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: 42994
Evaluating and using existing models to map probable suitable habitat for rare plants to inform management of multiple-use public lands in the California desert Evaluating and using existing models to map probable suitable habitat for rare plants to inform management of multiple-use public lands in the California desert
Multiple-use public lands require balancing diverse resource uses and values across landscapes. In the California desert, there is strong interest in renewable energy development and important conservation concerns. The Bureau of Land Management recently completed a land-use plan for the area that provides protection for modeled suitable habitat for multiple rare plants. Three sets of...
Authors
Gordon Reese, Sarah K. Carter, Christina Lunch, Steve Walterscheid
Distinguishing disturbance from perturbations in fire-prone ecosystems Distinguishing disturbance from perturbations in fire-prone ecosystems
Fire is a necessary ecosystem process in many biomes and is best viewed as a natural disturbance that is beneficial to ecosystem functioning. However, increasingly we are seeing human interference in fire regimes that alter the historical range of variability for most fire parameters and result in vegetation shifts. Such perturbations can affect all fire regime parameters. Here we...
Authors
Jon Keeley, Juli G. Pausas
Phenological mismatch between season advancement and migration timing alters Arctic plant traits Phenological mismatch between season advancement and migration timing alters Arctic plant traits
1. Climate change is creating phenological mismatches between herbivores and their plant resources throughout the Arctic. While advancing growing seasons and changing arrival times of migratory herbivores has been shown to have consequences for herbivores and forage quality, developing mismatches are also likely to influence other traits of plants, such as above- and belowground biomass...
Authors
Ryan T. Choi, Karen H. Beard, A. Joshua Leffler, Katharine C. Kelsey, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffrey Welker
Long-term population dynamics of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis): A cross-system analysis Long-term population dynamics of dreissenid mussels (Dreissena polymorpha and D. rostriformis): A cross-system analysis
Dreissenid mussels (including the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha and the quagga mussel D. rostriformis) are among the world's most notorious invasive species, with large and widespread ecological and economic effects. However, their long‐term population dynamics are poorly known, even though these dynamics are critical to determining impacts and effective management. We gathered and...
Authors
David L. Strayer, Boris V. Adamovich, Rita Adrian, David C. Aldridge, Csilla Balogh, Lyubov E. Burlakova, Hannah Fried-Petersen, Laszlo G.-Toth, Amy L. Hetherington, Thomas S. Jones, Alexander Y. Karatayev, Jacqueline B. Madill, Oleg A. Makarevich, J. Ellen Marsden, Andre L. Martel, Dan Minchin, Thomas F. Nalepa, Ruurd Noordhuis, Timothy J. Robinson, Lars G. Rudstam, Astrid N. Schwalb, David R. Smith, Alan D. Steinman, Jonathan M. Jeschke
Understanding and mitigating bee drownings in open feeders Understanding and mitigating bee drownings in open feeders
Whereas open feeders are relatively inexpensive and are easily set up and maintained, they do present a drowning hazard to bees. We observed that bees feeding off the walls of the open container fell into the sugar water because of their incarnation, interactions with other bees and when shooed off the feeder walls while removing the feeder for cleaning. Twigs, angled laths and utility...
Authors
Nimish B. Vyas, Amanda D. Plunkett, Evelynn Enciso, Victor Torrez
Precipitation and temperature drive continental scale patterns in stream invertebrate production Precipitation and temperature drive continental scale patterns in stream invertebrate production
Secondary production, the growth of new heterotrophic biomass, is a key process in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems that has been carefully measured in many flowing water ecosystems. We combine structural equation modeling with the first worldwide dataset on annual secondary production of stream invertebrate communities to reveal core pathways linking air temperature and precipitation...
Authors
Christopher J. Patrick, D. McGarvey, James H. Larson, W. Cross, D. Allen, A. Benke, T. Brey, A. Huryn, J. Douglas Jones, C. Murphy, C. Ruffing, P. Saffarinia, M. Whiles, B. P. Wallace, G. Woodward
Aerosol transmission of gull-origin Iceland subtype H10N7 influenza A virus in ferrets Aerosol transmission of gull-origin Iceland subtype H10N7 influenza A virus in ferrets
Subtype H10 influenza A viruses (IAVs) have been recovered from domestic poultry and various aquatic bird species, and sporadic transmission of these IAVs from avian species to mammals (i.e., human, seal, and mink) are well documented. In 2015, we isolated four H10N7 viruses from gulls in Iceland. Genomic analyses showed four gene segments in the viruses were genetically associated with...
