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: 41763
Comparisons of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) sea-ice projections in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) ecoregions during the 21st century
Climate model projections are commonly used to assess potential impacts of global warming on a breadth of social, economic, and environmental topics. Modeling centers throughout the world coordinate to apply a consistent suite of radiative forcing experiments so that all model outputs can be collectively analyzed and compared. Three generations of model outputs have been produced and made availabl
Authors
David C. Douglas, Todd C. Atwood
Antibiotic resistance in free-ranging wildlife
In this chapter, we provide an overview of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in wildlife through the presentation of general trends of occurrence among both captive and free-ranging wild animal populations, discussion of importance to human health and wildlife conservation, and identification of priority areas for future research and monitoring efforts. Once most commonly identified in human
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Christina Ahlstrom
Natural and anthropogenic factors influencing nesting ecology of the American crocodile in Florida, United States
Nesting ecology of American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) in Florida has been both positively and negatively influenced by anthropogenic and natural factors since the species was placed on the federally endangered species list in 1975. This includes a shift in nesting sites and an expansion of nesting to anthropogenic habitat. Using a 50-year record of monitoring data (1970-2020), we assessed fac
Authors
Frank J. Mazzotti, Sergio A. Balaguera-Reina, Laura A. Brandt, Venetia Briggs-Gonzalez, Michael Cherkiss, Seth C Farris, Avishka Godahewa
Mercury contamination and potential health risks to Arctic seabirds and shorebirds
Since the last Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) effort to review biological effects of mercury (Hg) on Arctic biota in 2011 and 2018, there has been a considerable number of new Arctic bird studies. This review article provides contemporary Hg exposure and potential health risk for 36 Arctic seabird and shorebird species, representing a larger portion of the Arctic than during pre
Authors
Olivier Chastel, Jérôme Fort, Josh T. Ackerman, Céline Albert, Frédéric Angelier, Niladri Basu, Pierre Blévin, Maud Brault-Favrou, Jan O. Bustnes, Paco Bustamante, Jóhannis Danielsen, Sébastien Descamps, Rune Dietz, Kjell Einar Erikstad, Igor Eulaers, Alexey Ezhov, Abram B Fleishman, Geir W. Gabrielsen, Maria Gavrilo, Grant Gilchrist, Olivier Gilg, Sindri Gíslason, Elena Golubova, Aurélie Goutte, David Grémillet, Gunnar T. Hallgrimsson, Erpur S Hansen, Sveinn A Hanssen, Scott Hatch, Nicholas P Huffeldt, Dariusz Jakubas, Jón Einar Jónsson, Alexander S Kitaysky, Yann Kolbeinsson, Yuri Krasnov, Robert J. Letcher, Jannie F Linnebjerg, Mark L. Mallory, Flemming R Merkel, Børge Moe, William J Montevecchi, Anders Mosbech, Bergur Olsen, Rachael A Orben, Jennifer F Provencher, Sunna B. Ragnarsdottir, Tone K Reiertsen, Nora A. Rojek, Marc Romano, Jens Søndergaard, Hallvard Strøm, Akinori Takahashi, Sabrina Tartu, Thorkell L Thórarinsson, Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, Alexis P Will, Simon Wilson, Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas, Glenn Yannic
Relationship of greater sage-grouse to natural and assisted recovery of key vegetation types following wildfire: Insights from scat
Megafires are creating severe conservation problems worldwide for wildlife that have obligate dependencies on plant species that are foundational but fire-intolerant. Wildfire-induced loss of native perennials and increases in exotic annual grasses threaten greater sage-grouse (GRSG, Centrocercus urophasianus) in its sagebrush steppe habitat in western North America. Post-fire restoration using he
Authors
Matthew Germino, Christopher R. Anthony, Chad Raymond Kluender, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Ann M. Moser, Cara Applestein, Matthew Fisk
Climate change risks to global forest health: Emergence of unexpected events of elevated tree mortality worldwide
