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: 42871
Using complementary biomarkers to unravel fish lifetime exposure to hypoxia and mercury Using complementary biomarkers to unravel fish lifetime exposure to hypoxia and mercury
Aquatic ecosystems are losing oxygen due to climate change. This deoxygenation can favor microbial methylation of mercury (Hg). To understand the dynamics of Hg under increasing deoxygenation, we simultaneously quantified both Hg and hypoxia ( 2 mg O2/L) lifetime chronologies in fishes. We used a novel combination of chemical biomarkers in ear stones and eye lenses. We compared these...
Authors
Hadis Miraly, N. Roxanna Razavi, Richard Kraus, Ann Marie Gorman, Elizabeth Duskey, Matthew Altenritter, Karin E. Limburg
Biocrust mosses and cyanobacteria exhibit distinct carbon uptake responses to variations in precipitation amount and frequency Biocrust mosses and cyanobacteria exhibit distinct carbon uptake responses to variations in precipitation amount and frequency
Dryland organisms exhibit varied responses to changes in precipitation, including event size, frequency, and soil moisture duration, influencing carbon uptake and reserve management strategies. This principle, central to the pulse-reserve paradigm, has not been thoroughly evaluated in biological soil crusts (biocrusts), essential primary producers on dryland surfaces. We conducted two...
Authors
Kristina E. Young, Osvaldo E. Sala, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Colin L Tucker, Rebecca A Finger-Higgens, Megan Elyse Starbuck, Sasha C. Reed
Calibration of the Stream Salmonid Simulator (S3) model to estimate annual survival, movement, and food consumption by juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the restoration reach of the Trinity River, California, 2006–18 Calibration of the Stream Salmonid Simulator (S3) model to estimate annual survival, movement, and food consumption by juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the restoration reach of the Trinity River, California, 2006–18
Executive Summary The Trinity River is managed in two sections: (1) from the upper 64-kilometer “restoration reach” downstream from Lewiston Dam to the confluence with the North Fork Trinity River, and (2) the 120-kilometer lower Trinity River downstream from the restoration reach. The Stream Salmonid Simulator (S3) has been previously applied to these reaches and the Klamath River. To...
Authors
John M. Plumb, Russell W. Perry, Kyle De Juilio
New technology for an ancient fish: A lamprey life cycle modeling tool with an R Shiny application New technology for an ancient fish: A lamprey life cycle modeling tool with an R Shiny application
Lampreys (Petromyzontiformes) are an ancient group of fishes with complex life histories. We created a life cycle model that includes an R Shiny interactive web application interface to simulate abundance by life stage. This will allow scientists and managers to connect available demographic information in a framework that can be applied to questions regarding lamprey biology and...
Authors
Dylan Gerald-Everett Gomes, Joseph R. Benjamin, Benjamin J. Clemens, Ralph Lampman, Jason Dunham
Flexible phenology of a C4 grass linked to resiliency to seasonal and multiyear drought events in the American southwest Flexible phenology of a C4 grass linked to resiliency to seasonal and multiyear drought events in the American southwest
Rising temperatures are predicted to further limit dryland water availability as droughts become more intense and frequent and seasonal precipitation patterns shift. Vegetation drought stress may increase mortality and cause declines and delays in phenological events, thereby impacting species' capacity to persist and recover from extreme drought conditions. We compare phenological...
Authors
Rebecca A Finger-Higgens, David L. Hoover, Anna C. Knight, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, Michael C. Duniway
Environmental persistence and toxicity of weathered wildland fire retardants to rainbow trout Environmental persistence and toxicity of weathered wildland fire retardants to rainbow trout
Long-term fire retardants are employed to combat and control wildfires by altering the way fuels burn, and they continue to decrease fire intensity after water in the retardant solution has evaporated. After application, fire retardants may persist on dry stream beds or in riparian habitats before precipitation events flush the retardant into intermittent streams. We exposed juvenile (30...
Authors
Christina M. Mackey, Michael G. Iacchetta, Holly J. Puglis
Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) at the Mojave River Dam, San Bernardino County, California—2024 data summary Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) at the Mojave River Dam, San Bernardino County, California—2024 data summary
We surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; vireo) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) at the Mojave River Dam study area near Hesperia, California, in 2024. Four vireo surveys were completed between April 17 and July 2, 2024, and three flycatcher surveys were completed between May 23 and July 2, 2024. We detected three territorial...
Authors
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
Using distance sampling with camera traps to estimate densities of ungulates on tropical oceanic islands Using distance sampling with camera traps to estimate densities of ungulates on tropical oceanic islands
Reliable population estimates are one of the most elementary needs for the management of wildlife, particularly for introduced ungulates on oceanic islands. We aimed to produce accurate and precise density estimates of Philippine deer (Rusa marianna) and wild pigs (Sus scrofa) on Guam using motion-triggered cameras combined with distance sampling to estimate densities from observations...
Authors
Richard J. Camp, Trevor M. Bak, Matthew D Burt, Scott Vogt
Assessing potential collateral effects on amphibians from insecticide applications for flea control and plague mitigation Assessing potential collateral effects on amphibians from insecticide applications for flea control and plague mitigation
Ideal disease mitigation measures for wildlife are safe and benign for target species, non-target organisms, the environment, and humans. Identifying collateral (i.e., unintended) effects is a key consideration in implementing such actions. Deltamethrin dust and fipronil-laced baits represent a group of insecticides that target fleas (pulicides) and are used to control flea (Siphonaptera...
Authors
David A. Eads, Susan A. Shriner, Jeremy W. Ellis, Paul M. Cryan, Michelle L. Hladik, Gregory P. Dooley, Erin L. Muths
The complete mitochondrial genomes of the freshwater mussel Ortmanniana ligamentina (Lamarck, 1819): male and female mitotypes The complete mitochondrial genomes of the freshwater mussel Ortmanniana ligamentina (Lamarck, 1819): male and female mitotypes
Freshwater mussels of the Unionida order are important to freshwater ecosystems but are highly imperiled worldwide. Improving our understanding of these species is crucial to their continued conservation. Some Unionid mussels exhibit double uniparental inheritance (DUI) in which individuals have two mitochondrial genomes. Of those species with DUI, sequences of the female mitotype are...
Authors
Katy E. Klymus, Jason Coombs, Dannise Ruiz-Ramos, Aaron Maloy, Christopher M. Barnhart
A framework for guiding management decisions for amphibians in an uncertain future A framework for guiding management decisions for amphibians in an uncertain future
Managing species in a rapidly changing climate requires knowledge of how species will respond to climate change and other threats while simultaneously developing management actions to reduce threats. Amphibians are one of the most threatened taxa on earth and often serve as the ‘canary in the coalmine’ for the health of ecosystems that countless other species and humans rely on. To...
Authors
Amanda Marie Kissel, Erin L. Muths, Mae Lacey, Viorel D. Popescu, Marissa Dyck, Caitlin Littlefield