Publications
USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center staff publish results of their research in USGS series reports and in peer-reviewed journals. Publication links are below. Information on all USGS publications can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 1934
Extrinsic factors similarly affect nest survival of a threatened shorebird in natural and human-created habitats Extrinsic factors similarly affect nest survival of a threatened shorebird in natural and human-created habitats
Knowledge of factors that influence nest survival can inform effective conservation management for imperiled avian species. Habitat availability and quality are common priorities of conservation efforts, and climate and interspecific associations can also affect survival rates. In the lower Platte River system of eastern Nebraska, USA, Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus, hereafter...
Authors
Elsa M. Forsberg, Rose J. Swift, Larkin A. Powell, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mark P. Vrtiska
Net CO2 emissions from dry inland waters persist in the presence of vegetation Net CO2 emissions from dry inland waters persist in the presence of vegetation
Many inland waters are shrinking due to shifts in climate and water diversion for human uses. As they dry out, their exposed sediments emit large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) to the atmosphere. However, current global estimates of CO2 emissions from dry inland waters are derived exclusively from bare sediment dark-chamber measurements that do not account for the colonization of...
Authors
K. Sharma, Soren Brothers, S. Bernal, Núria Catalán, P. Keller, M. Koschorreck, S. Kosten, C. Leigh, D. von Schiller, A. Pastor, A. Larrañaga, A. Ari, A. Camacho-Santamans, A. Grinham, A. Lupon, A. Linkhorst, A. Elosegi, B. Obrador, B. D. Eyre, C. Trochine, C. C. Muniz, C. Feijoo, C. Duvert, E. Moreno-Ostos, E. Jacqueline Garcia, E. S. Oliveria, F. Cuassolo, H. R. Fernandez, J. Yeo, J. Oakes, J. R. Paranaíba, J. Pegg, J. Anselmo, J. J. Montes-Perez, L. van den Heuvel, L. Ran, L. L. Wilkinson, L. Gomez-Gener, M. Arroita, M. Shanafield, M. L. Gultemirian, M. I. Arce, M. Cobo, M. M. Sanchez-Montoya, N. Barros, N. Wells, N. Karakaya, P. Erturk Ari, Q. Struik, R. Aben, R. Rimas, S. Kumar, Sheel Bansal, S. Sarkar, S. Rodriguez-Gomez, T. Huang, T. Silverthorn, T. Datry, V. Diaz Villanueva, R. Marce
Hydrologic dynamics of ephemerally flooded playas in a dryland environment Hydrologic dynamics of ephemerally flooded playas in a dryland environment
Ephemerally flooded playas are common in the southwestern United States and globally in drylands. Often formed in closed basins, playas are depressions which inundate infrequently from local precipitation and streamflow produced near the playa or from upland areas. Few studies have quantified the hydrologic connectivity between upland catchments and playas using observations. Here, we...
Authors
Charles R. Kimsal, Enrique R. Vivoni, Osvaldo E. Sala, H. Curtis Monger, Owen P. McKenna
The Appalbees menu: A multiyear, multilocus metagenetic assessment of pollen foraging by Appalachian Bombus affinis workers The Appalbees menu: A multiyear, multilocus metagenetic assessment of pollen foraging by Appalachian Bombus affinis workers
Background Detailed studies of foraging behavior are needed for scientific management of the endangered rusty-patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) in the disjunct and ecologically differentiated habitats it presently occupies. Current knowledge gaps hinder recovery planning but are challenging to redress through direct observation of rare interactions in the field.Methods We used genetic...
Authors
Robert S. Cornman, Mark J. Hepner, Clint Otto
Diurnal patterns of nitrous oxide fluxes from a seasonal prairie wetland Diurnal patterns of nitrous oxide fluxes from a seasonal prairie wetland
Wetlands have spatially and temporally dynamic nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes. Understanding diurnal patterns in N2O fluxes in wetlands can reveal short-term drivers and improve process-based models. An automated chamber system was used to determine N2O flux rates every 2.5 to 4 h in a prairie pothole wetland in North Dakota during the 2013 to 2014 growing seasons under ponded, moist, and...
