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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: 42874

Modeling the effects of tile drain placement on the hydrologic function of farmed prairie wetlands Modeling the effects of tile drain placement on the hydrologic function of farmed prairie wetlands

The early 2000s saw large increases in agricultural tile drainage in the eastern Dakotas of North America. Agricultural practices that drain wetlands directly are sometimes limited by wetland protection programs. Little is known about the impacts of tile drainage beyond the delineated boundaries of wetlands in upland catchments that may be in agricultural production. A series of...
Authors
Brett Werner, John Tracy, W. Carter Johnson, Richard A. Voldseth, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Bruce Millett

Environmental implications of the use of sulfidic back-bay sediments for dune reconstruction — Lessons learned post Hurricane Sandy Environmental implications of the use of sulfidic back-bay sediments for dune reconstruction — Lessons learned post Hurricane Sandy

Some barrier-island dunes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy's storm surges in October 2012 have been reconstructed using sediments dredged from back bays. These sand-, clay-, and iron sulfide-rich sediments were used to make berm-like cores for the reconstructed dunes, which were then covered by beach sand. In November 2013, we sampled and analyzed partially weathered materials...
Authors
Geoffrey S. Plumlee, William Benzel, Todd M. Hoefen, Philip L. Hageman, Suzette A. Morman, Timothy J. Reilly, Monique Adams, Cyrus J. Berry, Jeffrey Fischer, Irene Fisher

Eastern Whip-poor-wills (Antrostomus vociferus) are positively associated with low elevation forest In the central Appalachians Eastern Whip-poor-wills (Antrostomus vociferus) are positively associated with low elevation forest In the central Appalachians

Populations of the Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) are thought to be declining because of a range of potential factors including habitat loss, pesticide use, and predation. However, this species is nocturnal and, as a consequence, it is poorly studied, and its population status is not well assessed by traditional diurnal bird surveys. We used nocturnal road surveys to...
Authors
Christina L. Slover, Todd E. Katzner

Toward a national, sustained U.S. ecosystem assessment Toward a national, sustained U.S. ecosystem assessment

The massive investment of resources devoted to monitoring and assessment of economic and societal indicators in the United States is neither matched by nor linked to efforts to monitor and assess the ecosystem services and biodiversity that support economic and social well-being. Although national-scale assessments of biodiversity (1) and ecosystem indicators (2) have been undertaken...
Authors
Stephen T. Jackson, Clifford S. Duke, Stephanie E. Hampton, Katharine L. Jacobs, Lucas N. Joppa, Karim-Aly S. K. Kassam, Harold A. Mooney, Laura A. Ogden, Mary Ruckelshaus, Jason F. Shogren

Unusual clockwise loop migration lengthens travel distances and increases potential risks for a central Asian, long distance, trans-equatorial migrant, the Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus Unusual clockwise loop migration lengthens travel distances and increases potential risks for a central Asian, long distance, trans-equatorial migrant, the Red-footed Falcon Falco vespertinus

Capsule: Red-footed Falcons Falco vespertinus migrating from northern Kazakhstan proceed west before heading south to Africa; their northbound travel follows a different route with passage close to shooting hotspots in the Mediterranean. Aim: To use tracking and ringing data to document for the first time the migration of globally threatened Red-footed Falcons from northern Kazakhstan...
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Evgeny A. Bragin, Alexander E. Bragin, Michael J. McGrady, Tricia A. Miller, Keith L. Bildstein

Reinforcement and validation of the analyses and conclusions related to fishway evaluation data from Bunt et al.: ‘Performance of fish passage structures at upstream barriers to migration’ Reinforcement and validation of the analyses and conclusions related to fishway evaluation data from Bunt et al.: ‘Performance of fish passage structures at upstream barriers to migration’

Detailed re-examination of the datasets that were used for a meta-analysis of fishway attraction and passage revealed a number of errors that we addressed and corrected. We subsequently re-analysed the revised dataset, and results showed no significant changes in the primary conclusions of the original study; for most species, effective performance cannot be assured for any fishway type.
Authors
C.M. Bunt, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Alexander Haro

Use of noninvasive genetics to assess nest and space use by white-tailed eagles Use of noninvasive genetics to assess nest and space use by white-tailed eagles

Movement and space use are important components of animal interactions with the environment. However, for hard-to-monitor raptor species, there are substantial gaps in our understanding of these key determinants. We used noninvasive genetic tools to evaluate the details of space use over a 3-yr period by White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) at the Naurzum Zapovednik in northern...
Authors
Zafer Bulut, Evgeny A. Bragin, J. Andrew DeWoody, Melissa A. Braham, Todd E. Katzner, Jacqueline M. Doyle

Population-specific life histories contribute to metapopulation viability Population-specific life histories contribute to metapopulation viability

Restoration efforts can be improved by understanding how variations in life-history traits occur within populations of the same species living in different environments. This can be done by first understanding the demographic responses of natural occurring populations. Population viability analysis continues to be useful to species management and conservation with sensitivity analysis...
Authors
Samniqueka J. Halsey, Timothy J. Bell, Kathryn McEachern, Noel B. Pavlovic

Rare alluvial sands of El Monte Valley, California (San Diego County), support high herpetofaunal species richness and diversity, despite severe habitat disturbance Rare alluvial sands of El Monte Valley, California (San Diego County), support high herpetofaunal species richness and diversity, despite severe habitat disturbance

We characterized the species richness, diversity, and distribution of amphibians and reptiles inhabiting El Monte Valley, a heavily disturbed, alluvium-filled basin within the lower San Diego River in Lakeside, California. This rare habitat type in coastal southern California is designated as a critical sand resource by the state of California and is currently under consideration for a...
Authors
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Carlton J. Rochester, Nathan W. Smith, Jeffrey A. Nordland, Robert N. Fisher

Enabling science support for better decision-making when responding to chemical spills Enabling science support for better decision-making when responding to chemical spills

Chemical spills and accidents contaminate the environment and disrupt societies and economies around the globe. In the United States there were approximately 172,000 chemical spills that affected US waterbodies from 2004 to 2014. More than 8000 of these spills involved non–petroleum-related chemicals. Traditional emergency responses or incident command structures (ICSs) that respond to...
Authors
Jennifer L. Weidhass, Andrea M. Dietrich, Nathan J. DeYonker, R. Ryan Dupont, William T. Foreman, Daniel Gallagher, Jennifer E. G. Gallagher, Andrew J. Whelton, William Alexander
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