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
Alpine plant community diversity in species-area relations at fine scale Alpine plant community diversity in species-area relations at fine scale
Observations of diversity in alpine vegetation appear to be scale dependent. The relations of plant species richness with surface processes and geomorphology have been studied, but patterns of beta diversity are less known. In Glacier National Park, Montana, diversity has been examined within 1 m2 plots and for 16 m2 plots across two ranges, with within-plot and across-range explanatory...
Authors
George P. Malanson, Emma L Nelson, Dale L. Zimmerman, Daniel B. Fagre
Kelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California: Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, Fourth Annual Report Kelp forest monitoring at Naval Base Ventura County, San Nicolas Island, California: Fall 2017 and Spring 2018, Fourth Annual Report
To assess and track changes to the rocky subtidal communities surrounding San Nicolas Island, the U.S. Navy entered into an agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2014 to conduct an ecological monitoring program at several sites around the island. Four permanent sites—Nav Fac 100, West End, Dutch Harbor, and Daytona 100—were established. The sites were based on ones that had...
Authors
Michael C. Kenner, Joseph A. Tomoleoni
Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Middle San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, southern California—2019 data summary Distribution and abundance of Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus) on the Middle San Luis Rey River, San Diego County, southern California—2019 data summary
We surveyed for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; vireo) along the San Luis Rey River, between College Boulevard in Oceanside and Interstate 15 in Fallbrook, California (middle San Luis Rey River), in 2019, and we surveyed and conducted nest monitoring for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) in a survey area where breeding had historically...
Authors
Lisa D. Allen, Barbara E. Kus
Investigating maternity roost selection by northern long-eared bats at three sites in Wisconsin Investigating maternity roost selection by northern long-eared bats at three sites in Wisconsin
One of the North American bat species most impacted by white-nose syndrome (WNS) is the northern long-eared bat Myotis septentrionalis, which as a result has been listed under the Endangered Species Act. WNS was first detected in Wisconsin in 2014. Unfortunately, little is known regarding the ecology of M. septentrionalis in this state pre-WNS to guide management supporting post-WNS...
Authors
Brenna A. Hyzy, Robin E. Russell, Alex Silvis, W. Mark Ford, Jason Riddle, Kevin Russell
Amphibian chytrid prevalence on boreal toads in SE Alaska and NW British Columbia: Tests of habitat, life stages, and temporal trends Amphibian chytrid prevalence on boreal toads in SE Alaska and NW British Columbia: Tests of habitat, life stages, and temporal trends
Tracking and understanding variation in pathogens such as Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ([Bd]), which causes amphibian chytridiomycosis and has caused population declines globally, is a priority for many land managers. However, there has been relatively little sampling of amphibian communities at high latitudes. We used skin swabs collected during 2005–2017 from boreal toads (Anaxyrus...
Authors
Blake R. Hossack, Michael J. Adams, R Ken Honeycutt, Jami J Belt, S Pyare
Effects of elevated sea levels and waves on southern California estuaries during the 2015–2016 El Niño Effects of elevated sea levels and waves on southern California estuaries during the 2015–2016 El Niño
The 2015–2016 El Niño provided insight into how low-inflow estuaries might respond to future climate regimes, including high sea levels and more intense waves. High waves and water levels coupled with low rainfall along the Southern California coastline provided the opportunity to examine how extreme ocean forcing impacts estuaries independently from fluvial events. From November 2015 to...
Authors
Madeleine Harvey, Sarah N Giddings, Eric D. Stein, Jeffrey A Crooks, Christine R Whitcraft, Timu W. Gallien, John L. Largier, Liesl Tiefenthaler, Hallee Meltzer, Geno Pawlak, Karen M. Thorne, Karina Johnston, Richard F. Ambrose, Stephen C Schroeter, Henry M. Page, Hany Elwany
Is your ad hoc model selection strategy affecting your multimodel inference? Is your ad hoc model selection strategy affecting your multimodel inference?