Recent observations of elevated tree mortality following climate extremes, like heat and drought, raise concerns about climate change risks to global forest health. We currently lack both sufficient data and understanding to identify whether these observations represent a global trend towards increasing tree mortality. Here, we document events of sudden and unexpected elevated tree mortality follo
Authors
Henrik Hartmann, Ana Bastos, Adrian Das, Adriane Esquivel-Muelbert, William M Hammond, Jordi Martínez-Vilalta, Nate G. McDowell, Jennifer S. Powers, Thomas A. M. Pugh, Katinka X. Ruthrof, Craig D. Allen
Ventilation systems in wetland plant species
Molecular oxygen and carbon dioxide may be limited for aquatic plants, but they have various mechanisms for acquiring these gases from the atmosphere, soil, or metabolic processes. The most common adaptations of aquatic plants involve various aerenchymatic structures, which occur in various organs, and enable the throughflow of gases. These gases can be transferred in emergent plants by molecular
Authors
Lars O. Björn, Beth Middleton, Mateja Germ, Alenka Gaberščik
Effect of restoration on plant greenness and water use in relation to drought in the riparian corridor of the Colorado River delta
Revitalization of the Colorado River delta riparian corridor and increasing riparian plant greenness and water use may be accomplished by added water and restoration efforts to offset declines measured since 2000 by Landsat. We use the two-band Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI2; a proxy for greenness) and evapotranspiration (ET, mm/day) using EVI2 and potential ET(ETo) from Yuma Valley. We assess if
Authors
Pamela L. Nagler, Ibrahima Sall, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Martha Gómez-Sapiens, Hamideh Nouri, Sattar Chavoshi Borujeni, Kamel Didan
Using mollusks as indicators of restoration in nearshore zones of south Florida's estuaries
Current south Florida ecosystem restoration efforts are focused on restoring more natural freshwater flow through the wetlands and into the estuaries to reestablish natural salinity gradients, particularly in the nearshore zones. Indicator taxa are used to monitor and assess restoration progress and the current suite of biota used for the estuaries in south Florida (Biscayne Bay, Florida Bay, and
Authors
G. Lynn Wingard, Bethany Stackhouse, Andre Daniels
Assessing small-mammal trapping design using spatially explicit capture recapture (SECR) modeling on long-term monitoring data
Few studies have evaluated the optimal sampling design for tracking small mammal population trends, especially for rare or difficult to detect species. Spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) models present an advancement over non-spatial models by accounting for individual movement when estimating density. The salt marsh harvest mouse (SMHM; Reithrodontomys raviventris) is a federal and Calif
Authors
Chase M. Freeman, Laureen Barthman-Thompson, Robert C. Klinger, Isa Woo, Karen M. Thorne
Concordant patterns of morphological, stable isotope, and genetic variation in a recent ecological radiation (Salmonidae: Coregonus spp.)
Groups of sympatric taxa with low interspecific genetic differentiation, but considerable ecological differences, offer great opportunities to study the dynamics of divergence and speciation. This is the case of ciscoes (Coregonus spp.) in the Laurentian Great Lakes, which are characterized by a complex evolutionary history and are commonly described as having undergone an adaptive radiation. In t
Authors
Moises A Bernal, Daniel Yule, Wendylee Stott, Lori M. Evrard, Thomas E Dowling, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft
A model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss applied to a Louisiana salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain
The potential for carbon sequestration in coastal wetlands is high due to protection of carbon (C) in flooded soils. However, excessive flooding can result in the conversion of the vegetated wetland to open water. This transition results in the loss of wetland habitat in addition to the potential loss of soil carbon. Thus, in areas experiencing rapid wetland submergence, such as the Mississippi Ri
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, Camille Stagg, Courtney Creamer, Claudia Laurenzano, Eric Ward, Mark Waldrop, Melissa M. Baustian, Tiong Aw, Sergio Merino, Rachel Katherine Villani, Laura Scott