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: 42702
Snake fungal disease: An emerging threat to wild snakes Snake fungal disease: An emerging threat to wild snakes
Since 2006, there has been a marked increase in the number of reports of severe and often fatal fungal skin infections in wild snakes in the eastern USA. The emerging condition, referred to as snake fungal disease (SFD), was initially documented in rattlesnakes, where the infections were believed to pose a risk to the viability of affected populations. The disease is caused...
Authors
Jeffrey M. Lorch, Susan Knowles, Julia S. Lankton, Kathy Michell, Jaime L. Edwards, Joshua M. Kapfer, Richard A. Staffen, Erik R. Wild, Katie Z. Schmidt, Anne Ballmann, Doug Blodgett, Terence M. Farrell, Brad M. Glorioso, Lisa A. Last, Steven J. Price, Krysten L. Schuler, Christopher Smith, James F. X. Wellehan, David S. Blehert
Conserving the Greater Sage-grouse: A social-ecological systems case study from the California-Nevada region Conserving the Greater Sage-grouse: A social-ecological systems case study from the California-Nevada region
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) continues to serve as one of the most powerful and contested federal legislative mandates for conservation. In the midst of heated debates, researchers, policy makers, and conservation practitioners champion the importance of cooperative conservation and social-ecological systems approaches, which forge partnerships at multiple levels and scales to...
Authors
Alison L Duvall, Alexander L. Metcalf, Peter S. Coates
A landscape-scale assessment of above- and belowground primary production in coastal wetlands: Implications for climate change-induced community shifts A landscape-scale assessment of above- and belowground primary production in coastal wetlands: Implications for climate change-induced community shifts
Above- and belowground production in coastal wetlands are important contributors to carbon accumulation and ecosystem sustainability. As sea level rises, we can expect shifts to more salt-tolerant communities, which may alter these ecosystem functions and services. Although the direct influence of salinity on species-level primary production has been documented, we lack an understanding...
Authors
Camille L. Stagg, Donald R. Schoolmaster, Sarai C. Piazza, Gregg Snedden, Gregory D. Steyer, Craig J Fischenich, Robert W. McComas
Extending ordinal regression with a latent zero-augmented beta distribution Extending ordinal regression with a latent zero-augmented beta distribution
Ecological abundance data are often recorded on an ordinal scale in which the lowest category represents species absence. One common example is when plant species cover is visually assessedwithin bounded quadrats and then assigned to pre-defined cover class categories.We present an ordinal beta hurdle model that directly models ordinal category probabilitieswith a biologically realistic...
Authors
Kathryn M. Irvine, T.J. Rodhouse, Ilai. N. Keren
Weak support for disappearance and restricted emergence/persistence of highly pathogenic influenza A in North American waterfowl Weak support for disappearance and restricted emergence/persistence of highly pathogenic influenza A in North American waterfowl
Krauss et al. (1) use lack of detection of highly pathogenic (HP) H5 clade 2.3.4.4 (henceforth "H5") influenza A viruses (IAVs) from >22,000 wild bird samples collected in North America in 2014–2015 to argue that HP H5 IAVs disappeared from waterfowl and that unresolved mechanisms restrict emergence and perpetuation of HP IAVs in natural reservoir species. Here we offer an alternative
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Erica Spackman, Mia Kim Torchetti, Thomas J. DeLiberto
Genetic and phenotypic variation along an ecological gradient in lake trout Salvelinus namaycush Genetic and phenotypic variation along an ecological gradient in lake trout Salvelinus namaycush
Background Adaptive radiation involving a colonizing phenotype that rapidly evolves into at least one other ecological variant, or ecotype, has been observed in a variety of freshwater fishes in post-glacial environments. However, few studies consider how phenotypic traits vary with regard to neutral genetic partitioning along ecological gradients. Here, we present the first detailed...
Authors
Shauna M. Baillie, Andrew M. Muir, Michael J. Hansen, Charles C. Krueger, Paul Bentzen
Statistical correction of lidar-derived digital elevation models with multispectral airborne imagery in tidal marshes Statistical correction of lidar-derived digital elevation models with multispectral airborne imagery in tidal marshes
Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a valuable tool for collecting large amounts of elevation data across large areas; however, the limited ability to penetrate dense vegetation with lidar hinders its usefulness for measuring tidal marsh platforms. Methods to correct lidar elevation data are available, but a reliable method that requires limited field work and maintains...
