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: 42773
Climate-induced tree-mortality pulses are obscured by broad-scale and long-term greening Climate-induced tree-mortality pulses are obscured by broad-scale and long-term greening
Vegetation greening has been suggested to be a dominant trend over recent decades, but severe pulses of tree mortality in forests after droughts and heatwaves have also been extensively reported. These observations raise the question of to what extent the observed severe pulses of tree mortality induced by climate could affect overall vegetation greenness across spatial grains and...
Authors
Yuchao Yan, Shilong Piao, William M. Hammond, Anping Chen, Songbai Hong, Xu Hao, Seth M. Munson, Ranga B. Myneni, Craig D. Allen
Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges, and guidance for indicators of genetic diversity Too simple, too complex, or just right? Advantages, challenges, and guidance for indicators of genetic diversity
Measuring genetic diversity of wild species using DNA-based data remains resource intensive and time consuming for nearly all species. However, genetic assessments are needed for global conservation commitments, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, and for governments and managers to evaluate conservation progress, as well as prioritizing species and populations to preserve...
Authors
Sean M. Hoban, Jessica M. da Silva, Alice C. Hughes, Margaret Hunter, Belma Kalamujic Stroil, Linda Laikre, Alicia Mastretta-Yanes, Katie L Millette, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Lucia Ruiz Bustos, Robyn E. Shaw, Cristiano Vernesi, the Coalition for Conservation Genetics
The decision maker’s lament: If I only had some science! The decision maker’s lament: If I only had some science!
Environmental decision makers lament instances in which the lack of actionable science limits confident decision-making. Their reaction when the needed scientific information is of poor quality, uninformative, unintelligible, or altogether absent is often to criticize scientists, their work, or science in general. The considerations offered here encourage decision makers to explore...
Authors
Gustavo A. Bisbal
Summary of data collected during field efficacy trials of florfenicol and oxytetracycline dihydrate in controlling mortality in walleye (Sander vitreus) because of motile Aeromonad infections Summary of data collected during field efficacy trials of florfenicol and oxytetracycline dihydrate in controlling mortality in walleye (Sander vitreus) because of motile Aeromonad infections
Motile Aeromonad septicemia is a substantial concern during fish propagation and can be catastrophic for fish hatcheries. We tested the efficacy of two different drugs (florfenicol and oxytetracycline) offered with feed as possible treatment options to control mortality because of motile Aeromonad infection. We offered top-coated medicated feeds to hatchery-reared Sander vitreus (walleye...
Authors
Christopher M. Merkes, Maren T. Tuttle-Lau, Susan M. Schleis, Aaron R. Cupp
A gender and social vulnerability assessment approach A gender and social vulnerability assessment approach
The report on an approach for gender and social vulnerability assessment is a supporting tool – or a guiding note – to assist the MRC to conduct the gender and vulnerability assessment in the Lower Mekong Basin. While the approach focuses on floods, droughts, and extreme storm events for the MRC’s future application, the overall gender and vulnerability framework described in this report...
Authors
Saira Haider, Kathryn Powlen, Nina Burkardt, Matthew E. Andersen
Aligning renewable energy expansion with climate-driven range shifts Aligning renewable energy expansion with climate-driven range shifts
Fossil fuel dependence can be reduced, in part, by renewable energy expansion. Increasingly, renewable energy siting seeks to avoid significant impacts on biodiversity but rarely considers how species ranges will shift under climate change. Here we undertake a systematic literature review on the topic and overlay future renewable energy siting maps with the ranges of two threatened...
Authors
Uzma Ashraf, Toni Lyn Morelli, Adam B Smith, Rebecca Hernandez
Consumer isoscapes reveal heterogeneous food webs in deep-sea submarine canyons and adjacent slopes Consumer isoscapes reveal heterogeneous food webs in deep-sea submarine canyons and adjacent slopes
The deep sea is the largest biome on earth, but one of the least studied despite its critical role in global carbon cycling and climate buffering. Deep-sea organisms largely rely on particulate organic matter from the surface ocean for energy – these organisms in turn play critical roles in energy transport, transformation, storage, and sequestration of carbon. Within the deep sea...
