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: 43280
Ecovoltaic solar energy development effects to microclimate, temperature, and soil moisture in panel array interspaces in a warm desert Ecovoltaic solar energy development effects to microclimate, temperature, and soil moisture in panel array interspaces in a warm desert
Solar energy development is increasing in warm deserts of the southwestern United States, and ecovoltaics has emerged as an approach to maintain ecosystem function within solar facilities while meeting increasing regional energy demands. The Solar Gemini Project, located in the northeastern Mojave Desert, USA, is one of largest photovoltaic facilities incorporating an ecovoltaics...
Authors
Juan Pinos, Seth M. Munson, Claire C. Karban, Matthew D. Petrie
Between a rock and a hard place: Experiences of the chronic wasting disease management community Between a rock and a hard place: Experiences of the chronic wasting disease management community
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a widespread and incurable cervid disease. Despite continuing investments, the logistical challenges of CWD have required wildlife managers and researchers to navigate changing priorities with conflicting public perceptions. When overcoming difficult management problems, leveraging exploratory methods may identify previously unrecognized hypotheses. In...
Authors
Patrick Roan, Brad Milley, Nicholas W. Cole
Are behavioural ecotoxicity endpoints relevant at the population level? Evidence-based insights for environmental protection Are behavioural ecotoxicity endpoints relevant at the population level? Evidence-based insights for environmental protection
A substantial body of evidence exists demonstrating that exposure to environmental contaminants can alter animal behavior. Moreover, methodological and technological advancements, as well as increasing standardization, mean that behavioral ecotoxicity studies are more rigorous and reliable than ever before. Despite this, behavioral data are still seldom used in the risk assessment and...
Authors
Michael G. Bertram, Marlene Ågerstrand, Jack A. Brand, Bryan W. Brooks, ZhiChao Dang, Alex T. Ford, Henner Hollert, Matthew K. LeFauve, Jack L. Manera, Jake M. Martin, Marcus Michelangeli, Maria Moiron, Eleanor R. Moore, Holly J. Puglis, Andrew Sih, Jeffery A. Steevens, Eli S.J. Thoré, Bob B.M. Wong, Lauren Zink, Tomas Bodin
Big River bluegill: Combining vital rates and long-term monitoring to understand population dynamics in large rivers Big River bluegill: Combining vital rates and long-term monitoring to understand population dynamics in large rivers
Long-term monitoring indicates bluegill catch rates are relatively stable in some reaches of the Upper Mississippi River and highly variable in others, whereas in the Illinois River, catch rates have decreased. A lack of age structure information precludes understanding population processes responsible for patterns in catch rates. To build a better understanding of why catch rates have...
Authors
Kristen L. Bouska, Levi E. Solomon, Andrew D. Bartels, Melvin C. Bowler, Steven A. DeLain, Eric J. Gittinger, Travis Kueter, Kristopher A. Maxson, Eric N. Ratcliff, John L. West, James T. Lamer, Hae H. Kim, Quinton Edward Phelps
Speciation genomics in the tiger whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis tigris complex) Speciation genomics in the tiger whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis tigris complex)
The transition from small genetic to genome-scale datasets for studying biodiversity has revealed that genetic exchange through introgressive hybridization is a widespread phenomenon in nature. Despite this, a lack of high-quality reference genomes for most non-model species limits our understanding of the impact of this process for many taxonomic groups. This restricts the range of...
Authors
Anthony J. Barley, David V. Ho, Peter Baumann, Ian J. Wang, H. Bradley Shaffer, Robert N. Fisher, Levi N. Gray, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, Robert E. Espinoza, Merly Escalona, Erin Toffelmier, Ruta Sahasrabudhe, Oanh Nguyen, Colin W. Fairbairn, Eric Beraut, Robert C. Thomson
Implementing climate-change refugia conservation Implementing climate-change refugia conservation
No abstract available.
Authors
Toni Lyn Morelli, Tina Mozelewski, Diana Stralberg
Risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure through marine fish consumption Risks of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance exposure through marine fish consumption
Global food trade expansion has enriched diets worldwide but also heightened concerns about contaminant spread. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) can persist in the environment for decades, yet their risks through food trade remain unclear. The global median estimated daily intake (EDI) of C8-PFAS (perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate) (0.023 nanograms per...
