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: 42871
Technical note: False low turbidity readings from optical probes during high suspended-sediment concentrations Technical note: False low turbidity readings from optical probes during high suspended-sediment concentrations
Turbidity, a measure of water clarity, is monitored for a variety of purposes including (1) to help determine whether water is safe to drink, (2) to establish background conditions of lakes and rivers and detect pollution caused by construction projects and stormwater discharge, (3) to study sediment transport in rivers and erosion in catchments, (4) to manage siltation of water...
Authors
Nicholas Voichick, David J. Topping, Ronald E. Griffiths
Developing a framework for evaluating tallgrass prairie reconstruction methods and management Developing a framework for evaluating tallgrass prairie reconstruction methods and management
The thousands of hectares of prairie reconstructed each year in the tallgrass prairie biome can provide a valuable resource for evaluation of seed mixes, planting methods, and post-planting management if methods used and resulting characteristics of the prairies are recorded and compiled in a publicly accessible database. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of such data...
Authors
Diane L. Larson, Marissa Ahlering, Pauline Drobney, Rebecca Esser, Jennifer L. Larson, Karen Viste-Sparkman
Oil and gas development footprint in the Piceance Basin, western Colorado Oil and gas development footprint in the Piceance Basin, western Colorado
Understanding long-term implications of energy development on ecosystem functionrequires establishing regional datasets to quantify past development and determine relationships to predict future development. The Piceance Basin in western Colorado has a history of energy production and development is expected to continue into the foreseeable future due to abundant natural gas resources...
Authors
Cericia D. Martinez, Todd M. Preston
Local extinction of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) following rat eradication on Palmyra Atol Local extinction of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) following rat eradication on Palmyra Atol
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, appears to have been extirpated from Palmyra Atoll following rat eradication. Anecdotal biting reports, collection records, and regular captures in black-light traps showed the species was present before rat eradication. Since then, there have been no biting reports and no captures over 2 years of extensive trapping (black-light and scent traps...
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty, John P. McLaughlin, Daniel S. Gruner, Taylor A. Bogar, An Bui, Jasmine N. Childress, Magaly Espinoza, Elizabeth S. Forbes, Cora A. Johnston, Maggie Klope, Ana Miller-ter Kuile, Michelle Lee, Katherine A. Plummer, David A. Weber, Ronald T. Young, Hillary S. Young
Osteopilus septentrionalis (Cuban treefrog) Osteopilus septentrionalis (Cuban treefrog)
USA: LOUISIANA: east baton Rouge paRish: private property in a garden center on a bromeliad in the 1700 block of Millerville Road in Baton Rouge (ca. 30.443°N, 91.023°W; WGS 84). 29 November 2016. Joseph Roy. Verified by Hardin Waddle. Florida Museum of Natural History (UF 181952; photo voucher). New parish record. This sub-adult was discovered after the bromeliad was bought and placed...
Authors
Brad M. Glorioso, Philip Vanbergen, Joseph Roy, Matthew Walter, Lauren Leonpacher, Mark Freistak
U.S. Pacific coastal wetland resilience and vulnerability to sea-level rise U.S. Pacific coastal wetland resilience and vulnerability to sea-level rise
We used a first-of-its-kind comprehensive scenario approach to evaluate both the vertical and horizontal response of tidal wetlands to projected changes in the rate of sea-level rise (SLR) across 14 estuaries along the Pacific coast of the continental United States. Throughout the U.S. Pacific region, we found that tidal wetlands are highly vulnerable to end-of-century submergence, with...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Richard F. Ambrose, Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, Jordan A. Rosencranz, James Homquist, John P. Smol, Kathryn Hargan, John Y. Takekawa
Environmental contaminants of health-care origin: Exposure and potential effects in wildlife Environmental contaminants of health-care origin: Exposure and potential effects in wildlife
A diverse range of fauna could be exposed to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) via diet, dermal absorption or bioconcentration. Low level exposures of free-ranging wildlife to APIs has only been demonstrated for a few pathways (e.g., ingestion of fish in estuaries by piscivorous birds), and many remain hypothetical (e.g., ingestion of invertebrates in sludge amended fields by...
Authors
Thomas Bean, Barnett A. Rattner
Stability and change in kelp forest habitats at San Nicolas Island Stability and change in kelp forest habitats at San Nicolas Island
Kelp forest communities are highly variable over space and time. Despite this complexity it has been suggested that kelp forest communities can be classified into one of 2 states: kelp dominated or sea urchin dominated. It has been further hypothesized that these represent “alternate stable states” because a site can remain in either of these states for decades before some perturbation...
Authors
Michael C. Kenner, M. Tim Tinker
Movers and stayers: Novel assemblages in changing environments Movers and stayers: Novel assemblages in changing environments
How species will respond to ongoing climate and other change is of increasing concern. Most attention is given to how species move or are moved, but many species stay. Understanding the dynamics of new species combinations is essential for successful conservation in a changing climate. Increased attention to species movement in response to environmental change highlights the need to...
Authors
Richard L. Hobbs, Leonie E. Valentine, Rachel J. Standish, Stephen T. Jackson
Ecological drought: Accounting for the non-human impacts of water shortage in the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin, Montana, USA Ecological drought: Accounting for the non-human impacts of water shortage in the Upper Missouri Headwaters Basin, Montana, USA
Water laws and drought plans are used to prioritize and allocate scarce water resources. Both have historically been human-centric, failing to account for non-human water needs. In this paper, we examine the development of instream flow legislation and the evolution of drought planning to highlight the growing concern for the non-human impacts of water scarcity. Utilizing a new framework...
Authors
Jamie McEvoy, Deborah J. Bathke, Nina Burkardt, Amanda E. Cravens, Tonya Haigh, Kimberly R. Hall, Michael J. Hayes, Theresa Jedd, Marketa Podebradska, Elliot Wickham
Anomalous bioaccumulation of lead in the earthworm Eisenoides lonnbergi (Michaelsen) Anomalous bioaccumulation of lead in the earthworm Eisenoides lonnbergi (Michaelsen)
Lead concentrations in soil organisms are usually well below those in the associated soil and tend to decrease with each higher trophic level in a food chain. Earthworms of the species Eisenoides lonnbergi provide an exception to this observation, accumulating very high concentrations of lead from acidic soils. Earthworms belonging to this species were collected from strongly to...
Authors
W. Nelson Beyer, Eton E. Codling, Michael A. Rutzke
Molecular systematics and biodiversity of the Cryptotis mexicanus group (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae): two new species from Honduras supported Molecular systematics and biodiversity of the Cryptotis mexicanus group (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae): two new species from Honduras supported
Small-eared shrews of the genus Cryptotis (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) are widespread in the northern Neotropics. Systematic studies of these shrews over the past two decades have revealed previously undocumented morphological and species diversity, resulting in a quadrupling of the number of recognized species. Unfortunately, a small proportion of the species in the genus have...
Authors
Amy B. Baird, Timothy J. McCarthy, Robert G. Trujillo, Yuan Yuan Kang, Mehdi Esmaeiliyan, Joselyn Valdez, Neal Woodman, John W. Bickham