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: 42871
Graphical function mapping as a new way to explore cause-and-effect chains Graphical function mapping as a new way to explore cause-and-effect chains
Graphical function mapping provides a simple method for improving communication within interdisciplinary research teams and between scientists and nonscientists. This article introduces graphical function mapping using two examples and discusses its usefulness. Function mapping projects the outcome of one function into another to show the combined effect. Using this mathematical property...
Authors
Mary Anne Evans
Trade-offs and efficiencies in optimal budget-constrained multispecies corridor networks Trade-offs and efficiencies in optimal budget-constrained multispecies corridor networks
Conservation biologists recognize that a system of isolated protected areas will be necessary but insufficient to meet biodiversity objectives. Current approaches to connecting core conservation areas through corridors consider optimal corridor placement based on a single optimization goal: commonly, maximizing the movement for a target species across a network of protected areas. We...
Authors
Bistra Dilkina, Rachel Houtman, Carla P. Gomes, Claire A. Montgomery, Kevin McKelvey, Katherine Kendall, Tabitha A. Graves, Michael K. Schwartz, Richard Bernstein
Habitat selection by Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri) at multiple spatial scales in an urbanized estuary: The importance of salt ponds Habitat selection by Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri) at multiple spatial scales in an urbanized estuary: The importance of salt ponds
The highly urbanized San Francisco Bay Estuary, California, USA, is currently undergoing large-scale habitat restoration, and several thousand hectares of former salt evaporation ponds are being converted to tidal marsh. To identify potential effects of this habitat restoration on breeding waterbirds, habitat selection of radiotagged Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri) was examined at...
Authors
Jill Bluso-Demers, Joshua T. Ackerman, John Y. Takekawa, Sarah H. Peterson
Controls on the geochemical evolution of Prairie Pothole Region lakes and wetlands over decadal time scales Controls on the geochemical evolution of Prairie Pothole Region lakes and wetlands over decadal time scales
One hundred sixty-seven Prairie Pothole lakes, ponds and wetlands (largely lakes) previously analyzed chemically during the late 1960’s and early to mid-1970’s were resampled and reanalyzed in 2011–2012. The two sampling periods differed climatically. The earlier sampling took place during normal to slightly dry conditions, whereas the latter occurred during and immediately following...
Authors
Martin B. Goldhaber, Christopher T. Mills, David M. Mushet, R. Blaine McCleskey, Jennifer Rover
Multidecadal increases in the Yukon River Basin of chemical fluxes as indicators of changing flowpaths, groundwater, and permafrost Multidecadal increases in the Yukon River Basin of chemical fluxes as indicators of changing flowpaths, groundwater, and permafrost
The Yukon River Basin, underlain by discontinuous permafrost, has experienced a warming climate over the last century that has altered air temperature, precipitation, and permafrost. We investigated a water chemistry database from 1982 to 2014 for the Yukon River and its major tributary, the Tanana River. Significant increases of Ca, Mg, and Na annual flux were found in both rivers...
Authors
Ryan C. Toohey, Nicole M. Herman-Mercer, Paul F. Schuster, Edda A. Mutter, Joshua C. Koch
Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation Managing climate change refugia for climate adaptation
Refugia have long been studied from paleontological and biogeographical perspectives to understand how populations persisted during past periods of unfavorable climate. Recently, researchers have applied the idea to contemporary landscapes to identify climate change refugia, here defined as areas relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that enable persistence of...
Authors
Toni L. Morelli, Stephen T. Jackson
Thamnophis marcianus (Checkered Gartersnake). USA: Arizona: Yuma and La Paz Counties: Colorado River Thamnophis marcianus (Checkered Gartersnake). USA: Arizona: Yuma and La Paz Counties: Colorado River
No abstract available.
Authors
Ryan Munes, Robert Reed, Bryan Falk, Ashley Lauren Hall, Andrew Holycross
Environmental extremes and biotic interactions facilitate depredation of endangered California Ridgway’s rail in a San Francisco Bay tidal marsh Environmental extremes and biotic interactions facilitate depredation of endangered California Ridgway’s rail in a San Francisco Bay tidal marsh
On 23 December 2015 while performing a high tide population survey for endangered Ridgway’s rails (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus; formerly known as the California clapper rail) and other rail species at Arrowhead Marsh, Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, California, the authors observed a series of species interactions resulting in the predation of a Ridgway’s rail by an...
Authors
Cory T. Overton, Steven Bobzien, Marcia Grefsrud
Trading shallow safety for deep sleep: Juvenile green turtles select deeper resting sites as they grow Trading shallow safety for deep sleep: Juvenile green turtles select deeper resting sites as they grow
To better protect endangered green sea turtles Chelonia mydas, a more thorough understanding of the behaviors of each life stage is needed. Although dive profile analyses obtained using time-depth loggers have provided some insights into habitat use, recent work has shown that more fine-scale monitoring of body movements is needed to elucidate physical activity patterns. We monitored 11...
Authors
Kristen M. Hart, Connor F. White, Autumn R. Iverson, Nick Whitney
Assessment of trace element accumulation by earthworms in an orchard soil remediation study using soil amendments Assessment of trace element accumulation by earthworms in an orchard soil remediation study using soil amendments
This study assessed potential bioaccumulation of various trace elements in grasses and earthworms as a consequence of soil incorporation of organic amendments for in situ remediation of an orchard field soil contaminated with organochlorine and Pb pesticide residues. In this experiment, four organic amendments of differing total organic carbon content and quality (two types of composted...
Authors
Tiziana Centofantia, Rufus L. Chaney, W. Nelson Beyer, Laura L. McConnell, A. P. Davis, Dana Jackson
Anti-dog IgG secondary antibody successfully detects IgG in a variety of aquatic mammals Anti-dog IgG secondary antibody successfully detects IgG in a variety of aquatic mammals
Serological tests play an important role in the detection of wildlife diseases. However, while there are many commercial assays and reagents available for domestic species, there is a need to develop efficient serological assays for wildlife. In recent years, marine mammals have represented a wildlife group with emerging infectious diseases, such as influenza, brucellosis, and...
Authors
Katherine Roehl, Mark D. Jankowski, Erik K. Hofmeister
White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) subsidize gray wolves (Canis lupus) during a moose (Alces americanus) decline: A case of apparent competition? White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) subsidize gray wolves (Canis lupus) during a moose (Alces americanus) decline: A case of apparent competition?
Moose (Alces americanus) in northeastern Minnesota have declined by 55% since 2006. Although the cause is unresolved, some studies have suggested that Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) contributed to the decline. After the Moose decline, wolves could either decline or switch prey. To determine which occurred in our study area, we compared winter wolf counts and summer diet before and after the...
Authors
Shannon Barber-Meyer, L. David Mech