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
Intra-reach headwater fish assemblage structure Intra-reach headwater fish assemblage structure
Large-scale conservation efforts can take advantage of modern large databases and regional modeling and assessment methods. However, these broad-scale efforts often assume uniform average habitat conditions and/or species assemblages within stream reaches.
Authors
James E. McKenna
Landform features and seasonal precipitation predict shallow groundwater influence on temperature in headwater streams Landform features and seasonal precipitation predict shallow groundwater influence on temperature in headwater streams
Headwater stream responses to climate change will depend in part on groundwater‐surface water exchanges. We used linear modeling techniques to partition likely effects of shallow groundwater seepage and air temperature on stream temperatures for 79 sites in nine focal watersheds using hourly air and water temperature measurements collected during summer months from 2012 to 2015 in...
Authors
Zachary C. Johnson, Craig D. Snyder, Nathaniel P. Hitt
Does bioelectrical impedance analysis accurately estimate the condition of threatened and endangered desert fish species? Does bioelectrical impedance analysis accurately estimate the condition of threatened and endangered desert fish species?
Bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is a nonlethal tool with which to estimate the physiological condition of animals that has potential value in research on endangered species. However, the effectiveness of BIA varies by species, the methodology continues to be refined, and incidental mortality rates are unknown. Under laboratory conditions we tested the value of using BIA in...
Authors
Kimberly L. Dibble, Micheal D. Yard, David L. Ward, Charles B. Yackulic
Puffins reveal contrasting relationships between forage fish and ocean climate in the North Pacific Puffins reveal contrasting relationships between forage fish and ocean climate in the North Pacific
Long-term studies of predator food habits (i.e., ‘predator-based sampling’) are useful for identifying patterns of spatial and temporal variability of forage nekton in marine ecosystems. We investigated temporal changes in forage fish availability and relationships to ocean climate by analyzing diet composition of three puffin species (horned puffin Fratercula corniculata, tufted puffin...
Authors
William J. Sydeman, John F. Piatt, Sarah Ann Thompson, Marisol Garcia-Reyes, Scott A. Hatch, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Leslie Slater, Jeffrey C. Williams, Nora A. Rojek, Stephani G. Zador, Heather M. Renner
Novel, continuous monitoring of fine‐scale movement using fixed‐position radiotelemetry arrays and random forest location fingerprinting Novel, continuous monitoring of fine‐scale movement using fixed‐position radiotelemetry arrays and random forest location fingerprinting
Radio‐tag signals from fixed‐position antennas are most often used to indicate presence or absence of individuals, or to estimate individual activity levels from signal strength variation within an antenna's detection zone. The potential of such systems to provide more precise information on tag location and movement has not been explored in great detail in an ecological setting.By...
Authors
Andrew B. Harbicht, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, William R. Ardren, Dimitry Gorsky, Dylan Fraser
Monitoring land surface albedo and vegetation dynamics using high spatial and temporal resolution synthetic time series from Landsat and the MODIS BRDF/NBAR/albedo product Monitoring land surface albedo and vegetation dynamics using high spatial and temporal resolution synthetic time series from Landsat and the MODIS BRDF/NBAR/albedo product
Seasonal vegetation phenology can significantly alter surface albedo which in turn affects the global energy balance and the albedo warming/cooling feedbacks that impact climate change. To monitor and quantify the surface dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes, high temporal and spatial resolution synthetic time series of albedo and the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) were generated from...
Authors
Zhuosen Wang, Crystal B. Schaaf, Qingson Sun, JiHyun Kim, Angela M. Erb, Feng Gao, Miguel O. Roman, Yun Yang, Shelley Petroy, Jeffrey Taylor, Jeffrey G. Masek, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Xiaoyang Zhang, Shirley A. Papuga
Decadal declines in avian herbivore reproduction: density-dependent nutrition and phenological mismatch in the Arctic Decadal declines in avian herbivore reproduction: density-dependent nutrition and phenological mismatch in the Arctic
A full understanding of population dynamics depends not only on estimation of mechanistic contributions of recruitment and survival, but also knowledge about the ecological processes that drive each of these vital rates. The process of recruitment in particular may be protracted over several years, and can depend on numerous ecological complexities until sexually mature adulthood is...
Authors
Megan V. Ross, Ray T. Alisaukas, David C. Douglas, Dana K. Kellett
The interacting roles of climate, soils, and plant production on soil microbial communities at a continental scale The interacting roles of climate, soils, and plant production on soil microbial communities at a continental scale
Soil microbial communities control critical ecosystem processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and soil organic matter formation. Continental scale patterns in the composition and functioning of microbial communities are related to climatic, biotic, and edaphic factors such as temperature and precipitation, plant community composition, and soil carbon, nitrogen, and pH...
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, JoAnn M. Holloway, David B. Smith, Martin B. Goldhaber, R. E. Drenovsky, K. M. Scow, R. Dick, Daniel M. Howard, Bruce K. Wylie, James B. Grace
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Geology, Energy, and Minerals Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Selenium: Mercury molar ratios in freshwater fish in the Columbia River Basin: Potential applications for specific fish consumption advisories Selenium: Mercury molar ratios in freshwater fish in the Columbia River Basin: Potential applications for specific fish consumption advisories
Fish provide a valuable source of beneficial nutrients and are an excellent source of low fat protein. However, fish are also the primary source of methylmercury exposure in humans. Selenium often co-occurs with mercury and there is some evidence that selenium can protect against mercury toxicity yet States issue fish consumption advisories based solely on the risks that methylmercury...
Authors
Leanne K. Cusack, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Anna K. Harding, Molly Kile, Dave Stone
Monitoring water content dynamics of biological soil crusts Monitoring water content dynamics of biological soil crusts
Biological soil crusts (hereafter, “biocrusts”) dominate soil surfaces in nearly all dryland environments. To better understand the influence of water content on carbon (C) exchange, we assessed the ability of dual-probe heat-pulse (DPHP) sensors, installed vertically and angled, to measure changes in near-surface water content. Four DPHP sensors were installed in each of two research...
Authors
Michael H. Young, Lynn F. Fenstermaker, Jayne Belnap
Glacierized headwater streams as aquifer recharge corridors, subarctic Alaska Glacierized headwater streams as aquifer recharge corridors, subarctic Alaska
Arctic river discharge has increased in recent decades although sources and mechanisms remain debated. Abundant literature documents permafrost thaw and mountain glacier shrinkage over the past decades. Here we link glacier runoff to aquifer recharge via a losing headwater stream in subarctic Interior Alaska. Field measurements in Jarvis Creek (634 km2), a subbasin of the Tanana and...
Authors
Anna K. Lilledahl, Anne Gadeke, Shad O’Neel, T. A. Gatesman, T. A. Douglas