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: 42686
Mapping global coral vulnerability to stony coral tissue loss disease: Implications for biosecurity and conservation Mapping global coral vulnerability to stony coral tissue loss disease: Implications for biosecurity and conservation
Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) has devastated Caribbean coral reefs since 2014, but its potential for global impact remains uncertain. We developed predictive models to assess the worldwide vulnerability of coral reefs to SCTLD under different origin and spread hypotheses. Using random forest regression models incorporating coral taxonomy and zooxanthellae clade associations...
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty, Giovanni Strona
Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change Ecological acclimation: A framework to integrate fast and slow responses to climate change
Ecological responses to climate change occur across vastly different time-scales, from minutes for physiological plasticity to decades or centuries for community turnover and evolutionary adaptation. Accurately predicting the range of ecosystem trajectories will require models that incorporate both fast processes that may keep pace with climate change and slower ones likely to lag behind...
Authors
Michael Stemkovski, Joey Bernhardt, Benjamin Wong Blonder, John B. Bradford, Kyra Clark-Wolf, Laura E. Dee, Margaret Evans, Virginia Iglesias, Loretta Johnson, Abigail J. Lynch, Sparkle Malone, Brooke Osborne, Melissa Pastore, Michael Paterson, Malin Pinsky, Christine R. Rollinson, Oliver Selmoni, Jason Venkiteswarnan, Anthony P. Walker, Nicole K. Ward, John B. Williams, Claire Zarakas, Peter B. Adler
Pathology, tissue distribution, and phylogenomic characterization of largemouth bass virus isolated from a wild smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) Pathology, tissue distribution, and phylogenomic characterization of largemouth bass virus isolated from a wild smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)
We performed a diagnostic disease investigation on a wild smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) with skin ulcers that was collected from Lake Oahe, South Dakota, following reports from anglers of multiple fish with similar lesions. Gross and histologic lesions of ulcerative dermatitis, myositis, and lymphocytolysis within the spleen and kidneys were consistent with largemouth bass virus...
Authors
Christine J.E. Haake, Thomas B. Waltzek, Chrissy D. Eckstrand, Nora Hickey, Joetta Lynn Reno, Rebecca M. Wolking, Preeyanan Sriwanayos, Jan Lovy, Elizabeth A. Renner, Kyle R. Taylor, Ryan Oliveira
Risks and rewards of pre-emergent herbicide (indaziflam) to defend core sagebrush-steppe ecosystems under suboptimal precipitation Risks and rewards of pre-emergent herbicide (indaziflam) to defend core sagebrush-steppe ecosystems under suboptimal precipitation
Protection of intact habitat from the spread of invasive plants is a global priority, especially where invaders alter wildfire occurrence. Invasion of perennial sagebrush-steppe ecosystems by cheatgrass and other fire-promoting exotic annual grasses (EAGs) is one of the most notorious examples of this problem. Protection and expansion of the remaining intact “core” sagebrush areas are...
Authors
Brynne Lazarus, Matthew Germino
Daily fluctuating flows affect riparian plant species distributions from local to regional scales Daily fluctuating flows affect riparian plant species distributions from local to regional scales
Aims The number of hydropower dams has grown globally over recent decades, with significant impacts on downstream riparian plant communities. Many of these dams generate daily fluctuating flows known as hydropeaking to meet sub-daily variation in energy demands. Hydropeaking can significantly impact riparian plant communities, with obligate riparian species tending to experience the...
Authors
Bradley J. Butterfield, Emily C. Palmquist
Evaluating deterrent locations and sequence in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway to minimize invasive carp occupancy and abundance Evaluating deterrent locations and sequence in the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway to minimize invasive carp occupancy and abundance
Invasive carps, specifically silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (H. nobilis), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), and black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), have proliferated in the Mississippi River Basin owing to escapes from aquaculture facilities and intentional releases. In the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2020 Sec. 509, Congress directed the U...
