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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: 6151

Modeling false positives Modeling false positives

Many of the models we are concerned with included explicit descriptions of false negative errors. However, false positive errors can also be commin in practice, especially in citizen science applications where observer skill is highly variable. In addition, new methods which determine detection based on statistical classification or machine learning methods are also prone to false...
Authors
Marc Kery, Andy Royle

Variables affecting resource subsidies from streams and rivers to land and their susceptibility to global change stressors Variables affecting resource subsidies from streams and rivers to land and their susceptibility to global change stressors

Stream and river ecosystems provide subsidies of emergent adult aquatic insects and other resources to terrestrial food webs, and this lotic–land subsidy has garnered much attention in recent research. Here, we critically examine a list of biotic and abiotic variables—including productivity, dominant taxa, geomorphology, and weather—that should be important in affecting the nature of...
Authors
Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Stefano Larsen, Micael Jonsson, Erik J.S. Emilson

Metamorphosis and the impact of contaminants on ecological subsidies Metamorphosis and the impact of contaminants on ecological subsidies

Animals with complex life histories such as aquatic insects and amphibians link freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems when they transition from water to land during development. This transition requires metamorphosis from juvenile to adult life stages. Metamorphosis is a stressful and ecologically sensitive life history event. Exposure to contaminants during juvenile development (before...
Authors
Jeff Wesner, Johanna M. Kraus, Brianna L. Henry, Jacob Kerby

Introduction: Ecological subsidies as a framework for understanding contaminant fate, exposure, and effects at the land-water interface Introduction: Ecological subsidies as a framework for understanding contaminant fate, exposure, and effects at the land-water interface

Ecologists have long recognized that ecological subsidies (the flow of organic matter, nutrients, and organisms between ecosystems) can strongly affect ecosystem processes and community structure in the recipient ecosystem. Animal movements, organic matter flows, and food web dynamics between linked aquatic and terrestrial systems can also influence contaminant fate, exposure, and...
Authors
David Walters, Johanna M. Kraus, Marc A. Mills

Practical considerations for the incorporation of insect-mediated contaminant flux into ecological risk assessments Practical considerations for the incorporation of insect-mediated contaminant flux into ecological risk assessments

Insect-mediated contaminant flux is truly an interdisciplinary concept that merges ideas from many technical areas of science (e.g., environmental chemistry, landscape ecology, and entomology). This chapter introduces risk assessors to this emerging and ecologically relevant concept by distilling the main mechanisms that drive insect-mediated contaminant flux and integrating them...
Authors
Ryan R. Otter, Gale B. Beaubien, Connor I. Olson, David Walters, Marc A. Mills

Synthesis: A framework for predicting the dark side of ecological subsidies Synthesis: A framework for predicting the dark side of ecological subsidies

In this chapter, we synthesize the state of the science regarding ecological subsidies and contaminants at the land-water interface and suggest research and management approaches for linked freshwater-terrestrial ecosystems. Specifically, we focus on movements of animals with complex life histories and the detrital inputs associated with animal and plant matter delivered to freshwaters...
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, Jeff Wessner, David Walters

Cross-ecosystem linkages and trace metals at the land-water interface Cross-ecosystem linkages and trace metals at the land-water interface

At low concentrations, trace metals are critical for sustaining life on Earth. However, at high concentrations, they become a global contaminant with particularly strong effects on freshwater communities. These effects can propagate to terrestrial ecosystems in part by altering production and community structure of adult aquatic insect emergence and aquatic insect-mediated metal fluxes...
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus, Justin F. Pomeranz

A checklist for crisis operations within volcano observatories A checklist for crisis operations within volcano observatories

We draw on our experience in assisting with international crises through the volcano disaster assistance program (VDAP) and during the eruptions of Mount St. Helens in 1980–1986 and 2004–2008 to offer recommendations for successful observatory operations during times of crisis. The degree of success in responding to a crisis is profoundly affected by the degree of preparation before a...
Authors
Christopher Newhall, John S. Pallister, C. Dan Miller

Volcano geodesy: A critical tool for assessing the state of volcanoes and their potential for hazardous eruptive activity Volcano geodesy: A critical tool for assessing the state of volcanoes and their potential for hazardous eruptive activity

Since the beginning of the 20th century, volcano geodesy has evolved from time- and personnel-intensive methods for collecting discrete measurements to automated and/or remote tools that provide data with exceptional spatiotemporal resolution. By acknowledging and overcoming limitations related to data collection and interpretation, geodesy becomes a powerful tool for forecasting the...
Authors
Michael Poland, Elske de Zeeuw-van Dalfsen

Case Study 4: NABat acoustic monitoring allows inferences about bat populations at multiple scales Case Study 4: NABat acoustic monitoring allows inferences about bat populations at multiple scales

North American bats face unprecedented risks from continuing and emerging threats including white-nose syndrome, wind energy development, and habitat loss. Many species of bats are thought to be recently experiencing unparalleled population declines unlike any previously observed (O’Shea et al. 2016). The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) was conceived to better understand...
Authors
Brian Reichert, Thomas J. Rodhouse, Susan Loeb, Jason Rae

An ecological and conservation perspective An ecological and conservation perspective

Natural ecosystems are facing unprecedented threats which directly threaten human well-being through decreases in critical ecosystem services (IPBES 2019). The top five drivers causing the largest global impacts to biodiversity and ecosystem services include: 1) changes in land and sea use; 2) direct exploitation of organisms; 3) climate change; 4) pollution, and 5) invasive alien...
Authors
C. LeAnn White, Julia S. Lankton, Daniel P. Walsh, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Craig Stephen
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