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
Evaluating species-specific changes in hydrologic regimes: an iterative approach for salmonids in the Greater Yellowstone Area (USA) Evaluating species-specific changes in hydrologic regimes: an iterative approach for salmonids in the Greater Yellowstone Area (USA)
Despite the importance of hydrologic regimes to the phenology, demography, and abundance of fishes such as salmonids, there have been surprisingly few syntheses that holistically assess regional, species-specific trends in hydrologic regimes within a framework of climate change. Here, we consider hydrologic regimes within the Greater Yellowstone Area in the Rocky Mountains of western...
Authors
Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Adam J. Sepulveda, Andrew M. Ray, David P. Thoma, Michael T. Tercek
Distance and environmental difference in alpine plant communities Distance and environmental difference in alpine plant communities
Differences in plant communities are a response to the abiotic environment, species interactions, and dispersal. The role of geographic distance relative to the abiotic environment is explored for alpine tundra vegetation from 319 plots of four regions along the Rocky Mountain cordillera in the USA. The site by species data were ordinated using nonmetric multidimensional scaling to...
Authors
George P. Malanson, Dale L. Zimmerman, Daniel B. Fagre
Unraveling the disease consequences and mechanisms of modular structure in animal social networks Unraveling the disease consequences and mechanisms of modular structure in animal social networks
Disease risk is a potential cost of group living. Although modular organization is thought to reduce this cost in animal societies, empirical evidence toward this hypothesis has been conflicting. We analyzed empirical social networks from 43 animal species to motivate our study of the epidemiological consequences of modular structure in animal societies. From these empirical studies, we...
Authors
Pratha Sah, Stephan T. Leu, Paul C. Cross, Peter J. Hudson, Shweta Bansal
Estimating loss of Brucella abortus antibodies from age-specific serological data in elk Estimating loss of Brucella abortus antibodies from age-specific serological data in elk
Serological data are one of the primary sources of information for disease monitoring in wildlife. However, the duration of the seropositive status of exposed individuals is almost always unknown for many free-ranging host species. Directly estimating rates of antibody loss typically requires difficult longitudinal sampling of individuals following seroconversion. Instead, we propose a...
Authors
J. A. Benavides, D. Caillaud, B. M. Scurlock, E. J. Maichak, W.H. Edwards, Paul C. Cross
Using decision analysis to support proactive management of emerging infectious wildlife diseases Using decision analysis to support proactive management of emerging infectious wildlife diseases
Despite calls for improved responses to emerging infectious diseases in wildlife, management is seldom considered until a disease has been detected in affected populations. Reactive approaches may limit the potential for control and increase total response costs. An alternative, proactive management framework can identify immediate actions that reduce future impacts even before a disease...
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, Erin L. Muths, Rachel A. Katz, Stefano Canessa, M. J. Adams, Jennifer R. Ballard, Lee Berger, Cheryl J. Briggs, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Matthew J. Gray, M. Camille Harris, Reid N. Harris, Blake R. Hossack, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Jonathan E. Kolby, Karen R. Lips, Robert E. Lovich, Hamish I. McCallum, Joseph R. Mendelson, Priya Nanjappa, Deanna H. Olson, Jenny G. Powers, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, Benedikt R. Schmidt, Annemarieke Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Mary Kay Watry, Douglas C. Woodhams, C. LeAnn White
Informing recovery in a human-transformed landscape: Drought-mediated coexistence alters population trends of an imperiled salamander and invasive predators Informing recovery in a human-transformed landscape: Drought-mediated coexistence alters population trends of an imperiled salamander and invasive predators
Understanding the additive or interactive threats of habitat transformation and invasive species is critical for conservation, especially where climate change is expected to increase the severity or frequency of drought. In the arid southwestern USA, this combination of stressors has caused widespread declines of native aquatic and semi-aquatic species. Achieving resilience to drought...
Authors
Blake R. Hossack, R. Ken Honeycutt, Brent H. Sigafus, Erin L. Muths, Catherine L. Crawford, Thomas R. Jones, Jeff A. Sorensen, James C. Rorabaugh, Thierry Chambert
Additive impacts of experimental climate change increase risk to an ectotherm at the Arctic's edge Additive impacts of experimental climate change increase risk to an ectotherm at the Arctic's edge
Globally, Arctic and Subarctic regions have experienced the greatest temperature increases during the last 30 years. These extreme changes have amplified threats to the freshwater ecosystems that dominate the landscape in many areas by altering water budgets. Several studies in temperate environments have examined the adaptive capacity of organisms to enhance our understanding of the...
Authors
Jon M. Davenport, Blake R. Hossack, LeeAnn Fishback
Managing the livestock– Wildlife interface on rangelands Managing the livestock– Wildlife interface on rangelands
On rangelands the livestock–wildlife interface is mostly characterized by management actions aimed at controlling problems associated with competition, disease, and depredation. Wildlife communities (especially the large vertebrate species) are typically incompatible with agricultural development because the opportunity costs of wildlife conservation are unaffordable except in arid and...
Authors
Johan T. du Toit, Paul C. Cross, Marion Valeix
Reassessment of the Upper Fremont Glacier ice-core chronologies by synchronizing of ice-core-water isotopes to a nearby tree-ring chronology Reassessment of the Upper Fremont Glacier ice-core chronologies by synchronizing of ice-core-water isotopes to a nearby tree-ring chronology
The Upper Fremont Glacier (UFG), Wyoming, is one of the few continental glaciers in the contiguous United States known to preserve environmental and climate records spanning recent centuries. A pair of ice cores taken from UFG have been studied extensively to document changes in climate and industrial pollution (most notably, mid-19th century increases in mercury pollution). Fundamental...
Authors
Nathan J. Chellman, Joseph R. McConnell, Monica Arienzo, Gregory T. Pederson, Sarah Aarons, Adam Csank
Temperature Temperature
Stream temperature has direct and indirect effects on stream ecology and is critical in determining both abiotic and biotic system responses across a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales. Temperature variation is primarily driven by solar radiation, while landscape topography, geology, and stream reach scale ecosystem processes contribute to local variability. Spatiotemporal...
Authors
Leslie A. Jones, Clint C. Muhlfeld, F. Richard Hauer
Legacy introductions and climatic variation explain spatiotemporal patterns of invasive hybridization in a native trout Legacy introductions and climatic variation explain spatiotemporal patterns of invasive hybridization in a native trout
Hybridization between invasive and native species, a significant threat to worldwide biodiversity, is predicted to increase due to climate-induced expansions of invasive species. Long-term research and monitoring are crucial for understanding the ecological and evolutionary processes that modulate the effects of invasive species. Using a large, multi-decade genetics dataset (N = 582...
Authors
Clint C. Muhlfeld, Ryan P. Kovach, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, Stephen J. Amish, Jeffrey L. Kershner, Robb F. Leary, Winsor H. Lowe, Gordon Luikart, Phil Matson, David A. Schmetterling, Bradley B. Shepard, Peter A. H. Westley, Diane Whited, Andrew R. Whiteley, Fred W. Allendorf
Terrestrial–aquatic linkages in spring-fed and snowmelt-dominated streams Terrestrial–aquatic linkages in spring-fed and snowmelt-dominated streams
The importance of trophic linkages between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is predicted to vary as a function of subsidy quantity and quality relative to in situ resources. To test this prediction, I used multi-year diet data from Bonneville cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarki Utah in spring-fed and snowmelt-driven streams in the high desert of western North America. I documented that...
Authors
Adam J. Sepulveda