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: 42905
Monitoring and conservation of Japanese Murrelets and related seabirds in Japan Monitoring and conservation of Japanese Murrelets and related seabirds in Japan
Of the 24 species in the Auk (or Alcidae) family of seabirds living in the northern hemisphere, 22 reside within the North Pacific Ocean. These “penguins of the north” use their small wings to “fly” underwater, some to more than 200 meters, where they catch and eat a variety of small fish and invertebrates. In terms of sheer numbers (>65 million) and food consumption, the Auks dominate...
Authors
John F. Piatt, S Kim Nelson, Harry R. Carter
Sturgeon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed: new insights to support conservation and management Sturgeon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed: new insights to support conservation and management
The goal of a day-long symposium on March 3, 2015, Sturgeon in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Watershed: New Insights to Support Conservation and Management, was to present new information about the physiology, behavior, and ecology of the green (Acipenser medirostris) and white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) to help guide enhanced management and conservation efforts within the...
Authors
A Peter Klimley, Eric D Chapman, J. J. Cech Jr, Dennis E. Cocherell, Nann A. Fangue, Marty Gingras, Zachary Jackson, Emily A Miller, Ethan A. Mora, Jamilynn B Poletto, Andrea M Schreier, Alicia Seesholtz, Kenneth J. Sulak, Michael J. Thomas, David J.A. Woodbury, Megan T. Wyman
Future directions in sea otter research and management Future directions in sea otter research and management
The conservation and management of sea otters has benefited from a dedicated research effort over the past 60 years enabling this species to recover from a few thousand in the early 20th century to about 150,000 today. Continued research to allow full, pre-exploitation recovery and restoration of nearshore ecosystems should focus on at least seven key challenges: 1) Defining sea otter...
Authors
Randall W. Davis, James L. Bodkin, Heather A. Coletti, Daniel Monson, Shawn E. Larson, Lilian P. Carswell, Linda M. Nichol
Fisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2017 Fisheries research and monitoring activities of the Lake Erie Biological Station, 2017
This report presents biomass-based summaries of fish communities in western Lake Erie derived from USGS bottom trawl surveys from 2013 to 2017 during June and September. The survey design provided temporal and spatial coverage that does not exist in the interagency trawl database, and thus complemented the August Ohio-Ontario effort to reinforce stock assessments with more robust data...
Authors
Kevin R. Keretz, Patrick Kocovsky, Richard T. Kraus, Christopher Vandergoot
Status and trends of pelagic prey fish in Lake Huron, 2017 Status and trends of pelagic prey fish in Lake Huron, 2017
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Great Lakes Science Center conducted integrated acoustic and mid-water trawl surveys of Lake Huron in 1997 and annually from 2004-2017. The 2017 survey was conducted during September and included transects in Lake Huron’s main basin, Georgian Bay, and North Channel. Mean lake-wide pelagic fish density was 1582 fish/ha and mean pelagic fish...
Authors
Timothy P. O’Brien, David M. Warner, Peter C. Esselman, Steve A. Farha, Steve Lenart, Chris Olds, Kristy Phillips
Climate change science and modeling Climate change science and modeling
This chapter provides a brief background on climate change science, climate simulation models, and models that project the impacts of changes in climate on tree species and ecosystems. Throughout the chapter, boxes list resources for more information on each topic. A more detailed scientific review of climate change science, trends, and modeling can be found in the Intergovernmental...
Authors
Patricia R. Butler-Leopold, Louis R. Iverson, Frank R. Thompson III, Leslie A. Brandt, Stephen D. Handler, Maria K. Janowiak, P. Danielle Shannon, Christopher W. Swanston, Scott Bearer, Alexander Bryan, Kenneth L. Clark, Greg Czarnecki, Philip DeSenze, William D. Dijak, Jacob S. Fraser, Paul F. Gugger, Andrea Hille, Justin Hynicka, Claire A. Jantz, Matthew C. Kelly, Katrina M. Krause, Inga P. La Puma, Deborah Landau, Richard G. Lathrop, Laura P. Leites, Evan Madlinger, Stephen N. Matthews, Gulnihal Ozbay, Matthew P. Peters, Anantha Prasad, David A. Schmit, Collin Shephard, Rebecca Shirer, Nicholas S. Skowronski, Al Steele, Susan Stout, Melissa Thomas-Van Gundy, John Thompson, Richard M. Turcotte, David A. Weinstein, Alfonso Yanez
Efficacy of injectable tulathromycin for reduction of vertical transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum in Spring Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha Efficacy of injectable tulathromycin for reduction of vertical transmission of Renibacterium salmoninarum in Spring Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) caused by Renibacterium salmoninarum (Rs) occurs nearly worldwide where wild or cultured salmonid fishes are present. Control of BKD is confounded by its two modes of transmission, horizontal (fish-to-fish) and vertical (from female parent to progeny via the eggs). A highly successful BKD control strategy employed in Pacific Northwest hatcheries culturing...
Authors
Diane Elliott
Basin-scale model for predicting marsh edge erosion Basin-scale model for predicting marsh edge erosion
Recent attempts to relate marsh edge retreat rate to wave power have met varying levels of success. Schwimmer (2001) correlated wave power to marsh boundary retreat rates over a five-year period along sites within Rehoboth Bay, Delaware, USA. Marani et al. (2011) derived a linear relationship between volumetric retreat rate and mean wave power density using Buckingham’s theorem of...
Authors
Navid H. Jafari, Qin J. Chen, Brady Couvillion, Cody L. Johnson, Thomas Everett
Historical and projected climate in the northern Rockies Region Historical and projected climate in the northern Rockies Region
Climate influences the ecosystem services we obtain from forest and rangelands. Climate is described by the long-term characteristics of precipitation, temperature, wind, snowfall, and other measures of weather that occur over a long period in a particular place, and is typically expressed as long-term average conditions. Resource management practices are implemented day-to-day in...
Authors
Linda A. Joyce, Marian Talbert, Darrin Sharp, Jeffrey T. Morisette, John J. Stevenson
Describing the distribution and productivity of biota along a nearshore to offshore gradient Describing the distribution and productivity of biota along a nearshore to offshore gradient
The Lake Michigan Lakewide Action and Management Plan (LAMP) proposed adding nutrients (phosphorus) to its “pollutant of concern” list in 2002, given that excessive nutrients were causing impairments in nearshore waters. Since that time, scientists have highlighted the “shunting” of nutrients to the nearshore (Hecky et al. 2004), owing to the ability of invasive dreissenid mussels to...
Authors
David B. Bunnell, Patricia M. Dieter, David M. Warner, Lauren A. Eaton, Drew Eppehimer
Population trends of birds wintering in the Central Valley of California Population trends of birds wintering in the Central Valley of California
Since the 1970s, the Central Valley of California has seen a large investment in preservation and restoration of wetlands and riparian areas. At the same time, grasslands have been lost to vineyards, orchards, and residential development at an accelerating rate. We analyzed data from 17 Christmas Bird Count circles that were surveyed regularly between winter 1978–79 and winter 2013–14 to...
Authors
Edward R Pandolfino, Colleen M. Handel
Perspectives and challenges for the use of radar in biological conservation Perspectives and challenges for the use of radar in biological conservation
Radar is at the forefront for the study of broad‐scale aerial movements of birds, bats and insects and related issues in biological conservation. Radar techniques are especially useful for investigating species which fly at high altitudes, in darkness, or which are too small for applying electronic tags. Here, we present an overview of radar applications in biological conservation and...
Authors
Ommo Huppop, Michal Ciach, Robert H. Diehl, Don Reynolds, Phillip Stepanian, Myles Menz