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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: 5350

Modeling localized deer removal strategies for managing chronic wasting disease Modeling localized deer removal strategies for managing chronic wasting disease

We used a published individual-based model to evaluate localized deer removal strategies for managing chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a free-ranging white-tailed deer population in central Michigan, USA. We simulated fine-scale (23.3 km2) deer culling using ring, land parcel-based, and habitat quality-based removal methods. Ring culling consisted of highly concentrated culling in a...
Authors
Noelle E. Thompson, Daniel J. O’Brien, Daniel P. Walsh, Chad M. Stewart, Earl G. Krom, Gary J. Roloff

Annual-cycle movement patterns of Eastern Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis) from the northern end of their breeding range Annual-cycle movement patterns of Eastern Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis) from the northern end of their breeding range

Understanding the variability in movement patterns of marine birds throughout their annual cycle is critical to ecosystem-based management in coastal regions. Tracking data from seabirds frequently demonstrates that movement patterns throughout the annual cycle are more complex and extensive than previously thought, and that factors that influence these movements differ throughout the...
Authors
Juliet S. Lamb, Patrick G.R. Jodice

Stream health shows indirect and threshold responses to implementation of agricultural conservation practices Stream health shows indirect and threshold responses to implementation of agricultural conservation practices

Many agricultural conservation practices (hereafter conservation practices) are intended to protect streams from the deleterious effects of agriculture, but desired effects of their implementation are not always realized. Understanding the pathways through which conservation practices influence stream health can guide future implementation. Our goal was to quantify how conservation...
Authors
Joshua B. Mouser, Serena Ciparis, Jonathan A. Czuba, Bryan L. Brown, Paul L. Angermeier

Understanding natal emigration in group-living carnivores Understanding natal emigration in group-living carnivores

Dispersal is a critical ecological and evolutionary process, yet the drivers of individual variation in emigration, particularly under human-modified conditions, remain relatively understudied. We investigate the determinants and patterns of emigration in a managed population of cooperative breeders using genetic samples from harvested individuals.We used a novel genetic approach to...
Authors
Kathleen M. Petersen, Joel M. Tebbenkamp, Matthew A. Mumma, David Edward Ausband

Developing a low-cost drone-based method for deploying and retrieving autonomous recording units in inaccessible areas Developing a low-cost drone-based method for deploying and retrieving autonomous recording units in inaccessible areas

Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) are increasingly used in research to support passive acoustic monitoring, but deployment in remote or inaccessible locations remains logistically challenging. Traditional manual placement is labor-intensive, time-consuming, potentially hazardous, and often limited to habitat edges, creating sampling biases and restricting spatial coverage. To address...
Authors
Akshit R. Suthar, Jared A. Elmore, Erin K. Buchholtz, Travis H. Folk, Beau A. Bauer, Aaron R. Pierce, James T. Anderson

Brown bullhead catfish melanoma represents a novel transmissible cancer Brown bullhead catfish melanoma represents a novel transmissible cancer

Since 2012, brown bullhead catfish (Ameiurus nebulosus) in a lake that spans Vermont, USA, and Quebec, Canada, have shown a high rate of melanomas, suggesting a causal contaminant or contagion1. We tested the hypothesis that this affliction represents a clonally transmissible cancer, a rare phenomenon in which cancer cells themselves spread between individuals, behaving more like...
Authors
Emily E. Curd, Samuel F.M. Hart, James Lubkowitz, Kirsten M. Tracy, Lucas Milazzo, Matthew Bodnar, Tom Jones, Mark J. Henderson, Peter Emerson, Julie A. Dragon

Predicted habitat use for reintroduced grizzly bears in the transboundary North Cascades ecosystem Predicted habitat use for reintroduced grizzly bears in the transboundary North Cascades ecosystem

Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) were once numerous in the North Cascades transboundary region of Washington State (United States) and British Columbia (Canada); however, few remain today. To support ongoing reintroduction evaluations, we used simulations based on movement models developed in the Northern Rocky Mountains to predict habitat use by a small founding group of grizzly bears in...
Authors
Sarah Nelson Sells, Michelle McLellan, Jason I. Ransom, Andrea Lyons, Mackenzie Clarke, Clayton D. Apps

Habitat restoration efforts increase patch retention times in migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) Habitat restoration efforts increase patch retention times in migratory mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations have been declining across much of their range, often due to habitat alteration. Habitat alterations, including the introduction of non-native annual grasses and the expansion of pinyon–juniper (PJ) forests on sagebrush ecosystems, are changing resource availability compared to historical conditions. Extensive habitat restoration has been...
Authors
Jack Rasmussen, Kent Hersey, Daniel D. Summers, Erica Francis Stuber

Temperate lake heatwaves accelerate non-linearly as timing synchronizes across a diverse landscape Temperate lake heatwaves accelerate non-linearly as timing synchronizes across a diverse landscape

Temperate lakes are experiencing intensifying heatwaves, or prolonged periods of anomalously warm water, with potentially severe ecological consequences. Previous studies have predominantly used linear trend analyses to understand heatwave dynamics, potentially masking temporal acceleration patterns and shifts in variance. Here, we analyzed long-term, nonlinear trends in heatwave...
Authors
Christopher Jerod Sullivan, L. Zoe Almeida

Digging into soil: Effects of soil texture on RT-QuIC performance for environmental prion surveillance. Digging into soil: Effects of soil texture on RT-QuIC performance for environmental prion surveillance.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by infectious prions affecting wild and captive cervids. Transmission occurs directly between hosts or indirectly through contact with prion-contaminated environments. Soils, particularly those rich in clay, are hypothesized to enhance prion stability, retention, and bioavailability. Accurate detection of prions is...
Authors
Stephanie J. Katircioglu, Heather N.  Inzalaco, Allen Jeffrey Herbst, Daniel J. Storm, Stuart S.  Lichtenberg, Rodrigo   Morales,  Reece McGinn, Daniel P. Walsh, Wendy Christine Turner
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