Cooperative Research Units
Home
Programs L2 Landing Page
The Cooperative Research Units Program conducts research on a wide range of disciplines related to fish, wildlife, and natural resource management. Our 40 Units collectively conduct research on virtually every type of North American ecological community.
Data and Tools Technical PublicationsProximate Density Composition of Brown Pelican prey in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2014-2015)
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a large-bodied seabird that nests in colonies of 10 to upwards of 5,000 pairs, on nearshore barrier islands in subtropical and tropical North American waters. It breeds between March and August, laying 2–3 eggs and raising 1–2 chicks per year. The species is facultatively migratory during nonbreeding, with some individuals
Taxonomical identification of Brown Pelican prey in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2013-2015)
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a large-bodied seabird that nests in colonies of 10 to upwards of 5,000 pairs, on nearshore barrier islands in subtropical and tropical North American waters. It breeds between March and August, laying 2–3 eggs and raising 1–2 chicks per year. The species is facultatively migratory during nonbreeding, with some individuals
Composition of diet of juvenile Brown Pelican in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2013-2015)
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a large-bodied seabird that nests in colonies of 10 to upwards of 5,000 pairs, on nearshore barrier islands in subtropical and tropical North American waters. It breeds between March and August, laying 2–3 eggs and raising 1–2 chicks per year. The species is facultatively migratory during nonbreeding, with some individuals
Shapefiles and Historical Aerial Photographs, Little Missouri River, 1939-2003
The data archive contains the aerial photographs and channel delineations used in our analysis. The images have been geo-referenced to the 1995 digital orthophoto quarter quadrangles as described by Miller and Friedman (2009). The separate images for each year can be viewed as a composite along with that year’s channel delineation using a geographic information system (GIS). The 2
Productivity of Brown Pelican in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2014-2015)
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a large-bodied seabird that nests in colonies of 10 to upwards of 5,000 pairs, on nearshore barrier islands in subtropical and tropical North American waters. It breeds between March and August, laying 2–3 eggs and raising 1–2 chicks per year. The species is facultatively migratory during nonbreeding, with some individuals
Provisioning rate of Brown Pelican in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2014-2015)
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a large-bodied seabird that nests in colonies of 10 to upwards of 5,000 pairs, on nearshore barrier islands in subtropical and tropical North American waters. It breeds between March and August, laying 2–3 eggs and raising 1–2 chicks per year. The species is facultatively migratory during nonbreeding, with some individuals
Brown pelican foraging ecology in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2013-2015)_Colony reference
The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a large-bodied seabird that nests in colonies of 10 to upwards of 5,000 pairs, on nearshore barrier islands in subtropical and tropical North American waters. It breeds between March and August, laying 2–3 eggs and raising 1–2 chicks per year. The species is facultatively migratory during nonbreeding, with some individuals
Accounting for phenology in the analysis of animal movement
The analysis of animal tracking data provides important scientific understanding and discovery in ecology. Observations of animal trajectories using telemetry devices provide researchers with information about the way animals interact with their environment and each other. For many species, specific geographical features in the landscape can have...
Scharf, Henry R. ; Hooten, Mevin; Wilson, Ryan R. ; Durner, George M.; Atwood, Todd C.Evidence of age-related improvement in the foraging efficiency of Adélie penguins
Age variation in reproductive performance is well-documented but the mechanisms underlying this variation remain unclear. Foraging efficiency is likely to be a key source of demographic variation as it determines the amount of energy that can be invested in fitness-related activities. Evidence of age-related changes in the foraging efficiency of...
Lescroël, Amélie; Ballard, Grant; Massaro, Melanie; Dugger, Catherine M.; Jennings, Scott; Pollard, Annie M.; Porzig, Elizabeth L.; Schmidt, Annie; Varsani, Arvind; Grémillet, David; Ainley, David G.A hierarchical Bayesian approach for handling missing classification data
Ecologists use classifications of individuals in categories to understand composition of populations and communities. These categories might be defined by demographics, functional traits, or species. Assignment of categories is often imperfect, but frequently treated as observations without error. When individuals are observed but not classified,...
