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Publications

This list of publications includes peer-review journal articles, official USGS publications series, reports and more authored by scientists in the Ecosystems Mission Area. A database of all USGS publications, with advanced search features, can be accessed at the USGS Publications Warehouse.  

Filter Total Items: 41753

Pacific Lamprey responses to stressors: Dewatering and electrofishing

The Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative (PLCI) is a collaboration of Tribes, Federal, and State agencies working together to protect and restore Pacific Lamprey (Entosphenus tridentatus) and other native lampreys (i.e., Lampetra spp.) in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Idaho. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hosts and facilitates the PLCI, and the Columbia River Tribes play a lar
Authors
Theresa L. Liedtke, Lisa K. Weiland, Joe Skalicky, Julie Harris, Monica R. Blanchard, Ann B. Grote, Ann E. Gray, Brian K. Ekstrom

Reduction of large vessel traffic improves water quality and alters fish habitat-use throughout a large river

Rivers are increasingly used as superhighways for the continental-scale transportation of freight goods, but the ecological impact of large vessel traffic on river ecosystems is difficult to study. Recently, the temporary maintenance closure of lock and dam systems on the Illinois Waterway (USA) brought commercial vessel traffic to a halt along the river's length, offering a rare opportunity to st
Authors
Michael J. Spear, Brandon S. Harris, Taylor A. Bookout, Brian Ickes, Kathi Jo Jankowski, Levi E. Solomon, Kristopher A. Maxson, Andrya L. Whitten Harris, Andrew T. Mathis, Sam J. Schaick, Jesse A. Williams, Jason A. DeBoer, Allison W. Lenaerts, Eric C. Hine, John H. Chick, James T. Lamer

Side-scan sonar as a tool for measuring fish populations: Current state of the science and future directions

Side-scan sonar (SSS) is a powerful tool that can be used to address many key questions in fisheries science. In principle, SSS uses dual transducers to transmit a narrow-beam, wide-angle acoustic signal as the survey vessel transits an area. The intensity of reflected sound is recorded to generate an image mosaic comprised of benthic substrates and targets in the water column, including organisms
Authors
Josey Lee Ridgway, John A. Madsen, Jesse Robert Fischer, Robin Calfee, Matthew Ross Acre, David C. Kazyak

The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy

President Biden has been clear that the ocean is central to life on Earth. As he has proclaimed, “the ocean powers millions of jobs; feeds and sustains us; and is a rejuvenating source of inspiration, exploration, and recreation.” The Biden-Harris Administration has worked hard to fulfill the President’s goal to protect and conserve at least 30% of U.S. waters by 2030. The ocean faces increased th
Authors
Gabrielle Canonico, J. Emmett Duffy, Masha Edmonson, Katie Fillingham, Abigail Benson, Kelsey Bisson, Amanda Demopoulos, Beth Hinchey, Katsumi Matsumoto, Chris Meyer, James Price, Elaine Shen, Woody Turner, Mike Weise, Andrea Vander Woude, Lauren Wenzel

Coyote use of prairie dog colonies is most frequent in areas used by American badgers

The consequences of intraguild predation on vulnerable subordinate species are an important consideration in the recovery of endangered species. In prairie ecosystems, coyotes (Canis latrans) are the primary predator of endangered black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes; hereafter, ferrets) and presumably compete for prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) prey. Coyote predation of ferrets is thought to occur a
Authors
Rebecca Windell, Larissa L. Bailey, Travis Livieri, David A. Eads, Dean E. Biggins, Stewart Breck

Geographic principles applied to population dynamics: A spatially interpolated integrated population model

A major impediment to wildlife conservation and management, from a quantitative perspective, is dealing with high degrees of uncertainty associated with population estimates. Integrated population models (IPMs) can help alleviate that challenge, but they are often limited to narrow spatial or temporal windows owing to the financial and logistical burdens of acquiring requisite datasets. To expand
Authors
Brian G. Prochazka, Peter S. Coates, Shawn T. O'Neil, Shawn P. Espinosa, Cameron L. Aldridge

Population and spatial dynamics of desert bighorn sheep in Grand Canyon during an outbreak of respiratory pneumonia

Introduction: Terrestrial species in riverine ecosystems face unique constraints leading to diverging patterns of population structure, connectivity, and disease dynamics. Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) in Grand Canyon National Park, a large native population in the southwestern USA, offer a unique opportunity to evaluate population patterns and processes in a remote riverine syste
Authors
Clinton W. Epps, P. Brandon Holton, Ryan J. Monello, Rachel S. Crowhurst, Sarah Mccrimmon Gaulke, William Michael Janousek, Tyler G. Creech, Tabitha Graves

Mammalian lures monitored with time-lapse cameras increase detection of pythons and other snakes

BackgroundEnhancing detection of cryptic snakes is critical for the development of conservation and management strategies; yet, finding methods that provide adequate detection remains challenging. Issues with detecting snakes can be particularly problematic for some species, like the invasive Burmese python (Python bivittatus) in the Florida Everglades.MethodsUsing multiple survey methods, we pred
Authors
Marina E. McCampbell, McKayla M. Spencer, Kristen Hart, Gabrielle Link, Andrew J. Watson, Robert A. McCleery

A reproducible manuscript workflow with a Quarto template

Scientists and resource managers increasingly use Markdown-based tools to create reproducible reports and manuscripts. These workflows allow people to use standardized methods that are more reproducible, efficient, and transparent than other standard office tools. We present a Quarto template and demonstrate how this template may be used for a journal, the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management,
Authors
Richard A. Erickson, Althea A. Archer, Michael N. Fienen

Assessing the vertical accuracy of digital elevation models by quality level and land cover

The vertical accuracy of elevation data in coastal environments is critical because small variations in elevation can affect an area’s exposure to waves, tides, and storm-related flooding. Elevation data contractors typically quantify the vertical accuracy of lidar-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) on a per-project basis to gauge whether the datasets meet quality and accuracy standards. Here
Authors
Minoo Han, Nicholas Enwright, Dean B. Gesch, Jason M. Stoker, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Christopher J. Amante

Back from the brink: Estimating daily and annual abundance of natural-origin salmon smolts from 30-years of mixed-origin capture-recapture data

Evaluating the status and trends of natural-origin anadromous fish populations over time requires robust estimates of out-migrating juvenile abundance. Information on abundance is typically acquired by capturing actively migrating fish as they pass stationary monitoring platforms. Challenges to estimation include protracted migration timing, temporally varying capture probabilities and the contemp
Authors
Dalton Hance, John Plumb, Russell Perry, Kenneth Tiffan

Amur Falcon Falco amurensis

No abstract available.
Authors
Jaume Orta, Guy M. Kirwan, Jeffrey S. Marks, Ryan C. Burner, Sundev Gombobaatar, Paul van Els, Chuenchom Hansasuta