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: 41772
Effects of barred owl (Strix varia) removal on population demography of northern spotted owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) in Washington and Oregon—2019 annual report
Strix occidentalis caurina (northern spotted owl; hereinafter referred to as spotted owl) have rapidly declined throughout the subspecies’ geographic range. Competition with invading Strix varia (barred owl) has been identified as an immediate cause of those declines. A pilot study in California showed that removal of barred owls coupled with conservation of suitable habitat conditions can slow or
Authors
J. David Wiens, Katie M. Dugger, Damon B. Lesmeister, Krista E. Dilione, David C. Simon
Genomic architecture and repertoire of the rainbow trout immunoglobulin light chain genes
The genomic loci encoding the four immunoglobulin light chains (IgL1, IgL2, IgL3, and IgL4) in the Swanson trout genome assembly were annotated in order to provide a measurement of the potential IgL repertoire. IgL1 and IgL3 gene segments are co-localized on chromosomes 21, 18, 15, and 7 while IgL2 and IgL4 were found on chromosomes 13 and 17, respectively. In total, 48 constant (CL), 87 variable
Authors
Katherine Rego, John Hansen, Erin S Bromage
A new species of freshwater mussel in the genus Popenaias Frierson, 1927, from the Gulf coastal rivers of central Mexico (Bivalvia: Unionida: Unionidae) with comments on the genus
The Gulf coastal drainages of central Mexico are a faunal transition zone between North and South America and harbor a unique assemblage of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida). However, little information is available regarding the taxonomy, distribution, and evolutionary history of the Mexican mussel fauna due to limited sampling over the last 100 years. To address these knowledge gaps, we ev
Authors
Kentaro Inoue, Kevin S. Cummings, Jeremy S. Tiemann, Thomas D. Miller, Nathan Johnson, Chase H. Smith, Charles R. Randklev
Tropical understory herbaceous community responds more strongly to hurricane disturbance than to experimental warming
The effects of climate change on tropical forests may have global consequences due to the forests’ high biodiversity and major role in the global carbon cycle. In this study, we document the effects of experimental warming on the abundance and composition of a tropical forest floor herbaceous plant community in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. This study was conducted within Tropical
Authors
Deborah K. Kennard, David Matlaga, Joanne Sharpe, Clay C. King, Aura M. Alonso-Rodríguez, Sasha C. Reed, Molly A. Cavaleri, Tana E. Wood
Tests in a semi-natural environment suggest that bait and switch strategy could be used to control invasive Common Carp
Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, 1758), is a highly invasive species that has had profound effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Many Carp management methods have been applied including physical removal, pesticide treatments of whole lakes, and water drawdowns. Herein, we tested key elements of a potential “bait and switch” approach in which corn could be used to induce feeding agg
Authors
Peter J Hundt, Jon Amberg, Blake W. Sauey, Kristen Vacura, Przemyslaw G. Bajer
Avian eggshell thickness in relation to egg morphometrics, embryonic development, and mercury contamination
Eggshell thickness is important for physiological, ecological, and ecotoxicological studies on birds; however, empirical eggshell thickness measurements for many species and regions are limited. We measured eggshell thickness at the equator and the egg poles for 12 avian species and related eggshell thickness to egg morphometrics, embryonic development, egg status, and mercury contamination. Withi
Authors
Sarah H. Peterson, Josh T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Matthew Toney, Breanne Cooney, C. Alex Hartman
Salinity, water level, and forest structure contribute to baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) rhizosphere and endosphere community structure
As rising sea levels alter coastal ecosystems, there is a pressing need to examine the effects of saltwater intrusion on coastal communities. Using 16S Illumina profiling, we characterized the communities of baldcypress tree (Taxodium distichum) root endosphere and rhizosphere soil bacteria. Our study utilized established sites along salinity and flooding gradients in the United States of Georgia,
Authors
Candice Y Lumibao, Elizabeth Kimbrough, Steven Formel, Richard Day, Andrew From, William H. Conner, Ken Krauss, Sunshine A Van Bael
Anticipating future learning affects current control decisions: A comparison between passive and active adaptive management in an epidemiological setting
Infectious disease epidemics present a difficult task for policymakers, requiring the implementation of control strategies under significant time constraints and uncertainty. Mathematical models can be used to predict the outcome of control interventions, providing useful information to policymakers in the event of such an epidemic. However, these models suffer in the early stages of an outbreak f
Authors
Benjamin D Atkins, Chris P. Jewell, Michael C. Runge, Matthew J. Ferrari, Katriona Shea, William J. M. Probert, Michael J. Tildesley
Biological nitrogen fixation across major biomes in Latin America: Patterns and global change effects
Biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) supports terrestrial primary productivity and plays key roles in mediating human-induced changes in global nitrogen (N) and carbon cycling. However, there are still critical uncertainties in our understanding of the amount of BNF occurring across terrestrial ecosystems, and of how terrestrial BNF will respond to global change. We synthesized BNF data from Latin A
Authors
Carla R. G. Reis, Felipe S. Pacheco, Sasha C. Reed, Graciela Tejada, Gabriela B. Nardoto, Maria C. Forti, Jean Ometto
Where you trap matters: Implications for integrated sea lamprey management
Barriers and pesticides have been used in streams to control sea lamprey in the Laurentian Great Lakes for nearly 70 years. Considerable effort has been spent to develop additional control measures, but much less effort has gone toward identifying how or where additional control measures might be cost-effectively integrated into the sea lamprey control program. We use a management strategy evaluat
Authors
Scott M. Miehls, Heather Dawson, Alex Maguffee, Nicholas S. Johnson, Michael Jones, Norine Dobiesz
An updated genetic marker for detection of Lake Sinai Virus and metagenetic applications
BackgroundLake Sinai Viruses (LSV) are common RNA viruses of honey bees (Apis mellifera) that frequently reach high abundance but are not linked to overt disease. LSVs are genetically heterogeneous and collectively widespread, but despite frequent detection in surveys, the ecological and geographic factors structuring their distribution in A. mellifera are not understood. Even less is known about
Authors
Deborah D. Iwanowicz, Judy Y. Wu-Smart, Tugce Olgun, Autumn H. Smart, Clint R.V. Otto, Dawn Lopez, Jay D. Evans, Robert S. Cornman
A comparative phylogeographic approach to facilitate recovery of an imperiled freshwater mussel (Bivalvia: Unionida: Potamilus inflatus)
North American freshwaters are among the world’s most threatened ecosystems, and freshwater mussels are among the most imperiled inhabiting these systems. A critical aspect of conservation biology is delineating patterns of genetic diversity, which can be difficult when a taxon has been extirpated from a significant portion of its historical range. In such cases, evaluating conservation and recove
Authors
Chase H. Smith, Nathan A. Johnson