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: 42884
Entrapped carrion increases indirect plant resistance and intra‐guild predation on a sticky tarweed Entrapped carrion increases indirect plant resistance and intra‐guild predation on a sticky tarweed
Many plants employ indirect defenses against herbivores; often plants provide a shelter or nutritional resource to predators, increasing predator abundance, and lessening herbivory to the plant. Often, predators on the same plant represent different life stages and different species. In these situations intraguild predation (IGP) may occur and may decrease the efficacy of that defense...
Authors
Eric LoPresti, Billy Krimmel, Ian S. Pearse
Insights from long-term ungrazed and grazed watersheds in a salt desert Colorado Plateau ecosystem Insights from long-term ungrazed and grazed watersheds in a salt desert Colorado Plateau ecosystem
Dryland ecosystems cover over 41% of the earth’s land surface, and living within these important ecosystems are approximately 2 billion people, a large proportion of whom are subsistence agropastoralists. Improper grazing in drylands can negatively impact ecosystem productivity, soil conservation, hydrologic processes, downstream water quantity and quality, and ultimately human health...
Authors
Michael C. Duniway, Erika L. Geiger, Tamera J. Minnick, Susan L. Phillips, Jayne Belnap
Landbird population trends in mountain and historical parks of the North Coast and Cascades Network: 2005–2016 synthesis Landbird population trends in mountain and historical parks of the North Coast and Cascades Network: 2005–2016 synthesis
Long-term monitoring of landbird populations within the National Park Service (NPS) North Coast and Cascades Inventory and Monitoring Network (NCCN) began in 2005, with the goal of detecting trends to inform the conservation and management of landbirds and their habitats. Here we use 2005–2016 data from over 3500 point-count stations to report landbird occurrence and trends in each of...
Authors
Chris Ray, James F. Saracco, Mandy Holmgren, Robert L. Wilkerson, Rodney B. Siegel, Kurt J. Jenkins, Jason I. Ransom, Patricia J. Happe, John R. Boetsch, Mark H. Huff
An interim harvest strategy for Taiga Bean geese An interim harvest strategy for Taiga Bean geese
In 2016 the AEWA European Goose Management International Working Group (EGM IWG) adopted document AEWA/EGM IWG 1.8 (Johnson et al. 2016), which contained initial elements of an Adaptive Harvest Management programme for Taiga Bean Geese. This report addresses a number of limitations with the population model presented in that document, and provides up-to-date population projections for...
Authors
Fred A. Johnson, Mikko Alhainen, Anthony D. Fox, Jesper Madsen
The Santa Cruz Basin submarine landslide complex, southern California: Repeated failure of uplifted basin sediment The Santa Cruz Basin submarine landslide complex, southern California: Repeated failure of uplifted basin sediment
The Santa Cruz Basin (SCB) is one of several fault-bounded basins within the California Continental Borderland that has drawn interest over the years for its role in the tectonic evolution of the region, but also because it contains a record of a variety of modes of sedimentary mass transport (i.e., open slope vs. canyon-confined systems). Here, we present a suite of new high-resolution...
Authors
Daniel S. Brothers, Katherine L. Maier, Jared W. Kluesner, James E. Conrad, Jason Chaytor
Southeastern Deserts Bioregion Southeastern Deserts Bioregion
The Southeast Deserts Bioregion (desert bioregion) occupies the southeastern 27% of California (11,028,300 ha, 110,283 km2 or 27,251,610 ac) (Miles and Goudy 1997) (Map 18.1). The desert bioregion is within the basin and range geomorphic province of western North America, and includes two ecoregional provinces comprised of five ecological sections. The American Semi-Desert and Desert...
Authors
Matthew L. Brooks, Richard A. Minnich, John R. Matchett
A multiscale natural community and species-level vulnerability assessment of the Gulf Coast, USA A multiscale natural community and species-level vulnerability assessment of the Gulf Coast, USA
Vulnerability assessments combine quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of species or natural communities to current and future threats. When combined with the economic, ecological or evolutionary value of the species, vulnerability assessments quantify the relative risk to regional species and natural communities and can enable...
Authors
Joshua S. Reece, Amanda Watson, Patricia (Soupy) Dalyander, C. Edwards, Laura Geselbracht, Megan K. LaPeyre, Blair Tirpak, John M. Tirpak, Mark Woodrey
An evaluation of the toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fish and their forage base An evaluation of the toxicity of potassium chloride, active compound in the molluscicide potash, on salmonid fish and their forage base
Potash, with the active ingredient potassium chloride (KCl) is a chemical that is currently being evaluated for potential use as a molluscicide to combat invasive zebra mussels and quagga mussels in Western United States waters. Although data available for other freshwater fishes indicate that recommended treatment levels of potash as a molluscicide are sublethal, this has not been...
Authors
Christine L. Densmore, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Anne P. Henderson, Vicki S. Blazer, Baileigh M. Reed-Grimmett, Lakyn R. Sanders
Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection Two-species occupancy modeling accounting for species misidentification and nondetection
In occupancy studies, species misidentification can lead to false‐positive detections, which can cause severe estimator biases. Currently, all models that account for false‐positive errors only consider omnibus sources of false detections and are limited to single‐species occupancy.However, false detections for a given species often occur because of the misidentification with another...
Authors
Thierry Chambert, Evan H. Campbell Grant, David A. W. Miller, James D. Nichols, Kevin P. Mulder, Adrianne B. Brand
Decision making for mitigating wildlife diseases: From theory to practice for an emerging fungal pathogen of amphibians Decision making for mitigating wildlife diseases: From theory to practice for an emerging fungal pathogen of amphibians
Conservation science can be most effective in its decision‐support role when seeking answers to clearly formulated questions of direct management relevance. Emerging wildlife diseases, a driver of global biodiversity loss, illustrate the challenges of performing this role: in spite of considerable research, successful disease mitigation is uncommon. Decision analysis is increasingly...
Authors
Stefano Canessa, Claudio Bozzutto, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Sam S. Cruickshank, Matthew C. Fisher, Jacob C. Koella, Stefan Lotters, An Martel, Frank Pasmans, Ben C. Scheele, Annemarieke Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Sebastian Steinfartz, Benedikt R. Schmidt
Climate and plant controls on soil organic matter in coastal wetlands Climate and plant controls on soil organic matter in coastal wetlands
Coastal wetlands are among the most productive and carbon‐rich ecosystems on Earth. Long‐term carbon storage in coastal wetlands occurs primarily belowground as soil organic matter (SOM). In addition to serving as a carbon sink, SOM influences wetland ecosystem structure, function, and stability. To anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change, there is a need to advance...
Authors
Michael J. Osland, Christopher A. Gabler, James B. Grace, Richard H. Day, Meagan L. McCoy, Jennie L. McLeod, Andrew S. From, Nicholas M. Enwright, Laura C. Feher, Camille L. Stagg, Stephen B. Hartley
Effects of elevated temperature on osmoregulation and stress responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts in freshwater and seawater Effects of elevated temperature on osmoregulation and stress responses in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts in freshwater and seawater
Smolting in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar is a critical life‐history stage that is preparatory for downstream migration and entry to seawater that is regulated by abiotic variables including photoperiod and temperature. The present study was undertaken to determine the interaction of temperature and salinity on salinity tolerance, gill osmoregulatory proteins and cellular and endocrine...
Authors
Luis Vargas-Chacoff, Amy M. Regish, Andrew Weinstock, Stephen D. McCormick