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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: 41778

Fingerprinting historical tributary contributions to floodplain sediment using bulk geochemistry

Sediment deposition on floodplains is essential for the development and maintenance of riparian ecosystems. Upstream erosion is known to influence downstream floodplain construction, but linking these disparate processes is challenging, especially over large spatial and temporal scales. Sediment fingerprinting is thus a robust tool to establish process linkages between downstream floodplain develo
Authors
John T. Kemper, Sara L. Rathburn, J. M. Friedman, John M. Nelson, Erich R. Mueller, Kirk R Vincent

Murky waters: Divergent ways scientists, practitioners, and landowners evaluate beaver mimicry

Beaver mimicry is a fast-growing conservation technique to restore streams and manage water that is gaining popularity within the natural resource management community because of a wide variety of claimed socio-environmental benefits. Despite a growing number of projects, many questions and concerns about beaver mimicry remain. This study draws on qualitative data from 49 interviews with scientist
Authors
Tori Pfaeffle, Megan A. Moore, Amanda E. Cravens, Jamie McEvoy, Aparna Bamzai

From flowering to foliage: Accelerometers track tree sway to provide high-resolution insights into tree phenology

Trees are bioindicators of global climate change and regional urbanization, but available monitoring tools are ineffective for fine-scale observation of many species. Using six accelerometers mounted on two urban ash trees (Fraxinus americana), we looked at high-frequency tree vibrations, or change in periodicity of tree sway as a proxy for mass changes, to infer seasonal patterns of flowering and
Authors
Deidre M. Jaeger, A. M. C. Looze, M. S. Raleigh, Brian W. Miller, J. M. Friedman, C. A. Wessman

Novel insights on aquatic mammal MHC evolution: Evidence from manatee DQB diversity

The low diversity in marine mammal major histocompatibility complex (MHC) appears to support the hypothesis of reduced pathogen selective pressure in aquatic systems compared to terrestrial environments. However, the lack of characterization of the aquatic and evolutionarily distant Sirenia precludes drawing more generalized conclusions. Therefore, we aimed to characterize the MHC DQB diversity of
Authors
André L.A. de Sá, Pamela K.B. Baker, Breanna Breaux, Jairo M. Oliveira, Alex G.C. de Macedo Klautau, Kristian Legatzki, Fábia de Oliveira Luna, Fernanda L.N. Attademo, Maggie Hunter, Michael F. Criscitiello, Maria P. Schneider, Leonardo Sena

Mechanisms of forest resilience

Ecosystems are dynamic systems with complex responses to environmental variation. In response to pervasive stressors of changing climate and disturbance regimes, many ecosystems are realigning rapidly across spatial scales, in many cases moving outside of their observed historical range of variation into alternative ecological states. In some cases, these new states are transitory and represent su
Authors
Donald A. Falk, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Jon Keeley, Rachel M Gregg, Christopher H. Guiterman, Alan J. Tepley, Derek J N Young, Laura A. E. Marshall

Bridging the gap between spatial modeling and management of invasive annual grasses in the imperiled sagebrush biome

Invasions of native plant communities by non-native species present major challenges for ecosystem management and conservation. Invasive annual grasses such as cheatgrass, medusahead, and ventenata are pervasive and continue to expand their distributions across imperiled sagebrush-steppe communities of the western United States. These invasive grasses alter native plant communities, ecosystem func
Authors
Bryan C. Tarbox, Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Jessica E. Shyvers, D. Joanne Saher, Julie A. Heinrichs, Cameron L. Aldridge

Positively selected genes in the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) lineage: Prominence of thymus expression, immune and metabolic function, and regions of ancient synteny

BackgroundBats of the genus Lasiurus occur throughout the Americas and have diversified into at least 20 species among three subgenera. The hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) is highly migratory and ranges farther across North America than any other wild mammal. Despite the ecological importance of this species as a major insect predator, and the particular susceptibility of lasiurine bats to wind turb
Authors
Robert S. Cornman, Paul M. Cryan

Winter 2021 edition

No abstract available.
Authors
Molly L. McCormick, Seth M. Munson

A user guide to selecting invasive annual grass spatial products for the western United States

Invasive annual grasses (IAGs)—including Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), Taeniatherum caput-medusae (medusahead), and Ventenata dubia (ventenata) species—present significant challenges for rangeland management by altering plant communities, impacting ecosystem function, reducing forage for wildlife and livestock, and increasing fire risk. Numerous spatial data products are used to map IAGs, and unde
Authors
Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Jessica E. Shyvers, D. Joanne Saher, Bryan C. Tarbox, Julie A. Heinrichs, Cameron L. Aldridge

Compendium to invasive annual grass spatial products for the western United States, January 2010-February 2021

Invasive annual grasses (IAGs) degrade native plant communities, alter fire cycles, impact ecosystem processes, and threaten the persistence of some species. Therefore, controlling the spread of IAGs has become a land management priority in the western United States. A wide array of geospatial data has been developed in the last decade to help land managers combat the invasion and expansion of non
Authors
D. Joanne Saher, Jessica E. Shyvers, Bryan C. Tarbox, Nathan D. Van Schmidt, Julie A. Heinrichs, Cameron L. Aldridge

FishStan: Hierarchical Bayesian models for fisheries

Fisheries managers and ecologists use statistical models to estimate population-level relations and demographic rates (e.g., length-maturity curves, growth curves, and mortality rates). These relations and rates provide insight into populations and inputs for other models. For example, growth curves may vary across lakes showing fish populations differ due to management actions or underlying envir
Authors
Richard A. Erickson, Daniel S. Stich, Jillian Lee Hebert

Greater sage-grouse respond positively to intensive post-fire restoration treatments

Habitat loss is the most prevalent threat to biodiversity in North America. One of the most threatened landscapes in the United States is the sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystem, much of which has been fragmented or converted to non-native grasslands via the cheatgrass-fire cycle. Like many sagebrush obligates, greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) depend upon sagebrush for food and cov
Authors
Sharon Poessel, David M Barnard, Cara Applestein, Matthew Germino, Ethan A. Ellsworth, Donald J. Major, Ann Moser, Todd E. Katzner