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
Florida Kingsnake (Lampropeltis floridana) consumes a juvenile Burmese Python (Python molurus bivitattus) in southern Florida Florida Kingsnake (Lampropeltis floridana) consumes a juvenile Burmese Python (Python molurus bivitattus) in southern Florida
The Burmese python (Python molurus bivittatus) is an invasive constrictor established across southern Florida. These snakes are dietary generalists with large home ranges and broad habitat requirements and their introduction has had severe impacts on native species and ecosystems in the region. We describe the first observation of a Florida kingsnake (Lampropeltis floridana) that...
Authors
Peter F. Crawford, Jose A. Torres, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Andrea Faye Currylow, Lisa Marie McBride, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Matthew F. McCollister, Christina M. Romagosa, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Kristen Hart
Reduction of genetic diversity in ‘Alalā (Hawaiian crow; Corvus hawaiiensis) between the late 1800s and the late 1900s Reduction of genetic diversity in ‘Alalā (Hawaiian crow; Corvus hawaiiensis) between the late 1800s and the late 1900s
Genetic and genomic data are increasingly used to aid conservation management of endangered species by providing insights into evolutionary histories, factors associated with extinction risks, and potential for future adaptation. For the ‘Alalā, or Hawaiian crow (Corvus hawaiiensis), genetic concerns include negative correlations between inbreeding and hatching success. However, it is...
Authors
Geneviève Blanchet, Mona Renee Bellinger, Anna M. Kearns, Nandadevi Cortes-Rodriguez, Bryce M. Masuda, Michael G. Campana, Christian Rutz, Robert C. Fleischer, Jolene T. Sutton
Respiratory acclimation of tropical forest roots in response to in situ experimental warming and hurricane disturbance Respiratory acclimation of tropical forest roots in response to in situ experimental warming and hurricane disturbance
Climate projections predict higher temperatures and more frequent hurricanes in the tropics. Tropical plants subjected to these stresses may respond by acclimating their physiology. We investigated tropical forest root respiration in response to in situ experimental warming and hurricane disturbance in eastern Puerto Rico. We measured mass-normalized root specific respiration, root...
Authors
Rob Tunison, Tana E. Wood, Sasha C. Reed, Molly A. Cavaleri
Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout recovery in Yellowstone Lake: Complex interactions among invasive species suppression, disease, and climate change Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout recovery in Yellowstone Lake: Complex interactions among invasive species suppression, disease, and climate change
In Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, the largest inland population of nonhybridized Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri, hereafter Cutthroat Trout, declined throughout the 2000s because of predation from invasive Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush, drought, and whirling disease Myxobolus cerebralis. To maintain ecosystem function and conserve Cutthroat Trout, a Lake Trout...
Authors
Hayley Corrine Glassic, David Chagaris, Christopher S. Guy, Lusha M. Tronstad, Dominique R. Lujan, Michelle A. Briggs, Lindsey K. Albertson, Travis O. Brenden, Timothy E. Walsworth, Todd M. Koel
Warming experiments test the temperature sensitivity of an endangered butterfly across life history stages Warming experiments test the temperature sensitivity of an endangered butterfly across life history stages
The Karner blue butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) (hereafter Karner blue) is a federally listed endangered species occurring in disjunct locations within the Midwest and Eastern United States. As a hostplant specialist and an ectotherm, the Karner blue is likely to be susceptible to effects of climate change. We undertook warming experiments to explore the temperature sensitivity of...
Authors
Lainey Bristow, Ralph Grundel, Jason Dzurisin, Yudi Li, Andrew Hildreth, Jessica Hellmann
BatTool: Projecting bat populations facing multiple stressors using a demographic model BatTool: Projecting bat populations facing multiple stressors using a demographic model
Bats provide ecologically and agriculturally important ecosystem services but are currently experiencing population declines caused by multiple environmental stressors, including mortality from white-nose syndrome and wind energy development. Analyses of the current and future health and viability of these species may support conservation management decision making. Demographic modeling...
Authors
Ashton M. Wiens, Amber Schorg, Jennifer Szymanski, Wayne E. Thogmartin
Cultivating resilience in dryland soils: An assisted migration approach to biological soil crust restoration Cultivating resilience in dryland soils: An assisted migration approach to biological soil crust restoration
Land use practices and climate change have driven substantial soil degradation across global drylands, impacting ecosystem functions and human livelihoods. Biological soil crusts, a common feature of dryland ecosystems, are under extensive exploration for their potential to restore the stability and fertility of degraded soils through the development of inoculants. However, stressful...
Authors
Sierra Jech, Natalie K. Day, Nichole Barger, Anita Antoninka, Matthew A. Bowker, Sasha C. Reed, Colin L Tucker
Evaluation of breeding distribution and chronology of North American scoters Evaluation of breeding distribution and chronology of North American scoters
North America's scoter species are poorly monitored relative to other waterfowl. Black Melanitta americana, surf M. perspicillata, and white-winged M. deglandi scoter abundance and trend estimates are thus uncertain in many parts of these species' ranges. The most extensive source of waterfowl abundance and distribution data in North America is the Waterfowl breeding population and...
Authors
Kristin Bianchini, Scott G. Gilliland, Alicia Berlin, Timothy D. Bowman, W. Sean Boyd, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Daniel Esler, Joseph R. Evenson, Paul L. Flint, Christine Lepage, Scott R. McWilliams, Dustin E. Meattey, Jason E. Osenkowski, Matthew Perry, Jean-Francois Poulin, Eric T. Reed, Christian Roy, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, Lucas Savoy, Jason L Schamber, Caleb S. Spiegel, John Takekawa, David H. Ward, Mark L. Mallory
Development of a Surface-Water Index of Permanence to assess surface-water availability for ecohydrological refugia Development of a Surface-Water Index of Permanence to assess surface-water availability for ecohydrological refugia
Surface-water availability has major implications for the environment and society in the 21st century. With climate change, increased drought severity, and altered water and land use, future water availability is predicted to continue to decline in many areas, including much of the western United States. An understanding of where and when water will be available at multiple scales is...
Authors
Alynn Martin, Roy Sando, Lindsey Thurman, Kyle McLean, Patrick Wurster, John Jones, Anteneh Sarbanes
Hydrologic, water operations, reservoir temperature, river temperature, sediment transport, habitat, and fish population modeling for the Trinity River Water Management Plan Hydrologic, water operations, reservoir temperature, river temperature, sediment transport, habitat, and fish population modeling for the Trinity River Water Management Plan
Humboldt County is developing a Water Management Plan that will describe a range of proposed annual releases from Trinity Reservoir consistent with the 1959 water delivery contract between Humboldt County and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation). The 1959 contract states that Reclamation shall release not less than an annual quantity of 50,000 acre-feet into the Trinity River for...
Authors
John Plumb, Russell Perry
Growth performance of Rainbow Trout in reservoir tributaries and implications for steelhead growth potential above Skagit River dams Growth performance of Rainbow Trout in reservoir tributaries and implications for steelhead growth potential above Skagit River dams
Objective In the Pacific Northwest (USA), Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. populations have been declining significantly for decades, prompting stakeholders to respond with a variety of conservation and restoration measures. One such measure being considered in the Skagit River basin (Washington, USA) is the introduction of steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss (anadromous Rainbow Trout) above...
Authors
Benjamin Lorenz Jensen, Rachelle Carina Johnson, Jeffrey J. Duda, Carl Ostberg, Tessa Julianne Code, Jonathan H Mclean, Karl D. Stenberg, Kimberly Larsen, Marshal Hoy, David Beauchamp