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: 41771
Compounding effects of white pine blister rust, mountain pine beetle, and fire threaten four white pine species
Invasive pathogens and bark beetles have caused precipitous declines of various tree species around the globe. Here, we characterized long‐term patterns of mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae; MPB) attacks and white pine blister rust, an infectious tree disease caused by the pathogen, Cronartium ribicola. We focused on four dominant white pine host species in Sequoia and Kings Canyon Nat
Authors
Joan C Dudney, Jonathan C B Nesmith, Matthew Cahill, Jennifer E Cribbs, Dan M Duriscoe, Adrian Das, Nathan L. Stephenson, John J. Battles
Mercury exposure in mammalian mesopredators inhabiting a brackish marsh
Bioaccumulation of environmental contaminants in mammalian predators can serve as an indicator of ecosystem health. We examined mercury concentrations of raccoons (Procyon lotor; n = 37 individuals) and striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis; n = 87 individuals) in Suisun Marsh, California, a large brackish marsh that is characterized by contiguous tracts of tidal marsh and seasonally impounded wetland
Authors
Sarah H. Peterson, Josh T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Michael L. Casazza, Cliff L. Feldheim, Mark P. Herzog
Phylogenetic escape from pests reduces pesticides on some crop plants
Pesticides are a ubiquitous component of conventional crop production but come with considerable economic and ecological costs. We tested the hypothesis that variation in pesticide use among crop species is a function of crop economics and the phylogenetic relationship of a crop to native plants because unrelated crops accrue fewer herbivores and pathogens. Comparative analyses of a dataset of 93
Authors
Ian Pearse, Jay Rosenheim
Groundwater discharges as a source of phytoestrogens and other agriculturally derived contaminants to streams
Groundwater discharge zones in streams are important habitats for aquatic organisms. The use of discharge zones for thermal refuge and spawning by fish and other biota renders them susceptible to potential focused discharge of groundwater contamination. Currently, there is a paucity of information about discharge zones as a potential exposure pathway of chemicals to stream ecosystems. Using therma
Authors
Tyler J. Thompson, Martin A. Briggs, Patrick J. Phillips, Vicki S. Blazer, Kelly L. Smalling, Dana W. Kolpin, Tyler Wagner
Determining habitat limitations of Maumee River walleye production to western Lake Erie fish stocks: Documenting a spawning ground barrier
Tributaries provide spawning habitat for three of four major sub-stocks of Lake Erie walleye (Sander vitreus). Despite anthropogenic degradation and the extirpation of other potamodromous species, the Maumee River, Ohio, USA continues to support one of the largest fish migrations in the Laurentian Great Lakes. To determine if spawning habitat availability and quality could limit production of Maum
Authors
Brian Schmidt, Taaja Tucker, Jessica Collier, Christine Mayer, Edward F. Roseman, Wendylee Stott, Jeremy J. Pritt
Comment on “Female toads engaging in adaptive hybridization prefer high-quality heterospecifics as mates”
Chen and Pfennig (Reports, 20 March 2020, p. 1377) analyze the fitness consequences of hybridization in toads but do not account for differences in survival among progeny. Apparent fitness effects depend on families with anomalously low survival, yet survival is crucial to evolutionary fitness. This and other analytical shortcomings demonstrate that a conclusion of adaptive mate choice is not yet
Authors
Michael J. Braun, Gerald S. Wilkinson, Brian S. Cade
Micro-geographic variation in burrow use of Agassiz’s desert tortoises in the Sonoran Desert of California
Little has been published regarding the burrowing habits of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert of California. We monitored the interactions of tortoises with their burrows, and other tortoises, via radio-telemetry at two nearby sites between the Cottonwood and Orocopia Mountains, from 2015-2018. We examined how annual cycles of drought and non-drought years, beha
Authors
Kristy L. Cummings, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Shellie R. Puffer, Terence R. Arundel, Kathleen D. Brundige
Getting to the root of restoration: Considering root traits for improved restoration outcomes under drought and competition
A foundational goal of trait‐based ecology, including trait‐based restoration, is to link specific traits to community assembly, biodiversity, and ecosystem function. Despite a growing awareness of the importance of belowground traits for ecological processes, a synthesis of how to root traits can inform restoration of terrestrial plant communities is lacking. We reviewed and summarized existing l
Authors
M. Garbowski, B. Avera, J. H. Bertram, J.S. Courkamp, J. Gray, K.M. Hein, R. Lawrence, M. McIntosh, S. McClelland, A. Post, Ingrid J. Slette, Daniel E. Winkler, C. S. Brown
Maternal transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls in Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), Puget Sound, Washington
We measured polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in multiple age and size classes of Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes personatus), including eggs, young-of-the year, and adults to evaluate maternal transfer as a pathway for contaminant uptake and to add to the limited information on the occurrence of PCBs in sand lance in Puget Sound. Sampling was replicated at an urban embayment (Eagle Harbor) and a sta
Authors
Theresa L. Liedtke, Kathleen E. Conn
More than one way to kill a spruce forest: The role of fire and climate in the late-glacial termination of spruce woodlands across the southern Great Lakes
In the southern Great Lakes Region, North America, between 19,000 and 8,000 years ago, temperatures rose by 2.5–6.5°C and spruce Picea forests/woodlands were replaced by mixed-deciduous or pine Pinus forests. The demise of Picea forests/woodlands during the last deglaciation offers a model system for studying how changing climate and disturbance regimes interact to trigger declines of dominant spe
Authors
Allison Jensen, David Fastovich, Jacquelyn L. Gill, Stephen Jackson, James M. Russell, Joseph Bevington, Katherine Hayes
A latent process model approach to improve the utility of indicator species
The state of an ecosystem is governed by dynamic biotic and abiotic processes, which can only be partially observed. Costs associated with measuring each component limit the feasibility of comprehensive assessments of target ecosystems. Instead, indicator species are recommended as a surrogate index. While this is an attractive concept, indicator species have rarely proven to be an effective tool
Authors
Jillian Elizabeth Fleming, Chris Sutherland, Sean C Sterrett, Evan H. Campbell Grant
Development of a suite of functional immune assays and initial assessment of their utility in wild smallmouth bass health assessments
Methods were developed for measuring immune function in Micropterus dolomieu (smallmouth bass). The ultimate objective is to monitor and evaluate changes over time in immune status and disease resistance in conjunction with other characteristics of fish health and environmental stressors. To test these methods for utility in ecotoxicological studies, 192 smallmouth bass, age 2 years and older, wer
Authors
Cheyenne R. Smith, Christopher A. Ottinger, Heather L. Walsh, Vicki S. Blazer