Publications

Compared to other ungulates of North America, free-roaming horses (Equus caballus) possess a unique evolutionary history that has given rise to a distinct suite of behavioral, morphological, and physiological traits. Because of their unique combination of cecal digestion, an elongate head with flexible lips, and non-uniform use of the landscape, horses represent a unique disturbance...

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Geology is the science of the Earth-the study of the forces, processes, and past life that not only shape our land but influence our daily lives and our Nation's welfare. This booklet, prepared by two members of the U.S. Geological Survey, discusses how geologic phenomena are responsible for the magnificent scenery of the Teton region

This chapter explores the development of coupled climate and ice-sheet models over the past two decades, discusses the current technical and physical capabilities of models, and identifies future work for developing a better understanding of ice-climate events that have punctuated Earth history. The chapter also illustrates the complex behavior of the climate system and the modeling...

Hair samples are an increasingly important DNA source for wildlife studies, yet optimal storage methods and DNA degradation rates have not been rigorously evaluated. We tested amplification success rates over a one-year storage period for DNA extracted from brown bear (Ursus arctos) hair samples preserved using silica desiccation and -20C freezing. For three nuclear DNA microsatellites...

Information on amphibian responses to fire and fuel reduction practices is critically needed due to potential declines of species and the prevalence of new, more intensive fire management practices in North American forests. The goals of this review are to summarize the known and potential effects of fire and fuels management on amphibians and their aquatic habitats, and to identify...

Conservation of native fishes and changing patterns in wildfire and fuels are defining challenges for managers of forested landscapes in the western United States. Many species and populations of native fishes have declined in recorded history and some now occur as isolated remnants of what once were larger more complex systems. Land management activities have been viewed as one cause of...

The number of trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) breeding in the Tri-State area where Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming come together has declined to just a few hundred pairs. However, these birds are part of the Rocky Mountain Population which additionally has over 3,500 birds breeding in Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and Yukon Territory. To a large degree, these birds...

We examined phylogeographic relationships of moose (Alces alces) worldwide to test the proposed existence of two geographic races and to infer the timing and extent of demographic processes underpinning the expansion of this species across the Northern Hemisphere in the late Pleistocene. Sequence variation within the left hypervariable domain of the control region occurred at low or...

A Bayesian time series analysis technique, the dynamic linear model, was used to analyze counts of Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) summering in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming from 1931 to 2000. For the Yellowstone National Park segment of white birds (sub-adults and adults combined) the estimated probability of a positive growth rate is 0.01. The estimated probability of achieving the

Environmental data are often utilized to guide interpretation of spectral information based on context, however, these are also important in deriving vegetation maps themselves, especially where ecological information can be mapped spatially. A vegetation classification procedure is presented which combines a classification of spectral data from Landsat‐5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and...