Publications
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: 1308
Turning trash into treasure: Leveraging discarded filters for national-scale aquatic eDNA biomonitoring Turning trash into treasure: Leveraging discarded filters for national-scale aquatic eDNA biomonitoring
Monitoring biodiversity changes over large spatiotemporal scales is critical for effective ecosystem conservation and management. This study investigates the potential of environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding to enhance national-scale biomonitoring of freshwater diversity by leveraging discarded filters associated with routine water quality sampling from the U.S. Geological Survey's...
Authors
Devin Nicole Jones-Slobodian, Daniel J. Wieferich, Noah Fierer, Joseph Crane, Adam Sepulveda
Decoupling the roles of corticosterone in mediating effects of methylmercury and chytrid fungus on amphibian survival Decoupling the roles of corticosterone in mediating effects of methylmercury and chytrid fungus on amphibian survival
Amphibians have suffered widespread declines caused by many interacting factors whose effects are often difficult to isolate. We used complementary analyses to decouple effects of methylmercury (MeHg) and amphibian chytrid fungus (Bd) on survival of Columbia Spotted Frogs (Rana luteiventris) during a 5-year capture-mark-recapture study. We also evaluated whether effects on apparent...
Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Morgan P. Kain, Creagh W. Breuner, Collin Eagles-Smith, Lisa A. Eby, Ross K. Hinderer, Kelly Smalling, Blake Hossack
Elk personality and anthropogenic food subsidy: Managing conflict and migration loss Elk personality and anthropogenic food subsidy: Managing conflict and migration loss
The continued decline of long-distance ungulate migrations threatens to decouple important ecological processes that increase biodiversity and wildlife abundance. Past research has focused on preserving migration paths where habitat fragmentation and loss disrupt movement corridors. However, shifting residency-migration trade-offs are the stronger driver of migration loss in some...
Authors
Gavin G. Cotterill, Eric K. Cole, Paul C. Cross, Sarah R. Dewey, Ben L. Wise, Tabitha A. Graves
The influence of human presence and footprint on animal space use in US national parks The influence of human presence and footprint on animal space use in US national parks
Given the importance of protected areas for biodiversity, the growth of visitation to many areas has raised concerns about the effects of humans on wildlife. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to temporary closure of national parks in the United States, offering a pseudonatural experiment to tease apart the effects of permanent infrastructure and transient human presence on animals. We...
Authors
Kaitlyn M. Gaynor, Forest Hayes, Kezia R. Manlove, Nathan L. Galloway, John F. Benson, Michael J. Cherry, Clinton W. Epps, Robert J. Fletcher, John L. Orrock, Justine A. Smith, Christina M. Aiello, Jerrold L. Belant, Joel Berger, Mark Biel, Jill Bright, Joseph K. Bump, Michael Burchett, Carson Butler, Jennifer Carlson, Eric K. Cole, Neal Darby, Erin DeGutis, Sarah Dewey, Pete Figura, Tom Gable, Jeff Gagnon, Danielle M. Glass, Jennifer R. Green, Kerry A. Gunther, Mark Haroldson, Kent Hersey, Brandon Holton, Austin T. Homkes, Sarah R. Hoy, Debra Hughson, Kyle Joly, Ryan Leahy, Caitlin Lee-Roney, Rob Lester, Daniel MacNulty, Michael Magnuson, Daniel J. Martin, Rachel Mazur, Seth A. Moore, Elizabeth K. Orning, Katie Patrick, Rolf O. Peterson, Lynette Potvin, Paige Prentice, Seth P.D. Riley, Mark C. Romanski, Annette Roug, Jeff A. Sikich, Nova Simpson, William B. Sloan, Douglas W. Smith, Mathew Sorum, Scott Sprague, Daniel Stahler, John A. Stephenson, Thomas R. Stephenson, Janice Stroud-Settles, Frank T. van Manen, John A. Vucetich, Kate Wilmot, Steve K. Windels, Tiffany Wolf, Paul C. Cross
Female and male grizzly bears differ in their responses to low-intensity recreation in a protected area Female and male grizzly bears differ in their responses to low-intensity recreation in a protected area
Strategies animals use to navigate human-dominated landscapes frequently mimic anti-predator responses employed by prey species. Understanding how large carnivores respond to outdoor recreation is important for conservation, particularly in protected areas with preservation mandates. Visitation to Yellowstone National Park doubled from 1980 to 2015, increasing the need to examine...
Authors
Elise Loggers, Andrea R. Litt, Mark Haroldson, Kerry A. Gunther, Frank T. van Manen
The diel niche of brown bears: Constraints on adaptive capacity in human-modified landscapes The diel niche of brown bears: Constraints on adaptive capacity in human-modified landscapes
DDiel activity rhythms, representing the behavioral pattern of the sleep–wake cycle, may be adjusted by wildlife in response to changes in environmental conditions. An increase in nocturnality is typically recognized as an adaptive strategy to segregate from humans and mitigate heat stress. Numerous studies have investigated spatial patterns and habitat use of large carnivores in human...
