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: 41771
Biofilms as potential reservoirs of stony coral tissue loss disease
Since 2014, corals throughout Florida’s Coral Reef have been plagued by an epizootic of unknown etiology, colloquially termed stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). Although in Florida the movement of this waterborne coral disease has been consistent with natural transport via water currents, outbreaks in the Caribbean have been more sporadic, with infections occurring in locations inconsistent
Authors
James S. Evans, Valerie J. Paul, Christina A. Kellogg
Validation of a portable eDNA detection kit for invasive carps
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a rapid molecular detection technique that has been used as a diagnostic tool for detecting human and animal pathogens for over 20 years and is promising for detecting environmental DNA shed by invasive species. We designed a LAMP assay to detect the invasive carps, silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis)
Authors
Stacie A. Kageyama, Matthew Regh Hoogland, Tariq Tajjioui, Theresa M. Schreier, Richard A. Erickson, Christopher M. Merkes
Impeding access to tributary spawning habitat and releasing experimental fall-timed floods increases brown trout immigration into a dam's tailwater
River ecosystems have been altered by flow regulation and species introductions. Regulated flow regimes often include releases designed to benefit certain species or restore ecosystem processes, and invasive species suppression programs may include efforts to restrict access to spawning habitat. The impacts of these management interventions are often uncertain. Here, we assess hypotheses regarding
Authors
Brian D. Healy, Charles Yackulic, Robert C. Schelly
U.S. Geological Survey Colorado River Basin Actionable and Strategic Integrated Science and Technology (ASIST)—Information Management Technology Plan
IntroductionMore than 840 publications, 575 data releases, and 330 project web pages from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) pertain to the Colorado River Basin. Limited interconnections between Colorado River Basin publications, data, and web pages restrict the ability to synthesize and interpret scientific resources. Currently, these pieces are spread across multiple isolated locations, internal
Authors
Eric D. Anderson, Jennifer R. Erxleben, Sharon L. Qi, Adrian P. Monroe, Katharine G. Dahm
Longitudinal analyses of catch-at-age data for reconstructing year-class strength, with an application to lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the main basin of Lake Huron
We investigated using longitudinal models to reconstruct year-class strength (YCS) from catch-at-age data, with an example application to lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in the main basin of Lake Huron. The best model structure depended on the age range used for model implementation. The YCS trajectory from the full age range (3–30 years) was similar to the trajectory from a narrow age range tha
Authors
Ji X. He, Andrew Edgar Honsey, David F. Staples, James R. Bence, Tracy L. Claramunt
Development of an online reporting format to facilitate the inclusion of ecosystem services into Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program reports
The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program is a program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. The Secretary of Agriculture is required to submit an annual report to Congress on Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program agreements that, among other things, reports on the progress made towards fulfilling commitments outlined in the agreements. The U.S. Geological
Authors
David M. Mushet, Owen P. McKenna
Preliminary evidence of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in American kestrels (Falco sparverius) in the western United States
Although there is extensive evidence of declines in the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) population across North America, the cause of such declines remains a mystery. One hypothesized driver of decline is anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) exposure, which could potentially cause mortality or reduced fitness. We investigated AR exposure in wild American Kestrels in Utah, USA. We collected and teste
Authors
Evan R. Buechley, Dave Oleyar, Jesse Watson, Jennifer Bridgeman, Steven Volker, David A. Goldade, Catherine E. Swift, Barnett A. Rattner
Gaussian process forecasts Pseudogymnoascus destructans will cover coterminous United States by 2030
