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: 42999
Nuisance Neonatives Guidelines for Assessing Range-Shifting Species Nuisance Neonatives Guidelines for Assessing Range-Shifting Species
Native species will need to shift their ranges northward and upslope to keep pace with climate change in the Northeast U.S. However, this may cause some range-shifting species to have undesirable consequences in their expanded range. We provide a framework to identify the likelihood that a range-shifting species will become problematic and offer suggestions to minimize impacts from these...
Authors
Brittany B. Laginhas, Toni Lyn Morelli, Audrey Barker-Plotkin, Evelyn M. Beaury, Elsa Cousins, Sydni Joubran, Michael Nelson, Sam Talbot, Bethany A. Bradley
Standardized guide to the examination and necropsy of the horseshoe crab using Limulus polyphemus as Limulidae prototype Standardized guide to the examination and necropsy of the horseshoe crab using Limulus polyphemus as Limulidae prototype
The Atlantic, or American, horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) has existed largely unchanged for over 100 million years. Millions of individuals are commonly observed ashore in spring and summer months during spawning events along the entire North American coastline expanding from the East to the Gulf coasts of the United States and Mexico. Other species can be found in the Indian and...
Authors
Katie Roorda, Jill Arnold, Carol Meteyer, Brent Whitaker
Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 19 Report) Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 19 Report)
A primary focus of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) Colorado Plateau Native Plant Program (CPNPP) is to identify and develop appropriate native plant materials (NPMs) for current and future restoration projects. Multiple efforts have characterized the myriad challenges inherent in providing appropriate seed resources to enable effective, widespread restoration and have identified...
Authors
Robert Massatti, Daniel E. Winkler, Sasha C. Reed, Michael C. Duniway, Seth M. Munson, John B. Bradford
Bug flows: Don’t count your midges until they hatch Bug flows: Don’t count your midges until they hatch
Usually when people hear about a “bug problem” it’s due to an undesirable overabundance of insects (think plague of locusts). In the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, however, we are faced with the opposite predicament: the river is essentially devoid of bugs. Aquatic insects are a fundamental component of a healthy river ecosystem. Most aquatic insects spend their juvenile life stages...
Authors
Anya Metcalfe, Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Morgan Ford, Theodore Kennedy
Malaclemys terrapin (Diamondback terrapin) Lepadomorph epibionts Malaclemys terrapin (Diamondback terrapin) Lepadomorph epibionts
Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are distributed along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (GoM) coasts of the U.S.A. (Hart et al. 2014. Conserv. Genet. DOI 10.1007/s10592-014-0563-6). Under consideration for listing in Florida and proposed for Appendix II listing by the U.S. at CoP16 (CITES), terrapin populations are declining in many parts of their range due to drowning in crab...
Authors
Margaret Lamont, Daniel J. Catizone, Richard O’Connor, Robert Blais, Limarie Rodgriguez, Cathy Holmes
Benthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons Benthic infaunal communities of Baltimore and Norfolk Canyons
The imperative for finding, cataloging, and understanding continental margin diversity derives from the many key functions, goods and services provided by margin ecosystems and by an increasingly deleterious human footprint on our continental slopes (Levin and Dayton 2009). Progress in seafloor mapping technology and direct observation has revealed unexpected heterogeneity, with a mosaic...
Authors
Craig M. Robertson, Jill R. Bourque, Amanda Demopoulos
Decision context as an essential component of population viability analysis Decision context as an essential component of population viability analysis
Population viability analysis (PVA) is a widely used tool that applies demographic data in simulation frameworks to assess extinction risk for species or populations. It is used in diverse conservation applications, including evaluating management effectiveness, relative risk of threats, and potential changes to protective status (Beissinger & McCullough, 2002), and can be a critical...
Authors
Abigail Jean Lawson, Brian Folt, Anna Maureen Tucker, Francesca T. Erickson, Conor P. McGowan
Lampricide residues in sea lamprey larvae carcasses recovered after 3-trifluoromethyl-4- nitrophenol (TFM) or TFM/Bayluscide stream treatments Lampricide residues in sea lamprey larvae carcasses recovered after 3-trifluoromethyl-4- nitrophenol (TFM) or TFM/Bayluscide stream treatments
Lampricide concentrations in whole larval sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) carcasses collected after lampricide treatments were determined to support risk assessment for non-target organisms that may consume lampricide-laden carcasses. Dead larvae were collected by Sea Lamprey Control personnel following the Ford River (Delta County, Michigan) 4.1 mg·L-1 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol...
Authors
Jeffry Bernardy, Nicholas Schloesser
Using redundant primer sets to detect multiple native Alaskan fish species from environmental DNA Using redundant primer sets to detect multiple native Alaskan fish species from environmental DNA
Accurate and timely data regarding freshwater fish communities is important for informed decision-making by local, state, tribal, and federal land and resource managers; however, conducting traditional gear-based fish surveys can be an expensive and time-consuming process, particularly in remote areas, like those that characterize much of Alaska. To help address this challenge, we...
Authors
Damian M. Menning, Trey Simmons, Sandra L. Talbot
USGS Illinois River monitoring and evaluation USGS Illinois River monitoring and evaluation
Asian carp monitoring and contract removal will continue throughout the Upper Illinois Waterway system as needed for adaptive management to mitigate, control, and contain Asian carp. Compiling data from monitoring and removal efforts into a centralized database (Illinois River Catch Database application) facilitates data standardization, quality, accessibility, sharing, and analysis to...
Authors
Travis J. Harrison, Kevin D. Hop, Enrika Hlavacek, Brent C. Knights
Reptiles under the conservation umbrella of the greater sage‐grouse Reptiles under the conservation umbrella of the greater sage‐grouse
In conservation paradigms, management actions for umbrella species also benefit co‐occurring species because of overlapping ranges and similar habitat associations. The greater sage‐grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is an umbrella species because it occurs across vast sagebrush ecosystems of western North America and is the recipient of extensive habitat conservation and restoration...
Authors
David S. Pilliod, Michelle I. Jeffries, Robert Arkle, Deanna H. Olson