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
Response of soil respiration to changes in soil temperature and water table level in drained and restored peatlands of the southeastern United States
Extensive drainage of peatlands in the southeastern United States coastal plain for the purposes of agriculture and timber harvesting has led to large releases of soil carbon as carbon dioxide (CO2) due to enhanced peat decomposition. Growth in mechanisms that provide financial incentives for reducing emissions from land use and land-use change could increase funding for hydrological restoration t
Authors
Erin E. Swails, Marcelo Ardon, Ken Krauss, A.L. Peralta, Ryan E. Emmanuel, A.M. Helton, J.L. Morse, Laurel Gutenberg, Nicole Cormier, D. Shoch, Scott Settlemyer, Eric Soderholm, Brian P. Boutin, Chuck Peoples, Sara Ward
Exploring the role of cryptic nitrogen fixers in terrestrial ecosystems: A frontier in nitrogen cycling research
Biological nitrogen fixation represents the largest natural flux of new nitrogen (N) into terrestrial ecosystems, providing a critical N source to support net primary productivity of both natural and agricultural systems. When they are common, symbiotic associations between plants and bacteria can add more than 100 kg N ha−1 y−1 to ecosystems. Yet, these associations are uncommon in many terrestri
Authors
Cory Cleveland, Carla R. G. Reis, Steven Perakis, Katherine A Dynarski, Sarah Batterman, Timothy Crews, Maga Gei, Michael Gundale, Duncan Menge, Mark Peoples, Sasha C. Reed, Verity Salmon, Fiona M. Soper, Benton Taylor, Monica Turner, Nina Wurzburger
Evaluations of Lagrangian egg drift models: From a laboratory flume to large channelized rivers
To help better interpret computational models in predicting drift of carp eggs in rivers, we present a series of model assessments for the longitudinal egg dispersion. Two three-dimensional Lagrangian particle tracking models, SDrift and FluEgg, are evaluated in a series of channels with increasing complexity. The model evaluation demonstrates that both models are able to accommodate channel compl
Authors
Geng Li, Caroline M. Elliott, Bruce Call, Duane Chapman, Robert B. Jacobson, Binbin Wang
Carbon and carbon storage in the national wilderness preservation system of the conterminous United States
No abstract available.
Authors
Daniel W McCollum, Michael H Hand, Pamela M Froemke, Christopher Huber
A practical guide to understanding and validating complex models using data simulations
Biologists routinely fit novel and complex statistical models to push the limits of our understanding. Examples include, but are not limited to, flexible Bayesian approaches (e.g. BUGS, stan), frequentist and likelihood-based approaches (e.g. packages lme4) and machine learning methods.These software and programs afford the user greater control and flexibility in tailoring complex hierarchical mod
Authors
Graziella Vittoria Direnzo, Ephraim Hanks, David A. W. Miller
Spatial and temporal patterns in Arctic mosquito abundance
Organisms that undergo a shift in ontogeny and habitat type often change their spatial distribution throughout their life cycle, but how this affects population dynamics remains poorly understood.We examined spatial and temporal patterns in Aedes nigripes abundance, a widespread univoltine Arctic mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae), hypothesizing that the spatial distribution of adults would be
Authors
Melissa H DeSiervo, Rebecca A Finger-Higgens, Matthew P. Ayres, Ross A Virginia, Lauren E Culler
Evaluation of fish behavior at the entrances to a Selective Water Withdrawal structure in Lake Billy Chinook, Oregon, 2021
Imaging sonar was used to assess the behavior, abundance, and timing of fish at the entrances to the Selective Water Withdrawal (SWW) intake structure located in the forebay of Round Butte Dam, Oregon during the spring of 2021. The purposes of the SWW are (1) to direct surface currents in the forebay to attract and collect downriver migrating juvenile salmonid smolts (Chinook salmon [Oncorhynchus
Authors
Collin D. Smith, Tyson W. Hatton
An economic perspective on the relationship between wilderness and water resources
No abstract available.
Authors
James Meldrum, Christopher Huber
Distribution and demography of Southwestern Willow Flycatchers in San Diego County, 2015–19
We surveyed for Southwestern Willow Flycatchers (Empidonax traillii extimus; flycatcher) at 33 locations along multiple drainages in San Diego County, including portions of Agua Hedionda Creek, Cottonwood Creek, Escondido Creek, Los Penasquitos Creek, Otay River, San Diego River, San Dieguito River, San Luis Rey River, Sweetwater River, and Tijuana River. Resident flycatchers were only found on tw
Authors
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus, Shannon M. Mendia
A review of supervised learning methods for classifying animal behavioural states from environmental features
Accurately predicting behavioural modes of animals in response to environmental features is important for ecology and conservation. Supervised learning (SL) methods are increasingly common in animal movement ecology for classifying behavioural modes. However, few examples exist of applying SL to classify polytomous animal behaviour from environmental features especially in the context of millions
Authors
Silas Bergen, Manuela Huso, Adam E. Duerr, Missy A Braham, Sara Schmuecker, Tricia A. Miller, Todd E. Katzner
Grasshopper species composition differs between prairie dog colonies and undisturbed sites in a sagebrush grassland
Grasshoppers are major consumers of plant biomass in grassland and shrubland ecosystems. While often considered generalists, grasshopper species have differing habitat preferences and interactions with other consumers in grasslands. There are conflicting accounts of how prairie dog colonies and differences in vegetation impact grasshopper abundance and composition. We conducted a landscape-scale s
Authors
Ian Pearse, Courtney Duchardt, Lillian Legg, Lauren M. Porensky
Bacteria common to rhizosphere communities of Asiatic bittersweet across a post-glacial landscape
Invasive plants such as Asiatic bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.) are a significant problem for land managers as they impact plant species composition, disrupt nutrient dynamics and structure of native ecosystems, and are difficult to eradicate. As a result of the increasing abundance of Asiatic bittersweet across the eastern U.S., we have been investigating underlying factors potentially
Authors
Cindy H. Nakatsu, Noel B. Pavlovic, Muruleedhara Byappanahalli