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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: 43023

A comparison of four porewater sampling methods for metal mixtures and dissolved organic carbon and the implications for sediment toxicity evaluations A comparison of four porewater sampling methods for metal mixtures and dissolved organic carbon and the implications for sediment toxicity evaluations

Evaluations of sediment quality conditions are commonly conducted using whole-sediment chemistry analyses but can be enhanced by evaluating multiple lines of evidence, including measures of the bioavailable forms of contaminants. In particular, porewater chemistry data provide information that is directly relevant for interpreting sediment toxicity data. Various methods for sampling...
Authors
Danielle M. Cleveland, William G. Brumbaugh, Donald D. MacDonald

Characterizing interactions between fire and other disturbances and their impacts on tree mortality in western U.S. Forests Characterizing interactions between fire and other disturbances and their impacts on tree mortality in western U.S. Forests

Increasing evidence that pervasive warming trends are altering disturbance regimes and their interactions with fire has generated substantial interest and debate over the implications of these changes. Previous work has primarily focused on conditions that promote non-additive interactions of linked and compounded disturbances, but the spectrum of potential interaction patterns has not...
Authors
Jeffrey M. Kane, J. Morgan Varner, Margaret R. Metz, Phillip J. van Mantgem

Urban landscapes can change virus gene flow and evolution in a fragmentation-sensitive carnivore Urban landscapes can change virus gene flow and evolution in a fragmentation-sensitive carnivore

Urban expansion has widespread impacts on wildlife species globally, including the transmission and emergence of infectious diseases. However, there is almost no information about how urban landscapes shape transmission dynamics in wildlife. Using an innovative phylodynamic approach combining host and pathogen molecular data with landscape characteristics and host traits, we untangle the...
Authors
Nicholas M. Fountain-Jones, Meggan E. Craft, W. Chris Funk, Chris Kozakiewicz, Daryl Trumbo, Erin E. Boydston, Lisa M. Lyren, Kevin R. Crooks, Justin S. Lee, Sue VandeWoude, Scott Carver

Phylogenetic distribution of a male pheromone that may exploit a nonsexual preference in lampreys Phylogenetic distribution of a male pheromone that may exploit a nonsexual preference in lampreys

Pheromones are among the most important sexual signals used by organisms throughout the animal kingdom. However, few are identified in vertebrates, leaving the evolutionary mechanisms underlying vertebrate pheromones poorly understood. Pre-existing biases in receivers’ perceptual systems shape visual and auditory signaling systems, but studies on how receiver biases influence the...
Authors
Tyler J. Buchinger, Ugo Bussy, Ke Li, Huiyong Wang, Mar Huertas, Cindy F. Baker, Liang Jia, Michael C. Hayes, Weiming Li, Nicholas S. Johnson

Linking functional response and bioenergetics to estimate juvenile salmon growth in a reservoir food web Linking functional response and bioenergetics to estimate juvenile salmon growth in a reservoir food web

Juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) use of reservoir food webs is understudied. We examined the feeding behavior of subyearling Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) and its relation to growth by estimating the functional response of juvenile salmon to changes in the density of Daphnia, an important component of reservoir food webs. We then estimated salmon growth across a broad range of water
Authors
Craig A. Haskell, David A. Beauchamp, Stephen M. Bollens

Epicormic resprouting in fire-prone ecosystems Epicormic resprouting in fire-prone ecosystems

Many plants resprout from basal buds after disturbance, and this is common in shrublands subjected to high-intensity fires. However, resprouting after fire from epicormic (stem) buds is globally far less common. Unlike basal resprouting, post-fire epicormic resprouting is a key plant adaptation for retention of the arborescent skeleton after fire, allowing rapid recovery of the forest or...
Authors
Juli G. Pausas, Jon E. Keeley

An improved camera trap for amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and large invertebrates An improved camera trap for amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and large invertebrates

