Publications

California contains exceptional biodiversity in geography and plant life, including numerous endemic species, some of which are cryptic. The Oenothera deltoides Torr. & Frém. species complex represents a prime example of cryptic diversity. Here, we recognize a new subspecies of Oenothera deltoides, O. deltoides subsp. julpunensis S.F.Jones, subsp. nov., that is a local endemic of...

Invasive species are a major cause of biodiversity loss and are notoriously expensive and challenging to manage. We developed a decision-analytic framework for evaluating invasive species removal strategies, given objectives of maximizing eradication probability and minimizing costs. The framework uses an existing estimation model for spatially referenced removal data—one of the most...

Phylogenomic data are revolutionizing the field of insect phylogenetics. One of the most tenable and cost-effective methods of generating phylogenomic data is target enrichment, which has resulted in novel phylogenetic hypotheses and revealed new insights into insect evolution. Orthoptera is the most diverse insect order within polyneoptera and includes many evolutionarily and...

Introduction National parks and preserves in the South Atlantic-Gulf Region contain valuable coastal habitats such as tidal wetlands and mangrove forests, as well as irreplaceable historic buildings and archeological sites located in low-lying areas. These natural and cultural resources are vulnerable to accelerated sea-level rise and escalating high tide flooding events. Through a...

Riverine fishes face many challenges including habitat degradation and climate change, which alter the productivity of the riverscapes in which fish live, reproduce, and feed. Understanding the watershed portfolio of foraging and growth opportunities that sustain productive and resilient fish populations is important for prioritizing conservation and restoration. However, the...

Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) face many anthropogenic risks including illegal shooting, electrocution, collision with wind turbines and vehicles, and lead poisoning. Minimizing or offsetting eagle deaths resulting from human-caused sources is often viewed as an important management objective. Despite understanding the leading anthropogenic sources of eagle fatalities, existing...

Invasive carp pose substantial economic and ecological damage when populations are widespread in freshwater systems within the United States. Resource managers in the United States have few chemical control tools to selectively remove nuisance fish. This study examined whether Antimycin–A (antimycin) wax encapsulated microparticles could cause selective lethality in invasive carps. The...

The Aransas-Wood Buffalo population of Grus americana (Linnaeus, 1758; whooping cranes) migrates through the U.S. Great Plains, encountering places substantially altered by human activity. Using telemetry data from 2017 to 2022, we investigated whooping crane migration behavior around U.S. Air Force bases in Oklahoma. Our study focused on potential collision risks between whooping cranes...

Spatial overlap between wildlife and related domestic animals can lead to disease transmission, with substantial evidence for viral and bacterial spillover. Domestic and wild animals can also share potentially harmful helminth parasites, many of which have environmental transmission stages that do not require direct contact between hosts. We used camera traps, fecal sampling, and...

Tree swallow nest boxes were deployed at sites proximal to two putative aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) sources in the Duluth, MN area, as well as along the St. Louis River and a reference lake for comparative purposes in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The two AFFF sites were the current Duluth Air National Guard Base (ANG) and the Lake Superior College Emergency Response Training Center. Between...

Research efforts focusing on salmonid populations have highlighted the need to better understand demographic parameters for the fry and parr life stages. Monitoring these small fish presents a challenge because negative effects from handling and tagging can bias subsequent parameter estimates. Removal models and associated sampling designs represent one class of mark-recapture models...

Executive Summary Climate is the primary driver of environmental change and is a key consideration in defining science priorities conducted across all mission areas in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Recognizing the importance of climate change to its future research agenda, the USGS’s Climate Science Steering Committee requested the development of a Climate Science Plan to identify...