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: 42863
Living with wildfire in West Vail, Eagle County, Colorado: 2022 data report Living with wildfire in West Vail, Eagle County, Colorado: 2022 data report
Community wildfire readiness includes homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and wildfire evacuation preparedness. This report presents results from a household survey distributed to 725 households in West Vail, Colorado in 2022. Results indicate that West Vail survey respondents may not fully understand the risk of damage or property loss due to a wildfire and may benefit from further...
Authors
Colleen Donovan, Patricia A. Champ, Suzanne Wittenbrink, Paul Cada, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, James R. Meldrum, Christopher M. Barth, Carolyn Wagner, Chiara Forrester, Julia Goolsby
Living with wildfire in Chelan County Fire District #3, Chelan County, Washington: 2022 data report Living with wildfire in Chelan County Fire District #3, Chelan County, Washington: 2022 data report
Community wildfire readiness includes homeowner wildfire risk mitigation and wildfire evacuation preparedness. In 2021 and 2022, the Wildfire Research (WiRē) Center partnered with Chelan County Fire District #3 (CCFD #3) to learn how CCFD #3 can effectively engage with residents about preparing for a wildfire event and mitigating wildfire risk around the home. The CCFD #3 residents were...
Authors
Suzanne Wittenbrink, Colleen Donovan, Julia Goolsby, Patricia A. Champ, Dave Nalle, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, James R. Meldrum, Christopher M. Barth, Carolyn Wagner, Chiara Forrester
Angler dynamics in the St. Clair-Detroit River System after decades of change Angler dynamics in the St. Clair-Detroit River System after decades of change
Habitat and water quality were historically degraded within the St. Clair-Detroit River System (SCDRS). Beginning in 2004, extensive habitat restoration projects were implemented remediating losses of fish spawning beds and shoreline areas. Monitoring of post-restoration activities documented recovering fish populations; however, angler response remains unknown. Extensive creel surveys...
Authors
Dana Castle, T. Galarowitz, Edward Roseman, T. Claramunt, J. Chiotti, R. Dvorak
Lake Ontario spring prey fish bottom trawl survey and Alewife assessment, 2025 Lake Ontario spring prey fish bottom trawl survey and Alewife assessment, 2025
The multi-agency Lake Ontario spring prey fish survey quantifies changes in pelagic prey fish populations, in particular Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, which are the primary prey supporting the lake’s sport fishes. The 2025 survey included 230 trawls in the main lake and embayments and sampled depths from 5.5 to 245 m (15 – 810 ft). The survey captured 504,541 fish from 33 species with a...
Authors
Brian Weidel, Jessica Goretzke, Jeremy P. Holden, Emma Bloomfield, Scott David Stahl, Olivia Margaret Mitchinson, Brian O’Malley, Nicole Lynn Berry, Katie Victoria Anweiler, Amanda Susanne Ackiss
Paralytic shellfish toxins and seabirds: Evaluating sublethal effects, behavioral responses, and ecological implications of saxitoxin ingestion by common murres (Uria aalge) Paralytic shellfish toxins and seabirds: Evaluating sublethal effects, behavioral responses, and ecological implications of saxitoxin ingestion by common murres (Uria aalge)
Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), including saxitoxin (STX) and its congeners, are neurotoxins that can be produced during harmful algal blooms and cause illness or death in humans, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Since 2014, multiple large-scale seabird mortality events have occurred in Alaska waters, with STXs detected in some carcasses. To investigate the sublethal behavioral and
Authors
Matthew M. Smith, Robert J. Dusek, Tuula E. Hollmen, Sarah K. Schoen, Caroline R. Van Hemert, Kristen Steinmetzer, Aidan Lee, Jenna Schlenner, Vijay P. Patil, D. Ransom Hardison, David Kulis, Donald M. Anderson, Clark D. Ridge, Sherwood Hall
Assessing the potential for evaluation of wildland fire models using remotely sensed data—Summary proceedings from a U.S. Geological Survey workshop in 2024 Assessing the potential for evaluation of wildland fire models using remotely sensed data—Summary proceedings from a U.S. Geological Survey workshop in 2024
On September 19, 2024, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) held a virtual workshop titled “Potential for Evaluation of Fire Models with Remote Sensing Data Workshop” to assess the feasibility of using remotely sensed datasets to evaluate next-generation wildland fire behavior models. Remote sensing and fire modelling experts gathered to: (1) assess the suitability of a variety of...
