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
2017 National Park visitor spending effects : Economic contributions to local communities, states, and the Nation 2017 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 a considerable amount of economic activity within park gateway communities. This economic effects analysis measures how NPS visitor spending cycles through local economies
Authors
Catherine M. Cullinane Thomas, Lynne Koontz, Egan Cornachione
Genetic mark–recapture improves estimates of maternity colony size for Indiana bats Genetic mark–recapture improves estimates of maternity colony size for Indiana bats
Genetic mark–recapture methods are increasingly being used to estimate demographic parameters in species where traditional techniques are problematic or imprecise. The federally endangered Indiana bat Myotis sodalis has declined dramatically and threats such as white-nose syndrome continue to afflict this species. To date, important demographic information for Indiana bats has been...
Authors
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Jennifer A. Fike, Paul M. Lukacs, Dale W. Sparks, Thomas J. O’Shea, John O. Whitaker
burnr: Fire history analysis and graphics in R burnr: Fire history analysis and graphics in R
We developed a new software package, burnr, for fire history analysis and plotting in the Rstatistical programming environment. It was developed for tree-ring fire-scar analysis, but is broadly applicable to other event analyses (e.g., avalanches, frost rings, or culturally modified trees). Our new package can read, write, and manipulate standard tree-ring fire history FHX files, produce...
Authors
Steven B. Malevich, Christopher H. Guiterman, Ellis Q. Margolis
Flood effects on soil thermal regimes in contrasting cold‐desert river floodplains (Yampa and Green rivers, Colorado) Flood effects on soil thermal regimes in contrasting cold‐desert river floodplains (Yampa and Green rivers, Colorado)
Heat transfer theory suggests that floodplain soils in dryland riverine ecosystems can be cooled by hyporheic flows generated during spring floods. I compared soil temperature cycles and associated hydrologic factors on a free‐flowing river to those on a river where flows and surface water temperatures are now regulated. Spring surface water temperatures were comparable on the 2 rivers...
Authors
Douglas C. Andersen
Wildland–urban interface residents’ relationships with wildfire: Variation within and across communities Wildland–urban interface residents’ relationships with wildfire: Variation within and across communities
Social science offers rich descriptions of relationships between wildland–urban interface residents and wildfire, but syntheses across different contexts might gloss over important differences. We investigate the potential extent of such differences using data collected consistently in sixty-eight Colorado communities and hierarchical modeling. We find substantial variation across...
Authors
James Meldrum, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Lilia C. Falk, Pamela Wilson, Christopher M. Barth
The genetic network of greater sage-grouse: Range-wide identification of keystone hubs of connectivity The genetic network of greater sage-grouse: Range-wide identification of keystone hubs of connectivity
Genetic networks can characterize complex genetic relationships among groups of individuals, which can be used to rank nodes most important to the overall connectivity of the system. Ranking allows scarce resources to be guided toward nodes integral to connectivity. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a species of conservation concern that breeds on spatially discrete...
Authors
Todd B. Cross, Michael D. Schwartz, David Naugle, Brad C. Fedy, Jeff R Row, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
Exotic predators may threaten another island ecosystem: A comprehensive assessment of python and boa reports from the Florida Keys Exotic predators may threaten another island ecosystem: A comprehensive assessment of python and boa reports from the Florida Keys
Summarizing historical records of potentially invasive species increases understanding of propagule pressure, spatiotemporal trends, and establishment risk of these species. We compiled records of non-native pythons and boas from the Florida Keys, cross-referenced them to eliminate duplicates, and categorized each record’s credibility. We report on 159 observations of six python and boa...
Authors
Emma B. Hanslowe, James G. Duquesnel, Raymond W. Snow, Bryan G. Falk, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Edward Metzger, Michelle Collier, Robert Reed
Inferring the absence of an incipient population during a rapid response for an invasive species Inferring the absence of an incipient population during a rapid response for an invasive species
Successful eradication of invasives is facilitated by early detection and prompt onset of control. However, realizing or verifying that a colonization has occurred is difficult for cryptic species especially at low population densities. Responding to the capture or unconfirmed sighting of a cryptic invasive species, and the associated effort to determine if it indicates an incipient...
Authors
Amy A. Yackel Adams, Bjorn Lardner, Adam J Knox, Robert Reed
U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2016 annual report U.S. Geological Survey science for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative—2016 annual report
This is the ninth annual report highlighting U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) science and decision-support activities conducted for the Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative (WLCI). The activities address specific management needs identified by WLCI partner agencies. In fiscal year (FY) 2016, there were 26 active USGS WLCI science-based projects. Of these 26 projects, one project was...
Authors
Zachary H. Bowen, Ellen Aikens, Cameron L. Aldridge, Patrick J. Anderson, Timothy J. Assal, Anna D. Chalfoun, Geneva W. Chong, Cheryl A. Eddy-Miller, Steven L. Garman, Steve Germaine, Collin G. Homer, Aaron N. Johnston, Matthew J. Kauffman, Daniel J. Manier, Cynthia P. Melcher, Kirk A. Miller, Annika W. Walters, Jerrod D. Wheeler, Daniel J. Wieferich, Anna B. Wilson, Teal B. Wyckoff, Linda Zeigenfuss
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis, and Research Program, Land Management Research Program, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS) Program, Species Management Research Program, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Fort Collins Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center
A tale of two wildfires; testing detection and prediction of invasive species distributions using models fit with topographic and spectral indices A tale of two wildfires; testing detection and prediction of invasive species distributions using models fit with topographic and spectral indices
Context Developing species distribution models (SDMs) to detect invasive species cover and evaluate habitat suitability are high priorities for land managers. Objectives We tested SDMs fit with different variable combinations to provide guidelines for future invasive species model development based on transferability between landscapes. Methods Generalized linear model, boosted...
Authors
Amanda M. West, Paul H. Evangelista, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Darin Shulte
On the relationship between conditional (CAR) and simultaneous (SAR) autoregressive models On the relationship between conditional (CAR) and simultaneous (SAR) autoregressive models
We clarify relationships between conditional (CAR) and simultaneous (SAR) autoregressive models. We review the literature on this topic and find that it is mostly incomplete. Our main result is that a SAR model can be written as a unique CAR model, and while a CAR model can be written as a SAR model, it is not unique. In fact, we show how any multivariate Gaussian distribution on a...
Authors
Jay M. Ver Hoef, Ephraim M. Hanksb, Mevin Hooten
Forecasting an invasive species’ distribution with global distribution data, local data, and physiological information Forecasting an invasive species’ distribution with global distribution data, local data, and physiological information
Understanding invasive species distributions and potential invasions often requires broad‐scale information on the environmental tolerances of the species. Further, resource managers are often faced with knowing these broad‐scale relationships as well as nuanced environmental factors related to their landscape that influence where an invasive species occurs and potentially could occur...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Nicholas E. Young, Marian Talbert, Colin Talbert