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
State-dependent behavior alters endocrine–energy relationship: Implications for conservation and management State-dependent behavior alters endocrine–energy relationship: Implications for conservation and management
Glucocorticoids (GC) and triiodothyronine (T3) are two endocrine markers commonly used to quantify resource limitation, yet the relationships between these markers and the energetic state of animals has been studied primarily in small-bodied species in captivity. Free-ranging animals, however, adjust energy intake in accordance with their energy reserves, a behavior known as state...
Authors
Brett R. Jesmer, Jacob R. Goheen, Kevin L. Monteith, Matthew J. Kauffman
Incorporating population viability models into species status assessment and listing decisions under the U.S. Endangered Species Act Incorporating population viability models into species status assessment and listing decisions under the U.S. Endangered Species Act
Assessment of a species' status is a key part of management decision making for endangered and threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Predicting the future state of the species is an essential part of species status assessment, and projection models can play an important role in developing predictions. We built a stochastic simulation model that incorporated parametric...
Authors
Conor P. McGowan, Nathan Allan, Jeff Servoss, Shaula J. Hedwall, Brian Wooldridge
Trophic pathways supporting Arctic grayling in a small stream on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska Trophic pathways supporting Arctic grayling in a small stream on the Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska
Beaded streams are prominent across the Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) of Alaska, yet prey flow and food web dynamics supporting fish inhabiting these streams are poorly understood. Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) are a widely distributed upper-level consumer on the ACP and migrate into beaded streams to forage during the short 3-month open-water season. We investigated energy pathways...
Authors
Jason J. McFarland, Mark S. Wipfli, Matthew S. Whitman
The effectiveness of surrogate taxa to conserve freshwater biodiversity The effectiveness of surrogate taxa to conserve freshwater biodiversity
Establishing protected areas has long been an effective conservation strategy, and is often based on more readily surveyed species. The potential of any freshwater taxa to be a surrogate of other aquatic groups has not been fully explored. We compiled occurrence data on 72 species of freshwater fish, amphibians, mussels, and aquatic reptiles for the Great Plains, Wyoming. We used...
Authors
David R. Stewart, Zachary E. Underwood, Frank J. Rahel, Annika W. Walters
The blind men meet the elephant at the dam: Alternative spatial and taxonomic components reveal different insights about how low-head dams impact fish biodiversity The blind men meet the elephant at the dam: Alternative spatial and taxonomic components reveal different insights about how low-head dams impact fish biodiversity
Dams are ubiquitous environmental impacts that threaten aquatic ecosystems. The ability to compare across research studies is essential to conserve the native biodiversity that is impacted by the millions of low‐head dams that currently fragment streams and rivers. Here, we identify a previously unaddressed obstacle that impedes this generalization. Specifically, divergent spatial and...
Authors
Jane S. Fencl, Martha E. Mather, Joseph M. Smith, Sean M. Hitchman
Using genetic and phenotypic comparisons to evaluate apparent segregation among Kokanee spawning groups Using genetic and phenotypic comparisons to evaluate apparent segregation among Kokanee spawning groups
Genetic and phenotypic traits of spatially and temporally segregated kokanee Oncorhynchus nerka spawning groups in Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, were compared to test for evidence of divergence on the basis of ecotype (stream spawners versus shoreline spawners) and spawn timing and to describe morphological, life history, and reproductive variation within and among groups. Early and late...
Authors
Steven L. Whitlock, Matthew R. Campbell, Michael C. Quist, Andrew M. Dux
Wanted dead or alive: A state-space mark-recapture-recovery model incorporating multiple recovery types and state uncertainty Wanted dead or alive: A state-space mark-recapture-recovery model incorporating multiple recovery types and state uncertainty
We developed a state-space mark-recapture-recovery model that incorporates multiple recovery types and state uncertainty to estimate survival of an anadromous fish species. We apply the model to a dataset of out-migrating juvenile steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) tagged with passive integrated transponders, recaptured during outmigration, and recovered on bird colonies in the...
Authors
Nathan J. Hostetter, Beth Gardner, Allen F. Evans, Bradley M. Cramer, Quinn Payton, Ken Collis, Daniel D. Roby
Patterns of distribution, abundance, and change over time in a subarctic marine bird community Patterns of distribution, abundance, and change over time in a subarctic marine bird community
Over recent decades, marine ecosystems of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, have experienced concurrent effects of natural and anthropogenic perturbations, including variability in the climate system of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. We documented spatial and temporal patterns of variability in the summer marine bird community in relation to habitat and climate variability using boat...
Authors
Daniel Cushing, Daniel D. Roby, David B. Irons
The first hop: Use of Beaufort Sea deltas by hatch-year semipalmated sandpipers The first hop: Use of Beaufort Sea deltas by hatch-year semipalmated sandpipers
River deltas along Alaska’s Beaufort Sea coast are used by hatch-year semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) after leaving their terrestrial natal sites, but the drivers of their use of these stopover sites on the first “hop” of fall migration are unknown. We quantified sandpiper temporal distribution and abundance as related to food resources at three river deltas during the...
Authors
Roy T. Churchwell, Steve J. Kendall, Stephen C. Brown, Arny L. Blanchard, Tuula E. Hollmen, Abby Powell
A concept for performance management for Federal science programs A concept for performance management for Federal science programs
The demonstration of clear linkages between planning, funding, outcomes, and performance management has created unique challenges for U.S. Federal science programs. An approach is presented here that characterizes science program strategic objectives by one of five “activity types”: (1) knowledge discovery, (2) knowledge development and delivery, (3) science support, (4) inventory and...
Authors
Kevin G. Whalen
Are shovelnose sturgeon a valid diet surrogate for endangered pallid sturgeon during the first year of life? Are shovelnose sturgeon a valid diet surrogate for endangered pallid sturgeon during the first year of life?
No abstract available.
Authors
N.J.C. Gosch, A. P. Civiello, T. R. Gemeinhardt, J. L. Bonneau, James M. Long
Examining the occupancy–density relationship for a low-density carnivore Examining the occupancy–density relationship for a low-density carnivore
The challenges associated with monitoring low-density carnivores across large landscapes have limited the ability to implement and evaluate conservation and management strategies for such species. Non-invasive sampling techniques and advanced statistical approaches have alleviated some of these challenges and can even allow for spatially explicit estimates of density, one of the most...
Authors
Daniel W. Linden, Angela K. Fuller, J. Andrew Royle, Matthew P. Hare