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: 42876
Fire severity and changing composition of forest understory plant communities Fire severity and changing composition of forest understory plant communities
Questions Gradients of fire severity in dry conifer forests can be associated with variation in understory floristic composition. Recent work in dry conifer forests in California, USA, has suggested that more severely burned stands contain more thermophilic taxa (those associated with warmer and drier conditions), and that forest disturbance may therefore accelerate floristic shifts...
Authors
Jens Stevens, Jesse Miller, Paula J. Fornwalt
Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for North America Toward sustainable environmental quality: Priority research questions for North America
Anticipating, identifying, and prioritizing strategic needs represent essential activities by research organizations. Decided benefits emerge when these pursuits engage globally important environment and health goals, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, horizon scanning efforts can facilitate identification of specific research needs to address grand...
Authors
Anne Fairbrother, Derek C.G. Muir, Keith R. Solomon, Gerald T. Ankley, Murray A. Rudd, Alistair B. A. Boxall, William J. Adams, Jennifer N. Apell, Kevin L. Armbrust, Bonnie J. Blalock, Sarah R. Bowman, Linda M. Campbell, George P. Cobb, Kristin A. Connors, David A. Dreier, Marlene S. Evans, Carol J. Henry, Robert A. Hoke, Magali Houde, Stephen J. Klaine, Rebecca D. Klaper, Sigrun A. Kullik, Roman P. Lanno, Charles Meyer, Mary Ann Ottinger, Elias Oziolor, Elijah J. Petersen, Helen C. Poynton, Pamela J. Rice, Gabriela Rodriguez-Fuentes, Alan Samel, Joseph R. Shaw, Jeffery A. Steevens, Tim A. Verslycke, Doris E. Vidal-Dorsch, Scott M. Weir, Peter Wilson, Bryan W. Brooks
Using full and partial unmixing algorithms to estimate the inundation extent of small, isolated stock ponds in an arid landscape Using full and partial unmixing algorithms to estimate the inundation extent of small, isolated stock ponds in an arid landscape
Many natural wetlands around the world have disappeared or been replaced, resulting in the dependence of many wildlife species on small, artificial earthen stock ponds. These ponds provide critical wildlife habitat, such that the accurate detection of water and assessment of inundation extent is required. We applied a full (linear spectral mixture analysis; LSMA) and partial (matched...
Authors
Christopher Jarchow, Brent H. Sigafus, Erin L. Muths, Blake R. Hossack
Assessing the impact of charr research past, present, and future Assessing the impact of charr research past, present, and future
The 9th International Charr Symposium convened on 18–21 June 2018, in Duluth, Minnesota, USA to gather scientists with an interest in charr biology and management from the entire geographical range of the genus Salvelinus. The symposium was attended by 169 individuals from six countries, and included 99 oral and 32 poster presentations, 28 of which were published in the ensuing...
Authors
Michael J. Hansen, Charles C. Krueger, Andrew M. Muir, Anders Klemetsen, Michael Power
Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 18 Report) Supporting the development and use of native plant materials for restoration on the Colorado Plateau (Fiscal Year 18 Report)
Introduction A primary focus of the 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 identified a broad suite of research...
Authors
Robert Massatti, Daniel Winkler, Sasha C. Reed, Michael Duniway, Seth Munson, John Bradford
Alternative sea lamprey barrier technologies: History as a control tool Alternative sea lamprey barrier technologies: History as a control tool
Currently, application of lampricides and installation of low-head barriers are the only proven means of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) control in the Great Lakes. While sea lamprey cannot climb or jump over low-head barriers, many desirable migratory species also cannot traverse barriers and are unintentionally blocked. Recently, there has been a push to reduce reliance on chemical...
Authors
Daniel P. Zielinski, Robert McLaughlin, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Bhuwani Paudel, Pete J. Hrodey, Andrew M. Muir
Impacts of suspended sediment on nearshore benthic light availability following dam removal in a small mountainous river:In situ observations and statistical modeling Impacts of suspended sediment on nearshore benthic light availability following dam removal in a small mountainous river:In situ observations and statistical modeling
The 2011–2014 removal of two dams from the Elwha River, WA, delivered ~ 19 Mt of sediment to the marine environment, creating an opportunity to study the sensitivity of a coastal ecosystem to large-scale sediment input. Macroalgae, the primary habitat-forming species in the nearshore, disappeared from the region. It was hypothesized that this mortality event was caused by a reduction in...
Authors
H E Glover, A S Ogston, I M Miller, E F Eidam, Steve Rubin, H D Berry
See how they ran: Morphological and functional aspects of skeletons from ancient Egyptian shrew mummies (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae: Crocidurinae) See how they ran: Morphological and functional aspects of skeletons from ancient Egyptian shrew mummies (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae: Crocidurinae)
Animals served important roles in the religious cults that proliferated during the Late (ca. 747–332 BCE) and Greco-Roman periods (332 BCE–CE 337) of ancient Egypt. One result was the interment of animal mummies in specialized necropolises distributed throughout the country. Excavation of a rock-tomb that was re-used during the Ptolemaic Period (ca. 309–30 BCE) for the interment of...
Authors
Neal Woodman, Alec T. Wilken, Salima Ikram
Light exposure along particle flowpaths in large rivers Light exposure along particle flowpaths in large rivers
Sunlight is a critical resource in aquatic systems driving photosynthesis, photodegradation of organic matter and contaminants, animal behavior, and the activity of human pathogens. In rivers, solutes, materials, and organisms are turbulently mixed across the water column during downstream transport and exposed to highly variable sunlight. However, there are no measurements of suspended...
Authors
John R. Gardner, Scott H. Ensign, Jeffrey N. Houser, Martin W. Doyle
Estimating offsets for avian displacement effects of anthropogenic impacts Estimating offsets for avian displacement effects of anthropogenic impacts
Biodiversity offsetting, or compensatory mitigation, is increasingly being used in temperate grassland ecosystems to compensate for unavoidable environmental damage from anthropogenic developments such as transportation infrastructure, urbanization, and energy development. Pursuit of energy independence in the United States will expand domestic energy production. Concurrent with this...
Authors
Jill A. Shaffer, Charles R. Loesch, Deborah A. Buhl
Growth and mortality of invasive Flathead Catfish in the tidal James River, Virginia Growth and mortality of invasive Flathead Catfish in the tidal James River, Virginia
Invasive species are a major threat to biodiversity of native fishes in North America. In Atlantic coastal rivers of the United States, large catfishes introduced from the Gulf of Mexico drainages have become established and contributed to native species declines. Flathead Catfish Pylodictis olivaris were introduced to the Chesapeake Bay drainage in the 1960s and 1970s in the James and...
Authors
Corbin D. Hilling, Aaron J. Bunch, Jason A. Emmel, Joseph Schmitt, Donald J. Orth
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Rates of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism in nests of North American grassland birds The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Rates of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism in nests of North American grassland birds
The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is an obligate brood parasite that relies entirely on host species to incubate its eggs and rear its young. The Brown-headed Cowbird is a host generalist; eggs of the cowbird have been found in nests of more than 220 species of North American birds. Although cowbirds are not considered a serious threat to their primary avian hosts, cowbird brood...
Authors
Jill A. Shaffer, Lawrence D. Igl, Douglas H. Johnson