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: 42878
Intrinsic and environmental drivers of pairwise cohesion in wild Canis social groups Intrinsic and environmental drivers of pairwise cohesion in wild Canis social groups
Animals within social groups respond to costs and benefits of sociality by adjusting the proportion of time they spend in close proximity to other individuals in the group (cohesion). Variation in cohesion between individuals, in turn, shapes important group-level processes such as subgroup formation and fission–fusion dynamics. Although critical to animal sociality, a comprehensive...
Authors
John F. Benson, David A. Keiter, Peter J. Mahoney, Benjamin L. Allen, Lee R. Allen, Francisco Álvares, Morgan L. Anderson, Shannon M. Barber-Meyer, Adi Barocas, James C Beasley, Linda Behrendorff, Jerrold L. Belant, Dean Beyer, Luigi Boitani, Bridget L Borg, Stan Boutin, Erin E. Boydston, Justin L. Brown, Joseph K. Bump, Jonathon D. Cepek, Michael J Chamberlain, Yvette M. Chenaux-Ibrahim, Seth G. Cherry, Duško Ćirović, Paolo Ciucci, H. Dean Cluff, Susan M Cooper, Kevin R. Crooks, Daniel L.J. Dupont, Robert N. Fisher, Daniel Fortin, Thomas D. Gable, Emilio Garcia, Eli Geffen, Stanley D. Gehrt, Michael Gillingham, Douglas C. Heard, Mark Hebblewhite, Joseph W Hinton, Austin T. Homkes, Chris G. Howden, Djuro Huber, Pat J. Jackson, Kyle Joly, Allicia P Kelly, Marcella J. Kelly, Katrien A. Kingdon, Abhijeet Kulkarni, Josip Kusak, Gerald W. Kuzyk, Bryce C. Lake, Luis Llaneza, Jose Vicente Lopez-Bao, Daniel R. MacNulty, Ashley A.D. McLaren, Philip D. McLoughlin, Evelyn H. Merrill, Kenneth J. Mills, Numi Mitchell, Seth A. Moore, Matthew A. Mumma, Maureen H. Murray, Marco Musiani, Mónia Nakamura, Eric W. Neilson, Lalenia M. Neufeld, Thomas M Newsome, John K. Oakleaf, Vincente Palacios, Marlo M. Perdicas, Thomas Perry, Tyler R. Petroelje, Cyrenea B. Piper, Christina M. Prokopenko, Laura R. Prugh, Seth P.D. Riley, Helena Rio-Maior, Gretchen H. Roffler, Dale Rollins, Håkan Sand, Fiona K A Schmiegelow, Dale R. Seip, Mathew S Sorum, Colleen C. St. Clair, Robin Steenweg, Michael W. Strohbach, Jack Tatler, Maria Thaker, Connor A. Thompson, Julia W. Turner, Abi Tamim Vanak, Eric Vander Wal, Petter Wabakken, Scott E Walter, Sarah C Webster, Tyler J. Wheeldon, Camilla Wikenros, Steve K. Windels, Julie K. Young, Sana Zabihi-Seissan, Barbara Zimmermann, Brent R. Patterson
Ungulate personality and the human shield contribute to long-distance migration loss Ungulate personality and the human shield contribute to long-distance migration loss
Long-distance ungulate migrations are declining and past research has focused on preserving migration paths where habitat fragmentation and loss disrupts movement corridors. However, changing residency-migration tradeoffs are the stronger driver of long-distance migration loss in some populations. The human shield effect relative to predation risk and anthropogenic food resources likely...
Authors
Gavin G. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Eric K Cole, Sarah R. Dewey, Benjamin L. Wise, Tabitha A. Graves
Co-mast: Harmonized seed production data for woody plants across US long-term research sites Co-mast: Harmonized seed production data for woody plants across US long-term research sites
Plants display a range of temporal patterns of inter-annual reproduction, from relatively constant seed production to “mast seeding,” the synchronized and highly variable interannual seed production of plants within a population. Previous efforts have compiled global records of seed production in long-lived plants to gain insight into seed production, forest and animal population...
Authors
Katherine M. Nigro, Jessica H. Barton, Diana Macias, V. Bala Chaudhary, Ian S. Pearse, David M. Bell, Angel Chen, Natalie L. Cleavitt, Elizabeth E. Crone, David F. Greene, E. Penelope Holland, Jill F. Johnstone, Walter D. Koenig, Nicholas J. Lyon, Tom E. Miller, Mark Schulze, Rebecca S. Snell, Jess K. Zimmerman, Johannes M.H. Knops, Stacy McNulty, Robert R. Parmenter, Mark Winterstein, Roman I. Zlotin, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Miranda D. Redmond
U.S. Geological Survey science strategy to address chronic wasting disease and cervid health in 2024–2028 U.S. Geological Survey science strategy to address chronic wasting disease and cervid health in 2024–2028
Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a neurological disease similar to scrapie in goats and sheep, has been spreading since the 1960s throughout cervid populations in the United States. It is currently detected in 30 States and now also extends to Canada, Korea, and Scandinavia. CWD is a fatal disease caused by an infectious abnormally folded prion protein. Population-level effects of CWD on...
