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: 42775
Community stability within the St. Marys River fish community: Evidence from trawl surveys Community stability within the St. Marys River fish community: Evidence from trawl surveys
A trawl survey was conducted in the Saint Marys River during 2010–2011 and we compared our results to a prior trawl survey conducted during 1979–1983 to look for long-term changes in the fish community, especially in terms of changes induced by invasive species. We found no substantive temporal differences in fish density, fish biomass, or fish diversity; lower trawl biomass during 2010...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Schaeffer, Anjanette K. Bowen, David G. Fielder
Tree mortality across biomes is promoted by drought intensity, lower wood density and higher specific leaf area Tree mortality across biomes is promoted by drought intensity, lower wood density and higher specific leaf area
Drought events are increasing globally, and reports of consequent forest mortality are widespread. However, due to a lack of a quantitative global synthesis, it is still not clear whether drought-induced mortality rates differ among global biomes and whether functional traits influence the risk of drought-induced mortality. To address these uncertainties, we performed a global meta...
Authors
Sarah Greenwood, Paloma Ruiz-Benito, Jordi Martínez-Vilalta, Francisco Lloret, Thomas Kitzberger, Craig D. Allen, Rod Fensham, Daniel C. Laughlin, Jens Kattge, Gerhard Bonisch, Nathan J. B. Kraft, Alistair S. Jump
Himalayan thoroughfare: Migratory routes of ducks over the rooftop of the world Himalayan thoroughfare: Migratory routes of ducks over the rooftop of the world
No abstract available.
Authors
Tsewang Namgail, John Y. Takekawa, Sivananinthaperumal Balachandran, Eric C. Palm, Taej Mundkur, Victor Martin Velez, Diann J. Prosser, Scott H. Newman
Urbanization may limit impacts of an invasive predator on native mammal diversity Urbanization may limit impacts of an invasive predator on native mammal diversity
Aim Our understanding of the effects of invasive species on faunal diversity is limited in part because invasions often occur in modified landscapes where other drivers of community diversity can exacerbate or reduce the net impacts of an invader. Furthermore, rigorous assessments of the effects of invasive species on native communities that account for variation in sampling, species...
Authors
Brian E. Reichert, Adia R. Sovie, Brad J. Udell, Kristen M. Hart, Rena R. Borkhataria, Mathieu Bonneau, Robert Reed, Robert A. McCleery
Bacterial, fungal, and plant communities exhibit no biomass or compositional response to two years of simulated nitrogen deposition in a semiarid grassland Bacterial, fungal, and plant communities exhibit no biomass or compositional response to two years of simulated nitrogen deposition in a semiarid grassland
Nitrogen (N) deposition affects myriad aspects of terrestrial ecosystem structure and function, and microbial communities may be particularly sensitive to anthropogenic N inputs. However, our understanding of N deposition effects on microbial communities is far from complete, especially for drylands where data are comparatively rare. To address the need for an improved understanding of...
Authors
Theresa A. McHugh, Ember M. Morrissey, Rebecca C. Mueller, La Verne Gallegos-Graves, Cheryl R. Kuske, Sasha C. Reed
Using diets of Canis breeding pairs to assess resource partitioning between sympatric red wolves and coyotes Using diets of Canis breeding pairs to assess resource partitioning between sympatric red wolves and coyotes
Foraging behaviors of red wolves (Canis rufus) and coyotes (Canis latrans) are complex and their ability to form congeneric breeding pairs and hybridize further complicates our understanding of factors influencing their diets. Through scat analysis, we assessed prey selection of red wolf, coyote, and congeneric breeding pairs formed by red wolves and coyotes, and found that all 3 had...
Authors
Joseph W. Hinton, Annaliese K. Ashley, Justin A. Dellinger, John L. Gittleman, Frank T. van Manen, Michael J. Chamberlain
Goose migration across the Himalayas: Migratory routes and movement patterns of Bar-headed Geese Goose migration across the Himalayas: Migratory routes and movement patterns of Bar-headed Geese
No abstract available.
