Publications
This list of publications includes peer-review journal articles, official USGS publications series, reports and more authored by scientists in the Ecosystems Mission Area. A database of all USGS publications, with advanced search features, can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.
Filter Total Items: 42702
Non-native Pond Sliders cause long-term decline of native Sonora Mud Turtles: A 33-year before-after study in an undisturbed natural environment Non-native Pond Sliders cause long-term decline of native Sonora Mud Turtles: A 33-year before-after study in an undisturbed natural environment
Using a before-after study design in a stable, largely undisturbed pond habitat and a dataset spanning 33 years, we document and describe the decline of native Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) after the introduction of non-native pond sliders (Trachemys scripta). The Sonora mud turtle population in Montezuma Well in central Arizona, USA, declined to less than 25% of previous...
Authors
Charles A. Drost, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Philip C. Rosen, Matthew Malone, Steven D. Garber
Abiotic stress and biotic factors mediate range dynamics on opposing edges Abiotic stress and biotic factors mediate range dynamics on opposing edges
Aim In the face of global change, understanding causes of range limits are one of the most pressing needs in biogeography and ecology. A prevailing hypothesis is that abiotic stress forms cold (upper latitude/altitude) limits, whereas biotic interactions create warm (lower) limits. A new framework – Interactive Range-Limit Theory (iRLT) – asserts that positive biotic factors such as food
Authors
Alexej P. K. Siren, Christopher Sutherland, Chris Bernier, Kimberly Royar, Jillian R. Kilborn, Catherine Callahan, Rachel Cliche, Leighlan S. Prout, Toni Lyn Morelli
The transformation of dryland rivers: The future of introduced tamarisk in the U.S. The transformation of dryland rivers: The future of introduced tamarisk in the U.S.
Tamarix spp. (tamarisk or saltcedar), a shrub-like tree, was intentionally introduced to the U.S. from Asia in the mid-1800s. Tamarisk thrives in today’s human-altered streamside (riparian) habitats and can be found along wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams across the western U.S. In 2001, a biological control agent, Diorhabda spp. (tamarisk leaf beetle), was released in six states, and...
Authors
Pamela L. Nagler, Julia B. Hull, Charles van Riper, Patrick B. Shafroth, Charles B. Yackulic
Genetics as a tool for conservation and management of West Indian manatee populations in Brazil Genetics as a tool for conservation and management of West Indian manatee populations in Brazil
A study conducted by the National Center for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals (CMA), United States Geological Survey Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, and partner researchers found that the marine Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) has low genetic diversity in regions where there are territorial interfaces with the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). The...
Authors
Fabia Luna, Caitlin Beaver, Coralie Nourisson, Robert Bonde, Fernanda L. N. Attademo, Adriana V. Miranda, Juan P. Torres-Florez, Glaucia P. de Sousa, José Z. Passavante, Margaret Hunter
Intended consequences statement Intended consequences statement
As the biodiversity crisis accelerates, the stakes are higher for threatened plants and animals. Rebuilding the health of our planet will require addressing underlying threats at many scales, including habitat loss and climate change. Conservation interventions such as habitat protection, management, restoration, predator control, translocation, genetic rescue, and biological control...
Authors
Ryan Phelan, Bridget Baumgartner, Stewart Brand, Evelyn Brister, Stanley W. Burgiel, R. Alta Charo, Isabelle Coche, Al Cofrancesco, Jason A. Delborne, Owain Edwards, Joshua P. Fisher, Martin Gaywood, Doria R. Gordon, Gregg Howald, Margaret Hunter, Peter Kareiva, Aditi Mankad, Michelle Marvier, Katherine Moseby, Andrew E. Newhouse, Ben J. Novak, Gerry Ohrstrom, Steven Olson, Megan J. Palmer, Stephen S. Palumbi, Neil Patterson, Miguel Pedrono, Francisco Pelegri, Yasha Rohwer, Oliver A. Ryder, J. Royden Saah, Robert M. Scheller, Philip J. Seddon, H. Bradley Shaffer, Beth Shapiro, Mike Sweeney, Mark R. Tercek, Delphine Thizy, Whitney Tilt, Michele Weber, Renee D. Wegrzyn, Bruce Whitelaw, Matthew Winkler, Josh Wodak, Mark Zimring, Paul Robbins
Plague transforms positive effects of precipitation on prairie dogs to negative effects Plague transforms positive effects of precipitation on prairie dogs to negative effects
Rodents characteristically benefit from increased precipitation, especially in typically dry habitats; “good years” of high precipitation improve their forage and water balance. However, Yersinia pestis (plague), a flea-borne pathogen of mammals that was introduced to western North America, has the greatest negative impact on at least some species of rodents during years of above-average
Authors
Dean E. Biggins, David A. Eads, Jerry L. Godbey
Heterotrophic respiration and the divergence of productivity and carbon sequestration Heterotrophic respiration and the divergence of productivity and carbon sequestration
Net primary productivity (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) are often used interchangeably, as their difference, heterotrophic respiration (soil heterotrophic CO2 efflux, RSH = NPP−NEP), is assumed a near-fixed fraction of NPP. Here, we show, using a range-wide replicated experimental study in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations that RSH responds differently than NPP to...
