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: 42905
A life cycle database for parasitic acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes A life cycle database for parasitic acanthocephalans, cestodes, and nematodes
Parasitologists have worked out many complex life cycles over the last ~150 years, yet there have been few efforts to synthesize this information to facilitate comparisons among taxa. Most existing host-parasite databases focus on particular host taxa, do not distinguish final from intermediate hosts, and lack parasite life-history information. We summarized the known life cycles of...
Authors
Daniel P. Benesh, Kevin D. Lafferty, Armand Kuris
Electrical guidance efficiency of downstream-migrating juvenile Sea Lamprey decreases with increasing water velocity Electrical guidance efficiency of downstream-migrating juvenile Sea Lamprey decreases with increasing water velocity
We tested the efficacy of a vertically oriented field of pulsed direct current (VEPDC) created by an array of vertical electrodes for guiding downstream-moving juvenile Sea Lampreys Petromyzon marinus to a bypass channel in an artificial flume at water velocities of 10–50 cm/s. Sea Lampreys were more likely to be captured in the bypass channel than in other sections of the flume...
Authors
Scott M. Miehls, Nicholas S. Johnson, Alexander Haro
Amphibian dynamics in constructed ponds on a wildlife refuge: developing expected responses to hydrological restoration Amphibian dynamics in constructed ponds on a wildlife refuge: developing expected responses to hydrological restoration
Management actions are based upon predictable responses. To form expected responses to restoration actions, I estimated habitat relationships and trends (2002–2015) for four pond-breeding amphibians on a wildlife refuge (Montana, USA) where changes to restore historical hydrology to the system greatly expanded (≥8 times) the flooded area of the primary breeding site for western toads...
Authors
Blake R. Hossack
The importance of building construction materials relative to other factors affecting structure survival during wildfire The importance of building construction materials relative to other factors affecting structure survival during wildfire
Structure loss to wildfire is a serious problem in wildland-urban interface areas across the world. Laboratory experiments suggest that fire-resistant building construction and design could be important for reducing structure destruction, but these need to be evaluated under real wildfire conditions, especially relative to other factors. Using empirical data from destroyed and surviving...
Authors
Alexandra D. Syphard, Teresa J. Brennan, Jon E. Keeley
Long-term fish monitoring in large rivers: Utility of “benchmarking” across basins Long-term fish monitoring in large rivers: Utility of “benchmarking” across basins
In business, benchmarking is a widely used practice of comparing your own business processes to those of other comparable companies and incorporating identified best practices to improve performance. Biologists and resource managers designing and conducting monitoring programs for fish in large river systems tend to focus on single river basins or segments of large rivers, missing...
Authors
David L. Ward, Andrew F. Casper, Timothy D. Counihan, Jennifer M. Bayer, Ian R. Waite, John J. Kosovich, Colin Chapman, Elise R. Irwin, Jennifer S. Sauer, Brian Ickes, Alexa McKerrow
By
Core Science Systems Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Science Synthesis, Analysis, and Research Program, Gap Analysis Project, Science Analytics and Synthesis (SAS), Species Management Research Program, Southwest Biological Science Center, Western Fisheries Research Center, Columbia River Research Laboratory (CRRL)
Female-biased sex ratio, polygyny, and persistence in the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) Female-biased sex ratio, polygyny, and persistence in the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus)
Demographic changes in populations, such as skewed sex ratios, are of concern to conservationists, especially in small populations in which stochastic and other events can produce declines leading to extirpation. We documented a decline in one of the few remaining populations of Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) in southern California, USA, which dropped from 40...
Authors
Barbara E. Kus, Scarlett L. Howell, Dustin A. Wood
Species interactions and the effects of climate variability on a wetland amphibian metacommunity Species interactions and the effects of climate variability on a wetland amphibian metacommunity
Disentangling the role that multiple interacting factors have on species responses to shifting climate poses a significant challenge. However, our ability to do so is of utmost importance to predict the effects of climate change on species distributions. We examined how populations of three species of wetland-breeding amphibians, which varied in life history requirements, responded to a...
Authors
Courtney L. Davis, David A.W. Miller, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Jeffrey W. Riley, Mary E. Brown
Flammability as an ecological and evolutionary driver Flammability as an ecological and evolutionary driver
We live on a flammable planet yet there is little consensus on the origin and evolution of flammability in our flora.We argue that part of the problem lies in the concept of flammability, which should not be viewed as a single quantitative trait or metric. Rather, we propose that flammability has three major dimensions that are not necessarily correlated: ignitability, heat release and...
Authors
Juli G. Pausas, Jon E. Keeley, Dylan W. Schwilk
Molecular characterization of a novel orthomyxovirus from rainbow and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Molecular characterization of a novel orthomyxovirus from rainbow and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
A novel virus, rainbow trout orthomyxovirus (RbtOV), was isolated in 1997 and again in 2000 from commercially-reared rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in Idaho, USA. The virus grew optimally in the CHSE-214 cell line at 15°C producing a diffuse cytopathic effect; however, juvenile rainbow trout exposed to cell culture-grown virus showed no mortality or gross pathology. Electron...
Authors
William N. Batts, Scott E. LaPatra, Ryan Katona, Eric Leis, Terry Fei Fan Ng, Marine S.O. Bruieuc, Rachel Breyta, Maureen K. Purcell, Thomas B. Waltzek, Eric Delwart, James Winton
Early detection monitoring for larval dreissenid mussels: How much plankton sampling is enough? Early detection monitoring for larval dreissenid mussels: How much plankton sampling is enough?
The development of quagga and zebra mussel (dreissenids) monitoring programs in the Pacific Northwest provides a unique opportunity to evaluate a regional invasive species detection effort early in its development. Recent studies suggest that the ecological and economic costs of a dreissenid infestation in the Pacific Northwest of the USA would be significant. Consequently, efforts are...
Authors
Timothy D. Counihan, Stephen M. Bollens
Trophic interactions and consumption rates of subyearling Chinook Salmon and nonnative juvenile American Shad in Columbia River reservoirs Trophic interactions and consumption rates of subyearling Chinook Salmon and nonnative juvenile American Shad in Columbia River reservoirs
We used a large lampara seine coupled with nonlethal gastric lavage to examine the diets and estimate consumption rates of subyearling Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha during July and August 2013. During August we also examined the diet and consumption rates of juvenile American Shad Alosa sapidissima, a potential competitor of subyearling Chinook Salmon. Subyearling Chinook...
Authors
Craig A. Haskell, David A. Beauchamp, Stephen M Bollins
Hypsometric control on glacier mass balance sensitivity in Alaska and northwest Canada Hypsometric control on glacier mass balance sensitivity in Alaska and northwest Canada
Glacier hypsometry provides a first‐order approach for assessing a glacier's response to climate forcings. We couple the Randolph Glacier Inventory to a suite of in situ observations and climate model output to examine potential change for the ∼27,000 glaciers in Alaska and northwest Canada through the end of the 21st century. By 2100, based on Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs...
Authors
Daniel Mcgrath, Louis C. Sass, Shad O’Neel, Anthony A. Arendt, C. Kienholz