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
Performance of the ecosystem demography model (EDv2.2) in simulating gross primary production capacity and activity in a dryland study area Performance of the ecosystem demography model (EDv2.2) in simulating gross primary production capacity and activity in a dryland study area
Dryland ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle, including regulating the inter-annual global carbon sink. Dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs) are essential tools that can help us better understand carbon cycling in different ecosystems. Currently, there is limited knowledge of the performance of these models in drylands partly due to characterizing the...
Authors
Hamid Dashti, Karun Pandit, Nancy F. Glenn, Douglas J. Shinneman, Gerald N. Flerchinger, Andrew A. Hudak, Marie Anne de Graaf, Alejandro N Flores, Susan L. Ustin, Nayani Ilangakoon, Aaron W. Fellows
Heed the data gap: Guidelines for using incomplete datasets in annual stream temperature analyses Heed the data gap: Guidelines for using incomplete datasets in annual stream temperature analyses
Stream temperature data are useful for deciphering watershed processes important for aquatic ecosystems. Accurately extracting signal trends from stream temperature is essential for predicting responses of environmental and ecological indicators to change. Missing data periods are common for various reasons, and pose a challenge for scientists using temperature signal analysis to support...
Authors
Zachary C. Johnson, Brittany G. Johnson, Martin A. Briggs, Craig D. Snyder, Nathaniel P. Hitt, Warren Devine
High elevation ice patch documents Holocene climate variability in the northern Rocky Mountains High elevation ice patch documents Holocene climate variability in the northern Rocky Mountains
Paleoclimate records from ice cores generally are considered to be the most direct indicators of environmental change, but are rare from mid-latitude, continental regions such as the western United States. High-elevation ice patches are known to be important archaeological archives in alpine regions and potentially could provide records important for Earth System Model evaluation and to...
Authors
Nathan J. Chellman, Gregory T. Pederson, Craig Lee, Dave McWethy, Kathryn Pusman, Jeffery R. Stone, Sabrina R. Brown, Joseph R. McConnell
The roles of flood magnitude and duration in controlling channel width and complexity on the Green River in Canyonlands, Utah, USA The roles of flood magnitude and duration in controlling channel width and complexity on the Green River in Canyonlands, Utah, USA
Predictions of river channel adjustment to changes in streamflow regime based on relations between mean channel characteristics and mean flood magnitude can be useful to evaluate average channel response. However, because these relations assume equilibrium sediment transport, their applicability to cases where streamflow and sediment transport are decoupled may be limited. These general...
Authors
Paul E. Grams, David J. Dean, Alexander E. Walker, Alan Kasprak, John C. Schmidt
Novel diagnostic tests for the putative agent of bacterial gill disease in Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) Novel diagnostic tests for the putative agent of bacterial gill disease in Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula)
Nuclear inclusion X (NIX) is a gamma proteobacteria that infects the nuclei of gill epithelial cells in Pacific razor clams. NIX has been associated with clam die-offs in coastal Washington. A quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay was developed to detect NIX in Pacific razor clams, and assay specificity was confirmed by chromogenic in situ hybridization (CISH). Both tests were applied to...
Authors
Brooke A Travis, William N. Batts, Maya Groner, Paul Hershberger, Steven C. Fradkin, Carla M. Conway, Linda Park, Maureen K. Purcell
Research priorities for migratory birds under climate change—A qualitative value of information assessment Research priorities for migratory birds under climate change—A qualitative value of information assessment
The mission of the U.S. Geological Survey National Climate Adaptation Science Center is to provide actionable, management-relevant research on climate change effects on ecosystems and wildlife to U.S. Department of the Interior bureaus. Providing this kind of useful scientific information requires understanding how natural-resource managers make decisions and identifying research...
Authors
Madeleine A. Rubenstein, Clark S. Rushing, James E. Lyons, Michael C. Runge
Genetically-informed seed transfer zones for Cleome lutea and Machaeranthera canescens across the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions Genetically-informed seed transfer zones for Cleome lutea and Machaeranthera canescens across the Colorado Plateau and adjacent regions
Genetically-based seed transfer zones are described herein for two priority restoration species on and adjacent to the Colorado Plateau (Massatti 2020). Species include Cleome lutea Hook. (Capparaceae; commonly called yellow spiderflower or yellow beeplant; synonym Peritoma lutea (Hook.) Raf.) and Machaeranthera canescens (Pursh) A. Gray (Asteraceae; commonly called hoary tansyaster...
