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: 42712
Local abundance of Ixodes scapularis in forests: Effects of environmental moisture, vegetation characteristics, and host abundance Local abundance of Ixodes scapularis in forests: Effects of environmental moisture, vegetation characteristics, and host abundance
Ixodes scapularis is the primary vector of Lyme disease spirochetes in eastern and central North America, and local densities of this tick can affect human disease risk. We sampled larvae and nymphs from sites in Massachusetts and Wisconsin, USA, using flag/drag devices and by collecting ticks from hosts, and measured environmental variables to evaluate the environmental factors that...
Authors
Howard S. Ginsberg, Eric L. Rulison, Jasmine L. Miller, Genevieve Pang, Isis M. Arsnoe, Graham J. Hickling, Nicholas H. Ogden, Roger A. LeBrun, Jean I. Tsao
A multi-indicator spatial similarity approach for evaluating ecological restoration scenarios A multi-indicator spatial similarity approach for evaluating ecological restoration scenarios
Context The greater Everglades region in Florida (USA) is an area of wetlands that has been altered and reduced to 50% of its original area and faces multiple threats. Spatial landscape analysis can help guide a large and complex ecosystem restoration process, involving billions of dollars and multiple groups of stakeholders.Objectives To guide Everglades restoration efforts, we...
Authors
Ruscena Wiederholt, Rajendara Paudel, Yogesh Khare, Stephen E. Davis, G.M. Naja, Stephanie Romanach, L. Pearlstine, Thomas Van Lent
Putative mitochondrial sex determination in the Bivalvia: Insights from a hybrid transcriptome assembly in freshwater mussels Putative mitochondrial sex determination in the Bivalvia: Insights from a hybrid transcriptome assembly in freshwater mussels
Bivalves exhibit an astonishing diversity of sexual systems, with genetic and environmental determinants of sex, and possibly the only example of mitochondrial genes influencing sex determination pathways in animals. In contrast to all other animal species in which strict maternal inheritance (SMI) of mitochondria is the rule, bivalves possess a system known as doubly uniparental...
Authors
Charlotte Capt, Sebastien Renaut, Donald Stewart, Nathan A. Johnson, Sophie Breton
Temperature thresholds for black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) freeze damage, mortality, and recovery in North America: Refining tipping points for range expansion in a warming climate Temperature thresholds for black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) freeze damage, mortality, and recovery in North America: Refining tipping points for range expansion in a warming climate
Near the tropical‐temperate transition zone, warming winter temperatures are expected to facilitate the poleward range expansion of freeze‐sensitive tropical organisms. In coastal wetlands of eastern and central North America, freeze‐sensitive woody plants (mangroves) are expected to expand northward into regions currently dominated by freeze‐tolerant herbaceous salt marsh plants. To...
Authors
Michael Osland, Richard Day, Courtney T. Hall, Laura Feher, Anna R. Armitage, Just Cebrian, Kenneth H. Dunton, Randall Hughes, David Kaplan, Amy K. Langston, Aaron Macy, Carolyn A. Weaver, Gordon H. Anderson, Karen Cummins, Ilka C. Feller, Caitlin M. Snyder
Informing sea turtle outreach efforts to maximize effectiveness Informing sea turtle outreach efforts to maximize effectiveness
Most sea turtle (Cheloniidae) species worldwide are endangered or threatened, with threats causing harm to sea turtles predominantly human‐induced. Thus, prevention of further declines to these imperiled species will require alteration of human behaviors. Regulations, incentives, and environmental education are 3 strategies that could be used to alter human behavior. Our goal was to...
Authors
Jessica E. Swindall, Holly K. Ober, Margaret M. Lamont, Raymond Carthy
Photosynthetic and respiratory responses of two bog shrub species to whole ecosystem warming and elevated CO2 at the boreal-temperate ecotone Photosynthetic and respiratory responses of two bog shrub species to whole ecosystem warming and elevated CO2 at the boreal-temperate ecotone
Peatlands within the boreal-temperate ecotone contain the majority of terrestrial carbon in this region, and there is concern over the fate of such carbon stores in the face of global environmental changes. The Spruce and Peatland Response Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) facility aims to advance the understanding of how such peatlands may respond to such changes, using a combination...
