Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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: 1334

Peptidomic analysis of skin secretions supports separate species status for the tailed frogs, Ascaphus truei and Ascaphus montanus Peptidomic analysis of skin secretions supports separate species status for the tailed frogs, Ascaphus truei and Ascaphus montanus

The tailed frog Ascaphus truei Stejneger, 1899 is the most primitive extant anuran and the sister taxon to the clade of all other living frogs. The species occupies two disjunct ranges in the Northwest region of North America: the Cascade Mountains and coastal area from British Columbia to Northern California, and an inland range in the northern Rocky Mountains and the Blue and Wallowa...
Authors
J.M. Conlon, C.R. Bevier, L. Coquet, J. Leprince, T. Jouenne, H. Vaudry, B. R. Hossack

Species-area curves indicate the importance of habitats' contributions to regional biodiversity Species-area curves indicate the importance of habitats' contributions to regional biodiversity

We examined species-area curves, species composition and similarity (Jaccard's coefficients), and species richness in 17 vegetation types to develop a composite index of a vegetation type's contribution to regional species richness. We collected data from 1 to 1000 m2 scales in 147 nested plots in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA to compare three species-area curve models'...
Authors
G.W. Chong, T.J. Stohlgren

Use of seasonal freshwater wetlands by fishes in a temperate river floodplain Use of seasonal freshwater wetlands by fishes in a temperate river floodplain

This study examined the use of freshwater wetland restoration and enhancement projects (i.e. non-estuarine wetlands subject to seasonal drying) by fish populations. To quantify fish use of freshwater emergent wetlands and assess the effect of wetland enhancement (i.e. addition of water control structures), two enhanced and two unenhanced emergent wetlands were compared, as well as two...
Authors
Julie A. Henning, Robert E. Gresswell, Ian A. Fleming

Rapid assessment of postfire plant invasions in coniferous forests of the western United States Rapid assessment of postfire plant invasions in coniferous forests of the western United States

Fire is a natural part of most forest ecosystems in the western United States, but its effects on nonnative plant invasion have only recently been studied. Also, forest managers are engaging in fuel reduction projects to lessen fire severity, often without considering potential negative ecological consequences such as nonnative plant species introductions. Increased availability of light
Authors
J.P. Freeman, T.J. Stohlgren, M.E. Hunter, Philip N. Omi, E.J. Martinson, G.W. Chong, C. S. Brown

A comparison of protocols and observer precision for measuring physical stream attributes A comparison of protocols and observer precision for measuring physical stream attributes

Stream monitoring programs commonly measure physical attributes to assess the effect of land management on stream habitat. Variability associated with the measurement of these attributes has been linked to a number of factors, but few studies have evaluated variability due to differences in protocols. We compared six protocols, five used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest...
Authors
H.W. Whitacre, B.B. Roper, J. L. Kershner

Return to the wild: Translocation as a tool in conservation of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) Return to the wild: Translocation as a tool in conservation of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)

Translocation could be used as a tool in conservation of the threatened Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) by moving individuals from harm's way and into areas where they could contribute to conservation of the species. Numerous factors may affect the success of translocations, including the conditions experienced by tortoises in holding facilities while awaiting translocation...
Authors
K.J. Field, C.R. Tracy, P.A. Medica, R.W. Marlow, P.S. Corn

A simple solar radiation index for wildlife habitat studies A simple solar radiation index for wildlife habitat studies

Solar radiation is a potentially important covariate in many wildlife habitat studies, but it is typically addressed only indirectly, using problematic surrogates like aspect or hillshade. We devised a simple solar radiation index (SRI) that combines readily available information about aspect, slope, and latitude. Our SRI is proportional to the amount of extraterrestrial solar radiation...
Authors
Kim A. Keating, Peter J. Gogan, John N. Vore, Lynn R. Irby

LoCoH: Non-parameteric kernel methods for constructing home ranges and utilization distributions LoCoH: Non-parameteric kernel methods for constructing home ranges and utilization distributions

Parametric kernel methods currently dominate the literature regarding the construction of animal home ranges (HRs) and utilization distributions (UDs). These methods frequently fail to capture the kinds of hard boundaries common to many natural systems. Recently a local convex hull (LoCoH) nonparametric kernel method, which generalizes the minimum convex polygon (MCP) method, was shown...
Authors
Wayne M. Getz, Scott Fortmann-Roe, Paul C. Cross, Andrew J. Lyons, Sadie J. Ryan, Christopher C. Wilmers

The art and science of weed mapping The art and science of weed mapping

Land managers need cost-effective and informative tools for non-native plant species management. Many local, state, and federal agencies adopted mapping systems designed to collect comparable data for the early detection and monitoring of non-native species. We compared mapping information to statistically rigorous, plot-based methods to better understand the benefits and compatibility...
Authors
David T. Barnett, Thomas J. Stohlgren, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Geneva W. Chong, Jenny A. Ericson, Tracy R. Davern, Sara E. Simonson
Was this page helpful?