Authors
Asko Noormets, Rosvel Bracho, Eric Ward, John Seiler, Brian Strahm, Wen Lin, Kristin McElligott, Jean-Christophe Domec, Carlos Gonzalez-Benecke, Eric J. Jokela, Daniel M. Markewitz, Cassandra Meek, Guofang Miao, Steve G. McNulty, John S. King, Lisa Samuelson, Ge Sun, Robert Teskey, Jason R. Vogel, Rodney E. Will, Jinyan Yang, Timothy A. Martin
Reply to comment by R. Parkinson on “Increasing rates of carbon burial in southwest Florida coastal wetlands” by J. Breithaupt et al. Reply to comment by R. Parkinson on “Increasing rates of carbon burial in southwest Florida coastal wetlands” by J. Breithaupt et al.
Breithaupt et al. (2020) investigated why rates of organic carbon (OC) burial in coastal wetlands appear to increase over the past ∼120 years. After comparing dating methods and applying biogeochemical analyses, we concluded that neither dating method nor carbon degradation contribute to the observed trend. Rather, we concluded that OC burial has increased in the past century. Parkinson...
Authors
Joshua L. Breithaupt, Joseph M. Smoak, Thomas S. Bianchi, Derrick Vaughn, Christian J. Sanders, Kara R. Radabaugh, Michael Osland, Laura Feher, James C. Lynch, Donald Cahoon, Gordon Anderson, Kevin R. T. Whelan, Brad E. Rosenheim, Ryan P. Moyer, Lisa G. Chambers
Gopherus Agassizii (Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise). Overwinter movement Gopherus Agassizii (Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise). Overwinter movement
No abstract available.
Authors
Kristy L. Cummings, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Shellie R. Puffer
Assessing the impact of an online climate science community: The Early Career Climate Forum Assessing the impact of an online climate science community: The Early Career Climate Forum
Online science communities can serve as powerful platforms for advancing scientific knowledge, capacity, and outreach by increasing collaboration and information sharing among geographically distant peers, practitioners, and the public. Here, we examine the value and role of the Early Career Climate Forum (ECCF), a climate-focused online science community that is based in the United...
Authors
Meaghan Guckian, Ezra Markowitz, Clay Tucker, Elsita Kiekebusch, Toni Klemm, Lindsey Middleton, Adrienne Wootten, Michelle Staudinger
Domoic acid and saxitoxin in seabirds in the United States between 2007 and 2018 Domoic acid and saxitoxin in seabirds in the United States between 2007 and 2018
As harmful algal blooms (HABs) increase in magnitude and duration worldwide, they are becoming an expanding threat to marine wildlife. Over the past decade, blooms of algae that produce the neurotoxins domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxin (STX) and documented concurrent seabird mortality events have increased bicoastally in the United States. We conducted a retrospective analysis of HAB...
Authors
Corinne Gibble, Raphael Kudela, Susan Knowles, Barbara Bodenstein, Kathi Lefebvre
Predicting the spatiotemporal exposure of aquatic species to intrusions of fire retardant in streams with limited data Predicting the spatiotemporal exposure of aquatic species to intrusions of fire retardant in streams with limited data
Because fire retardant can enter streams and harm aquatic species including endangered fish, agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) must estimate the downstream extent of toxic effects every time fire retardant enters streams (denoted as an “intrusion”). A challenge in estimating the length of stream affected by the intrusion and the exposure time of species in the affected...
Authors
Chris R. Rehmann, P. Ryan Jackson, Holly J. Puglis