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: 43455
End-user needs for remote sensing wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region of North America End-user needs for remote sensing wetlands of the Prairie Pothole Region of North America
The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of North America comprises globally important grassland and wetland ecosystems critical for numerous populations of migratory birds. Due to the importance of this region for migratory birds, and particularly waterfowl, and the threats of habitat loss due to intensifying agriculture, there is a mature and diverse system of conservation organizations...
Authors
Michael J. Anteau, Kaylan M. Kemink, Josh L. Vest, Owen P. McKenna, Audrey Claire Lothspeich, Vanessa B. Harriman, Lauren E. Bortolotti, Macayla Greider
Resurvey of the Marble Canyon and Bridge Canyon dam sites in Grand Canyon National Park—Changes in sediment storage and evidence supporting the occurrence of bedrock incision through the mid-20th century Resurvey of the Marble Canyon and Bridge Canyon dam sites in Grand Canyon National Park—Changes in sediment storage and evidence supporting the occurrence of bedrock incision through the mid-20th century
The Bureau of Reclamation developed an extensive plan for a network of dams, water tunnels, and hydropower plants in and around Grand Canyon, Arizona, in the 1940s through 1960s. The two largest of these planned dams were the Marble Canyon and Bridge Canyon Dams on the Colorado River. Though these dams were ultimately never built, Reclamation conducted extensive topographic, bathymetric...
Authors
David J. Topping, Joseph E. Hazel, Matthew A. Kaplinski, Paul E. Grams
Geolocator devices did not affect chick growth or adult return rates in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) despite interannual variation in chick development Geolocator devices did not affect chick growth or adult return rates in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) despite interannual variation in chick development
Although biologging has transformed seabird ecology, bird-borne devices could alter the behaviors being studied, including parental care. We tested for effects of leg-mounted light-level geolocators ( 1% of body mass) on chick growth and adult return rates in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (‘ua‘u kani, Ardenna pacifica) breeding on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i during two consecutive breeding seasons that...
Authors
Alyssa Piauwadsy, Luke R. Halpin, Josh Adams, James Potemra, K. David Hyrenbach
Using high frequency GPS data to assess wintering goose proximity to commercial poultry facilities on the Delmarva peninsula for avian influenza risk management and surveillance Using high frequency GPS data to assess wintering goose proximity to commercial poultry facilities on the Delmarva peninsula for avian influenza risk management and surveillance
The ongoing global outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus (HPAIv) Clade 2.3.4.4 H5N1 in poultry, which was first detected in the United States (USA) in February 2022, underscores the importance of improving food biosecurity and wild bird surveillance. The Delmarva Peninsula is vital to wintering waterfowl and to poultry production, thereby increasing the risk of HPAIv...
Authors
Matthew J. Hardy, Christopher J. Williams, Brian S. Ladman, Maurice E. Pitesky, Cory T. Overton, Michael L. Casazza, Elliott L. Matchett, Diann J. Prosser, Pierre Legagneux, Josée Lefebvre, Jeffrey J. Buler
Biomarkers of mortality risks in Yukon Chinook salmon Biomarkers of mortality risks in Yukon Chinook salmon
Premature mortality of spawning adult Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus species) can strongly influence population dynamics and complicate escapement-based management. Heat stress and Ichthyophonus infections have been identified as probable drivers of premature mortality in Yukon River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and likely contributors to low spawning abundance. We leveraged a
Authors
Vanessa R. von Biela, Lizabeth Bowen, Amy M. Regish, Jayde A Ferguson, Zachary W Liller, Stephen D. McCormick, Paul Hershberger, Stan Zuray, Morag Clinton, Michael P. Carey
Status and trends of the Lake Huron prey fish community, 1976-2025 Status and trends of the Lake Huron prey fish community, 1976-2025
The U. S. Geological Survey-Great Lakes Science Center has monitored annual changes in the offshore (depth > 9m) prey fish community of Lake Huron since 1976. Assessment of prey fish populations in Lake Huron is based on a bottom trawl survey that targets demersal species (i.e., those predominantly or intermittently associated with the lake bottom) and an acoustic-midwater trawl survey...
Authors
Darryl W. Hondorp, Robin L. DeBruyne, Cory O. Brant, Peter C. Esselman, Timothy P. O’Brien
Perspectives and insights gained from applying landscape ecological approaches to the Upper Mississippi riverscape Perspectives and insights gained from applying landscape ecological approaches to the Upper Mississippi riverscape
Advances in remote sensing, spatial data collection, hydraulic and geospatial models, and the maturation of landscape ecology during the early 2000s spurred the concept of rivers as landscapes or ‘riverscapes’. Since that time, the Upper Mississippi River Restoration (UMRR) Program - one of the world’s longest running large-river ecosystem restoration and monitoring programs - has...
