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: 42701
Snow refugia: Managing temperate forest canopies to maintain winter conditions Snow refugia: Managing temperate forest canopies to maintain winter conditions
Climate change is reducing snowpack across temperate regions with negative consequences for human and natural systems. Because forest canopies create microclimates that preserve snowpack, managing forests to support snow refugia—defined here as areas that remain relatively buffered from contemporary climate change over time that sustain snow quality, quantity, and/or timing appropriate...
Authors
M.A. Pastore, S.J. Nelson, E.A. Burakowski, A.R. Contosta, A.W. D’Amato, S. Garlick, E. O. Lindsey, D.A. Lutz, Toni Lyn Morelli, A.P.K. Siren, Grace A. Smith, A. Weiskittel
Ecosystem-engineered infections: Beaver-modified wetlands are associated with conflicting drivers of amphibian pathogen prevalence Ecosystem-engineered infections: Beaver-modified wetlands are associated with conflicting drivers of amphibian pathogen prevalence
Beavers are ecosystem engineers and keystone species that protect freshwater resources and increase biodiversity. Beaver reintroductions are promoted for amphibian conservation, yet their impact on Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), a pathogen linked with amphibian population declines worldwide, remains unclear. We investigated the abiotic and biotic drivers of Bd prevalence in...
Authors
Leah M Fischer, Angela D Luis, Blake Hossack, Taegan A. McMahon, Winsor H Lowe
Principles of riverscape health Principles of riverscape health
Riverscapes are the integration of terrestrial and aquatic systems from headwaters to estuaries that provide habitat and ecosystem benefits when in good health. However, current riverscape degradation is pervasive, impairing the function and resulting benefits of these systems. Healthy riverscapes are adaptive and some can ‘heal’ after disturbance with minimal to no human assistance. As...
Authors
Hayley Corrine Glassic, Robert Al-Chokhachy, Joseph Wheaton, William W. Macfarlane, Christopher Jordan, Brian M. Murphy, Scott Shahverdian, Stephen Bennett, Nicolaas Bouwes, Kirstie Fryirs, Gary Brierley, Damion Ciotti, Philip Bailey, Karen Bartlet, Barbara Belletti, Simone Bizzi, James Brasington, Reid Camp, Emily Fairfax, Jordan Gilbert, Justin Jimenez, Jeremy D Maestas, Timmie Mandish, Amy McNamara, Scott R Miller, Baptiste Marizot, Mathias Perle, Herve Piegay, Helen Reid, Lindsay V. Reynolds, William Saunders, Alden Shallcross, Peter Skidmore, Rose Smith, Benoît Terrier, Gus Wathen, Nick Weber
Unintended indirect effects limit elk productivity from supplemental feeding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Unintended indirect effects limit elk productivity from supplemental feeding in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
The widespread practice of supplemental feeding, a bottom-up forcing of resource availability, is intended to improve wildlife population health and survival. However, supplemental feeding could trigger indirect effects by altering predation rates and disease dynamics. We investigated the effects of feeding on three key elk (Cervus canadensis) population productivity metrics (calf:cow...
Authors
Brian Scott Dugovich, Emily M. Tomaszewski, Eric K. Cole, Sarah Dewey, Daniel MacNulty, Brandon Scurlock, Daniel Stahler, Paul C. Cross
Wake Atoll vessel movement biosecurity program efficacy Wake Atoll vessel movement biosecurity program efficacy
Executive Summary The purpose of this Wake Atoll Vessel Movement Biosecurity Program Efficacy document is to provide the United States Air Force (USAF) with an unbiased review of the current (2015; hereafter referred to as the 2015 Biosecurity Plan) biosecurity plan for the military base Wake Island Airfield (WIA) on Wake Atoll (hereafter Wake). Periodic reviews are an integral step for...
Authors
Stacie A. Hathaway, James C. Molden, Robert Peck, Kristen R. Rex, Cheryl S. Brehme, Theo Black, Robert N. Fisher
Widespread dispersal of a human commensal across the Pacific: Reconstructing the human-mediated invasion history of the house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) Widespread dispersal of a human commensal across the Pacific: Reconstructing the human-mediated invasion history of the house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)
The spread of human commensal species is intricately tied to human movements and historical events. Through waves of human migrations, colonization, trade routes, commercial activities, and war, humans have redistributed species from their native ranges to widely scattered areas across the Pacific. Deciphering the invasion history of recent human-mediated introductions is challenging due...
