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: 42878
The transformative impact of genomics on sage-grouse conservation and management The transformative impact of genomics on sage-grouse conservation and management
For over two decades, genetic studies have been used to assist in the conservation and management of both Greater Sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and Gunnison Sage-grouse (C. minimus), addressing a wide variety of topics including taxonomy, parentage, population connectivity, and demography. The field of conservation genetics has been transformed by dramatic improvements in...
Authors
Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Kevin P Oh, Shawna J Zimmerman, Cameron L. Aldridge
Use of visual surveys and radiotelemetry reveals sources of detection bias for a cryptic snake at low densities Use of visual surveys and radiotelemetry reveals sources of detection bias for a cryptic snake at low densities
Transect surveys are frequently used to estimate distribution and abundance of species across a landscape, yet a proportion of individuals present will be missed because either they were out of view and unavailable for detection or they were available but not detected because the surveyors missed them. These situations lead to availability and perception bias, respectively, and can...
Authors
SM Boback, Melia G. Nafus, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Robert Reed
The lead (Pb) lining of agriculture‐related subsidies: enhanced Golden Eagle growth rates tempered by Pb exposure The lead (Pb) lining of agriculture‐related subsidies: enhanced Golden Eagle growth rates tempered by Pb exposure
Supplementary food resources (e.g., subsidies) associated with agriculture can benefit wildlife species, increasing predictability and availability of food. Avian scavengers including raptors often utilize subsidies associated with both recreational hunting and pest shooting on agricultural lands. However, these subsidies can contain lead (Pb) fragments if they are culled with Pb‐based...
Authors
Garth Herring, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Jeremy A. Buck, Alyssa E. Shiel, Chris R. Vennum, Colleen Emery, Branden L. Johnson, David Leal, Julie A. Heath, Benjamin M Dudek, Charles R. Preston, Brian Woodbridge
Using thermal infrared cameras to detect avian chicks at various distances and vegetative coverages Using thermal infrared cameras to detect avian chicks at various distances and vegetative coverages
Population monitoring of nesting waterbirds often involves frequent entries into the colony, but alternative methods such as local remotely sensed thermal imaging may help reduce disturbance while providing a cost-effective way to survey breeding populations. Such an approach can have high initial costs, however, which may have reduced the number of studies investigating functionality of...
Authors
Diann Prosser, Tom Collier, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Katherine Emily Dale, Carl R. Callahan, Peter C. McGowan, Edward Gaylord, Julia M. Geschke, Lucas Howell, Paul R. Marban, Saba Raman
Alpine plant community diversity in species-area relations at fine scale Alpine plant community diversity in species-area relations at fine scale
Observations of diversity in alpine vegetation appear to be scale dependent. The relations of plant species richness with surface processes and geomorphology have been studied, but patterns of beta diversity are less known. In Glacier National Park, Montana, diversity has been examined within 1 m2 plots and for 16 m2 plots across two ranges, with within-plot and across-range explanatory...
Authors
George P. Malanson, Emma L Nelson, Dale L. Zimmerman, Daniel B. Fagre
Kelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California: Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, Fourth Annual Report Kelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California: Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, Fourth Annual Report
To assess and track changes to the rocky subtidal communities surrounding San Nicolas Island, the U.S. Navy entered into an agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2014 to conduct an ecological monitoring program at several sites around the island. Four permanent sites—Nav Fac 100, West End, Dutch Harbor, and Daytona 100—were established. The sites were based on ones that had...
Authors
Michael C. Kenner, Joseph A. Tomoleoni
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—2019 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—2019 data summary
We surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; vireo) along the San Luis Rey River, between College Boulevard in Oceanside and Interstate 15 in Fallbrook, California (middle San Luis Rey River), in 2019, and we surveyed and conducted nest monitoring for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) in a survey area where breeding had historically...
Authors
Lisa D. Allen, Barbara E. Kus
Investigating maternity roost selection by northern long-eared bats at three sites in Wisconsin Investigating maternity roost selection by northern long-eared bats at three sites in Wisconsin
One of the North American bat species most impacted by white-nose syndrome (WNS) is the northern long-eared bat Myotis septentrionalis, which as a result has been listed under the Endangered Species Act. WNS was first detected in Wisconsin in 2014. Unfortunately, little is known regarding the ecology of M. septentrionalis in this state pre-WNS to guide management supporting post-WNS...
Authors
Brenna A. Hyzy, Robin E. Russell, Alex Silvis, W. Mark Ford, Jason Riddle, Kevin Russell
Amphibian chytrid prevalence on boreal toads in SE Alaska and NW British Columbia: Tests of habitat, life stages, and temporal trends Amphibian chytrid prevalence on boreal toads in SE Alaska and NW British Columbia: Tests of habitat, life stages, and temporal trends
Tracking and understanding variation in pathogens such as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ([Bd]), which causes amphibian chytridiomycosis and has caused population declines globally, is a priority for many land managers. However, there has been relatively little sampling of amphibian communities at high latitudes. We used skin swabs collected during 2005–2017 from boreal toads (Anaxyrus...
Authors
Blake R. Hossack, Michael J. Adams, R Ken Honeycutt, Jami J Belt, S Pyare
Effects of elevated sea levels and waves on southern California estuaries during the 2015–2016 El Niño Effects of elevated sea levels and waves on southern California estuaries during the 2015–2016 El Niño
The 2015–2016 El Niño provided insight into how low-inflow estuaries might respond to future climate regimes, including high sea levels and more intense waves. High waves and water levels coupled with low rainfall along the Southern California coastline provided the opportunity to examine how extreme ocean forcing impacts estuaries independently from fluvial events. From November 2015 to...
Authors
Madeleine Harvey, Sarah N Giddings, Eric D. Stein, Jeffrey A Crooks, Christine R Whitcraft, Timu W. Gallien, John L. Largier, Liesl Tiefenthaler, Hallee Meltzer, Geno Pawlak, Karen M. Thorne, Karina Johnston, Richard F. Ambrose, Stephen C Schroeter, Henry M. Page, Hany Elwany
Is your ad hoc model selection strategy affecting your multimodel inference? Is your ad hoc model selection strategy affecting your multimodel inference?
(Yackulic) 1. Ecologists routinely fit complex models with multiple parameters of interest, where hundreds or more competing models are plausible. To limit the number of fitted models, ecologists often define a model selection strategy composed of a series of stages in which certain features of a model are compared while other features are held constant. Defining these multi-stage...
Authors
Dana J. Morin, Charles B. Yackulic, James E. Diffendorfer, Damon B. Lesmeister, Clayton Nielsen, Janice Reid, Eric M. Schauber
Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016 Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016
About 62,000 dead or dying common murres (Uria aalge), the trophically dominant fish-eating seabird of the North Pacific, washed ashore between summer 2015 and spring 2016 on beaches from California to Alaska. Most birds were severely emaciated and, so far, no evidence for anything other than starvation was found to explain this mass mortality. Three-quarters of murres were found in the...
Authors
John F. Piatt, Julia K. Parrish, Heather M. Renner, Sarah K. Schoen, Timothy Jones, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Kathy J. Kuletz, Barbara L. Bodenstein, Marisol Garcia-Reyes, Rebecca Duerr, Robin Corcoran, Robb S.A. Kaler, Gerard J. McChesney, Richard T. Golightly, Heather A. Coletti, Robert M. Suryan, Hillary K. Burgess, Jackie Lindsey, Kirsten Lindquist, Peter Warzybok, Jaime Jahncke, Jan Roletto, William J. Sydeman