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: 2228

Marmots do not drink coffee: Human urine contributions to the nitrogen budget of a popular national park destination

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) concentrations are higher than expected for mountain lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park, and for many years, high Nr concentrations have been attributed to atmospheric Nr deposition from regional and more distant emission sources, including combustion of fossil fuels and agricultural activities. Here, we estimated the contribution from a very local source, that of human u
Authors
Jill Baron, Timothy Weinmann, Varun Kirk Acharya, Caitlin Charlton, Koren Nydick, Scott Esser

Exploring the relevance of the multidimensionality of wildlife recreationists to conservation behaviors: A case study in Virginia

Wildlife recreationists' participation in conservation behaviors could provide key support to the conservation efforts of state fish and wildlife agencies. However, little is known about how identifying with multiple forms of wildlife recreation (i.e., hunters, anglers, birders, wildlife viewers) may influence participation in conservation behaviors, specifically for supporting state fish and wild
Authors
Bennett Grooms, Ashley A. Dayer, Jessica Barnes, Ashley Peele, Jonathan D. Rutter, Nicholas Cole

Using neutral landscape models to evaluate the umbrella species concept in an ecotone

ContextSteep declines in North American rangeland biodiversity have prompted researchers and managers to use umbrella species as a tool to manage diverse suites of co-occurring wildlife, but efficacy of this method has been variable. Evaluation of prairie and shrubland grouse as umbrellas is typically restricted to observed overlap between umbrella and background species, but this approach does no
Authors
Courtney Duchardt, Adrian P. Monroe, David R. Edmunds, Matthew James Holloran, Alison G. Holloran, Cameron L. Aldridge

Assessing large landscape patterns of potential fire connectivity using circuit methods

ContextMinimizing negative impacts of wildfire is a major societal objective in fire-prone landscapes. Models of fire connectivity can aid in understanding and managing wildfires by analyzing potential fire spread and conductance patterns. We define ‘fire connectivity’ as the landscape’s capacity to facilitate fire transmission from one point on the landscape to another.ObjectivesOur objective was
Authors
Erin K. Buchholtz, Jason R. Kreitler, Douglas J. Shinneman, Michele R. Crist, Julie A. Heinrichs

Assessing arthropod diversity metrics derived from stream environmental DNA: Spatiotemporal variation and paired comparisons with manual sampling

BackgroundBenthic invertebrate (BI) surveys have been widely used to characterize freshwater environmental quality but can be challenging to implement at desired spatial scales and frequency. Environmental DNA (eDNA) allows an alternative BI survey approach, one that can potentially be implemented more rapidly and cheaply than traditional methods.MethodsWe evaluated eDNA analogs of BI metrics in t
Authors
Aaron Aunins, Sara J. Mueller, Jennifer A. Fike, Robert S. Cornman

The invasive plant data landscape: A synthesis of spatial data and applications for research and management in the United States

ContextAn increase in the number and availability of datasets cataloging invasive plant distributions offers opportunities to expand our understanding, monitoring, and management of invasives across spatial scales. These datasets, created using on-the-ground observations and modeling techniques, are made both for and by researchers and managers.ObjectivesThe large number and variety of data types
Authors
Emily J. Fusco, Evelyn M. Beaury, Bethany A. Bradley, Michelle Cox, Catherine S. Jarnevich, Adam L. Mahood, R. Chelsea Nagy, Ty Nietupski, Jessica E. Halofsky

Compensatory recruitment unlikely in high-elevation amphibian populations challenged with disease

Understanding the causes of population variation in host response to disease, and the mechanisms of persistence, can serve as vital information for species conservation. One such mechanism of population persistence that has gained support is the demographic process of compensatory recruitment. Host populations may persist by increasing recruitment to compensate for reduced survival due to infectio
Authors
Bennett Hardy, Erin L. Muths, Bradley Lambert, Scott C. Schneider, W. C. Funk, Larissa L. Bailey

