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: 42768
Site-scale disturbance best predicts moss, vascular plant, and amphibian indices in Ohio wetlands Site-scale disturbance best predicts moss, vascular plant, and amphibian indices in Ohio wetlands
Loss of wetland habitats and their associated biological communities is a major environmental concern. Quality assessment indices (QAIs) and indices of biological integrity (IBIs) are useful for assessing the responses of taxa to wetland habitat quality and land use in the surrounding landscape. We synthesized the results of our previous predictive modeling studies of five IBIs and QAIs...
Authors
Martin A. Stapanian, Mick Micacchion, Brian Gara, William Schumacher, Jean V. Adams
Improved conventional PCR assay for detecting Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae DNA in fish tissues Improved conventional PCR assay for detecting Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonae DNA in fish tissues
Conventional PCR is an established method to detect Tetracapsuloides bryosalmonaeDNA in fish tissues and to confirm diagnosis of proliferative kidney disease (PKD) caused by T. bryosalmonae. However, the commonly used PKX5f‐6r primers were designed with the intention of obtaining sequence information and are suboptimal for determining parasite DNA presence. A new PCR assay to detect T
Authors
Patrick R. Hutchins, Adam J. Sepulveda, Renee M. Martin, Lacey R. Hopper
Associations of intestinal helminth infections with health parameters of spring-migrating female lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) in the upper Midwest, USA Associations of intestinal helminth infections with health parameters of spring-migrating female lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) in the upper Midwest, USA
Thousands of lesser scaup (Aythya affinis) die during spring and fall migrations through the upper Midwest, USA, from infections with Cyathocotyle bushiensis and Sphaeridiotrema spp. (Class: Trematoda) after ingesting infected intermediate hosts, such as non-native faucet snails (Bithynia tentaculata). The lesser scaup is a species of conservation concern and is highly susceptible to...
Authors
J. Conner England, Jeffrey M. Levengood, Josh M. Osborn, Aaron P. Yetter, C.D. Suski, Rebecca A. Cole, Heath M. Hagy
burnr: Fire history analysis and graphics in R burnr: Fire history analysis and graphics in R
We developed a new software package, burnr, for fire history analysis and plotting in the Rstatistical programming environment. It was developed for tree-ring fire-scar analysis, but is broadly applicable to other event analyses (e.g., avalanches, frost rings, or culturally modified trees). Our new package can read, write, and manipulate standard tree-ring fire history FHX files, produce...
Authors
Steven B. Malevich, Christopher H. Guiterman, Ellis Q. Margolis
Book review: BILL SHIPLEY. Cause and correlation in biology: A user's guide to path analysis, structural equations and causal inference with R, 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. Book review: BILL SHIPLEY. Cause and correlation in biology: A user's guide to path analysis, structural equations and causal inference with R, 2nd ed. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
No abstract available.
Authors
Kathryn M. Irvine
Improving geographically extensive acoustic survey designs for modeling species occurrence with imperfect detection and misidentification Improving geographically extensive acoustic survey designs for modeling species occurrence with imperfect detection and misidentification
Acoustic recording units (ARUs) enable geographically extensive surveys of sensitive and elusive species. However, a hidden cost of using ARU data for modeling species occupancy is that prohibitive amounts of human verification may be required to correct species identifications made from automated software. Bat acoustic studies exemplify this challenge because large volumes of...
Authors
Katharine M. Banner, Kathryn M. Irvine, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Wilson J. Wright, Rogelio M. Rodriguez, Andrea R. Litt
Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi (Valley Gartersnake). Coloration. Thamnophis sirtalis fitchi (Valley Gartersnake). Coloration.
During surveys for Thamnophis gigas (Giant Gartersnake), I observed an adult T. sirtalis fitchi with unusual coloration— a yellow-cream background color with some typical red coloration laterally, but with very minimal amounts of the dark slate-black (along the sides of the yellow dorsal stripe and on top of the head) that normally predominates in this subspecies (Fig. 1; LACM [Natural...
Authors
Alexandria M. Fulton
Flood effects on soil thermal regimes in contrasting cold‐desert river floodplains (Yampa and Green rivers, Colorado) Flood effects on soil thermal regimes in contrasting cold‐desert river floodplains (Yampa and Green rivers, Colorado)
Heat transfer theory suggests that floodplain soils in dryland riverine ecosystems can be cooled by hyporheic flows generated during spring floods. I compared soil temperature cycles and associated hydrologic factors on a free‐flowing river to those on a river where flows and surface water temperatures are now regulated. Spring surface water temperatures were comparable on the 2 rivers...
Authors
Douglas C. Andersen
A multi-species synthesis of satellite telemetry data in the Pacific Arctic (1987–2015): Overlap of marine mammal distributions and core use areas A multi-species synthesis of satellite telemetry data in the Pacific Arctic (1987–2015): Overlap of marine mammal distributions and core use areas
We collated available satellite telemetry data for six species of ice-associated marine mammals in the Pacific Arctic: ringed seals (Pusa hispida; n = 118), bearded seals(Erignathus barbatus, n = 51), spotted seals (Phoca largha, n = 72), Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens, n = 389); bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus, n = 46), and five Arctic and sub-arctic stocks of beluga...
Authors
John J. Citta, Lloyd F. Lowry, Lori T. Quakenbush, Brendan P. Kelly, Anthony S. Fischbach, Josh M. London, Chadwick V. Jay, Kathryn J. Frost, Gregory O’Corry Crowe, Justin A. Crawford, Peter L. Boveng, Michael Cameron, Andrew L. Von Duyke, Mark Nelson, Lois A. Harwood, Pierre Richard, Robert Suydam, Mads Peter Heide-Jorgensen, Roderick C. Hobbs, Dennis I. Litovka, Marianne Marcoux, Alex Whiting, Amy S. Kennedy, John C. George, Jack Orr, Tom Gray
Wildland–urban interface residents’ relationships with wildfire: Variation within and across communities Wildland–urban interface residents’ relationships with wildfire: Variation within and across communities
Social science offers rich descriptions of relationships between wildland–urban interface residents and wildfire, but syntheses across different contexts might gloss over important differences. We investigate the potential extent of such differences using data collected consistently in sixty-eight Colorado communities and hierarchical modeling. We find substantial variation across...
Authors
James Meldrum, Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Patricia A. Champ, Lilia C. Falk, Pamela Wilson, Christopher M. Barth
Actinemys marmorata (Western Pond Turtle): Suspected predation/scavenging Actinemys marmorata (Western Pond Turtle): Suspected predation/scavenging
No abstract available.
Authors
Mickey Agha, Brian D. Todd, Shannon Skalos, Matthew J. Falcon, Michael L. Casazza, Olivia Wang
Trophic compression of lake food webs under hydrologic disturbance Trophic compression of lake food webs under hydrologic disturbance
The need to protect biostructure is increasingly recognized, yet empirical studies of how human exploits affect ecological networks are rare. Studying the effects of variation in human disturbance intensity from decades past can help us understand and anticipate ecosystem change under alleviated or amplified disturbance over decades to come. Here, we use stable isotopes and an innovative
Authors
Adam G. Hansen, Jennifer R. Gardner, Kristin A. Connelly, Matt Polacek, David A. Beauchamp