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: 1943
Balancing the need for seed against invasive species risks in prairie habitat restorations Balancing the need for seed against invasive species risks in prairie habitat restorations
Adequate diversity and abundance of native seed for large-scale grassland restorations often require commercially produced seed from distant sources. However, as sourcing distance increases, the likelihood of inadvertent introduction of multiple novel, non-native weed species as seed contaminants also increases. We created a model to determine an “optimal maximum distance” that would...
Authors
Jennifer L Larson, Diane L. Larson, Robert Venette
Identifying dominant environmental predictors of freshwater wetland methane fluxes across diurnal to seasonal time scales Identifying dominant environmental predictors of freshwater wetland methane fluxes across diurnal to seasonal time scales
While wetlands are the largest natural source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere, they represent a large source of uncertainty in the global CH4 budget due to the complex biogeochemical controls on CH4 dynamics. Here we present, to our knowledge, the first multi-site synthesis of how predictors of CH4 fluxes (FCH4) in freshwater wetlands vary across wetland types at diel, multiday...
Authors
Sarah Knox, Sheel Bansal, Gavin McNicol, Karina Schafer, Cove Sturtevant, Masahito Ueyama, Alex Valach, Dennis Baldocchi, Kyle B. Delwiche, Ankur R. Desai, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Jinxun Liu, Annalea Lohila, Avni Malhotra, Lulie Melling, William Riley, Benjamin R. K. Runkle, Jessica Turner, Rodrigo Vargas, Qing Zhu, Tuula Alto, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Mathias Goeckede, Joe Melton, Oliver Sonnentag, Timo Vesala, Eric Ward, Zhen Zhang, Sarah Feron, Zutao Ouyang, Angela C I Tang, Pavel Alekseychik, Mika Aurela, Gil Bohrer, David I. Campbell, Jiquan Chen, Housen Chu, Higo Dalmagro, Jordan P. Goodrich, Pia Gottschalk, Takashi Hirano, Hiroki Iwata, Gerald Jurasinski, Minseok Kang, Franziska Koebsch, Ivan Mammarella, Mats B. Nilsson, Keisuke Ono, Matthias Peichl, Olli Peltola, Youngryel Ryu, Torsten Sachs, Ayaka Sakabe, Jed Sparks, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, George Vourlitis, Guan X Wong, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Benjamin Poulter, Robert B. Jackson
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus)
Keys to Lark Sparrow (Chondestes grammacus) management include providing open grasslands with sparse-to-moderate herbaceous and litter cover and a woody component and allowing occasional burning or moderate grazing. Lark Sparrows have been reported to use habitats with 10–63 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 10–54 percent grass cover, 9–25 percent forb cover, 4–18 percent shrub...
Authors
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Barry D. Parkin, Betty R. Euliss
Coflowering invasive plants and a congener have neutral effects on fitness components of a rare endemic plant Coflowering invasive plants and a congener have neutral effects on fitness components of a rare endemic plant
Network analyses rarely include fitness components, such as germination, to tie invasive plants to population-level effects on the natives. We address this limitation in a previously studied network of flower visitors around a suite of native and invasive plants that includes an endemic plant at Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA. Eriogonum visheri coflowers with two abundant...
Authors
Diane L. Larson, Jennifer L Larson, Amy Symstad, Deborah A. Buhl, Zachary M. Portman
U.S. Geological Survey migratory bird science, 2020–21 U.S. Geological Survey migratory bird science, 2020–21
Bird conservation as an endeavor engages a broad range of partners and a coordinated effort across State and Federal agencies, nongovernment organizations, universities and, at times, international partnerships. To understand information needs and respond to the many challenges in bird conservation, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists participate in Flyway committees, on Joint...
Authors
Aaron T. Pearse, Mark H. Sherfy, Mark Wimer, Mona Khalil, Mark T. Wiltermuth
Migrating whooping cranes avoid wind-energy infrastructure when selecting stopover habitat Migrating whooping cranes avoid wind-energy infrastructure when selecting stopover habitat
Electricity generation from renewable-energy sources has increased dramatically worldwide in recent decades. Risks associated with wind-energy infrastructure are not well understood for endangered whooping cranes or other vulnerable crane populations. From 2010 to 2016, we monitored 57 whooping cranes with remote-telemetry devices in the United States Great Plains to determine potential...
