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: 42735
One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents
Human use of oceans has dramatically increased in the 21st century. Sea turtles are vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors in the marine environment because of lengthy migrations between foraging and breeding sites, often along coastal migration corridors. Little is known about how movement and threat interact specifically for male sea turtles. To better understand male sea turtle...
Authors
Micah Ashford, James I. Watling, Kristen Hart
Lacunarity as a tool for assessing landscape configuration over time and informing long-term monitoring: An example using seagrass Lacunarity as a tool for assessing landscape configuration over time and informing long-term monitoring: An example using seagrass
Context Seagrasses are submerged marine plants that have been declining globally at increasing rates. Natural resource managers rely on monitoring programs to detect and understand changes in these ecosystems. Technological advancements are allowing for the development of patch-level seagrass maps, which can be used to explore seagrass meadow spatial patterns.Objectives Our research...
Authors
Nicholas Enwright, Kelly M. Darnell, Greg A. Carter
Navigating the space between policy and practice: Toward a typology of collaborators in a federal land management agency Navigating the space between policy and practice: Toward a typology of collaborators in a federal land management agency
Navigating the space between policy and on-the-ground natural resource management presents unique challenges. We interviewed 22 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Field Office Managers to understand their perceptions toward, and applications of, collaboration with public and private stakeholders. Interviews were transcribed and open-coded using qualitative data analysis software. Then, each...
Authors
Nina Burkardt, Rebecca Thomas
Local groundwater decline exacerbates response of dryland riparian woodlands to climatic drought Local groundwater decline exacerbates response of dryland riparian woodlands to climatic drought
Dryland riparian woodlands are considered to be locally buffered from droughts by shallow and stable groundwater levels. However, climate change is causing more frequent and severe drought events, accompanied by warmer temperatures, collectively threatening the persistence of these groundwater dependent ecosystems through a combination of increasing evaporative demand and decreasing...
Authors
Jared Williams, John C Stella, Steven L. Voelker, Adam M Lambert, Lissa Pelletier, John E Drake, Jonathan M. Friedman, Dar A. Roberts, Michael B. Singer
Assembling a safe and effective toolbox for integrated flea control and plague mitigation: Fipronil experiments with prairie dogs Assembling a safe and effective toolbox for integrated flea control and plague mitigation: Fipronil experiments with prairie dogs
Background Plague, a widely distributed zoonotic disease of mammalian hosts and flea vectors, poses a significant risk to ecosystems throughout much of Earth. Conservation biologists use insecticides for flea control and plague mitigation. Here, we evaluate the use of an insecticide grain bait, laced with 0.005% fipronil (FIP) by weight, with black-tailed prairie dogs (BTPDs, Cynomys...
Authors
David A. Eads, Travis Livieri, Tyler Tretten, John Hughes, Nick Kaczor, Emily Halsell, Shaun M. Grassel, Phillip Dobesh, Eddie Childers, David Lucas, Lauren Noble, Michele Vasquez, Anna Catherine Grady, Dean E. Biggins
PCB exposure is associated with reduction of endosymbionts in riparian spider microbiomes PCB exposure is associated with reduction of endosymbionts in riparian spider microbiomes
Microbial communities, including endosymbionts, play diverse and critical roles in host biology and reproduction, but contaminant exposure may cause an imbalance in the microbiome composition with subsequent impacts on host health. Here, we examined whether there was a significant alteration of the microbiome community within two taxa of riparian spiders (Tetragnathidae and Araneidae)...
Authors
Brittany G. Perrotta, Karen A. Kidd, David Walters
Global dataset of species-specific inland recreational fisheries harvest for consumption Global dataset of species-specific inland recreational fisheries harvest for consumption
Inland recreational fisheries, found in lakes, rivers, and other landlocked waters, are important to livelihoods, nutrition, leisure, and other societal ecosystem services worldwide. Although recreationally-caught fish are frequently harvested and consumed by fishers, their contribution to food and nutrition has not been adequately quantified due to lack of data, poor monitoring, and...
Authors
Holly Susan Embke, Elizabeth A. Nyboer, Ashley M. Robertson, Robert Arlinghaus, L. Akintola, Tuncay Atessahin, Laamiri Mohamed Badr, Claudio Baigun, Zeenatul Basher, T. Douglas Beard, Gergely Boros, Shannon D. Bower, Steven J. Cooke, Ian G. Cowx, Adolfo Franco, Ma. Teresa Gaspar-Dillanes, Vladimir Puentes Granada, Robert John Hart, Carlos Heinsohn, Vincent Jalabert, Andrzej Kapusta, Tibor Krajc, John D. Koehn, Goncalo Lopes, Roman Lyach, Terence Magqina, Marco Milardi, Juliet Nattabi, Hilda Nyaboke, Sui C. Phang, Warren M. Potts, Filipe Ribeiro, Norman Mercado-Silva, Naren Sreenivasan, Andy Thorpe, Tomislav Treer, Didzis Ustups, Olaf L.F. Weyl, Louisa E. Wood, Mustafa Zengin, Abigail Lynch
Butler’s Gartersnake, Thamnophis butleri (Cope 1889) Butler’s Gartersnake, Thamnophis butleri (Cope 1889)
No abstract available.
Authors
Eric Thomas Hileman, Danielle R. Bradke
Massasauga, Sistrurus catenatus (Rafinesque 1818) Massasauga, Sistrurus catenatus (Rafinesque 1818)
No abstract available.
Authors
Richard S. King, Robert W. Hay, Billie C. Harrison, Eric Thomas Hileman, Craig S. Berg
Research to inform passage spacing for migratory amphibians and to evaluate efficacy and designs for open elevated road segment (ERS) passages Research to inform passage spacing for migratory amphibians and to evaluate efficacy and designs for open elevated road segment (ERS) passages
This is a multifaceted project that includes three main areas of research targeted to inform effective crossing systems for migratory amphibians, a large group of species which are at very high risk from negative impacts from roads within their habitats (Glista et al. 2008, Hamer and McDonnell 2008, Semlitsch 2008, Brehme et al. 2018). The three projects presented in this report are: 1)...
Authors
Cheryl S. Brehme, Stephanie Barnes, Brittany Ewing, Cassie Vaughan, Michael Hobbs, Charles Tornaci, Philip Robert Gould, Sarah Holm, Hanna Sheldon, Robert N. Fisher
Winter severity affects occupancy of spring- and summer-breeding anurans across the eastern United States Winter severity affects occupancy of spring- and summer-breeding anurans across the eastern United States
Aim Climate change is an increasingly important driver of biodiversity loss. The ectothermic nature of amphibians may make them particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation regimes, adding to declines from other threats. While active season environmental conditions can influence growth and survival, effects of variation in winter conditions on population dynamics...
Authors
Sarah R. Weiskopf, Alexey N. Shiklomanov, Laura Thompson, Sarah Wheedleton, Evan H. Campbell Grant
Optimizing survey design for shasta salamanders (Hydromantes spp.) to estimate occurrence in little-studied portions of their range Optimizing survey design for shasta salamanders (Hydromantes spp.) to estimate occurrence in little-studied portions of their range
Shasta salamanders (collectively, Hydromantes samweli, H. shastae, and H. wintu; hereafter, Shasta salamander) are endemic to northern California in the general vicinity of Shasta Lake reservoir. Although generally associated with limestone, they have repeatedly been found in association with other habitats, calling into question the distribution of the species complex. Further limiting...
Authors
Brian J. Halstead, Patrick M. Kleeman, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo, Jonathan P. Rose