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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: 42871

Lake-wide annual status of Mysis diluviana population in Lake Michigan in 2015 Lake-wide annual status of Mysis diluviana population in Lake Michigan in 2015

Mysis diluviana is one of the most abundant zooplankton by biomass in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America, a predator of other zooplankton and an important prey for fishes. Studies of long-term trends in Lake Michigan have shown 2005–2016 densities to be 50–80% lower than 1990s densities, but these observations have been based on annual monitoring that is either spatially or...
Authors
Toby J. Holda, Lars G. Rudstam, Steven A. Pothoven, David Warner, Dmytro S. Krystenko, James M. Watkins

Geometry of obstacle marks at instream boulders-Integration of laboratory investigations and field observations Geometry of obstacle marks at instream boulders-Integration of laboratory investigations and field observations

Obstacle marks are instream bedforms, typically composed of an upstream frontal scour hole and a downstream sediment accumulation in the vicinity of an obstacle. Local scouring at infrastructure (e.g. bridge piers) is a well‐studied phenomenon in hydraulic engineering, while less attention is given to the time‐dependent evolution of frontal scour holes at instream boulders and their...
Authors
Oliver Schlomer, Paul E. Grams, Daniel D. Buscombe, Jurgen Herget

Forest management under megadrought: Urgent actions needed at finer-scale and higher intensity Forest management under megadrought: Urgent actions needed at finer-scale and higher intensity

Drought and warming increasingly are causing widespread tree die-offs and extreme wildfires. Forest managers are struggling to improve anticipatory forest management practices given more frequent, extensive, and severe wildfire and tree die-off events triggered by “hotter drought”—drought under warmer than historical conditions. Of even greater concern is the increasing probability of...
Authors
Jason P. Field, David D. Breshears, John B. Bradford, Darin J. Law, Xiaohui Feng, Craig D. Allen

Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of life-history variability for a south-western cutthroat trout Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of life-history variability for a south-western cutthroat trout

The impacts of climate change on cold-water fishes will likely negatively manifest in populations at the trailing edge of their distributions. Rio Grande cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii virginalis, RGCT) occupy arid south-western U.S. streams at the southern-most edge of all cutthroat trout distributions, making RGCT particularly vulnerable to the anticipated warming and drying in...
Authors
Brock M. Huntsman, Colleen A. Caldwell, Abigail J. Lynch, Fitsum Abadi

Breeding birds of the upper Mississippi River floodplain forest: One community in a changing forest, 1994 to 1997 Breeding birds of the upper Mississippi River floodplain forest: One community in a changing forest, 1994 to 1997

Floodplain forest on the upper Mississippi River (UMR), a unique habitat in the Midwest that is important for many bird species, has been reduced and is undergoing continued reduction and changes in structure and species diversity because of river engineering and invasive species. Hydrological changes are causing tree diversity to decline favoring Acer saccharinum (silver maple) and...
Authors
Eileen M. Kirsch

Living with wildfire in Ashland, Oregon: 2020 data report Living with wildfire in Ashland, Oregon: 2020 data report

Wildfire affects many types of communities. Improved understandings of urban conflagrations are leading some fire-prone communities, such as Ashland, Oregon, to expand their attention from focusing solely on the intermix fringe to managing wildfire threats across more urbanized wildland urban interface (WUI) communities. The core intent of this project was to build a partnership between...
Authors
Hannah Brenkert-Smith, Chris Chambers, Katie Gibble, Christopher M. Barth, Colleen Donovan, Carolyn Wagner, Alison Lerch, James R. Meldrum, Patricia A. Champ

Marsh equilibrium theory: Implications for responses to rising sea level Marsh equilibrium theory: Implications for responses to rising sea level

No abstract available.
Authors
James T Morris, Donald R. Cahoon, John C. Callaway, Christopher Craft, Scott C Neubauer, Nathaniel B Weston

Identifying information gaps in predicting winter foraging habitat for juvenile Gulf Sturgeon Identifying information gaps in predicting winter foraging habitat for juvenile Gulf Sturgeon

The Gulf Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi is an anadromous species that inhabits Gulf of Mexico coastal waters from Louisiana to Florida and is listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Seasonal cues (e.g., freshwater discharge) determine the timing of spawning and migration and may influence the availability of critical habitat during winter months in six...
Authors
Leah L. Dale, James P. Cronin, Virginia Brink, Blair Tirpak, John M. Tirpak, William E. Pine

Assessing the hydrologic and physical conditions of a drainage basin Assessing the hydrologic and physical conditions of a drainage basin

An assessment of a drainage basin and its stream corridor will provide the data and information needed to understand current biophysical conditions and trends. Developing an understanding of the drivers of change is the next essential step for restoration success (Osterkamp and Toy, 1997; Corenbilt et al., 2007; Briggs and Osterkamp, 2003), Shields et al. 2003; Osterkamp et al., 2011)
Authors
Waite Osterkamp, Mark K. Briggs, David J. Dean, Alfredo Rodriquez

Snowpack signals in North American tree rings Snowpack signals in North American tree rings

Climate change has contributed to recent declines in mountain snowpack and earlier runoff, which in turn has intensified hydrological droughts in western North America. Climate model projections suggest that continued and severe snowpack reductions are expected over the 21st century, with profound consequences for ecosystems and human welfare. Yet the current understanding of trends and
Authors
Bethany L. Coulthard, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Gregory T. Pederson, Edward R Cook, Jeremy S. Littell, Dan J. Smith

Sentinel coyote pathogen survey to assess declining black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) population in South Dakota, USA Sentinel coyote pathogen survey to assess declining black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) population in South Dakota, USA

As part of the national recovery effort, endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes) were reintroduced to the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, US in 2000. Despite an encouraging start, numbers of ferrets at the site have declined. In an effort to determine possible causes of the population decline, we undertook a pathogen survey in 2012 to detect exposure to West...
Authors
Krysten L. Schuler, Michael Claymore, Hannah Schnitzler, Edward Dubovi, Tonie E. Rocke, Michael J. Perry, Dwight Bowman, Rachel Abbott

Hydrogeomorphological controls on reach‐scale distributions of cichlid nest sites in a small neotropical river Hydrogeomorphological controls on reach‐scale distributions of cichlid nest sites in a small neotropical river

The Cichlidae are among the most diversified families of fish in the Neotropics and represent an important component of aquatic biodiversity. Understanding cichlid nest‐site selection is important for assemblages facing uncertain futures due to species invasions and environmental change. This information could be used to predict how inter‐ and intraspecific competition for reproductive...
Authors
Emily A. Buege, Peter C. Esselman, Sarah J. Praskievicz
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