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
A practical decision tool for marine bird mortality assessments A practical decision tool for marine bird mortality assessments
Given the rise in anthropogenic, environmental, and disease events contributing to marine bird mortality, there is a critical need to improve the rigor of mortality assessments. Deficits in data collection and mortality estimation can hinder a manager’s ability to document event scales and inform population level impacts. Therefore, to inform decisions required during activities such as
Authors
Johanna Alexandra Harvey, Andrew M. Ramey, Stephanie Avery-Gomm, Gregory Robertson, Marc Romano, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Megan Boldenow, Philip W. Atkinson, Diann J. Prosser
Survival, travel time, and use of migration routes by juvenile steelhead in a modified river estuary Survival, travel time, and use of migration routes by juvenile steelhead in a modified river estuary
Greater understanding of the survival, travel time, and spatial distribution of juvenile salmonids among migration routes between their natal streams and the ocean is critical to the recovery of these threatened species. In the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta (Delta), a highly modified estuary in central California, USA, there is a critical need to evaluate how water management (e.g...
Authors
Adam C. Pope, Russell Perry, Dalton Hance, Rebecca A. Buchanan
Practitioners’ perceived risks to biodiversity from renewable energy expansion through 2050 Practitioners’ perceived risks to biodiversity from renewable energy expansion through 2050
Large-scale (e.g., > 1 megawatt capacity) wind and solar energy (hereafter, LSWS) developments are increasing to aid decarbonization. However, LSWS can also negatively affect biodiversity. Planners and other interested parties’ perceptions about the impact of LSWS on biodiversity will thus affect how trade-offs are managed during planning and buildout. We present a survey of...
Authors
Daphne Condon, Tyler Scott, Adam B. Smith, Toni Lyn Morelli, Uzma Ashraf, Alex Mojica, Hrithika Chittanuru, Rachel Luu, Rae Bear, Rebecca R. Hernandez
Answering key bumble bee conservation questions by studying discovered wild nests: A Bombus affinis case study Answering key bumble bee conservation questions by studying discovered wild nests: A Bombus affinis case study
The nesting ecology of wild bumble bees is not well resolved, but information learned from discovered nests can be of great conservation value.Data collected at nests on foraging patterns, caste-specific behaviour and health (e.g., pathogens) are invaluable for understanding bumble bee behaviour and ecology, but difficult to decipher solely from foraging observations away from the nest...
Authors
Tamara Smith, Michelle Boone, Stephen Choy, Elaine Evans, Jeffrey Everett, Justin Palmer, Ian S. Pearse, Genevieve Pugesek, Ben M. Sadd, Jennifer Szymanski, Ashley Tessenow, Jay Watson, John Mola
Pan-amphibia distribution of the fungal parasite Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis varies with species and temperature Pan-amphibia distribution of the fungal parasite Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis varies with species and temperature
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a globally distributed fungal pathogen of amphibians that has contributed to one of the largest disease-related biodiversity losses in wildlife. Bd is regularly viewed through the lens of a global wildlife epizootic because the spread of highly virulent genetic lineages has resulted in well-documented declines and extinctions of multiple amphibian...
Authors
Daniel A. Grear, Michael J. Adams, Adam R. Backlin, William Barichivich, Adrianne Brand, Gary M. Bucciarelli, Daniel L. Calhoun, Tara Chestnut, Jon D Davenport, Andrew E Dietrich, Graziella V. DiRenzo, Robert N. Fisher, Brad Glorioso, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Brian J. Halstead, Marc P Hayes, Blake R. Hossack, Morgan Kain, Patrick M. Kleeman, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Brome McCreary, David A.W. Miller, Brittany A. Mosher, Erin L. Muths, Christopher Pearl, Charles H. Robinson, Mark Roth, Jennifer Rowe, Walter Sadinski, Brent H. Sigafus, Iga Stasiak, Samuel Sweet, Hardin Waddle, Susan Walls, Gregory J Watkins-Colwell, Lori A Williams, Megan Winzeler
Reproductive biology of invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) in two North American systems Reproductive biology of invasive grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) in two North American systems
Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) are nonnative, herbivorous freshwater fish that represent an ecological threat in North American waters. However, data are limited on reproductive biology specific to wild populations in midwestern North America, despite recent concern for grass carp establishment within the Great Lakes. Basic information on reproductive traits could be useful to...
