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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: 41763

Modeling scenarios for the management of axis deer in Hawai‘i

Axis deer (Axis axis) are invasive species that threaten native ecosystems and agriculture on Maui Island. To mitigate negative effects, it is necessary to understand current abundance, population trajectory, and how to most effectively reduce the population. Our objectives were to examine the population history of Maui axis deer, estimate observed population growth, and use species-specific demog
Authors
Steve C. Hess, Seth Judge

Hawaiian hoary bat acoustic surveys on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, 2019–2021

The endangered Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus semotus, Vespertilionidae, also known as Aeorestes semotus and ‘ōpe‘ape‘a) occurs on all the principal volcanic islands in Hawai‘i. Advances in acoustic bat monitoring techniques have contributed to the body of knowledge of bat activity and behavior in many areas of the State of Hawai‘i; however, there is still much that is unknown about the population a
Authors
Corinna A. Pinzari, Kristina Montoya-Aiona, Danielle Gross, Karen Courtot

Remotely sensed fine-fuel changes from wildfire and prescribed fire in a semi-arid grassland

The spread of flammable invasive grasses, woody plant encroachment, and enhanced aridity have interacted in many grasslands globally to increase wildfire activity and risk to valued assets. Annual variation in the abundance and distribution of fine-fuel present challenges to land managers implementing prescribed burns and mitigating wildfire, although methods to produce high-resolution fuel estima
Authors
Adam Gerhard Wells, Seth M. Munson, Steven E Sesnie, Miguel L. Villarreal

Strong evidence for two disjunct populations of Black Scoters Melanitta americana in North America

Black Scoters Melanitta americana were marked with satellite transmitters on Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America to examine continental-scale population delineation. Scoters marked on the different coasts did not overlap at any stage of the annual cycle, suggesting that birds in the two regions could be monitored and managed as separate populations: 1) an Atlantic population, which winter
Authors
Timothy D. Bowman, Scott G. Gilliland, Jason L Schamber, Paul L. Flint, Daniel Esler, W. Sean Boyd, Daniel H. Rosenberg, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, Matthew Perry, Jason E. Osenkowski

Riverscape approaches in practice: Perspectives and applications

Landscape perspectives in riverine ecology have been undertaken increasingly in the last 30 years, leading aquatic ecologists to develop a diverse set of approaches for conceptualizing, mapping and understanding ‘riverscapes’. Spatiotemporally explicit perspectives of rivers and their biota nested within the socio-ecological landscape now provide guiding principles and approaches in inland fisheri
Authors
Christian E. Torgersen, Céline Le Pichon, Aimee H. Fullerton, Stephen J. Dugdale, Jeffrey J. Duda, Floriane Giovannini, Évelyne Tales, Jérôme Belliard, Paulo Branco, Normand E. Bergeron, Mathieu L. Roy, Diego Tonolla, Nicolas Lamouroux, Hervé Capra, Colden V. Baxter

Decision-support framework for linking regional-scale management actions to continental-scale conservation of wide-ranging species

Anas acuta (Northern pintail; hereafter pintail) was selected as a model species on which to base a decision-support framework linking regional actions to continental-scale population and harvest objectives. This framework was then used to engage stakeholders, such as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives’ (LCCs’) habitat management partners within areas of importance to pintails, while maximizing c
Authors
Erik E. Osnas, G. Scott Boomer, James H. Devries, Michael C. Runge

Time to get real with qPCR controls: The frequency of sample contamination and the informative power of negative controls in environmental DNA studies

Environmental (e)DNA methods have enabled rapid, sensitive and specific inferences of taxa presence throughout diverse fields of ecological study. However, use of eDNA results for decision-making has been impeded by uncertainties associated with false positive tests putatively caused by sporadic or systemic contamination. Sporadic contamination is a process that is inconsistent across samples and
Authors
Patrick Ross Hutchins, Leah Nicole Simantel, Adam Sepulveda

Morphometric sex identification of nestling and free-flying Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax fleayi)

The endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax fleayi) is the focus of continued research and conservation efforts. A tool for accurate and efficient identification of the sex of individuals would be a valuable aid to research and management. However, plumages are monomorphic between the sexes, making sex identification difficult without molecular analyses. Our aim was to assess whether
Authors
James M. Pay, Todd E. Katzner, Jason M Wiersma, William E. Brown, Clare E. Hawkins, Kirstin M Proft, Elissa Z. Cameron

U.S. Geological Survey invasive species research—Improving detection, awareness, decision support, and control

More than 6,500 nonindigenous species are now established in the United States, posing risks to human and wildlife health, native plants and animals, and our valued ecosystems. The annual environmental, economic, and health-related costs of invasive species are substantial. Invasive species can drive native species onto the endangered species list, resulting in associated regulatory costs; exacerb
Authors
Cindy Kolar Tam, Wesley M. Daniel, Earl Campbell, James J. English, Suzanna C. Soileau

Setting and tracking suppression targets for sea lampreys in the Great Lakes

In response to invasive species, the course of action taken by management agencies often evolves over a range of options from a do-nothing approach to suppression to complete eradication. As a case study of suppression targets, we explore the history of approaches used by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission in response to the invasion of the Laurentian Great Lakes by sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinu
Authors
Ted Treska, Mark P. Ebener, Gavin Christie, Jean V. Adams, Michael J Siefkes

Carbon and ecohydrological priorities in managing woody encroachment: UAV perspective 63 years after a control treatment

Woody encroachment, including both woody species expansion and density increase, is a globally observed phenomenon that deteriorates arid and semi-arid rangeland health, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Mechanical and chemical control treatments are commonly performed to reduce woody cover and restore ecohydrologic function. While the immediate impacts of woody control treatments are well doc
Authors
Temuulen T. Sankey, Jackson Leonard, Margaret Moore, Joel B. Sankey, Adam Belmonte

Effects of stocking density on stress response and susceptibility to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus in rainbow trout

The goals of this study were to examine the effect of stocking density on the stress response and disease susceptibility in juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fish were sorted into one of 2 stocking densities (high density "HD", 20-40 kg/m3) or (low density, "LD", 4-8 kg/m3) and 3 stress indices (cortisol levels in serum and water, and neutrophil: lymphocyte (N:L) ratios from blood smea
Authors
Jenna J Klug, Piper M Treuting, George E. Sanders, James Winton, Gael Kurath