Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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: 42700

Eurytemora carolleeae in the Laurentian Great Lakes revealed by phylogenetic and morphological analysis Eurytemora carolleeae in the Laurentian Great Lakes revealed by phylogenetic and morphological analysis

In the Laurentian Great Lakes, specimens of Eurytemora have been reported asEurytemora affinis since its invasion in the late 1950s. During an intensive collection of aquatic invertebrates for morphological and molecular identification in Western Lake Erie in 2012-2013, several specimens of Eurytemora were collected. Analysis of these specimens identified them as the recently described...
Authors
Adrian A. Vasquez, Patrick L. Hudson, Masanori Fujimoto, Kevin M. Keeler, Patricia M. Dieter, Jeffrey L. Ram

White sucker Catostomus commersonii respond to conspecific and sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus alarm cues but not potential predator cues White sucker Catostomus commersonii respond to conspecific and sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus alarm cues but not potential predator cues

Recent studies proposed the use of chemosensory alarm cues to control the distribution of invasive sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus populations in the Laurentian Great Lakes and necessitate the evaluation of sea lamprey chemosensory alarm cues on valuable sympatric species such as white sucker. In two laboratory experiments, 10 replicate groups (10 animals each) of migratory white suckers...
Authors
Ethan J. Jordbro, Richard T. Di Rocco, Istvan Imre, Nicholas S. Johnson, Grant E. Brown

Learning and adaptation in waterfowl conservation: By chance or by design? Learning and adaptation in waterfowl conservation: By chance or by design?

The most recent revision of the North American Waterfowl Management Plan seeks to increase the adaptive capacity of the management enterprise to cope with accelerating changes in climate, land-use patterns, agency priorities, and the waterfowl and wetlands constituency. Institutional and cultural changes of the magnitude envisioned are necessarily slow, messy processes, involving many...
Authors
Fred A. Johnson, David J. Case, Dale H. Humburg

The persistence and characteristics of Chinook salmon migrations to the Upper Klamath River prior to exclusion by dams The persistence and characteristics of Chinook salmon migrations to the Upper Klamath River prior to exclusion by dams

In this research article, John Hamilton and his co-authors present extensive new research and information gathered since a 2005 publication on the historical evidence of anadromomous fish distribution in the Upper Klamath River watershed. Using historical accounts from early explorers and ethnographers to early-twentieth-century photographs, newspaper accounts, and government reports...
Authors
John B Hamilton, Dennis W. Rondorf, William Tinniswood, Ryan J Leary, Tim Mayer, Charleen Gavette, Lynne A. Casal

Disease introduction is associated with a phase transition in bighorn sheep demographics Disease introduction is associated with a phase transition in bighorn sheep demographics

Ecological theory suggests that pathogens are capable of regulating or limiting host population dynamics, and this relationship has been empirically established in several settings. However, although studies of childhood diseases were integral to the development of disease ecology, few studies show population limitation by a disease affecting juveniles. Here, we present empirical...
Authors
Kezia Manlove, E. Frances Cassirer, Paul C. Cross, Raina K. Plowright, Peter J. Hudson

Genetic diversity and population structure in the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) in western Oregon and northwestern California— Implications for future translocations and the establishment of new populations Genetic diversity and population structure in the threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) in western Oregon and northwestern California— Implications for future translocations and the establishment of new populations

Executive Summary We present results of population genetic analyses performed on Oregon silverspot butterflies (OSB; Speyeria zerene hippolyta) in western Oregon and northwestern California. We used DNA sequences from a 561-base pair region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene for a dataset comprised of 112 S. z. hippolyta and 32 S. z. gloriosa individuals...
Authors
Mark P. Miller, Thomas D. Mullins, Susan M. Haig

Habitat selection by postbreeding female diving ducks: Influence of habitat attributes and conspecifics Habitat selection by postbreeding female diving ducks: Influence of habitat attributes and conspecifics

Habitat selection studies of postbreeding waterfowl have rarely focused on within-wetland attributes such as water depth, escape cover, and food availability. Flightless waterfowl must balance habitat selection between avoiding predation risks and feeding. Reproductively successful female ducks face the greatest challenges because they begin the definitive prebasic molt at or near the...
Authors
Jane E. Austin, Shawn T. O’Neil, Jeffrey M. Warren

Three responses of wetland conditions to climatic extremes in the Prairie Pothole Region Three responses of wetland conditions to climatic extremes in the Prairie Pothole Region

Wetlands in central North Dakota were revisited after 50 years to assess changes following extreme drought and a prolonged wet period. We compared data collected during 1961–1966 to current (2013–2014) wetland conditions. We revisited 80 wetlands in 2013 and 2014 across three study areas and measured wetland area, ponded-water depth, and specific conductance. Wetlands at the three study...
Authors
Ryann L. Cressey, Jane E. Austin, Joshua D. Stafford

California sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) census results, Spring 2016 California sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) census results, Spring 2016

The 2016 census of southern sea otters Enhydra lutris nereis was conducted in May along the mainland coast of central California and in April at San Nicolas Island in southern California. The 3-year average of combined counts from the mainland range and San Nicolas Island was 3,272. This is the first year that the official index has exceeded 3,090, the Endangered Species Act delisting...
Authors
M. Tim Tinker, Brian B. Hatfield

Collapsing avian community on a Hawaiian island Collapsing avian community on a Hawaiian island

The viability of many species has been jeopardized by numerous negative factors over the centuries, but climate change is predicted to accelerate and increase the pressure of many of these threats, leading to extinctions. The Hawaiian honeycreepers, famous for their spectacular adaptive radiation, are predicted to experience negative responses to climate change, given their...
Authors
Eben H. Paxton, Richard J. Camp, P. Marcos Gorresen, Lisa H. Crampton, David L. Leonard, Eric VanderWerf

Development of ion-exchange collectors for monitoring atmospheric deposition of inorganic pollutants in Alaska parklands Development of ion-exchange collectors for monitoring atmospheric deposition of inorganic pollutants in Alaska parklands

Between 2010 and 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a series of laboratory and field experiments designed to develop methodology to support the National Park Service’s long-term atmospheric pollutant monitoring efforts in parklands of Arctic Alaska. The goals of this research were to develop passive sampling methods that could be used for long-term monitoring of inorganic...
Authors
William G. Brumbaugh, Jesse W. Arms, Greg L. Linder, Vanessa D. Melton

Mediterranean biomes: Evolution of their vegetation, floras and climate Mediterranean biomes: Evolution of their vegetation, floras and climate

Mediterranean-type ecosystems (MTEs) possess the highest levels of plant species richness in the world outside of the wet tropics. Sclerophyll vegetation similar to today’s mediterranean-type shrublands was already present on oligotrophic soils in the wet and humid climate of the Cretaceous, with fire-adapted Paleogene lineages in southwestern Australia and the Cape Region. The novel MTC
Authors
Philip W. Rundel, Mary T.K. Arroyo, R.M. Cowling, J. E. Keeley, B.B. Lamont, Pablo Vargas
Was this page helpful?