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Book Chapters

Browse more than 5,500 book chapters authored by our scientists over the past 100+ year history of the USGS and refine search by topic, location, year, and advanced search.

Filter Total Items: 6158

Recommendations for the use of mist nets for inventory and monitoring of bird populations Recommendations for the use of mist nets for inventory and monitoring of bird populations

We provide recommendations on the best practices for mist netting for the purposes of monitoring population parameters such as abundance and demography. Studies should be carefully thought out before nets are set up, to ensure that sampling design and estimated sample size will allow study objectives to be met. Station location, number of nets, type of nets, net placement, and schedule...
Authors
C. John Ralph, Erica H. Dunn, Will J. Peach, Colleen M. Handel

Riparian ecosystem assessments Riparian ecosystem assessments

No abstract available.
Authors
J. Stromberg, M. Briggs, M. Scott, P. Shafroth

Sagebrush ecosystems: current status and trends. Sagebrush ecosystems: current status and trends.

The sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) biome has changed since settlement by Europeans. The current distribution, composition and dynamics, and disturbance regimes of sagebrush ecosystems have been altered by interactions among disturbance, land use, and invasion of exotic plants. In this chapter, we present the dominant factors that have influenced habitats across the sagebrush biome. Using a...
Authors
E.A. Beever, J.W. Connelly, S.T. Knick, M.A. Schroeder, S. J. Stiver

Seasonal methane emissions by diffusion and ebullition from oligohaline marsh environments in coastal Louisiana Seasonal methane emissions by diffusion and ebullition from oligohaline marsh environments in coastal Louisiana

Methane is an important atmospheric greenhouse gas that is emitted from many natural and anthropogenic sources. In order to evaluate the global methane budget, precise data are needed from the diverse sources including coastal wetlands. Over 100 time-series determinations of methane emissions from an oligohaline wetland (brackish marsh) in coastal Louisiana show large variability during...
Authors
Joel S. Leventhal, Glenn R. Guntenspergen

Sierra Nevada bioregion Sierra Nevada bioregion

This chapter addresses the immediately south of the Cascades in the Sierra Nevada bioregion, extending nearly half the length of the state of California. This bioregion is one of the most striking features of the state of California, extending from the southern Cascade Mountains in the north to the Tehachapi Mountains and Mojave Desert 700 km to the south. Moreover, the fire responses of...
Authors
J. W. van Wagtendonk, J. Fites-Kaufman

Some consequences of using counts of birds banded as indices to populations Some consequences of using counts of birds banded as indices to populations

In mist-net studies, it is often difficult to use capture-recapture methods to estimate number of birds present. Many investigators use number of birds captured as an index of population size. We investigate the consequences of using indices of bird abundance as surrogates for population size in hypothesis tests. Unless all of the birds present are captured, indices are biased estimates...
Authors
J.R. Sauer, W.A. Link

Tectonic, climatic, and land-use controls on groundwater recharge in an arid alluvial basin, Amargosa Desert Tectonic, climatic, and land-use controls on groundwater recharge in an arid alluvial basin, Amargosa Desert

Unsaturated-zone profiles in alluvial sediments of the Amargosa Desert reveal distinct patterns of groundwater recharge corresponding to tectono-geomorphic setting and land-use history. Profiles of water potential, water content, and solute concentrations beneath irrigated fields, undisturbed native vegetation, and the normally dry channel of the Amargosa River reflect strongly...
Authors
David A. Stonestrom, David E. Prudic, Randell J. Laczniak, Katherine Akstin

The future of fire in California ecosystems The future of fire in California ecosystems

This chapter reviews the concepts developed in the book and challenges Californians to accept the fact that they live in fire-prone ecosystems. California’s variety of fire regimes are products of its wide diversity of vegetation, climate, topography, and ignitions. The role fire plays in an ecosystem is characterized by the fire regime attributes that describe the pattern of fire...
Authors
N. G. Sugihara, J. W. van Wagtendonk, J. Fites-Kaufman, K. E. Shaffer, A. E. Thode

The mute swan, its status, behavior, and history in the U. K The mute swan, its status, behavior, and history in the U. K

For many years the mute swan has been considered a royal bird. It is a prominent resident throughout the United Kingdom (U.K.), often found on the inland waterways. Some people consider it to be a nonmigratory native bird because it doesn't tend to move large distances and doesn't often venture far from freshwater. A mute swan may often live out its life cycle in the same river valley in...
Authors
E.J.R. Lohnes
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