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: 5050
An integrated analysis for estimation of survival, growth, and movement of unmarked juvenile anadromous fish An integrated analysis for estimation of survival, growth, and movement of unmarked juvenile anadromous fish
Managers invest substantial resources to promote recovery of declining anadromous fish stocks. Recovery strategies are manifold and often include management actions intended to stimulate somatic growth, increase in-river survival, and motivate juvenile outmigration during favorable environmental conditions. Evaluating the efficacy of these management actions is difficult, however...
Authors
Patti J. Wohner, Adam Duarte, James T. Peterson
An evaluation of tradeoffs in restoring ephemeral vs. perennial habitats to conserve animal populations An evaluation of tradeoffs in restoring ephemeral vs. perennial habitats to conserve animal populations
Introduction: Habitat loss and degradation pose significant threats to global fish and wildlife populations, prompting substantial investments in habitat creation and restoration efforts. Not all habitats provide equal benefits, leading to challenges in prioritizing restoration actions. For example, juvenile anadromous salmonids require high quality rearing aquatic habitats to achieve...
Authors
James T. Peterson, Adam Duarte
Spawning run estimates and phenology for an extremely small population of Atlantic Sturgeon in the Marshyhope Creek–Nanticoke River system, Chesapeake Bay Spawning run estimates and phenology for an extremely small population of Atlantic Sturgeon in the Marshyhope Creek–Nanticoke River system, Chesapeake Bay
Objective Once thought to be extirpated from the Chesapeake Bay, fall spawning runs of Atlantic Sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus have been rediscovered in the Marshyhope Creek (MC)–Nanticoke River (NR) system of Maryland, United States. High recapture rates in past telemetry surveys suggested a small population in the two connected tributaries. This study aims to generate estimates of...
Authors
Nicholas Coleman, Dewayne Fox, Ashlee Horne, Nathan J. Hostetter, John Madsen, Michael O’Brien, Ian Park, Chuck Stence, David Secor
Population density and zooplankton biomass influence anadromous juvenile river herring growth in freshwater lakes Population density and zooplankton biomass influence anadromous juvenile river herring growth in freshwater lakes
Anadromous river herring populations, collectively alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus) and blueback herring (Alosa aestivalis), have experienced a multi-century decline in abundance and distribution. These declines have been attributed in part to anthropogenic threats in freshwater ecosystems (e.g., habitat fragmentation, overharvest, water pollution, watershed development). An understanding...
Authors
Matthew T. Devine, Steven Bittner, Allison H. Roy, Benjamin I. Gahagan, Michael P. Armstrong, Adrian Jordaan
Accounting for missing ticks: Use (or lack thereof) of hierarchical models in tick ecology studies Accounting for missing ticks: Use (or lack thereof) of hierarchical models in tick ecology studies
Ixodid (hard) ticks play important ecosystem roles and have significant impacts on animal and human health via tick-borne diseases and physiological stress from parasitism. Tick occurrence, abundance, activity, and key life-history traits are highly influenced by host availability, weather, microclimate, and landscape features. As such, changes in the environment can have profound...
Authors
Alexej P.K. Siren, Juliana Berube, Laurence A. Clarfeld, Cheryl F. Sullivan, Benjamin Simpson, Tammy L. Wilson
An update of the ichthyofauna of West Virginia with notes on historic sportfish stockings An update of the ichthyofauna of West Virginia with notes on historic sportfish stockings
The management and conservation of faunas at regional scales depend on current data on species diversity and distribution. Relative to the ichthyofauna of West Virginia, few studies have recently documented the richness and distribution of fishes in the state, with even the most comprehensive publications rarely discussing either the conservation status of individual fishes or historical...
Authors
D. A. Cincotta, S.A. Welsh
Pasture and diurnal temperature are key predictors of regional Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) distribution Pasture and diurnal temperature are key predictors of regional Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) distribution
The Plains Spotted Skunk (Spilogale interrupta) is a small carnivore native to central North America that has experienced significant population reductions, and there is a lack of information about the species that could inform conservation. Our study aimed to address knowledge gaps about the distribution and habitat associations of the species in South Dakota using species distribution...
Authors
Kara M. White, Amanda E. Cheeseman, Joshua D. Stafford, Robert Charles Lonsinger
Climate, food and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States Climate, food and humans predict communities of mammals in the United States
Aim The assembly of species into communities and ecoregions is the result of interacting factors that affect plant and animal distribution and abundance at biogeographic scales. Here, we empirically derive ecoregions for mammals to test whether human disturbance has become more important than climate and habitat resources in structuring communities.Location Conterminous United States...
