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: 42671
Early season tropical cyclones affect birds breeding on a barrier island Early season tropical cyclones affect birds breeding on a barrier island
Animal populations often experience acute natural disturbances, most of which are connected to short—term weather events. Occurrences of early—season tropical cyclones during the peak of the avian breeding season are likely to increase with climate change, which can substantially impact populations of coastal breeding birds at multiple scales. To understand the acute impacts of severe...
Authors
Theodore Zenzal, Amanda Anderson, Brock Geary, Jessica Schulz, Robert Dobbs, Wylie Barrow, Hardin Waddle
Land use and soil characteristics are associated with increased risk of treponeme-associated hoof disease in elk Land use and soil characteristics are associated with increased risk of treponeme-associated hoof disease in elk
Environments can shape the occurrence and extent of disease outbreaks in wildlife. We studied the effects of environmental features on the occurrence of treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD), an emerging infectious disease of free-ranging elk (Cervus canadensis), in southwestern Washington, USA. During the 2016–2022 harvest seasons, successful elk hunters returned mandatory harvest...
Authors
Steven Winter, Glen A. Sargeant, Margaret Wild, Erin Clancey, Kathryn Huyvaert, Kyle Garrison, Pilar Fernandez
A transdisciplinary approach to growing an applied science of cultural evolution for a sustainable future A transdisciplinary approach to growing an applied science of cultural evolution for a sustainable future
Addressing sustainability challenges requires an integrative approach that bridges scientific research with practical application. The field of cultural evolution (CE) offers a perspective that may guide transitions and cultural transformations for a sustainable future. However, there have been few efforts to apply this field to sustainability challenges. This study explores how CE can...
Authors
Jeremy Brooks, Rebecca Koomen, Peter Søgaard-Jørgensen, Richard Berl, Wendy Chavez-Paez, Dustin Eirdosh, Moh Hakim, Susan Hanisch, Christine Lindell, James Liu, Minh Nguyễn, Anne Pisor, Douglas Rogers, Rainer Romero-Canyas, Erik Thulin, Tim Waring
Foundational principles of an applied cultural evolutionary science for natural resource management and conservation Foundational principles of an applied cultural evolutionary science for natural resource management and conservation
Culture, as the filter through which people view the world and a key determinant of human behaviour, is central to the practice of natural resource management and conservation. Conservation is intended to moderate the impacts of human cultural modification of the environment, exists as an endeavour because it is culturally valued, and acts largely through policies to encourage or...
Authors
Richard Berl, Jonathan Fisk, Lily van Eeden, Jonathan Salerno, Álvaro Fernández-Llamazares, Kirsten Leong, Jonathan Long, G. Boomer, Christopher Williams, Ugo Arbieu, Lisa Lehnen, Adam Landon, Erle Ellis, Bas Verschuuren, Lincoln R. Larson, Michael Gavin
Toward co-designed Earth System Models: Reflecting end-user priorities in local applications from a modeler's perspective Toward co-designed Earth System Models: Reflecting end-user priorities in local applications from a modeler's perspective
Earth System Models (ESM) are crucial for quantifying climate impacts across Earth's interconnected systems and supporting science-based adaptation and mitigation. However, not including end-users, especially decision-makers representing communities vulnerable to climate change, can limit model utility, increase epistemic risks, and lead to information misuse in decision-making. While...
Authors
Yifan Cheng, Nicole Herman-Mercer, Andrew Newman, Keith Musselman, Cleo Woelfle-Hazard, Dylan Blaskey, Cassandra Brooks, Tvetene Carlson, Joshua Koch, Monica Morrison, Edda A. Mutter, Daniel Sarna-Wojcicki, Peyton Thomas, Jenessa Tlen, Ryan Toohey
River ice controls permafrost bank erosion across an Arctic delta River ice controls permafrost bank erosion across an Arctic delta
Bank erosion in Arctic rivers helps shape channel geometry, mobilizes carbon from permafrost and influences sediment delivery to the Arctic Ocean. On Alaska's Arctic coastal plain, rivers begin flowing during snowmelt in late spring while extensive river ice persists in channels, such that hydraulics are altered and water is kept cool. The effects of river ice on permafrost bank erosion...
