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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: 1952

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1979 wetland classification: A review U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1979 wetland classification: A review

In 1979 the US Fish and Wildlife Service published and adopted a classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. The system was designed for use in a national inventory of wetlands. It was intended to be ecologically based, to furnish the mapping units needed for the inventory, and to provide national consistency in terminology and definition. We review the...
Authors
L.M. Cowardin, F.C. Golet

Ranges of North American breeding birds: visualizing long-term population changes in North American breeding birds Ranges of North American breeding birds: visualizing long-term population changes in North American breeding birds

These maps show changes in the distribution and abundance patterns of some North American birds for the last 20 years. For each species there are four maps, each representing the average distribution and abundance pattern over the five-year periods 1970-1974, 1975-1979, 1980-1984, and 1985-1989. The maps are based on data collected by the USFWS/CWS Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). Only BBS...
Authors
Jeff Price

[Book review] Railroad Postcards in the Age of Steam, by H. Roger Grant [Book review] Railroad Postcards in the Age of Steam, by H. Roger Grant

Book review: Railroad Postcards in the Age of Steam. H. Roger Grant. University Of Iowa Press. 1994. 217 pages. ISBN: 0877454655.
Authors
Douglas H. Johnson

Conservation Reserve Program and migratory birds in the northern Great Plains Conservation Reserve Program and migratory birds in the northern Great Plains

U.S. Department of Agriculture programs have mediated supply and demand of commodities and maintained the agricultural industry, but several programs have also offered various kinds of conservation benefits. The 1985 Food Security Act (Farm Bill) featured the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), which paid farmers to plant perennial cover on highly erodible lands and to leave this land...
Authors
Douglas H. Johnson, Rolf R. Koford

The occurrence of mycoplasmas in selected wild North American waterfowl The occurrence of mycoplasmas in selected wild North American waterfowl

We determined the prevalence of mycoplasma infection in breeding mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and canvasback (Aythya valisineria) hens and their broods from the central United States (1988 to 1990); and wintering American black duck (Anas rubripes) and mallard hens from the eastern United States (1990 to 1993). Mycoplasmas were isolated by culturing tracheal swabs from 656 live birds and...
Authors
Diana R. Goldberg, M.D. Samuel, C. B. Thomas, P. Sharp, Gary L. Krapu, J.R. Robb, K.P. Kenow, C. E. Korschgen, W.H. Chipley, M.J. Conroy, S.H. Kleven

Contributions of the Conservation Reserve Program to populations of breeding birds in North Dakota Contributions of the Conservation Reserve Program to populations of breeding birds in North Dakota

Previous studies have shown that habitat provided by the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a feature of the 1985 farm bill, is used by many birds. The present study quantitatively assesses the importance of the CRP by estimating changes in breeding-bird populations of North Dakota projected if CRP land would revert to cultivation. Of 18 species that were common in CRP or crop fields or...
Authors
Douglas H. Johnson, L.D. Igl

Differential effects of coyotes and red foxes on duck nest success Differential effects of coyotes and red foxes on duck nest success

Low recruitment rates prevail among ducks in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America, primarily because of high nest depredation rates. The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a major predator of duck eggs, but fox abundance is depressed by coyotes (Canis latrans). We tested the hypothesis that nest success of upland-nesting ducks is higher in areas with coyotes than in areas with red foxes...
Authors
Marsha A. Sovada, A. Sargeant, J.W. Grier

Evaluations of duck habitat and estimation of duck population sizes with a remote-sensing-based system Evaluations of duck habitat and estimation of duck population sizes with a remote-sensing-based system

During 1987-90, we used high-altitude photography, aerial videography, counts, and models to estimate sizes of breeding populations of dabbling ducks (Anatinae) and duck production and to identify duck habitat on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service land and easements and on private land in the prairie pothole region of the United States. The study area contained about 3.1 million wetland...
Authors
Lewis M. Cowardin, Terry L. Shaffer, Phillip M. Arnold

Effects of climate on numbers of northern prairie wetlands Effects of climate on numbers of northern prairie wetlands

The amount of water held in individual wetland basins depends not only on local climate patterns but also on groundwater flow regime, soil permeability, and basin size. Most wetland basins in the northern prairies hold water in some years and are dry in others. To assess the potential effect of climate change on the number of wetland basins holding water in a given year, one must first...
Authors
Diane L. Larson
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