Publications
This is a list of publications written by Patuxent employees since Patuxent opened in 1939. To search for Patuxent's publications by author or title, please click below to go to the USGS Publication Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 8128
Status assessment of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia and other large mammals in the Kyrgyz Alay, using community knowledge corrected for imperfect detection Status assessment of the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia and other large mammals in the Kyrgyz Alay, using community knowledge corrected for imperfect detection
The Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia occurs in the Central Asian Mountains, which cover c. 2 million km2. Little is known about its status in the Kyrgyz Alay Mountains, a relatively narrow stretch of habitat connecting the southern and northern global ranges of the species. In 2010 we gathered information on current and past (1990, the last year of the Soviet Union) distributions...
Authors
Julia Taubmann, Koustubh Sharma, Kubanychbek Zhumabai Uulu, James E. Hines, Charudutt Mishra
Decision analysis to support development of the Glen Canyon Dam long-term experimental and management plan Decision analysis to support development of the Glen Canyon Dam long-term experimental and management plan
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, and Argonne National Laboratory, completed a decision analysis to use in the evaluation of alternatives in the Environmental Impact Statement concerning the long-term management of water releases from Glen Canyon Dam and associated management activities. Two primary decision analysis methods
Authors
Michael C. Runge, Kirk E. LaGory, Kendra Russell, Janet R. Balsom, R. Alan Butler, Coggins, Katrina A. Grantz, John Hayse, Ihor Hlohowskyj, Josh Korman, James E. May, Daniel J. O’Rourke, Leslie A. Poch, James R. Prairie, Jack C. VanKuiken, Robert A. Van Lonkhuyzen, David R. Varyu, Bruce T. Verhaaren, Thomas D. Veselka, Nicholas T. Williams, Kelsey K. Wuthrich, Charles B. Yackulic, Robert P. Billerbeck, Glen W. Knowles
The effects of harvest on waterfowl populations The effects of harvest on waterfowl populations
Change in the size of populations over space and time is, arguably, the motivation for much of pure and applied ecological research. The fundamental model for the dynamics of any population is straightforward: the net change in the abundance is the simple difference between the number of individuals entering the population and the number leaving the population, either or both of which...
Authors
Evan G. Cooch, Matthieu Guillemain, G Scott Boomer, Jean-Dominique Lebreton, James D. Nichols
Estimating relative sea-level rise and submergence potential at a coastal wetland Estimating relative sea-level rise and submergence potential at a coastal wetland
A tide gauge records a combined signal of the vertical change (positive or negative) in the level of both the sea and the land to which the gauge is affixed; or relative sea-level change, which is typically referred to as relative sea-level rise (RSLR). Complicating this situation, coastal wetlands exhibit dynamic surface elevation change (both positive and negative), as revealed by...
Authors
Donald R. Cahoon
The role of citizen science in bird conservation: The Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey The role of citizen science in bird conservation: The Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey
Many birders in the United States, Canada, and Mexico are critical participants in bird monitoring and conservation activities. This linkage between recreational birders and avian conservation surveys is not new. It was established long before the internet and long before any fast communication facilitated the connection of birders to scientists. It started because a few key individuals...
Authors
John R. Sauer, Gregory S. Butcher
How much is new information worth? Evaluating the financial benefit of resolving management uncertainty How much is new information worth? Evaluating the financial benefit of resolving management uncertainty
Conservation decision-makers face a trade-off between spending limited funds on direct management action, or gaining new information in an attempt to improve management performance in the future. Value-of-information analysis can help to resolve this trade-off by evaluating how much management performance could improve if new information was gained. Value-of-information analysis has been...
Authors
Sean L. Maxwell, Jonathan R. Rhodes, Michael C. Runge, Hugh P. Possingham, Chooi Fei Ng, Eve McDonald Madden
Potential reduction in terrestrial salamander ranges associated with Marcellus shale development Potential reduction in terrestrial salamander ranges associated with Marcellus shale development
Natural gas production from the Marcellus shale is rapidly increasing in the northeastern United States. Most of the endemic terrestrial salamander species in the region are classified as ‘globally secure’ by the IUCN, primarily because much of their ranges include state- and federally protected lands, which have been presumed to be free from habitat loss. However, the proposed and...
Authors
Adrianne B. Brand, Amber N. M. Wiewel, Evan H. Campbell Grant
Estimating true instead of apparent survival using spatial Cormack-Jolly-Seber models Estimating true instead of apparent survival using spatial Cormack-Jolly-Seber models
Survival is often estimated from capture–recapture data using Cormack–Jolly–Seber (CJS) models, where mortality and emigration cannot be distinguished, and the estimated apparent survival probability is the product of the probabilities of true survival and of study area fidelity. Consequently, apparent survival is lower than true survival unless study area fidelity equals one...
Authors
Michael Schaub, J. Andrew Royle
A simple control for sediment-toxicity exposures using the amphipod, Hyalella azteca A simple control for sediment-toxicity exposures using the amphipod, Hyalella azteca
Sediment-toxicity exposures comparing survival and growth of the freshwater amphipod, Hyalella azteca, are often components of aquatic-habitat assessments. Standardized exposure methods have been established and require evaluations for quality assurance. Test acceptability using performance-based criteria can be determined from exposures to control sediments, which are collected from the
Authors
Peter J. Lasier, Matthew L. Urich
Competition between introduced and native spiders (Araneae: Linyphiidae) Competition between introduced and native spiders (Araneae: Linyphiidae)
The European sheet-web spider Linyphia triangularis (Araneae: Linyphiidae) has become established in Maine, where it often reaches very high densities. Two lines of evidence from previous work suggest that L. triangularis affects populations of the native linyphiid spider Frontinella communis. First, F. communis individuals are relatively scarce in both forest and coastal habitat where L
Authors
J.D. Houser, Howard S. Ginsberg, Elizabeth M. Jakob
Adaptive management and the value of information: learning via intervention in epidemiology Adaptive management and the value of information: learning via intervention in epidemiology
Optimal intervention for disease outbreaks is often impeded by severe scientific uncertainty. Adaptive management (AM), long-used in natural resource management, is a structured decision-making approach to solving dynamic problems that accounts for the value of resolving uncertainty via real-time evaluation of alternative models. We propose an AM approach to design and evaluate...
Authors
Katriona Shea, Michael J. Tildesley, Michael C. Runge, Christopher J. Fonnesbeck, Matthew J. Ferrari
A new species of small-eared shrew (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Cryptotis) from the Lacandona rain forest, Mexico A new species of small-eared shrew (Mammalia, Eulipotyphla, Cryptotis) from the Lacandona rain forest, Mexico
The diversity and distribution of mammals in the American tropics remain incompletely known. We describe a new species of small-eared shrew (Soricidae, Cryptotis) from the Lacandona rain forest, Chiapas, southern Mexico. The new species is distinguished from other species of Cryptotis on the basis of a unique combination of pelage coloration, size, dental, cranial, postcranial, and...
Authors
Lazaro Guevara, Víctor Sánchez-Cordero, Livia Leon-Paniagua, Neal Woodman