Publications
Below is a list of available NOROCK peer reviewed and published science. If you are in search of a specific publication and cannot find it below or through a search, please contact twojtowicz@usgs.gov.
Filter Total Items: 1296
Spatially explicit capture-mark-recapture to evaluate demographic status of the Louisiana black bear Spatially explicit capture-mark-recapture to evaluate demographic status of the Louisiana black bear
Louisiana black bears (Ursus americanus luteolus) occur in semi-isolated fragments of bottomland hardwood forest in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley and were listed as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1992. A population viability analysis based on radio-telemetry and capture-mark-recapture (CMR) data collected from 2002 to 2012 revealed that the...
Authors
Joseph Clark, Heidi Adams, Ben Augustine, John Berry, Dustin Champagne, Maria Davidson, John Hanks, Jared Laufenberg, Sean Murphy
Automated snow cover detection on mountain glaciers usingspaceborne imagery and machine learning Automated snow cover detection on mountain glaciers usingspaceborne imagery and machine learning
Tracking the extent of seasonal snow on glaciers over time is critical for assessing glacier vulnerability and the response of glacierized watersheds to climate change. Existing snow cover products do not reliably distinguish seasonal snow from glacier ice and firn, preventing their use for glacier snow cover detection. Despite previous efforts to classify glacier surface facies using...
Authors
Rainey Aberle, Ellyn Enderlin, Shad O'Neel, Caitlyn Florentine, Louis C. Sass, Adam Dickson, Hans-Peter Marshall, Alejandro Flores
The relationship between body condition, body composition, and growth in amphibians The relationship between body condition, body composition, and growth in amphibians
Body condition of animals is often assumed to reflect advantages in survival or reproduction, but body condition indices may not reflect body composition, or condition may be unrelated to fitness-associated traits. The relationship between body condition indices and composition has rarely been quantified in amphibians, and body condition has not previously been related to growth in adult...
Authors
Ross K. Hinderer, Blake Hossack, Lisa A. Eby
Potential effects of chronic wasting disease and supplemental feeding on elk populations in Wyoming Potential effects of chronic wasting disease and supplemental feeding on elk populations in Wyoming
IntroductionIn 2023, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, evaluated the costs and benefits of supplemental elk (Cervus elaphus canadensis) feeding in western Wyoming. Elk supplemental feeding is intended to maintain elk populations in the winter and limit elk damage to private property...
Authors
Paul C. Cross, Todd Wojtowicz
Sprague’s Pipits (Anthus spragueii) occupying high-elevation intermontane valley habitat throughout the breeding season in southwest Montana Sprague’s Pipits (Anthus spragueii) occupying high-elevation intermontane valley habitat throughout the breeding season in southwest Montana
Sprague's Pipit (Anthus spragueii) is an imperiled bird species that breeds in grasslands of the northern Great Plains of North America. While conducting avian surveys in the Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, southwest Montana, during spring and summer 2023, we detected approximately 10 male Sprague's Pipits performing aerial displays. These represent the first detailed observations...
Authors
Andrew C. Staufer, Emilie K. Maggs, Erik Beever, Adam E. Mitchell
Scent detection dogs detect a species of hard tick, Dermacentor albipictus, with comparable accuracy and efficiency to traditional tick drag surveys Scent detection dogs detect a species of hard tick, Dermacentor albipictus, with comparable accuracy and efficiency to traditional tick drag surveys
BackgroundAccurate surveillance data are critical for addressing tick and tick-borne pathogen risk to human and animal health. Current surveillance methods for detecting invading or expanding tick species are limited in their ability to scale efficiently to state or national levels. In this study we explored the potential use of scent detection dogs to assist field surveys for a hard...
Authors
Troy Koser, Aimee Hurt, Laura Thompson, Courtemanch, Benjamin Wise, Paul C. Cross
Informing adaptive management to reduce ungulate aggregations: A case study involving winter feeding of elk Informing adaptive management to reduce ungulate aggregations: A case study involving winter feeding of elk
In the United States, wildlife managers are entrusted with preserving culturally and economically important ungulate populations in the face of the ongoing spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established an adaptive management plan to reduce the reliance of elk (Cervus canadensis) on supplemental winter feeding on the National Elk Refuge. The end...