Alison C. Ketz; Therese L. Johnson; Hooten, Mevin; N. Thompson HobbsCooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units program—2018 year in review
The Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units (CRU) program had an interesting and challenging year in 2018. We made significant strategic advances on many fronts and had setbacks in others.Our relationship with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency we belonged to from 1935 to the mid-1990s, was further reinforced through strategic...
Organ, John F.; Thompson, John D.; Childs, Dawn E.; Dennerline, Donald E.Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units program—2018 year in review postcard
This postcard provides details about the "Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program—2018 Year in Review," U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1452, now available at https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1452. In this report, you will find details about the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units (CRU) program relating to its background, fish and...
Organ, John F.; Thompson, John D.; Childs, Dawn; Dennerline, Donald E.Fish growth changes over time in a Midwestern U.S. lake
Growth of Walleyes Sander vitreus, Yellow Bass Morone mississippiensis, Common Carp Cyprinus carpio, and Black Bullheads Ameiurus melas was assessed in Clear Lake, Iowa, over several decades and in relation to environmental variables. Growth of Common Carp was positively correlated with phytoplankton concentration. Recent Black Bullhead growth was...
Pierce, ClayRole of recovering river herring population on smallmouth bass diet and growth
Fish assemblages in Atlantic coastal rivers have undergone extensive ecological change in the last two and a half centuries due to human influence, including extirpation of many migratory fish species, such as river herring (Alosa spp.) and introduction of nonnative piscivores, notably Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomieu. Recently, dam removals...
Watson, Jonathan M.; Coghlan, Stephen M.; Zydlewski, Joseph D.; Hayes, Daniel B.; Stich, Daniel S.Life history of the endemic saddleback crayfish, Faxonius medius (Faxon, 1884), (Decapoda: Cambaridae) in Missouri, USA
The saddleback crayfish, Faxonius medius (Faxon, 1884), is endemic to a single drainage in eastern Missouri, USA, that is affected by heavy metals mining, and adjacent to a rapidly-expanding urban area. We studied populations of F. medius in two small streams for 18 months to describe the annual reproductive cycle and gather information about...
DiStefano, R.J.; Westhoff, J.T.; Rice, C.J.; Rosenberger, Amanda E.Integration of social and ecological sciences for natural resource decision making: Challenges and opportunities
The last 25 years have witnessed growing recognition that natural resource management decisions depend as much on understanding humans and their social interactions as on understanding the interactions between non-human organisms and their environment. Decision science provides a framework for integrating ecological and social factors into a...
Fuller, Angela K.; Kelly F. Robinson; Richard C. Stedman; William F. Siemer; Daniel J. DeckerElk forage and risk tradeoffs during the fall archery season
During late summer and fall, elk (Cervus canadensis) need access to adequate nutrition to support physiological requirements for reproduction and overwinter survival. The archery hunting season often occurs during this period and can affect distributions of elk as they seek areas that minimize perceived harvest risk. Areas that confer lower...
DeVoe, Jesse; Proffitt, Kelly M.; Mitchell, Michael S.; Jourdonnais, Craig; Barker, Kristin J.Multi‐scale habitat selection of elk in response to beetle‐killed forest
Forests of the Rocky Mountains (USA and Canada) have experienced a large‐scale bark‐beetle (Dendoctronus ponderosae) epidemic that has led to widespread mortality of pine trees, followed by structural and compositional changes to the forest. The millions of dead trees resulting from this event likely have an effect on ecosystem processes, but...
Lamont, Bryan G.; Monteith, Kevin L.; Merkle, Jerod; Mong, Tony W.; Albeke, Shannon E.; Hayes, Matthew M.; Kauffman, Matthew J.Influences of Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and Mysis diluviana on Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho
Research on Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, has focused on the influence of two potential limiting factors for kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka (Walbaum, 1792): competition for food with Mysis diluviana (Loven, 1862, hereafter Mysis) and predation by lake trout Salvelinus namaycush (Walbaum, 1792). Population fluctuations of...
Corsi, Matthew P.; Hansen, Michael J.; Quist, Michael C.; Schill, Daniel J.; Dux, Andrew M.