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
Multi-decade mortality and a novel homolog of hepatitis C virus in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), the national bird of the USA Multi-decade mortality and a novel homolog of hepatitis C virus in bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), the national bird of the USA
The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) once experienced near-extinction but has since rebounded. For decades, bald eagles near the Wisconsin River, USA, have experienced a lethal syndrome with characteristic clinical and pathological features but unknown etiology. Here, we describe a novel hepacivirus-like virus (Flaviviridae: Hepacivirus) identified during an investigation of...
Authors
Tony L. Golberg, Samuel D. Sibley, Marie E. Pinkerton, Christopher D. Dunn, Lindsey Long, C. LeAnn White, Sean M. Strom
Annual winter site fidelity of Barrow's goldeneyes in the Pacific Annual winter site fidelity of Barrow's goldeneyes in the Pacific
Coastal regions on the Pacific north coast of North America provide important wintering habitat for many species of sea ducks. Although winter range and habitat preferences are well described for most species, fidelity to coastal wintering sites is generally undocumented. Fidelity is an important factor necessary for understanding interactions with coastal developments and activities and
Authors
Megan Willie, Daniel Esler, W. Sean Boyd, Timothy D. Bowman, Jason Schamber, Jonathan Thompson
Characterizing range-wide population divergence in an alpine-endemic bird: A comparison of genetic and genomic approaches Characterizing range-wide population divergence in an alpine-endemic bird: A comparison of genetic and genomic approaches
The delineation of intraspecific units that are evolutionarily and demographically distinct is an important step in the development of species-specific management plans. Neutral genetic variation has served as the primary data source for delineating “evolutionarily significant units,” but with recent advances in genomic technology, we now have an unprecedented ability to utilize...
Authors
Kathryn Langin, Cameron L. Aldridge, Jennifer A. Fike, Robert S. Cornman, Kathy M Martin, Greg T Wann, Amy E. Seglund, Michael A Schroeder, David P Benson, Brad C. Fedy, Jessica R. Young, Scott D. Wilson, Don H Wolfe, Clait E. Braun, Sara J. Oyler-McCance
Climate-driven state shifts in the Prairie Pothole Region: Assessing future impacts relevant to the management of wetland habitats critical to waterfowl Climate-driven state shifts in the Prairie Pothole Region: Assessing future impacts relevant to the management of wetland habitats critical to waterfowl
Embedded within the North American Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) are millions of small, depressional wetlands that annually support 50–80% of the continent’s waterfowl production. We recently assembled evidence that demonstrates a change towards a wetter climate that is driving a shift in the state of the region’s wetland ecosystems. This ecological state-shift has been primarily the...
Authors
David M. Mushet, Owen P. McKenna
Evolutionary history predicts high-impact invasions by herbivorous insects Evolutionary history predicts high-impact invasions by herbivorous insects
A long‐standing goal of invasion biology is to identify factors driving highly variable impacts of non‐native species. Although hypotheses exist that emphasize the role of evolutionary history (e.g., enemy release hypothesis & defense‐free space hypothesis), predicting the impact of non‐native herbivorous insects has eluded scientists for over a century. Using a census of all 58 non...
Authors
Angela M. Mech, Kathryn A. Thomas, Travis D. Marsico, Daniel A. Herms, Craig Allen, Matthew P. Ayres, Kamal J.K. Gandhi, Jessica Gurevitch, Nathan P. Havill, Ruth A. Hufbauer, Andrew M. Liebhold, Kenneth F. Raffa, Ashley N. Schulz, Daniel R. Uden, Patrick C. Tobin
A geographic hot spot of Ichthyophonus infection in the southern Salish Sea, USA A geographic hot spot of Ichthyophonus infection in the southern Salish Sea, USA
The prevalence of Ichthyophonus infection in Pacific herring Clupea pallasii was spatially heterogeneous in the southern Salish Sea, Washington State, USA. Over the course of 13 mo, 2232 Pacific herring were sampled from 38 midwater trawls throughout the region. Fork length was positively correlated with Ichthyophonus infection at all sites. After controlling for the positive...
Authors
Paul Hershberger, Ashley MacKenzie, Jacob Gregg, A Lindquist, T Sandell, Maya L. Groner, D Lowry
Economic valuation of Landsat imagery Economic valuation of Landsat imagery
Landsat satellites have been operating since 1972, providing a continuous global record of the Earth’s land surface. The imagery is currently available at no cost through the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). A previous USGS study estimated that Landsat imagery provided users an annual benefit of $2.19 billion in 2011, with U.S. users accounting for $1.79 billion of those benefits. That...