Authors
Valentina Alvarez, Robert N. Fisher, Stacie A. Hathaway, Robert C. Thomson
Molecular evolution of TRPC4 regulatory sequences supports a role in mammalian thermoregulatory adaptation Molecular evolution of TRPC4 regulatory sequences supports a role in mammalian thermoregulatory adaptation
Background Proteins encoded by the canonical transient receptor potential (Trpc) gene family form transmembrane channels involved in diverse signal-transduction pathways. Trpc4 has been shown necessary for the induction of nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) in mice, a key component of which is thermogenic brown adipose tissue (BAT). In bats, Trpc4 exhibited diversifying selection within...
Authors
Robert S. Cornman
The structural and functional impacts of invasive Psidium cattleianum in forests on the Island of Hawai’i The structural and functional impacts of invasive Psidium cattleianum in forests on the Island of Hawai’i
During the past century, the proliferation of invasive species has contributed to loss of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. In forests, invasive tree species can alter ecosystem function, but the underlying mechanisms of these changes are not fully understood. We use the ongoing invasion of P. cattleianum on the Island of Hawai’i to test the hypotheses that invasive structural...
Authors
Tara Seely, Lucas Fortini, Yutong Liang, John J. Battles
Soil moisture partitioning between under canopy and interspace environments in shrublands of the northern Chihuahuan Desert Soil moisture partitioning between under canopy and interspace environments in shrublands of the northern Chihuahuan Desert
Soil moisture is a key link between hydrologic and ecologic processes in desert shrublands. Understanding how soil moisture is spatially distributed in desert shrublands provides valuable insights into how shrubs use and impact limiting water resources, and how shrublands may respond to future meteorological and climate change. Our goals were to determine how soil moisture is partitioned...
Authors
Juan Pinos, Keegan Hammond, Michael C. Duniway, John P. Anderson, Niall P. Hanan, Matthew D. Petrie
Comparing year-class strength indices from longitudinal analysis of catch-at-age data with those from catch-curve regression: Application to Lake Huron lake trout Comparing year-class strength indices from longitudinal analysis of catch-at-age data with those from catch-curve regression: Application to Lake Huron lake trout
Fish year-class strength (YCS) has been estimated via longitudinal analysis of catch-at-age data and via catch-curve regression, but no study has compared the two approaches. The objective of this study was to compare YCS estimates derived from both approaches applied to catch-at-age data for the lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) population in the main basin of Lake Huron, one of the...
Authors
Ji X. He, Charles P. Madenjian
Disease-driven collapse of the native Kauaʻi avifauna and the rise of introduced bird species Disease-driven collapse of the native Kauaʻi avifauna and the rise of introduced bird species
Hawaii hosts one of Earth’s most unique and threatened avifaunas. Upslope migration of mosquito-vectored avian malaria on Kauaʻi (maximum elevation 1,598 m) has likely caused its rapid loss of avifaunal diversity; only 8 of 13 historic forest bird species remain. We update the status and trends of Kauaʻi forest bird populations since the original (1981) surveys using the latest (2023)...
Authors
Noah J. Hunt, Lisa H. Crampton, Tyler A Winter, Jack D Alexander, Roy Glib, Richard J. Camp
Precipitation pulse dynamics are not ubiquitous: A global meta-analysis of plant and ecosystem carbon- and water-related pulse responses Precipitation pulse dynamics are not ubiquitous: A global meta-analysis of plant and ecosystem carbon- and water-related pulse responses
Ecosystem responses to precipitation pulses (“pulse responses”) exert a large control over global carbon, water, and energy cycles. However, it is unclear how the timing and magnitude of pulse responses will vary across ecosystems as precipitation regimes shift under accelerating climate change. To address this issue, this study evaluates how plants and ecosystems respond to...
Authors
Emma Reich, Jessica Guo, Drew Peltier, Emily C. Palmquist, Kimberly Samuels-Crow, Rohan Boone, Kiona Ogle