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
Linking functional response and bioenergetics to estimate juvenile salmon growth in a reservoir food web Linking functional response and bioenergetics to estimate juvenile salmon growth in a reservoir food web
Juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) use of reservoir food webs is understudied. We examined the feeding behavior of subyearling Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha) and its relation to growth by estimating the functional response of juvenile salmon to changes in the density of Daphnia, an important component of reservoir food webs. We then estimated salmon growth across a broad range of water
Authors
Craig A. Haskell, David A. Beauchamp, Stephen M. Bollens
Epicormic resprouting in fire-prone ecosystems Epicormic resprouting in fire-prone ecosystems
Many plants resprout from basal buds after disturbance, and this is common in shrublands subjected to high-intensity fires. However, resprouting after fire from epicormic (stem) buds is globally far less common. Unlike basal resprouting, post-fire epicormic resprouting is a key plant adaptation for retention of the arborescent skeleton after fire, allowing rapid recovery of the forest or...
Authors
Juli G. Pausas, Jon E. Keeley
An improved camera trap for amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and large invertebrates An improved camera trap for amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, and large invertebrates
Camera traps are valuable sampling tools commonly used to inventory and monitor wildlife communities but are challenged to reliably sample small animals. We introduce a novel active camera trap system enabling the reliable and efficient use of wildlife cameras for sampling small animals, particularly reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and large invertebrates. It surpasses the detection...
Authors
Michael T. Hobbs, Cheryl S. Brehme
Defining ecological drought for the 21st century Defining ecological drought for the 21st century
No abstract available.
Authors
Shelley D. Crausbay, Aaron R. Ramirez, Shawn L. Carter, Molly S. Cross, Kimberly R. Hall, Deborah J. Bathke, Julio L. Betancourt, Steve Colt, Amanda E. Cravens, Melinda S. Dalton, Jason B. Dunham, Lauren E. Hay, Michael J. Hayes, Jamie McEvoy, Chad A. McNutt, Max A. Moritz, Keith H. Nislow, Nejem Raheem, Todd Sanford
The NorWeST summer stream temperature model and scenarios for the western U.S.: A crowd-sourced database and new geospatial tools foster a user-community and predict broad climate warming of rivers and streams The NorWeST summer stream temperature model and scenarios for the western U.S.: A crowd-sourced database and new geospatial tools foster a user-community and predict broad climate warming of rivers and streams
Thermal regimes are fundamental determinants of aquatic ecosystems, which makes description and prediction of temperatures critical during a period of rapid global change. The advent of inexpensive temperature sensors dramatically increased monitoring in recent decades, and although most monitoring is done by individuals for agency‐specific purposes, collectively these efforts constitute...
Authors
Daniel J. Isaak, Seth J. Wenger, Erin E. Peterson, Jay M Ver Hoef, David E Nagel, Charlie H. Luce, Steven W. Hostetler, Jason B. Dunham, Brett B. Roper, Sherry P Wollrab, Gwynne L Chandler, Dona L Horan, Sharon Parkes-Payne
A revised list of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionida) of the United States and Canada A revised list of the freshwater mussels (Mollusca: Bivalvia: Unionida) of the United States and Canada
We present a revised list of freshwater mussels (order Unionida, families Margaritiferidae and Unionidae) of the United States and Canada, incorporating changes in nomenclature and systematic taxonomy since publication of the most recent checklist in 1998. We recognize a total of 298 species in 55 genera in the families Margaritiferidae (one genus, five species) and Unionidae (54 genera...
Authors
James D. Williams, Arthur E. Bogan, Robert S. Butler, Kevin S. Cummings, Jeffrey T. Garner, John L. Harris, Nathan A. Johnson, G. Thomas Watters
Meteorological and environmental variables affect flight behaviour and decision-making of an obligate soaring bird, the California Condor Gymnogyps californianus Meteorological and environmental variables affect flight behaviour and decision-making of an obligate soaring bird, the California Condor Gymnogyps californianus
The movements of animals are limited by evolutionary constraints and ecological processes and are strongly influenced by the medium through which they travel. For flying animals, variation in atmospheric conditions is critically influential in movement. Obligate soaring birds depend on external sources of updraft more than do other flying species, as without that updraft they are unable...
Authors
Sharon A. Poessel, Joseph Brandt, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner
Experimental infection of common eider ducklings with Wellfleet Bay virus, a newly characterized orthomyxovirus Experimental infection of common eider ducklings with Wellfleet Bay virus, a newly characterized orthomyxovirus
Wellfleet Bay virus (WFBV), a novel orthomyxovirus in the genus Quaranjavirus, was first isolated in 2006 from carcasses of common eider (Somateria mollissima) during a mortality event in Wellfleet Bay (Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA) and has since been repeatedly isolated during recurrent mortality events in this location. Hepatic, pancreatic, splenic, and intestinal necrosis...
Authors
Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, S. Ip, Anne Ballmann, Jeffrey S. Hall, Andrew B. Allison, Jennifer R. Ballard, Julie C. Ellis, Robert Cook, Samantha E.J. Gibbs, Chris P. Dwyer
Evaluating upstream passage and timing of approach by adult bigheaded carps at a gated dam on the Illinois River Evaluating upstream passage and timing of approach by adult bigheaded carps at a gated dam on the Illinois River
Dams are a conservation threat because they function as barriers to native fish movement; however, they may prevent the spread of invasive species. Invasive bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.) threaten the Great Lakes ecosystem and are advancing towards Lake Michigan via the Illinois River. Navigation dams on the Illinois River may deter bigheaded carps' upstream movement. We...
Authors
Matthew Lubejko, Greg Whitledge, Alison A. Coulter, Marybeth K. Brey, Devon Oliver, James E. Garvey
Effects of flood inundation and invasion by Phalaris arundinacea on nitrogen cycling in an Upper Mississippi River floodplain forest Effects of flood inundation and invasion by Phalaris arundinacea on nitrogen cycling in an Upper Mississippi River floodplain forest
Although floodplains are thought to serve as important buffers against nitrogen (N) transport to aquatic systems, frequent flooding and high levels of nutrient availability also make these systems prone to invasion by exotic plant species. Invasive plants could modify the cycling and availability of nutrients within floodplains, with effects that could feedback to promote the persistence...
Authors
Whitney Swanson, Nathan R. De Jager, Eric A. Strauss, Meredith Thomsen
Sex difference in PCB concentrations of a catostomid fish Sex difference in PCB concentrations of a catostomid fish
Unraveling the complexities associated with the relative differences in contaminant concentrations between the sexes of mature fish may provide insights into important behavioral and physiological differences between the sexes of not just fish but higher vertebrates as well. Whole-fish polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations were determined in 25 mature female white suckers...
Authors
Charles P. Madenjian, Andrew L. Stevens, Martin A. Stapanian, Stuart A. Batterman, Sergei M. Chernyak, Jordan E. Menczer, Peter B. McIntyre
Viability analysis for multiple populations Viability analysis for multiple populations
Many species of conservation interest exist solely or largely in isolated populations. Ideally, prioritization of management actions among such populations would be guided by quantitative estimates of extinction risk, but conventional methods of demographic population viability analysis (PVA) model each population separately and require temporally extensive datasets that are rarely...
Authors
Seth J. Wenger, Douglas R. Leasure, Daniel C. Dauwalter, Mary M. Peacock, Jason B. Dunham, Nathan Chelgren, Helen M. Neville