Authors
Eric Ward, Jeffrey M . Warren, David A McLennan, Mirindi E Dusenge, Danielle A. Way, Stan D. Wullschleger, Paul J Hanson
Projected warming disrupts the synchrony of riparian seed dispersal and snowmelt streamflow Projected warming disrupts the synchrony of riparian seed dispersal and snowmelt streamflow
• Globally, spring phenology and abiotic processes are shifting earlier with warming. Differences in the magnitudes of these shifts may decouple the timing of plant resource requirements from resource availability. In riparian forests across the northern hemisphere, warming could decouple seed dispersal from snowmelt peak streamflow, thus reducing moisture and safe-sites for dominant...
Authors
Laura G. Perry, Patrick B. Shafroth, Lauren Hay, Steven L. Markstrom, Andrew R. Bock
Evaluation of maternal penning to improve calf survival in the Chisana Caribou Herd Evaluation of maternal penning to improve calf survival in the Chisana Caribou Herd
Predation is a major limiting factor for most small sedentary caribou (Rangifer tarandus) populations, particularly those that are threatened or endangered across the southern extent of the species’ range. Thus, reducing predation impacts is often a management goal for improving the status of small caribou populations, and lethal predator removal is the primary approach that has been...
Authors
Layne G. Adams, Richard G. Farnell, Michelle P. Oakley, Thomas Jung, Lorne Larocque, Grant Lortie, Jamie McLelland, Mason Reid, Gretchen H. Roffler, Don Russell
Consistent compensatory growth offsets poor condition in trout populations Consistent compensatory growth offsets poor condition in trout populations
1. Compensatory growth – when individuals in poor condition grow rapidly to “catch up” to conspecifics – may be a mechanism that allows individuals to tolerate stressful environmental conditions, both abiotic and biotic. This phenomenon has been documented fairly widely in laboratory and field experiments, but evidence for compensatory growth in the wild is scarce. 2. Cutthroat trout
Authors
Robert Al-Chokhachy, Ryan Kovach, Adam J. Sepulveda, Jeff Strait, Bradley B. Shepard, Clint C. Muhlfeld
Evidence of region‐wide bat population decline from long‐term monitoring and Bayesian occupancy models with empirically informed priors Evidence of region‐wide bat population decline from long‐term monitoring and Bayesian occupancy models with empirically informed priors
Strategic conservation efforts for cryptic species, especially bats, are hindered by limited understanding of distribution and population trends. Integrating long‐term encounter surveys with multi‐season occupancy models provides a solution whereby inferences about changing occupancy probabilities and latent changes in abundance can be supported. When harnessed to a Bayesian inferential...
Authors
Thomas J. Rodhouse, Rogelio M. Rodriguez, Katharine M. Banner, Patricia C. Ormsbee, Jenny Barnett, Kathryn Irvine
Induced biological soil crust controls on wind erodibility and dust (PM10) emissions Induced biological soil crust controls on wind erodibility and dust (PM10) emissions
Inducing biological soil crust (biocrust) development is an appealing approach for dust mitigation in drylands due to the resistance biocrusts can provide against erosion. Using a portable device, we evaluated dust emissions from surfaces either inoculated with biocrust, amended with a plant‐based soil stabilizer, or both at varying wind friction velocities. Four months after application
Authors
Stephen E. Fick, Nichole N. Barger, John Tatarko, Michael C. Duniway
Quantifying spirorchiid eggs in splenic histological samples from green turtles Quantifying spirorchiid eggs in splenic histological samples from green turtles
No abstract available.
Authors
Felipe D’Azeredo, Meira Meira-Filho, Thierry M. Work