Authors
Aaron T. Pearse, Kristine L. Metzger, David A. Brandt, Jill A. Shaffer, Mark T. Bidwell, Wade C. Harrell
The enigma of the Předmostí protodogs. A comment on Prassack et al. 2020 The enigma of the Předmostí protodogs. A comment on Prassack et al. 2020
Prassack et al. (2020) analyzed dental microwear in a sample of canids from the Gravettian site of Předmostí that had been identified as either Paleolithic dogs or Pleistocene wolves (n = 10 in each group), accepting that the morphological differences between the groups validly distinguished the (self-domesticating) protodogs from wolves. The authors then concluded that differences in...
Authors
Luc A. A. Janssens, Myriam Boudadi-Maligne, L. David Mech, Dennis Lawler
Spatial variation in population dynamics of northern Great Plains piping plovers Spatial variation in population dynamics of northern Great Plains piping plovers
Metapopulation dynamics are determined not only by within-patch birth and death processes but also by between-patch movements of individuals (emigration and immigration). To conserve and manage a species that has a metapopulation structure, defined by local populations that are distributed among patches of suitable habitat, we need to understand each of these vital rates. For the...
Authors
Rose J. Swift, Michael J. Anteau, Kristen S. Ellis, Megan M. Ring, Mark H. Sherfy, Dustin L. Toy, David N. Koons
Does taxonomic and numerical resolution affect the assessment of invertebrate community structure in New World freshwater wetlands? Does taxonomic and numerical resolution affect the assessment of invertebrate community structure in New World freshwater wetlands?
The efficiency of biodiversity assessments and biomonitoring studies is commonly challenged by limitations in taxonomic identification and quantification approaches. In this study, we assessed the effects of different taxonomic and numerical resolutions on a range of community structure metrics in invertebrate compositional data sets from six regions distributed across North and South...
Authors
Mateus M. Pires, Marta G. Grech, Cristina Stenert, Leonardo Maltchik, Luis B. Epele, Kyle McLean, Jamie M. Kneitel, Douglas A. Bell, Hamish S. Greig, Chase R. Gagne, Darold P. Batzer
Historic population estimates for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Aragua, Venezuela indicate monitoring need Historic population estimates for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Aragua, Venezuela indicate monitoring need
This study reports historic capture-mark-recapture survival and abundance estimates of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) based on photo-identification surveys of coastal Venezuela (along the Aragua coast between Turiamo Bay and Puerto Colombia). We used the most recent data available: dolphins identified by unique dorsal fin marks during wet and dry season surveys conducted...
Authors
Sergio Cobarrubia-Russo, Shannon Barber-Meyer, Guillermo R. Barreto, Alimar Molero-Lizarraga
Upland burning and grazing as strategies to offset climate-change effects on wetlands Upland burning and grazing as strategies to offset climate-change effects on wetlands
Wetland ecosystems perform a multitude of services valued by society and provide critical habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. Despite their importance, wetlands have been lost to different local, regional, and global drivers. Remaining wetlands are extremely sensitive to changing temperature and precipitation regimes. Management of grassland areas in wetland catchments may be...
Authors
Owen P. McKenna, David A. Renton, David M. Mushet, Edward S. DeKeyser
Behaviorally-mediated trophic cascade attenuated by prey use of risky places at safe times Behaviorally-mediated trophic cascade attenuated by prey use of risky places at safe times
The mere threat of predation may incite behavioral changes in prey that lead to community-wide impacts on productivity, biodiversity, and nutrient cycling. The paucity of experimental manipulations, however, has contributed to controversy over the strength of this pathway in wide-ranging vertebrate systems. We investigated whether simulated gray wolf (Canis lupus) presence can induce...
Authors
Meredith S. Palmer, C. Portales-Reyes, C. Potter, L. David Mech, Forest Isbell