White-nose syndrome has been decimating populations of several bat species since its first occurrence in the Northeastern United States in the winter 2006–2007. The spread of the disease has been monitored across the continent through the collaboration of many organizations. Inferring the rate of spread of the disease and predicting its arrival at new locations is critical when assessing the curre
Authors
Ashton M. Wiens, Wayne E. Thogmartin
Towards a unified drag coefficient formula for quantifying wave energy reduction by salt marshes
Coastal regions are susceptible to increasing flood risks amid climate change. Coastal wetlands play an important role in mitigating coastal hazards. Vegetation exerts a drag force to the flow and dampens storm surges and wind waves. The prediction of wave attenuation by vegetation typically relies on a pre-determined drag coefficient CD. Existing CD formulas are subject to vegetation biomechanica
Authors
Ling Zhu, Q. Chen, Yan Ding, Navid H. Jafari, Hongqing Wang, Bradley D. Johnson
Genetic population structure of cisco, Coregonus artedi, in the Laurentian Great Lakes
Management of a widely distributed species can be a challenge when management priorities, resource status, and assessment methods vary across jurisdictions. For example, restoration and preservation of coregonine species diversity is a goal of management agencies across the Laurentian Great Lakes. However, management goals and the amount of information available varies across management units, mak
Authors
Wendylee Stott, Daniel Yule, Chris L. Davis, Kevin Donner, Mark P. Ebener, Stephen Lenart, Christopher Olds
Grazing and ecosystem service delivery in global drylands
Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and biodiversity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil
Authors
Fernando T. Maestre, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, David J. Eldridge, Hugo Saiz, Miguel Berdugo, Beatriz Gozalo, Victoria Ochoa, Emilio Guirado, Miguel García-Gómez, Enrique Valencia, Juan J. Gaitán, Sergio Asensio, Betty J. Mendoza, César Plaza, Paloma Díaz-Martínez, Ana Rey, Hang-Wei Hu, Ji-Zheng He, Jun-Tao Wang, Anika Lehmann, Matthias C. Rillig, Simone Cesarz, Nico Eisenhauer, Jaime Martínez-Valderrama, Eduardo Moreno-Jiménez, Osvaldo E. Sala, Mehdi Abedi, Negar Ahmadian, Concepción L. Alados, Valeria Aramayo, Fateh Amghar, Tulio Arredondo, Rodrigo J. Ahumada, Khadijeh Bahalkeh, Farah Ben Salem, Niels Blaum, Bazartseren Boldgiv, Matthew A. Bowker, Donaldo Bran, Chongfeng Bu, Rafaella Canessa, Andrea P. Castillo-Monroy, Helena Castro, Ignacio Castro, Patricio Castro-Quezada, Roukaya Chibani, Abel A. Conceição, Courtney M. Currier, Anthony Darrouzet-Nardi, Balázs Deák, David A. Donoso, Andrew J. Dougill, Jorge Durán, Batdelger Erdenetsetseg, Carlos I. Espinosa, Alex Fajardo, Mohammad Farzam, Daniela Ferrante, Anke S. K. Frank, Lauchlan H. Fraser, Laureano A. Gherardi, Aaron C. Greenville, Carlos A. Guerra, Elizabeth Gusmán-Montalvan, Rosa M. Hernández-Hernández, Norbert Hölzel, Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald, Frederic M. Hughes, Oswaldo Jadán-Maza, Florian Jeltsch, Anke Jentsch, Kudzai F. Kaseke, Melanie Köbel, Jessica E. Koopman, Cintia V. Leder, Anja Linstädter, Peter C. le Roux, Xinkai Li, Pierre Liancourt, Jushan Liu, Michelle A. Louw, Gillian Maggs-Kölling, Thulani P. Makhalanyane, Oumarou Malam Issa, Antonio J. Manzaneda, Eugene Marais, Juan P. Mora, Gerardo Moreno, Seth M. Munson, Alice Nunes, Gabriel Oliva, Gastón R. Oñatibia, Guadalupe Peter, Marco O. D. Pivari, Yolanda Pueyo, R. Emiliano Quiroga, Soroor Rahmanian, Sasha C. Reed, Pedro J. Rey, Benoit Richard, Alexandra Rodríguez, Víctor Rolo, Juan G. Rubalcaba, Jan C. Puppert, Ayman Salah, Max A. Schuchardt, Sedona Spann, Ilan Stavi, Colton R. A. Stephens, Anthony M. Swemmer, Alberto L. Teixido, Andrew D. Thomas, Heather L. Throop, Katja Tielbörger, Samantha K. Travers, James Val, Orsolya Valkó, Liesbeth van den Brink, Sergio Velasco Ayuso, Frederike Velbert, Wanyoike Wamiti, Deli Wang, Lixin Wang, Glenda M. Wardle, Laura Yahdjian, Eli Zaady, Yuanming Zhang, Xiaobing Zhou, Brajesh K. Singh, Nicolas Gross
Editorial: Plant phenology shifts and their ecological and climatic consequences
Climate change is causing plant phenology to shift, with consequences for ecosystems and the Earth’s climate. Over the last decades, the timing of many important phenological events has advanced in spring, such as leaf emergence and flowering, or been delayed in fall, such as leaf coloration and leaf fall. The consequences of such phenological shifts are still largely unknown, but are hypothesized
Authors
Yongshuo H. Fu, Janet S. Prevéy, Yann Vitasse