Authors
Jason Ferrante, Jonathan D. Cook, Paul C. Cross, M. Camille Hopkins
Sampling for disease surveillance: Assessing effects on blue-winged teal survival and recovery Sampling for disease surveillance: Assessing effects on blue-winged teal survival and recovery
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in wild animals highlight the need for disease surveillance in wild birds to improve our understanding of their role as reservoirs and dispersers, and potential threats to domestic poultry and wild bird populations. Surveillance for avian influenza varies in its approach, objectives, and coordination with other monitoring efforts. For...
Authors
Rose J. Swift, Todd W. Arnold, Deborah L. Carter, Paul K. Link, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht, Aaron T. Pearse
Using camera traps to estimate site occupancy of invasive Argentine Black and White Tegus (Salvator merianae) in South Florida Using camera traps to estimate site occupancy of invasive Argentine Black and White Tegus (Salvator merianae) in South Florida
The introduction of nonnative species is a leading cause of biodiversity loss. Many invasive species are cryptic or elusive in nature and therefore often evade detection, complicating their management. Occupancy modeling can reveal the presence and spread of invasive species over time and therefore has important management implications. Camera traps can be used to estimate occupancy, or...
Authors
Samantha N. Smith, Melissa A. Miller, Hardin Waddle, Sarah Cooke, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Andrea Currylow, Kevin Donmoyer, Frank J. Mazzotti
Using life history traits to assess climate change vulnerability in understudied species Using life history traits to assess climate change vulnerability in understudied species
Climate change is a primary threat to biodiversity, but for many species, we still lack information required to assess their relative vulnerability to changes. Climate change vulnerability assessment (CCVA) is a widely used technique to rank relative vulnerability to climate change based on species characteristics, such as their distributions, habitat associations, environmental...
Authors
Ross K Hinderer, Blake R. Hossack, Lisa A Eby
Drought before fire increases tree mortality after fire Drought before fire increases tree mortality after fire
Fire and drought are expected to increase in frequency and severity in temperate forests due to climate change. To evaluate whether drought increases the likelihood of post-fire tree mortality, we used a large database of tree survival and mortality from 32 years of wildland fires covering four dominant western North American conifers. We used Bayesian hierarchical modeling to predict...
Authors
C. Alina Cansler, Micah C. Wright, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Timothy M. Shearman, J. Morgan Varner, Sharon M. Hood
Trophic transfer of fipronil residues to black-footed ferrets: Implications for ferret safety, flea control, and plague mitigation Trophic transfer of fipronil residues to black-footed ferrets: Implications for ferret safety, flea control, and plague mitigation
Sylvatic plague, caused by the flea-borne bacterium Yersinia pestis, is an invasive disease in North America that causes reductions of native fauna and transforms ecosystems. Fipronil baits have shown promise in reducing flea loads on prairie dogs Cynomys spp. for plague mitigation. Many species depend on prairie dogs and their ecological influences, including the black-footed ferret...
Authors
Tyler N. Tretten, David A. Eads, John P. Hughes, Gregory P. Dooley, Dean E. Biggins
Evolutionary perspectives on thiamine supplementation of managed Pacific salmonid populations Evolutionary perspectives on thiamine supplementation of managed Pacific salmonid populations
Thiamine deficiency complex (TDC) has been identified in an ever-expanding list of species and populations. In many documented occurrences of TDC in fishes, juvenile mortality can be high—up to 90% at the population level. Such sweeping demographic losses and concomitant decreases in genetic diversity due to TDC can be prevented by treating pre-spawn females or fertilized eggs with...
Authors
Avril M. Harder, Aimee N. Reed, Freya Elizabeth Rowland
Cryospheric sciences at the U.S. Geological Survey Cryospheric sciences at the U.S. Geological Survey
Introduction The cryosphere is the collective parts of the Earth where water is in its frozen state and includes snow, glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, freshwater ice, sea ice, and permafrost. The cryosphere is a climate indicator and climate regulator. Surface cryosphere features, such as glaciers, snow, and sea ice, store freshwater and make the surface of the Earth bright white...
Authors
Caitlyn Florentine, Erich H. Peitzsch, Miriam C. Jones, Theodore B. Barnhart, Thomas M. Cronin
High genetic diversity, low population genetic structure, strong natal philopatry, and longevity revealed in the Black Swift (Cypseloides niger borealis) High genetic diversity, low population genetic structure, strong natal philopatry, and longevity revealed in the Black Swift (Cypseloides niger borealis)
Genetic diversity is a critical cornerstone of biodiversity and is a central goal in management and conservation biology. Such diversity has implications for survivability, adaptability, and resiliency of a species. This study aimed to determine levels of genetic diversity and population genetic structure in the Northern Black Swift (Cypseloides niger borealis). This species nests across...
Authors
Carolyn Gunn, Kim Potter, Jennifer A. Fike, Sara J. Oyler-McCance