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: 42702
Autonomous acoustic recorders reveal complex patterns in avian detection probability Autonomous acoustic recorders reveal complex patterns in avian detection probability
Avian point‐count surveys are typically designed to occur during periods when birds are consistently active and singing, but seasonal and diurnal patterns of detection probability are often not well understood and may vary regionally or between years. We deployed autonomous acoustic recorders to assess how avian availability for detection (i.e., the probability that a bird signals its...
Authors
Sarah J. Thompson, Colleen M. Handel, Lance B. McNew
Glacierized headwater streams as aquifer recharge corridors, subarctic Alaska Glacierized headwater streams as aquifer recharge corridors, subarctic Alaska
Arctic river discharge has increased in recent decades although sources and mechanisms remain debated. Abundant literature documents permafrost thaw and mountain glacier shrinkage over the past decades. Here we link glacier runoff to aquifer recharge via a losing headwater stream in subarctic Interior Alaska. Field measurements in Jarvis Creek (634 km2), a subbasin of the Tanana and...
Authors
Anna K. Lilledahl, Anne Gadeke, Shad O’Neel, T. A. Gatesman, T. A. Douglas
Monitoring land surface albedo and vegetation dynamics using high spatial and temporal resolution synthetic time series from Landsat and the MODIS BRDF/NBAR/albedo product Monitoring land surface albedo and vegetation dynamics using high spatial and temporal resolution synthetic time series from Landsat and the MODIS BRDF/NBAR/albedo product
Seasonal vegetation phenology can significantly alter surface albedo which in turn affects the global energy balance and the albedo warming/cooling feedbacks that impact climate change. To monitor and quantify the surface dynamics of heterogeneous landscapes, high temporal and spatial resolution synthetic time series of albedo and the enhanced vegetation index (EVI) were generated from...
Authors
Zhuosen Wang, Crystal B. Schaaf, Qingson Sun, JiHyun Kim, Angela M. Erb, Feng Gao, Miguel O. Roman, Yun Yang, Shelley Petroy, Jeffrey Taylor, Jeffrey G. Masek, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Xiaoyang Zhang, Shirley A. Papuga
Decadal declines in avian herbivore reproduction: density-dependent nutrition and phenological mismatch in the Arctic Decadal declines in avian herbivore reproduction: density-dependent nutrition and phenological mismatch in the Arctic
A full understanding of population dynamics depends not only on estimation of mechanistic contributions of recruitment and survival, but also knowledge about the ecological processes that drive each of these vital rates. The process of recruitment in particular may be protracted over several years, and can depend on numerous ecological complexities until sexually mature adulthood is...
Authors
Megan V. Ross, Ray T. Alisaukas, David C. Douglas, Dana K. Kellett
Selenium: Mercury molar ratios in freshwater fish in the Columbia River Basin: Potential applications for specific fish consumption advisories Selenium: Mercury molar ratios in freshwater fish in the Columbia River Basin: Potential applications for specific fish consumption advisories
Fish provide a valuable source of beneficial nutrients and are an excellent source of low fat protein. However, fish are also the primary source of methylmercury exposure in humans. Selenium often co-occurs with mercury and there is some evidence that selenium can protect against mercury toxicity yet States issue fish consumption advisories based solely on the risks that methylmercury...
Authors
Leanne K. Cusack, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Anna K. Harding, Molly Kile, Dave Stone
The interacting roles of climate, soils, and plant production on soil microbial communities at a continental scale The interacting roles of climate, soils, and plant production on soil microbial communities at a continental scale
Soil microbial communities control critical ecosystem processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and soil organic matter formation. Continental scale patterns in the composition and functioning of microbial communities are related to climatic, biotic, and edaphic factors such as temperature and precipitation, plant community composition, and soil carbon, nitrogen, and pH...
Authors
Mark P. Waldrop, JoAnn M. Holloway, David B. Smith, Martin B. Goldhaber, R. E. Drenovsky, K. M. Scow, R. Dick, Daniel M. Howard, Bruce K. Wylie, James B. Grace
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Geology, Energy, and Minerals Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Land Change Science Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Novel, continuous monitoring of fine‐scale movement using fixed‐position radiotelemetry arrays and random forest location fingerprinting Novel, continuous monitoring of fine‐scale movement using fixed‐position radiotelemetry arrays and random forest location fingerprinting
Radio‐tag signals from fixed‐position antennas are most often used to indicate presence or absence of individuals, or to estimate individual activity levels from signal strength variation within an antenna's detection zone. The potential of such systems to provide more precise information on tag location and movement has not been explored in great detail in an ecological setting.By...
Authors
Andrew B. Harbicht, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, William R. Ardren, Dimitry Gorsky, Dylan Fraser
Mortality investigation Mortality investigation
No abstract available.
Authors
Brian Stacy, Allen M. Foley, Thierry M. Work, Terry M. Norton
Nitrogenase activity by biological soil crusts in cold sagebrush steppe ecosystems Nitrogenase activity by biological soil crusts in cold sagebrush steppe ecosystems
In drylands worldwide, biological soil crusts (BSC) form a thin photosynthetic cover across landscapes, and provide vital benefits in terms of stabilizing soil and fixing nitrogen (N) and carbon (C). Numerous studies have examined the effects of climate and disturbance on BSC functions; however, few have characterized these responses in rolling BSCs typical of northern ecosystems in the
Authors
Stacy G. Schwabedissen, Kathleen A. Lohse, Sasha C. Reed, Ken A. Aho, Timothy S. Magnuson
Life history migrations of adult Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in the upper Yellowstone River Life history migrations of adult Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout in the upper Yellowstone River
Knowledge of salmonid life history types at the watershed scale is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone for effective management. In this study, we used radiotelemetry to characterize the life history movements of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri in the upper Yellowstone River, an extensive tributary that composes nearly half of the drainage area of...
Authors
Brian D. Ertel, Thomas E. McMahon, Todd M. Koel, Robert E. Gresswell, Jason Burckhardt
Genetic assessment of the effects of streamscape succession on coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch colonization in recently deglaciated streams Genetic assessment of the effects of streamscape succession on coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch colonization in recently deglaciated streams
Measures of genetic diversity within and among populations and historical geomorphological data on stream landscapes were used in model simulations based on approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) to examine hypotheses of the relative importance of stream features (geomorphology and age) associated with colonization events and gene flow for coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch breeding in...
Authors
Kim T. Scribner, Chad Soiseth, Jeffrey J. McGuire, G. Kevin Sage, Lyman K. Thorsteinson, J. L. Nielsen, E. Knudsen