Periodical cicada emergences affect masting behavior of oaks

Oaks (Quercus spp.) are masting species exhibiting highly variable and synchronized acorn production. We investigated the hypothesis that periodical cicadas (Magicada spp.), well known to have strong effects on the ecosystems in which they occur, affect acorn production of oaks through their xylem feeding habits as nymphs, the oviposition damage they inflict as adults during emergences, or the nut
Authors
Walter D. Koenig, Andrew Leibhold, Jalene LaMontagne, Ian Pearse

Maximum clutch size of an invasive Burmese Python (Python bivittatus) in Florida, USA

Native to southeastern Asia, the Burmese Python (Python bivittatus Kuhl 1820) is an invasive species established in southern Florida (Snow et al. 2007; Krysko et al. 2016; Krysko et al. 2019). Pythons are documented as having negative effects on the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and they have proven to be a complex problem for managers trying to control populations (Guzy et al. 2023). This species
Authors
Andrea Faye Currylow, Teah Evers, Gretchen Erika Anderson, Lisa Marie McBride, Matthew McCollister, Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Christina Romagosa, Kristen Hart, Amy A. Yackel Adams

Community and citizen science on the Elwha River: Past, present, and future

This report reflects on the past, present, and potential future of community and citizen science (CCS) in the Elwha River watershed, with particular focus on the years before and after a major restoration event: the removal of two dams that had impacted the river system for a century. We ask: how does CCS feature in the Elwha story and how could it feature? We use the term CCS to reference the bro
Authors
M. V. Eitzel, Sarah A. Morley, Chelsea Behymer, Ryan Meyer, Anna Kagley, Heidi L. Ballard, Christopher Jadallah, Jeffrey J. Duda, Laurel Jennings, Ian M. Miller, Justin Stapleton, Anne Shaffer, Allyce Miller, Patrick B. Shafroth, Barbara Blackie

Extensive regional variation in the phenology of insects and their response to temperature across North America

Climate change models often assume similar responses to temperatures across the range of a species, but local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity can lead plants and animals to respond differently to temperature in different parts of their range. To date, there have been few tests of this assumption at the scale of continents, so it is unclear if this is a large-scale problem. Here, we examined th
Authors
Peter Dunn, Insiyaa Ahmed, Elise Armstrong, Natasha Barlow, Malcolm Barnard, Marc Belisle, T.J. Benson, Lisha Berzins, Chloe Boynton, T. Anders Brown, Melissa Cady, Kyle Cameron, Xuan Chen, Bob Clark, Ethan Clotfelter, Kara Cromwell, Russ Dawson, Elsie Denton, Andrew Forbes, Kendrick Fowler, Kamal J.K. Gandhi, Dany Garant, Megan Hiebert, Claire Houchen, Jennifer Houtz, Tara Imlay, Brian Inouye, David Inouye, Michelle Jackson, Andrew Jacobson, Kristen Jayd, Christy Juteau, Andrea Kautz, Caroline Killian, Kimberly J Komatsu, Kirk Larsen, Andrew Laughlin, Valerie Levesque-Beaudin, Ryan Leys, Elizabeth Long, Stephen Lougheed, Stu Mackenzie, Jen Marangelo, Colleen Miller, Brenda Molano-Flores, Christy Morrissey, Emony Nicholls, Jessica Orlofske, Ian Pearse, Kristen Peck, Fanie Pelletier, Amber Pitt, Joe Poston, Danielle Racke, Jeannie A. Randall, Matthew Richardson, Olivia Rooney, A. Rose Ruegg, Scott Rush, Sadie Ryan, Mitchell Sadowski, Ivana Schoepf, Lindsay Schulz, Brenna Shea, Tom Sheehan, Lynn Siefferman, Derek Sikes, Mark Stanback, Jennifer Styrsky, John Styrsky, Conor Taff, Jennifer Uehling, Kit Uvino, Thomas Wassmer, Katie Weglarz, Megan Weinberger, John Wenzel, Linda A Whittingham

The Associate Editor in the peer review process—what's that?

No abstract available. 
Authors
Kerry Nicholson, Cynthia Paszkowski, Amy Kuenzi, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, Evelyn Merrill