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
Estimating sightability of greater sage-grouse at leks using an aerial infrared system and N-mixture models
Counts of grouse present at leks (breeding grounds) during spring are widely used to monitor population numbers and assess trends. However, only a proportion of birds available to count are detected resulting in a biased population index. We designed a study using an aerial integrated infrared imaging system (AIRIS) and experimental pseudo-leks to quantify sightability (proportion of birds detecte
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Gregory T. Wann, Gifford L. Gillette, Mark A. Ricca, Brian G. Prochazka, John P. Severson, Katie M. Andrle, Shawn P. Espinosa, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
Reaffirmed occurrence of two vulnerable caddisfly species of conservation concern
Maramec Spring is home to two Ozark endemic caddisfly Species of Conservation Concern (SOCC). The Missouri Glyphospsyche Caddisfly, Glyphospsyche missouri, (Critically Imperiled; State Rank-S1; Global Rank-G1) is known from Maramec Spring and the receiving spring branch and nowhere else in the world. Similarly, the Artesian Agapetus Caddisfly, Agapetus artesus, (Vulnerable; State Rank-S3 and Globa
Authors
William Mabee, Andrea Schuhmann, Barry C. Poulton, Jennifer Girondo, Wes Swee, Tealetha Buckley, David Bowles, Beth Bowles, Russell Rhodes
Reducing wet ammonium deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park: The development and evaluation of a pilot early warning system for agricultural operations in eastern Colorado
Agricultural emissions are the primary source of ammonia (NH3) deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), a Class I area, that is granted special air quality protections under the Clean Air Act. Between 2014 and 2016, the pilot phase of the Colorado agricultural nitrogen early warning system (CANEWS) was developed for agricultural producers to voluntarily and temporarily minimize emissions
Authors
Aaron Pena, Russ Schumacher, Scott Denning, William Faulkner, Jill Baron, Jay Ham, Dennis S. Ojima, Jeffrey Collett
Understanding reproductive allometry in turtles: A slippery “slope”
Measures of reproductive output in turtles are generally positively correlated with female body size. However, a full understanding of reproductive allometry in turtles requires logarithmic transformation of reproductive and body size variables prior to regression analyses. This allows for slope comparisons with expected linear or cubic relationships for linear to linear and linear to volumetric v
Authors
John B. Iverson, Peter V. Lindeman, Jeffrey E. Lovich
Differential plague susceptibility in species and populations of prairie dogs
Laboratory trials conducted over the past decade at U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center indicate that wild populations of prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) display different degrees of susceptibility to experimental challenge with fully virulent Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. We evaluated patterns in prairie dog susceptibility to plague to determine whether the histor
Authors
Robin E. Russell, Daniel W. Tripp, Tonie E. Rocke
Interactive effects of food supplementation and snake fungal disease on pregnant Pygmy Rattlesnakes and their offspring
In viviparous organisms, the ability to feed while pregnant may mitigate energetic trade-offs experienced during the reproductive process and enhance fecundity. However, anorexia during pregnancy has been reported in many crotaline snakes. The potential costs and benefits of feeding while pregnant are not completely described in the literature, and experimental studies have been conducted in a lim
Authors
Craig M. Lind, Amber Clark, Sarah A Smiley-Walters, Daniel Taylor, Marcos Isidoro Ayza, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Terence M. Farrell
Applying the ecology of aquatic–terrestrial linkages to freshwater and riparian management
Global stressors such as climate change, invasive species, urbanization, agricultural practices, and pollution can alter aquatic resource subsidies to terrestrial consumers. The effects of these stressors on timing, quality, and quantity of aquatic subsidies, such as adult aquatic insects, to birds, herpetofauna, and mammals, have large implications for wildlife management (Baxter et al. 2004, Sau
Authors
Johanna M. Kraus
Genomic pedigree reconstruction identifies predictors of mating and reproductive success in an invasive vertebrate
The persistence of an invasive species is influenced by its reproductive ecology, and a successful control program must operate on this premise. However, the reproductive ecology of invasive species may be enigmatic due to factors that also limit their management, such as cryptic coloration and behavior. We explored the mating and reproductive ecology of the invasive Brown Treesnake (BTS: Boiga ir
Authors
Brenna A Levine, Marlis R Douglas, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Bjorn Lardner, Robert Reed, Julie A. Savidge, Michael E Douglas
Examining progress toward achieving the Ten Steps of the Rome Declaration on Responsible Inland Fisheries
Inland capture fisheries provide food for nearly a billion people and are important in the livelihoods of millions of households worldwide. Although there are limitations to evaluating many of the contributions made by inland capture fisheries, there is growing recognition by the international community that these services make critical contributions, most notably to food security and livelihoods
Authors
Abigail Lynch, Devin M. Bartley, Douglas Beard, Ian. G. Cowx, Simon Funge-Smith, William W. Taylor, Steve J. Cooke
Effects of ocean climate on the length and condition of forage fish in the Gulf of Alaska
Climatic drivers of the size and body condition of forage fish in the North Pacific are poorly known. We hypothesized that length and condition of forage fish in the Gulf of Alaska (GoA) should vary in relation to ocean temperature on multiple scales. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed morphometric data for capelin (Mallotus catervarius) and Pacific sand lance (PSL; Ammodytes personatus) sam
Authors
Sarah Ann Thompson, Marisol Garcia-Reyes, William Sydeman, Mayumi L. Arimitsu, Scott Hatch, John F. Piatt
In vitro immune function in laboratory-reared age-0 smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) relative to diet
Smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) are used as an indicator species in environmental monitoring and assessment studies. However, laboratory-based studies for methods development and effector assessment are limited for this species. Nutrition, a known modulator of teleost physiological responses including immune function, is a critical knowledge-gap sometimes overlooked in the design of laborat
Authors
Christopher A. Ottinger, Cheyenne R. Smith, Vicki S. Blazer
Wetland biomass and productivity in Coastal Louisiana: Base line data (1976-2015) and knowledge gaps for the development of spatially explicit models for ecosystem restoration and rehabilitation initiatives
Coastal Louisiana host 37% of the coastal wetland area in the conterminous US, including one of the deltaic coastal regions more susceptible to the synergy of human and natural impacts causing wetland loss. As a result of the construction of flood protection infrastructure, dredging of channels across wetlands for oil/gas exploration and maritime transport activities, coastal Coastal Louisiana hos
Authors
Victor H. Rivera-Monroy, Courtney Elliton, Siddhartha Narra, Ehab Meselhe, Xiaochen Zhao, Eric White, Charles E. Sasser, Jenneke M. Visser, X. Meng, Hongqing Wang, Zuo Xue, Fernando Jaramillo