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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: 6195

Introduction to life cycles, taxonomy, distribution and basic research techniques Introduction to life cycles, taxonomy, distribution and basic research techniques

Avian haemosporidian parasites are a closely related group of apicomplexan parasites with important similarities in their life cycles, development, physiology, and reproduction. Current phylogenies based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes reflect more traditional attempts to classify these organisms based on life history characteristics and morphology, but limited sampling from poorly
Authors
Gediminas Valkiunas, Carter T. Atkinson

Modeling population dynamics with count data Modeling population dynamics with count data

In this chapter, we describe models of open populations that are subject to change over time due to additions and subtractions. Additions may be in the form of recruitment and immigration, and subtractions may be in the form of mortality, emigration, or both. Conceptually, these models are described by the Birth-Immigration-Death-Emigration (BIDE) model of population dynamics (Conroy and...
Authors
Marc Kery, J. Andrew Royle

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, J. Andrew 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 M. 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 M. 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
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