Authors
Nathan R. De Jager
Southern (California) sea otter population status and trends at San Nicolas Island, 2023–winter 2026 Southern (California) sea otter population status and trends at San Nicolas Island, 2023–winter 2026
The southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) population at San Nicolas Island, California, has been monitored annually since the translocation of 140 sea otters to the island was completed in 1990. Monitoring efforts have varied in frequency and method across years. In 2017, in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Fish...
Authors
Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Julie L. Yee, Elizabeth Seacord, Michelle M. Staedler, Brian B. Hatfield, Lilian P. Carswell, Jessica Fujii, Gena Bentall, Leilani Konrad, Colleen Young, M. T. Tinker, Lizabeth Bowen
Recent high-severity wildfires in a dry-conifer landscape are unprecedented over five centuries and foretell future forest loss Recent high-severity wildfires in a dry-conifer landscape are unprecedented over five centuries and foretell future forest loss
Dry forests of the western United States evolved with frequent, spatially extensive, low-severity fires, followed by a century of fire exclusion. Recently, these same forests have experienced large and increasingly severe fires causing widespread forest loss. To what extent do modern high-severity fires depart from pre-1900 fire regimes, and how do these departures affect the future...
Authors
Andreas P. Wion, Jens T. Stevens, Jonathan D. Coop, Calvin A. Farris, Sean A. Parks, Craig D. Allen, Ellis Q. Margolis
Documentation of giant floater (Pyganodon grandis) glochidia attached to larval lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the Laurentian Great Lakes Documentation of giant floater (Pyganodon grandis) glochidia attached to larval lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Native freshwater mussels (family Unionidae) are in decline globally, including in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Glochidia, the parasitic larvae of unionid mussels, typically attach to sub-adult and adult fishes. Attachment of glochidia to larval fishes is more rare, and a lack of documentation exists on glochidial attachment on fish in the Great Lakes in general. We document the...
Authors
Gwendolyn L. Phillips, Elliana M. Prow, Amanda Susanne Ackiss, Alicia C. Alvarez, Jose L. Bonilla-Gomez, Lucas H. Chorba, Jessica J. Collier, Silas J. Dunn, Simon D. Freeman, Ryan C. Grow, Ian C. Harding, Andrew Edgar Honsey, Kentaro Inoue, Jory L. Jonas, Kevin L. Kapuscinksi, Ann J. Ropp, Kae A. Skubik, Jason B. Smith, Claire E. Waterhouse, Daelyn A. Woolnough, Jonathan P. Doubek
Temporal replication and sampling efficiency in high-frequency autonomous and manual eDNA sampling Temporal replication and sampling efficiency in high-frequency autonomous and manual eDNA sampling
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling is a valuable tool for ecological research, but its reliability as a quantitative approach can be improved by accounting for unexplained spatiotemporal variability and autocorrelation in eDNA concentrations. Sampling designs with temporal replication can separate sampling variation from temporal variation, but obtaining true temporal replicates is...
Authors
Ben C. Augustine, Patrick R. Hutchins, Scott D. George, Chany C. Huddleston Adrianza, Michael J. Darling, Thomas R. Sadekoski, Adam J. Sepulveda
Towards a refined definition of “tidal influence” for the coastal wetland sciences Towards a refined definition of “tidal influence” for the coastal wetland sciences
The astronomical tide relates to lunar (and to a lesser extent solar) influences on rising and falling water bodies, and is a key control of many coastal processes. However, tides manifest along coastal margins in different ways to muddle application beyond Sir Isaac Newton’s first descriptions. Here, we argue that tide, or specifically “tidal,” has not been adequately defined for the...
Authors
Ken W. Krauss, Laura S. Brophy, Judith Z. Drexler, Jeffrey A. Kelleway, Janine B. Adams, Havalend E. Steinmuller, Gregory B. Noe, Michael J. Osland, Jamie A. Duberstein, Kurt P. Kowalski, Amanda L. McCutcheon, Kaile'a M. Annandale, Daniel A. Friess, Eric E. Grossman, Kristin B. Byrd, Kevin J. Buffington, Joel A. Carr, Nicholas M. Enwright, Camille L. Stagg, Davina L. Passeri, Stephanie S. Romanach, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James B. Grace, Christopher G. Smith, Justine A. Neville, Karen M. Thorne, Brian J. Roberts