Authors
Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Karen M. Thorne, John Y. Takekawa
Possibility and challenges of conversion of current virus species names to Linnaean binomials Possibility and challenges of conversion of current virus species names to Linnaean binomials
Botanical, mycological, zoological, and prokaryotic species names follow the Linnaean format, consisting of an italicized Latinized binomen with a capitalized genus name and a lower case species epithet (e.g., Homo sapiens). Virus species names, however, do not follow a uniform format, and, even when binomial, are not Linnaean in style. In this thought exercise, we attempted to convert...
Authors
Postler Thomas, Anna N. Clawson, Gaya K. Amarasinghe, Christopher F. Basler, Sina Bavari, Maria Benko, Kim R. Blasdell, Thomas Briese, Michael J. Buchmeier, Alexander Bukreyev, Charles H. Calisher, Kartik Chandran, Remi Charrel, Christopher S. Clegg, Peter L. Collins, Juan Carlos De la Torre, Joseph L. DeRisi, Ralf G. Dietzgen, Olga Dolnik, Ralf Durrwald, John M. Dye, Andrew J. Easton, Sebastian Emonet, Pierre Formenty, Ron A. M. Fouchier, Elodie Ghedin, Jean-Paul Gonzalez, Balazs Harrach, Roger Hewson, Masayuki Horie, Daohong Jiang, Gary P. Kobinger, Hideki Kondo, Andrew Kropinski, Mart Krupovic, Gael Kurath, Robert A. Lamb, Eric M. Leroy, Igor S. Lukashevich, Andrea Maisner, Arcady Mushegian, Sergey V. Netesov, Norbert Nowotny, Jean L. Patterson, Susan L. Payne, Janusz T. Paweska, C.J. Peters, Sheli Radoshitzky, Bertus K. Rima, Victor Romanowski, Dennis Rubbenstroth, Sead Sabanadzovic, Helene Sanfacon, Maria Salvato, Martin Schwemmle, Sophie J. Smither, Mark Stenglein, D.M. Stone, Ayato Takada, Robert B. Tesh, Keizo Tomonaga, N. Tordo, Jonathan S. Towner, Nikos Vasilakis, Victor E. Volchkov, Victoria Jensen, Peter J. Walker, Lin-Fa Wang, Arvind Varsani, Anna E. Whitfield, Francisco Murilo Zerbini, Jens H. Kuhn
Roseate Tern breeding dispersal and fidelity: Responses to two newly restored colony sites Roseate Tern breeding dispersal and fidelity: Responses to two newly restored colony sites
We used 22 yr of capture–mark–reencounter (CMR) data collected from 1988 to 2009 on about 12,500 birds at what went from three to five coastal colony sites in Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut, United States, to examine spatial and temporal variation in breeding dispersal/fidelity rates of adult Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii). At the start of our study, Roseate Terns nested at...
Authors
Jeffrey A. Spendelow, David Monticelli, James D. Nichols, James E. Hines, Ian Nisbet, Grace Cormons, Helen Hays, Jeremy Hatch, Carolyn Mostello
Importance of regional variation in conservation planning: A rangewide example of the Greater Sage-Grouse Importance of regional variation in conservation planning: A rangewide example of the Greater Sage-Grouse
We developed rangewide population and habitat models for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) that account for regional variation in habitat selection and relative densities of birds for use in conservation planning and risk assessments. We developed a probabilistic model of occupied breeding habitat by statistically linking habitat characteristics within 4 miles of an...
Authors
Kevin Doherty, Jeffrey S. Evans, Peter S. Coates, Lara Juliusson, Bradley C. Fedy
A synthetic review of notoedres species mites and mange A synthetic review of notoedres species mites and mange
Notoedric mange, caused by obligately parasitic sarcoptiform Notoedres mites, is associated with potentially fatal dermatitis with secondary systemic disease in small mammals, felids and procyonids among others, as well as an occasional zoonosis. We describe clinical spectra in non-chiropteran hosts, review risk factors and summarize ecological and epidemiological studies. The genus is
Authors
Janet E. Foley, L.E. Serieys, N. Stephenson, S. Riley, C. Foley, M. Jennings, G. Wengert, W. Vickers, Erin E. Boydston, Lisa L. Lyren, J. Moriarty, D.L. Clifford
Incorporating imperfect detection into joint models of communites: A response to Warton et al. Incorporating imperfect detection into joint models of communites: A response to Warton et al.
Warton et al. [1] advance community ecology by describing a statistical framework that can jointly model abundances (or distributions) across many taxa to quantify how community properties respond to environmental variables. This framework specifies the effects of both measured and unmeasured (latent) variables on the abundance (or occurrence) of each species. Latent variables are random...
Authors
Steven R. Beissinger, Kelly J. Iknayan, Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, Elise Zipkin, Robert Dorazio, Andy Royle, Marc Kery