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Publications

Browse publications authored by our scientists.  Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more. 

 

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Filter Total Items: 5125

Predicting species-habitat relationships: Does body size matter? Predicting species-habitat relationships: Does body size matter?

Context. Allometric scaling laws are foundational to structuring processes from cellular to ecosystem levels. The idea that allometric relationships underlie species characteristic selection scales, the spatial scales at which species respond to landscape features, has recently been investigated, however, supporting empirical evidence is scarce. Objectives. Lack of pattern can be...
Authors
E.F. Stuber, L. Gruber, Joseph J. Fontaine

Effects of landscape characteristics on annual survival of Lesser Prairie-Chickens Effects of landscape characteristics on annual survival of Lesser Prairie-Chickens

Agriculture and development have caused landscape change throughout the southwestern Great Plains in the range of the lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus). Landscape alteration within the lesser prairie-chicken range may contribute to range contraction and population losses through decreases in survival rates. Our objectives were to determine if: (1) landscape...
Authors
Samantha G. Robinson, David A. Haukos, Reid T. Plumb, John D. Kraft, Daniel S. Sullins, Joseph M. Lautenbach, Jonathan D. Lautenbach, Brett K. Sandercock, Christian A. Hagen, Anne M. Bartuszevige, Mindy B. Rice

Comparison of a prepositioned areal electrofishing device and fixed underwater videography for sampling riverine fishes Comparison of a prepositioned areal electrofishing device and fixed underwater videography for sampling riverine fishes

Prepositioned areal electrofishing devices (PAEDs) are used to evaluate microhabitat use by fishes because they minimize fright biases associated with traditional electrofishing techniques (e.g., boat electrofishing). Similarly, fixed underwater videography (FUV) is commonly used to minimize the effect of observers on fish behavior. The specific objectives of this research were to...
Authors
Philip R. Branigan, Michael C. Quist, Bradley B. Shepard, Susan C. Ireland

Message in a bottle: The story of drifting plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea Message in a bottle: The story of drifting plastic in the eastern Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a closed basin with limited water exchange through the Strait of Gibraltar, and sites along its shores show the greatest densities of marine debris in the world. Plastic bottles, which are a growing concern due to high consumption of soft drinks and bottled water, constitute most of the floating marine debris. In this paper we present the transport mechanisms of...
Authors
Galia Pasternak, Dov Zviely, Asaf Ariel, Ehud Spanier, Christine Ribic

Animal movement models for migratory individuals and groups Animal movement models for migratory individuals and groups

Animals often exhibit changes in their behaviour during migration. Telemetry data provide a way to observe geographic position of animals over time, but not necessarily changes in the dynamics of the movement process. Continuous‐time models allow for statistical predictions of the trajectory in the presence of measurement error and during periods when the telemetry device did not record...
Authors
Mevin Hooten, Henry R. Scharf, Trevor J. Hefley, Aaron T. Pearse, Mitch D. Weegman

Rearing performance of juvenile brown trout Salmo trutta fed a bioprocessed soybean meal diet with differing velocity regimes Rearing performance of juvenile brown trout Salmo trutta fed a bioprocessed soybean meal diet with differing velocity regimes

This 121-day experiment evaluated the rearing performance of brown trout Salmo trutta fed one of two isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets (46% protein, 16% lipid) and reared at velocities of either 2.8 or 16.1 cm/s. Fishmeal was the primary protein source for the reference diet, which was compared to a bioprocessed soybean meal ingredient that replaced approximately 67% of the fishmeal in...
Authors
Jill M. Voorhees, Michael Barnes, Steven R. Chipps, Michael Browne

Let’s agree to disagree: Comparing auto-acoustic identification programs for northeastern bats Let’s agree to disagree: Comparing auto-acoustic identification programs for northeastern bats

With the declines in abundance and changing distribution of white-nose syndrome–affected bat species, increased reliance on acoustic monitoring is now the new “normal.” As such, the ability to accurately identify individual bat species with acoustic identification programs has become increasingly important. We assessed rates of disagreement between the three U.S. Fish and Wildlife...
Authors
W. Mark Ford, Tomás Nocera, Alexander Silvis, Christopher A. Dobony

Perspectives and future directions Perspectives and future directions

No abstract available.
Authors
Stephen DeStefano, Clint W. Boal

Experimental evidence of long-term reproductive costs in a colonial nesting seabird Experimental evidence of long-term reproductive costs in a colonial nesting seabird

Trade-offs between current and future reproduction are central to the evolution of life histories. Experiments that manipulate brood size provide an effective approach to investigating future costs of current reproduction. Most manipulative studies to date, however, have addressed only the short-term effects of brood size manipulation. Our goal was to determine whether survival or...
Authors
Aly McKnight, Erik J. Blomberg, Gregory H. Golet, David B. Irons, Cyndy Loftin, Shawn T. McKinney

Efficiently optimizing for dendritic connectivity on tree-structured networks in a multi-objective framework Efficiently optimizing for dendritic connectivity on tree-structured networks in a multi-objective framework

We provide an exact and approximation algorithm based on Dynamic Programming and an approximation algorithm based on Mixed Integer Programming for optimizing for the so-called dendritic connectivity on tree-structured networks in a multi-objective setting. Dendritic connectivity describes the degree of connectedness of a network. We consider different variants of dendritic connectivity...
Authors
Quinru Shi, Jonathan M. Gomes-Selman, Roosevelt García-Villacorta, Suresh Sethi, Alexander S. Flecker, Carla P. Gomes

Age and performance at fledging are a cause and consequence of juvenile mortality between life stages Age and performance at fledging are a cause and consequence of juvenile mortality between life stages

Should they stay or should they leave? The age at which young transition between life stages, such as living in a nest versus leaving it, differs among species and the reasons why are unclear. We show that offspring of songbird species that leave the nest at a younger age have less developed wings that cause poorer flight performance and greater mortality after fledging. Experimentally...
Authors
Thomas E. Martin, Bret Tobalske, Margaret M. Riordan, Samuel B. Case, Kenneth P. Dial

Landscape composition mediates movement and habitat selection in bobcats (Lynx rufus): Implications for conservation planning Landscape composition mediates movement and habitat selection in bobcats (Lynx rufus): Implications for conservation planning

Context The analysis of individual movement choices can be used to better understand population-level resource selection and inform management.Objectives We investigated movements and habitat selection of 13 bobcats in Vermont, USA, under the assumption individuals makes choices based upon their current location. Results were used to identify “movement-defined” corridors.Methods We used...
Authors
Hanem G. Abouelezz, Therese M. Donovan, Ruth M. Mickey, James D. Murdoch, Mark Freeman, Kimberly Royar
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