Authors
John Y. Takekawa, Eric C. Palm, Diann J. Prosser, Lucy Hawkes, Nyambaya Batbayar, Sivananinthaperumal Balachandran, Ze Luo, Xiangming Xiao, Scott H. Newman
Implanting 8-mm passive integrated transponder tags into small Brook Trout: Effects on growth and survival in the laboratory Implanting 8-mm passive integrated transponder tags into small Brook Trout: Effects on growth and survival in the laboratory
Passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags are commonly used to investigate relationships between individual fish and their environment. The recent availability of smaller tags has provided the opportunity to tag smaller fish. In this study, we implanted 8-mm PIT tags into small Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis (35–50 mm FL; 0.35–1.266 g) and compared tag retention, growth rates, and...
Authors
Matthew J. O’Donnell, Benjamin H. Letcher
A decade of insights into grassland ecosystem responses to global environmental change A decade of insights into grassland ecosystem responses to global environmental change
Earth’s biodiversity and carbon uptake by plants, or primary productivity, are intricately interlinked, underlie many essential ecosystem processes, and depend on the interplay among environmental factors, many of which are being changed by human activities. While ecological theory generalizes across taxa and environments, most empirical tests of factors controlling diversity and...
Authors
Elizabeth T. Borer, James B. Grace, W. Stanley Harpole, Andrew S. MacDougall, Eric W. Seabloom
2016 status of the Lake Ontario Lower Trophic levels 2016 status of the Lake Ontario Lower Trophic levels
Significant Findings for Year 2016: 1) Offshore spring total phosphorus (TP) in 2016 was 6.2 μg/L, higher than 2014 and 2015 (4.0 and 4.2 μg/L); there was no significant decline 2001 - 2016. Offshore soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) was very low in 2016; Apr/May – Oct mean values were
Authors
Kristen T. Holeck, Lars G. Rudstam, Christopher Hotaling, Russ McCullough, Dave Lemon, Web Pearsall, Jana Lantry, Mike Connerton, Steve LaPan, Zy Biesinger, Brian F. Lantry, Maureen Walsh, Brian Weidel
A global threats overview for Numeniini populations: synthesising expert knowledge for a group of declining migratory birds. A global threats overview for Numeniini populations: synthesising expert knowledge for a group of declining migratory birds.
The Numeniini is a tribe of 13 wader species (Scolopacidae, Charadriiformes) of which seven are Near Threatened or globally threatened, including two Critically Endangered. To help inform conservation management and policy responses, we present the results of an expert assessment of the threats that members of this taxonomic group face across migratory flyways. Most threats are...
Authors
James W. Pearce-Higgins, Daniel J. Brown, David J.T. Douglas, José A. Alves, Mariagrazia Bellio, Pierrick Bocher, Graeme M. Buchannan, Robert P. Clay, Jesse R. Conklin, Nicola Crockford, Peter Dann, Jaanus Elts, Christian Friis, Richard A. Fuller, Jennifer A. Gill, Ken Gosbell, James A. Johnson, Rocio Marquez-Ferrando, Jose A. Masero, David S. Melville, Spike Millington, Clive Minton, Taej Mundkur, Erika Nol, Hannes Pehlak, Theunis Piersma, Danny I. Rogers, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, Nathan R. Senner, Junid Nazeer Shah, Rob D. Sheldon, Sergej A. Soloviev, Pavel S. Tomkovich, Yvonne I. Verkuil
Five-year external reviews of the eight Department of Interior Climate Science Centers: Alaska Climate Science Center Five-year external reviews of the eight Department of Interior Climate Science Centers: Alaska Climate Science Center
This report primarily addresses the first two purposes of the review while providing comments on the third as identified by the science review team (SRT). A separate report of recommendations for the recompetition, based upon compiled observation from all three reviews conducted in 2016, was submitted to NCCWSC on April 15, 2016 to assist with the development of recompetition documents...
Authors
Mark Shasby, C. Andrew Dolloff, Jeffrey A. Hicke, Bruce G. Marcot, Bruce McCarl, Gerard McMahon, John M. Morton