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: 42789
Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Middle San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, southern California—2021 Data summary Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Middle San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, southern California—2021 Data summary
Executive Summary We surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; vireo) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) along the San Luis Rey River, between College Boulevard in Oceanside and Interstate 15 in Fallbrook, California (middle San Luis Rey River), in 2021. Surveys were conducted from April 13 to July 14 (vireo) and from May 18 to...
Authors
Lisa D. Allen, Barbara E. Kus
Parasites in kelp-forest food webs increase food-chain length, complexity, and specialization, but reduce connectance Parasites in kelp-forest food webs increase food-chain length, complexity, and specialization, but reduce connectance
We explored whether parasites are important in kelp forests by examining their effects on a high-quality, high-resolution kelp-forest food web. After controlling for generic effects of network size, parasites affected kelp-forest food web structure in some ways consistent with other systems. Parasites increased the trophic span of the web, increasing top predator vulnerability and the...
Authors
Dana N. Morton, Kevin D. Lafferty
North American tree migration paced by climate in the West, lagging in the East North American tree migration paced by climate in the West, lagging in the East
Tree fecundity and recruitment have not yet been quantified at scales needed to anticipate biogeographic shifts in response to climate change. By separating their responses, this study shows coherence across species and communities, offering the strongest support to date that migration is in progress with regional limitations on rates. The southeastern continent emerges as a fecundity...
Authors
Shubhi Sharma, Robert Andrus, Yves Bergeron, Michal Bogdziewicz, Don C. Bragg, Dale G. Brockway, Natalie L. Cleavitt, Benoit Courbaud, Adrian Das, Michael Dietze, Timothy J. Fahey, Jerry F. Franklin, Gilbert S. Gregory, Cathryn H. Greenberg, Qinfeng Guo, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Ines Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Christopher L. Kilner, Johannes M. H. Knops, Walter D. Koenig, Georges Kunstler, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Diana Macias, Emily V. Moran, Jonathan A. Myers, Robert Parmenter, Ian Pearse, Renata Poulton-Kamakura, Miranda D. Redmond, Chantal D. Reid, Kyle C. Rodman, C. Lane Scher, William H. Schlesinger, Michael A. Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jennifer J. Swenson, Margaret Swift, Thomas T. Veblen, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, Andreas P. Wion, Christopher W. Woodall, Roman Zlotin, James S. Clark
Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate Biocrusts mediate a new mechanism for land degradation under a changing climate
Global concerns for desertification have focused on the slow recovery of extensive and expanding drylands following disturbance, which may be exacerbated by climate change. Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are photosynthetic soil communities found in drylands worldwide, which are central to the stability and resilience of dryland ecosystems, but vulnerable to global change. Here we use...
Authors
Michala Lee Phillips, Brandon E McNellis, Armin J. Howell, Cara Marie Lauria, Jayne Belnap, Sasha C. Reed
Species-specific responses to landscape features shaped genomic structure within Alaska galliformes Species-specific responses to landscape features shaped genomic structure within Alaska galliformes
Aim Connectivity is vital to the resiliency of populations to environmental change and stochastic events, especially for cold-adapted species as Arctic and alpine tundra habitats retract as the climate warms. We examined the influence of past and current landscapes on genomic connectivity in cold-adapted galliformes as a critical first step to assess the vulnerability of Alaska ptarmigan...
Authors
Sarah A. Sonsthagen, Robert E. Wilson, Sandra L. Talbot
Analytical assessments in support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 3-bat species status assessment Analytical assessments in support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 3-bat species status assessment
Beginning in February of 2020, researchers and staff of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Bat Conservation International (BCI), Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Montana State University associated with the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) collaborated with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to provide technical assistance in...
Stoneflies in the genus Lednia (Plecoptera: Nemouridae): Sentinels of climate change impacts on mountain stream biodiversity Stoneflies in the genus Lednia (Plecoptera: Nemouridae): Sentinels of climate change impacts on mountain stream biodiversity
Rapid recession of glaciers and snowfields is threatening the habitats of cold-water biodiversity worldwide. In many ice-sourced headwaters of western North America, stoneflies in the genus Lednia (Plecoptera: Nemouridae) are a prominent member of the invertebrate community. With a broad distribution in mountain streams and close ties to declining glacier cover, Lednia has emerged as a...
Authors
Matthew D. Green, Lusha M. Tronstad, J. Joseph Giersch, Alisha A. Shah, Candace E. Fallon, Emilie Blevins, Taylor Kai, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Debra S. Finn, Scott Hotaling
Examination of the interaction between age-specific predation and chronic disease in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Examination of the interaction between age-specific predation and chronic disease in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Predators may create healthier prey populations by selectively removing diseased individuals. Predators typically prefer some ages of prey over others, which may, or may not, align with those prey ages that are most likely to be diseased.The interaction of age-specific infection and predation has not been previously explored and likely has sizable effects on disease dynamics. We...
Authors
Ellen E. Brandell, Paul C. Cross, Douglas W. Smith, William J. Rogers, Nathan L. Galloway, Daniel R. MacNulty, Daniel R. Stahler, John J. Treanor, Peter J. Hudson
Protocol for installing and monitoring a RestoreNet restoration field trial network site Protocol for installing and monitoring a RestoreNet restoration field trial network site
RestoreNet is an ecological restoration experiment that is networked across multiple sites, spanning dryland ecosystems in the southwestern United States. The experiment is organized and led by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest (RAMPS). This protocol functions to provide guidance to additional partners on how to set up a...
Authors
Katherine M. Laushman, Molly L. McCormick, Seth M. Munson, Kathleen R. Balazs, Bradley J. Butterfield
Introduction: Climate change in the mountains of Maine and the Northeast Introduction: Climate change in the mountains of Maine and the Northeast
No abstract available.
Authors
Sarah Nelson, Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie, Toni Lyn Morelli, Jay Wason, Bryan Wentzell, Rachel A. Hovel, Glenn A. Hodgkins, Abe J. Miller-Rushing, David Miller, Steve Tatko, Amanda Cross, Mike Pounch
Disease and secondary sexual traits: Effects of pneumonia on horn size of bighorn sheep Disease and secondary sexual traits: Effects of pneumonia on horn size of bighorn sheep
Secondary sexual traits (e.g., horns and antlers) have ecological and evolutionary importance and are of management interest for game species. Yet, how these traits respond to emerging threats like infectious disease remains underexplored. Infectious pneumonia threatens bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) populations across North America and we hypothesized it may also reduce horn growth in...
Authors
Alynn Martin, John T. Hogg, Kezia R. Manlove, Tayler N LaSharr, Justin M. Shannon, Douglas E. McWhirter, Hollie Miyasaki, Kevin L. Monteith, Paul C. Cross
Multi-species amphibian monitoring across a protected landscape: Critical reflections on 15 years of wetland monitoring in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks Multi-species amphibian monitoring across a protected landscape: Critical reflections on 15 years of wetland monitoring in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks
Widespread amphibian declines were well documented at the end of the 20th century, raising concerns about the need to identify individual and interactive contributors to this global trend. At the same time, there was growing interest in the use of amphibians as ecological indicators. In the United States, wetland and amphibian monitoring programs were launched in some national parks as a...
Authors
Andrew M. Ray, Blake R. Hossack, William R. Gould, Debra A. Patla, Stephen Frank Spear, Robert W. Klaver, Paul E Bartelt, David P. Thoma, Kristin L Legg, Rob Daley, Charles R Peterson, P S Corn