Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Below is a list of available NOROCK peer reviewed and published science. If you are in search of a specific publication and cannot find it below or through a search, please contact twojtowicz@usgs.gov.

Filter Total Items: 1211

Genetic analysis of individual origins supports isolation of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) supports the southernmost of the 2 largest remaining grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) populations in the contiguous United States. Since the mid-1980s, this population has increased in numbers and expanded in range. However, concerns for its long-term genetic health remain because of its presumed continued isolation. To test the power of genetic methods for detec
Authors
Mark A. Haroldson, Charles Schwartz, Katherine C. Kendall, Kerry A. Gunther, David S. Moody, Kevin L. Frey, David Paetkau

Brucellosis in cattle, bison, and elk: Management conflicts in a society with diverse values

No abstract available. 
Authors
P.C. Cross, Michael R. Ebinger, V. Patrek, Rick Wallen

Linking process to pattern: estimating spatiotemporal dynamics of a wildlife epidemic from cross‐sectional data

Underlying dynamic event processes unfolding in continuous time give rise to spatiotemporal patterns that are sometimes observable at only a few discrete times. Such event processes may be modulated simultaneously over several spatial (e.g., latitude and longitude) and temporal (e.g., age, calendar time, and cohort) dimensions. The ecological challenge is to understand the dynamic latent processes
Authors
Dennis M. Heisey, Erik E. Osnas, Paul C. Cross, Damien O. Joly, Julia A. Langenberg, Michael W. Miller

New software methods in radar ornithology using WSR-88D weather data and potential application to monitoring effects of climate change on bird migration

Radar ornithology has provided tools for studying the movement of birds, especially related to migration. Researchers have presented qualitative evidence suggesting that birds, or at least migration events, can be identified using large broad scale radars such as the WSR-88D used in the NEXRAD weather surveillance system. This is potentially a boon for ornithologists because such data cover a larg
Authors
Reginald Mead, John Paxton, Richard S. Sojda

Functional linear models to test for differences in prairie wetland hydraulic gradients

Functional data analysis provides a framework for analyzing multiple time series measured frequently in time, treating each series as a continuous function of time. Functional linear models are used to test for effects on hydraulic gradient functional responses collected from three types of land use in Northeastern Montana at fourteen locations. Penalized regression-splines are used to estimate th
Authors
Mark C. Greenwood, Richard S. Sojda, Todd M. Preston

A proposed lexicon of terms and concepts for human-bear management in North America

We believe that communication within and among agency personnel in the United States and Canada about the successes and failures of their human–bear (Ursidae) management programs will increase the effectiveness of these programs and of bear research. To communicate more effectively, we suggest agencies clearly define terms and concepts used in human–bear management and use them in a consistent man
Authors
John B. Hopkins, Stephen Herrero, Richard T. Shideler, Kerry A. Gunther, Charles C. Schwartz, Steven T. Kalinowski

Using GIS and Google Earth for the creation of the Going-to-the-Sun Road Avalanche Atlas, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Snow avalanche paths are key geomorphologic features in Glacier National Park, Montana, and an important component of mountain ecosystems: they are isolated within a larger ecosystem, they are continuously disturbed, and they contain unique physical characteristics (Malanson and Butler, 1984). Avalanches impact subalpine forest structure and function, as well as overall biodiversity (Bebi et al.,
Authors
Erich H. Peitzsch, Daniel B. Fagre, Mark Dundas

Low prevalence of chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in amphibians of U.S. headwater streams

Many declines of amphibian populations have been associated with chytridiomycosis, a disease caused by the aquatic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Despite the relatively high prevalence of chytridiomycosis in stream amphibians globally, most surveys in North America have focused primarily on wetland-associated species, which are frequently infected. To better understand the distributio
Authors
Blake R. Hossack, M. J. Adams, Evan H. Campbell Grant, Chistopher A. Pearl, James B. Bettaso, William J. Barichivich, Winsor H. Lowe, Kimberly True, Joy L. Ware, Paul Stephen Corn

Characterizing wet slab and glide slab avalanche occurrence along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Wet slab and glide slab snow avalanches are dangerous and yet can be particularly difficult to predict. Both wet slab and glide slab avalanches are thought to depend upon free water moving through the snowpack but are driven by different processes. In Glacier National Park, Montana, both types of avalanches can occur in the same year and affect the Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR). Both wet slab and g
Authors
Erich H. Peitzsch, Jordy Hendrikx, Daniel B. Fagre, Blase Reardon

A practitioner's tool for assessing glide crack activity

Glide cracks can result in full-depth glide avalanche release. Avalanches from glide cracks are notoriously difficult to forecast, but are a reoccurring problem in a number of different avalanche forecasting programs across a range of snow climates. Despite this, there is no consensus for how to best manage, mitigate, or even observe glide cracks and the potential resultant avalanche activity. It
Authors
Jordy Hendrikx, Erich H. Peitzsch, Daniel B. Fagre

Climate and terrestrial ecosystem change in the U.S. Rocky Mountains and upper Columbia basin: Historical and future perspectives for natural resource management

No abstract available.
Authors
Gregory T. Pederson, David B. McWethy, Stephen T. Gray, Philip E. Higuera, Jeremy S. Littell, Andrea J. Ray

Bringing wisents back to the Caucasus Mountains: 70 years of a grand mission

We describe the history of mountain wisent restoration in the north-west Caucasus region. We review information on wisent during the 18th and 19th centuries, contemporary regional development and reasons for wisent extirpation. We emphasize the key role of the Kuban Hunting Reserve as a main factor in preserving wisent in this region between 1888 and 1909. The article provides information on the f
Authors
Taras Sipko, Sergei Trepet, Peter J. Gogan, Ivan Mizin