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: 42922
State‐space modelling of the flight behaviour of a soaring bird provides new insights to migratory strategies State‐space modelling of the flight behaviour of a soaring bird provides new insights to migratory strategies
Characterising the spatiotemporal variation of animal behaviour can elucidate the way individuals interact with their environment and allocate energy. Increasing sophistication of tracking technologies paired with novel analytical approaches allows the characterisation of movement dynamics even when an individual is not directly observable.In this study, high‐resolution movement data...
Authors
Enrico Pirotta, Todd E. Katzner, Tricia A. Miller, Adam E. Duerr, Melissa A. Braham, Leslie New
Stable isotope comparison between mantle and foot tissues of two freshwater unionids: Implications for food web studies Stable isotope comparison between mantle and foot tissues of two freshwater unionids: Implications for food web studies
Unionid mussels are a key taxon for stable isotope studies of aquatic food webs, often serving as the primary integrator of the pelagic baseline. Past isotope studies with mussels have commonly used either foot tissue or mantle tissue, but no study has yet to quantify the relation of both carbon and nitrogen isotopes between these two tissue sources. This makes it difficult to justify...
Authors
Toben LaFrancois, Andrea K. Fritts, Brent C. Knights, Byron Karns
Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird, Sula leucogaster Carotenoid-based skin ornaments reflect foraging propensity in a seabird, Sula leucogaster
Carotenoid-based ornaments are common signalling features in animals. It has long been proposed that such ornaments communicate information about foraging abilities to potential mates. However, evidence linking foraging with ornamentation is largely missing from unmanipulated, free-ranging populations. To investigate this relationship, we studied a coastal population of brown booby (Sula
Authors
Nathan P. Michael, Roxana Torres, Andreanna J. Welch, Josh Adams, Mario Erandi Bonillas-Monge, Jonathan J. Felis, Laura Lopez-Marquez, Alejandro Martinez-Flores, Anne E. Wiley
Intensive sampling reveals underreported use of great-river tributaries by large-river fishes in Missouri Intensive sampling reveals underreported use of great-river tributaries by large-river fishes in Missouri
Large tributaries may help sustain large-river fish populations by mitigating fish-habitat losses within the highly modified great rivers of the Mississippi River basin. These tributaries are likely most beneficial for fish species specializing on non-degraded large-river habitat for some portion of their life histories. Few great-river tributaries, however, have been surveyed using...
Authors
Corey G. Dunn, Brandon L. Brooke, Robert A. Hrabik, Craig P. Paukert
Linking otolith microchemistry and surface water contamination from natural gas mining Linking otolith microchemistry and surface water contamination from natural gas mining
Unconventional natural gas drilling and the use of hydraulic fracturing technology have expanded rapidly in North America. This expansion has raised concerns of surface water contamination by way of spills and leaks, which may be sporadic, small, and therefore difficult to detect. Here we explore the use of otolith microchemistry as a tool for monitoring surface water contamination from...
Authors
David H. Keller, Paula M. Zelanko, Joel E. Gagnon, Richard J. Horwitz, Heather S. Galbraith, David J. Velinsky
The S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center--a model for progress The S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center--a model for progress
No abstract available.
Authors
Theodore R. Castro-Santos, Alexander J. Haro, Benjamin H. Letcher, Stephen D. McCormick
Sediment transport and deposition Sediment transport and deposition
Sediment transport and deposition (sedimentation) occurs from natural and anthropogenic sources in rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Substantial changes in sediment transport (such as a major increase or decrease in sediment supply) can impact aquatic ecosystems that depend on a particular sediment quantity and particle size, for example, through altering stream-channel geomorphology or...
Authors
Joel B. Sankey, Amy E. East, Jason R. Kreitler, Christina (Naomi) Tague
Cytonuclear discordance in the Florida Everglades invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus) population reveals possible hybridization with the Indian python (P. molurus) Cytonuclear discordance in the Florida Everglades invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus) population reveals possible hybridization with the Indian python (P. molurus)
The invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus) has been reproducing in the Florida Everglades since the 1980s. These giant constrictor snakes have caused a precipitous decline in small mammal populations in southern Florida following escapes or releases from the commercial pet trade. To better understand the invasion pathway and genetic composition of the population, two mitochondrial...
Authors
Margaret E. Hunter, Nathan A. Johnson, Brian J. Smith, Michelle C. Davis, John S. Butterfield, Ray W. Snow, Kristen M. Hart
Past and future global transformation of terrestrial ecosystems under climate change Past and future global transformation of terrestrial ecosystems under climate change
Impacts of global climate change on terrestrial ecosystems are imperfectly constrained by ecosystem models and direct observations. Pervasive ecosystem transformations occurred in response to warming and associated climatic changes during the last glacial-to-interglacial transition, which was comparable in magnitude to warming projected for the next century under high-emission scenarios...
Authors
Connor Nolan, Jonathan T. Overpeck, Judy R. M. Allen, Patricia M. Anderson, Julio L. Betancourt, Heather A. Binney, Simon Brewer, Mark B. Bush, Brian M. Chase, Rachid Cheddadi, Morteza Djamali, John Dodson, Mary E. Edwards, William D. Gosling, Simon Haberle, Sara C. Hotchkiss, Brian Huntley, Sarah J. Ivory, A. Peter Kershaw, Soo-Hyun Kim, Claudio Latorre, Michelle Leydet, Anne-Marie Lezine, Kam-Biu Liu, Yao Liu, A. V. Lozhkin, Matt S. McGlone, Robert A. Marchant, Arata Momohara, Patricio I. Moreno, Stefanie Muller, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Caiming Shen, Janelle Stevenson, Hikaru Takahara, Pavel E. Tarasov, John Tipton, Annie Vincens, Chengyu Weng, Qinghai Xu, Zhuo Zheng, Stephen T. Jackson
Human induced trauma and directed take inhibits sea turtle recovery in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Human induced trauma and directed take inhibits sea turtle recovery in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Sea turtle conservation is often hindered by the lack of reliable information on population status and threats due to sampling difficulties of these highly migratory reptiles that live in remote and data-poor locations. This paper summarizes more than a decade of stranding recoveries (live and dead turtles) on the islands of Saipan and Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands...
Authors
Tammy M. Summers, Irene Kinan Kelly, Thierry M. Work, Jessy R. Hapdei, Joe K. Ruak
Chiroptera Chiroptera
With over 1300 species identified, bats represent almost one quarter of the world’s mammals (Fenton and Simmons 2014), bats provide important environmental services such as insect pest suppression, seed dispersal, and pollination and inhabit a wide variety of ecological niches on all continents except Antarctica. Over 150 species are listed as endangered or vulnerable to extinction...
Authors
Lisa L. Farina, Julia S. Lankton
Conservation genomics of the Mogollon Narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) and Northern Mexican gartersnake (Thamnophis eques megalops) Conservation genomics of the Mogollon Narrow-headed gartersnake (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) and Northern Mexican gartersnake (Thamnophis eques megalops)
The ability of populations to persist and adapt to abiotic and biotic changes is reliant on genetic diversity. When connectivity across a species landscape is disrupted, the levels and distribution of genetic diversity can rapidly deteriorate as a result of genetic drift, leading to increased inbreeding and reduced adaptive potential. Therefore, understanding the distribution and degree...
Authors
Dustin A. Wood, Iain D. Emmons, Erika M. Nowak, Bruce L. Christman, Andrew T. Holycross, Amy G. Vandergast