Maurizio Mencuccini, Patrick J. Mitchell, Jordan D. Muss, Michael J. O’Brien, Anthony P. O’Grady, Robert E. Pangle, Elizabeth A. Pinkard, Frida I. Piper, Jennifer Plaut, William T. Pockman, Joe Quirk, Keith Reinhardt, Francesco Ripullone, Michael G. Ryan, Anna Sala, Sanna Sevanto, John S. Sperry, Rodrigo Vargas, Michel Vennetier, Danielle A. Way, Chonggang Wu, Enrico A. Yepez, Nate G. McDowell
Paltry past-precipitation: Predisposing prairie dogs to plague? Paltry past-precipitation: Predisposing prairie dogs to plague?
The plague bacterium Yersinia pestis was introduced to California in 1900 and spread rapidly as a sylvatic disease of mammalian hosts and flea vectors, invading the Great Plains in the United States by the 1930s to 1940s. In grassland ecosystems, plague causes periodic, devastating epizootics in colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), sciurid rodents that create and...
Authors
David Eads, Dean E. Biggins
A validation of 11 body-condition indices in a giant snake species that exhibits positive allometry A validation of 11 body-condition indices in a giant snake species that exhibits positive allometry
Body condition is a gauge of the energy stores of an animal, and though it has important implications for fitness, survival, competition, and disease, it is difficult to measure directly. Instead, body condition is frequently estimated as a body condition index (BCI) using length and mass measurements. A desirable BCI should accurately reflect true body condition and be unbiased with...
Authors
Bryan Falk, Ray W. Snow, Robert N. Reed
Territory and nest site selection patterns by Grasshopper Sparrows in southeastern Arizona Territory and nest site selection patterns by Grasshopper Sparrows in southeastern Arizona
Grassland bird populations are showing some of the greatest rates of decline of any North American birds, prompting measures to protect and improve important habitat. We assessed how vegetation structure and composition, habitat features often targeted for management, affected territory and nest site selection by Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) in southeastern...
Authors
Janet M. Ruth, Susan K. Skagen