Authors
Minhui Guan, Jeffrey S. Hall, Xiaojian Zhang, Robert J. Dusek, Alicia K. Olivier, Liyuan Liu, Lei Li, Scott Krauss, Angea Danner, Tao Li, Wiriya Rutvisuttinunt, Xiaoxu Lin, Gunnar T. Hallgrimsson, Sunna B. Ragnarsdottir, Solvi R. Vignisson, Josh TeSlaa, Sean Nashold, Richard Jarman, Xiu-Feng Wan
Methane emissions from artificial waterbodies dominate the carbon footprint of irrigation: A study of transitions in the food-energy-water-climate nexus (Spain, 1900-2014) Methane emissions from artificial waterbodies dominate the carbon footprint of irrigation: A study of transitions in the food-energy-water-climate nexus (Spain, 1900-2014)
Irrigation in the Mediterranean region has been used for millennia and has greatly expanded with industrialization. Irrigation is critical for climate change adaptation, but it is also an important source of greenhouse gas emissions. This study analyzes the carbon (C) footprint of irrigation in Spain, covering the complete historical process of mechanization. A 21-fold total, 6-fold area...
Authors
Eduardo Aguilera, Jaime Vila-Traver, Bridget Deemer, Juan Infante-Amate, Gloria I. Guzman, Manuel Gonzalez de Molina
Streptomyces corynorhini sp. nov., isolated from Townsend’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii) Streptomyces corynorhini sp. nov., isolated from Townsend’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii)
Four bacterial strains, with the capability of inhibiting Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, were isolated from male Townsend’s big-eared bats (Corynorhinus townsendii, Family: Vespertilionidae) in New Mexico. Isolates AC161, AC162, AC208, and AC230T were characterised as a novel clade using morphological, phenotypic and phylogenetic analysis. A...
Authors
Paris S. Hamm, Nicole A. Caimi, Diana E. Northup, Ernest W. Valdez, Debbie C. Buecher, Christopher A. Dunlap, David P. Labeda, Andrea Porras-Alfaro
Sitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods Sitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods
For ground‐nesting waterfowl, the timing of egg hatch and duckling departure from the nest may be influenced by the risk of predation at the nest and en route to wetlands and constrained by the time required for ducklings to imprint on the hen and be physically able to leave the nest. We determined the timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation on dabbling duck broods using small...
Authors
Sarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Christopher Hartman, Rebecca Croston, Cliff L. Feldheim, Michael L. Casazza
Quantifying risk of whale–vessel collisions across space, time, and management policies Quantifying risk of whale–vessel collisions across space, time, and management policies
Transportation industries can negatively impact wildlife populations, including through increased risk of mortality. To mitigate this risk successfully, managers and conservationists must estimate risk across space, time, and alternative management policies. Evaluating this risk at fine spatial and temporal scales can be challenging, especially in systems where wildlife–vehicle...
Authors
Nathan J. Crum, Timothy A. Gowan, Andrea Krzystan, Julien Martin
Mechanisms of a coniferous refugium persistence under drought and heat Mechanisms of a coniferous refugium persistence under drought and heat
Predictions of warmer droughts causing increasing forest mortality are becoming abundant, yet few studies have investigated the mechanisms of forest persistence. To examine the resistance of forests to warmer droughts, we used a five-year precipitation reduction (~45% removal), heat (+4 °C above ambient) and combined drought and heat experiment in an isolated stand of mature Pinus edulis...
Authors
Nate G. McDowell, Charlotte Grossiord, Henry D. Adams, Sara Pinzon-Navarro, D. Scott MacKay, Dave Breshears, Craig D. Allen, Isaac Borrego, L. Turin Dickman, Adam D. Collins