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
Environmental drivers of cyanobacterial abundance and cyanotoxin production in backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River Environmental drivers of cyanobacterial abundance and cyanotoxin production in backwaters of the Upper Mississippi River
High densities of cyanobacteria in aquatic ecosystems can cause impacts to ecosystem services because they serve as a poor-quality food resource, produce toxins and can indirectly cause a variety of other negative impacts to water quality. There are many hypotheses about the potential environmental drivers of variation in cyanobacterial abundance and toxicity, but these hypotheses have...
Authors
Shawn M. Giblin, James H. Larson, Jeremy D. King
Cryptic extinction risk in a western Pacific lizard radiation Cryptic extinction risk in a western Pacific lizard radiation
Cryptic ecologies, the Wallacean Shortfall of undocumented species’ geographical ranges and the Linnaean Shortfall of undescribed diversity, are all major barriers to conservation assessment. When these factors overlap with drivers of extinction risk, such as insular distributions, the number of threatened species in a region or clade may be underestimated, a situation we term ‘cryptic...
Authors
Peter J. McDonald, Rafe M. Brown, Frederick Kraus, Philip Bowles, Umilaela Arifin, Samuel J Eliades, Robert N. Fisher, Maren Gaulke, L Lee Grismer, Ivan Ineich, Benjamin R. Karin, Camila G Meneses, Stephen J Richards, Marites B Sanguila, Cameron D Siler, Paul M. Oliver
Influences of seasonality and habitat quality on Great Lakes coastal wetland fish community composition and diets Influences of seasonality and habitat quality on Great Lakes coastal wetland fish community composition and diets
Great Lakes coastal wetlands (GLCW) have been severely degraded by anthropogenic activity over the last several decades despite their critical role in fish production. Many Great Lakes fish species use coastal wetland habitats for spawning, feeding, shelter, and nurseries throughout the year. The goal of our study was to compare GLCW fish community composition in the spring, summer, and...
Authors
Sara Diller, Anna M. Harrison, Kurt P. Kowalski, Valerie J. Brady, Jan J.H. Ciborowski, Matthew J. Cooper, Joshua D. Dumke, Joseph P. Gathman, Carl R. III Ruetz, Donald G. Uzarski, Douglas A. Wilcox, Jeffrey S Schaeffer
Comparison of indices to infer population dynamics of black brant Comparison of indices to infer population dynamics of black brant
To aid managers in assessing status of Pacific black brant Branta bernicla nigricans (hereafter brant), I examined pre-existing long-term data series from summer, fall staging, and wintering areas to infer overall population processes and assessed the utility of the various data sources. Variation in demographic parameters measured in subarctic and Arctic locations suggests some form of
Authors
Paul L. Flint
Value of information and decision pathways: Concepts and case studies Value of information and decision pathways: Concepts and case studies
Information used in decision making arises from the structuring of observations and data. The collection, dissemination, and use of information has monetary and non-monetary costs (e.g., competition for attention) and necessitates trade-offs. Understanding the benefits of having information (i.e., the value of information, VOI), including resulting societal outcomes, is useful to...
Authors
Pierre D. Glynn, Charles Rhodes, Scott J. Chiavacci, Jennifer Helgeson, Carl D. Shapiro, Crista L. Straub
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Predicting invasion potential of sleeper species Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping? Predicting invasion potential of sleeper species
Sleeper species are non-native species that are established in a region and could become invasive as climate change makes conditions more favorable for many non-native species. Before we can manage potential sleepers, we must first know their identity. We analyzed non-native, established plants in the Northeast United States (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT) using the Environmental Impact
Authors
Ayodele O’Uhuru, Audrey Barker-Plotkin, Justin Dalaba, Will Pfadenhauer, Amanda Suzzi, Toni Lyn Morelli
Vegetation type conversion in the US Southwest: Frontline observations and management responses Vegetation type conversion in the US Southwest: Frontline observations and management responses
Forest and nonforest ecosystems of the western United States are experiencing major transformations in response to land-use change, climate warming, and their interactive effects with wildland fire. Some ecosystems are transitioning to persistent alternative types, hereafter called “vegetation type conversion” (VTC). VTC is one of the most pressing management issues in the southwestern...
