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
Flexible migration and habitat use strategies of an endangered waterbird during hydrological drought Flexible migration and habitat use strategies of an endangered waterbird during hydrological drought
Wildlife species confront threats from climate and land use change, exacerbating the influence of extreme climatic events on populations and biodiversity. Migratory waterbirds are especially vulnerable to hydrological drought via reduced availability of surface water habitats. We assessed how whooping cranes (Grus americana) modified habitat use and migration strategies during drought to...
Authors
Aaron T. Pearse, Andrew J. Caven, David M. Baasch, Mark T. Bidwell, John A Conkin, David A. Brandt
Management implications of habitat selection by whooping cranes (Grus americana) on the Texas coast Management implications of habitat selection by whooping cranes (Grus americana) on the Texas coast
Effective habitat management for rare and endangered species requires a thorough understanding of their specific habitat requirements. Although machine learning models have been increasingly used in the analyses of habitat use by wildlife, the primary focus of these models has been on generating spatial predictions. In this study, we used machine learning models in combination with...
Authors
Sarah E. Lehnen, Steven E. Sesnie, Matthew J. Butler, Aaron T. Pearse, Kristine L. Metzger
Using structured decision making to assess management alternatives to inform the 2024 update of the Minnesota Invasive Carp Action Plan Using structured decision making to assess management alternatives to inform the 2024 update of the Minnesota Invasive Carp Action Plan
This report summarizes the results of a structured decision making process started by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to develop and evaluate various invasive carp management strategies to inform a 2024 update of the Minnesota Invasive Carp Action Plan. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources invited State, Federal, Tribal, and nongovernmental organization partners to
Authors
Max Post van der Burg, Michael E. Colvin
Accurately characterizing climate change scenario planning in the U.S. National Park Service: Comment on Murphy et al. 2023 Accurately characterizing climate change scenario planning in the U.S. National Park Service: Comment on Murphy et al. 2023
We more accurately locate the boundary between current practice and research priorities regarding climate change scenario planning in U.S. federal land management agencies by supplementing the characterization in a recent article (“Understanding perceptions of climate change scenario planning in United States public land management agencies”) of its use in the U.S. National Park Service
Authors
Joel H. Reynolds, Brian W. Miller, Gregor W. Schuurman, Wylie A. Carr, Amy Symstad, John E. Gross, Amber N. Runyon
Fewer bowl traps and more hand netting can increase effective number of bee species and reduce excessive captures Fewer bowl traps and more hand netting can increase effective number of bee species and reduce excessive captures
Reports increasingly point to substantial declines in wild bee abundance and diversity, yet there is uncertainty about how best to measure these attributes in wild bee populations. Two commonly used methods are passive trapping with bee bowls or active netting of bees on flowers, but each of these has drawbacks. Comparing the outcomes of the two methods is complicated by their...
Authors
Diane L. Larson, Nora P. Pennarola, Julia B. Leone, Jennifer L. Larson
Assessing trade-offs in developing a landscape-scale nest monitoring programme for a threatened shorebird Assessing trade-offs in developing a landscape-scale nest monitoring programme for a threatened shorebird
Effective monitoring of wildlife species requires thorough planning and development of survey programmes that can address management and conservation objectives. Decisions about monitoring programmes include where to survey, survey design and how much effort to allocate at survey sites are typically predicated on limited budgets and available resources. When the scope of inference...
Authors
Kristen S. Ellis, Michael J. Anteau, Garrett J. MacDonald, Megan M. Ring, Mark H. Sherfy, Rose J. Swift, Dustin L. Toy
Developing a photography-based harvest survey to estimate age and subspecies composition of midcontinent sandhill cranes Developing a photography-based harvest survey to estimate age and subspecies composition of midcontinent sandhill cranes
Midcontinent sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) are managed as a single population, but hunting regulations are structured so harvest is targeted towards the more numerous lesser sandhill cranes (A. c. canadensis). However, research indicates that greater sandhill cranes (A. c. tabida) have been disproportionally exposed to harvest at a rate exceeding their proportion within the...
