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: 42707
An interactive data visualization framework for exploring geospatial environmental datasets and model predictions An interactive data visualization framework for exploring geospatial environmental datasets and model predictions
With the rise of large-scale environmental models comes new challenges for how we best utilize this information in research, management and decision making. Interactive data visualizations can make large and complex datasets easier to access and explore, which can lead to knowledge discovery, hypothesis formation and improved understanding. Here, we present a web-based interactive data
Authors
Jeffrey D. Walker, Benjamin Letcher, Kirk D. Rodgers, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Vincent S. D’Angelo
Using environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect the endangered Spectaclecase Mussel (Margaritifera monodonta) Using environmental DNA (eDNA) to detect the endangered Spectaclecase Mussel (Margaritifera monodonta)
Margaritifera monodonta, or the Spectaclecase Mussel, is a federally endangered freshwater mussel species that has experienced a 55% reduction in range and is currently concentrated in 3 rivers in the Midwest region of the United States (Gasconade and Meramec rivers, Missouri, and St Croix River, Wisconsin). The detection of new populations by traditional survey methods has been limited...
Authors
Yer Lor, Theresa M. Schreier, Diane L. Waller, Christopher M. Merkes
Warming of alpine tundra enhances belowground production and shifts community towards resource acquisition traits Warming of alpine tundra enhances belowground production and shifts community towards resource acquisition traits
Climate warming is expected to stimulate plant growth in high‐elevation and high‐latitude ecosystems, significantly increasing aboveground net primary production (ANPP). However, the effects of simultaneous changes in temperature, snowmelt timing, and summer water availability on total net primary production (NPP)—and elucidation of both above‐ and belowground responses—remain an...
Authors
Yan Yang, Julia A. Klein, Daniel E. Winkler, Ahui Peng, Brynne E. Lazarus, Matthew Germino, Katherine Suding, Jane G. Smith, Lara M. Kueppers
Modeling population dynamics with count data Modeling population dynamics with count data
In this chapter, we describe models of open populations that are subject to change over time due to additions and subtractions. Additions may be in the form of recruitment and immigration, and subtractions may be in the form of mortality, emigration, or both. Conceptually, these models are described by the Birth-Immigration-Death-Emigration (BIDE) model of population dynamics (Conroy and...
Authors
Marc Kery, Andy Royle
Modeling false positives Modeling false positives
Many of the models we are concerned with included explicit descriptions of false negative errors. However, false positive errors can also be commin in practice, especially in citizen science applications where observer skill is highly variable. In addition, new methods which determine detection based on statistical classification or machine learning methods are also prone to false...
Authors
Marc Kery, Andy Royle
Diurnal timing of nonmigratory movement by birds: The importance of foraging spatial scales Diurnal timing of nonmigratory movement by birds: The importance of foraging spatial scales
Timing of activity can reveal an organism's efforts to optimize foraging either by minimizing energy loss through passive movement or by maximizing energetic gain through foraging. Here, we assess whether signals of either of these strategies are detectable in the timing of activity of daily, local movements by birds. We compare the similarities of timing of movement activity among...
Authors
Julie M. Mallon, Marlee A. Tucker, Annalea Beard, Richard O Bierregaard, Keith L. Bildstein, Katrin Böhning-Gaese, John N. Brzorad, Evan R. Buechley, Javier Bustamante, Carlos Carrapato, Jose Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero, Elizabeth Clingham, Mark Desholm, Christopher R. DeSorbo, Robert Domenech, Hayley Douglas, Olivier Duriez, Peter Enggist, Nina Farwig, Wolfgang Fiedler, Anna Gagliardo, Clara García‐Ripollés, Jose Antonio Gil Gallus, Morgan E. Gilmour, Roi Harel, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Leeann Henry, Todd E. Katzner, Roland Kays, Erik Kleyheeg, Rubén Limiñana, Pascual Lopez-Lopez, Giuseppe Lucia, Alan Maccarone, Egidio Mallia, Ugo Mellone, E.K. Mojica, Ran Nathan, Scott H. Newman, Steffen Oppel, Yotam Orchan, Diann J. Prosser, Hannah Riley, Sascha Rösner, Dana G. Schabo, Holger Schulz, Scott A. Shaffer, Adam Shreading, João Paulo Silva, Jolene Sim, Henrik Skov, Orr Spiegel, Matthew J. Stuber, John Y. Takekawa, Vicente Urios, Javier Vidal-Mateo, Kevin Warner, Bryan D. Watts, Nicola Weber, Sam Weber, Martin Wikelski, Ramunas Zydelis, Thomas Mueller, William F. Fagan
Seabird‐induced natural mortality of forage fish varies with fish abundance: Evidence from five ecosystems Seabird‐induced natural mortality of forage fish varies with fish abundance: Evidence from five ecosystems
Forage fish populations often undergo large and rapid fluctuations in abundance. However, most of their predators are buffered against such fluctuations owing to their slower pace of life, which allows them to maintain more stable populations, at least during short periods of food scarcity. In this study, we investigated top‐down processes exerted by seabirds on forage fish stocks in...
