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
Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans
The extent of increasing anthropogenic impacts on large marine vertebrates partly depends on the animals’ movement patterns. Effective conservation requires identification of the key drivers of movement including intrinsic properties and extrinsic constraints associated with the dynamic nature of the environments the animals inhabit. However, the relative importance of intrinsic versus...
Authors
A. M. M. Sequeira, J.P. Rodriguez, V. M. Eguíluz, R. Harcourt, M. Hindell, D.W. Sims, C.M. Duarte, D.P. Costa, J. Fernandez-Gracia, L.C. Ferreira, G.C. Hays, M. R. Heupel, M.G. Meekan, A. Aven, F. Bailleul, A. M. M. Baylis, M. L. Berumen, C. D. Braun, J. Burns, M.J. Caley, R. Campbell, R.H. Carmichael, E. Clua, L. D. Einoder, Ari Friedlaender, M. E. Goebel, S.D. Goldsworthy, C. Guinet, J. Gunn, D. Hamer, N. Hammerschlag, M. Hammill, L.A. Hückstädt, N.E. Humphries, M.-A. Lea, A. Lowther, A. Mackay, E. McHuron, J. Mckenzie, L. McLeay, C.R. McMahon, K. Mengersen, M. M. C. Muelbert, Anthony M. Pagano, B. Page, N. Queiroz, P. W. Robinson, S. A. Shaffer, M. Shivji, G. B. Skomal, S. Thorrold, S. Villegas-Amtmann, M. Weise, R. Wells, B. Wetherbee, A. Wiebkin, B. Wienecke, M. Thums
DEEP SEARCH: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats DEEP SEARCH: Deep sea exploration to advance research on coral/canyon/cold seep habitats
Launched in August 2017, Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral/Canyon/Cold seep Habitats (DEEP SEARCH) is a multiyear, multi-agency study to characterize the deep-sea ecosystems of the US Mid- and South Atlantic (Figure 1). The study is funded through an interagency partnership between NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the US Geological Survey, and it is...
Authors
Erik E. Cordes, Amanda W. J. Demopoulos, Gregory Boland, Caitlin Adams
A phylogenetic overview of the genus Vertigo O. F. Müller, 1773 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Pupillidae: Vertigininae) A phylogenetic overview of the genus Vertigo O. F. Müller, 1773 (Gastropoda: Pulmonata: Pupillidae: Vertigininae)
We document global phylogenetic pattern in the pupillid land snail genus Vertigo by analyses of nDNA (ITS1 and ITS2) and mtDNA (CytB and 16S) sequence from 424 individuals representing 91 putative specific and subspecific Vertigo taxa. nDNA and mtDNA data were separately subjected to neighbor-joining, minimum evolution, maximum likelihood and Bayesian reconstruction methods, with...
Authors
Jeffrey C. Nekola, Satoshi Chiba, Brian F. Coles, Charles A. Drost, Ted von Proschwitz, Michal Horsak
Freshwater mussel salvage and relocation at the Pond Eddy Bridge, Delaware River, New York and Pennsylvania Freshwater mussel salvage and relocation at the Pond Eddy Bridge, Delaware River, New York and Pennsylvania
In a study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, freshwater mussels were salvaged and relocated from the anticipated zone of impact for the Pond Eddy Bridge construction project in New York and Pennsylvania. Five 25-meter (m) by 25-m cells along the Pennsylvania bank of the Delaware River were sampled in three...
Authors
Heather S. Galbraith, Carrie J. Blakeslee, Jeffrey C. Cole
Non-anthropogenic diet-based oiling of predatory birds Non-anthropogenic diet-based oiling of predatory birds
Oiling of wildlife can have important consequences to individual animals and populations (Kingston 2002). Individual birds that are heavily oiled lose their ability to fly and may become ill or die from hypothermia, starvation, exhaustion, or drowning (Clark 1984, Rocke 1999). For example, large-scale oiling from the Exxon Valdez spill caused local declines in populations of many avian...