Authors
Sophie R. Bonner, Kurtis Nelson, Peter G. Rinkleff, Chad M. Hoffman, Paul F. Steblein
Pyrethroid insecticides implicated in mass mortality of monarch butterflies at an overwintering site in California Pyrethroid insecticides implicated in mass mortality of monarch butterflies at an overwintering site in California
Since the 1980s, monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus plexippus) populations across North America have declined by 80–95%. Although several studies have implicated pesticides as a contributing factor to their population declines, our understanding of monarch exposure levels in nature remains limited. In January 2024, a mass mortality event near an overwintering site in Pacific Grove...
Authors
Staci Cibotti, Michelle L. Hladik, Emily May, Emma Pelton, Timothy Bargar, Natalie Johnston, Aimee Code
Catalyzing change: A literature review on the implementation of the Nature Futures Framework Catalyzing change: A literature review on the implementation of the Nature Futures Framework
The Nature Futures Framework (NFF), developed under the Intergovernmental Science–Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), serves as a catalyst for advancing new scenarios and models focused on biodiversity and ecosystem services within the broader research community. In particular, the framework facilitates the development of scenarios and models that can help...
Authors
Sana Okayasu, Jan J. Kuiper, Ghassen Halouani, HyeJin Kim, Brian W. Miller, America Paz Duran, Vermeer Angelique, Machteld Schoolenberg, Shizuka Hashimoto, Carolyn J. Lundquist
Isotopic niche plasticity of American alligators within the southern Everglades Isotopic niche plasticity of American alligators within the southern Everglades
Hydrologic alterations within the Everglades have degraded American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) habitat, reduced prey base, and increased physiological stress. Alligator body condition declined across many management areas from 2000 through 2014, prompting us to investigate the relationship between their intraspecific isotopic niche dynamics and body condition. Alligators...
Authors
Mathew Denton, Michael Cherkiss, Frank J. Mazzotti, Laura A. Brandt, Sidney T. Godfrey, Darren Johnson, Kristen Hart
Photodegradation of lignocellulose in plant litter – Reinterpreting data from Méndez et al. (2022) Photodegradation of lignocellulose in plant litter – Reinterpreting data from Méndez et al. (2022)
No abstract available.
Authors
Daryl L. Moorhead, Katherine E.O. Todd-Brown, Alexi C. Besser, Dellena Evelyn Bloom, Ashley Bonner, Alejandro Cueva, Thomas C. Ingalls, Jiwei Li, Sasha C. Reed, Isabel Torres, Heather L. Throop
Using public participatory geographic information systems (PPGIS) to explore uses and values for Mojave Trails National Monument, California Using public participatory geographic information systems (PPGIS) to explore uses and values for Mojave Trails National Monument, California
Many people ascribe a variety of values to public lands and waters, but some values are more difficult to assess and quantify than others. Public participatory geographic information systems (PPGIS) are tools that have been used to help quantify and map the public’s diverse values for a landscape. This work describes the first known Office of Management and Budget–approved use of PPGIS...
Authors
Emily J. Wilkins, Sarah M. Lindley, Karla Rogers, Rudy Schuster, Mark T. Hannon, Parker T. Rowland, Michael J. Runnels
Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes Permafrost–wildfire interactions: active layer thickness estimates for paired burned and unburned sites in northern high latitudes
As the northern high-latitude permafrost zone experiences accelerated warming, permafrost has become vulnerable to widespread thaw. Simultaneously, wildfire activity across northern boreal forest and Arctic/subarctic tundra regions impacts permafrost stability through the combustion of insulating organic matter, vegetation, and post-fire changes in albedo. Efforts to synthesis the...
Authors
Anna Talucci, Michael M. Loranty, Jean E. Holloway, Brendan M. Rogers, Heather D. Alexander, Natalie Baillargeon, Jennifer L. Baltzer, Logan T. Berner, Amy Breen, Leya Brodt, Brian Buma, Jacqueline Dean, Clement J.F. Delcourt, Lucas R. Diaz, Catherine M. Dieleman, Thomas A. Douglas, Gerald Frost, Benjamin V. Gaglioti, Rebecca E. Hewitt, Teresa N. Hollingsworth, M. Torre Jorenson, Mark J. Lara, Rachel A. Loehman, Michelle C. Mack, Kristen L. Manies, Christina Minions, Susan M. Natali, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, David Olefeldt, Alison K. Paulson, Adrian V. Rocha, Lisa B. Saperstein, T.A. Shestakova, Seeta Sistla, Oleg Sizov, Andrey Soromotin, Merritt R. Turetksy, Sander Veraverbeke, Michelle A. Walvoord