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: 42707
Plague circulation in small mammals elevates extinction risk for the endangered Peñasco least chipmunk Plague circulation in small mammals elevates extinction risk for the endangered Peñasco least chipmunk
Wildlife diseases are a major concern for species survival around the world. Vector-borne diseases, in particular, are problematic for both humans and wildlife. Plague is an introduced disease to North America where many species have low natural resistance to infection by the causative bacterium, Yersinia pestis. Plague in the United States is often associated with large-scale epizootic...
Authors
Amanda R. Goldberg, David A. Eads, Dean E. Biggins
Reestablishing a foundational species: limitations on post-wildfire sagebrush seedling establishment Reestablishing a foundational species: limitations on post-wildfire sagebrush seedling establishment
Improving post-wildfire restoration of foundational plant species is crucial for conserving imperiled ecosystems. We sought to better understand the initial establishment of sagebrush (Artemisia sp.), a foundational shrubland species over a vast area of western North America, in the first 1–2 years post-wildfire, a critical time period for population recovery. Field data from 460...
Authors
Robert Arkle, David S. Pilliod, Matthew J. Germino, Michelle I. Jeffries, Justin L. Welty
Sediment and nutrient retention on a reconnected floodplain of an Upper Mississippi River tributary, 2013–2018 Sediment and nutrient retention on a reconnected floodplain of an Upper Mississippi River tributary, 2013–2018
The connection of rivers with their floodplains has been greatly reduced in agricultural drainage basins, especially in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. The restriction of the Mississippi River from its floodplain has reduced the sediment trapping and nutrient deposition capabilities of the floodplain, exacerbating water quality problems in the river and in downstream waterbodies. A...
Authors
Lynn A. Bartsch, Rebecca M. Kreiling, Lance R. Gruhn, Jessica D. Garrett, William B. Richardson, Greg M. Nalley
Density, harvest rates, and growth of a reintroduced American black bear population Density, harvest rates, and growth of a reintroduced American black bear population
Less than 30% of all species reintroductions have been successful and it is important that factors associated with success or failure be identified. Officials experimentally translocated 14 adult female American black bears (Ursus americanus) from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina and Tennessee, USA, to Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in the Cumberland...
Authors
Joshua D Alston, Joseph D. Clark, Daniel B. Gibbs, John T. Hast
Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene Reimagine fire science for the anthropocene
Fire is an integral component of ecosystems globally and a tool that humans have harnessed for millennia. Altered fire regimes are a fundamental cause and consequence of global change, impacting people and the biophysical systems on which they depend. As part of the newly emerging Anthropocene, marked by human-caused climate change and radical changes to ecosystems, fire danger is...
Authors
Jacquelyn K. Shuman, Jennifer K. Balch, Rebecca T. Barnes, Philip E. Higuera, Christopher I. Roos, Dylan W. Schwilk, E. Natasha Stavros, Tirtha Banerjee, Megan Bela, Jacob Bendix, Sandro Bertolino, Solomon Bililign, Kevin D. Bladon, Paulo Brando, Robert E. Breidenthal, Brian Buma, Donna Calhoun, Leila M. V. Carvalho, Megan Cattau, Kaelin M Cawley, Sudeep Chandra, Melissa L. Chipman, Jeanette Cobian, Erin Conlisk, Jonathan Coop, Alison Cullen, Kimberley T Davis, Archana Dayalu, Megan Dolman, Lisa M. Ellsworth, Scott Franklin, Chris Guiterman, Matthew Hamilton, Erin J. Hanan, Winslow D. Hansen, Stijn Hantson, Brian J Harvey, Andrés Holz, Matt Hurteau, Nayani T Ilangakoon, Megan Jennings, Charles Jones, Anna Klimaszewski-Patterson, Leda N. Kobziar, John Kominoski, Branko Kosovic, Meg A. Krawchuk, Paul Laris, Jackson Leonard, S. Marcela Loria- Salazar, Melissa Lucash, Hussam Mahmoud, Ellis Margolis, Toby Maxwell, Jessica McCarty, David B McWethy, Rachel Meyer, Jessica R. Miesel, W. Keith Moser, R. Chelsea Nagy, Dev Niyogi, Hannah M. Palmer, Adam Pellegrini, Benjamin Poulter, Kevin Robertson, Adrian Rocha, Mojtaba Sadegh, Fernando De Sales, Fernanda Santos, Facundo Scordo, Joseph O. Sexton, A Surjalal Sharma, Alistair M. S. Smith, Amber Soja, Christopher Still, Tyson Swetnam, Alexandra D. Syphard, Morgan W. Tingey, Ali Tohidi, Anna Trugman, Merritt Turetsky, J. Morgan Varner, Yuhang Wang, Thea Whitman, Stephanie Yelenik, Xu Zhang
Morbidity and mortality of Hawaiin geese (Branta sandvicensis) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) associated with reticuloendotheliosis virus Morbidity and mortality of Hawaiin geese (Branta sandvicensis) and Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) associated with reticuloendotheliosis virus
Only one virus, Avipox, has been documented previously in wild birds in Hawaii. Using immunohistochemistry and PCR, we found that two native threatened Hawaiian Geese (Branta sandvicensis), one with multicentric histiocytoma and the other with toxoplasmosis, and one Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) with avian pox were infected with reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV). The virus...