Authors
Michael E. Colvin, Caleb A. Aldridge, Neal Jackson, Max Post van der Burg
Genetic structure of an expanding population of Humpback Chub in Grand Canyon Genetic structure of an expanding population of Humpback Chub in Grand Canyon
Objective Humpback Chub (HBC) Gila cypha in Grand Canyon declined in abundance and distribution over the latter part of the 20th century but have substantially increased in abundance and distribution over the past two decades. Although previous genetic work suggested that HBC in Grand Canyon belong to one genetic group, here we evaluate the genetic structure of HBC in Grand Canyon to...
Authors
Maria C. Dzul, Robert Massatti, Charles Yackulic, Emily Omana-Smith, Kirk Young
Beach nourishment response and recent morphological evolution of Minnesota Point, Lake Superior Beach nourishment response and recent morphological evolution of Minnesota Point, Lake Superior
Beach nourishments are a popular nature-based alternative to armoring for shoreline erosion mitigation, but nourishments have been criticized due to their environmental impacts and uncertain sustainability. Monitoring is often nonexistent or insufficient to constrain nourishment longevity and inform the renourishment interval required to maintain shoreline protection. This study uses a...
Authors
Collin Roland, Joel T. Groten, J. William Lund, Jenny L. Hanson
Blowing in the wind: Anemochory in blackbrush habitat of South Texas Blowing in the wind: Anemochory in blackbrush habitat of South Texas
Wind dispersal has the potential to carry seeds long-distances and could inform the management and restoration of natural vegetation along the U.S.-Mexico Border. Plant species with the potential to disperse seeds in arid landscapes fragmented by border barrier infrastructure include foundational native, invasive, and federally endangered plant species. Wind dispersal traps constructed...
Authors
Beth Middleton, Emily J. Lain
Female and male grizzly bears differ in their responses to low-intensity recreation in a protected area Female and male grizzly bears differ in their responses to low-intensity recreation in a protected area
Strategies animals use to navigate human-dominated landscapes frequently mimic anti-predator responses employed by prey species. Understanding how large carnivores respond to outdoor recreation is important for conservation, particularly in protected areas with preservation mandates. Visitation to Yellowstone National Park doubled from 1980 to 2015, increasing the need to examine...
Authors
Elise Loggers, Andrea R. Litt, Mark Haroldson, Kerry A. Gunther, Frank T. van Manen
Ecotoxicological effects of crude oil to early life stage Danio rerio: A molecular, morphological and behavioral approach focused on swim bladder development Ecotoxicological effects of crude oil to early life stage Danio rerio: A molecular, morphological and behavioral approach focused on swim bladder development
Proper development and inflation of the swim bladder is essential for swimming and foraging behavior in fish. To characterize the effects of the Brazilian oil spill that occurred between 2019 and 2020 to early life stage fish, the expression of genes involved in swim bladder development were targeted, with biochemical assays, morphology, and behavior assessed. The swim bladder was...
Authors
Célio F. Mariz, Maria Karolaine de Melo Alves, Jason Tyler Magnuson, Italo Braga de Castro, Felix Augusto Silva de Andrade, Eliete Zanardi-Lamardo, Igor Dias Medeiros, Paulo S. Carvalho
The effects of forest harvesting on total and methylmercury concentrations in surface waters depend on harvest practices and physical site characteristics The effects of forest harvesting on total and methylmercury concentrations in surface waters depend on harvest practices and physical site characteristics
Forest harvesting can lead to mercury (Hg) mobilization from soils to aquatic habitats and promote the transformation of inorganic Hg to highly neurotoxic and bioaccumulative methyl-Hg (MeHg). Multiple past studies reveal broad variation of stream water MeHg and total Hg (THg) concentrations responses to forest harvesting, which has confounded messaging to forest and resource managers...
Authors
Karin Eklof, Heleen A. de Wit, Chris S. Eckley, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Susan L. Eggert, Robert W. Mackereth, Ulf Skyllberg, Liisa Ukonmaanaho, Matti Verta, Craig J Allan, Erik J.S. Emilson, Karen A. Kidd, Carl P.J. Mitchell, John Munthe, Tapani Sallantaus, Joel Segersten, Andrea Garcia Bravo, Randall Kolka, Colin P.R. McCarter, Petri Porvari, Eva Ring, Stephen Sebestyen, Ulf Sikstrom, Therese Zetterberg