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: 624
Human-cougar interactions: A literature review related to common management questions Human-cougar interactions: A literature review related to common management questions
Interactions between humans and cougars (Puma concolor) present unique challenges for wildlife managers; reducing occurrences that lead to conflict is a priority for state and provincial wildlife agencies throughout western North America, including Washington. With an increase in management emphasis of human-wildlife conflict resolution, a growing body of scientific literature related to...
Authors
B. N. Kertson, S. McCorquodale, C. Anderson, Anis Aoude, R. A. Beausoleil, M. Cope, M. Hurley, B. Johnson, Glen A. Sargeant, S. L. Simek
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus)
The keys to Greater Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) management are maintaining expansive grasslands; preventing populations of Greater Prairie-Chickens from becoming small and isolated; managing grasslands to maintain proper grassland height, density, and vigor; and reducing woody plant invasion and excessive litter buildup. Within these grasslands, areas should contain...
Authors
W. Svedarsky, John Toepfer, Ronald Westemeier, Robert Robel, Lawrence D. Igl, Jill Shaffer
Perils of life on the edge: Climatic threats to global diversity patterns of wetland macroinvertebrates Perils of life on the edge: Climatic threats to global diversity patterns of wetland macroinvertebrates
Climate change is rapidly driving global biodiversity declines. How wetland macroinvertebrate assemblages are responding is unclear, a concern given their vital function in these ecosystems. Using a data set from 769 minimally impacted depressional wetlands across the globe (467 temporary and 302 permanent), we evaluated how temperature and precipitation (average, range, variability)...
Authors
Luis B. Epele, Marta Grech, Emilio Williams-Subiza, Cristina Stenert, Kyle McLean, Hamish S. Greig, Leonardo Maltchik, Mateus Pires, Matthew Bird, Aurelie Boissezon, Dani Boix, Eliane Demierre, Patricia E. García, Stephanie Gascón, Michael Jeffries, Jamie Kneitel, Olga Loskutov, Luz Manzo, Gabriela Mataloni, Musa Mlambo, Beat Oertli, Jordi Sala, Erica Scheibler, Haitao Wu, Scott A Wissinger, Darold P. Batzer
The impact of future climate on wetland habitat in a critical migratory waterfowl corridor of the Prairie Pothole Region The impact of future climate on wetland habitat in a critical migratory waterfowl corridor of the Prairie Pothole Region
Depressional wetlands are extremely sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation, so understanding how wetland inundation dynamics respond to changes in climate is essential for describing potential effects on wildlife breeding habitat. Millions of depressional basins make up the largest wetland complex in North America known as the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR). The wetland...
Authors
Owen McKenna
Whooping crane stay length in relation to stopover site characteristics Whooping crane stay length in relation to stopover site characteristics
Whooping crane (Grus americana) migratory stopovers can vary in length from hours to more than a month. Stopover sites provide food resources and safety essential for the completion of migration. Factors such as weather, climate, demographics of migrating groups, and physiological condition of migrants influence migratory movements of cranes (Gruidae) to varying degrees. However, little...
Authors
Andrew Caven, Aaron Pearse, David Brandt, Mary Harner, Greg Wright, David Baasch, Emma Brinley Buckley, Kristine Metzger, Matthew Rabbe, Anne Lacy
Foraging movements and colony attendance of Least Terns (Sternula antillarum) on the central Platte River, Nebraska, USA Foraging movements and colony attendance of Least Terns (Sternula antillarum) on the central Platte River, Nebraska, USA
Least Terns (Sternula antillarum) are known to forage away from nesting colonies, yet little information is available about movement rates and distances. We used VHF transmitters and a network of datalogging receivers to monitor movements of 23 Least Terns on the central Platte River, Nebraska, USA. We typically detected incubating and brood-rearing birds within 8 km of colonies during...
Authors
Mark Sherfy, Megan M. Ring, Jennifer Stucker, Michael Anteau, Terry Shaffer, Marsha Sovada
Dispersal distance is driven by habitat availability and reproductive success in Northern Great Plains piping plovers Dispersal distance is driven by habitat availability and reproductive success in Northern Great Plains piping plovers
Background Dispersal is a critical life history strategy that has important conservation implications, particularly for at-risk species with active recovery efforts and migratory species. Both natal and breeding dispersal are driven by numerous selection pressures, including conspecific competition, individual characteristics, reproductive success, and spatiotemporal variation in habitat...
Authors
Rose Swift, Michael Anteau, Kristen Ellis, Megan M. Ring, Mark Sherfy, Dustin Toy
Spatial network clustering reveals elk population structure and local variation in prevalence of chronic wasting disease Spatial network clustering reveals elk population structure and local variation in prevalence of chronic wasting disease
Spatial organization plays prominent roles in disease transmission, genetics, and demography of wildlife populations and is therefore an important consideration not only for wildlife management, but also for inference about populations and processes. We used hierarchical agglomerative clustering of a spatial graph network to partition Wind Cave National Park (WICA) into five regions used...
Authors
Glen A. Sargeant, Margaret Wild, Gregory Schroeder, Jenny Powers, Nathan L. Galloway
Supplemental vegetation monitoring plots at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument to accelerate learning of the Annual Brome Adaptive Management (ABAM) model Supplemental vegetation monitoring plots at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument to accelerate learning of the Annual Brome Adaptive Management (ABAM) model
The Annual Brome Adaptive Management (ABAM) project is a consortium of seven parks in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) working together to better understand how to control invasive annual grasses (including Bromus species) through an adaptive management approach. This approach is supported by a quantitative model that uses current data from standardized vegetation monitoring plots in all...
Authors
Amy Symstad, Timm Richardson, Dan Swanson
Impacts of extreme environmental disturbances on piping plover survival are partially moderated by migratory connectivity Impacts of extreme environmental disturbances on piping plover survival are partially moderated by migratory connectivity
Effective conservation for listed migratory species requires an understanding of how drivers of population decline vary spatially and temporally, as well as knowledge of range-wide connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas. Environmental conditions distant from breeding areas can have lasting effects on the demography of migratory species, yet these consequences are often the...
Authors
Kristen Ellis, Michael Anteau, Francesca Cuthbert, Cheri Gratto-Trevor, Joel Jorgensen, David Newstead, Larkin Powell, Megan M. Ring, Mark Sherfy, Rose Swift, Dustin Toy, David Koons
Biodiversity–productivity relationships in a natural grassland community vary under diversity loss scenarios Biodiversity–productivity relationships in a natural grassland community vary under diversity loss scenarios
Understanding the biodiversity–productivity relationship and underlying mechanisms in natural ecosystems under realistic diversity loss scenarios remains a major challenge for ecologists despite its importance for predicting impacts of rapid loss of biodiversity worldwide. Here we report the results of a plant functional group (PFG) removal experiment conducted on the Mongolian Plateau...
Authors
Qingmin Pan, Amy Symstad, Yongfei Bai, Jianhui Huang, Jianguo Wu, Shahid Naeem, Dima Chen, Dashuan Tian, Qibing Wang, Xingguo Han
Land management strategies influence soil organic carbon stocks of prairie potholes of North America Land management strategies influence soil organic carbon stocks of prairie potholes of North America
Soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks of Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) wetlands in the central plains of Canada and the United States are highly variable due to natural variation in biota, soils, climate, hydrology, and topography. Land-use history (cropland, grassland) and land-management practices (drainage, restoration) also affect SOC stocks. We conducted a region-wide assessment of...
Authors
Sheel Bansal, Brian Tangen, Robert Gleason, Pascal Badiou, Irena F. Creed