Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

FORT scientists have produced more than 1,500 peer reviewed publications that are registered in the USGS Publications Warehouse, along with many others prior to their work at the USGS or in conjunction with other government agencies. 

Filter Total Items: 2254

A high validity census technique for herpetofaunal assemblages

No abstract available.
Authors
G.H. Rodda, E.W. Campbell, T. H. Fritts

Distributions of roosting sandhill cranes as identified by aerial thermography

We used aerial thermography to determine the location of sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) roosting sites during a single night over a 142-km reach of the Platte River, Nebraska. We assessed the influences of human disturbance features, screening of disturbance features by woody vegetation, distance to surrounding cropland of various types and channel width on distribution patterns of sandhill cran
Authors
T.L. Parrish, W.A. Hubert, S.H. Anderson, M.J. Pucherelli, W. Mangus

Responses of desert bighorn sheep to increased human recreation

Human recreation has been implicated in the decline of several populations of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni). Managers are concerned about the impact of increased recreation on desert bighorn sheep in Canyonlands National Park (NP), Utah, USA, where visitation increased 325% from 1979 to 1994. We compared behavioral responses of sheep to recreational activity between a low visitor
Authors
C.M. Papouchis, F. J. Singer, W.B. Sloan

The densest terrestrial vertebrate

An understanding of the abundance of organisms is central to understanding ecology, but many population density estimates are unrepresentative because they were obtained from study areas chosen for the high abundance of the target species. For example, from a pool of 1072 lizard density estimates that we compiled from the literature, we sampled 303 estimates and scored each for its assessment of t
Authors
G.H. Rodda, G. Perry, R.J. Rondeau, J. Lazell

Secretion of whey acidic protein and cystatin is down regulated at mid-lactation in the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus)

Milk collected from the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus) between day 100 and 260 of lactation showed major changes in milk composition at around day 200 of lactation, the time at which the pouch young begins to temporarily exit the pouch and eat herbage. The carbohydrate content of milk declined abruptly at this time and although there was only a small increase in total protein content, SDS PAGE anal
Authors
K.R. Nicholas, J.A. Fisher, E. Muths, J. Trott, P.A. Janssens, C. Reich, D.C. Shaw

Experimental repatriation of boreal toad (Bufo boreas) eggs, metamorphs, and adults in Rocky Mountain National Park

The boreal toad (Bufo boreas) is an endangered species in Colorado and is considered a candidate species for federal listing by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Boreal toads are absent from many areas of suitable habitat in the Southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado presumably due to a combination of causes. We moved boreal toads from existing populations and from captive rearing facilit
Authors
E. Muths, T. L. Johnson, P. S. Corn

The importance of defining technical issues in interagency environmental negotiations

The role of technical clarity in successful multiparty negotiations was studied. Investigations involved in-depth interviews with the principal participants in six consultations conducted under the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s hydroelectric power project licensing procedures. Technical clarity was especially important in these cases because they concerned science-based questions. Th
Authors
B. L. Lamb, N. Burkardt, J.G. Taylor

Effects of physical disturbance and granivory on establishment of native and alien riparian trees in Colorado, USA

In western North America, the alien Elaeagnus angustifolia L. invades riparian habitats usually dominated by pioneer woody species such as Populus deltoides Marshall ssp. monilifera (Aiton) Eckenwalder. We conducted manipulative field experiments to compare the importance of physical disturbance and granivory for seedling establishment of these two species. We planted seeds of both species in dist
Authors
G.L. Katz, J. M. Friedman, S.W. Beatty

Influence of changes in sagebrush on Gunnison sage grouse in Southwestern Colorado

The decline in abundance of the newly recognized Gunnison sage grouse (Centrocercus minimus) in southwestern Colorado is thought to be linked to loss and fragmentation of its habitat, sagebrush (Artemisia) vegetation. We documented changes in sagebrush-dominated areas between the 1950s and 1990s by comparing low level aerial photographs taken in these time periods. We documented a loss of 20% or 1
Authors
S.J. Oyler-McCance, K.P. Burnham, C.E. Braun

Does habitat fragmentation influence nest predation in the shortgrass prairie?

We examined the effects of habitat fragmentation and vegetation structure of shortgrass prairie and Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) lands on predation rates of artificial and natural nests in northeastern Colorado. The CRP provides federal payments to landowners to take highly erodible cropland out of agricultural production. In our study area, CRP lands have been reseeded primarily with non-na
Authors
M.N. Howard, S. K. Skagen, P.L. Kennedy

Bat use of a high-plains urban wildlife refuge

Bats are significant components of mammalian diversity and in many areas are of management concern. However, little attention has been given to bats in urban or prairie landscapes. In 1997 and 1998, we determined species richness, relative abundance, roosting habits, and echolocation activity of bats at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge (RMA), the largest urban unit in the United Sta
Authors
A. L. Everette, T. J. O'Shea, L.E. Ellison, L.A. Stone, J.L. McCance
Was this page helpful?