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: 42710
Changing station coverage impacts temperature trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin Changing station coverage impacts temperature trends in the Upper Colorado River Basin
Over the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), temperatures in widely used gridded data products do not warm as much as mean temperatures from a stable set of U.S. Historical Climatology Network (USHCN) stations, located at generally lower elevations, in most months of the year. This is contrary to expectations of elevation-dependent warming, which suggests that warming increases with...
Authors
Stephanie A. McAfee, Gregory J. McCabe, Stephen Gray, Gregory T. Pederson
Drought and fire in the western USA: Is climate attribution enough? Drought and fire in the western USA: Is climate attribution enough?
Purpose of Review I sought to review the contributions of recent literature and prior foundational papers to our understanding of drought and fire. In this review, I summarize recent literature on drought and fire in the western USA and discuss research directions that may increase the utility of that body of work for twenty-first century application. I then describe gaps in the...
Authors
Jeremy Littell
Population differences in susceptibility to Plasmodium relictum in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata Population differences in susceptibility to Plasmodium relictum in zebra finches Taeniopygia guttata
Domesticated Australian and Timor zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis, and T. guttata guttata, respectively) were inoculated with canary (Serinus canaria) blood containing a Hawaiian isolate of Plasmodium relictum (lineage GRW04), a hemoparasite that causes avian malaria. In two experimental trials, Timor, but not Australian zebra finches developed parasitemia that was detected...
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Christopher N. Balakrishnan, Carter T. Atkinson
Downscaling of climate model output for Alaskan stakeholders Downscaling of climate model output for Alaskan stakeholders
The paper summarizes an end-to-end activity connecting the global climate modeling enterprise with users of climate information in Alaska. The effort included retrieval of the requisite observational datasets and model output, a model evaluation and selection procedure, the actual downscaling by the delta method with its inherent bias-adjustment, and the provision of products to a range...
Authors
John E. Walsh, Uma S. Bhatt, Jeremy Littell, Matthew Leonawicz, Michael Lindgren, Thomas A. Kurkowski, Peter A. Bieniek, Richard Thoman, Stephen Gray, T. Scott Rupp
Identifying management-relevant research priorities for responding to disease-associated amphibian declines Identifying management-relevant research priorities for responding to disease-associated amphibian declines
A research priority can be defined as a knowledge gap that, if resolved, identifies the optimal course of conservation action. We (a group of geographically distributed and multidisciplinary research scientists) used tools from nominal group theory and decision analysis to collaboratively identify and prioritize information needs within the context of disease-associated amphibian decline...
Authors
Evan H. Campbell Grant, M. J. Adams, Robert N. Fisher, Daniel A. Grear, Brian J. Halstead, Blake R. Hossack, Erin L. Muths, Katherine L. D. Richgels, Robin E. Russell, Kelly L. Smalling, J. Hardin Waddle, Susan C. Walls, C. LeAnn White
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Investigating home range, movement pattern, and habitat selection of Bar-headed Geese during breeding season at Qinghai Lake, China Investigating home range, movement pattern, and habitat selection of Bar-headed Geese during breeding season at Qinghai Lake, China
The Bar-headed Goose is an important species in Asia, both culturally and ecologically. While prior studies have shown Qinghai Lake supports one of the largest breeding areas for Bar-headed Geese, little is known regarding the species movement ecology during the breeding season. In this study, we examined Bar-headed Goose home range size within the breeding grounds at Qinghai Lake and...
Authors
Ruobing Zheng, Lacy M. Smith, Diann J. Prosser, John Y. Takekawa, Scott H. Newman, Jeffery D. Sullivan, Ze Luo, Baoping Yan
Dynamics of gene expression responses for ion transport proteins and aquaporins in the gill of a Euryhaline Pupfish during freshwater and high salinity acclimation Dynamics of gene expression responses for ion transport proteins and aquaporins in the gill of a Euryhaline Pupfish during freshwater and high salinity acclimation
Pupfishes (genus Cyprinodon) evolved some of the broadest salinity tolerances of teleost fishes, with some taxa surviving in conditions from freshwater to nearly 160 ppt. In this study, we examined transcriptional dynamics of ion transporters and aquaporins in the gill of the desert Amargosa pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae) during rapid salinity change. Pupfish acclimated to 7.5...
Authors
Sean Lema, Paul G Carvalho, Jennifer N Egelston, John T. Kelly, Stephen D. McCormick
Growth and survival relationships of 71 tree species with nitrogen and sulfur deposition across the conterminous U.S. Growth and survival relationships of 71 tree species with nitrogen and sulfur deposition across the conterminous U.S.
Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) influences forest demographics and carbon (C) uptake through multiple mechanisms that vary among tree species. Prior studies have estimated the effects of atmospheric N deposition on temperate forests by leveraging forest inventory measurements across regional gradients in deposition. However, in the United States (U.S.), these previous studies were...
Authors
Kevin J Horn, R. Quinn Thomas, Christopher M. Clark, Linda H Pardo, Mark E. Fenn, Gregory B. Lawrence, Steven Perakis, Erica A.H. Smithwick, Doug Baldwin, Sabine Braun, Annika Nordin, Charles H. Perry, Jennifer N Phelan, Paul G. Schaberg, Samuel B St Clair, Richard Warby, Shaun A. Watmough
Submerged aquatic vegetation mapping in coastal Louisiana through development of a spatial likelihood occurrence (SLOO) model Submerged aquatic vegetation mapping in coastal Louisiana through development of a spatial likelihood occurrence (SLOO) model
Determining the spatial distribution of coastal foundation species is essential to accurately determine restoration goals, predict the ecological effects of climate change, and develop habitat management strategies. Mapping the distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) species assemblages, which provide important habitat resource and ecological services in Louisiana, has been...
Authors
Kristin DeMarco, Brady Couvillion, Stuart Brown, Megan La Peyre
Conservation challenges emerging from free-roaming horse management: a vexing social-ecological mismatch Conservation challenges emerging from free-roaming horse management: a vexing social-ecological mismatch
Horses have been associated with human societies for millennia, and for many have come to symbolize wildness, power, resilience, and freedom. Although equids were extirpated from North America 10 000-12 000 years ago, descendants of domestic horses now roam freely in the USA and 17 other countries across six continents. In landscape-scale and experimental investigations, free-roaming...
Authors
Erik A. Beever, Lynn Huntsinger, Steven L. Petersen
NDVI exhibits mixed success in predicting spatiotemporal variation in caribou summer forage quality and quantity NDVI exhibits mixed success in predicting spatiotemporal variation in caribou summer forage quality and quantity
The satellite‐derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is commonly used by researchers and managers to represent ungulate forage conditions in landscapes across the globe, despite limited information about how it compares to empirical measurements of forage quality and quantity. The application of NDVI as a forage metric is particularly appealing for studying migratory...
Authors
Heather E. Johnson, David D. Gustine, Trevor S. Golden, Layne G. Adams, Lincoln S. Parrett, Elizabeth A. Lenart, Perry S. Barboza
Inventory of lowland-breeding birds on the Alaska Peninsula Inventory of lowland-breeding birds on the Alaska Peninsula
We conducted the first systematic inventory of birds in the lowlands (areas ≤100 m above sea level) of the Alaska Peninsula during summers of 2004–2007 to determine their breeding distributions and habitat associations in this remote region. Using a stratified random survey design, we allocated sample plots by elevation and land cover with a preference for wetland cover types used by...
Authors
Susan E. Savage, T. Lee Tibbitts, Kristin Sesser, Robb S.A. Kaler