Authors
Derek R. Faust, Brian Tangen, Sheel Bansal
Wetland hydrologic dynamics and duck productivity are declining in the Prairie Pothole Region, and they are linked Wetland hydrologic dynamics and duck productivity are declining in the Prairie Pothole Region, and they are linked
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America is a globally important area hosting >50 % of North America’s breeding ducks. Ducks in the PPR depend on wetlands and grasslands which have experienced accelerated losses in extent and quality due to agriculture. While other bird populations have declined, duck abundance reached record highs recently (2013–2017). We explored this...
Authors
Michael J. Anteau, Michael L Szymanski, Aaron T. Pearse
Land use and soil characteristics are associated with increased risk of treponeme-associated hoof disease in elk Land use and soil characteristics are associated with increased risk of treponeme-associated hoof disease in elk
Environments can shape the occurrence and extent of disease outbreaks in wildlife. We studied the effects of environmental features on the occurrence of treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD), an emerging infectious disease of free-ranging elk (Cervus canadensis), in southwestern Washington, USA. During the 2016–2022 harvest seasons, successful elk hunters returned mandatory harvest...
Authors
Steven N. Winter, Glen A. Sargeant, Margaret A. Wild, Erin Clancey, Kathryn P. Huyvaert, Kyle Garrison, Pilar Fernandez
Adult and hatch-year survival and fidelity of Piping Plovers Charadrius melodus in the lower Platte River system, Nebraska, USA Adult and hatch-year survival and fidelity of Piping Plovers Charadrius melodus in the lower Platte River system, Nebraska, USA
Knowledge of vital rates informs the conservation and management of threatened and endangered species. In the northern Great Plains, USA, the federally threatened Piping Plover Charadrius melodus uses a variety of nesting habitats including natural river sandbars and human-created sites in the lower Platte River system, Nebraska. In this area, off-river sandpit sites (i.e., active sand...
Authors
Elsa M. Forsberg, Larkin A. Powell, Rose J. Swift, Joel G. Jorgensen, Mark P. Vrtiska
Greenhouse gas emissions from ditches in oil palm plantations on tropical peatlands in Malaysia Greenhouse gas emissions from ditches in oil palm plantations on tropical peatlands in Malaysia
Tropical peatlands, which store 20% of global peat carbon, are increasingly threatened by conversion to alternative land-uses such as oil palm plantations, pulp wood plantations, crop growth or other economic activities. This transformation involves peatland drainage, which lowers water tables, exposes peat to oxygen, and alters greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: increasing carbon dioxide...
Authors
Kuno Kasak, Iryna Dronova, Kaido Soosaar, Lulie Melling, Wong Guan Xhuan, Faustina Sangok, Reti Ranniku, Jorge A. Villa, Sheel Bansal, Michael Peacock, Ülo Mander
Agronomic practices vs. natural soil factors: Influences on nitrous oxide emissions from corn and soybean fields. Agronomic practices vs. natural soil factors: Influences on nitrous oxide emissions from corn and soybean fields.
Nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) and major contributor to climate change, is primarily released through agricultural activities. To better understand and quantify how land management practices, local climate conditions, and soil physicochemical properties affect these agricultural N2O emissions, we conducted a review of the peer-reviewed literature on N2O emission from...
Authors
Jamshid Ansari, Morgan Davis, Chenhui Li, Sheel Bansal
Sulfide stress tolerance as a controller of methane production in temperate wetlands Sulfide stress tolerance as a controller of methane production in temperate wetlands
Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions and contribute to the observed increase in atmospheric methane over the last 20 years. Methane production in wetlands is the final step of carbon decomposition performed by anaerobic archaea. Although hydrogen/carbon dioxide and acetate are the substrates most often attributed to methanogenesis, other substrates—such as methylated...
Authors
Emily Bechtold, Jared B. Ellenbogen, Danhui Xin, Marcia Pacheco, Brandy M. Toner, Yu-Ping Chin, William A. Arnold, Sheel Bansal, Michael J. Wilkins
Evaluating deterrent locations and sequence in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway to minimize invasive carp occupancy and abundance Evaluating deterrent locations and sequence in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway to minimize invasive carp occupancy and abundance
Invasive carps, specifically silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (H. nobilis), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), have proliferated in the Mississippi River Basin owing to escapes from aquaculture facilities and intentional releases. In the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 Sec. 509, Congress directed the U...
Authors
Michael E. Colvin, Caleb A. Aldridge, Neal Jackson, Max Post van der Burg