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: 42871
Allowable take of black vultures in the eastern United States Allowable take of black vultures in the eastern United States
Black vultures (Coragyps atratus) have been increasing in density and expanding their range in the eastern United States since at least the 1960s. In many areas, their densities have increased to the level where they are causing damage to property and livestock and the number of requests for allowable take permits has increased throughout these areas. The United States Fish and Wildlife...
Authors
Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Brian A. Millsap, Michael L. Avery, John R. Sauer, Michael C. Runge, Kenneth D. Richkus
Estimating lake–climate responses from sparse data: An application to high elevation lakes Estimating lake–climate responses from sparse data: An application to high elevation lakes
Although many studies demonstrate lake warming, few document trends from lakes with sparse data. Diel and seasonal variability of surface temperatures limit conventional trend analyses to datasets with frequent repeated observations. Thus, remote lakes, including many high elevation lakes, are underrepresented in trend analyses. We used a Bayesian technique to analyze sparse data that...
Authors
Kyle R. Christianson, Brett M. Johnson, Mevin Hooten, James Roberts
Challenges in Columbia River fisheries conservation: Response to Duda et al. Challenges in Columbia River fisheries conservation: Response to Duda et al.
The salmonid fisheries of the Columbia River Basin (CRB) have enormous socioeconomic, cultural, and ecological importance to numerous diverse stakeholders (e.g., state, federal, tribal, nonprofit), and there are a wide array of opinions and perspectives on how these fisheries should be managed. Although we appreciate Duda et al.’s commentary, it offers only one perspective of many in...
Authors
Brian K. Hand, Courtney G. Flint, Chris A. Frissell, Clint C. Muhlfeld, Shawn P. Devlin, Brian P. Kennedy, Robert L. Crabtree, Arthur McKee, Gordon Luikart, Jack A. Stanford
Clade 2.3.4.4 H5 North American highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses infect, but do not cause clinical signs in American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes) Clade 2.3.4.4 H5 North American highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses infect, but do not cause clinical signs in American Black Ducks (Anas rubripes)
Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAIV) from the goose/Guangdong/1996 clade 2.3.4.4 H5 lineage spread from Asia into North America in 2014, most likely by wild bird migrations. Although several variants of the virus were detected, an H5N8 and H5N2 were the most widespread in North American wild birds and domestic poultry. In early 2015, the H5N2 virus spread through commercial...
Authors
Erica Spackman, Diann Prosser, Mary Pantin-Jackwood, Christopher B. Stephens, Alicia Berlin
Absence of PCB hot spot effect in walleye Sander vitreus from lower Green Bay of Lake Michigan Absence of PCB hot spot effect in walleye Sander vitreus from lower Green Bay of Lake Michigan
Under certain conditions, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentration in individuals of one sex of an adult fish population may exceed that of the other sex by more than a factor of two. This phenomenon, known as the PCB hot spot effect, has been postulated to be contingent upon the following two conditions: (1) presence of a PCB hot spot in the bottom sediments of the aquatic ecosystem...
Authors
Charles P. Madenjian, Daniel J. Dembkowski, Daniel A. Isermann, Stuart A. Batterman, Sergei C. Chernyak, Stewart F. Cogswell, Mark E. Holey
Forecasting for dry and wet avalanches during mixed rain and snow storm events Forecasting for dry and wet avalanches during mixed rain and snow storm events
Professionals in coastal and some inland mountain ranges regularly face mixed rain-snow events. Professionals in inland ranges frequently deal with persistent slab avalanches failing on old faceted layers buried deep within the snowpack. What happens when you combine these snowpack and weather events? Widespread avalanching involving faceted layers during mixed rain-snow events is rarely...