(Yackulic) 1. Ecologists routinely fit complex models with multiple parameters of interest, where hundreds or more competing models are plausible. To limit the number of fitted models, ecologists often define a model selection strategy composed of a series of stages in which certain features of a model are compared while other features are held constant. Defining these multi-stage...
Authors
Dana J. Morin, Charles B. Yackulic, James Diffendorfer, Damon B. Lesmeister, Clayton Nielsen, Janice Reid, Eric M. Schauber
Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016 Extreme mortality and reproductive failure of common murres resulting from the northeast Pacific marine heatwave of 2014-2016
About 62,000 dead or dying common murres (Uria aalge), the trophically dominant fish-eating seabird of the North Pacific, washed ashore between summer 2015 and spring 2016 on beaches from California to Alaska. Most birds were severely emaciated and, so far, no evidence for anything other than starvation was found to explain this mass mortality. Three-quarters of murres were found in the...
Authors
John F. Piatt, Julia K. Parrish, Heather M. Renner, Sarah K. Schoen, Timothy Jones, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Kathy J. Kuletz, Barbara Bodenstein, Marisol Garcia-Reyes, Rebecca Duerr, Robin Corcoran, Robb S.A. Kaler, Gerard J. McChesney, Richard T. Golightly, Heather A. Coletti, Robert M. Suryan, Hillary K. Burgess, Jackie Lindsey, Kirsten Lindquist, Peter Warzybok, Jaime Jahncke, Jan Roletto, William J. Sydeman
RAPTURE (RAD capture) panel facilitates analyses characterizing sea lamprey reproductive ecology and movement dynamics RAPTURE (RAD capture) panel facilitates analyses characterizing sea lamprey reproductive ecology and movement dynamics
Genomic tools are lacking for invasive and native populations of sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Our objective was to discover single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci to conduct pedigree analyses to quantify reproductive contributions of adult sea lampreys and dispersion of sibling larval sea lampreys of different ages in Great Lakes tributaries. Additional applications of data were...
Authors
Nicholas Sard, Seth Smith, Jared Homola, Jeannette Kanefsky, Gale Bravener, Jean V. Adams, Christopher Holbrook, Peter J. Hrodey, Kevin Tallon, Kim T. Scribner
Integrating ecosystem resilience and resistance into decision support tools for multi-scale population management of a sagebrush indicator species Integrating ecosystem resilience and resistance into decision support tools for multi-scale population management of a sagebrush indicator species
Imperiled sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems of western North America are experiencing unprecedented conservation planning efforts. Advances in decision-support tools operationalize concepts of ecosystem resilience by quantitatively linking spatially explicit variation in soil and plant processes to outcomes of biotic and abiotic disturbances. However, failure to consider higher...
Authors
Mark A. Ricca, Peter S. Coates
Soil surface elevation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone characterized by vegetation shifts Soil surface elevation dynamics in a mangrove-to-marsh ecotone characterized by vegetation shifts
Mangrove forest encroachment into coastal marsh habitats has been described in subtropical regions worldwide in recent decades. To better understand how soil processes may influence vegetation change, we studied soil surface elevation change, accretion rates, and soil subsurface change across a coastal salinity gradient in Florida, USA, an area with documented mangrove encroachment into...
Authors
Rebecca J. Howard, Andrew From, Ken W. Krauss, Kimberly D. Andres, Nicole Cormier, Larry K. Allain, Michael Savarese
Pulsed flow-through auto-feeding beaker systems for the laboratory culture of juvenile freshwater mussels Pulsed flow-through auto-feeding beaker systems for the laboratory culture of juvenile freshwater mussels
Newly metamorphosed freshwater mussels are small and delicate, so that captive laboratory culture presents challenges for handling; for maintenance of suitable microhabitat, water quality, and food; and for avoidance of competitors and predators. To address these challenges, a new pulsed flow-through auto-feeding beaker system was developed for culturing juvenile mussels. In this system...
Authors
James L. Kunz, Eric Brunson, M. Christopher Barnhart, Elizabeth A. Glidewell, Ning Wang, Christopher G. Ingersoll