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: 5115
Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) isotopic niches: Stable isotopes reveal diverse foraging strategies and habitat use in Arctic Alaska Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) isotopic niches: Stable isotopes reveal diverse foraging strategies and habitat use in Arctic Alaska
Understanding the ecological niche of some fishes is complicated by their frequent use of a broad range of food resources and habitats across space and time. Little is known about Broad Whitefish (Coregonus nasus) ecological niches in Arctic landscapes even though they are an important subsistence species for Alaska’s Indigenous communities. We investigated the foraging ecology and...
Authors
Jason C. Leppi, Daniel J. Rinella, Mark S. Wipfli, Matthew S. Whitman
A framework for integrating inferred movement behavior into disease risk models A framework for integrating inferred movement behavior into disease risk models
Movement behavior is an important contributor to habitat selection and its incorporation in disease risk models has been somewhat neglected. The habitat preferences of host individuals affect their probability of exposure to pathogens. If preference behavior can be incorporated in ecological niche models (ENMs) when data on pathogen distributions are available, then variation in such...
Authors
Eric R. Dougherty, Dana P. Seidel, Jason K. Blackburn, Wendy Christine Turner, Wayne M. Getz
Biodiversity is decimated by the cascading effects of the amphibian-killing chytrid fungus Biodiversity is decimated by the cascading effects of the amphibian-killing chytrid fungus
No abstract available.
Authors
Elise F. Zipkin, Graziella Vittoria DiRenzo
Fuels and vegetation changes in southwestern, unburned portions of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA, 2003-2019 Fuels and vegetation changes in southwestern, unburned portions of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA, 2003-2019
Overstory basal area, ericaceous shrub cover (Kalmia latifolia L. and Rhododendron maximum L.), and fuels (i.e., woody fuel loads and depths and O Horizon thickness) were assessed within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA, in 2003 − 2004. Due to recent wildfire activity within the southern Appalachian Mountain region (including Great Smoky Mountains National Park), the potential...
Authors
T. Adam Coates, W. Mark Ford
Using piecewise regression to identify biological phenomena in biotelemetry datasets Using piecewise regression to identify biological phenomena in biotelemetry datasets
1. Technological advances in the field of animal tracking have greatly expanded the potential to remotely monitor animals, opening the door to exploring how animals shift their behavior over time or respond to external stimuli. A wide variety of animal-borne sensors can provide information on an animal’s location, movement characteristics, external environmental conditions, and internal
Authors
David W. Wolfson, David E. Andersen, John R. Fieberg
Large-scale distribution models for optimal prediction of Eastern black rail habitat within tidal ecosystems Large-scale distribution models for optimal prediction of Eastern black rail habitat within tidal ecosystems
Eastern black rails (Laterallus jamaicensis jamaicensis) are among the rarest and least-studied birds in North America and were recently listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Spatial models that predict habitat quality across the subspecies range are therefore needed to inform conservation, recovery, and monitoring efforts for this rare bird. We used data from 47...
Authors
Bryan S. Stevens, Courtney J. Conway, Kirsten Luke, Aimee Weldon, Christy Hand, Amy Schwarzer, Fletcher Smith, Craig Watson, Bryan D. Watts
Africa’s drylands in a changing world: Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape Africa’s drylands in a changing world: Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape
Proclaimed in 1907, Etosha National Park in northern Namibia is an iconic dryland system with a rich history of wildlife conservation and research. A recent research symposium on wildlife conservation in the Greater Etosha Landscape (GEL) highlighted increased concern of how intensification of global change will affect wildlife conservation based on participant responses to a...
Authors
Wendy Christine Turner, Stéphanie Périquet, Claire E. Goelst, Kimberlie B. Vera, Elissa Z. Cameron, Kathleen A. Alexander, Jerrold L. Belant, Claudine C. Cloete, Pierre du Preez, Wayne M. Getz, Robyn S. Hetem, Pauline L. Kamath, Marthin K. Kasaona, Monique Mackenzie, John Mendelsohn, John K.E. Mfune, Jeff Muntifering, Ruben Portas, H. Ann Scott, W. Maartin Strauss, Wilferd Versfeld, Bettina Wachter, George Wittemyer, J. Werner Kilian
Drought and nutrient pollution produce multiple interactive effects in stream ecosystems Drought and nutrient pollution produce multiple interactive effects in stream ecosystems
Drought and nutrient pollution can affect the dynamics of stream ecosystems in diverse ways. While the individual effects of both stressors are broadly examined in the literature, we still know relatively little about if and how these stressors interact. Here, we performed a mesocosm experiment that explores the compounded effects of seasonal drought via water withdrawals and nutrient...
Authors
R.J. Fournier, Daniel D. Magoulick
Trout responses to stocking rates and river discharge within a southeast U.S. hydropeaking tailwater Trout responses to stocking rates and river discharge within a southeast U.S. hydropeaking tailwater
Freshwater fish populations often exist in systems characterized by novel ecological processes resulting from human alteration. Salmonid populations embedded within coldwater sections of warmwater rivers are spatially constrained by habitat availability. Tailwater fish contend with fluctuating river discharges and density-dependent processes associated with fish stocking and exploitation...
Authors
Jonathan J. Spurgeon, Joseph Kaiser, Christy Graham, Steve Lochmann
Morphological traits related to potential invasiveness of two subspecies of the crayfish Faxonius neglectus Morphological traits related to potential invasiveness of two subspecies of the crayfish Faxonius neglectus
Biological invasions have major environmental and economic impacts, and pose a serious threat to global biodiversity. Invasive crayfish species are one of the greatest threats to native crayfish biodiversity. Additionally, almost 50% of US and Canadian species are considered at risk, making crayfish one of the most imperiled taxonomic groups in the world. Small-scale (extralimital)...
Authors
Daniel D. Magoulick, K. Carter Wynne, Jessica Clark
Co-occurrence models fail to infer underlying patterns of avoidance and aggregation when closure is violated Co-occurrence models fail to infer underlying patterns of avoidance and aggregation when closure is violated
Advances in multi-species monitoring have prompted an increase in the use of multi-species occupancy analyses to assess patterns of co-occurrence among species, even when data were collected at scales likely violating the assumption that sites were closed to changes in the occupancy state for the target species. Violating the closure assumption may lead to erroneous conclusions related...
Authors
Robert Charles Lonsinger
Failure to achieve recommended environmental flows coincides with declining fish populations: Long-term trends in regulated and unregulated rivers Failure to achieve recommended environmental flows coincides with declining fish populations: Long-term trends in regulated and unregulated rivers
Dams can be operated to mimic components of the natural flow regime to minimise impacts on downstream ecosystems. However, infrastructure, societal needs, water management, and catchment runoff constrain which and when flow regime attributes can be mimicked.We compared fish assemblage responses, including native and non-native species, over 2 decades of managed environmental flows to...
Authors
Casey A. Pennock, Lindsey Ann Bruckerhoff, Keith B. Gido, Adam L. Barkalow, Matthew J. Breen, Phaedra E. Budy, William W. Macfarlane, David L. Propst