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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: 42884

2017 Status of the Lake Ontario Lower Trophic Levels 2017 Status of the Lake Ontario Lower Trophic Levels

Significant Findings for Year 2017: 1) Offshore spring total phosphorus (TP) in 2017 was 4.4 µg/L; values remained stable since 2001. Offshore soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) remained low (1.1 µg/L) in 2017; Apr/May – Oct mean values have been stable in nearshore and offshore habitats since 1998 (range, 0.4 – 3.3 µg/L). Apr/May – Oct mean TP concentrations were low at both nearshore...
Authors
Kristen T. Holeck, Lars G. Rudstam, Christopher Hotaling, Russ D. McCullough, Dave Lemon, Web Pearsall, Jana Lantry, Mike Connerton, Chris Legard, Steve LaPan, Zy Biesinger, Brian F. Lantry, Brian Weidel

Preliminary geologic map of the Greater Antilles and the Virgin Islands Preliminary geologic map of the Greater Antilles and the Virgin Islands

Introduction This geologic map of the Greater Antilles and the Virgin Islands is a compilation of information from the literature, integrated to provide a seamless geologic map of the region. The geology shown on sheet 1 covers Cuba, the island of Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands...
Authors
Frederic H. Wilson, Greta Orris, Floyd Gray

Daily estimates reveal fine-scale temporal and spatial variation in fish survival across a stream network Daily estimates reveal fine-scale temporal and spatial variation in fish survival across a stream network

Environmental drivers of population vital rates, such as temperature and precipitation, often vary at short time scales, and these fluctuations can have important impacts on population dynamics. However, relationships between survival and environmental conditions are typically modeled at coarse temporal scales, ignoring the role of daily environmental variation in survival. Our goal was...
Authors
Evan S. Childress, Keith Nislow, Andrew R. Whiteley, Matthew O’Donnell, Benjamin Letcher

Temporal gamma-diversity meets spatial alpha-diversity in dynamically varying ecosystems Temporal gamma-diversity meets spatial alpha-diversity in dynamically varying ecosystems

Community measures collected at a single instance or over a short temporal period rarely provide a complete accounting of biological diversity. The gap between such “snapshot” measures of diversity and actual diversity can be especially large in systems that undergo great temporal variation in environmental conditions. To adequately quantify diversity in these temporally varying...
Authors
David M. Mushet, Matthew J. Solensky, Shay F. Erickson

Understanding the genetic characteristics of Wild Brook Trout populations in North Carolina thanks to the guidance of Dr. Tim King Understanding the genetic characteristics of Wild Brook Trout populations in North Carolina thanks to the guidance of Dr. Tim King

We genotyped 7,588 brook trout representing 406 collections from across the State of North Carolina (Figure 1) at 12 microsatellite loci (King et al. 2012). The vast majority of collections appeared to represent single populations, based on general conformance to HardyWeinberg equilibrium and limited evidence for linkage-disequilibrium. Allelic diversity was low to moderate relative to...
Authors
David C. Kazyak, Barbara A. Lubinski, Jacob M Rash, Tim L. King

The impact of late Holocene land-use change, climate variability, and sea-level rise on carbon storage in tidal freshwater wetlands on the southeastern United States Coastal Plain The impact of late Holocene land-use change, climate variability, and sea-level rise on carbon storage in tidal freshwater wetlands on the southeastern United States Coastal Plain

This study examines Holocene impacts of changes in climate, land use, and sea-level rise (SLR) on sediment accretion, carbon accumulation rates (CAR), and vegetation along a transect of tidal freshwater forested wetlands (TFFW) to oligohaline marsh along the Waccamaw River, South Carolina (4 sites) and along the Savannah River, Georgia (4 sites). We use pollen, plant macrofossils...
Authors
Miriam Jones, Christopher E. Bernhardt, K. W. Krauss, Gregory E. Noe

