Publications

Lake Michigan’s cisco (Coregonus artedi) population is in the midst of an expansion (2011-present) recovering from near extirpation levels observed in the 1970 s. Strong evidence of piscivory derived from observed diet analyses suggests the population may occupy a unique trophic position relative to typical expectations for the species. To verify these observations, cisco and their prey...

Founder-event speciation can occur when one or more organisms colonize a distant, unoccupied area via long-distance dispersal, leading to the evolution of a new species lineage. Species radiations established by long-distance, and especially transoceanic, dispersal can cause substantial shifts in regional biodiversity. Here, we investigate the occurrence and timing of the greatest known...

Transect-based monitoring has long been a valuable tool in ecosystem monitoring to measure multiple ecosystem attributes. The line-point intercept (LPI), vegetation height, and canopy gap intercept methods comprise a set of core methods, which provide indicators of ecosystem condition. However, users often struggle to design a sampling strategy that optimizes the ability to detect...

Synthetic microfibers are a class of microplastics routinely released into environmental media from domestic laundry and wastewater treatment plant effluent. Areas of high human population density discharge immense amounts of synthetic microfibers that pollute and accumulate in sediments, surface waters, algae, and other parts of the ecosystem. Synthetic microfibers are abundant in the...

Mercury (Hg) pollution in river systems is a global sustainability challenge. Yet the transport, transformation, and retention of Hg within global rivers remain poorly quantified, particularly in regions with sparse observations such as Southeast Asia and Africa, hindering effective pollution mitigation and reinforcing geographic inequities in scientific knowledge and environmental...

Birds are vital to our economy, ecosystems, and cultural heritage. Investing in bird conservation benefits communities, businesses, and working lands while reinforcing our nation’s legacy of stewardship and biodiversity. By valuing birds, we ensure a richer, healthier, and more vibrant future for all Americans. The USGS leads two national bird monitoring programs Thriving bird...

Background

In the United States, wildlife managers are entrusted with preserving culturally and economically important ungulate populations in the face of the ongoing spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service established an adaptive management plan to reduce the reliance of elk (Cervus canadensis) on supplemental winter feeding on the National Elk Refuge. The end...

Hawaiʻi’s avifauna has undergone profound changes over the past 1,000 years, with many endemic bird species driven to extinction and non-native introductions reshaping forest ecosystems. On the island of Molokaʻi, habitat degradation and the introduction of mosquito-borne disease, mainly avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum), have caused extinctions and severe declines in native forest...

Determining where animals are, and if they are persisting across protected landscapes, is necessary to implement appropriate management and conservation actions. For long-lived animals and those with boom-and-bust life histories, perspective across time contributes to discerning temporal trends in occupancy and persistence, and potentially in identifying mechanisms affecting those...

This fact sheet provides a 10-year overview of the U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Research Units program. It highlights long term accomplishments for the program's mission of applied research, graduate education and technical assistance to the partners.

Context Shifts in precipitation regimes due to climate change are significantly impacting dryland ecosystems, including vegetation composition and structure. Unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) are widely used to monitor vegetation, but whether models built to predict changes in these characteristics are robust under extreme precipitation regimes is unclear. Objectives We aimed to predict...