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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: 41756

Toxicity of wildland fire retardants to rainbow trout in short exposures

Long-term wildland fire retardants are one important tool used to control and suppress wildfires. During suppression activities, these retardants may enter waterbodies; thus, there is a need to understand their potential effects to aquatic biota. We investigated the effect of three current-use wildland fire retardants to juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) survival in short exposures more
Authors
Holly J. Puglis, Michael G. Iacchetta

Less is more: Less herbicide does more when biological control is present in Pontederia crassipes

An experiment along with simulation modeling was applied to study the combinations of herbicide treatment and biological control that best limit invasive water hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes, formerly Eichhornia crassipes) in freshwater aquatic systems. The experiment consisted of 14 different treatments of P. crassipes in 1.67 m2 outdoor tank mesocosms. Seven treatments were with and seven were w
Authors
Linhao Xu, Ashley B.C. Goode, Philip W. Tipping, Melissa C. Smith, Lyn A. Gettys, Brittany K. Knowles, Eileen Pokorny, Luz Salinas, Don DeAngelis

Survival implications of diversion entrainment for outmigrating juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead (O. mykiss)

Efforts to ameliorate negative effects of diversion dams on aquatic species of concern are important in rivers where water withdrawal supports agricultural economies and are likely to become increasingly important with impending climate change. A multiyear study was conducted to evaluate the survival consequences of diversion dam passage for juvenile Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and s
Authors
Tobias Kock, Scott D. Evans, Russell Perry, Patrick A. Monk, Michael S. Porter, Amy Hansen, Adam Pope

Climate change and collapsing thermal niches of desert reptiles and amphibians: Assisted migration and acclimation rescue from extirpation

Recent climate change should result in expansion of species to northern or high elevation range margins, and contraction at southern and low elevation margins in the northern hemisphere, because of local extirpations or range shifts or both. We combined museum occurrence records from both the continental U.S. and Mexico with a new eco-physiological model of extinction developed for lizard families
Authors
Bary Sinervo, Rafael A. Lara Reséndiz, Donald B. Miles, Jeffrey E. Lovich, Philip C. Rosen, Héctor Gadsden, Gamaliel Casteñada Gaytán, Patricia Galina Tessaro, Victor H. Luja, Raymond B. Huey, Amy V. Whipple, Víctor Sánchez Cordero, Jason B. Rohr, Gabriel Caetano, Juan C. Santos, Jr. Sites, Fausto R. Méndez de la Cruz

Springing forward: Migrating songbirds catch up with the start of spring in North America

In temperate regions, the annual pattern of spring onset can be envisioned as a ‘green wave’ of emerging vegetation that moves across continents from low to high latitudes, signifying increasing food availability for consumers.Many herbivorous migrants ‘surf’ such resource waves, timing their movements to exploit peak vegetation resources in early spring. Although less well studied at the individu
Authors
Claire E. Nemes, Peter P. Marra, Theodore J. Zenzal, Samantha A. Collins, Bryant C. Dossman, Alexander R. Gerson, Camila Gómez, Ana M. González, Mariamar Gutierrez Ramirez, Sarah A. Hamer, Joseph Marty, Phillip L. Vasseur, Emily B. Cohen

Two new species of small-eared shrews of the Genus Cryptotis Pomel, 1848, from the Colombian Andes (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

Shrews (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Soricidae) reach the southern limit of their New World distribution in the Andes and eastern coastal highlands of northern South America. South of Honduras, the family is represented only by species of the genus Cryptotis Pomel, 1848. In South America, soricids are restricted to moist, high-elevation environments above 1000 m, and their distribution appears to be di
Authors
Neal Woodman

Biological responses of Pacific herring embryos to crude oil are quantifiable at exposure levels below conventional limits of quantitation for PAHs in water and tissues

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), a cornerstone of marine food webs, generally spawn on marine macroalgae in shallow nearshore areas that are disproportionately at risk from oil spills. Herring embryos are also highly susceptible to toxicity from chemicals leaching from oil stranded in intertidal and subtidal zones. The water-soluble components of crude oil trigger an adverse outcome pathway that
Authors
John P. Incardona, Tiffany L. Linbo, James R. Cameron, Barbara L. French, Jennie L. Bolton, Jacob L. Gregg, Carey E. Donald, Paul Hershberger, Nathaniel L. Scholz

A global ecological signal of extinction risk in marine ray-finned fishes (class Actinopterygii)

Many marine fish species are experiencing population declines, but their extinction risk profiles are largely understudied in comparison to their terrestrial vertebrate counterparts. Selective extinction of marine fish species may result in rapid alteration of the structure and function of ocean ecosystems. In this study, we compiled an ecological trait dataset for 8,185 species of marine ray-finn
Authors
Trevor M. Bak, Richard J. Camp, Noel A. Heim, Douglas J. McCauley, Jonathan L. Payne, Matthew L Knope

Assessing the ecological risk of heavy metal sediment contamination from Port Everglades Florida USA

Port sediments are often contaminated with metals and organic compounds from anthropogenic sources. Remobilization of sediment during a planned expansion of Port Everglades near Fort Lauderdale, Florida (USA) has the potential to harm adjacent benthic communities, including coral reefs. Twelve sediment cores were collected from four Port Everglades sites and a control site; surface sediment was co
Authors
Dimitrios G. Giarikos, Laura White, Andre Daniels, Radleigh G. Santos, Paul E. Baldauf, Amy C. Hirons

Data mining reveals tissue-specific expression and host lineage-associated forms of Apis mellifera filamentous virus

Apis mellifera filamentous virus (AmFV) is a large double-stranded DNA virus of uncertain phylogenetic position that infects honey bees (Apis mellifera). Little is known about AmFV evolution or molecular aspects of infection. Accurate annotation of open-reading frames (ORFs) is challenged by weak homology to other known viruses. This study was undertaken to evaluate ORFs (including coding-frame co
Authors
Robert S. Cornman

Living on the edge: Predicting songbird response to management and environmental changes across an ecotone

Effective wildlife management requires robust information regarding population status, habitat requirements, and likely responses to changing resource conditions. Single-species management may inadequately conserve communities and result in undesired effects to non-target species. Thus, management can benefit from understanding habitat relationships for multiple species. Pinyon pine and juniper (P
Authors
Nicholas J. Van Lanen, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge

Carbon dioxide (CO2) gas and eDNA monitoring as tools for eradicating invasive fish from anchialine pools in Hawai‘i

Invasive fish can profoundly affect communities they invade. In Hawai‘i, invasive fishes have become established in many anchialine pools, threatening the persistence of resident invertebrates, including several endangered species. Tools to eradicate invasive fishes from these pools are lacking. This study tested the efficacy of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas diffused into anchialine pool water as a met
Authors
Robert W. Peck, Maya Munnstermann, Malia Hayes, Carter T. Atkinson, Sallie Beavers, Aaron R. Cupp, Paul C. Banko