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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: 41758

Integrated rangeland fire management strategy actionable science plan completion assessment: Invasives topic, 2015–20

Loss and degradation of sagebrush rangelands due to an accelerated invasive annual grass-wildfire cycle and other stressors are significant management, conservation, and economic issues in the western United States. These sagebrush rangelands comprise a unique biome spanning 11 states, support over 350 wildlife species, and provide important ecosystem services that include stabilizing the economie
Authors
Christopher R. Anthony, Matthew J Holloran, Mark A. Ricca, Steven E. Hanser, Sue L. Phillips, Paul F. Steblein, Lief A. Wiechman

Atmospheric radiocarbon for the period 1910 to 2021 recorded by annual plants

We present a timeseries of 14CO2 for the period 1910–2021 recorded by annual plants collected in the southwestern United States, centered near Flagstaff, Arizona. This timeseries is dominated by five commonly occurring annual plant species in the region, which is considered broadly representative of the southern Colorado Plateau. Most samples (1910–2015) were previously archived herbarium specimen
Authors
Mariah S Carbone, Tina J Ayers, Christopher H Ebert, Seth M. Munson, Edward A G Schuur, Andrew D. Richardson

Compact or sprawling cities: Has the sparing-sharing framework yielded an ecological verdict?

Purpose of ReviewGlobal urban land area is growing faster than the urban population, raising concerns that sprawling, low-density development will reduce biodiversity and human wellbeing. The sparing-sharing framework, adapted from agroecology, provides one approach to assessing alternative urban growth patterns. It compares ecological outcomes in landscapes matched for total population and land a
Authors
Elsa Youngsteadt, Adam Terando, Jennifer K. Costanza, Jelena Vukomanovic

Elodea mediates juvenile salmon growth by altering physical structure in freshwater habitats

Invasive species introductions in high latitudes are accelerating and elevating the need to address questions of their effects on Subarctic and Arctic ecosystems. As a driver of ecosystem function, submerged aquatic vegetation is one of the most deleterious biological invasions to aquatic food webs. The aquatic plant Elodea spp. has potential to be a widespread invader to Arctic and Subarctic ecos
Authors
Michael P. Carey, Gordon H. Reeves, Suresh Sethi, Theresa L. Tanner, Daniel B. Young, Krista K. Bartz, Christian E. Zimmerman

Mapping vegetation index-derived actual evapotranspiration across croplands using the Google Earth Engine platform

Precise knowledge of crop water consumption is essential to better manage agricultural water use, particularly in regions where most countries struggle with increasing water and food insecurity. Approaches such as cloud computing and remote sensing (RS) have facilitated access, process, and visualization of big geospatial data to map and monitor crop water requirements. To find the most reliable V
Authors
Neda Abbasi, Hamideh Nouri, Kamel Didan, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni, Christian Opp, Pamela L. Nagler, Prasad Thenkabail, Stefan Siebert

Coproduction and modeling spatial contact networks prevent bias about infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus transmission for Snake River Basin salmonids

Much remains unknown about variation in pathogen transmission across the geographic range of a free-ranging fish or animal species and about the influence of movement (associated with husbandry practices or animal behavior) on pathogen transmission. Salmonid hatcheries are an ideal system in which to study these processes. Salmonid hatcheries are managed for endangered species recovery, supplement
Authors
Jeffrey P. Mattheiss, Rachel Breyta, Gael Kurath, Shannon L. LaDeau, David James Páez, Paige F. B. Ferguson

Framework for facilitating mangrove recovery after hurricanes on Caribbean islands

Mangrove ecosystems in the Caribbean are frequently exposed to hurricanes, leading to structural and regenerative change that elicit calls for recovery action. For those mangroves unaffected by human modifications, recovery can occur naturally. Indeed, observable natural recovery after hurricanes is the genesis of the “disturbance adaptation” classification for mangroves; while structural legacies
Authors
Ken Krauss, Kevin R.T. Whelan, John Paul Kennedy, Daniel A. Friess, Caroline Rogers, Heather A. Stewart, Kristin Wilson Grimes, Camilo A. Trench, Danielle E. Ogurcak, Catherine A. Toline, Lianne C. Ball, Andrew From

Grizzly bear movement models predict habitat use for nearby populations

Conservation planning and decision-making can be enhanced by ecological models that reliably transfer to times and places beyond those where models were developed. Transferrable models can be especially helpful for species of conservation concern, such as grizzly bears (Ursus arctos). Currently, only four grizzly bear populations remain in the contiguous United States. We evaluated transferability
Authors
Sarah Nelson Sells, Cecily M. Costello, Paul Lukacs, Frank T. van Manen, Mark A. Haroldson, Wayne Kasworm, Justin Tesiberg, Milan Vinks, Daniel D. Bjornlie

Evaluation of Ziram as an oral toxic bait chemical for control of grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella

The grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella, is an invasive species in North America that has been recorded in 45 states with breeding populations in several major river basins. Established populations of grass carp have had cascading, negative effects on aquatic ecosystem structure and function. Oral piscicide baits have been examined as a potential method to manage invasive grass carp. Our goal was
Authors
Nile E. Kemble, Keith Grabner, David W. Whites, David Walters, Michael J. Hooper, Jeffery Steevens

Mangrove reforestation provides greater blue carbon benefit than afforestation for mitigating global climate change

Significant efforts have been invested to restore mangrove forests worldwide through reforestation and afforestation. However, blue carbon benefit has not been compared between these two silvicultural pathways at the global scale. Here, we integrated results from direct field measurements of over 370 restoration sites around the world to show that mangrove reforestation (reestablishing mangroves w
Authors
Shanshan Song, Yali Ding, Wei Li, Yuchen Meng, Jianping Zhou, Ruikun Gou, Conghe Zhang, Shengbin Ye, Neil Saintilan, Ken Krauss, Stephen Crooks, Shuguo Lv, Guanghui Lin

Survey for selected parasites in Alaska brown bears (Ursus arctos)

To assess infection with or exposure to endo- and ectoparasites in Alaska brown bears (Ursus arctos), blood and fecal samples were collected during 2013–17 from five locations: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve; Katmai National Park; Lake Clark National Park and Preserve; Yakutat Forelands; and Kodiak Island. Standard fecal centrifugal flotation was used to screen for gastrointestinal
Authors
Ellen Haynes, Sarah Coker, Michael J. Yabsley, Kevin Niedrighaus, Andrew M. Ramey, Guilherme Verocai, Grant Hilderbrant, Kyle Joly, Dave Gustine, Buck Mangipane, William Leacock, Anthony P. Crupi, Christopher A. Cleveland

High winds and melting sea ice trigger landward movement in a polar bear population of concern

Some animal species are responding to climate change by altering the timing of events like mating and migration. Such behavioral plasticity can be adaptive, but it is not always. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the southern Beaufort Sea subpopulation have mostly remained on ice year-round, but as the climate warms and summer sea ice declines, a growing proportion of the subpopulation is summeri
Authors
Annie Kellner, Todd C. Atwood, David C. Douglas, Stewart Breck, George Wittemyer