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
A comparative baseline of coral disease in three regions along the Saudi Arabian coast of the central Red Sea
Coral disease is a growing problem for coral reefs globally and diseases have been linked to thermal stress, excess nutrients, overfishing and other human impacts. The Red Sea is a unique environment for corals with a strong environmental gradient characterized by temperature extremes and high salinities, but minimal terrestrial runoff or riverine input and their associated pollution. Yet, relativ
Authors
Greta S. Aeby, Amanda Shore, Thor Jensen, Maren Ziegler, Thierry M. Work, Christian Voolstra
Who’s your daddy? On the identity and distribution of the paternal hybrid ancestor of the parthenogenetic gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae)
The widespread parthenogenetic gecko Lepidodactylus lugubris is comprised of several clonal lineages, at least one of which has been known for some time to have originated from hybridization between its maternal ancestor, Lepidodactylus moestus, and a putatively undescribed paternal ancestor previously known only from remote islands in the Central Pacific. By integrating new genetic sequences from
Authors
Benjamin R. Karin, Paul M. Oliver, Alexander L. Stubbs, Umilaela Afirin, Djoko T. Iskandar, Evy Arida, Zheng Oong, Jimmy A. McGuire, Frederick Kraus, Matthew K. Fujita, Ivan Ineich, Hidetoshi Ota, Stacie A. Hathaway, Robert N. Fisher
Potential effect of low-rise, downcast artificial lights on nocturnally migrating land birds
Artificial light at night (ALAN) on tall or upward-pointed lighting installations affects the flight behavior of night-migrating birds. We hypothesized that common low-rise lights pointing downward also affect the movement of nocturnal migrants. We predicted that birds in flight will react close to low-rise lights, and be attracted and grounded near light sources, with a stronger effect on juvenil
Authors
Sergio A. Cabrera-Cruz, Ronald P. Larkin, Maren E. Gimpel, James G. Gruber, Theodore J. Zenzal, Jeffrey J. Buler
Managing for RADical ecosystem change: Applying the Resist-Accept-Direct (RAD) framework
Ecosystem transformation involves the emergence of persistent ecological or social–ecological systems that diverge, dramatically and irreversibly, from prior ecosystem structure and function. Such transformations are occurring at increasing rates across the planet in response to changes in climate, land use, and other factors. Consequently, a dynamic view of ecosystem processes that accommodates r
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Laura Thompson, Erik A. Beever, Augustin C. Engman, Cat Hawkins Hoffman, Stephen T. Jackson, Trevor J. Krabbenhoft, David J Lawrence, Douglas Limpinsel, Robert T. Magill, Tracy Melvin, John M. Morton, Robert Newman, Jay Peterson, Mark T. Porath, Frank J. Rahel, Gregor Schuurman, Suresh Sethi, Jennifer L. Wilkening
Distilling professional opinion to gauge vulnerability of Guam avifauna to Brown Treesnake predation
The avifauna of Guam was devastated by the introduction of the Brown Treesnake, and the restoration of native birds would need to address the problem with eradication or suppression of BTS. With eradication of the snake unlikely in the near term, and suppression capabilities limited to specific finite areas, key information for reintroductions is how low BTS abundance will likely need to be for ea
Authors
Robert McElderry, Eben H. Paxton, Andre Nguyen, Shane R. Siers
Genetic diversity is considered important but interpreted narrowly in country reports to the Convention on Biological Diversity: Current actions and indicators are insufficient
International agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have committed to conserve, and sustainably and equitably use, biodiversity. The CBD is a vital instrument for global conservation because it guides 195 countries and the European Union in setting priorities and allocating resources, and requires regular reporting on progress. However, the CBD and similar policy agreemen
Authors
