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: 42871
Large increases in methane emissions expected from North America’s largest wetland complex Large increases in methane emissions expected from North America’s largest wetland complex
Natural methane (CH4) emissions from aquatic ecosystems may rise because of human-induced climate warming, although the magnitude of increase is highly uncertain. Using an exceptionally large CH4 flux dataset (~19,000 chamber measurements) and remotely sensed information, we modeled plot- and landscape-scale wetland CH4 emissions from the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), North America’s...
Authors
Sheel Bansal, Max Post van der Burg, Rachel Fern, John Jones, Rachel Lo, Owen P. McKenna, Brian Tangen, Zhen Zhang, Robert A. Gleason
The benefits of big-team science for conservation: Lessons learned from trinational monarch butterfly collaborations The benefits of big-team science for conservation: Lessons learned from trinational monarch butterfly collaborations
Many pressing conservation issues are complex problems caused by multiple social and environmental drivers; their resolution is aided by interdisciplinary teams of scientists, decision makers, and stakeholders working together. In these situations, how do we generate science to effectively guide conservation (resource management and policy) decisions? This paper describes elements of...
Authors
James E. Diffendorfer, Ryan G. Drum, Greg W. Mitchell, Eduardo Rendon-Salinas, Victor Sánchez-Cordero, Darius J. Semmens, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Ignacio J. March
Natives bite back: Depredation and mortality of invasive juvenile Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem Natives bite back: Depredation and mortality of invasive juvenile Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem
Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus Kuhl, 1820) are one of the world’s largest snake species, making them a highly successful and biologically damaging invasive predator in the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Florida, USA. Though we have knowledge of python diet within this system, we understand very little of other interactions with native species. Effects native species have on invasive...
Authors
Andrea Faye Currylow, Austin Lee Fitzgerald, Matthew T.H. Goetz, Jared L. Draxler, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Matthew McCollister, Christina Romagosa, Amy A. Yackel Adams
Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic Variation in isotopic niche partitioning between adult roseate and common terns in the Northwest Atlantic
Co-occurring species with similar resource requirements often partition ecological niches at different spatial and temporal scales. In the Northwest Atlantic (NWA), federally endangered roseate terns Sterna dougallii nest almost exclusively in coastal island colonies alongside common terns S. hirundo. Roseate terns are prey specialists compared to common terns, which are opportunistic...
Authors
Henry Legett, Jeffrey Lucas, Elizabeth Craig, Michelle Staudinger
Experimental manipulation of soil-surface albedo alters phenology and growth of Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass) Experimental manipulation of soil-surface albedo alters phenology and growth of Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)
Purpose The sensitivity of wildland plants to temperature can be directly measured using experimental manipulations of temperature in situ. We show that soil surface temperature and plant density (per square meter) have a significant impact on the germination, growth, and phenology of Bromus tectorum L., cheatgrass, a short-statured invasive winter-annual grass, and assess a new...
Authors
Toby M. Maxwell, Matthew J. Germino, Seth Romero, Lauren M. Porensky, Dana M. Blumenthal, Cynthia S. Brown, Peter B. Adler
Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program—2022 year in review Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program—2022 year in review
Established in 1935, the CRU program is a unique cooperative partnership among State Fish and Wildlife agencies, host universities, Wildlife Management Institute, U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Designed to meet the scientific needs of natural resource management agencies and to produce trained wildlife management professionals, the program has grown from...
Authors
Elise R. Irwin, Donald E. Dennerline, J. Barry Grand, Jonathan R. Mawdsley
Laboratory and field comparisons of TFM bar formulations used to treat small streams for larval sea lamprey Laboratory and field comparisons of TFM bar formulations used to treat small streams for larval sea lamprey
A solid formulation of the pesticide TFM (4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl)-phenol) was developed in the 1980s for application in small tributaries during treatments to control invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758). Several initial inert ingredients were discontinued and substituted, culminating with an interim formulation that unacceptably softens and rapidly decays in warm
Authors
James A. Luoma, Justin R. Schueller, Nicholas Schloesser, Todd Johnson, Courtney A. Kirkeeng
Complex life histories alter patterns of mercury exposure and accumulation in a pond-breeding amphibian Complex life histories alter patterns of mercury exposure and accumulation in a pond-breeding amphibian
Quantifying how contaminants change across life cycles of species that undergo metamorphosis is critical to assessing organismal risk, particularly for consumers. Pond-breeding amphibians can dominate aquatic animal biomass as larvae and are terrestrial prey as juveniles and adults. Thus, amphibians can be vectors of mercury exposure in both aquatic and terrestrial food webs. However, it...
Authors
Freya Elizabeth Rowland, Erin L. Muths, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Craig A. Stricker, Johanna M. Kraus, Rachel A. Harrington, David Walters
Lake Erie hypoxia spatial and temporal dynamics present challenges for assessing progress toward water quality goals Lake Erie hypoxia spatial and temporal dynamics present challenges for assessing progress toward water quality goals
Seasonal hypolimnetic hypoxia has been documented in Lake Erie’s central basin since the 1950s. Ship-based surveys to monitor hypoxia have been conducted since the 1980s, but they occur at a relatively low frequency and focus on the deeper areas of the central basin. To better document the seasonal development of stratification and the consequent occurrence of hypoxia, we deployed eight...
Authors
Craig A. Stow, Mark D. Rowe, Casey M. Godwin, Lacey A. Mason, Peter Alsip, Richard Kraus, Thomas Johengen, Stephen A. Constant
Random forest classification of multitemporal Landsat 8 spectral data and phenology metrics for land cover mapping in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts Random forest classification of multitemporal Landsat 8 spectral data and phenology metrics for land cover mapping in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts
Geospatial data and tools evolve as new technologies are developed and landscape change occurs over time. As a result, these data may become outdated and inadequate for supporting critical habitat-related work across the international boundary in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts Bird Conservation Region (BCR 33) due to the area’s complex vegetation communities and the discontinuity in data
Authors
Madeline Melichar, Kamel Didan, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Jennifer N. Duberstein, Eduardo Jimenez Hernandez, Theresa Crimmins, Haiquan Li, Myles B. Traphagen, Kathryn A. Thomas, Pamela L. Nagler
A hidden cost of single species management: Habitat-relationships reveal potential negative effects of conifer removal on a non-target species A hidden cost of single species management: Habitat-relationships reveal potential negative effects of conifer removal on a non-target species
Land management priorities and decisions may result in population declines for non-target wildlife species. In the western United States, large-scale removal of conifer from sagebrush ecosystems (Artemisia spp.) is occurring to recover greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations and may result in pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) habitat loss. Jay populations have...
Authors
Nicholas J. Van Lanen, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge
Changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2 Changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2
While there is consensus that blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, have an important role in mitigating some aspects of global climate change, little is known about mangrove carbon cycling under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2). Here, we review studies in order to identify pathways for how eCO2 might influence mangrove ecosystem carbon cycling. In general, eCO2 alters...
Authors
Xiaoxuan Gu, Peiyang Qiao, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock, Janine B. Adams, Samantha K. Chapman, Tim C. Jennerjahn, Qiulian Lin, Luzhen Chen