Authors
Amanda Demopoulos, Brian J. Smith, Jill Bourque, Jason Chaytor, Jennifer McClain Counts, Nancy G. Prouty, Steve W. Ross, Sandra Brooke, Gerard Duineveld, Furu Mienis
Fine-resolution land cover mapping over large and mountainous areas for Lāna‘i, Hawaii using posterior probabilities, and expert knowledge Fine-resolution land cover mapping over large and mountainous areas for Lāna‘i, Hawaii using posterior probabilities, and expert knowledge
The task of accurately mapping species-specific vegetation cover in remote and topographically complex regions like those found in Hawaiʻi presents unique challenges. This study leverages a machine learning approach to accurately classify vegetation into fine species-specific classes across the island of Lāna‘i, Hawaii, offering a novel methodology for tackling such challenges. Utilizing...
Authors
Lucas Fortini, Qiuming Cheng, Yoko Uyehara, Kari Bogner, Jonathan Sprague, Rachel Sprague
Temperature impacts on dengue incidence are nonlinear and mediated by climatic and socioeconomic factors: A meta-analysis Temperature impacts on dengue incidence are nonlinear and mediated by climatic and socioeconomic factors: A meta-analysis
Temperature can influence mosquito-borne diseases like dengue. These effects are expected to vary geographically and over time in both magnitude and direction and may interact with other environmental variables, making it difficult to anticipate changes in response to climate change. Here, we investigate global variation in temperature–dengue relationship by analyzing published...
Authors
Devin Kirk, Samantha Straus, Marissa L. Childs, Mallory Harris, Lisa Couper, T. Jonathan Davies, Coreen Forbes, Alyssa-Lois Gehman, Maya L. Groner, Christopher Harley, Kevin D. Lafferty, Van Savage, Eloise Skinner, Mary I. O’Connor, Erin A. Mordecai
When to target control efforts? Using novel GPS telemetry to quantify drivers of invasive Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) movement When to target control efforts? Using novel GPS telemetry to quantify drivers of invasive Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae) movement
In South Florida, the Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae), a large, omnivorous lizard, has become a recent threat to the Everglades ecosystem. The increase in tegu observations, especially near ecologically sensitive areas such as Everglades National Park, makes informed management critical to contain the tegu population. Using Very High Frequency (VHF) and Global...
Authors
Brittany M. Mason, Sergio A. Balaguera-Reina, Adam Benjamin, Frank J. Mazzotti, Hartwig H. Hochmair, Hardin Waddle
Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications
The global decline of freshwater mussels and their crucial ecological services highlight the need to understand their phylogeny, phylogeography and patterns of genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. Such knowledge is urgently needed for Unio crassus, a highly imperilled species originally widespread throughout Europe and southwest Asia. Recent studies have resurrected several...
Authors
Manuel Lopes-Lima, Juergen Geist, Sarah Egg, Lubos Beran, Ani Bikashvili, Bert Van Bocxlaer, Arthur E. Bogan, Ivan N. Bolotov, O. A. Chelpanovskaya, Karel Douda, Vasco Fernandes, André Gomes-dos-Santos, Duarte V. Goncalves, Mustafa E. Gurlek, Nathan Johnson, Ioannis Karaouzas, Umit Kebapci, Alexander V. Kondakov, Ralph Kuehn, Jasna Lajtner, Levan Mumladze, Karl-Otto Nagel, Eike Neubert, Martin Osterling, John M. Pfeiffer, Vincent Prie, Nicoletta Riccardi, Jerzy Sell, Lea D. Schneider, Spase Shumka, Ioan Sirbu, Grita Skujiene, Chase H. Smith, Ronaldo Sousa, Katharina Stockl, Jouni Taskinen, Amílcar Teixeira, Milcho Todorov, Teodora Trichkova, Maria Urbanska, Santtu Valila, Simone Varandas, Joana Verissimo, Ilya V. Vikhrev, G. Woschitz, Katarzyna Zajac, Tadeusz Zajac, David T. Zanatta, Alexandra Zieritz, Stamatis Zogaris, Elsa Froufe
Rising water temperature in rivers: Ecological impacts and future resilience Rising water temperature in rivers: Ecological impacts and future resilience
Rising water temperatures in rivers due to climate change are already having observable impacts on river ecosystems. Warming water has both direct and indirect impacts on aquatic life, and further aggravates pervasive issues such as eutrophication, pollution, and the spread of disease. Animals can survive higher temperatures through physiological and/or genetic acclimation, behavioral...
Authors
Matthew F. Johnson, Lindsey K. Albertson, Adam C. Algar, Stephen J. Dugdale, Patrick Edwards, Judy England, Christopher Gibbins, So Kazama, Daisuke Komori, Andrew Maccoll, Eric Arthur Scholl, Robert Wilby, Fabio de Oliveira Roque, Paul F. Wood