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: 42702
Global political responsibility for the conservation of albatrosses and large petrels Global political responsibility for the conservation of albatrosses and large petrels
Migratory marine species cross political borders and enter the high seas, where the lack of an effective global management framework for biodiversity leaves them vulnerable to threats. Here, we combine 10,108 tracks from 5775 individual birds at 87 sites with data on breeding population sizes to estimate the relative year-round importance of national jurisdictions and high seas areas for...
Authors
Martin Beal, Maria P. Dias, Richard A. Phillips, Steffen Oppel, Carolina Hazin, Elizabeth J. Pearmin, Josh Adams, David J Anderson, Michelle Antolos, Javier A Arata, Jose Manuel Arcos, John P. Y. Arnould, Jill Awkerman, Elizabeth Bell, Mike Bell, Mark Carey, Ryan Carle, Thomas A Clay, Jaimie Cleeland, Valentina Colodro, Melinda G. Conners, Marta Cruz-Flores, Richard Cuthbert, Karine Delord, Lorna Deppe, Ben J Dilley, Herculano A. Dinis, Graeme Elliot, Fernanda de Felipe, Jonathan J. Felis, Manuela G. Forero, Amanda Freeman, Akira Fukuda, Jacob Gonzalez-Solis, Jose Pedro Granadeiro, April Hedd, Peter Hodum, Jose Manuel Igual, Audrey Jaeger, Todd J Landers, Le Corre Matthieu, Azwianewi Makhado, Benjamin Metzger, Teresa Militao, William A Montevecchi, Virginia Morera-Pujol, Leia Navarro-Herrero, Deon Nel, David Nicholls, Daniel Oro, Ridha Ouni, Kiyoaki Ozaki, Flavio Quintana, Raul Ramos, Tim Reid, Jose Manuel Reyes-Gonzalez, Christopher Robertson, Graham Robertson, Mohamed Salah Romdhane, Peter G. Ryan, Paul Sagar, Fumio Sato, Stefan Schoombie, R. Paul Scofield, Scott A. Shaffer, Nirmal Jivan Shah, Kim L Stevens, Christopher Surman, Robert M. Suryan, Akinori Takahashi, Vikash Tatayah, Graeme Taylor, David R. Thompson, Leigh Torres, Kath Walker, Ross M. Wanless, Susan M. Waugh, Henri Weimerskirch, Takashi Yamamoto, Zuzana Zajkova, Laura Zango, Paulo Catry
The smell of success: Reproductive success related to rub behavior in brown bears The smell of success: Reproductive success related to rub behavior in brown bears
Several species of bears are known to rub deliberately against trees and other objects, but little is known about why bears rub. Patterns in rubbing behavior of male and female brown bears (Ursus arctos) suggest that scent marking via rubbing functions to communicate among potential mates or competitors. Using DNA from bear hairs collected from rub objects in southwestern Alberta from...
Authors
Andrea T. Morehouse, Anne E. Loosen, Tabitha A. Graves, Mark S. Boyce
Spatial variation in population dynamics of northern Great Plains piping plovers Spatial variation in population dynamics of northern Great Plains piping plovers
Metapopulation dynamics are determined not only by within-patch birth and death processes but also by between-patch movements of individuals (emigration and immigration). To conserve and manage a species that has a metapopulation structure, defined by local populations that are distributed among patches of suitable habitat, we need to understand each of these vital rates. For the...
Authors
Rose J. Swift, Michael J. Anteau, Kristen S. Ellis, Megan M. Ring, Mark H. Sherfy, Dustin L. Toy, David N. Koons
Genomic comparison of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae from humans and gulls in Alaska Genomic comparison of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae from humans and gulls in Alaska
Objectives Wildlife may harbor clinically important antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria, but the role of wildlife in the epidemiology of AMR bacterial infections in humans is largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to assess dissemination of theblaKPC carbapenemase gene among humans and gulls in Alaska.Methods We performed whole genome sequencing to determine the genetic context...
Authors
Christina Ahlstrom, Anna Frick, Catherine Pongratz, Kimberly Spink, Catherine Xavier, Jonas Bonnedahl, Andrew M. Ramey
Why is tree drought mortality so hard to predict? Why is tree drought mortality so hard to predict?