Authors
J Arcuri, Irina Overeem, Marisa Repasch, R. Anderson, S. Anderson, Joshua Koch, Frank Urban
Restoring the Florida Everglades: Insights on integrating sea level rise into decision-support tools Restoring the Florida Everglades: Insights on integrating sea level rise into decision-support tools
Although coastal ecosystems are impacted by climate change and sea-level rise, many ecological and hydrological models do not yet incorporate sea-level rise projections in their modeling outputs. Therefore, this research examined the various challenges that may prevent sea-level rise from being effectively incorporated in modeling and decision-support tools. We conducted semi-structured...
Authors
Stephanie Castellano, Mysha Clarke, Laura D’Acunto, Stephanie Romanach, Stephanie Cadaval
The continued decline of the Palila (Loxioides bailleui) on Mauna Kea, Island of Hawaiʻi The continued decline of the Palila (Loxioides bailleui) on Mauna Kea, Island of Hawaiʻi
Palila (Loxioides bailleui) are critically endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers specializing on māmane (Sophora chrysophylla) seeds and restricted to Mauna Kea volcano on the Island of Hawaiʻi. Recently, the population was estimated to decline by 89% between 1998 and 2021, despite decades of ungulate removal, fence construction, māmane regeneration, fire suppression, and predator control...
Authors
Noah Hunt, Chauncey Asing, Lindsey Nietmann, Paul Banko, Richard Camp
Predicting niche spaces of expanding Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) populations following white-nose syndrome establishment Predicting niche spaces of expanding Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) populations following white-nose syndrome establishment
Observations of the Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis), a species historically distributed abundantly throughout the southeastern United States, are speculated to have increased in the Midwest. One hypothesis for this expansion in geographic distribution is that local extirpations of other bat species resulted in the expanded realized niche spaces for evening bats. In Indiana, such niche...
Authors
Sally Martinez, Laura D’Acunto, Bradford Westrich, Scott Bergeson, Patrick Zollner
Leveraging an observed-data likelihood improves the use of machine learning labels in a Bayesian hierarchical model for bioacoustic data Leveraging an observed-data likelihood improves the use of machine learning labels in a Bayesian hierarchical model for bioacoustic data
Classification of massive datasets by machine learning (ML) algorithms is promising for many scientific domains, especially wildlife monitoring programs that rely on passive acoustic surveys for detecting species. However, treating ML-predicted class labels (e.g., species identity) as truth biases inferences of focal parameters within common modeling frameworks. One solution is to model...
Authors
Jacob Oram, Katharine Banner, Christian Stratton, Andrew Hoegh, Kathryn Irvine
Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2024 Range-wide population trend analysis for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus)—Updated 1960–2024
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter sage-grouse) are at the center of State and national land-use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits as an ecological indicator for the health of sagebrush ecosystems. This updated population trend analysis provides State and Federal land and wildlife managers with the best available science to help guide...
Authors
Brian Prochazka, Peter Coates, Cameron Aldridge, Michael O’Donnell, David Edmunds, Adrian P. Monroe, Steve Hanser, Lief Wiechman, Michael Chenaille
Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States Sentinel-2 based estimates of rangeland fractional cover and canopy gap class for the western United States
Rangelands are extensive ecosystems, providing important ecosystem services while undergoing continuous change. As a result, improved monitoring technologies can help better characterize vegetation change. Satellite remote sensing has proven effective in this regard, tracking vegetation dynamics at broad and fine scales. We leveraged the spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution of...
Authors
Brady Allred, Sarah McCord, Timothy Assal, Brandon Bestelmeyer, Chad Boyd, Alexander Brooks, Samantha Cady, Michael Duniway, Samuel Fuhlendorf, Shane Green, Georgia Harrison, Eric Jensen, Emily Kachergis, Anna Knight, Chloe Mattilio, Brian Mealor, David Naugle, Dylan O’Leary, Peter Olsoy, Erika Peirce, Jason Reinhardt, Robert Shriver, Joseph Smith, Jason Tack, Ashley Tanner, Evan Tanner, Dirac Twidwell, Nicholas Webb, Scott Morford