Authors
Robert Massatti
Quantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences Quantifying and addressing the prevalence and bias of study designs in the environmental and social sciences
Building trust in science and evidence-based decision-making depends heavily on the credibility of studies and their findings. Researchers employ many different study designs that vary in their risk of bias to evaluate the true effect of interventions or impacts. Here, we empirically quantify, on a large scale, the prevalence of different study designs and the magnitude of bias in their...
Authors
Alec P. Christie, David Abecasis, Mehdi Adjeroud, Juan C. Alonso, Tatsuya Amano, Alvaro Anton, Barry P. Baldigo, Rafael Barrientos, Jake E. Bicknell, Deborah A. Buhl, Just Cebrian, Ricardo S. Ceia, Luciana Cibils-Martina, Sarah Clarke, Joachim Claudet, Michael D. Craig, Dominique Davoult, Annelies De Backer, Mary K. Donovan, Tyler D. Eddy, Filipe M. Franca, Jonathan P.A. Gardner, Bradley P. Harris, Ari Huusko, Ian L. Jones, Brendan P. Kelaher, Janne S. Kotiaho, Adrià López-Baucells, Heather L. Major, Aki Maki-Petays, Beatriz Martinez-Lopez, Carlos A. Martin, Philip A. Martin, Daniel Mateos-Molina, Robert A. McConnaughey, Michele Meroni, Christoph F. J. Meyer, Kade Mills, Monica Montefalcone, Norbertas Noreika, Carlos Palacin, Anjali Pande, C. Roland Pitcher, Carlos Ponce, Matthew J. Rinella, Ricardo Rocha, Maria C. Ruiz-Delgado, Juan J. Schmitter-Soto, Jill A. Shaffer, Shailesh Sharma, Anna A. Sher, Doriane Stagnol, Thomas Stanley, Kevin D.E. Stokesbury, Aurora Torres, Oliver Tully, Teppo Vehanen, Corinne Watts, Qingyuan Zhao, William J. Sutherland
A Bayesian framework for assessing extinction risk based on ordinal categories of population condition and projected landscape change A Bayesian framework for assessing extinction risk based on ordinal categories of population condition and projected landscape change
Many at-risk species lack standardized surveys across their range or quantitative data capable of detecting demographic trends. As a result, extinction risk assessments often rely on ordinal categories of risk based on explicit criteria or expert elicitation. This study demonstrates a Bayesian approach to assessing extinction risk based on this common data structure, using three...
Authors
Daniel Bruce Fitzgerald, Andrew R Henderson, Kelly O. Maloney, Mary Freeman, John A. Young, Amanda E. Rosenberger, David C. Kazyak, David R. Smith
Feral burros and other influences on desert tortoise presence in the western Sonoran Desert Feral burros and other influences on desert tortoise presence in the western Sonoran Desert
Across the globe, conflicting priorities exist in how land and resources are managed. In the American West, conflicts are common on public lands with historical mandates for multiple uses. We explored the impacts of multiple uses of land in a case study of Agassiz's Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii), a federally threatened species, in the western Sonoran Desert. The tortoise has...
Authors
Kristin H. Berry, Julie L. Yee, Lisa L. Lyren
Resource partitioning across a trophic gradient between a freshwater fish and an intraguild exotic Resource partitioning across a trophic gradient between a freshwater fish and an intraguild exotic
The introduction of exotic species has the potential to cause resource competition with native species and may lead to competitive exclusion when resources are limiting. On the other hand, information is lacking to predict under what alternate trophic conditions coexistence may occur. Comparing diets of native yellow perch Perca flavescens and nonindigenous white perch Morone americana...
Authors
Richard Kraus, Joseph Schmitt, Kevin R. Keretz
Examining the potential conflict between sea otter recovery and Dungeness crab fisheries in California Examining the potential conflict between sea otter recovery and Dungeness crab fisheries in California
Human exploitation of marine mammals led to precipitous declines in many wild populations within the last three centuries. Legal protections enacted throughout the 20th century have enabled the recovery of many of these species and some recoveries have resulted in conflict with humans for shared resources. With legal protections and reintroduction programs, the southern sea otter...
Authors
Andre M. Boustany, David Hernandez, Emily A Miller, Fujii. Jessica, Teri E. Nicholson, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Kyle S. Van Houtan