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: 43455
Long-term aridity shapes grassland drought resistance and modulates the roles of plant diversity and functional composition Long-term aridity shapes grassland drought resistance and modulates the roles of plant diversity and functional composition
Understanding the drivers of plant community stability is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to extreme drought events. In grasslands, drought resistance supports the maintenance of key functions such as above-ground primary productivity, making the identification of resistance drivers essential to guide management under climate change. Proposed factors contributing to grassland...
Authors
D. Bertuol-Garcia, L. van den Brink, M. Carbognani, M. H. Chandregowda, A. C. Churchill, D. F. Cusack, M. Dubbert, J. S. Dukes, M. E. DuPre, N. Eisenhauer, T. G.W. Forte, Y. Hautier, A. Hector, H. A.L. Henry, A. Jentsch, S. Koerner, A. Kübert, E. Ladouceur, D. Laughlin, M. G. Longo, A. Loydi, A. S. Mori, Seth M. Munson, U. N. Nielsen, T. J. Ohlert, G. R. Oñatibia, R. Otfinowski, M. Pärtel, G. B. Paterno, J. Peñuelas, P. L. Peri, A. Petraglia, J. M. Piñeiro, S. A. Power, Y. Pueyo, W. E. Rogers, B. A. Santos, M. D. Smith, A. Stampfli, R. J. Standish, M. Tedder, G. R. Wheeler, J. Williams, M. Zieter, N. Shackelford
Restoration is a partial but not complete solution for long-term declines in oyster populations—A case history from the northeastern Gulf of America Restoration is a partial but not complete solution for long-term declines in oyster populations—A case history from the northeastern Gulf of America
Objective We sought to evaluate whether oyster reef restoration is associated with sustained increases in intertidal eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica density in Suwannee Sound, Florida, and to examine how commercial fishing activity and freshwater discharge may modify those patterns.Methods We monitored intertidal oyster reefs for 14 years, including 9 years prior to large-scale...
Authors
W. E. Pine, J. F. Moore, Michael J. Dodrill, J. Aufmuth, M. Moreno, T. S. Coleman, J. Casteel, S. Beck, B. Ennis, N. Rogers, P. C Frederick
Fipronil baits as emerging tools for flea control and plague mitigation: Experiments with cricetid mice on prairie dog colonies Fipronil baits as emerging tools for flea control and plague mitigation: Experiments with cricetid mice on prairie dog colonies
Plague is a zoonotic disease of mammalian hosts and flea vectors. Wildlife biologists most commonly mitigate plague by controlling flea populations. We evaluated the efficacy of edible baits for systemic flea control with two cricetid species on colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus): the western deer mouse (Peromyscus sonoriensis) and the northern grasshopper mouse
Authors
David A. Eads, Travis Livieri, Marc R. Matchett, Madisen Hartlaub, Jason Fly, Michelle L. Hladik, Shelli A. Dubay, Paul Roghair, Brooke Fricke, Phillip Dobesh, Ashley Merkel, Eddie Childers, John P. Hughes, Dean E. Biggins
Toxoplasma gondii: Challenges and perspectives in interpreting longitudinal seroprevalence data for a chronic parasitic infection Toxoplasma gondii: Challenges and perspectives in interpreting longitudinal seroprevalence data for a chronic parasitic infection
Toxoplasma gondii—the causative agent of toxoplasmosis—is a zoonotic pathogen of warm-blooded hosts. Infection causes mild-to-severe symptoms, including lethargy, fever, muscle pain, abortion, ocular disease, and encephalitis. Toxoplasma affects many vertebrate species, although felids are the only known definitive hosts. Seroprevalence in wildlife is often assessed using cross-sectional...
Authors
Kendall L. Bancroft, Connor J. Meyer, Emily J. Jenkins, Paul C. Cross, Randy W. DeYoung, Aaron M. Foley, Miranda L. Hopper, Kevin T. Lovasik, Landon N. Schofield, Bryan D. Spencer, Michael J Cherry, Alynn M. Martin
A cross-site comparison of ecosystem- and plot-scale methane fluxes across multiple sites A cross-site comparison of ecosystem- and plot-scale methane fluxes across multiple sites
Wetland and upland ecosystems play significant but opposing roles in the global methane (CH4) budget, acting as natural sources and sinks, respectively. Two of the most common approaches for measuring CH4 fluxes (FCH4) are chambers, which measure fluxes at fine spatial scales (ca. 1 m2), and eddy covariance (EC) towers, which integrate fluxes across larger footprints (ca. 100–10 000 m2)...
