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
Use of real-time dust monitoring and surface condition to evaluate success of unpaved road treatments Use of real-time dust monitoring and surface condition to evaluate success of unpaved road treatments
Fugitive dust from unpaved roads creates human health hazards, degrades road surfaces, and increases the cost of road maintenance. As a result, many different chemical treatments are applied to unpaved roads in an attempt to control dust and stabilize the wearing course. However, investigations of the effectiveness of these treatments have often been poorly planned or executed. The...
Authors
Bethany K. Kunz, Nicholas S. Green, Janice L. Albers, Mark L. Wildhaber, Edward E. Little
Effects of environmental conditions on reproductive effort and nest success of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds Effects of environmental conditions on reproductive effort and nest success of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds
The Arctic is experiencing rapidly warming conditions, increasing predator abundance, and diminishing population cycles of keystone species such as lemmings. However, it is still not known how many Arctic animals will respond to a changing climate with altered trophic interactions. We studied clutch size, incubation duration and nest survival of 17 taxa of Arctic‐breeding shorebirds at...
Authors
Emily L. Weiser, Stephen C. Brown, Richard B. Lanctot, H. River Gates, Kenneth F. Abraham, Rebecca L. Bentzen, Joël Bêty, Megan L. Boldenow, Rodney W. Brook, Tyrone F. Donnelly, Willow B. English, Scott A. Flemming, Samantha E. Franks, H. Grant Gilchrist, Marie-Andree Giroux, Andrew C. Johnson, Steve Kendall, Lisa V. Kennedy, Laura Koloski, Eunbi Kwon, Jean-François Lamarre, David B. Lank, Christopher J. Latty, Nicolas Lecomte, Joseph R. Liebezeit, Laura McKinnon, Erica Nol, Johanna Perz, Jennie Rausch, Martin D. Robards, Sarah T. Saalfeld, Nathan R. Senner, Paul A. Smith, Mikhail Soloviev, Diana V. Solovyeva, David H. Ward, Paul F. Wood, Brett K. Sandercock
Barataria and Terrebonne Bays: Chapter F in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Barataria and Terrebonne Bays: Chapter F in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
The study area included in the Barataria and Terrebonne Bays vignette of southeastern Louisiana spans eastward from Terrebonne Bay to Barataria Bay (Figure 1) and includes portions of Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Charles, Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard Parishes. This area falls between the Mississippi River on the east and northeast, extends down through the western shore...
Authors
Lawrence Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Mirka Zapletal, Cindy A. Thatcher, William R. Jones, Scott A. Wilson
Preface: The wetland book, I: Structure and function, management, and methods Preface: The wetland book, I: Structure and function, management, and methods
The Wetland Book is a hard copy and online production that provides an unparalleled collation of information on wetlands. It is global in scope and contains 462 chapters prepared by leading wetland researchers and managers. The wide disciplinary and geographic scope is a unique feature and differentiates The Wetland Book from the existing wetland literature. The editors have compiled The...
Authors
C. Max Finlayson, Mark Everard, Kenneth Irvine, Robert J. McInnes, Beth A. Middleton, Anne A. Van Dam, Nick C. Davidson
Yellowstone grizzly bear investigations — Annual report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team 2017 Yellowstone grizzly bear investigations — Annual report of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team 2017
This Annual Report summarizes results of grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) monitoring and research conducted in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) during 2017. This report also contains a summary of grizzly bear management actions to address conflict situations. Annual reports of the IGBST summarize annual data collection. Because...
Data quality from a community-based, water-quality monitoring project in the Yukon River basin Data quality from a community-based, water-quality monitoring project in the Yukon River basin
This paper examines the quality of data collected by the Indigenous Observation Network, a community-based water-quality project in the Yukon River Basin of Alaska and Canada. The Indigenous Observation Network relies on community technicians to collect surface-water samples from as many as fifty locations to achieve their goals of monitoring the quality of the Yukon River and major...
Authors
Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Ronald C. Antweiler, Nicole J. Wilson, Edda A. Mutter, Ryan C. Toohey, Paul F. Schuster
Range position and climate sensitivity: The structure of among-population demographic responses to climatic variation Range position and climate sensitivity: The structure of among-population demographic responses to climatic variation
Species’ distributions will respond to climate change based on the relationship between local demographic processes and climate and how this relationship varies based on range position. A rarely tested demographic prediction is that populations at the extremes of a species’ climate envelope (e.g., populations in areas with the highest mean annual temperature) will be most sensitive to...
Authors
Staci M. Amburgey, David A. W. Miller, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Tracy A. G. Rittenhouse, Michael F. Benard, Jonathan L. Richardson, Mark C. Urban, Ward Hughson, Adrianne B. Brand, Christopher J. Davis, Carmen R. Hardin, Peter W. C. Paton, Christopher J. Raithel, Rick A. Relyea, A. Floyd Scott, David K. Skelly, Dennis E. Skidds, Charles K. Smith, Earl E. Werner
Acute and chronic toxicity of aluminum to a unionid mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) and an amphipod (Hyalella azteca) in water‐only exposures Acute and chronic toxicity of aluminum to a unionid mussel (Lampsilis siliquoidea) and an amphipod (Hyalella azteca) in water‐only exposures
The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is reviewing the protectiveness of the national ambient water quality criteria (WQC) for aluminum (Al) and compiling a toxicity data set to update the WQC. Freshwater mussels are one of the most imperiled groups of animals in the world, but little is known about their sensitivity to Al. The objective of the present study was to evaluate...
Authors
Ning Wang, Chris D. Ivey, Eric L. Brunson, Danielle M. Cleveland, Christopher G. Ingersoll, William A. Stubblefield, Allison S. Cardwell
Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a changing Arctic Demography of the Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) in a changing Arctic
The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is a candidate to be listed as an endangered species under United States law, in part, because of climate change‐related concerns. While the population was known to be declining in the 1980s and 1990s, its recent status has not been determined. We developed Bayesian models of walrus population dynamics to assess the population by...
Authors
Rebecca L. Taylor, Mark S. Udevitz, Chadwick V. Jay, John J. Citta, Lori T. Quakenbush, Patrick R. Lemons, Jonathan A. Snyder
Rule reversal: Ecogeographical patterns of body size variation in the common treeshrew (Mammalia, Scandentia) Rule reversal: Ecogeographical patterns of body size variation in the common treeshrew (Mammalia, Scandentia)
There are a number of ecogeographical “rules” that describe patterns of geographical variation among organisms. The island rule predicts that populations of larger mammals on islands evolve smaller mean body size than their mainland counterparts, whereas smaller‐bodied mammals evolve larger size. Bergmann's rule predicts that populations of a species in colder climates (generally at...
Authors
Eric J. Sargis, Virginie Millien, Neal Woodman, Link E. Olson
What specific costs and risks do we face from climate change? What specific costs and risks do we face from climate change?
A new U.S. government report finds that climate change is already increasing risks to health, the economy, and ecosystems across the United States. These risks are expected to grow in the coming decades.
Authors
Alexa Jay, Ben DeAngelo, Dan Barrie, David Reidmiller
Effects of ocean acidification on salinity tolerance and seawater growth of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts Effects of ocean acidification on salinity tolerance and seawater growth of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar smolts
Human activity has resulted in increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), which will result in reduced pH and higher levels of CO2 in the ocean, a process known as ocean acidification. Understanding the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on fishes will be important to predicting and mitigating its consequences. Anadromous species such as salmonids may be especially at risk because of...
Authors
Stephen D. McCormick, Amy M. Regish