Authors
Roland Kays, Matthew H. Snider, George Hess, Michael V. Cove, Alex Jensen, Hila Shamon, William J. McShea, Brigit Rooney, Maximilian L. Allen, Charles E. Pekins, Christopher C. Wilmers, Mary E. Pendergast, Austin M. Green, Justin Suraci, Matthew S. Leslie, Sophie Nasrallah, Dan Farkas, Mark Jordan, Melissa Grigione, Michael LaScaleia, Miranda L. Davis, Chris Hansen, Josh Millspaugh, Jesse S. Lewis, Michael Havrda, Robert Long, Kathryn R. Remine, Kodi J. Jaspers, Diana J. R. Lafferty, Tru Hubbard, Colin E. Studds, Erika L. Barthelmess, Katherine Andy, Andrea Romero, Brian J. O’Neill, Melissa T.R. Hawkins, Jason V. Lombardi, Maksim Sergeyev, M. Caitlin Fisher-Reid, Michael S. Rentz, Christopher Nagy, Jon D Davenport, Christine C. Rega-Brodsky, Cara L. Appel, Damon B. Lesmeister, Sean T. Giery, Christopher A. Whittier, Jesse M. Alston, Chris Sutherland, Christopher Rota, Thomas Murphy, Thomas E. Lee, Alessio Mortelliti, Dylan L. Bergman, Justin A. Compton, Brian D. Gerber, Jess Burr, Kylie Rezendes, Brett Alexander DeGregorio, Nathaniel H. Wehr, John F. Benson, M. Teague O’Mara, David S. Jachowski, Morgan Gray, Dean E. Beyer, Jerrold L. Belant, Robert V. Horan, Robert Charles Lonsinger, Kellie M. Kuhn, Steven C. M. Hasstedt, Marketa Zimova, Sophie M. Moore, Daniel J. Herrera, Sarah Fritts, Andrew J. Edelman, Elizabeth A. Flaherty, Tyler R. Petroelje, Sean A. Neiswenter, Derek R. Risch, Fabiola Iannarilli, Marius van der Merwe, Sean P. Maher, Zach J. Farris, Stephen L. Webb, David S. Mason, Marcus A. Lashley, Andrew M. Wilson, John P. Vanek, Samuel R. Wehr, L. Mike Conner, James C. Beasley, Helen L. Bontrager, Carolina Baruzzi, Susan N. Ellis-Felege, Mike D. Proctor, Jan Schipper, Katherine Weiss, Andrea K. Darracq, Evan G. Barr, Peter D. Alexander, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Daniel A. Bogan, Christopher M. Schalk, Jean E. Fantle-Lepczyk, Christopher A. Lepczyk, Scott LaPoint, Laura S. Whipple, Helen Ivy Rowe, Kayleigh Mullen, Tori Bird, Adam Zorn, LaRoy Brandt, Richard G. Lathrop, Craig McCain, Anthony P. Crupi, James Clark, Arielle Parsons
Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) beyond the breeding grounds: Occurrence, relative density, and habitat associations in the northern Gulf of Mexico Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) beyond the breeding grounds: Occurrence, relative density, and habitat associations in the northern Gulf of Mexico
North American Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) breed primarily in the Prairie Pothole region of southern Canada and the northern United States, winter in Central and South American waters, and often migrate through the northern Gulf of Mexico (nGoM). This species has exhibited long-term population declines and is exposed to a myriad of anthropogenic threats in the nGoM, including oil...
Authors
Pamela E. Michael, Jeffrey S. Gleason, J. Christopher Haney, Kathy M. Hixson, Yvan G. Satgé, Patrick G.R. Jodice
Multistage time-to-event models improve survival inference by partitioning mortality processes of tracked organisms Multistage time-to-event models improve survival inference by partitioning mortality processes of tracked organisms
Advances in tagging technologies are expanding opportunities to estimate survival of fish and wildlife populations. Yet, capture and handling effects could impact survival outcomes and bias inference about natural mortality processes. We developed a multistage time-to-event model that can partition the survival process into sequential phases that reflect the tagged animal experience...
Authors
Suresh A. Sethi, Alex L. Koeberle, Anna J. Poulton, Daniel W. Linden, Duane R. Diefenbach, Frances E. Buderman, Mary Jo Casalena, Kenneth Duren
Kit foxes demonstrate adaptive compromise characteristics under intraguild predation pressure by coyotes in the Great Basin desert Kit foxes demonstrate adaptive compromise characteristics under intraguild predation pressure by coyotes in the Great Basin desert
Coyotes (Canis latrans) are believed to contribute to declining kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) numbers in the Great Basin desert through intraguild predation. Intraguild prey have been shown to exhibit adaptive compromise, whereby an animal increases selection for risky, but food-rich areas during times of food stress (i.e. winter). We evaluated the habitat selection of kit foxes in the Great...
Authors
Nadine A. Pershyn, Eric M Gese, Erica Francis Stuber, Bryan M. Kluever
Viability modeling for decision support with limited data: A lizard case study Viability modeling for decision support with limited data: A lizard case study
Plateau spot-tailed earless lizards, Holbrookia lacerata, are a species of ground lizard in central Texas that are under review for listing as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act, but heretofore no predictive models of population dynamics or viability have been developed. We used limited available data and published demographic rates in a PVA model to predict future status of...
Authors
Ashley B.C. Goode, Nathan Allan, Conor P. McGowan