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: 41772
Abundance and distribution of eelgrass (Zostera marina) and seaweeds at Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, 2007–10
Eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadows are expansive along the lower Alaska Peninsula, supporting a rich diversity of marine life, yet little is known about their status and trends in the region. We tested techniques to inventory and monitor trends in the spatial extent and abundance of eelgrass in lagoons of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. We determined if Landsat imagery could be used to assess
Authors
David H. Ward, Kyle R. Hogrefe, Tyronne F. Donnelly, Lucretia L. Fairchild, Kristine M. Sowl, Sandra C. Lindstrom
Taking steps to address inequities in open-access publishing through an early career publication honor
Access to resources—whether human, financial, or social—is a key indicator of research output and, in turn, academic career progression. However, resources are not equally distributed among scientists and disparities often stem from external factors. This reality is particularly impactful for early career researchers (ECRs) who have limited control over the resources available to them to advance t
Authors
Scott Hotaling, Bridget Deemer, Kelsey Poulson-Ellestad, Laura J. Falkenberg
A century of drought in Hawai‘i: Geospatial analysis and synthesis across hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic scales
Drought is a prominent feature of Hawaiʻi’s climate. However, it has been over 30 years since the last comprehensive meteorological drought analysis, and recent drying trends have emphasized the need to better understand drought dynamics and multi-sector effects in Hawaiʻi. Here, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of past drought effects in Hawaiʻi that we integrate with geospatial analysis of d
Authors
Abby G. Frazier, Christian P. Giardina, Thomas W Giambelluca, Laura Brewington, Yi-Leng Chen, Pao-Shin Chu, Lucas Fortini, David Helweg, Victoria W. Keener, Ryan J Longman, Matthew P Lucas, Alan Mair, Delwyn S. Oki, Julian J Reyes, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Clay Trauernicht
High-resolution 3D forest structure explains ecomorphological trait variation in assemblages of saproxylic beetles
Climate, topography and the 3D structure of forests are major drivers affecting local species communities. However, little is known about how the specific functional traits of saproxylic (wood-living) beetles, involved in the recycling of wood, might be affected by those environmental characteristics.Here, we combine ecological and morphological traits available for saproxylic beetles and airborne
Authors
Lukas Drag, Ryan C. Burner, Jorg G. Stephan, Tone Birkemoe, Inken Dorfler, Martin M. Gossner, Paul Magdon, Otso Ovaskainen, Maria Potterf, Peter Schall, Tord Snall, Anne Sverdrup-Thygeson, Wolfgang Weisser, Jorg Muller
Molt patterns, aging criteria, and molt-breeding seasonality of 8 native forest birds from the Island of Hawaiʻi
Much of our knowledge on the patterns and timing of breeding and molting come from studies of temperate region birds, yet tropical birds can have markedly different phenologies. The Hawaiian Islands support multiple endemic bird species that have evolved for millions of years in isolation to a tropical environment with minimal seasonality. We examined data from multiple studies (1994–2020) conduct
Authors
Elizabeth C. Abraham, Eben H. Paxton
A sagebrush conservation design to proactively restore America’s sagebrush biome
A working group of experts with diverse professional backgrounds and disciplinary expertise was assembled to conceptualize a spatially explicit conservation design to support and inform the Sagebrush Conservation Strategy Part 2. The goal was to leverage recent advancements in remotely sensed landcover products to develop spatially and temporally explicit maps of sagebrush rangeland condition and
Authors
Kevin Doherty, David M. Theobald, John B. Bradford, Lief A. Wiechman, Geoffrey Bedrosian, Chad S. Boyd, Matthew Cahill, Peter S. Coates, Megan K. Creutzburg, Michele R. Crist, Sean P. Finn, Alexander V. Kumar, Caitlin E. Littlefield, Jeremy D. Maestas, Karen L. Prentice, Brian G. Prochazka, Thomas E. Remington, William D. Sparklin, John C. Tull, Zachary Wurtzebach, Katherine A. Zeller
Estimating Pacific walrus abundance and survival with multievent mark-recapture models
Arctic marine ecosystems are undergoing rapid physical and biological change associated with climate warming and loss of sea ice. Sea ice loss will impact many species through altered spatial and temporal availability of resources. In the Bering and Chukchi Seas, the Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens is one species that could be impacted by rapid environmental change, and thus, population
Authors
William S. Beatty, Patrick R. Lemons, Jason P. Everett, Cara J. Lewis, Rebecca L. Taylor, Robert J. Lynn, Suresh A. Sethi, Lori T. Quakenbush, John J. Citta, Michelle Kissling, Natalia Kryukova, John K. Wennburg
Multi-objective modeling as a decision-support tool for free-roaming horse management
Decisions related to controversial problems in natural resource management receive the greatest support when they account for multiple objectives of stakeholders in a structured and transparent fashion. In the United States, management of free-roaming horses (Equus caballus; horses) is a controversial multiple-objective problem because disparate stakeholder groups have varying objectives and opini
Authors
Brian Patrick Folt, Kathryn A. Schoenecker, L. Stefan Ekernas
Status of landbirds in the National Park of American Samoa
The National Park of American Samoa (NPSA) was surveyed in 2011 and 2018 using point-transect distance sampling to estimate trends in landbird distribution, composition, population density, and abundance. Surveys were conducted within the Ta‘ū Unit and Tutuila Unit, each on separate islands of American Samoa. We detected a total of 14 species during surveys and there were sufficient detections of
Authors
Seth Judge, Richard J. Camp, Visa Vaivai, Patrick J. Hart
Laysan albatross exhibit complex behavioral plasticity in the subtropical and subarctic North Pacific Ocean
Animals that regularly traverse habitat extremes between the subtropics and subarctic are expected to exhibit foraging behaviors that respond to changes in dynamic ocean habitats, and these behaviors may facilitate adaptations to novel and changing climates. During the chick-provisioning stage, Laysan albatross Phoebastria immutabilis parents regularly undertake short- and long-distance foraging t
Authors
Morgan Elizabeth Gilmour, Jonathan J. Felis, Michelle M. Hester, Lindsay C. Young, Josh Adams
Status of forest birds on Tinian Island, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, with an emphasis on the Tinian monarch (Monarcha takatsukasae) (Passeriformes; Monarchidae)
Landbird populations on Tinian Island have been periodically surveyed since 1982 to evaluate the status of non-native and native landbirds. We report the results of surveys in 2013 and the observed changes during 31 years in species population trends based on surveys since 1982. A total of 11 native and 3 non-native species were detected during the 2013 survey. Population sizes were estimated usin
Authors
Rick L Spalding, Richard J. Camp, Paul C. Banko, Nathan C Johnson, Angela D Anders
Perceptions of conservation introduction to inform decision support among U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees
Executive SummaryAround the globe, fish and wildlife managers are facing increasingly complex management issues because of multiscale ecological effects like climate change, species invasion, and land-use change. Managers seeking to prevent extinctions or preserve ecosystems are increasingly considering more interventionist techniques to overcome the resulting changes. Among those techniques, tran
Authors
Nicholas Cole, Julia B. Goolsby, Amanda E. Cravens