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: 43055
Bird guilds exhibit varied responses to floodplain forest restoration in the Colorado River delta, Mexico Bird guilds exhibit varied responses to floodplain forest restoration in the Colorado River delta, Mexico
Grouping species into guilds can be useful to inform management decisions locally and at broader scales because guilds lack species-specificity. We investigated the response of five breeding bird guilds to riparian habitat restoration in the arid Colorado River delta, based on two decades of bird detections (2002–2021) at 230 bird count stations across 7 routes in actively revegetated (...
Authors
Eduardo González-Sargas, Timothy D. Meehan, Osvel Hinojosa-Huerta, Stefanny Villagomez-Palma, Christopher Dodge, Martha Gómez-Sapiens, Pamela L. Nagler, Patrick B. Shafroth
RoadxStr user’s guide—For collection of road-stream crossing assessment field observations RoadxStr user’s guide—For collection of road-stream crossing assessment field observations
Intersections of drainage networks and road networks represent a critical nexus between natural waterways and human infrastructure. Managing these systems involves decisions related to management of infrastructure, hydrologic and geomorphic processes, and ecological connectivity. Interactions among these systems influence multiple values, including the intactness of transportation...
Authors
Emily Heaston, Sean Winter, Shelby Bauer, Tait Ronningen, Jason Dunham
Short-term estuarine phytoplankton dynamics in response to hurricanes along the Gulf Coast of America: A Variational Autoencoder (VAE) approach with satellite and bio-optical observations Short-term estuarine phytoplankton dynamics in response to hurricanes along the Gulf Coast of America: A Variational Autoencoder (VAE) approach with satellite and bio-optical observations
Hurricanes drive diverse estuarine phytoplankton responses and can trigger cascading ecological and physicochemical impacts. Capturing these short-term dynamics requires high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we applied a globally-applicable coastal ocean color algorithm, Variational Autoencoder (VAE), to Sentinel-2 MSI imagery for chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) estimation and validated its strong
Authors
Jiang Li, Bingqing Liu, Jiadong Lou, Xu Yuan, Eurico J. D'Sa, Melissa Millman Baustian, Megan La Peyre, Angelina Freeman, Vitor S. Martins, Emad Habib
A chromosome-level genome assembly of a vernal pool specialist amphibian, the Western Spadefoot, Spea hammondii A chromosome-level genome assembly of a vernal pool specialist amphibian, the Western Spadefoot, Spea hammondii
We assembled and annotated a chromosome-level reference genome for the Western Spadefoot, Spea hammondii (Anura, Scaphiopodidae) representing one of only three amphibians included in the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). Spea hammondii is a vernal pool breeding anuran native to California and northwestern Baja California which has undergone both range contractions and...
Authors
Ben Thompsky, Eric Beraut, Robert D. Cooper, Merly Escalona, Robert E. Espinoza, Robert N. Fisher, Courtney Miller, Oanh Nguyen, Samuel Sacco, Ruta Sahasrabudhe, William E. Seligmann, Erin Tofflemier, Ian J. Wang, H. Bradley Schaffer
Design and function of the Autonomous Benthic Imaging and Surveying System (ABISS) for remote sensing of lake and seabed environments Design and function of the Autonomous Benthic Imaging and Surveying System (ABISS) for remote sensing of lake and seabed environments
Lake and seabed environments are home to fisheries and other biota that are important to ecosystems and economies, yet these environments and the species that use them are difficult to accurately assess and monitor. Traditional benthic survey techniques, like bottom trawling used by the U.S. Geological Survey, are limited by substrate constraints, poor spatial resolution and precision...
Authors
Alden T. Tilley, Peter C. Esselman, Christopher Roussi, Ben Hart, Aaron Lyons, Anthony J. Arnold, Jeremy Childress, Charley Weller
Evaluating evidence of changing regional occupancy of four bat species in response to forest management practices Evaluating evidence of changing regional occupancy of four bat species in response to forest management practices
Coordinated, regional strategies to guide effective management and conservation of forests can be used to balance conservation with management for other objectives such as timber, scenic viewsheds, and fire. A key part of these regional strategies is incorporating knowledge of how management actions may affect certain species, especially those that are sensitive or are of concern...
Authors
Richard D. Inman, Bradley James Udell, Amy Kristine Wray, Bethany R. Straw, Andrea Nichole Schuhmann, Helen Trice Davis, Sarah C. Sawyer, Brian E. Reichert
Multireservoir allocation framework considering societal and ecological needs in a time-frequency domain Multireservoir allocation framework considering societal and ecological needs in a time-frequency domain
Existing reservoir management frameworks traditionally consider historical (predam) flow conditions to deliver environmental flows. Such frameworks may not be feasible because current demand and/or climate could be different from predam conditions. Hence, we developed a multireservoir framework that explicitly considers both human water demands and environmental flow requirements to...
