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
African penguins and localized fisheries management: Response to Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie
We present a response to Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie's (2022) comment on our perspectives on how forage fish fisheries are impacting the endangered African penguin (Sphenicus demersus), and corresponding management options. Butterworth and Ross-Gillespie overstate model uncertainties and downplay the clear ecological and conservation significance of the fisheries closure experiment. We demonstr
Authors
Bill Sydeman, Gene Hunt, E.K. Pikitch, J. Parrish, John F. Piatt, D. Boersma, L. Kaufman, D. L. Anderson, S. Thompson, Richard B. Sherley
The North American tree-ring fire-scar network
Fire regimes in North American forests are diverse and modern fire records are often too short to capture important patterns, trends, feedbacks, and drivers of variability. Tree-ring fire scars provide valuable perspectives on fire regimes, including centuries-long records of fire year, season, frequency, severity, and size. Here, we introduce the newly compiled North American tree-ring fire-scar
Authors
Ellis Margolis, Christopher H. Guiterman, Raphael Chavardès, Jonathan D. Coop, Kelsey Copes-Gerbitz, Denyse A. Dawe, Donald A. Falk, James D. Johnston, Evan Larson, Hangkyo Lim, Joseph M. Marschall, Cameron E. Naficy, Adam T. Naito, Marc-André Parisien, Sean A. Parks, Jeanne Portier, Helen M. Poulos, Kevin M. Robertson, James H. Speer, Michael C. Stambaugh, Thomas W. Swetnam, Alan J. Tepley, Ichchha Thapa, Craig D. Allen, Yves Bergeron, Lori D. Daniels, Peter Z. Fulé, David Gervais, Martin P. Girardin, Grant L. Harley, Jill E. Harvey, Kira M. Hoffman, Jean M. Huffman, Matthew D. Hurteau, Lane B. Johnson, Charles W. Lafon, Manuel K. Lopez, R. Stockton Maxwell, Jed Meunier, Malcolm North, Monica T. Rother, Micah R. Schmidt, Rosemary L. Sherriff, Lauren A. Stachowiak, Alan H. Taylor, Erana J. Taylor, Valerie Trouet, Miguel L. Villarreal, Larissa L. Yocom, Karen B. Arabas, Alexis H. Arizpe, Dominique Arseneault, Alicia Azpeleta Tarancón, Christopher H. Baisan, Erica Bigio, Franco Biondi, Gabriel D. Cahalan, Anthony C. Caprio, Julián Cerano-Paredes, Brandon M. Collins, Daniel C. Dey, Igor Drobyshev, Calvin A. Farris, M. Adele Fenwick, William T. Flatley, M. Lisa Floyd, Ze'ev Gedalof, Andres Holz, Lauren F. Howard, David W. Huffman, Jose Iniguez, Kurt F. Kipfmueller, Stanley G Kitchen, Keith Lombardo, Donald McKenzie, Andrew G. Merschel, Kerry L. Metlen, Jesse Minor, Christopher D. O'Connor, Laura Platt, William J. Platt, Thomas Saladyga, Amanda B. Stan, Scott L. Stephens, Colleen Sutheimer, Ramzi Touchan, Peter J. Weisberg
Host plant associations of Lepidoptera and implications for forest bird management at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Forests dominated or co-dominated by ‘ōhi‘a (Metrosideros polymorpha) are critical to most Hawaiian forest birds, but fungal diseases causing Rapid ‘Ōhi‘a Death (ROD) threaten ‘ōhi‘a-based food webs that support native bird communities on Hawai‘i Island. Caterpillars are the most frequently consumed arthropod prey of native birds and their young and are especially frequent in the diets of one thre
Authors
Paul C. Banko, Robert W. Peck, Maya Munstermann, Kelly Jaenecke
Classifying mixing regimes in ponds and shallow lakes
Lakes are classified by thermal mixing regimes, with shallow waterbodies historically categorized as continuously mixing systems. Yet, recent studies demonstrate extended summertime stratification in ponds, underscoring the need to reassess thermal classifications for shallow waterbodies. In this study, we examined the summertime thermal dynamics of 34 ponds and shallow lakes across temperate Nort
Authors
Meredith Holgerson, David Richardson, Joseph Roith, Lauren E Bortolotti, Kerri Finlay, Daniel J. Hornbach, Kshitij Gurung, Andrew Ness, Mikkel R. Andersen, Sheel Bansal, Jacques Finlay, Jacob Cianci-Gaskill, Shannon Hahn, Benjamin Janke, Cory P. McDonald, Jorrit Mesman, Rebecca L. North, Cassandra Roberts, Jon N. Sweetman, Jackie Webb
Exposure and effects of bioaccumulative contaminants of emerging concern in tree swallows nesting across the Laurentian Great Lakes
Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) are a loosely defined group of chemicals whose wide-spread usage or presence in the environment has occurred more recently or for which there has been relatively little research done until recently. Many of these CECs are not currently regulated. The National Toxicology Program within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that about 2000
Authors
Christine M. Custer, Thomas W. Custer, Paul Dummer
Contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes: Science to inform management practices for protecting the health and integrity of wildlife populations from adverse effects: GLRI action plan I, focus area 1, goal 5
