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: 43327
Glacierized headwater streams as aquifer recharge corridors, subarctic Alaska Glacierized headwater streams as aquifer recharge corridors, subarctic Alaska
Arctic river discharge has increased in recent decades although sources and mechanisms remain debated. Abundant literature documents permafrost thaw and mountain glacier shrinkage over the past decades. Here we link glacier runoff to aquifer recharge via a losing headwater stream in subarctic Interior Alaska. Field measurements in Jarvis Creek (634 km2), a subbasin of the Tanana and...
Authors
Anna K. Lilledahl, Anne Gadeke, Shad O’Neel, T. A. Gatesman, T. A. Douglas
Autonomous acoustic recorders reveal complex patterns in avian detection probability Autonomous acoustic recorders reveal complex patterns in avian detection probability
Avian point‐count surveys are typically designed to occur during periods when birds are consistently active and singing, but seasonal and diurnal patterns of detection probability are often not well understood and may vary regionally or between years. We deployed autonomous acoustic recorders to assess how avian availability for detection (i.e., the probability that a bird signals its...
Authors
Sarah J. Thompson, Colleen M. Handel, Lance B. McNew
Integration of vegetation community spatial data into a prescribed fire planning process at Shenandoah National Park, Virginia (USA) Integration of vegetation community spatial data into a prescribed fire planning process at Shenandoah National Park, Virginia (USA)
Many eastern forest communities depend on fire for regeneration or are enhanced by fire as a restoration practice. However, the use of prescribed fire in the mesic forested environments and the densely populated regions of the eastern United States has been limited. The objective of our research was to develop a science-based approach to prioritizing the use of prescribed fire in...
Authors
John A. Young, Carolyn G. Mahan, Melissa Forder
Two-step adaptive management for choosing between two management actions Two-step adaptive management for choosing between two management actions
Adaptive management is widely advocated to improve environmental management. Derivations of optimal strategies for adaptive management, however, tend to be case specific and time consuming. In contrast, managers might seek relatively simple guidance, such as insight into when a new potential management action should be considered, and how much effort should be expended on trialing such...
Authors
Alana L. Moore, Leila Walker, Michael C. Runge, Eve McDonald-Madden, Michael A McCarthy
Land before water: The relative temporal sequence of human alteration of freshwater ecosystems in the conterminous United States Land before water: The relative temporal sequence of human alteration of freshwater ecosystems in the conterminous United States
Human alteration of ecosystems prior to Euro-American contact in the area that became the conterminous United States disproportionately affected terrestrial systems compared to freshwater ecosystems, primarily through the use of fire and agriculture in some regions of the United States. After circa 1600 AD, trapping of beaver, along with intensive modification of rivers and wetlands for...
Authors
Ellen Wohl, Katherine B. Lininger, Jill Baron
Life history attributes of Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) and comparisons with other North American subspecies Life history attributes of Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus) and comparisons with other North American subspecies
Ammodramus savannarum ammolegus—commonly referred to as the Arizona Grasshopper Sparrow—occurs in the desert and plains grasslands of southeastern Arizona, southwestern New Mexico, and northern Sonora, Mexico. Although a subspecies of conservation concern, this is the first intensive study of its life history and breeding ecology, providing baseline data and facilitating comparisons with...
Authors
Janet M. Ruth
Estimating incision healing rate for surgically implanted acoustic transmitters from recaptured fish Estimating incision healing rate for surgically implanted acoustic transmitters from recaptured fish
Background Intracoelomic implantation of electronic tags has become a common method in fishery research, but rarely are fish examined by scientists after release to understand the extent that surgical incisions have healed. Walleye (Sander vitreus) are a valuable, highly exploited fishery resource in the Laurentian Great Lakes. Here, fishery capture of walleye with internal acoustic...
Authors
Abby Schoonyan, Richard T. Kraus, Matthew D. Faust, Christopher Vandergoot, Steven J. Cooke, H. Andrew Cook, Todd A. Hayden, Charles C. Krueger
Developing a landscape‐scale, multi‐species, and cost‐efficient conservation strategy for imperilled aquatic species in the Upper Tennessee River Basin, USA Developing a landscape‐scale, multi‐species, and cost‐efficient conservation strategy for imperilled aquatic species in the Upper Tennessee River Basin, USA
Strategic conservation of imperilled species faces several major challenges including uncertainty in species response to management actions, budgetary constraints that limit options, and the need to scale expected conservation benefits from local to landscape levels and from single to multiple species.A structured decision‐making process was applied to address these challenges and...
Authors
David R. Smith, Robert S. Butler, Jess W Jones, Catherine M Gatenby, Roberta Hylton, Mary Parkin, Cindy Schulz
A new species of iguana Brachylophus Cuvier 1829 (Sauria: Iguania: Iguanidae) from Gau Island, Fiji Islands A new species of iguana Brachylophus Cuvier 1829 (Sauria: Iguania: Iguanidae) from Gau Island, Fiji Islands
The south Pacific iguanas (Brachylophus) currently have three recognized living species in Fiji. Recent surveys have uncovered more specific variation (morphological and genetic) within the genus and have better defined the geographic ranges of the named species. One of these recent discoveries is a strikingly different iguana from all other island populations in Fiji which is restricted...
Authors
Robert N. Fisher, Jone Niukula, Dick Watling, Peter S. Harlow
Assessment of phytoplankton resources suitable for bigheaded carps in Lake Michigan derived from remote sensing and bioenergetics Assessment of phytoplankton resources suitable for bigheaded carps in Lake Michigan derived from remote sensing and bioenergetics
We used bioenergetic simulations combined with satellite-measured water temperature and estimates of algal food availability to predict the habitat suitability of Lake Michigan for adult silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) and bighead carp (H. nobilis). Depending on water temperature, we found that bigheaded carp require ambient algal concentrations between 1 and 7 μg chlorophyll/L...
Authors
Karl R. Anderson, Duane Chapman, Tim T. Wynne, Craig P. Paukert
Reproductive strategy, spawning induction, spawning temperatures and early life history of captive sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki Reproductive strategy, spawning induction, spawning temperatures and early life history of captive sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki
Macrhybopsis reproduction and propagule traits were studied in the laboratory using two temperature regimes and three hormone treatments to determine which methods produced the most spawns. Only sicklefin chub Macrhybopsis meeki spawned successfully although sturgeon chub Macrhybopsis gelida released unfertilized eggs. All temperature and hormone treatments produced M. meeki spawns, but...
Authors
Janice L. Albers, Mark L. Wildhaber