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: 42853
Anticoagulant rodenticides and wildlife: Concluding remarks Anticoagulant rodenticides and wildlife: Concluding remarks
Rodents are known to affect human society globally in various adverse ways, resulting in a widespread demand for their continuous control. Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) have been, and currently remain, the cornerstone of rodent control throughout the world. Although alternative control methods exist, they are generally less effective. ARs work by affecting vitamin K metabolism...
Authors
Nico W. van den Brink, John E. Elliott, Richard F. Shore, Barnett A. Rattner
Anticoagulant rodenticides and wildlife: Introduction Anticoagulant rodenticides and wildlife: Introduction
Rodents have interacted with people since the beginning of systematic food storage by humans in the early Neolithic era. Such interactions have had adverse outcomes such as threats to human health, spoiling and consumption of food sources, damage to human infrastructure and detrimental effects on indigenous island wildlife (through inadvertent anthropogenic assisted introductions). These...
Authors
Nico W. van den Brink, John E. Elliott, Richard F. Shore, Barnett A. Rattner
Monitoring the welfare of polar bear populations in a rapidly changing Arctic Monitoring the welfare of polar bear populations in a rapidly changing Arctic
Most programs for monitoring the welfare of wildlife populations support efforts aimed at reaching discrete management objectives, like mitigating conflict with humans. While such programs can be effective, their limited scope may preclude systemic evaluations needed for large-scale conservation initiatives, like the recovery of at-risk species. We discuss select categories of metrics...
Authors
Todd C. Atwood, Colleen G. Duncan, Kelly A. Patyk, Sarah A. Sonsthagen
Effects of host injury on susceptibility of marine reef fishes to ectoparasitic gnathiid isopods Effects of host injury on susceptibility of marine reef fishes to ectoparasitic gnathiid isopods
The importance of the role that parasites play in ecological communities is becoming increasingly apparent. However much about their impact on hosts and thus populations and communities remains poorly understood. A common observation in wild populations is high variation in levels of parasite infestation among hosts. While high variation could be due to chance encounter, there is...
Authors
William G. Jenkins, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos, Paul C. Sikkel
Concepts and practices: Estimating abundance of prey species using hierarchical model-based approaches Concepts and practices: Estimating abundance of prey species using hierarchical model-based approaches
Tigers predominantly prey on large ungulate species, such as sambar (Cervus unicolor), red deer (Cervus elaphus), gaur (Bos gaurus), banteng (Bos javanicus), chital (Axis axis), muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak), wild pig (Sus scrofa), and bearded pig (Sus barbatus). The density of a tiger population is strongly correlated with the density of such prey species (Karanth et al. 2004). In the...
Authors
Robert Dorazio, N. Samba Kumar, Andy Royle, Arjun M. Gopalaswamy
Polar bears, Ursus maritimus Polar bears, Ursus maritimus
Polar bears are the largest of the eight species of bears found worldwide and are covered in a pigment-free fur giving them the appearance of being white. They are the most carnivorous of bear species consuming a high-fat diet, primarily of ice-associated seals and other marine mammals. They range throughout the circumpolar Arctic to the southernmost extent of seasonal pack ice.
Authors
Karyn D. Rode, Ian Stirling
Implications of rapid environmental change for polar bear behavior and sociality Implications of rapid environmental change for polar bear behavior and sociality
Historically, the Arctic sea ice has functioned as a structural barrier that has limited the nature and extent of interactions between humans and polar bears (Ursus maritimus). However, declining sea ice extent, brought about by global climate change, is increasing the potential for human-polar bear interactions. Loss of sea ice habitat is driving changes to both human and polar bear...
Authors
Todd C. Atwood
Human-polar bear interactions in a changing Arctic: Existing and emerging concerns Human-polar bear interactions in a changing Arctic: Existing and emerging concerns
The behavior and sociality of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have been shaped by evolved preferences for sea ice habitat and preying on marine mammals. However, human behavior is causing changes to the Arctic marine ecosystem through the influence of greenhouse gas emissions that drive long-term change in ecosystem processes and via the presence of in situ stressors associated with...
Authors
Todd C. Atwood, Kristin S. Simac, Stewart Breck, Geoff York, James Wilder
EROD activity, chromosomal damage, and oxidative stress in response to contaminants exposure in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings from Great Lakes Areas of Concern EROD activity, chromosomal damage, and oxidative stress in response to contaminants exposure in tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) nestlings from Great Lakes Areas of Concern
Tree swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, nestlings were collected from 60 sites in the Great Lakes, which included multiple sites within 27 Areas of Concern (AOCs) and six sites not listed as AOCs from 2010 to 2014. Nestlings, approximately 12 days-of-age, were evaluated for ethoxyresorufin-O-dealkylase (EROD) activity, chromosomal damage, and six measures of oxidative stress. Data on each of...
Authors
Thomas W. Custer, Christine M. Custer, Paul M. Dummer, Emilie Bigorgne, Elias Oziolor, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier, Sandra L. Schultz, Richard A. Erickson, Kevin Aagaard, Cole W. Matson
Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures Field practices: Assessing tiger population dynamics using photographic captures
From these histories, capture frequency statistics and estimates of capture probabilities can be derived.
Authors
K. Ullas Karanth, James D. Nichols, Abishek Harihar, Dale Miquelle, N. Samba Kumar, Robert Dorazio
Application of synthetic scenarios to address water resource concerns: A management-guided case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin Application of synthetic scenarios to address water resource concerns: A management-guided case study from the Upper Colorado River Basin
Water managers are increasingly interested in better understanding and planning for projected resource impacts from climate change. In this management-guided study, we use a very large suite of synthetic climate scenarios in a statistical modeling framework to simultaneously evaluate how (1) average temperature and precipitation changes, (2) initial basin conditions, and (3) temporal
Authors
Stephanie A. McAfee, Gregory T. Pederson, Connie A. Woodhouse, Gregory J. McCabe
Determining fine-scale use and movement patterns of diving bird species in federal waters of the Mid-Atlantic United States using satellite telemetry Determining fine-scale use and movement patterns of diving bird species in federal waters of the Mid-Atlantic United States using satellite telemetry
Offshore wind energy development in the United States is projected to expand in the upcoming decades to meet growing energy demands and reduce fossil fuel emissions. There is particular interest in commercial offshore wind development within Federal waters (i.e., > 3 nautical miles from shore) of the mid-Atlantic. In order to understand the potential for adverse effects on marine birds...
Authors
Caleb Spiegel, Alicia Berlin, Andrew Gilbert, Carrie E. Gray, William Montevecchi, Iain Stenhouse, Scott Ford, Glenn H. Olsen, Jonathan Fiely, Lucas Savoy, M. Wing Goodale, Chantelle Burke