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: 2401
Development of a grazing monitoring program for Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado Development of a grazing monitoring program for Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado
National parks in the United States face the difficult task of managing natural resources within park boundaries that are influenced to a large degree by historical land uses or by forces outside of the park’s protection and mandate. Among the many challenges faced by parks is management of wildlife populations that occupy larger landscapes than individual park units but that concentrate...
Authors
Linda Zeigenfuss, Kathryn A. Schoenecker
Selection of vegetation types and density of bison in an arid ecosystem Selection of vegetation types and density of bison in an arid ecosystem
Understanding species habitat selection and factors that drive selection are key components for conservation. We report the first resource selection functions (RSFs) for bison inhabiting an arid ecosystem and use them with density estimates of bison to estimate the number of bison that could be supported if the bison range were expanded to federal lands in the San Luis Valley of Colorado...
Authors
Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Linda Zeigenfuss, Scott E. Nielsen, Chris Pague
Tree mortality in mature riparian forest: Implications for Fremont cottonwood conservation in the American southwest Tree mortality in mature riparian forest: Implications for Fremont cottonwood conservation in the American southwest
Mature tree mortality rates are poorly documented in desert riparian woodlands. I monitored deaths and calculated annual survivorship probability (Ps) in 2 groups of large (27–114 cm DBH), old (≥40 years old) Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii Wats.) in a stand along the free-flowing Yampa River in semiarid northwestern Colorado. Ps = 0.993 year-1 in a group (n = 126) monitored over...
Authors
Douglas Andersen
On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree mortality and forest die-off from hotter drought in the Anthropocene On underestimation of global vulnerability to tree mortality and forest die-off from hotter drought in the Anthropocene
Patterns, mechanisms, projections, and consequences of tree mortality and associated broad-scale forest die-off due to drought accompanied by warmer temperatures—“hotter drought”, an emerging characteristic of the Anthropocene—are the focus of rapidly expanding literature. Despite recent observational, experimental, and modeling studies suggesting increased vulnerability of trees to...
Authors
Craig D. Allen, David D. Breshears, Nathan G. McDowell
Valuing geospatial information: Using the contingent valuation method to estimate the economic benefits of Landsat satellite imagery Valuing geospatial information: Using the contingent valuation method to estimate the economic benefits of Landsat satellite imagery
While the U.S. government does not charge for downloading Landsat images, the images have value to users. This paper demonstrates a method that can value Landsat and other imagery to users. A survey of downloaders of Landsat images found: (a) established US users have a mean value of $912 USD per scene; (b) new US users and users returning when imagery became free have a mean value of...
Authors
John B. Loomis, Steve Koontz, Holly M. Miller, Leslie A. Richardson
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2014 annual report U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2014 annual report
This is the seventh report produced by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI) to detail annual activities conducted by the USGS for addressing specific management needs identified by WLCI partners. In FY2014, there were 26 projects, including a new one that was completed, two others that were also completed, and several that entered new...
Authors
Zachary H. Bowen, Cameron L. Aldridge, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy J. Assal, Timothy T. Bartos, Laura R Biewick, Gregory K. Boughton, Anna D. Chalfoun, Geneva W. Chong, Marie K. Dematatis, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Steven L. Garman, Steve Germaine, Collin G. Homer, Christopher Huber, Matthew J. Kauffman, Natalie Latysh, Daniel J. Manier, Cynthia P. Melcher, Alexander Miller, Kirk A. Miller, Edward M. Olexa, Spencer Schell, Annika W. Walters, Anna B. Wilson, Teal B. Wyckoff
An assessment of the impact of the pet trade on five CITES-Appendix II case studies - Boa constrictor imperator An assessment of the impact of the pet trade on five CITES-Appendix II case studies - Boa constrictor imperator
Boa constrictor is a wide ranging snake species that is common in the pet trade and is currently listed in CITES Appendix II. Hog Island boas, or Cayos Cochinos boas, are a dwarf, insular race of Boa constrictor imperator endemic to the Cayos Cochinos Archipelago, Honduras. Cayos Cochinos boas are prized in the international pet trade for their light pink dorsal coloration, as well as...
Authors
Chad E. Montgomery, Scott M. Boback, Robert N. Reed, Julius A. Frazier
Age-specific vibrissae growth rates: a tool for determining the timing of ecologically important events in Steller sea lions Age-specific vibrissae growth rates: a tool for determining the timing of ecologically important events in Steller sea lions
Steller sea lions (SSL; Eumetopias jubatus) grow their vibrissae continually, providing a multiyear record suitable for ecological and physiological studies based on stable isotopes. An accurate age-specific vibrissae growth rate is essential for registering a chronology along the length of the record, and for interpreting the timing of ecologically important events. We utilized four...
Authors
L.D. Rea, A.M. Christ, A.B. Hayden, V.K. Stegall, S.D. Farley, Craig A. Stricker, J.E. Mellish, John M. Maniscalco, J.N. Waite, V.N. Burkanov, K.W. Pitcher
Management of conservation reserve program grasslands to meet wildlife habitat objectives Management of conservation reserve program grasslands to meet wildlife habitat objectives
Numerous studies document environmental and social benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This report offers a synopsis of findings regarding effects of establishing CRP conservation practices on the quality and distribution of wildlife habitat in agricultural landscapes. On individual farms, year-round provision of wildlife habitat by the CRP may appear relatively...
Authors
Mark W. Vandever, Arthur W. Allen
Encapsulating model complexity and landscape-scale analyses of state-and-transition simulation models: an application of ecoinformatics and juniper encroachment in sagebrush steppe ecosystems Encapsulating model complexity and landscape-scale analyses of state-and-transition simulation models: an application of ecoinformatics and juniper encroachment in sagebrush steppe ecosystems
State-and-transition simulation modeling relies on knowledge of vegetation composition and structure (states) that describe community conditions, mechanistic feedbacks such as fire that can affect vegetation establishment, and ecological processes that drive community conditions as well as the transitions between these states. However, as the need for modeling larger and more complex...
Authors
Michael S. O’Donnell
Observations of two non-native snake species in the same remote area of southern Florida Observations of two non-native snake species in the same remote area of southern Florida
No abstract available.
Authors
Emma B. Hanslowe, Bryan G. Falk, Michelle A. McEachern, Robert N. Reed
Running a network on a shoestring: the Global Invasive Species Information Network Running a network on a shoestring: the Global Invasive Species Information Network
The Global Invasive Species Information Network (GISIN) was conceptualized in 2004 to aggregate and disseminate invasive species data in a standardized way. A decade later the GISIN community has implemented a data portal and three of six GISIN data aggregation models in the GISIN data exchange Protocol, including invasive species status information, resource URLs, and occurrence data...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Annie Simpson, James J Graham, Gregory J. Newman, Chuck T. Bargeron