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: 42710
Flight characteristics forecast entry by eagles into rotor-swept zones of wind turbines Flight characteristics forecast entry by eagles into rotor-swept zones of wind turbines
Operators of wind power facilities can mitigate wildlife mortality by slowing or stopping wind turbines (hereafter ‘curtail’) when birds are at an increased risk of collision. Some facility operators curtail when individual birds have flight characteristics (e.g. altitude, distance or relative bearing of a bird's flight path) that exceed some threshold value, but thresholds currently in...
Authors
Brian W. Rolek, Melissa A. Braham, Tricia A. Miller, Adam E. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner, Jennifer D. McCabe, Leah Dunn, Christopher J.W. McClure
Pollution and wildlife health Pollution and wildlife health
Pollution is a pervasive and growing threat to wildlife health. This chapter discusses two broad groups of pollution, those whose abatement could have immediate beneficial effects including light, air, and noise pollution, and those that will take relatively longer to address due to their environmental persistence or their continuing discharge. Whilst we are very good at detecting the...
Authors
Thierry M. Work
Estimating occupancy from autonomous recording unit data in the presence of misclassifications and detection heterogeneity Estimating occupancy from autonomous recording unit data in the presence of misclassifications and detection heterogeneity
1. Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) are now widely used to survey communities of species. These surveys generate spatially and temporally replicated counts of unmarked animals, but such data typically include false negatives and misclassified detections, both of which may vary across sites in proportion to abundance. These data challenges can bias estimates of occupancy, and the typical...
Authors
Matt Clement, Andy Royle, Ronald Mixan
Fuel reduction treatments reduce modeled fire intensity in the sagebrush steppe Fuel reduction treatments reduce modeled fire intensity in the sagebrush steppe
Increased fire size and frequency coupled with annual grass invasion pose major challenges to sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem conservation, which is currently focused on protecting sagebrush community composition and structure. A common strategy for mitigating potential fire is to use fuel treatments that alter the structure and amount of burnable material, thus reducing fire...
Authors
Lisa M. Ellsworth, Beth A. Newingham, Scott Shaff, C. F. Rick Williams, Eva K. Strand, Matt Reeves, David A. Pyke, Eugene W. Schupp, Jeanne C. Chambers
The researcher's lament: Why do they ignore my science? The researcher's lament: Why do they ignore my science?
The researcher's lament is shared by many environmental and conservation scientists who complain about the little support they receive for their research proposals during the review and selection process. Understandably, any hopes of having their anticipated scientific findings applied toward the formulation of environmental management decisions or natural resource policy action are...
Authors
Gustavo A. Bisbal
Quantitative method development to determine feed consumption using a dye Quantitative method development to determine feed consumption using a dye
Although there are many methods to determine ingestion and absorption of aquafeeds, none exist that are simple, cost-effective, and quantitative and that can mark fish with a long-lasting, visible indicator. In addition to aquafeed development, selective baits are needed that can be used for aquatic invasive species removal efforts, including for Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella. Bait
Authors
James J. Wamboldt, Justine Nelson, Linnea M Thomas, J. Nolan Steiner, Jillian Hebert, Richard A. Erickson, Joel G. Putnam
Trophic interactions and feedbacks maintain intact and degraded states of Hawaiian tropical forests Trophic interactions and feedbacks maintain intact and degraded states of Hawaiian tropical forests
Feedbacks within ecosystems can lead to internal reinforcement of the current state providing ecosystem resilience. Often, multiple biotic interactions across trophic levels play a role in such feedbacks, yet these are generally studied independently, obscuring the relative importance of interactions among different factors. We look at various potential feedbacks in intact and degraded...
Authors
Stephanie G. Yelenik, Eli T. Rose, Eben H. Paxton
Marine mammal hotspots across the circumpolar Arctic Marine mammal hotspots across the circumpolar Arctic
Aim Identify hotspots and areas of high species richness for Arctic marine mammals.Location Circumpolar Arctic.Methods A total of 2115 biologging devices were deployed on marine mammals from 13 species in the Arctic from 2005 to 2019. Getis-Ord Gi* hotspots were calculated based on the number of individuals in grid cells for each species and for phylogenetic groups (nine pinnipeds, three...
Authors
Charmain Hamilton, Christian Lydersen, Jon Aars, Mario Acquarone, Todd C. Atwood, Alastair Baylis, Martin Biuw, Andrei N. Boltunov, Erik W. Born, Peter L. Boveng, Tanya M. Brown, Michael Cameron, John J. Citta, Justin A. Crawford, Rune Dietz, Jim Elias, Steven H. Ferguson, Aaron T. Fisk, Lars P. Folkow, Kathryn J. Frost, Dmitri M. Glazov, Sandra M. Granquist, Rowenna Gryba, Lois A. Harwood, Tore Haug, Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen, Nigel E. Hussey, Jimmy Kalinek, Kristin L. Laidre, Dennis I. Litovka, Josh M. London, Lisa Loseto, Shannon MacPhee, Marianne Marcoux, Cory J. D. Matthews, Kjell J Nilssen, Erling S. Nordoy, Greg O’Corry-Crowe, Nils Oien, Morten Tange Olsen, Lori T. Quakenbush, Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, Varvara Semenova, Kim E. W. Shelden, Olga V. Shpak, Garry Stenson, Luke Storrie, Signe Sveegaard, Jonas Teilmann, Fernando Ugarte, Andrew L. Von Duyke, Cortney Watt, Oystein Wiig, Ryan R. Wilson, David J. Yurkowski, Kit M. Kovacs
Abundance and productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons Abundance and productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons
Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) have been listed as “endangered” by the State of California and “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1992 in California, Oregon, and Washington. Information regarding marbled murrelet abundance, distribution, population trends, and habitat associations is critical for risk assessment, effective management, evaluation of...
Authors
Jonathan J. Felis, Josh Adams, Cheryl Horton, Emily C. Kelsey, Laney M. White
Counterfactuals to assess effects to species and systems from renewable energy development Counterfactuals to assess effects to species and systems from renewable energy development
Renewable energy production, mostly via wind, solar, and biofuels, is central to goals worldwide to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate anthropogenic climate change (IPCC, 2014; Pörtner et al., 2021). Nevertheless, adverse impacts to natural systems, especially fatalities of wildlife and alteration of habitat, are key challenges for renewable energy production (Allison et al., 2019...
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Taber D Allison, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Amanda Hale, Eric J. Lantz, Paul Veers
Social and reproductive behaviors Social and reproductive behaviors
Sirenian social and reproductive behaviors lack much complexity or diversity. Whereas sirenians are usually sighted as solitary, or as cows with single calves, aggregations of many individuals can occur. Persistent social groupings are unknown. Home ranges are widely overlapping. Mating systems of dugongs (Dugong dugon) have been variously described as leks or as scramble promiscuity...
Authors
Thomas J. O'Shea, Cathy Beck, Amanda J. Hodgson, Lucy W Keith-Diagne, Miriam Marmontel
Controlling invasive fish in fluctuating environments: Model analysis of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in a shallow lake Controlling invasive fish in fluctuating environments: Model analysis of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in a shallow lake
Climate change can act to facilitate or inhibit invasions of non-native species. Here, we address the influence of climate change on control of non-native common carp (hereafter, carp), a species recognized as one of the “world's worst” invaders across the globe. Control of this species is exceedingly difficult, as it exhibits rapid population growth and compensatory density dependence...
Authors
James B Pearson, J. Ryan Bellmore, Jason B. Dunham