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
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus)
The key to Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) management is maintaining expansive sand shinnery oak (Quercus havardii) or sand sagebrush (Artemisia filifolia) grasslands. Within these grasslands, areas should contain short herbaceous cover for lek sites (that is, an area where male prairie-chickens gather to engage in courtship displays to attract mates); shrubs or tall residual g
Authors
Brent E. Jamison, Lawrence D. Igl, Jill A. Shaffer, Douglas H. Johnson, Christopher M. Goldade, Betty R. Euliss
Coastal marsh degradation into ponds induces irreversible elevation loss relative to sea level
Coastal marshes and their valuable ecosystem services are feared to be lost by sea level rise, yet the mechanisms of marsh degradation into ponds and potential recovery are poorly understood. We quantified and analyzed elevations of marsh surfaces and pond bottoms along a marsh loss gradient (Blackwater River, Maryland, USA). Our analyses show that ponds deepen with increasing tidal channel width
Authors
Lennert Schepers, Patrick Brennand, Matthew L. Kirwan, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Stijn Temmerman
Influenza A viruses remain infectious for more than seven months in northern wetlands of North America
In this investigation, we used a combination of field- and laboratory-based approaches to assess if influenza A viruses (IAVs) shed by ducks could remain viable for extended periods in surface water within three wetland complexes of North America. In a field experiment, replicate filtered surface water samples inoculated with duck swabs were tested for IAVs upon collection and again after an overw
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Andrew B. Reeves, Judith Z. Drexler, Josh T. Ackerman, Susan E. W. De La Cruz, Andrew S. Lang, Christina Leyson, Paul T. Link, Diann Prosser, Gregory J. Robertson, Jordan Wight, Sungsu Youk, Erica Spackman, Mary Pantin-Jackwood, Rebecca L. Poulson, David E. Stallknecht
Giant Gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) exploit abundant non-native prey while maintaining their appetite for native anurans
The introductions of nonnative species can cause great change in the trophic dynamics of native species. Giant Gartersnakes, endemic predators in the Central Valley of California, are listed as threatened because of the conversion of their once vast wetland habitat to agriculture. Further contributing to this snake's changing ecology is the introduction of many nonnative prey species, resulting in
Authors
Julia Ersan, Brian J. Halstead, Erica L Wildy, Michael L. Casazza, Glenn D. Wylie
Review of methods to repair and maintain lithophilic fish spawning habitat
Rocky reefs provide important spawning and refuge habitats for lithophilic spawning fishes. However, many reefs have been lost or severely degraded through anthropogenic effects like dredging, channelization, or sedimentation. Constructed reefs have been used to mitigate these effects in some systems, but these reefs are also subject to degradation which may warrant custodial maintenance. Monitori
Authors
Audrey Baetz, Taaja Tucker, Robin DeBruyne, Alex Gatch, T. Hook, J. Fischer, Edward F. Roseman
Climate change Is likely to alter future wolf - moose - forest interactions at Isle Royale National Park, United States
We evaluated how climate change and variable rates of moose browsing intensity, as they relate to wolf predation, might affect the forests of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, United States by conducting a modeling experiment. The experiment consisted of contrasting three different scenarios of wolf management and with a static (current conditions) and changing climate (high emissions). Our res
Authors
Nathan R. De Jager, Jason J. Rohweder, Matthew J. Duveneck
Effects of water level alteration on carbon cycling in peatlands
Globally, peatlands play an important role in the carbon (C) cycle. High water level is a key factor in maintaining C storage in peatlands, but water levels are vulnerable to climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. This review examines literature related to the effects of water level alteration on C cycling in peatlands to summarize new ideas and uncertainties emerging in this field. Peatlan
Authors
Yehui Zhong, Jiang Ming, Beth Middleton
Endocrine disrupting activities and geochemistry of water resources associated with unconventional oil and gas activity
The rise of hydraulic fracturing and unconventional oil and gas (UOG) exploration in the United States has increased public concerns for water contamination induced from hydraulic fracturing fluids and associated wastewater spills. Herein, we collected surface and groundwater samples across Garfield County, Colorado, a drilling-dense region, and measured endocrine bioactivities, geochemical tracer
Authors
Christopher D. Kassotis, Jennifer S. Harkness, Phuc H. Vo, Danh C. Vu, Kate Hoffman, Katelyn M. Cinnamon, Jennifer N. Cornelius-Green, Avner Vengosh, Chung-Ho Lin, Donald E. Tillitt, Robin L. Kruse, Jane A. McElroy, Susan C. Nagel
Drivers and consequences of apex predator diet composition in the Canadian Beaufort Sea
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) rely on annual sea ice as their primary habitat for hunting marine mammal prey. Given their long lifespan, wide geographic distribution, and position at the top of the Arctic marine food web, the diet composition of polar bears can provide insights into temporal and spatial ecosystem dynamics related to climate-mediated sea ice loss. Polar bears with the greatest ecol
Authors
Katie R. N. Florko, Gregory W. Thiemann, Jeffrey F. Bromaghin
Assessing the ecological risks of per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances: Current state‐of‐the science and a proposed path forward
Per‐ and poly‐fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) encompass a large, heterogenous group of chemicals of potential concern to human health and the environment. Based on information for a few relatively well‐understood PFAS such as perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoate, there is ample basis to suspect that at least a subset can be considered persistent, bioaccumulative, and/or toxic. However, d
Authors
Gerald T. Ankley, Philippa Cureton, Robert A. Hoke, Magali Houde, Anupama Kumar, Jessy Kurias, Roman P. Lanno, Chris McCarthy, John L. Newsted, Christopher J. Salice, Bradley E. Sample, Maria S. Sepúlveda, Jeffery Steevens, Sara Valsecchi
A global biophysical typology of mangroves and its relevance for ecosystem structure and deforestation
Mangrove forests provide many ecosystem services but are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems. Mangroves vary substantially according to their geomorphic and sedimentary setting; while several conceptual frameworks describe these settings, their spatial distribution has not been quantified. Here, we present a new global mangrove biophysical typology and show that, based on their 2016 exten
Authors
Thomas A. Worthington, Philine S.E. zu Ermgassen, Daniel A. Friess, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock, Rick Tingey, Colin D. Woodroffe, Pete Bunting, N. Cormier, David Lagomasino, Richard Lucas, Nicholas J. Murray, William J. Sutherland, Mark Spalding
Utilization of multiple microbial tools to evaluate efficacy of restoration strategies to improve recreational water quality at a Lake Michigan Beach (Racine, WI)
Hydro-meteorological conditions facilitate transport of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) to the nearshore environment, affecting recreational water quality. North Beach (Racine, Wisconsin, United States), is an exemplar public beach site along Lake Michigan, where precipitation-mediated surface runoff, wave encroachment, stormwater and tributary outflow were demonstrated to contribute to beach advis
Authors
Julie Kinzelman, Muruleedhara Byappanahalli, Meredith B. Nevers, Dawn Shively, Stephan Kurdas, Cindy H Nakatsu