Sean M. Hoban, Catriona D. Campbell, Jessica M. da Silva, Robert Ekblom, W. Chris Funk, Brittany A. Garner, José A. Godoy, Francine Kershaw, Anna J. MacDonald, Joachim Mergeay, Melissa Minter, David O'Brien, Ivan Paz Vinas, Sarah K. Pearson, Sílvia Pérez-Espona, Kevin M. Potter, Isa-Rita M. Russo, Gernot Segelbacher, Cristiano Vernesi, Margaret Hunter
Factors influencing distributional shifts and abundance at the range core of a climate-sensitive mammal
Species are frequently responding to contemporary climate change by shifting to higher elevations and poleward to track suitable climate space. However, depending on local conditions and species’ sensitivity, the nature of these shifts can be highly variable and difficult to predict. Here, we examine how the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a philopatric, montane lagomorph, responds to climatic
Authors
Peter D Billman, Erik A. Beever, Dave B. McWethy, Lindsey Thurman, Kenny C Wilson
Blue waters, green bottoms: Benthic filamentous algal blooms are an emerging threat to clear lakes worldwide
Nearshore (littoral) habitats of clear lakes with high water quality are increasingly experiencing unexplained proliferations of filamentous algae that grow on submerged surfaces. These filamentous algal blooms (FABs) are sometimes associated with nutrient pollution in groundwater, but complex changes in climate, nutrient transport, lake hydrodynamics, and food web structure may also facilitate th
Authors
Yvonne Vadeboncoeur, Marianne V. Moore, Simon D. Stewart, Sudeep Chandra, Karen Atkins, Jill S. Baron, Keith Bouma-Gregson, Soren Brothers, Stephen Francoeur, Laurel Genzoli, Scott N. Higgins, Sabine Hilt, Leon R. Katona, David Kelly, Isabella Oleksy, Ted Ozersky, Mary Powel, Derek Roberts, Oleg Timoshkin, Flavia Tromboni, M. Jake Vander Zanden, Ekaterina Volkova, Sean Waters, Susanna A. Wood, Masumi Yamamuro
Predicting wildfire impacts on the prehistoric archaeological record of the Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, USA
Wildfires of uncharacteristic severity, a consequence of climate changes and accumulated fuels, can cause amplified or novel impacts to archaeological resources. The archaeological record includes physical features associated with human activity; these exist within ecological landscapes and provide a unique long-term perspective on human–environment interactions. The potential for fire-caused dama
Authors
Megan Friggens, Rachel A. Loehman, Connie Constan, Rebekah Kneifel
Individual and seasonal variation in the movement behavior of two tropical nectarivorous birds
BackgroundMovement of animals directly affects individual fitness, yet fine spatial and temporal resolution movement behavior has been studied in relatively few small species, particularly in the tropics. Nectarivorous Hawaiian honeycreepers are believed to be highly mobile throughout the year, but their fine-scale movement patterns remain unknown. The movement behavior of these crucial pollinator
Authors
Jennifer R Smetzer, Kristina L. Paxton, Eben H. Paxton
Effects of season, location, species, and sex on hematologic and plasma biochemical values and body mass in free-ranging Grebes (Aechmophorus species)
The effects of season, location, species, and sex on body weight and a comprehensive array of blood chemistry and hematology analytes were compared for free-ranging western (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's (Aechmophorus clarkii) grebes. Birds (n = 56) were collected from Puget Sound, WA, and Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay, CA, from February 2007 to March 2011. The data supported general
Authors
Nancy L Anderson, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Joseph K Gaydos, Michael H. Ziccardi, Danielle J Harvey
Temperature variation and host immunity regulate viral persistence in a salmonid host
Environmental variation has important effects on host–pathogen interactions, affecting large-scale ecological processes such as the severity and frequency of epidemics. However, less is known about how the environment interacts with host immunity to modulate virus fitness within hosts. Here, we studied the interaction between host immune responses and water temperature on the long-term persistence
Authors
David J. Páez, Rachel L. Powers, Peng Jia, Natalia Ballesteros, Gael Kurath, Kerry A. Naish, Maureen K. Purcell