Authors
Andrew J. Dinges, Jay Alan VonBank, Aaron T. Pearse, David A. Brandt
A global assessment of environmental and climate influences on wetland macroinvertebrate community structure and function A global assessment of environmental and climate influences on wetland macroinvertebrate community structure and function
Estimating organisms' responses to environmental variables and taxon associations across broad spatial scales is vital for predicting their responses to climate change. Macroinvertebrates play a major role in wetland processes, but studies simultaneously exploring both community structure and community trait responses to environmental gradients are still lacking. We compiled a global...
Authors
Luis B. Epele, Emilio A. Williams-Subiza, Matthew S. Bird, Aurelie Boissezon, Dani Boix, Elaine Demierre, Conor Fair, Patricia Garcia, Stephanie Gascon, Marta G. Grech, Hamish S. Greig, Michael Jeffries, Jamie M. Kneitel, Olga Loskutova, Leonardo Maltchik, Luz M. Manzo, Gabriela Mataloni, Kyle McLean, Musa C. Mlambo, Beat Oertli, Mateus M. Pires, Jordi Sala, Erica E. Scheibler, Cristina Stenert, Haitao Wu, Scott A Wissinger, Darold P. Batzer
The impact of future changes in climate on breeding waterfowl pairs in the US Prairie Pothole Region The impact of future changes in climate on breeding waterfowl pairs in the US Prairie Pothole Region
Millions of small ( 10 ha) waterbodies embedded in grassland and agroecosystems in midcontinental North America provide breeding habitat to an estimated 50–80% of North America’s migratory ducks. Tens of millions of dollars are invested annually to conserve and enhance upland and wetland habitats for breeding ducks by prioritizing locations predicted to have high densities of breeding...
Authors
Owen P. McKenna, Imtiaz Rangwala
Seasonal and breeding phenologies of 38 grassland bird species in the midcontinent of North America Seasonal and breeding phenologies of 38 grassland bird species in the midcontinent of North America
Grasslands in the midcontinent of North America are highly imperiled, and grassland birds have suffered the largest bird declines of any terrestrial biome in North America in the last 50 years. Consequently, the conservation and management of grasslands, as well as their associated avian communities, are major priorities for the State, Provincial, and Federal agencies; non-governmental
Authors
Garrett J. MacDonald, Michael J. Anteau, Kristen S. Ellis, Lawrence D. Igl, Neal D. Niemuth, Josh L. Vest
Recent increases in annual, seasonal, and extreme methane fluxes driven by changes in climate and vegetation in boreal and temperate wetland ecosystems Recent increases in annual, seasonal, and extreme methane fluxes driven by changes in climate and vegetation in boreal and temperate wetland ecosystems
Climate warming is expected to increase global methane (CH4) emissions from wetland ecosystems. Although in situ eddy covariance (EC) measurements at ecosystem scales can potentially detect CH4 flux changes, most EC systems have only a few years of data collected, so temporal trends in CH4 remain uncertain. Here, we use established drivers to hindcast changes in CH4 fluxes (FCH4) since...
Authors
Sarah Feron, Avni Malhotra, Sheel Bansal, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Gavin McNicol, Sarah Knox, Kyle Delwiche, Raul Cordero, Zutao Ouyang, Zhen Zhang, Benjamin Poulter, Robert B. Jackson
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)
The key to Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) management is providing open grasslands with scattered trees and shrubs for foraging, nesting, and perching. Loggerhead Shrikes have been reported to use habitats with 20–266 centimeters (cm) vegetation height, greater than or equal to (≥) 10 percent grass cover, 3–48 percent forb cover, 2–25 percent shrub cover, 3–40 percent bare ground...
Authors
Lawrence D. Igl, Jill A. Shaffer, Douglas H. Johnson, Marriah L. Sondreal, Christopher M. Goldade, Melvin P. Nenneman, Amy L. Zimmerman, Jason P. Thiele, Betty R. Euliss