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: 41764
Prevalence of neonicotinoids and sulfoxaflor in alluvial aquifers in a high corn and soybean producing region of the Midwestern United States
Neonicotinoids have been previously detected in Iowa surface waters, but less is known regarding their occurrence in groundwater. To help fill this research gap, a groundwater study was conducted in eastern Iowa and southeastern Minnesota, a corn and soybean producing area with known heavy neonicotinoid use. Neonicotinoids were studied in alluvial aquifers, a hydrogeologic setting known to be vuln
Authors
D.A. Thompson, Dana W. Kolpin, Michelle Hladik, Kimberlee K. Barnes, J.D. Vargo, R.W. Field
Five decades of observed daily precipitation reveal longer and more variable drought events across much of the western United States
Multiple lines of evidence suggest climate change will result in increased precipitation variability and consequently more frequent extreme events. These hydroclimatic changes will likely have significant socioecological impacts, especially across water-limited regions. Here we present an analysis of daily meteorological observations from 1976 to 2019 at 337 long-term weather stations distributed
Authors
Fangyue Zhang, Joel A. Biederman, Matthew P. Dannenberg, Dong Yan, Sasha C. Reed, William K. Smith
Advancements in analytical approaches improve whitebark pine monitoring results
Long-term monitoring programs track the status and trends of species in increasingly vulnerable environments. These monitoring results provide critical information for evaluating, understanding, and managing natural resources. To accurately interpret if and how conditions may be changing for select ecological indicators, it is essential that monitoring programs adopt methods to ensure exceptional
Authors
Erin Shanahan, Kathryn M. Irvine
Half of global methane emissions come from highly variable aquatic ecosystem sources
Atmospheric methane is a potent greenhouse gas that plays a major role in controlling the Earth’s climate. The causes of the renewed increase of methane concentration since 2007 are uncertain given the multiple sources and complex biogeochemistry. Here, we present a metadata analysis of methane fluxes from all major natural, impacted and human-made aquatic ecosystems. Our revised bottom-up global
Authors
Judith A. Rosentreter, Alberto V. Borges, Bridget Deemer, Meredith A. Holgerson, Shaoda Liu, Chunlin Song, John M. Melack, Peter A. Raymond, Carlos M. Duarte, George H. Allen, David Olefeldt, Benjamin Poulter, Tom I. Batin, Bradley D. Eyre
Water reliability in the west -- SECURE Water Act Section 9503(C)
No abstract available.
Authors
Marketa McGuire, Subhrendu Gangopadhyay, Justin Martin, Gregory T. Pederson, Connie A. Woodhouse, Jeremy Littell
Non-native Pond Sliders cause long-term decline of native Sonora Mud Turtles: A 33-year before-after study in an undisturbed natural environment
Using a before-after study design in a stable, largely undisturbed pond habitat and a dataset spanning 33 years, we document and describe the decline of native Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) after the introduction of non-native pond sliders (Trachemys scripta). The Sonora mud turtle population in Montezuma Well in central Arizona, USA, declined to less than 25% of previous numbers, fr
Authors
Charles A. Drost, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Philip C. Rosen, Matthew Malone, Steven D. Garber
Abiotic stress and biotic factors mediate range dynamics on opposing edges
AimIn the face of global change, understanding causes of range limits are one of the most pressing needs in biogeography and ecology. A prevailing hypothesis is that abiotic stress forms cold (upper latitude/altitude) limits, whereas biotic interactions create warm (lower) limits. A new framework – Interactive Range-Limit Theory (iRLT) – asserts that positive biotic factors such as food availabili
Authors
Alexej P. K. Siren, Christopher Sutherland, Chris Bernier, Kimberly Royar, Jillian R. Kilborn, Catherine Callahan, Rachel Cliche, Leighlan Prout, Toni Lyn Morelli
The transformation of dryland rivers: The future of introduced tamarisk in the U.S.