Authors
Dol Raj Chalise, Lucas Ford, Kumar Mahinthakumar, Ranji Ranjithan, Mitchell J. Eaton, A. Sankarasubramanian
Chronic exposure to waterborne nickel significantly reduced growth of juvenile crayfish (Faxonius virilis) Chronic exposure to waterborne nickel significantly reduced growth of juvenile crayfish (Faxonius virilis)
Crayfish are critical functional components of aquatic ecosystems. Previous research has documented adverse effects of mineral extraction on crayfish. Here, we characterize potential risks of mining-derived waterborne nickel (Ni) to crayfish by documenting the effects of dissolved Ni on growth and food consumption of juvenile virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis) in a 28-day chronic...
Authors
Adrian Parr Moore, Mark L. Wildhaber, Zachary D Beaman, Kendell Ray Bennett, Karlie K Ditter, Danielle M. Cleveland, J. Blanton, Tyler J. Grant
Future aquatic invaders of the Northeast U.S.: How climate change, human vectors, and natural history could bring southern and western species north Future aquatic invaders of the Northeast U.S.: How climate change, human vectors, and natural history could bring southern and western species north
As environmental conditions change, land managers are increasingly concerned about the potential for new aquatic invasive species to move into their jurisdictions. Because managers may have limited resources, detecting invasive species early is important as prevention is more effective and less costly than ongoing mitigation of established populations. Tools built to assist early...
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Peder Engelstad, Shelby K. LeClare, Richard D. Inman, Ian A. Pfingsten, Wesley M. Daniel
Communicating darkness: Visitor preferences for dark sky interpretation Communicating darkness: Visitor preferences for dark sky interpretation
Utah parks are attracting an increasing number of visitors due to the quality dark sky viewing opportunities. Despite increasing engagement in nighttime recreation, limited research exists on visitor interest in interpretation for dark skies in state and national parks. Nighttime visitors at nine Utah state and national park units certified as dark sky parks were surveyed to evaluate...
Authors
Zachary A. Russell, J. Adam Beeco, Zachary D. Miller, Emily J. Wilkins, Anna B. Miller, Chase C. Lamborn, Jordan W. Smith
American kestrel population trends and vital rates at the continental scale American kestrel population trends and vital rates at the continental scale
The American kestrel (Falco sparverius, hereafter referred to as kestrel) has declined across much of its North American range since at least the mid-1960s. Kestrel population dynamics have been explored through a multitude of local studies and two broad reviews of available data. Across large geographic extents, however, the demographic cause(s) of kestrel population declines remain(s)...
Authors
Paige E. Howell, Abigail Jean Lawson, Davis Kristin P., Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Orin J. Robinson, Matthew A. Boggie, Mitchell J. Eaton, Fitsum Abadi, Jessi L. Brown, Julie A. Heath, John A. Smallwood, Karen Steenhof, Ted Swem, Brian W. Rolek, Christopher J.W. McClure, Jean-Francois Therrien, Karl E. Miller, Brian A. Milsap
Depth-resolved carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in 522 lakes, ponds, and reservoirs worldwide Depth-resolved carbon dioxide and methane concentrations in 522 lakes, ponds, and reservoirs worldwide
Lakes, ponds, and reservoirs (hereafter: “lakes”) are important sources of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). Emissions of CO2 and CH4 from lakes are regulated in part by in-lake processes, including the production and storage of gases in the lower parts of the water column (bottom waters). However, while substantial efforts have been made to improve estimates...
Authors
Joseph S. Rabaey, Abigail S. Lewis, Katrin Attermeyer, Patrick Aurich, Sheel Bansal, Maciej Bartosiewicz, Brittni L. Bertolet, Ingeborg Bussmann, Sarah B. Cadieux, Elisa Calamita, Camilla Capelli, Cayelan C. Carey, Carmen Cillero, Francois Clayer, Sofia L. D'Ambrosio, Thomas A. Davidson, Bridget Deemer, Blaize A. Denfeld, Werner Eckert, Chiara Esposito, Phillip Ford, Adrianna Gorsky, Natalie A. Griffiths, Hans-Peter F. Grossart, David P. Hamilton, Meredith A. Holgerson, Brian J. Huser, Tomoya Iwata, Joachim Jansen, Stuart E. Jones, Sari Juutinen, Pirkko Kortelainen, Matthias Koschorreck, Theis Kragh, Alo Laas, Tuula Larmola, Saskia Läubli, Isabelle Laurion, Moritz F. Lehmann, Liu Liu, Pertti J. Martikainen, Anna Matoušů, Stephen A. McCord, Jorge J. Montes-Pérez, Daniele Nizzoli, César Ordóñez, Mike Peacock, Rachel M. Pilla, Vilmantas Prėskienis, Junbing Pu, Tenna Riis, Taija Saarela, Arianto B. Santoso, Carsten Schubert, Armando Sepulveda-Jauregui, Bradford S. Sherman, Jonas S. Sø, Katherine J. Stenehjem, Kristin E.D. Strock, Kenji Tsuchiya, Katrin Wendt-Potthoff, Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer, Petr Znachor, Jakob Zopfi