Below is a list of available NOROCK peer reviewed and published science. If you are in search of a specific publication and cannot find it below or through a search, please contact twojtowicz@usgs.gov.
Filter Total Items: 1137
The patchwork governance of ecologically available water: A case study in the Upper Missouri Headwaters, Montana, United States
Institutional authority and responsibility for allocating water to ecosystems (“ecologically available water” [EAW]) is spread across local, state, and federal agencies, which operate under a range of statutes, mandates, and planning processes. We use a case study of the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin in southwestern Montana, United States, to illustrate this fragmented institutional landscape. O
Authors
Amanda E. Cravens, Julia B. Goolsby, Theresa Jedd, Deborah J. Bathke, Shelley Crausbay, Ashley E Cooper, Jason Dunham, Tonya Haigh, Kimberly R. Hall, Michael J. Hayes, Jamie McEvoy, Rebecca L Nelson, Markéta Poděbradská, Aaron R. Ramirez, Elliot Wickham, Dionne Zoanni
Geographic and taxonomic variation in adaptive capacity among mountain-dwelling small mammals: implications for conservation status and actions
Contemporary climate change is modifying the distribution, morphology, phenology, physiology, evolution, and interspecific interactions of species. Effects of climate change are mediated not only through the magnitude of change experienced (exposure) and an animal's sensitivity to such changes, but also through the ability of the population or species to adjust to climatic variability and change g
Authors
Erik A. Beever, Jennifer L. Wilkening, Peter D. Billman, Lindsey Leigh Thurman, Kristina A. Ernest, David H. Wright, Alisha M. Gill, April C. Craighead, Nolan A. Helmstetter, Leona K. Svancara, Meghan J. Camp, Sabuj Bhattacharyya, Jedediah Fitzgerald, Jocelyn M. R. Hirose, Marie L. Westover, Francis D. Gerraty, Kelly B. Klingler, Danielle A. Schmidt, Dylan K. Ryals, Richard N. Brown, Steven L. Clark, Neil Clayton, Gail H. Collins, Kyle A. Cutting, Daniel F. Doak, Clinton W. Epps, Janet E. Foley, Johnnie French, Charles L. Hayes, Zachary A. Mills, Lucas Moyer-Horner, Lyle B. Nichols, Kate B. Orlofsky, Mary M. Peacock, Nicholas C. Penzel, Johnny Peterson, Nathan G. Ramsay, Tom Rickman, Megan M. Robinson, Hillary L. Robison, Karen M. C. Rowe, Kevin C. Rowe, Michael A. Russello, Adam B. Smith, Joseph A. E. Stewart, Will W. Thompson, James H. Thorne, Matthew D. Waterhouse, Shana S. Weber, Kenneth C. Wilson
Bighorn sheep associations: Understanding tradeoffs of sociality and implications for disease transmission
Sociality directly influences mating success, survival rates, and disease, but ultimately likely evolved for its fitness benefits in a challenging environment. The tradeoffs between the costs and benefits of sociality can operate at multiple scales, resulting in different interpretations of animal behavior. We investigated the influence of intrinsic (e.g., relatedness, age) and extrinsic factors (
Authors
Marie Tosa, Mark Biel, Tabitha A. Graves
A test of the green wave hypothesis in omnivorous brown bears across North America
Herbivorous animals tend to seek out plants at intermediate phenological states to improve energy intake while minimizing consumption of fibrous material. In some ecosystems, the timing of green-up is heterogeneous and propagates across space in a wave-like pattern, known as the green wave. Tracking the green wave allows individuals to prolong access to higher-quality forage. While there is a plet
Authors
Nathaniel R. Bowersock, L. M. Ciarniello, William W. Deacy, D. C. Heard, Kyle Joly, Clayton T. Lamb, William B. Leacock, Bruce Mclellan, Garth Mowat, Mathew S Sorum, Frank T. van Manen, Jerod A. Merkle
The relation between decadal droughts and eruptions of Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, USA
In the past century, most eruptions of Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park's Norris Geyser Basin were mainly clustered in three episodes: 1961–1969, 1982–1984, and ongoing since 2018. These eruptive episodes resulted in extensive disturbance to surrounding trees. To characterize tree response over time as an indicator of geyser activity adjustments to climate variability, aerial and grou
Authors
Shaul Hurwitz, John C. King, Gregory T. Pederson, Mara H. Reed, Lauren N Harrison, Jefferson Hungerford, R. Greg Vaughan, Michael Manga
Spatio-temporal variability in the strength, directionality, and relative importance of climate on occupancy and population densities in a philopatric mammal, the American pika (Ochotona princeps)
Species distribution models (SDMs) have been widely employed to evaluate species–environment relationships. However, when extrapolated over broad spatial scales or through time, these models decline in their predictive ability due to variation in how species respond to their environment. Many models assume species–environment relationships remain constant over space and time, hindering their abili
