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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: 42707

Geomorphic process from topographic form: automating the interpretation of repeat survey data in river valleys Geomorphic process from topographic form: automating the interpretation of repeat survey data in river valleys

The ability to quantify the processes driving geomorphic change in river valley margins is vital to geomorphologists seeking to understand the relative role of transport mechanisms (e.g. fluvial, aeolian, and hillslope processes) in landscape dynamics. High-resolution, repeat topographic data are becoming readily available to geomorphologists. By contrasting digital elevation models...
Authors
Alan Kasprak, Joshua J. Caster, Sara G. Bangen, Joel B. Sankey

Environmental Escherichia coli: Ecology and public health implications - A review Environmental Escherichia coli: Ecology and public health implications - A review

Escherichia coli is classified as a rod-shaped, Gram-negative bacterium in the family Enterobacteriaceae. The bacterium mainly inhabits the lower intestinal tract of warm-blooded animals, including humans, and is often discharged into the environment through feces or wastewater effluent. The presence of E. coli in environmental waters has long been considered as an indicator of recent...
Authors
Jeonghwan Jang, Hor-Gil Hur, Michael J. Sadowsky, Muruleedhara Byappanahalli, Tao Yan, Satoshi Ishii

Pacific Island landbird monitoring report, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, 2015-2016: Tract groups 1 and 2 Pacific Island landbird monitoring report, Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, 2015-2016: Tract groups 1 and 2

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) was surveyed for landbirds and landbird habitat from February through April 2015 and February through April 2016. This information provides the second datum in the time-series of Pacific Island Network (PACN) monitoring for long-term trends in landbird distribution, density, and abundance. Initial PACN surveys were conducted in 2010 and are repeated...
Authors
Seth Judge, Richard J. Camp, Daniel Sedgwick, Carine Squibb, Patrick J. Hart

Assessing pollinator habitat services to optimize conservation programs Assessing pollinator habitat services to optimize conservation programs

Pollination services have received increased attention over the past several years, and protecting foraging area is beginning to be reflected in conservation policy. This case study considers the prospects for doing so in a more analytically rigorous manner, by quantifying the pollination services for sites being considered for ecological restoration. The specific policy context is the
Authors
Richard Iovanna, Amy W. Ando, Scott Swinton, Daniel Hellerstein, Jimmy Kagan, David M. Mushet, Clint Otto, Charles A. Rewa

Facilitating adaptation in montane plants to changing precipitation along an elevation gradient Facilitating adaptation in montane plants to changing precipitation along an elevation gradient

Montane plant communities throughout the world have responded to changes in precipitation and temperature regimes by shifting ranges upward in elevation. Continued warmer, drier climate conditions have been documented and are projected to increase in high-elevation areas in Hawai‘i, consistent with climate change effects reported in other environments throughout the world. Organisms that...
Authors
Steve C. Hess, Christina Leopold

Simulation of rapid ecological change in Lake Ontario Simulation of rapid ecological change in Lake Ontario

Lower trophic level processes are integral to proper functioning of large aquatic ecosystems and have been disturbed in Lake Ontario by various stressors including exotic species. The invasion of benthic habitats by dreissenid mussels has led to systemic changes and native faunal declines. Size-dependent physiological rates, spatial differences and connectivity, competition, and...
Authors
James E. McKenna, Marc Chalupnicki, Dawn E. Dittman, James M. Watkins

Quantifying the demographic cost of human-related mortality to a raptor population Quantifying the demographic cost of human-related mortality to a raptor population

Raptors are exposed to a wide variety of human-related mortality agents, and yet population-level effects are rarely quantified. Doing so requires modeling vital rates in the context of species life-history, behavior, and population dynamics theory. In this paper, we explore the details of such an analysis by focusing on the demography of a resident, tree-nesting population of golden...
Authors
W. Grainger Hunt, David Wiens, Peter R. Law, Mark R. Fuller, Teresa L. Hunt, Daniel E. Driscoll, Ronald E. Jackman

Status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), 2016 Status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), 2016

Trichechus manatus (West Indian manatee), especially T. m. latirostris, the Florida subspecies, has been the focus of conservation efforts and extensive research since its listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. To determine the status of, and severity of threats to, the Florida manatee, a comprehensive revision and update of the manatee Core Biological Model was completed and...
Authors
Michael C. Runge, Carol A. Sanders-Reed, Catherine A. Langtimm, Jeffrey A. Hostetler, Julien Martin, Charles J. Deutsch, Leslie I. Ward-Geiger, Gary L. Mahon

Characterizing the early life history of an imperiled freshwater mussel (Ptychobranchus jonesi) with host-fish determination and fecundity estimation Characterizing the early life history of an imperiled freshwater mussel (Ptychobranchus jonesi) with host-fish determination and fecundity estimation

Conservation of imperiled species is frequently challenged by insufficient knowledge of life history and environmental factors that affect various life stages. The larvae (glochidia) of most freshwater mussels in the family Unionidae are obligate ectoparasites of fishes. We described the early life history of the federally endangered Southern Kidneyshell Ptychobranchus jonesi and...
Authors
John Mcleod, Howard L. Jelks, Sandra Pursifull, Nathan A. Johnson

Temperature Temperature

Stream temperature has direct and indirect effects on stream ecology and is critical in determining both abiotic and biotic system responses across a hierarchy of spatial and temporal scales. Temperature variation is primarily driven by solar radiation, while landscape topography, geology, and stream reach scale ecosystem processes contribute to local variability. Spatiotemporal...
Authors
Leslie A. Jones, Clint C. Muhlfeld, F. Richard Hauer

Contrasting nest survival patterns for ducks and songbirds in northern mixed-grass prairie Contrasting nest survival patterns for ducks and songbirds in northern mixed-grass prairie

Management actions intended to protect or improve habitat for ducks may benefit grassland-nesting passerines, but scant information is available to explore this assumption. During 1998–2003, we examined nest survival of ducks and songbirds to determine whether effects of prescribed fire and other habitat features (e.g., shrub cover and distance to habitat edges) were similar for ducks...
Authors
Todd Grant, Terry L. Shaffer, Elizabeth M. Madden, Melvin P. Nenneman
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