Authors
Christopher H. Guiterman, Rachel M. Gregg, Laura Marshall, Jill Beckmann, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Donald A. Falk, Jon Keeley, Anthony C. Caprio, Jonathan D. Coop, Paula J. Fornwalt, Collin Haffey, R. Keala Hagmann, Stephen Jackson, Ann M. Lynch, Ellis Margolis, Christopher Marks, Marc D. Meyer, Hugh Safford, Alexandra Dunya Syphard, Alan H. Taylor, Craig Wilcox, Dennis Carril, Carolyn Armstrong Enquist, David W. Huffman, Jose Iniguez, Nicole A. Molinari, Christina M Restaino, Jens T. Stevens
Ecological divergence of wild birds drives avian influenza spillover and global spread Ecological divergence of wild birds drives avian influenza spillover and global spread
The diversity of influenza A viruses (IAV) is primarily hosted by two highly divergent avian orders: Anseriformes (ducks, swans and geese) and Charadriiformes (gulls, terns and shorebirds). Studies of IAV have historically focused on Anseriformes, specifically dabbling ducks, overlooking the diversity of hosts in nature, including gull and goose species that have successfully adapted to...
Authors
Nichola J. Hill, Mary Anne Bishop, Nidia S. Trovao, Katherine Ineson, Anne Schaefer, Wendy B. Puryear, Katherine Zhou, Alexa Foss, Dan Clark, Ken McKenzie, Jonathan D. Gass, Laura Borkenhagen, Jeffrey S. Hall, Jonathan A. Runstadler
Yuma Ridgway’s rail selenium exposure and occupancy within managed and unmanaged emergent marshes at the Salton Sea Yuma Ridgway’s rail selenium exposure and occupancy within managed and unmanaged emergent marshes at the Salton Sea
Yuma Ridgway’s rail (Rallus obsoletus yumanensis, hereafter, rail) is an endangered species for which patches of emergent marsh within the Salton Sea watershed comprise a substantial part of habitat for the species’ disjointed range in the southwestern United States. These areas of emergent marsh include (1) marshes managed by federal (particularly the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s...
Authors
Mark A. Ricca, Cory T. Overton, Thomas W. Anderson, Angela Merritt, Eamon Harrity, Elliott Matchett, Michael L. Casazza
Geospatial analysis delineates lode gold prospectivity in Alaska Geospatial analysis delineates lode gold prospectivity in Alaska
Comprehensive, data-driven geographic information system analyses utilize publicly available lithologic, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral occurrence datasets to delineate gold resource potential in Alaska. These prospectivity analyses successfully identify areas containing known lode gold occurrences, expand areas of high prospectivity around known occurrences, improve the precision...
Authors
Susan M. Karl, Douglas C. Kreiner, George N.D. Case, Keith A. Labay
Variation of cisco egg size among Laurentian Great Lakes populations Variation of cisco egg size among Laurentian Great Lakes populations
Many fish species display inter-population and inter-individual egg size variation. Intra-specific differences in egg size seemingly reflect both energetic experiences of individual spawning fish and long-term population responses to differing ecosystems. Optimal egg size theory implies that selection influences a population’s mean egg size in response to its early-life environment...
Authors
Scott T Koenigbauer, Daniel L. Yule, Kristopher Dey, Chris Olds, Michael J. Connerton, Tomas O Hook
2022 Emergency Assistance Act — USGS recovery activities 2022 Emergency Assistance Act — USGS recovery activities
The Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 117-43) was enacted on September 30, 2021. The U.S. Geological Survey received $26.3 million in supplemental funding to repair and replace facilities and equipment, collect high-resolution elevation data, and complete scientific assessments to support direct recovery and rebuilding decisions in areas...
Authors
Jo Ellen Hinck, Joseph Stachyra