Authors
Peter D. Billman, Erik A. Beever, Marie L. Westover, Dylan K. Ryals
Successful eradication of invasive American bullfrogs leads to coextirpation of emerging pathogens
Interventions of the host–pathogen dynamics provide strong tests of relationships, yet they are still rarely applied across multiple populations. After American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) invaded a wildlife refuge where federally threatened Chiricahua leopard frogs (R. chiricahuensis) were reintroduced 12 years prior, managers launched a landscape-scale eradication effort to help ensure continue
Authors
Blake R. Hossack, David L. Hall, Catherine L. Crawford, Caren S. Goldberg, Erin L. Muths, Brent H. Sigafus, Thierry Chambert
Evidence for density-dependent effects on body composition of a large omnivore in a changing Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Understanding the density-dependent processes that drive population demography in a changing world is critical in ecology, yet measuring performance–density relationships in long-lived mammalian species demands long-term data, limiting scientists' ability to observe such mechanisms. We tested performance–density relationships for an opportunistic omnivore, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos, Linnaeus, 17
Authors
Andrea Corradini, Mark A. Haroldson, Francesca Cagnacci, Cecily M. Costello, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Daniel Thompson, Jeremy M. Nicholson, Kerry A. Gunther, Katharine R. Wilmot, Frank T. van Manen
When are environmental DNA early detections of invasive species actionable?
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling provides sensitive early detection capabilities for recently introduced taxa. However, natural resource managers struggle with how to integrate eDNA results into an early detection rapid response program because positive eDNA detections are not always indicative of an eventual infestation. We used a structured decision making (SDM) framework to evaluate appropriat
Authors
Adam J. Sepulveda, Christine E. Dumoulin, Denise L. Blanchette, John Mcphedran, Colin Holme, Nathan Whalen, Margaret Hunter, Christopher M. Merkes, Catherine A. Richter, Matthew Neilson, Wesley Daniel, Devin Nicole Jones, David R. Smith
Toward a national eDNA strategy for the United States
Environmental DNA (eDNA) data make it possible to measure and monitor biodiversity at unprecedented resolution and scale. As use-cases multiply and scientific consensus grows regarding the value of eDNA analysis, public agencies have an opportunity to decide how and where eDNA data fit into their mandates. Within the United States, many federal and state agencies are individually using eDNA data i
Authors
Ryan Kelly, David M. Lodge, Kai Lee, Susanna Theroux, Adam J. Sepulveda, Chris Scholin, Joseph M. Craine, Elizabeth Allan, Krista M. Nichols, Kim M. Parsons, Kelly D Goodwin, Zachary Gold, Francisco P. Chavez, Rachel T. Noble, Cathryn Abbott, Melinda R. Baerwald, Amanda Naaum, Peter Thielen, Ariel Simons, Christopher L. Jerde, Jeffrey J. Duda, Margaret Hunter, John Hagan, Rachel Meyer, Joshua Steele, Mark Stoeckle, Holly Bik, Christopher Meyer, Eric D. Stein, Karen James, Austen Thomas, Elif Demir-Hilton, Molly Timmers, John Griffith, Michael J Weise, Steve Weisberg
Synthesis of climate and ecological science to support grassland management priorities in the North Central Region
Grasslands in the Great Plains are of ecological, economic, and cultural importance in the United States. In response to a need to understand how climate change and variability will impact grassland ecosystems and their management in the 21st century, the U.S. Geological Survey North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center led a synthesis of peer-reviewed climate and ecology literature relevant
Authors
Christine D. Miller Hesed, Heather M. Yocum, Imtiaz Rangwala, Amy Symstad, Jeff M. Martin, Kevin Ellison, David J. A. Wood, Marissa Ahlering, Katherine J. Chase, Shelley Crausbay, Ana D. Davidson, Julie L. Elliott, Jim Giocomo, David Hoover, Toni Klemm, David A. Lightfoot, Owen P. McKenna, Brian W. Miller, Danika Mosher, R. Chelsea Nagy, Jesse B. Nippert, Jeremy Pittman, Lauren M. Porensky, Jilmarie Stephens, Alexander V. Zale
Secondary forest within a timber plantation concession in Borneo contributes to a diverse mammal assemblage
Commercial tree plantations of fast-growing species have become increasingly important in Southeast Asia to meet global demand for wood and wood fiber products. There is a growing need to understand more about their value for wildlife and how they can be managed for biodiversity. We evaluated the effects of landscape attributes on mammal communities in a timber concession consisting of 83 % second
Authors
Wilvia Olivia William, Frank T. van Manen, Stuart P. Sharp, Shyamala Ratnayeke