Authors
Crista L. Straub, Stephen R. Koontz, John B. Loomis
Detrital zircon geochronology along a structural transect across the Kahiltna assemblage in the western Alaska Range: Implications for emplacement of the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular terrane against North America Detrital zircon geochronology along a structural transect across the Kahiltna assemblage in the western Alaska Range: Implications for emplacement of the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular terrane against North America
The Kahiltna assemblage in the western Alaska Range consists of deformed Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous clastic strata that lie between the Alexander-Wrangellia-Peninsular (AWP) terrane to the south, and the Farewell and other peri-cratonic terranes to the north. Differences in detrital zircon populations and sandstone petrography allow geographic separation of the strata into two...
Authors
Stephen E. Box, Susan M. Karl, James V. Jones, Dwight Bradley, Peter J. Haeussler, Paul B. O’Sullivan
Urbanization reduces genetic connectivity in bobcats (Lynx rufus) at both intra- and interpopulation spatial scales Urbanization reduces genetic connectivity in bobcats (Lynx rufus) at both intra- and interpopulation spatial scales
Urbanization is a major factor driving habitat fragmentation and connectivity loss in wildlife. However, the impacts of urbanization on connectivity can vary among species and even populations due to differences in local landscape characteristics, and our ability to detect these relationships may depend on the spatial scale at which they are measured. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are relatively...
Authors
Christpher P. Kozakiewicz, Christopher P. Burridge, W. Chris Funk, Patricia E. Salerno, Daryl R. Trumbo, Roderick B. Gagne, Erin E. Boydston, Robert N. Fisher, Lisa M. Lyren, Megan K. Jennings, Seth P. D. Riley, Laurel E.K. Serieys, Sue VandeWoude, Kevin R. Crooks, Scott Carver
Application of a regional climate model to assess changes in the climatology of the Eastern US and Cuba associated with historic landcover change Application of a regional climate model to assess changes in the climatology of the Eastern US and Cuba associated with historic landcover change
We examine the annual, seasonal, monthly, and diurnal climate responses to the land use change (LUC) in eastern United States and Cuba during four epochs (1650, 1850, 1920, and 1992) with ensemble simulations conducted with the RegCM4 regional climate model that includes the Biosphere Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS1e) surface physics package (Dickinson et al., 1993). We derived the...
Authors
Steven W. Hostetler, R Reker, Jay R. Alder, Thomas Loveland, Debra A. Willard, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Eric T. Sundquist, Renee L. Thompson
Global ecological predictors of the soil priming effect Global ecological predictors of the soil priming effect
Identifying the global drivers of soil priming is essential to understanding C cycling in terrestrial ecosystems. We conducted a survey of soils across 86 globally-distributed locations, spanning a wide range of climates, biotic communities, and soil conditions, and evaluated the apparent soil priming effect using 13C-glucose labeling. Here we show that the magnitude of the positive...
Authors
Felipe Bastida, Carlos M. Garcia, Noah Fierer, David J. Eldridge, Matthew A. Bowker, Sebastian R. Abades, Fernando D. Alfaro, Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, Nick A. Cutler, Antonio Gallardo, Laura Garcia-Velazquez, Stephen C. Hart, Patrick E. Hayes, Teresa Hernandez, Zeng-Yei Hseu, Nico Jehmlich, Martin Kirchmair, Hans Lambers, Sigrid Neuhauser, Victor M. Pena-Ramirez, Cecilia A. Perez, Sasha C. Reed, Fernanda Santos, Christina Siebe, Benjamin W. Sullivan, Pankaj Trivedi, Alfonso Vera, Mark A. Williams, Jose M. Moreno, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo
Remote sensing of dryland ecosystem structure and function: Progress, challenges, and opportunities Remote sensing of dryland ecosystem structure and function: Progress, challenges, and opportunities
Drylands make up roughly 40% of the Earth's land surface, and billions of people depend on services provided by these critically important ecosystems. Despite their relatively sparse vegetation, dryland ecosystems are structurally and functionally diverse, and emerging evidence suggests that these ecosystems play a dominant role in the trend and variability of the terrestrial carbon sink...
Authors
William K. Smith, Matthew P. Dannenberg, Dong Yan, Stephanie Herrmann, Mallory L. Barnes, Greg A. Barron-Gafford, Joel A. Biederman, Scott Ferrenberg, Andrew M. Fox, Amy R. Hudson, John F. Knowles, Natasha MacBean, David J.P. Moore, Pamela L. Nagler, Sasha C. Reed, William A. Rutherford, Russell L. Scott, Xianfeng Wang, Julia Yang