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
Scattered tree death contributes to substantial forest loss in California
In recent years, large-scale tree mortality events linked to global change have occurred around the world. Current forest monitoring methods are crucial for identifying mortality hotspots, but systematic assessments of isolated or scattered dead trees over large areas are needed to reduce uncertainty on the actual extent of tree mortality. Here, we mapped individual dead trees in California using
Authors
Yang Cheng, Stefan Oehmcke, Martin Brandt, Lisa Micaela Rosenthal, Adrian Das, Anton Vrieling, Sassan Saatchi, Fabien Wagner, Maurice Mugabowindekwe, Wim Verbruggen, Claus Beier, Stephanie Horion
Facilitating comparable research in seedling functional ecology
Ecologists have worked to ascribe function to the variation found in plant populations, communities and ecosystems across environments for at least the past century. The vast body of research in functional ecology has drastically improved understanding of how individuals respond to their environment, communities are assembled and ecosystems function. However, with limited exceptions, few studies h
Authors
Daniel E. Winkler, Magda Garbowski, Kevin Kožić, Emma Ladouceur, Julie Larson, Sarah Martin, Christoph Rosche, Christiane Roscher, Mandy L. Slate, Lotte Korell
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) culture manual
The primary objective of the Atlantic Salmon Research Program established at the U.S. Geological Survey Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science as mandated by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is to restore Atlantic salmon (Linnaeus, 1758; Salmo salar) into Lake Ontario. This objective focuses on evaluating the survival of stocked Atlantic salmon in current Lake Ontario conditions to create a g
Authors
Marc A. Chalupnicki, Rich Chiavelli, James E. McKenna
Cisco (Coregonus artedi) and bloater (Coregonus hoyi) culture manual
The primary objective of the Coregonine Research Program established at the U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center, Tunison Laboratory of Aquatic Science as mandated by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is to restore native coregonines, specifically Coregonus artedi (Lesueur, 1818; ciscoes) and Coregonus hoyi (Milner, 1874; bloaters) into Lake Ontario. This objective focuses on pr
Authors
Marc A. Chalupnicki, Gregg E. Mackey, James E. McKenna
Intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of water clarity in a large, floodplain-river ecosystem
Ecosystem processes in rivers are thought to be controlled more by extrinsic than intrinsic factors, that is, the result of processes that occur upstream or within their watersheds. However, large floodplain rivers have a diverse assemblage of aquatic areas spanning gradients of connectivity with the main channel and internal controls may at times regulate long-term dynamics. When and where intern
Authors
Alicia Carhart, Deanne C. Drake, James R. Fischer, Jeffrey N. Houser, Kathi Jo Jankowski, John E. Kalas, Eric M. Lund
A machine learning tool for design of behavioral fish barriers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Executive SummarySurvival of out-migrating juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.) through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta averages less than 33 percent, depending on water flow through the delta, and is partially governed by the distribution of fish among three Sacramento River distributaries: Sutter, Steamboat, and Georgiana sloughs. Behavioral altering structures in the junctions of the d
Authors
Nicholas M. Swyers, Aaron R. Blake, Paul Stumpner, Jon R. Burau, Summer M. Burdick, Mohamed Shahid Anwar
Bringing partners together: A symposium on native lampreys and the Pacific Lamprey Conservation Initiative
A symposium at the 2022 American Fisheries Society meeting highlighted collaborations among biologists, policymakers, and Native American tribes addressing conservation for native lampreys. We present key findings from the symposium and related research and an example of grassroots effort to protect and restore Pacific Lamprey.
Authors
Theresa L. Liedtke, Julianne E. Harris, Christina J. Wang, Trent M. Sutton
Shoreline slope influences movements of larval lampreys over dewatered substrate
Larval lampreys are filter feeders that live for several years burrowed in fine sediments in freshwater streams. Stream side channels and edges, where larval lampreys gather, are vulnerable to natural and human-caused dewatering. Water level reductions can strand and kill thousands of larval lampreys, in part because many remain burrowed until their habitats are exposed, at which point larvae must
Authors
Theresa L. Liedtke, Julianne E. Harris, Ann E. Gray
Opportunities for improved consideration of cultural benefits in environmental decision-making
Many cultural benefits of ecosystem services (ES) are difficult to capture in standard ES assessments. Scholars and practitioners often respond to this gap by seeking to develop new scientific methods to capture and integrate the plural values associated with diverse cultural benefits categories. This increasing emphasis on value pluralism represents an essential step toward recognitional justice
Authors
Kristin R. Hoelting, Joshua M Morse, Rachelle K. Gould, Doreen E. Martinez, Rina S. Hauptfeld, Amanda E. Cravens, Sara J. Breslow, Lucas Bair, Rudy Schuster, Michael C. Gavin
Prey selection by black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes): Implications for intersexual resource partitioning and conservation
Intraspecific resource partitioning may play a critical role in how predators optimize prey selection. The Black-footed Ferret (Mustela nigripes; henceforth, ferret) is a highly specialized predator of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.; henceforth, PDs). Adult ferrets are sexually dimorphic and PDs are of similar size making them a difficult prey item. PD young are born 6 to 8 weeks prior to births of fe
Authors
Dean E. Biggins, David A. Eads, Shantini Ramakrishnan, Amanda R. Goldberg, Samantha L. Eads, Joanna Hardin, Darla Konkel
Opportunities for improved consideration of cultural benefits in environmental decision-making
Many cultural benefits of ecosystem services (ES) are difficult to capture in standard ES assessments. Scholars and practitioners often respond to this gap by seeking to develop new scientific methods to capture and integrate the plural values associated with diverse cultural benefits categories. This increasing emphasis on value pluralism represents an essential step toward recognitional justice
Authors
Kristin R. Hoelting, Joshua W. Morse, Rachelle K. Gould, Doreen E. Martinez, Rina S. Hauptfeld, Amanda E. Cravens, Sara J. Breslow, Lucas Bair, Rudy Schuster, Michael C. Gavin
Advancing knowledge pluralism and cultural benefits in ecosystem services theory and application
Improved consideration of the cultural benefits of ecosystem services (ES) requires attention to knowledge pluralism in addition to value pluralism. Theorists have increasingly argued that meaningful inclusion of cultural benefits of ES requires attention to plural values, beyond the individual, instrumental values associated with ecosystems. However, there has been little engagement around the ro
Authors
Kristin R. Hoelting, Doreen E. Martinez, Rudy Schuster, Michael C. Gavin