Authors
A. Donatelli, D. Ćirović, Mark A. Haroldson, Đuro Huber, J. Kindberg, I. Kojola, J. Kusak, G. Mastrantonio, A. Ordiz, S. Reljić, L. Santini, Frank T. van Manen, P. Ciucci
Ecosystem-engineered infections: Beaver-modified wetlands are associated with conflicting drivers of amphibian pathogen prevalence Ecosystem-engineered infections: Beaver-modified wetlands are associated with conflicting drivers of amphibian pathogen prevalence
Beavers are ecosystem engineers and keystone species that protect freshwater resources and increase biodiversity. Beaver reintroductions are promoted for amphibian conservation, yet their impact on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a pathogen linked with amphibian population declines worldwide, remains unclear. We investigated the abiotic and biotic drivers of Bd prevalence in...
Authors
Leah M Fischer, Angela D Luis, Blake Hossack, Taegan A. McMahon, Winsor H Lowe
Principles of riverscape health Principles of riverscape health
Riverscapes are the integration of terrestrial and aquatic systems from headwaters to estuaries that provide habitat and ecosystem benefits when in good health. However, current riverscape degradation is pervasive, impairing the function and resulting benefits of these systems. Healthy riverscapes are adaptive and some can ‘heal’ after disturbance with minimal to no human assistance. As...
Authors
Hayley Corrine Glassic, Robert Al-Chokhachy, Joseph Wheaton, William W. Macfarlane, Christopher Jordan, Brian M. Murphy, Scott Shahverdian, Stephen Bennett, Nicolaas Bouwes, Kirstie Fryirs, Gary Brierley, Damion Ciotti, Philip Bailey, Karen Bartlet, Barbara Belletti, Simone Bizzi, James Brasington, Reid Camp, Emily Fairfax, Jordan Gilbert, Justin Jimenez, Jeremy D Maestas, Timmie Mandish, Amy McNamara, Scott R Miller, Baptiste Marizot, Mathias Perle, Herve Piegay, Helen Reid, Lindsay V. Reynolds, William Saunders, Alden Shallcross, Peter Skidmore, Rose Smith, Benoît Terrier, Gus Wathen, Nick Weber
Unintended indirect effects limit elk productivity from supplemental feeding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Unintended indirect effects limit elk productivity from supplemental feeding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
The widespread practice of supplemental feeding, a bottom-up forcing of resource availability, is intended to improve wildlife population health and survival. However, supplemental feeding could trigger indirect effects by altering predation rates and disease dynamics. We investigated the effects of feeding on three key elk (Cervus canadensis) population productivity metrics (calf:cow...
Authors
Brian Scott Dugovich, Emily M. Tomaszewski, Eric K. Cole, Sarah Dewey, Daniel MacNulty, Brandon Scurlock, Daniel Stahler, Paul C. Cross
Land application of drill waste: A scope analysis Land application of drill waste: A scope analysis
Drilling fluid waste land application, a process where drilling wastes are spread and tilled into the land surface, has become common in some petroleum-producing states, however, the potential benefits and risks of this practice are not well studied. Drilling fluids can be water- or oil-based and can have high concentrations of total soluble salts and total petroleum hydrocarbons...
Authors
Matthew S. Varonka, Melissa A. Lombard, Todd M. Preston, Timothy T. Bartos, Jason R. Masoner, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Identifying presence or absence of grizzly and polar bear cubs from the movements of adult females with machine learning Identifying presence or absence of grizzly and polar bear cubs from the movements of adult females with machine learning
Background Information on reproductive success is crucial to understanding population dynamics but can be difficult to obtain, particularly for species that birth while denning. For grizzly (Ursus arctos) and polar bears (U. maritimus), den visits are impractical because of safety and logistical considerations. Reproduction is typically documented through direct observation, which can be...
Authors
Erik Andersen, Justin Clapp, Milan Vinks, Todd C. Atwood, Daniel D. Bjornlie, Cecily M. Costello, David Gustine, Mark A. Haroldson, Lori L. Roberts, Karyn D. Rode, Frank T. van Manen, Ryan H. Wilson
Glaciers in Western Canada-conterminous US and Switzerland experience unprecedented mass loss over the last four years (2021–2024) Glaciers in Western Canada-conterminous US and Switzerland experience unprecedented mass loss over the last four years (2021–2024)
Over the period 2021–2024, glaciers in Western Canada and the conterminous US (WCAN-US), and Switzerland respectively lost mass at rates of 22.2 ± 9.0 and 1.5 ± 0.3 Gt yr−1 representing a twofold increase in mass loss compared to the period 2010–2020. Since 2020, total ice volume was depleted by 12% (WCAN-US) and 13% (Switzerland). Meteorological conditions that favored high rates of...
Authors
Brian Menounos, Matthias Huss, Shawn Marshall, Mark Ednie, Caitlyn Florentine, Lea Hartl