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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: 41778

Coming to terms with the new normal: Forest health in the Sierra Nevada

The vast conifer forests of California’s Sierra Nevada range inspire awe and create lasting memories. The size and longevity of these trees make them seem both otherworldly and everlasting. Indeed, their grandeur is such that visitors may not appreciate how these forests are connected to the larger landscape, and so there is little understanding that something as common as a drought could lead to
Authors
Jodi Axelson, John J. Battles, Adrian J. Das, Phillip J. van Mantgem

Combining models of the critical streakline and the cross-sectional distribution of juvenile salmon to predict fish routing at river junctions

Because fish that enter the interior Delta have poorer survival than those emigrating via the Sacramento River, understanding the mechanisms that drive entrainment rates at side channel junctions is critically important for the management of imperiled juvenile salmon. Here, we implement a previously proposed process-based conceptual model to study entrainment rates based on three linked elements:
Authors
Dalton Hance, Russell Perry, Jon R. Burau, Aaron R. Blake, Paul Stumpner, Xiaochun Wang, Adam Pope

Lake Ontario fall benthic prey fish assessment

No abstract available.
Authors
Jeremy P. Holden, Brian C. Weidel, Michael J. Connerton, Brian P. O'Malley, C. Osborne

Lake Ontario spring prey fish assessment

No abstract available.
Authors
Jeremy P. Holden, Brian C. Weidel, Michael J. Connerton

A multiscale approach to understanding migratory land bird habitat use of functional stopover habitat types and management efforts

It is hard to believe that many of the small “backyard birds” people see during spring and autumn can make migratory journeys that span thousands of kilometers. In fact, over two-thirds of all land birds (i.e., those not associated with aquatic habitats) and over half of the migratory species in North America move long distances to areas in Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean isla
Authors
Theodore J. Zenzal

Species and genetic diversity in Lake Huron in 2018

Fish community objectives (FCOs) for species and genetic diversity (DesJardine et al. 1995) complement the species- or genera-specific objectives by recognizing that diversity within and among species can improve ecosystem resiliency through portfolio effects (DuFour et al. 2015). In Lake Huron, native species (such as Lake Trout and Lake Whitefish), and non-native species (such as Alewife and Pac
Authors
Wendylee Stott, Edward F. Roseman, Chris C. Wilson

Lake trout rehabilitation in Lake Ontario, 2019

Each year we report on the progress toward rehabilitation of the Lake Ontario lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) population, including the results of stocking, annual assessment surveys, creel surveys, and evidence of natural reproduction observed from all standard surveys performed by USGS and NYSDEC. The catch per unit effort of adult lake trout in gill nets increased each year from 2008-2014, re
Authors
Brian F. Lantry, Stacy Furgal, Brian C. Weidel, Michael Connerton, Dimitry Gorsky, Christopher Osborne

Lake trout spawning studies: Updates, new survey, and comparison to standard September gillnet survey

In Lake Ontario, lake trout restoration efforts have not established a self-sustaining population. Herein we describe efforts to evaluate standard and new surveys, and to estimate dispersal from stocking locations, to better understand impediments to natural reproduction. In 2019, lake trout egg deposition was sampled at two locations, Stony Island Reef, and Ford Shoals. No eggs were collected at
Authors
Stacy Furgal, Christopher Osborne, Brian F. Lantry, Brian C. Weidel, Dimitry Gorsky, Michael Connerton

Bottom trawl assessment of Lake Ontario prey fishes, 2019

Multi-agency, collaborative Lake Ontario bottom trawl surveys provide information for decision making related to Fish Community Objectives including predator-prey balance and understanding prey fish community diversity. In 2019, bottom trawl surveys in April (n = 252 tows) and October (n = 160 tows) sampled main lake and embayments at depths from 5–226 m. Combined, the surveys captured 283,383 fis
Authors
Brian C. Weidel, Brian O'Malley, Michael J. Connerton, Jeremy P. Holden, Christopher Osborne

Gardening with climate-smart native plants in the Northeast

No abstract available.
Authors
Bethany A. Bradley, A. Bayer, Bridget Griffin, Sydni Joubran, Brittany B. Laginhas, Lara Munro, Sam Talbot, Jenica M. Allen, Audrey Barker-Plotkin, Evelyn M. Beaury, Carrie Brown-Lima, Emily J. Fusco, Hailey Mount, Bailey Servais, Toni Lyn Morelli

2019 Lake Michigan Lake Trout Working Group Report

This report provides a review on the progression of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) rehabilitation towards meeting the Salmonine Fish Community Objectives (FCOs) for Lake Michigan (Eshenroder et. al. 1995) and the interim goal and evaluation objectives articulated in A Fisheries Management Implementation Strategy for the Rehabilitation of Lake Trout in Lake Michigan (hereafter the "Strategy"; De
Authors
Charles P. Madenjian, Charles R. Bronte, Rick Clark, Ben Dickinson, Kevin Donner, Roger Gordon, Dale Hanson, John Janssen, Jory Jonas, Matthew Kornis, Steve Lenart, Dan Makauskas, Erik Olsen, Becky Redman, Laura Schmidt, Jason Smith, Ted Treska

Behavior, size, and body condition predict susceptibility to management and reflect post-treatment frequency shifts in an invasive snake

Foraging behavior can have population-level effects that are of interest for wildlife management. For invasive species, foraging behavior has been tied to establishment ability and rate of spread and is generally of import in understanding invasion biology. A major method for controlling invasive vertebrates is using food-based baits as attractants. Tool efficacy is therefore partially driven by i
Authors
Melia G. Nafus, Amy A. Yackel Adams, S. M. Boback, SR Siers, Robert Reed