Executive Summary: Under Action Plan I (2010-2014) of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), Federal and Academic partners began an investigation of the presence and distribution of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Great Lakes and potential impacts on fish and wildlife. The term CECs is applied to a broad range of chemicals that are currently in use but for which we currently
Authors
Daniel L. Villeneuve, Steven R. Corsi, Christine M. Custer, W. Edward Johnson, Stephanie L. Hummel, Heiko L. Schoenfuss, Edward J. Perkins, Sarah A. Zack
Rapid diagnostic test to detect and discriminate infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) genogroups U and M to aid management of Pacific Northwest salmonid populations
Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is an acute pathogen of salmonids in North America, Europe, and Asia that is phylogenetically classified into five major virus genogroups (U, M, L, E, and J). The geographic range of the U and M genogroup isolates overlap in the North American Columbia River Basin and Washington Coast region, where these genogroups pose different risks depending on th
Authors
William N. Batts, Tony R. Capps, Lisa M. Crosson, Rachel L. Powers, Rachel Breyta, Maureen K. Purcell
Paralytic shellfish toxins associated with Arctic Tern mortalities in Alaska
Harmful algal blooms produce biotoxins that can injure or kill fish, wildlife, and humans. These blooms occur naturally but have intensified in many locations globally due to recent climatic changes, including ocean warming. Such changes are especially pronounced in northern regions, where the effects of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) on marine wildlife are of growing concern. In Alaska, seabir
Authors
Caroline R. Van Hemert, John Harley, Gwen Baluss, Matthew M. Smith, Robert J. Dusek, Julia S. Lankton, D. Ransom Hardison, Sarah K. Schoen, Robert Kaler
Comparisons of Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) sea-ice projections in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) ecoregions during the 21st century
Climate model projections are commonly used to assess potential impacts of global warming on a breadth of social, economic, and environmental topics. Modeling centers throughout the world coordinate to apply a consistent suite of radiative forcing experiments so that all model outputs can be collectively analyzed and compared. Three generations of model outputs have been produced and made availabl
Authors
David C. Douglas, Todd C. Atwood
Antibiotic resistance in free-ranging wildlife
In this chapter, we provide an overview of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria in wildlife through the presentation of general trends of occurrence among both captive and free-ranging wild animal populations, discussion of importance to human health and wildlife conservation, and identification of priority areas for future research and monitoring efforts. Once most commonly identified in human
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Christina Ahlstrom
Natural and anthropogenic factors influencing nesting ecology of the American crocodile in Florida, United States
Nesting ecology of American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) in Florida has been both positively and negatively influenced by anthropogenic and natural factors since the species was placed on the federally endangered species list in 1975. This includes a shift in nesting sites and an expansion of nesting to anthropogenic habitat. Using a 50-year record of monitoring data (1970-2020), we assessed fac
Authors
Frank J. Mazzotti, Sergio A. Balaguera-Reina, Laura A. Brandt, Venetia Briggs-Gonzalez, Michael Cherkiss, Seth C Farris, Avishka Godahewa
Mercury contamination and potential health risks to Arctic seabirds and shorebirds
Since the last Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) effort to review biological effects of mercury (Hg) on Arctic biota in 2011 and 2018, there has been a considerable number of new Arctic bird studies. This review article provides contemporary Hg exposure and potential health risk for 36 Arctic seabird and shorebird species, representing a larger portion of the Arctic than during pre
Authors
Olivier Chastel, Jérôme Fort, Josh T. Ackerman, Céline Albert, Frédéric Angelier, Niladri Basu, Pierre Blévin, Maud Brault-Favrou, Jan O. Bustnes, Paco Bustamante, Jóhannis Danielsen, Sébastien Descamps, Rune Dietz, Kjell Einar Erikstad, Igor Eulaers, Alexey Ezhov, Abram B Fleishman, Geir W. Gabrielsen, Maria Gavrilo, Grant Gilchrist, Olivier Gilg, Sindri Gíslason, Elena Golubova, Aurélie Goutte, David Grémillet, Gunnar T. Hallgrimsson, Erpur S Hansen, Sveinn A Hanssen, Scott Hatch, Nicholas P Huffeldt, Dariusz Jakubas, Jón Einar Jónsson, Alexander S Kitaysky, Yann Kolbeinsson, Yuri Krasnov, Robert J. Letcher, Jannie F Linnebjerg, Mark L. Mallory, Flemming R Merkel, Børge Moe, William J Montevecchi, Anders Mosbech, Bergur Olsen, Rachael A Orben, Jennifer F Provencher, Sunna B. Ragnarsdottir, Tone K Reiertsen, Nora A. Rojek, Marc Romano, Jens Søndergaard, Hallvard Strøm, Akinori Takahashi, Sabrina Tartu, Thorkell L Thórarinsson, Jean-Baptiste Thiebot, Alexis P Will, Simon Wilson, Katarzyna Wojczulanis-Jakubas, Glenn Yannic