Authors
William Janousek, Eric K. Cole, Sarah Dewey, Tabitha A. Graves
Documenting, quantifying, and modeling a large glide avalanche in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA Documenting, quantifying, and modeling a large glide avalanche in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
Glide avalanches present a significant and repetitive challenge to many operational forecasting programs, and they are likely to become more frequent. While the spatial location of glide release areas is extremely consistent, the onset of glide avalanche release is notoriously difficult to forecast, and their destructive potential can be immense. Thus, the timing and dynamics of glide...
Authors
James Dillon, Erich Peitzsch, Zachary Miller, Perry Bartelt, Kevin Hammonds
The effects of unpaved roads on instream sediment: Patterns and challenges for monitoring The effects of unpaved roads on instream sediment: Patterns and challenges for monitoring
Despite > 700,000 km of unpaved roads in the western United States, our knowledge of how roads impact instream sediment is unclear. We combined two studies, including (1) a regional analysis linking stream habitat data from a large-scale monitoring program with road density data to identify generalizable relationships between roads and streambed sediment distributions and (2) a targeted...
Authors
Robert Al-Chokhachy, Geoffrey Poole, Cameron Thomas, Carl Saunders, Brett Roper, Shane Hendrickson, Cory Davis, Kyle Crapster, Eric Archer
Spatially explicit capture-recapture using fecal DNA to estimate elk population abundance and growth in western North Carolina, USA Spatially explicit capture-recapture using fecal DNA to estimate elk population abundance and growth in western North Carolina, USA
In an effort to restore extirpated elk to their historical range, 52 elk were reintroduced to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM) in North Carolina, USA, during 2001 and 2002. Since their reintroduction, elk numbers have increased, and elk have extended their range beyond GRSM boundaries. We used spatially explicit capture-recapture (SCR) methods based on fecal DNA to identify...
Authors
Jessica Braunstein, Joseph Clark, Benjamin C. Augustine, Caleb R. Hickman, Justin McVey, Joseph Yarkovich
Community estimate of global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023 Community estimate of global glacier mass changes from 2000 to 2023
Glaciers are indicators of ongoing anthropogenic climate change1. Their melting leads to increased local geohazards2, and impacts marine3 and terrestrial4,5 ecosystems, regional freshwater resources6, and both global water and energy cycles7,8. Together with the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, glaciers are essential drivers of present9,10 and future11,12,13 sea-level rise. Previous...
Authors
Michael Zemp, Livia Jakob, Ines Dussaillant, Samuel U. Nussbaumer, Noel Gourmelen, Sophie Dubber, A. Geruo, Sahra Abdullahi, Liss Andreassen, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Alejandro Blazquez, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Jason Box, Matthias Braun, Fanny Brun, Eric Cicero, William Colgan, Nicolas Eckert, D. Farinotti, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Alex Gardner, Christopher Harig, Javed Hassan, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Tómas Jóhannesson, Chia-Chun Angela Liang, Chang-Qing Ke, Shfaqat Abbas, Owen King, Marin Kneib, Lukas Krieger, Fabien Maussion, Enrico Mattea, Robert McNabb, Brian Menounos, Evan Miles, Geir Moholdt, Johan Nilsson, F. Palsson, Julia Pfeffer, Livia Piermattei, Stephen Plummer, Andreas Richter, Ingo Sasgen, Lilian Schuster, Thorsten Seehaus, Xiaoyi Shen, Christian Sommer, Tyler Sutterley, Desiree Treichler, Isabella Velicogna, Bert Wouters, Harry Zekollari, Whyjay Zheng
What is eDNA method standardization and why do we need it? What is eDNA method standardization and why do we need it?
The rapid advancement of environmental DNA (eDNA) science in the past two decades has inspired a concomitant growth in the development of eDNA sampling and analytical methods. However, these methods are often developed by individual laboratories or institutions, which can isolate protocols within programmes, agencies or regions and prevent the beneficial exchange of data and ideas...
Authors
Susanna Theroux, Adam Sepulveda, Cathryn L. Abbott, Zachary Gold, Alison W. Watts, Margaret Hunter, Katy Klymus, Shana L. Hirsch, Joseph Craine, Devin Jones-Slobodian, Rachel J. Brown, Joshua A. Steele, Miwa Takahashi, Rachel Noble, John Darling