Authors
Claire Saraux, William J. Sydeman, John F. Piatt, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Jonas Hentati-Sundberg, Sophie Bertrand, Philippe M. Cury, Robert W. Furness, James A. Miller, Henrik Österblom, Giannina Passuni, Jean-Paul Roux, Lynne Shannon, Robert J.M. Crawford
Modeling population dynamics with multinomial count data Modeling population dynamics with multinomial count data
No abstract available.
Authors
Andy Royle, Marc Kery
Artificial nightlight alters the predator-prey dynamics of an apex carnivore Artificial nightlight alters the predator-prey dynamics of an apex carnivore
Artificial nightlight is increasingly recognized as an important environmental disturbance that influences the habitats and fitness of numerous species. However, its effects on wide‐ranging vertebrates and their interactions remain unclear. Light pollution has the potential to amplify land‐use change, and as such, answering the question of how this sensory stimulant affects behavior and...
Authors
Mark A. Ditmer, David C. Stoner, Clinton D. Francis, Jesse R. Barber, James D. Forester, David M. Choate, Kristen E. Ironside, Kathleen Longshore, Kent R. Hersey, Randy T. Larson, Brock R. McMillan, Daniel Olson, Alyson M. Andreasen, Jon P. Beckmann, Brandon P. Holton, Neil H. Carter, Terry A. Messmer
Landscape‐scale restoration minimizes tree growth vulnerability to 21st century drought in a dry forest Landscape‐scale restoration minimizes tree growth vulnerability to 21st century drought in a dry forest
Increasing aridity is a challenge for forest managers and reducing stand density to minimize competition is a recognized strategy to mitigate drought impacts on growth. In many dry forests, the most widespread and common forest management programs currently being implemented focus on restoration of historical stand structures, primarily to minimize fire risk and enhance watershed...
Authors
John B. Bradford, Caitlin M. Andrews, Marcos D. Robles, Lisa A. McCauley, Travis Woolley, Robert Marshall
From pools to flow: The PROMISE framework for new insights on soil carbon cycling in a changing world From pools to flow: The PROMISE framework for new insights on soil carbon cycling in a changing world
Soils represent the largest terrestrial reservoir of organic carbon, and the balance between soil organic carbon (SOC) formation and loss will drive powerful carbon‐climate feedbacks over the coming century. To date, efforts to predict SOC dynamics have rested on pool‐based models, which assume classes of SOC with internally homogenous physicochemical properties. However, emerging...
Authors
Bonnie G. Waring, Benjamin N. Sulman, Sasha C. Reed, A. Peyton Smith, Colin Averill, Courtney Creamer, Daniela F. Cusack, Steven J. Hall, Julie Jastrow, Kenneth M. Kemner, Markus Kleber, Xiao-Jun Allen Liu, Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Marjorie S. Schulz
Variables affecting resource subsidies from streams and rivers to land and their susceptibility to global change stressors Variables affecting resource subsidies from streams and rivers to land and their susceptibility to global change stressors
Stream and river ecosystems provide subsidies of emergent adult aquatic insects and other resources to terrestrial food webs, and this lotic–land subsidy has garnered much attention in recent research. Here, we critically examine a list of biotic and abiotic variables—including productivity, dominant taxa, geomorphology, and weather—that should be important in affecting the nature of...
Authors
Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Stefano Larsen, Micael Jonsson, Erik J.S. Emilson