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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.

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Toxicity of elevated partial pressures of carbon dioxide to invasive New Zealand mudsnails Toxicity of elevated partial pressures of carbon dioxide to invasive New Zealand mudsnails

The authors tested the efficacy of elevated partial pressures of CO2 to kill invasive New Zealand mudsnails. The New Zealand mudsnails were exposed to 100 kPa at three water temperatures, and the survival was modeled versus dose as cumulative °C-h. We estimated an LD50 of 59.4°C-h for adult and juvenile New Zealand mudsnails. The results suggest that CO2 may be an effective and...
Authors
R. Jordan Nielson, Christine M. Moffitt, Barnaby J. Watten

Baseline for beached marine debris on Sand Island, Midway Atoll Baseline for beached marine debris on Sand Island, Midway Atoll

Baseline measurements were made of the amount and weight of beached marine debris on Sand Island, Midway Atoll, June 2008–July 2010. On 23 surveys, 32,696 total debris objects (identifiable items and pieces) were collected; total weight was 740.4 kg. Seventy-two percent of the total was pieces; 91% of the pieces were made of plastic materials. Pieces were composed primarily of...
Authors
Christine Ribic, Seba B. Sheavly, John Klavitter

Population dynamics of king eiders breeding in northern Alaska Population dynamics of king eiders breeding in northern Alaska

The North American population of king eiders (Somateria spectabilis) has declined by more than 50% since the late 1970s for unknown reasons. King eiders spend most of their lives in remote areas, forcing managers to make regulatory and conservation decisions based on very little information. We incorporated available published estimates of vital rates with new estimates to build a female...
Authors
Rebecca L. Bentzen, Abby N. Powell

Field information links permafrost carbon to physical vulnerabilities of thawing Field information links permafrost carbon to physical vulnerabilities of thawing

Deep soil profiles containing permafrost (Gelisols) were characterized for organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) stocks to 3m depths. Using the Community Climate System Model (CCSM4) we calculate cumulative probability functions (PDFs) for active layer depths under current and future climates. The difference in PDFs over time was multiplied by C and N contents of soil horizons in...
Authors
Jennifer W. Harden, Charles Koven, Chien-Lu Ping, Gustaf Hugelius, A. David McGuire, P. Camill, Torre Jorgenson, Peter Kuhry, Gary Michaelson, Jonathan A. O’Donnell, Edward A.G. Schuur, Charles Tamocai, Kevin Johnson, G. Grosse

Elk migration patterns and human activity influence wolf habitat use in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Elk migration patterns and human activity influence wolf habitat use in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Identifying the ecological dynamics underlying human–wildlife conflicts is important for the management and conservation of wildlife populations. In landscapes still occupied by large carnivores, many ungulate prey species migrate seasonally, yet little empirical research has explored the relationship between carnivore distribution and ungulate migration strategy. In this study, we...
Authors
Abigail Nelson, Matthew J. Kauffman, Arthur D. Middleton, Mike Jimenez, Douglas McWhirter, Jarrett Barber, Ken Gerow

Insight on invasions and resilience derived from spatiotemporal discontinuities of biomass at local and regional scales Insight on invasions and resilience derived from spatiotemporal discontinuities of biomass at local and regional scales

Understanding the social and ecological consequences of species invasions is complicated by nonlinearities in processes, and differences in process and structure as scale is changed. Here we use discontinuity analyses to investigate nonlinear patterns in the distribution of biomass of an invasive nuisance species that could indicate scale-specific organization. We analyze biomass...
Authors
David G. Angeler, Criag R. Allen, Richard K. Johnson

Carbon storage, timber production, and biodiversity: comparing ecosystem services with multi-criteria decision analysis Carbon storage, timber production, and biodiversity: comparing ecosystem services with multi-criteria decision analysis

Increasingly, land managers seek ways to manage forests for multiple ecosystem services and functions, yet considerable challenges exist in comparing disparate services and balancing trade-offs among them. We applied multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and forest simulation models to simultaneously consider three objectives: (1) storing carbon, (2) producing timber and wood products...
Authors
W. Scott Schwenk, Therese Donovan, William S. Keeton, Jared S. Nunery

Effects of chronic wasting disease on reproduction and fawn harvest vulnerability in Wisconsin white-tailed deer Effects of chronic wasting disease on reproduction and fawn harvest vulnerability in Wisconsin white-tailed deer

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy that affects free-ranging and captive North American cervids. Although the impacts of CWD on cervid survival have been documented, little is known about the disease impacts on reproduction and recruitment. We used genetic methods and harvest data (2002–04) to reconstruct parentage for a cohort of white...
Authors
Julie A. Blanchong, Daniel A. Grear, Byron V. Weckworth, Delwyn P. Keane, Kim T. Scribner, Michael D. Samuel

An assessment of the carbon balance of arctic tundra: comparisons among observations, process models, and atmospheric inversions An assessment of the carbon balance of arctic tundra: comparisons among observations, process models, and atmospheric inversions

Although arctic tundra has been estimated to cover only 8% of the global land surface, the large and potentially labile carbon pools currently stored in tundra soils have the potential for large emissions of carbon (C) under a warming climate. These emissions as radiatively active greenhouse gases in the form of both CO2 and CH4 could amplify global warming. Given the potential...
Authors
A. D. McGuire, T.R. Christensen, D. Hayes, A. Heroult, E. Euskirchen, Y. Yi, J.S. Kimball, C. Koven, P. Lafleur, P.A. Miller, W. Oechel, P. Peylin, Murray Williams

An algal model for predicting attainment of tiered biological criteria of Maine's streams and rivers An algal model for predicting attainment of tiered biological criteria of Maine's streams and rivers

State water-quality professionals developing new biological assessment methods often have difficulty relating assessment results to narrative criteria in water-quality standards. An alternative to selecting index thresholds arbitrarily is to include the Biological Condition Gradient (BCG) in the development of the assessment method. The BCG describes tiers of biological community...
Authors
Thomas J. Danielson, Cyndy Loftin, Leonidas Tsomides, Jeanne L. DiFranco, Beth Connors, David L. Courtemanch, Francis Drummond, Susan Davies

Mammals of Red Slough Wildlife Management Area, with comments on McCurtain County, Oklahoma Mammals of Red Slough Wildlife Management Area, with comments on McCurtain County, Oklahoma

Red Slough Wildlife Management Area (RSWMA) is located in the southeastern corner of Oklahoma, McCurtain County, and represents the extreme northwestern extent of the South Central Plains (SCP) ecoregion. Previous mammal research in southeastern Oklahoma has focused mostly on the Ouachita Mountains to the north of RSWMA. As a result, of the 69 species of mammals potentially occurring in...
Authors
Zachary P. Roehrs, Justin B. Lack, Craig E. Stanley, Christopher J. Seiden, Robert Bastarache, W. David Arbour, Meredith J. Hamilton, David M. Leslie, Ronald A. Van Den Bussche
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