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Daniel Driscoll, Ronald E. Jackman, Peter Bloom, Scott Thomas, Jeff Cooper, Stephen J. Livingstone, Teryl Grubb, Jacqueline M. Doyle, Douglas A. Bell, Joseph Didonato, J. Andrew DeWoody
Smallmouth bass predation on subyearling fall Chinook salmon in Lower Granite Reservoir, 2016–2017 Smallmouth bass predation on subyearling fall Chinook salmon in Lower Granite Reservoir, 2016–2017
Predation by nonnative fishes is one factor that has been implicated in the decline of juvenile salmonids in the Pacific Northwest. Impoundment of much of the Snake and Columbia Rivers has altered food webs and created habitat favorable for species such as smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu. Smallmouth bass are common throughout the Columbia River basin and have become the most...
Authors
John M. Erhardt, Kenneth F. Tiffan, Rulon J. Hemingway, Brad K. Bickford, Tobyn N. Rhodes
Chronic wasting disease—Status, science, and management support by the U.S. Geological Survey Chronic wasting disease—Status, science, and management support by the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) investigates chronic wasting disease (CWD) at multiple science centers and cooperative research units across the Nation and supports the management of CWD through science-based strategies. CWD research conducted by USGS scientists has three strategies: (1) to understand the biology, ecology, and causes and distribution of CWD; (2) to assess and predict...
Authors
Christina M. Carlson, M. Camille Hopkins, Natalie T. Nguyen, Bryan J. Richards, Daniel P. Walsh, W. David Walter
Discovering the deep: Exploring remote Pacific marine protected areas Discovering the deep: Exploring remote Pacific marine protected areas
The 2017 Discovering the Deep expedition provided the first glimpse of the deep-sea geology and ecology of the deepwater regions of Swains Island, the Howland and Baker Islands Unit of PRIMNM, Phoenix Islands Protected Areas (PIPA), and the Tokelau Region (Figure 1). Prior to this expedition, virtually no visual reconnaissance had been conducted in any of these areas below scuba diving...
Authors
Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Steven Auscavitch, Derek Sowers, Nikolai Pawlenko, Brian R. C. Kennedy
Individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests Individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests
Questions What drives individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests? Location Two 25.6‐ha forest plots on the Pacific Slope of North America, one in California, and one in Washington State. Methods We mapped all trees ≥1 cm in diameter and examined tree species diversity of their local neighbourhoods by calculating the individual species–area relationship for each...
Authors
Adrian J. Das, Andrew J. Larson, James A. Lutz
Environmental, anthropogenic, and dietary influences on fine-scale movement patterns of Atlantic salmon through challenging waters Environmental, anthropogenic, and dietary influences on fine-scale movement patterns of Atlantic salmon through challenging waters
Partial barriers to migration can affect migratory fish population dynamics and be influenced by many biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic factors, including nutritional deficiencies. We investigated how such variables (including a thiamine deficiency) impact fine-scale movement of landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) by treating returning spawners with thiamine and observing their...
Authors
Andrew B. Harbicht, Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Dimitry Gorsky, D.M. Hand, D.J. Fraser, W.R. Ardren
Bottom trawl assessment of Lake Ontario prey fishes Bottom trawl assessment of Lake Ontario prey fishes
Managing Lake Ontario fisheries in an ecosystem-context requires prey fish community and population data. Since 1978, multiple annual bottom trawl surveys have quantified prey fish dynamics to inform management relative to published Fish Community Objectives. In 2017, two whole-lake surveys collected 341 bottom trawls (spring: 204, fall: 137), at depths from 8-225m, and captured 751,350...
Authors
Brian Weidel, Michael J. Connerton, Jeremy Holden
Does behavioural thermoregulation underlie seasonal movements in Lake Erie walleye? Does behavioural thermoregulation underlie seasonal movements in Lake Erie walleye?
Thermoregulation is presumed to be a widespread determinant of behaviour in fishes, but has not often been investigated as a mechanism shaping long-distance migrations. We used acoustic telemetry and animal-borne thermal loggers to test the hypothesis that seasonal migration in adult walleye (Sander vitreus) in Lake Erie is size- and (or) sex-specific and related to behavioural...
Authors
Graham D. Raby, Christopher Vandergoot, Todd A. Hayden, Matthew D. Faust, Richard T. Kraus, John M. Dettmers, Steven J. Cooke, Yingming Zhao, Aaron T. Fisk, Charles C. Krueger