Authors
Tiia Määttä, Ankur R. Desai, Masahito Ueyama, Rodrigo Vargas, Eric J. Ward, Zhen Zhang, Gil Bohrer, Kyle Delwiche, Etienne Fluet-Chouinard, Järvi Järveoja, Sara H. Knox, Lulie Melling, Mat B. Nilsson, Matthias Peichl, Angela Che Tang, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Jinsong Wang, Sheel Bansal, Sarah Feron, Manuel Helbig, Aino Korrensalo, Karen W. Krauss, Gavin McNicol, Shuli Niu, Zutao Ouyang, Kathleen Savage, Oliver Sonnentag, Robert Jackson, Avni Malhotra
Non-destructive sampling of larval amphibians shows tail tissues reflect whole-body methylmercury concentrations and trophic-related differences in bioaccumulation Non-destructive sampling of larval amphibians shows tail tissues reflect whole-body methylmercury concentrations and trophic-related differences in bioaccumulation
Mercury (Hg), and specifically methylmercury (MeHg), is a contaminant of global concern to humans and wildlife, but there is still limited understanding of its effects on many taxa. Amphibians are closely associated with water, where Hg is converted to MeHg, and high concentrations of MeHg can reduce survival of amphibians in the wild. However, limited non-lethal proxies exist for...
Authors
Brian J. Tornabene, Blake R. Hossack, Daniel A. Grear, Thomas L. Anderson, Brad Glorioso, Hardin Waddle, Jon D Davenport, Collin Eagles-Smith, Caitlin T. Rumrill, Kelly L. Smalling
Culturing emerging, imperiled, and poorly understood fishes Culturing emerging, imperiled, and poorly understood fishes
Most fish hatcheries and farms raise fish for food, to supply the bait and ornamental fish trades, or to create or enhance recreational and commercial fishing opportunities. Culture methods for these species are well established and are described in various chapters of this book. However, a growing number of facilities are responsible for cultivation of emerging, imperiled, or lesser...
Authors
James S. Candrl, Theo Smith
Mississippi’s resiliency and changing environmental conditions Mississippi’s resiliency and changing environmental conditions
Mississippi is experiencing shifts in environmental conditions, many of which are expected to intensify in the coming decades, and will have important implications for ecosystems, species, and natural resource management across the state. Historical climate analyses and downscaled projections summarized for the state’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) level III Ecoregions show that
Authors
Hailey Nicole Shanovich, Alex Lamle, Louise Vaughn
Wind River subbasin restoration: Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities January 2024 through December 2024 Wind River subbasin restoration: Annual report of U.S. Geological Survey activities January 2024 through December 2024
We sampled juvenile wild Oncorhynchus mykiss (Steelhead Trout) in headwater streams of the Wind River, Washington, to characterize population attributes and investigate life-history metrics, particularly migratory patterns, and early life-stage survival. Additionally, this sampling provides an index of abundance of non-native Brook Trout Salvelinus confluentus. We used passive integrated...
Authors
Ian Jezorek
Whitefishes—Coregonus spp. Whitefishes—Coregonus spp.
Coregonines represent a diverse group of fishes of the Salmonidae subfamily Coregoninae that have ecological, cultural, and economical importance throughout their range. They are prey for other commercially and recreationally important predatory fish and are harvested for human consumption (Cleland 1982). Coregonines are generally cool- and coldwater species distributed across the...
Authors
Marc Chalupnicki, Gregg Mackey, John A. Sweka, Steve Davis, Kevin Loftus, Timothy Drew
Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure assessment of Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) and barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) eggs and nestlings collected along Snow Creek and Choccolocco Creek watersheds near Anniston, Alabama, USA Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposure assessment of Carolina wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) and barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) eggs and nestlings collected along Snow Creek and Choccolocco Creek watersheds near Anniston, Alabama, USA
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) persist for decades when released into the environment and bioaccumulate in aquatic and terrestrial environments, resulting in harmful concentrations of PCBs in fishes, birds, and humans. Approximately 310,000 metric tons of PCBs were produced at a facility in Anniston, Alabama from 1929–1971. Hundreds of metric tons of PCB-contaminated waste were...
Authors
Donald E. Tillitt, Danielle M. Cleveland, Allison Schein, Kathy R. Echols, Annie Chalifour, Jess Kidd, Robert Carter, Brian Spears, Donald D. MacDonald
Review of Grasse River Lake Sturgeon habitat use and possible post-Superfund remediation agency actions Review of Grasse River Lake Sturgeon habitat use and possible post-Superfund remediation agency actions
The Grass River (hereafter Grasse River) historically served as a major source of fisheries production for the Saint Lawrence River (hereafter St. Lawrence River) basin, providing critical spawning habitat and support for other life history stages of numerous species including the culturally and ecologically significant Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens). Decades of environmental...
Authors
Dawn Dittman, Edward Roseman, Taaja Tucker-Silva, Robin L. DeBruyne, Jason Fischer