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Renee Breeden, Julie Dagenais, Robert Rameyer, Holly Sellers, S. Ip, James W. Casey
Evidence gaps and diversity among potential win–win solutions for conservation and human infectious disease control Evidence gaps and diversity among potential win–win solutions for conservation and human infectious disease control
As sustainable development practitioners have worked to “ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all” and “conserve life on land and below water”, what progress has been made with win–win interventions that reduce human infectious disease burdens while advancing conservation goals? Using a systematic literature review, we identified 46 proposed solutions, which we then...
Authors
Skylar R. Hopkins, Kevin D. Lafferty, Chelsea L. Wood, Sarah H Olson, Julia C Buck, Giulio A. De Leo, Kathryn Fiorella, Johanna Fornberg, Andres Garchitorena, Isabel J. Jones, Armand Kuris, Laura H Kwong, Christopher LeBoa, Ariel Elizabeth Leon, Andrea Lund, Andrew J MacDonald, Daniel Metz, Nicole Nova, Alison J. Peel, Justin V. Remais, Tara E. Stewart Merrill, Maya Wilson, Matthew Bonds, Andrew Dobson, David Lopez-Carr, Meghan Howard, Lisa Mandle, Susanne H. Sokolow
Management of diseases in free-ranging wildlife populations Management of diseases in free-ranging wildlife populations
Diseases are increasingly threatening the conservation of wildlife species. Spillover of pathogens into humans and domestic animals may negatively impact public health and the economy, requiring increased proactive management actions. The North American Wildlife Management Model provides the philosophical basis for managing wildlife and underpins all management options. Diseases in...
Authors
Mark L. Drew, Jonathan M. Sleeman
Future directions to manage wildlife health in a changing climate Future directions to manage wildlife health in a changing climate
In September 2019 The Economist wrote an obituary to Okjökull, a glacier in western Iceland that was declared “dead” in 2014, a victim of climate change. Although a few wildlife species have already incurred such a fate (e.g., the Bramble Cay melomys [Melomys rubicola]) (Fulton 2017), many more are on the path to climate-driven extinction (Andermann et al. 2020; Ceballos et al. 2015; He...
Authors
Erik K. Hofmeister, Emily Cornelius Ruhs, Lucas Fortini, M. Camille Hopkins, Lee C. Jones, Kevin D. Lafferty, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Olivia E. LeDee
Predation thresholds for reintroduction of native avifauna following suppression of invasive brown treesnakes on Guam Predation thresholds for reintroduction of native avifauna following suppression of invasive brown treesnakes on Guam
The brown treesnake (BTS) (Boiga irregularis) invasion on Guåhan (in English, Guam) led to the extirpation of nearly all native forest birds. In recent years, methods have been developed to reduce BTS abundance on a landscape scale. To help assess the prospects for the successful reintroduction of native birds to Guåhan following BTS suppression, we modeled bird population persistence...
Authors
Robert McElderry, Eben H. Paxton, Andre Van Nguyen, Shane R. Siers
Reproducibility and variability of earthquake subsidence estimates from saltmarshes of a Cascadia estuary Reproducibility and variability of earthquake subsidence estimates from saltmarshes of a Cascadia estuary
We examine fossil foraminiferal assemblages from 20 sediment cores to assess sudden relative sea-level (RSL) changes across three mud-over-peat contacts at three salt marshes in northern Humboldt Bay, California (~44.8°N, -124.2°W). We use a validated foraminiferal-based Bayesian transfer function to evaluate the variability of subsidence stratigraphy at a range of 30-6000 m across an...
Authors
Jason Scott Padgett, Simon E. Engelhart, Harvey M. Kelsey, Robert C. Witter, Niamh Cahill
Hydrological and lock operation conditions associated with paddlefish and bigheaded carp dam passage on a large and small scale in the Upper Mississippi River (Pools 14–18) Hydrological and lock operation conditions associated with paddlefish and bigheaded carp dam passage on a large and small scale in the Upper Mississippi River (Pools 14–18)
Movement and dispersal of migratory fish species is an important life-history characteristics that can be impeded by navigation dams. Although habitat fragmentation may be detrimental to native fish species, it might act as an effective and economical barrier for controlling the spread of invasive species in riverine systems. Various technologies have been proposed as potential fish...
Authors
Dominique D. Turney, Andrea K. Fritts, Brent C. Knights, Jonathan M. Vallazza, Douglas Appel, James T. Lamar