Towards a predictive framework for biocrust mediation of plant performance: A meta‐analysis Towards a predictive framework for biocrust mediation of plant performance: A meta‐analysis

Understanding the importance of biotic interactions in driving the distribution and abundance of species is a central goal of plant ecology. Early vascular plants likely colonized land occupied by biocrusts — photoautotrophic, surface‐dwelling soil communities comprised of cyanobacteria, bryophytes, lichens and fungi — suggesting biotic interactions between biocrusts and plants have been...
Authors
Caroline A. Havrilla, Bala V. Chaudhary, Scott Ferrenberg, Anita J. Antoninka, Jayne Belnap, Matthew A. Bowker, David J. Eldridge, Akasha M. Faist, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Alexander D. Leslie, Emilio Rodriguez-Caballero, Yuanming Zhang, Nichole N. Barger

Geographic-specific capture-recapture models reveal contrasting migration and survival rates of adult horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) Geographic-specific capture-recapture models reveal contrasting migration and survival rates of adult horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus)

American horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) have varied migration patterns and harvesting pressure throughout their range, potentially leading to regional differences in population dynamics. Here, a multi-state mark–recapture model was used to estimate annual survival and exchange rates of adult horseshoe crabs across three geographic regions in Long Island, NY (South Shore, North...
Authors
Justin J. Bopp, Matthew Sclafani, David R. Smith, Kim McKown, Rachel Sysak, Robert Cerrato

Bottom trawl assessment of Lake Ontario prey fishes Bottom trawl assessment of Lake Ontario prey fishes

Collaborative Lake Ontario bottom trawl surveys, led by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), provide science and management information for evaluating Fish Community Objectives including predator-prey balance and prey fish community diversity. In 2018, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNR)...
Authors
Brian Weidel, Michael J. Connerton, Jeremy Holden

Limited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl Limited detection of antibodies to clade 2.3.4.4 A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus in North American waterfowl

During 2014, highly pathogenic (HP) influenza A viruses (IAVs) of the A/Goose/Guangdong/1/1996 lineage (GsGD-HP-H5), originating from Asia, were detected in domestic poultry and wild birds in Canada and the US. These clade 2.3.4.4 GsGD-HP-H5 viruses included reassortants possessing North American lineage gene segments; were detected in wild birds in the Pacific, Central, and Mississippi...
Authors
David E. Stallknecht, Clara Kienzle-Dean, Nick Davis-Fields, Christopher S. Jennelle, Andrew S. Bowman, Jacqueline M. Nolting, Walter Boyce, James Crum, Jefferson Santos, Justin D. Brown, Diann Prosser, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Joshua T. Ackerman, Michael L. Casazza, Scott Krauss, Daniel Perez, Andrew M. Ramey, Rebecca L. Poulson

Characterizing 12 years of wildland fire science at the U.S. Geological Survey: Wildland Fire Science Publications, 2006–17 Characterizing 12 years of wildland fire science at the U.S. Geological Survey: Wildland Fire Science Publications, 2006–17

Wildland fire characteristics, such as area burned, number of large fires, burn intensity, and fire season duration, have increased steadily over the past 30 years, resulting in substantial increases in the costs of suppressing fires and managing damages from wildland fire events (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2017). Wildland fire management could benefit...
Authors
Paul F. Steblein, Mark P. Miller

Population and habitat analyses for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the bi-state distinct population segment—2018 update Population and habitat analyses for greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in the bi-state distinct population segment—2018 update

Executive Summary The Bi-State Distinct Population Segment (Bi-State DPS) of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, hereinafter “sage-grouse”) represents a genetically distinct and geographically isolated population that straddles the border between Nevada and California. The primary threat to these sage-grouse populations is the expansion of single-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla...
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Mark A. Ricca, Brian G. Prochazka, Shawn T. O’Neil, John P. Severson, Steven R. Mathews, Shawn Espinosa, Scott Gardner, Sherri Lisius, David J. Delehanty
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