Tamarix spp. (tamarisk or saltcedar), a shrub-like tree, was intentionally introduced to the U.S. from Asia in the mid-1800s. Tamarisk thrives in today’s human-altered streamside (riparian) habitats and can be found along wetlands, rivers, lakes, and streams across the western U.S. In 2001, a biological control agent, Diorhabda spp. (tamarisk leaf beetle), was released in six states, and has since
Authors
Pamela L. Nagler, Julia B. Hull, Charles van Riper, Patrick B. Shafroth, Charles B. Yackulic
Genetics as a tool for conservation and management of West Indian manatee populations in Brazil
A study conducted by the National Center for Research and Conservation of Aquatic Mammals (CMA), United States Geological Survey Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, and partner researchers found that the marine Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) has low genetic diversity in regions where there are territorial interfaces with the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis). The study was p
Authors
Fabia Luna, Caitlin Beaver, Coralie Nourisson, Robert Bonde, Fernanda L. N. Attademo, Adriana V. Miranda, Juan P. Torres-Florez, Glaucia P. de Sousa, José Z. Passavante, Maggie Hunter
Intended consequences statement
As the biodiversity crisis accelerates, the stakes are higher for threatened plants and animals. Rebuilding the health of our planet will require addressing underlying threats at many scales, including habitat loss and climate change. Conservation interventions such as habitat protection, management, restoration, predator control, translocation, genetic rescue, and biological control have the pote
Authors
Ryan Phelan, Bridget Baumgartner, Stewart Brand, Evelyn Brister, Stanley W. Burgiel, R. Alta Charo, Isabelle Coche, Al Cofrancesco, Jason A. Delborne, Owain Edwards, Joshua P. Fisher, Martin Gaywood, Doria R. Gordon, Gregg Howald, Margaret Hunter, Peter Kareiva, Aditi Mankad, Michelle Marvier, Katherine Moseby, Andrew E. Newhouse, Ben J. Novak, Gerry Ohrstrom, Steven Olson, Megan J. Palmer, Stephen S. Palumbi, Neil Patterson, Miguel Pedrono, Francisco Pelegri, Yasha Rohwer, Oliver A. Ryder, J. Royden Saah, Robert M. Scheller, Philip J. Seddon, H. Bradley Shaffer, Beth Shapiro, Mike Sweeney, Mark R. Tercek, Delphine Thizy, Whitney Tilt, Michele Weber, Renee D. Wegrzyn, Bruce Whitelaw, Matthew Winkler, Josh Wodak, Mark Zimring, Paul Robbins
Plague transforms positive effects of precipitation on prairie dogs to negative effects
Rodents characteristically benefit from increased precipitation, especially in typically dry habitats; “good years” of high precipitation improve their forage and water balance. However, Yersinia pestis (plague), a flea-borne pathogen of mammals that was introduced to western North America, has the greatest negative impact on at least some species of rodents during years of above-average precipita
Authors
Dean E. Biggins, David A. Eads, Jerry L. Godbey
Heterotrophic respiration and the divergence of productivity and carbon sequestration
Net primary productivity (NPP) and net ecosystem production (NEP) are often used interchangeably, as their difference, heterotrophic respiration (soil heterotrophic CO2 efflux, RSH = NPP−NEP), is assumed a near-fixed fraction of NPP. Here, we show, using a range-wide replicated experimental study in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations that RSH responds differently than NPP to fertilization and
Authors
Asko Noormets, Rosvel Bracho, Eric Ward, John Seiler, Brian Strahm, Wen Lin, Kristin McElligott, Jean-Christophe Domec, Carlos Gonzalez-Benecke, Eric J. Jokela, Daniel M. Markewitz, Cassandra Meek, Guofang Miao, Steve G. McNulty, John S. King, Lisa Samuelson, Ge Sun, Robert Teskey, Jason R. Vogel, Rodney E. Will, Jinyan Yang, Timothy A. Martin