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: 42710
Potential impacts of future urbanization and sea level rise on Florida’s natural resources Potential impacts of future urbanization and sea level rise on Florida’s natural resources
As urban development continues to encroach into natural systems, these ecosystems experience increasing degradation to their form and function. Losses in biodiversity and ecosystem function are further compounded by changing climatic conditions. The State of Florida is known for its biodiversity but has experienced declines in species populations and habitats because of urbanization and...
Authors
Stephanie Romanach, Allison Benscoter, Saira Haider
Post-release monitoring of a stranded and rehabilitated short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) reveals current-assisted travel Post-release monitoring of a stranded and rehabilitated short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) reveals current-assisted travel
A subadult female short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus), stranded on the northeastern Gulf of Mexico coast of Florida in June 2017, was rehabilitated for 38 days and then monitored with a satellite-linked, time-depth recording tag for 32 days after being released off the West Florida Shelf. The individual, “Gale,” appeared to regularly use ocean currents to facilitate a
Authors
Reny B Tyson Moore, David C. Douglas, Hendrik H. Nollens, Randall S. Wells
Life-history plasticity and water-use trade-offs associated with drought resistance in a clade of California jewelflowers Life-history plasticity and water-use trade-offs associated with drought resistance in a clade of California jewelflowers
Water limitation is a primary driver of plant geographic distributions and individual plant fitness. Drought resistance is the ability to survive and reproduce despite limited water, and numerous studies have explored its physiological basis in plants. However, it is unclear how drought resistance and trade-offs associated with drought resistance evolve within plant clades. We quantified...
Authors
Ian S. Pearse, Jessica Aguilar, Sharon Strauss
A modeling workflow that balances automation and human intervention to inform invasive plant management decisions at multiple spatial scales A modeling workflow that balances automation and human intervention to inform invasive plant management decisions at multiple spatial scales
Predictions of habitat suitability for invasive plant species can guide risk assessments at regional and national scales and inform early detection and rapid-response strategies at local scales. We present a general approach to invasive species modeling and mapping that meets objectives at multiple scales. Our methodology is designed to balance trade-offs between developing highly...
Authors
Nicholas E. Young, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Helen Sofaer, Ian S. Pearse, Julia Sullivan, Peder Engelstad, Thomas J. Stohlgren
Predicting barrier island habitats and oyster and seagrass habitat suitability for various restoration measures and future conditions for Dauphin Island, Alabama Predicting barrier island habitats and oyster and seagrass habitat suitability for various restoration measures and future conditions for Dauphin Island, Alabama
Barrier islands, such as Dauphin Island, Alabama, provide numerous invaluable ecosystem services including storm damage reduction and erosion control to the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, carbon sequestration in marshes, water catchment and purification, recreation, and tourism. These islands are dynamic environments that are gradually shaped by currents, waves, and tides under...
Assessing population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife Assessing population-level consequences of anthropogenic stressors for terrestrial wildlife
Human activity influences wildlife. However, the ecological and conservation significances of these influences are difficult to predict and depend on their population‐level consequences. This difficulty arises partly because of information gaps, and partly because the data on stressors are usually collected in a count‐based manner (e.g., number of dead animals) that is difficult to...
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Melissa A. Braham, Tara Conkling, James E. Diffendorfer, Adam E. Duerr, Scott R. Loss, David M. Nelson, Hannah B. Vander Zanden, Julie L. Yee
Climate change can drive marine diseases Climate change can drive marine diseases
As an ultimate driver of marine ecosystem processes, climate change is expected to influence proximate disease drivers in marine systems. The observable effects of climate change, including changes in temperature, hypoxia, CO2 accumulation, precipitation, and storm and cyclone frequencies and intensities, may directly act as proximate drivers of marine disease, especially in...
Authors
Colleen A Burge, Paul Hershberger
Disease can shape marine ecosystems Disease can shape marine ecosystems
This chapter reviews how marine ecosystems respond to parasites. Evidence from several marine ecosystems shows that parasites can wield control over ecosystem structure, function, and dynamics by regulating host density and phenotype. Like predators, parasites can generate or modify trophic cascades, regulate important foundational species and ecosystem engineers, and mediate species...
Authors
Joseph P Morton, Brian R Silliman, Kevin D. Lafferty
Parasites in marine food webs Parasites in marine food webs
Parasites have important and unique impacts on marine food webs. By infecting taxa across all trophic levels, parasites affect both bottom-up and top-down processes in marine systems. When host densities are high enough, parasites can regulate or even decimate their populations, causing regime shifts in marine systems. As consumers and resources, parasites are enmeshed in food webs in...
Authors
John P. McLaughlin, Dana N. Morton, Kevin D. Lafferty
Soil biogeochemical responses of a tropical forest to warming and hurricane disturbance Soil biogeochemical responses of a tropical forest to warming and hurricane disturbance
Tropical forests represent 50% of the planets species and play a disproportionately large role in determining climate due to the vast amounts of carbon they store and exchange with the atmosphere. Currently, disturbance patterns in tropical ecosystems are changing due to factors such as increased land use pressure and an occurrence of hurricanes. At the same time, these regions are...
Authors
Sasha C. Reed, Robin H. Reibold, Molly A. Cavaleri, Aura M. Alonso-Rodriguez, Megan E. Berberich, Tana E. Wood
Storm impacts on phytoplankton community dynamics in lakes Storm impacts on phytoplankton community dynamics in lakes
In many regions across the globe, extreme weather events such as storms have increased in frequency, intensity, and duration due to climate change. Ecological theory predicts that such extreme events should have large impacts on ecosystem structure and function. High winds and precipitation associated with storms can affect lakes via short‐term runoff events from watersheds and physical...
Authors
Jason D. Stockwell, Jonathan P. Doubek, Rita Adrian, Orlane Anneville, Cayelan C. Carey, Laurence Carvalho, Marieke A. Frassl, Lisette N. De Senerpont Domis, Gael Dur, Bas W Ibelings, Hans-Peter Grossart, Marc J. Lajeunesse, Aleksandra M. Lewandowska, Maria E. Llames, Shin-Ichiro S. Matsuzaki, Emily Nodine, Peeter Noges, Vijay P. Patil, Francesco Pomati, Karsten Rinke, Lars G. Rudstam, James A. Rusak, Nico Salmaso, Christian T. Seltmann, Dietmar Straile, Stephen J. Thackeray, Wim Thiery, Pablo Urrutia-Cordero, Patrick Venail, Piet Verburg, R. Iestyn Woolway, Tamar Zohary, Mikkel R. Andersen, Ruchi Bhattacharya, J. Hejzlar, Nasime Janatian, Alfred T. N. K. Kpodonu, Tanner J. Williamson, Harriet Wilson
Standard operating procedures for wild horse and burro double-observer aerial surveys Standard operating procedures for wild horse and burro double-observer aerial surveys
The U.S. Geological Survey has been collaborating with the Bureau of Land Management to develop statistically reliable methods for wild horse and burro aerial survey data collection and analysis for more than a decade. In cooperation with Colorado State University, the U.S. Geological Survey tested several methods in herds with known abundance, resulting in two scientifically defensible...
Authors
Paul C. Griffin, L. Stefan Ekernas, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Bruce C. Lubow