Authors
Wenhui Qiu, Ge Yang, Ling Cao, Shan Nui, Yuzhe Li, Di Fang, Zhaoming Dong, Jason Tyler Magnuson, Daniel Schlenk, Kenneth M. Leung, Yi Zheng, Zhenzhong Zeng, Lian Feng, Xianming Zhang, Yanxu Zhang, Wenhong Fan, Tao Huang, Jianmin Ma, Minghong Wu, Shu Tao, Chunmiao Zheng
Fungi, fire, and feedbacks: Grasses and wildfire interact to alter ectomycorrhizal fungal communities and decrease tree seedling growth Fungi, fire, and feedbacks: Grasses and wildfire interact to alter ectomycorrhizal fungal communities and decrease tree seedling growth
Wildfire and its effects, including changes to soil biota and the introduction of invasive or seeded grasses, can cause long-term shifts in ecological communities. Post-wildfire establishment of long-lived trees and shrubs is a critical bottleneck to recovering native plant communities. Ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) can improve plant responses to stressors and influence seedling...
Authors
G.M. Trimber, Sasha C. Reed, John B. Bradford, Cara Marie Lauria, T. Spector, R.J. Rondeau, Michala Lee Phillips, C.A. Gehring
Diurnal patterns of nitrous oxide fluxes from a seasonal prairie wetland Diurnal patterns of nitrous oxide fluxes from a seasonal prairie wetland
Wetlands have spatially and temporally dynamic nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes. Understanding diurnal patterns in N2O fluxes in wetlands can reveal short-term drivers and improve process-based models. An automated chamber system was used to determine N2O flux rates every 2.5 to 4 h in a prairie pothole wetland in North Dakota during the 2013 to 2014 growing seasons under ponded, moist, and...
Authors
Derek R. Faust, Brian Tangen, Sheel Bansal
Conserving climate-change refugia: Insights from research and practice Conserving climate-change refugia: Insights from research and practice
As the impacts of anthropogenic climate change increase, conservation of climate-change refugia has become a key strategy for effective environmental stewardship. Over the last 5 years, the field of climate-change refugia conservation has made exciting advances, shifting from concepts and theory to refugia mapping and implementation. However, few studies have advanced to action on the...
Authors
Toni Lyn Morelli, Tina G. Mozelewski, Cybil Nicole Cavalieri, Andrew J Caven, Lindsay M. Dreiss, Rachel A. Hovel, Melissa Hua, Megan K. Jennings, Aji John, Gregory Kehm, Gunnar Keppel, Meg A. Krawchuk, Stephen F. Langdon, Joshua J. Lawler, Lauren Lyon, Garrett W. Meigs, Melissa Mora-Gonzalez, Christopher P. Nadeau, Sandra Slowinska, Jessica Stolar, James H. Thorne, Jordon C. Tourville, Benjamin Zuckerberg, Diana Stralberg
Integrating refugia modeling and decision science to support climate-adaptive conservation in the Sierra Nevada Integrating refugia modeling and decision science to support climate-adaptive conservation in the Sierra Nevada
To reduce detrimental impacts of anthropogenic change, natural resource managers often look for place-based solutions to minimize biodiversity loss. Climate-change refugia, areas buffered from contemporary climate change, can enable the persistence of valued natural resources and prolong the benefits of conservation action. Here we combine climate-change refugia modeling with structured...
Authors
Tina G Mozelewski, Claudia Mengelt, Katherine Powelson, Nicole Athearn, Robert L. Grasso, Andrea J Adams, Toni Lyn Morelli
SiMPL wildlife magnets: A camera trap tool for detecting all creatures great and small SiMPL wildlife magnets: A camera trap tool for detecting all creatures great and small
We created the SiMPL wildlife magnet—a baited camera trap design that allows passive monitoring of wildlife, particularly small- to medium-sized mammals. The SiMPL wildlife magnet is inexpensive and easy to construct. To evaluate its effectiveness, we conducted a two-year case study using 9 camera stations along an elevation gradient in the White Mountains of the northeastern United...
Authors
Jahiya Clark, A. P.K. Siren, J. Loesberg, Toni Lyn Morelli