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: 1303
A workshop to advance invasive species early detection capacity of The Rapid Environmental DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network (READI-Net) A workshop to advance invasive species early detection capacity of The Rapid Environmental DNA Assessment and Deployment Initiative & Network (READI-Net)
Early detection and rapid response (EDRR) can minimize the impacts of invasive species, which cost billions of dollars globally. To bolster EDRR across the United States, the U.S. Department of the Interior is working with the U.S. Geological Survey and other partners to advance a National EDRR Framework that strengthens tools, actions, and processes to find and eradicate invasive...
Authors
Devin Nicole Jones-Slobodian, Kaylin Renee Clements, Adam Sepulveda
How to handle glacier area change in geodetic mass balance How to handle glacier area change in geodetic mass balance
Innovations in geodesy enable widespread analysis of glacier surface elevation change and geodetic mass balance. However, coincident glacier area data are less widely available, causing inconsistent handling of glacier area change. Here we quantify the bias introduced into meters water equivalent (m w.e.) specific geodetic mass balance results when using a fixed, maximum glacier area...
Authors
Caitlyn Florentine, Louis C. Sass, Christopher J. McNeil, Emily Baker, Shad O'Neel
Organic layers preserved in ice patches: A new record of Holocene environmental change on the Beartooth Plateau, USA Organic layers preserved in ice patches: A new record of Holocene environmental change on the Beartooth Plateau, USA
Growing season temperatures play a crucial role in controlling treeline elevation at regional to global scales. However, understanding of treeline dynamics in response to long-term changes in temperature is limited. In this study, we analyze pollen, plant macrofossils, and charcoal preserved in organic layers within a 10,400-year-old ice patch and in sediment from a 6000-year-old wetland...
Authors
Mio Alt, Kathryn Puseman, Craig Lee, Gregory T. Pederson, Joseph R. McConnell, Nathan J. Chellman, David B. McWethy
Deer management generally reduces densities of nymphal Ixodes scapularis, but not prevalence of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto Deer management generally reduces densities of nymphal Ixodes scapularis, but not prevalence of infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto
Human Lyme disease–primarily caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) in North America–is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. Research on risk mitigation strategies during the last three decades has emphasized methods to reduce densities of the primary vector in eastern North America, the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis). Controlling...
Authors
Alynn Martin, Danielle Buttke, Jordan Raphael, Kelsey Taylor, Sarah Maes, Christina M. Parise, Howard Ginsberg, Paul C. Cross
Grizzly bear responses to restrictions of recreation in Yellowstone National Park Grizzly bear responses to restrictions of recreation in Yellowstone National Park
Avoiding humans will be more difficult and energetically costly for animals as outdoor recreation increases and people venture farther into wildland areas that provide high-quality habitat for wildlife. Restricting human access can be an attractive management tool to mitigate effects of human recreation activities on wildlife; however, the efficacy of such measures is rarely assessed. In...
Authors
Elise Loggers, Andrea R. Litt, Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Kerry A. Gunther
Evaluating management alternatives for Wyoming elk feedgrounds in consideration of chronic wasting disease Evaluating management alternatives for Wyoming elk feedgrounds in consideration of chronic wasting disease
Executive Summary The authors used decision and modeling analyses to evaluate management alternatives for a decision on whether to permit Cervus canadensis (elk) feeding on two sites on Bridger-Teton National Forest, Dell Creek and Forest Park. Supplemental feeding of elk could increase the transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) locally and disease spread regionally, potentially...
Authors
Jonathan D. Cook, Paul C. Cross, Emily M. Tomaszewski, Eric K. Cole, Evan H. Campbell Grant, James M. Wilder, Michael C. Runge
No long-term effect of black bear removal on elk calf recruitment in the southern Appalachians No long-term effect of black bear removal on elk calf recruitment in the southern Appalachians
In 2001 and 2002, 52 elk (Cervus canadensis; 21 males, 31 females), originally obtained from Elk Island National Park, Alberta, Canada, were transported and released into Cataloochee Valley in the northeastern portion of Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM, Park), North Carolina, USA. The annual population growth rate (λ) was negative (0.996, 95% CI = 0.945–1.047) and predation by...
Authors
Joseph G. Yarkovich, Jessica L. Braunstein, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Joseph D. Clark
Vital sign monitoring is good medicine for parks Vital sign monitoring is good medicine for parks
Nearly 70 years ago a young ranger naturalist working in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Frederick B. Turner, became fascinated with the abundance of frogs next to his cabin at “Soldier Creek” (known as Lodge Creek today). This interest blossomed into Turner’s PhD research and his publication in 1960 about the local population of Columbia spotted frogs (shown to right) became a classic...
Authors
Andrew M. Ray, David P. Thoma, Kristin L. Legg, Robert H. Diehl, Adam Sepulveda, Mike Tercek, Robert Al-Chokhachy
Broad-scale assessment of methylmercury in adult amphibians Broad-scale assessment of methylmercury in adult amphibians
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic contaminant that has been mobilized and distributed worldwide and is a threat to many wildlife species. Amphibians are facing unprecedented global declines due to many threats including contaminants. While the biphasic life history of many amphibians creates a potential nexus for methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in aquatic habitats and subsequent health effects, the...
Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Blake R. Hossack, Brian J. Halstead, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Michael J. Adams, Adam R. Backlin, Adrianne Brand, Colleen Emery, Robert N. Fisher, Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Brad Glorioso, Daniel A. Grear, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Patrick M. Kleeman, David Miller, Erin L. Muths, Christopher Pearl, Jennifer Rowe, Caitlin Teresa Rumrill, J. Hardin Waddle, Megan Winzeler, Kelly L. Smalling
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Mountain glaciers influence biogeochemical and ecological characteristics of high-elevation lakes across the northern Rocky Mountains, USA Mountain glaciers influence biogeochemical and ecological characteristics of high-elevation lakes across the northern Rocky Mountains, USA
Mountain glaciers are retreating rapidly due to climate change, leading to the formation of downstream lakes. However, little is known about the physical and biogeochemical conditions in these lakes across a range of glacial influence. We surveyed alpine lakes fed by both glacial and snowpack meltwaters and those fed by snowpack alone to compare nutrient concentrations, stoichiometry...
Authors
Joseph Vanderwall, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Tyler Tappenback, Joe Giersch, Ze Ren, Jim Elser
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout recovery in Yellowstone Lake: Complex interactions among invasive species suppression, disease, and climate change Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout recovery in Yellowstone Lake: Complex interactions among invasive species suppression, disease, and climate change
In Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, the largest inland population of nonhybridized Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri, hereafter Cutthroat Trout, declined throughout the 2000s because of predation from invasive Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush, drought, and whirling disease Myxobolus cerebralis. To maintain ecosystem function and conserve Cutthroat Trout, a Lake Trout...
Authors
Hayley Corrine Glassic, David Chagaris, Christopher S. Guy, Lusha M. Tronstad, Dominique R. Lujan, Michelle A. Briggs, Lindsey K. Albertson, Travis O. Brenden, Timothy E. Walsworth, Todd M. Koel
Development of a Surface-Water Index of Permanence to assess surface-water availability for ecohydrological refugia Development of a Surface-Water Index of Permanence to assess surface-water availability for ecohydrological refugia
Surface-water availability has major implications for the environment and society in the 21st century. With climate change, increased drought severity, and altered water and land use, future water availability is predicted to continue to decline in many areas, including much of the western United States. An understanding of where and when water will be available at multiple scales is...
Authors
Alynn Martin, Roy Sando, Lindsey Thurman, Kyle McLean, Patrick Wurster, John Jones, Anteneh Sarbanes