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: 2379
Changes in capture rates and body size among vertebrate species occupying an insular urban habitat reserve Changes in capture rates and body size among vertebrate species occupying an insular urban habitat reserve
Long‐term ecological monitoring provides valuable and objective scientific information to inform management and decision‐making. In this article, we analyze 22 years of herpetofauna monitoring data from the Point Loma Ecological Conservation Area (PLECA), an insular urban reserve near San Diego, CA. Our analysis showed that counts of individuals for one of the four most common...
Authors
Thomas Stanley, Rulon W. Clark, Robert N. Fisher, Carlton J. Rochester, Stephanie A Root, Keith J Lombardo, Stacey D Ostermann-Kelm
Ambiguities in using telomere length for age determination in two North American bat species Ambiguities in using telomere length for age determination in two North American bat species
The age of an animal, determined by time (chronological age) as well as genetic and environmental factors (biological age), influences the likelihood of mortality and reproduction and thus the animal’s contribution to population growth. For many long-lived species, such as bats, a lack of external and morphological indicators has made determining age a challenge, leading researchers to...
Authors
Katherine M Ineson, Thomas J. O’Shea, Charles W Kilpatrick, Katy L. Parise, Jeffrey T. Foster
Highly competent native snake hosts extend the range of an introduced parasite beyond its invasive Burmese python host Highly competent native snake hosts extend the range of an introduced parasite beyond its invasive Burmese python host
Invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus ) have introduced a nonnative pentastomid parasite (Raillietiella orientalis ) to southern Florida that has spilled over to infect native snakes. However, the extent of spillover, regarding prevalence and intensity, is unknown. We examined native snakes (n = 523) and invasive pythons (n = 1003) collected from Florida to determine the degree to...
Authors
Melissa A. Miller, John M. Kinsella, Ray W. Snow, Bryan G. Falk, Robert Reed, Scott M. Goetz, Frank J. Mazzotti, Craig Guyer, Christina M. Romagosa
Informing amphibian conservation efforts with abundance-based metapopulation models Informing amphibian conservation efforts with abundance-based metapopulation models
Science-based management strategies are needed to halt or reverse the global decline of amphibians. In many cases, sound management requires reliable models built using monitoring data. Historically, monitoring and statistical modeling efforts have focused on estimating occupancy using detection–nondetection data. Spatial occupancy models are useful for studying colonization–extinction...
Authors
Paige E Howell, Blake R. Hossack, Erin L. Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Richard B. Chandler
Effects of snowpack, temperature, and disease on the demography of a wild population of amphibians Effects of snowpack, temperature, and disease on the demography of a wild population of amphibians
Understanding the demographic consequences of interactions among pathogens, hosts, and weather conditions is critical in determining how amphibian populations respond to disease and in identifying site-specific conservation actions that can be developed to bolster persistence of amphibian populations. We investigated population dynamics in Boreal Toads (Anaxyrus boreas) relative to...
Authors
Erin L. Muths, Blake R. Hossack, Evan H. Grant, David S. Pilliod, Brittany A. Mosher
Amphibian population declines: 30 Years of progress in confronting a complex problem Amphibian population declines: 30 Years of progress in confronting a complex problem
In 1989, it dawned on participants at the First World Congress of Herpetology that observed declines in amphibian populations might actually be global in scope and unprecedented in severity. Three decades of research since then has produced an enormous increase in our knowledge of amphibian ecology and appreciation of the complexity of possible causes for amphibian population declines...
Authors
David M. Green, Michael J Lannoo, David LesBarreres, Erin L. Muths
A synthesis of evidence of drivers of amphibian declines A synthesis of evidence of drivers of amphibian declines
Early calls for robust long-term time series of amphibian population data, stemming from discussion following the first World Congress of Herpetology, are now being realized after 25 yr of focused research. Inference from individual studies and locations have contributed to a basic consensus on drivers of amphibian declines. Until recently there were no large-scale syntheses of long-term...
Authors
Evan H. Grant, D. A. W. Miller, Erin L. Muths
Survival estimates for the invasive American bullfrog Survival estimates for the invasive American bullfrog
American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) are significant invaders in many places and can negatively impact native species. Despite their impact and wide distribution, little is known about their demography. We used five years of capture mark-recapture data to estimate annual apparent survival of post-metamorphic bullfrogs in a population on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge...
Authors
Paige E. Howell, Erin L. Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Blake R. Hossack
Managing plague on prairie dog colonies: Insecticides as ectoparasiticides Managing plague on prairie dog colonies: Insecticides as ectoparasiticides
Human health practitioners and wildlife biologists use insecticides to manage plague by suppressing fleas (Siphonaptera), but insecticides can also kill other ectoparasites. We investigated effects of deltamethrin and fipronil on ectoparasites from black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus, BTPDs). In late July, 2018, we treated three sites with 0.05% deltamethrin dust and 5 sites...
Authors
David A. Eads, Alexis Yashin, Lauren Nobel, Michele Vasquez, Miranda Huang, Travis M. Livieri, Phillip Dobesh, Eddie Childers, Dean E. Biggins
An empirical comparison of population genetic analyses using microsatellite and SNP data for a species of conservation concern An empirical comparison of population genetic analyses using microsatellite and SNP data for a species of conservation concern
Background Use of genomic tools to characterize wildlife populations has increased in recent years. In the past, genetic characterization has been accomplished with more traditional genetic tools (e.g., microsatellites). The explosion of genomic methods and the subsequent creation of large SNP datasets has led to the promise of increased precision in population genetic parameter...
Authors
Shawna J Zimmerman, Cameron L. Aldridge, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
Pervasive shifts in forest dynamics in a changing world Pervasive shifts in forest dynamics in a changing world
Forest dynamics arise from the interplay of environmental drivers and disturbances with the demographic processes of recruitment, growth, and mortality, subsequently driving biomass and species composition. However, forest disturbances and subsequent recovery are shifting with global changes in climate and land use, altering these dynamics. Changes in environmental drivers, land use, and
Authors
Nate G. McDowell, Craig D. Allen, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Brian H. Aukema, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Louise Chini, James S. Clark, Michael Dietze, Charlotte Grossiord, Adam Hanbury-Brown, George C. Hurtt, Robert B. Jackson, Daniel J. Johnson, Lara Kueppers, Jeremy W. Lichstein, Kiona Ogle, Benjamin Poulter, Thomas A. M. Pugh, Rupert Seidl, Monica G. Turner, Maria Uriarte, Anthony P. Walker, Chonggang Xu
Valuing tourism to a historic World War II national memorial Valuing tourism to a historic World War II national memorial
This study contributes to the existing literature on valuing visitation to an important cultural heritage site. Pearl Harbor National Memorial in Hawaii remembers and honors those that served the United States in the Pacific battles of World War II. Although historic and cultural monuments and memorials comprise a substantial portion of the U.S. National Park System, there is little...
Authors
Wilson Sinclair, Christopher Huber, Leslie Richardson