Widespread tree mortality following droughts has emerged as an environmentally and economically devastating ‘ecological surprise’. It is well established that tree physiology is important in understanding drought-driven mortality; however, the accuracy of predictions based on physiology alone has been limited. We propose that complicating factors at two levels stymie predictions of...
Authors
Anna T Trugman, Leander D.L. Anderegg, William RL Anderegg, Adrian Das, Nathan L. Stephenson
Genomic association with pathogen carriage in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) Genomic association with pathogen carriage in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis)
Genetic composition can influence host susceptibility to, and transmission of, pathogens, with potential population‐level consequences. In bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis), pneumonia epidemics caused by Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae have been associated with severe population declines and limited recovery across North America. Adult survivors either clear the infection or act as carriers that
Authors
Alynn Martin, E. Frances Cassirer, Lisette P. Waits, Raina K. Plowright, Paul C. Cross, Kimberly R. Andrews
Surface-air mercury fluxes and a watershed mass balance in forested and harvested catchments Surface-air mercury fluxes and a watershed mass balance in forested and harvested catchments
Forest soils are among the world’s largest repositories for long-term accumulation of atmospherically deposited mercury (Hg), and understanding the potential for remobilization through gaseous emissions, aqueous dissolution and runoff, or erosive particulate transport to down-gradient aquatic ecosystems is critically important for projecting ecosystem recovery. Forestry operations...
Authors
Chris S. Eckley, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Michael T. Tate, David P. Krabbenhoft
Review of the invasive Asian clam Corbicula spp. (Bivalvia: Cyrenidae) distribution in North America, 1924–2019 Review of the invasive Asian clam Corbicula spp. (Bivalvia: Cyrenidae) distribution in North America, 1924–2019
The bivalve Corbicula is one of the most successful aquatic mollusk invaders in the world. Since being introduced to North America from its native range in Asia, it has dispersed widely over a large portion of the continent from southern Canada to Panama. The first evidence of its introduction in the Western Hemisphere was discovered in 1924 in British Columbia, Canada. A review of...
Authors
Amy J. Benson, James D. Williams
Compilation of information on occurrence and conservation status for the freshwater mussel fauna of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma Compilation of information on occurrence and conservation status for the freshwater mussel fauna of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma
The purpose of this data series is to compile information on the occurrence and conservation status of the freshwater mussel fauna of Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma and to map the distribution of a freshwater mussel assemblage for the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA) program. The six focal species in the freshwater mussel...
Authors
Natasha B. Carr, Tammy S. Fancher
Egg morphometrics and egg shape coefficients for White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) Egg morphometrics and egg shape coefficients for White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)
Egg size is a useful metric for maternal investment, offspring quality, and contaminant studies. Yet these values and the egg shape coefficients required to estimate egg size are not available for many species, including White-faced-Ibis (Plegadis chihi). We provide egg morphometrics derived from 319 White-faced Ibis eggs sampled at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Great Salt Lake, Utah...
Authors
Mark P. Herzog, Josh T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman
Tarentola annularis (white-spotted wall gecko) Tarentola annularis (white-spotted wall gecko)
USA: CALIFORNIA: Orange Co.: San Juan Capistrano (33.51°N,117.66°W; WGS 84). 25 August 2020. Samuel Fisher, Chelsea Martin, Robert Fisher. Verified by Gregory B. Pauly. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (LACM 191974). New county record. One juvenile (33 mm SVL) was collected, and another juvenile was seen 40 m away. Another juvenile was also observed during a second visit to...
Authors
Samuel R Fisher, Chelsea E Martin, Robert N. Fisher
Cloud water interception in Hawai‘i: Developing capacity to characterize the spatial patterns and effects on water and ecological processes responses in Hawai‘i Cloud water interception in Hawai‘i: Developing capacity to characterize the spatial patterns and effects on water and ecological processes responses in Hawai‘i
Cloud-water interception (CWI) is the process by which fog or cloud water droplets are captured and accumulate on the leaves and branches of plants, some of which drips to the ground. Prior studies in Hawai'i indicate that CWI is highly variable and can contribute substantially to total precipitation. In this study, we monitored CWI and other processes at five mountain field sites on the...
Authors
Han Tseng, Lucas Fortini, Alan Mair, Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Yoshiyuki Miyazawa, Michael A Nullet, Joseph Kennedy, John DeLay, Christina Leopold, Thomas Giambelluca