Authors
Tammy Michelle Wilson, Matthew Ross Acre, Fred Williams, Robin D. Calfee, Christine M. Mayer, Robert L. Mapes, Chris M. Kemp, Ryan T. Young, Michael E. Byrne
Freshwater gastropod (Mollusca: Gastropoda) assemblages, habitat, and the first detection of an invasive gastropod species in two large, dreissenid-influenced, connecting rivers Freshwater gastropod (Mollusca: Gastropoda) assemblages, habitat, and the first detection of an invasive gastropod species in two large, dreissenid-influenced, connecting rivers
Native freshwater gastropods are a highly diverse and imperiled group of mollusks in North America and are influenced by a growing number of problematic invasive species. Consequently, there has been an increased need for understanding aquatic gastropod assemblages throughout North America to implement conservation and management strategies. In the Laurentian Great Lakes, gastropod...
Authors
S. Keretz, D. Woolnough, N.M. VanTassel, D. Powell, G. Sanfilippo, A.L. Wright, T.J. Morris, A. Elgin, Edward F. Roseman, D.T. Zanatta
Integrating data to assess occupancy patterns of an endangered bumble bee Integrating data to assess occupancy patterns of an endangered bumble bee
There is growing interest in integrating community science data with structured monitoring data to estimate changes in distribution patterns of imperiled species, including pollinators. However, significant challenges remain in determining how unstructured community science data should be incorporated into formal analyses of species distributions. We developed a dynamic framework for...
Authors
Kristen S. Ellis, Clint Otto, Larissa L. Bailey, Tamara A. Smith, Steven J. Choy, Lauren Hatch
Management and natural regeneration in multiple ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States Management and natural regeneration in multiple ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States
Management treatments in ponderosa pine forests of the southwestern United States (SWUS) are largely done for wildfire mitigation and restoration to lower tree densities. However, lack of natural ponderosa pine regeneration in undisturbed forests (i.e., no occurrence of stand-replacing events) may require management treatments to promote regeneration. We conducted a field and modeling...
Authors
Matthew D. Petrie, Robert M. Hubbard, John B. Bradford, Tom E. Kolb, Adam Roy Noel, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, M.A. Bowen, L.R. Fuller, W. Keith Moser
Carbon dioxide infusion reduces invasive mussel biofouling (quagga mussel; Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) in raw water systems Carbon dioxide infusion reduces invasive mussel biofouling (quagga mussel; Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) in raw water systems
The efficacy of carbon dioxide (CO2) to reduce biofouling by quagga mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) in raw water systems was investigated. Experiments were conducted in a mobile laboratory located at Bureau of Reclamation Davis Dam Hydropower Facility and supplied with raw water from Lake Mohave, a reservoir of the Colorado River, USA. Incoming water was split between five...
Authors
Matthew Barbour, Todd J. Severson, Jeremy K. Wise, Matthew J Meulemans, Kevin Kelly, Sherri Pucherelli, Diane L. Waller
Reviews and syntheses: Variable inundation across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems Reviews and syntheses: Variable inundation across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems
The structure, function, and dynamics of Earth's terrestrial ecosystems are profoundly influenced by how often (frequency) and how long (duration) they are inundated with water. A diverse array of natural and human-engineered systems experience temporally variable inundation whereby they fluctuate between inundated and non-inundated states. Variable inundation spans extreme events to...
Authors
James Stegen, Amy J. Burgin, Michelle H. Busch, Joshua B. Fisher, Joshua Ladau, Jenna Abrahamson, Lauren Kinsman-Costello, Li Li, Xingyuan Chen, Thibault Datry, Nate McDowell, Corianne Tatariw, Anna Braswell, Jillian M. Deines, Julia A. Guimond, Peter Regier, Kenton Rod, Edward K.P. Bam, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Inke Forbrich, Kristin L. Jaeger, Teri O'Meara, Timothy D. Scheibe, Erin Seybold, Jon N. Sweetman, Jianqiu Zheng, Daniel C. Allen, Elizabeth Herndon, Beth Middleton, Scott Painter, Kevin Roche, Julianne Scamardo, Ross Vander Vorste, Kristin Boye, Ellen Wohl, Margaret Zimmer, Kelly Hondula, Maggi Laan, Anna Marshall, Kaizad F. Patel
First evidence of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush spawning aggregation in Ohio waters of Lake Erie following reintroduction First evidence of lake trout Salvelinus namaycush spawning aggregation in Ohio waters of Lake Erie following reintroduction
Lake trout Salvelinus namaycush, an important apex predator native to Lake Erie, were extirpated by 1965 due to overexploitation, introduction of invasive species, and habitat degradation. Cooperative lake-wide lake trout stocking has been ongoing since 1982, with stocking strategies adapting as research identifies the age at stocking, locations, and strains that optimize the recovery of...
Authors
Benjamin J. Spitz, Graham F. Montague, Joseph Schmitt, Francesco Guzzo, Peter I. Jenkins