Authors
Scott Savage, Erich H. Peitzsch, Simon Trautman, Benjamin VandenBos
Vertical habitat use of adult Walleye conflicts with expectations from fishery-independent surveys Vertical habitat use of adult Walleye conflicts with expectations from fishery-independent surveys
Stock assessments of Walleyes Sander vitreus in Lake Erie rely on a combination of suspended and bottom overnight gill‐net surveys to provide population and demographic information. However, the assumption that Walleyes undertake diel vertical migrations and become available to the suspended gill nets at night has never been validated. To understand how vertical habitat use affects the
Authors
Ann Marie Gorman, Richard T. Kraus, Lee Gutowsky, Christopher Vandergoot, Yingming Zhao, Carey Knight, Matt Faust, Todd Hayden, Charles Krueger
The Laurentian Great Lakes: A case study in ecological disturbance and climate change The Laurentian Great Lakes: A case study in ecological disturbance and climate change
Climate change effects are already significant, but can also magnify other ecological problems. This can be clearly seen in the Laurentian Great Lakes, which have suffered habitat degradation, fishery overharvest and dramatic alterations by invasive species. Thermal changes are expected to cause extensive loss of suitable fish habitat, and changing precipitation patterns will aggravate...
Authors
James E. McKenna
Survival of Bristle-thighed Curlews equipped with externally mounted transmitters Survival of Bristle-thighed Curlews equipped with externally mounted transmitters
Telemetry devices are widely used in avian research, but the degree to which the deployment of such devices affects the survival of study subjects is often not addressed. It is generally assumed that such effects are less pronounced in large-bodied species that conduct relatively short migrations and carry relatively light telemetry devices. We studied Bristle-thighed Curlews Numenius...
Authors
Daniel R. Ruthrauff, T. Lee Tibbitts, Vijay P. Patil
The expectations and challenges of wildlife disease research in the era of genomics: Forecasting with a horizon scan-like exercise The expectations and challenges of wildlife disease research in the era of genomics: Forecasting with a horizon scan-like exercise
The outbreak and transmission of disease-causing pathogens are contributing to the unprecedented rate of biodiversity decline. Recent advances in genomics have coalesced into powerful tools to monitor, detect, and reconstruct the role of pathogens impacting wildlife populations. Wildlife researchers are thus uniquely positioned to merge ecological and evolutionary studies with genomic...
Authors
Robert R. Fitak, Jennifer D. Antonides, Eric J. Baitchman, Elisa Bonaccorso, Josephine Braun, Steven Kubiski, Elliott Chiu, Anna C. Fagre, Roderick B. Gagne, Justin S. Lee, Jennifer L. Malmberg, Mark D. Stenglein, Robert J. Dusek, David Forgacs, Nicholas M. Fountain-Jones, Marie L. J. Gilbertson, Katherine E. L. Worsley-Tonks, W. Chris Funk, Daryl R. Trumbo, Bruno M. Ghersi, Wray Grimaldi, Sara E. Heisel, Claire M. Jardine, Pauline L. Kamath, Dibesh Karmacharya, Christopher P. Kozakiewicz, Simona Kraberger, Dagan A. Loisel, Cait McDonald, Steven Miller, Devon O’Rourke, Caitlin N. Ott-Conn, Mónica Páez-Vacas, Alison J. Peel, Wendy C. Turner, Meredith C. VanAcker, Sue VandeWoude, Jill Pecon-Slattery
Patterning emergent marsh vegetation assemblages in coastal Louisiana, USA, with unsupervised artificial neural networks Patterning emergent marsh vegetation assemblages in coastal Louisiana, USA, with unsupervised artificial neural networks
Question Are self‐organizing maps (SOMs) useful for patterning coastal wetland vegetation communities? Do SOMs provide robust alternatives to traditional classification methods, particularly when underlying species response functions are unknown or difficult to approximate, or when a need exists to continuously classify new samples obtained under ongoing long‐term ecosystem monitoring...
Authors
Gregg A. Snedden
Assessment of operational and structural factors influencing performance of fish collectors in forebays of high-head dams Assessment of operational and structural factors influencing performance of fish collectors in forebays of high-head dams
Providing efficient downstream passage is critical for improving populations of migratory fishes in impounded river systems. High‐head dams, such as those used for water storage or flood‐risk management, pose unique passage challenges requiring unique solutions. Systems to collect fish in dam forebays (“forebay collectors”) for transport to downstream release locations have been used at...
Authors
Tobias J. Kock, Nicholas E Verretto, Nicklaus K Ackerman, Russell W. Perry, John W Beeman, Michael C Garello, Scott D Fielding