Camera traps are valuable sampling tools commonly used to inventory and monitor wildlife communities but are challenged to reliably sample small animals. We introduce a novel active camera trap system enabling the reliable and efficient use of wildlife cameras for sampling small animals, particularly reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and large invertebrates. It surpasses the detection...
Authors
Michael T. Hobbs, Cheryl S. Brehme

Defining ecological drought for the 21st century Defining ecological drought for the 21st century

No abstract available.
Authors
Shelley D. Crausbay, Aaron R. Ramirez, Shawn L. Carter, Molly Cross, Kimberly R. Hall, Deborah J. Bathke, Julio L. Betancourt, Steve Colt, Amanda E. Cravens, Melinda S. Dalton, Jason B. Dunham, Lauren E. Hay, Michael J. Hayes, Jamie McEvoy, Chad A. McNutt, Max A. Moritz, Keith H. Nislow, Nejem Raheem, Todd Sanford

The NorWeST summer stream temperature model and scenarios for the western U.S.: A crowd-sourced database and new geospatial tools foster a user-community and predict broad climate warming of rivers and streams The NorWeST summer stream temperature model and scenarios for the western U.S.: A crowd-sourced database and new geospatial tools foster a user-community and predict broad climate warming of rivers and streams

Thermal regimes are fundamental determinants of aquatic ecosystems, which makes description and prediction of temperatures critical during a period of rapid global change. The advent of inexpensive temperature sensors dramatically increased monitoring in recent decades, and although most monitoring is done by individuals for agency‐specific purposes, collectively these efforts constitute...
Authors
Daniel J. Isaak, Seth J. Wenger, Erin E. Peterson, Jay M Ver Hoef, David E Nagel, Charlie H. Luce, Steven W. Hostetler, Jason B. Dunham, Brett B. Roper, Sherry P Wollrab, Gwynne L Chandler, Dona L Horan, Sharon Parkes-Payne

Meteorological and environmental variables affect flight behaviour and decision-making of an obligate soaring bird, the California Condor Gymnogyps californianus Meteorological and environmental variables affect flight behaviour and decision-making of an obligate soaring bird, the California Condor Gymnogyps californianus

The movements of animals are limited by evolutionary constraints and ecological processes and are strongly influenced by the medium through which they travel. For flying animals, variation in atmospheric conditions is critically influential in movement. Obligate soaring birds depend on external sources of updraft more than do other flying species, as without that updraft they are unable...
Authors
Sharon A. Poessel, Joseph Brandt, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner

Experimental infection of common eider ducklings with Wellfleet Bay virus, a newly characterized orthomyxovirus Experimental infection of common eider ducklings with Wellfleet Bay virus, a newly characterized orthomyxovirus

Wellfleet Bay virus (WFBV), a novel orthomyxovirus in the genus Quaranjavirus, was first isolated in 2006 from carcasses of common eider (Somateria mollissima) during a mortality event in Wellfleet Bay (Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA) and has since been repeatedly isolated during recurrent mortality events in this location. Hepatic, pancreatic, splenic, and intestinal necrosis...
Authors
Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, S. Ip, Anne Ballmann, Jeffrey S. Hall, Andrew B. Allison, Jennifer R. Ballard, Julie C. Ellis, Robert Cook, Samantha E.J. Gibbs, Chris P. Dwyer

Evaluating upstream passage and timing of approach by adult bigheaded carps at a gated dam on the Illinois River Evaluating upstream passage and timing of approach by adult bigheaded carps at a gated dam on the Illinois River

Dams are a conservation threat because they function as barriers to native fish movement; however, they may prevent the spread of invasive species. Invasive bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem and are advancing towards Lake Michigan via the Illinois River. Navigation dams on the Illinois River may deter bigheaded carps' upstream movement. We...
Authors
Matthew Lubejko, Greg Whitledge, Alison A. Coulter, Marybeth K. Brey, Devon Oliver, James E. Garvey
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