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
Projecting the remaining habitat for the western spadefoot (Spea hammondii) in heavily urbanized southern California
Extensive urbanization in coastal southern California has reduced natural habitat in this biodiversity hotspot. To better conserve ecological communities, state and federal agencies, along with local jurisdictions and private stakeholders, developed regional conservation plans for southern California. Although many protected areas exist within this region, the patchwork nature of these protected a
Authors
Jonathan P. Rose, Brian J. Halstead, Robert H. Packard, Robert N. Fisher
Oil and gas wastewater components alter streambed microbial community structure and function
The widespread application of directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies expanded oil and gas (OG) development to previously inaccessible resources. A single OG well can generate millions of liters of wastewater, which is a mixture of brine produced from the fractured formations and injected hydraulic fracturing fluids (HFFs). With thousands of wells completed each year, safe manag
Authors
Denise M. Akob, Adam Mumford, Andrea Fraser, Cassandra Rashan Harris, William H. Orem, Matthew S. Varonka, Isabelle M. Cozzarelli
Accuracy and precision of otolith-derived age Interpretations for known-age lake trout
Catch-at-age data are used to inform important management decisions for recovering populations of Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush. Age data for Lake Trout are commonly derived from interpretation of annual growth marks (annuli) on the fish’s otoliths. Due to the tendency for annuli to vary in appearance and the subjectivity that is inherent to any age interpretation method, it is important that th
Authors
Christopher Osborne, Jason Robinson, Brian F. Lantry, Brian C. Weidel, Ian R. Hardin, Michael J. Connerton
The developing zebrafish kidney is impaired by Deepwater Horizon crude oil early-life stage exposure: A molecular to whole-organism perspective
Crude oil is known to induce developmental defects in teleost fish exposed during early life stages (ELSs). While most studies in recent years have focused on cardiac endpoints, evidence from whole-animal transcriptomic analyses and studies with individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) indicate that the developing kidney (i.e., pronephros) is also at risk. Considering the role of the pro
Authors
Fabrizio Bonatesta, Cameron Emadi, Edwin R. Price, Yadong Wang, Justin Blaine Greer, Elvis Genbo Xu, Daniel Schlenk, Martin Grosell, Edward M. Mager
Patterns of post-fire invasion of semiarid shrub-steppe reveals a diversity of invasion niches within an exotic annual grass community
Disturbances such as fire provide an opportunity for invasive plant species to exploit newly created niche space. Whether initial invaders facilitate, compete with, or do not affect later invaders is important to determine in communities affected by multiple invaders. This analysis focuses on the newer invaders Taeniatherum caput-medusae (medusahead) and Ventenata dubia (ventenata) in sagebrush-st
Authors
Cara Applestein, Matthew Germino
Loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at smaller sizes than expected in the Gulf of Mexico: Implications for turtle behavior, population dynamics, and conservation
Estimates of parameters that affect population dynamics, including the size at which individuals reproduce, are crucial for efforts aimed at understanding how imperiled species may recover from the numerous threats they face. In this study, we observed loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at three sites in the Gulf of Mexico at sizes assumed nonreproductive in this region (≤87 cm cu
Authors
Allison Benscoter, Brian J. Smith, Kristen Hart
Warming sea surface temperatures fuel summer epidemics of eelgrass wasting disease
Seawater temperatures are increasing, with many unquantified impacts on marine diseases. While prolonged temperature stress can accelerate host-pathogen interactions, the outcomes in nature are poorly quantified. We monitored eelgrass wasting disease (EWD) from 2013-2017 and correlated mid-summer prevalence of EWD with remotely sensed seawater temperature metrics before, during, and after the 2015
Authors
Maya Groner, Morgan E. Eisenlord, Reyn M. Yoshioka, Evan A. Fiorenza, Phoebe D. Dawkins, Olivia J. Graham, Miranda Winningham, Alex Vompe, Natalie D. Rivlin, Bo Yang, Colleen A. Burge, Brendan Rappazzo, Carla P. Gomes, C. Drew Harvell
The aboveground and belowground growth characteristics of juvenile conifers in the southwestern United States
Juvenile tree survival will play an important role in the persistence of coniferous forests and woodlands in the southwestern United States (SWUS). Vulnerability to climatic and environmental stress declines as trees grow, such that larger, more deeply rooted juveniles are less likely to experience mortality. It is unclear how juvenile conifers partition the aboveground and belowground components
Authors
N.L. Pirtel, R.M. Hubbard, John B. Bradford, T.E. Kolb, M.E. Litvak, S.R. Abella, S.M. Porter, Petrie M.D.
Long-term Pseudogymnoascus destructans surveillance data reveal factors contributing to pathogen presence
The disease white-nose syndrome (WNS) was first recognized in upstate New York in 2006 and has since spread across much of the United States (U.S.), causing severe mortality in several North American bat species. To aid in the identification and monitoring of at-risk bat populations, we evaluate factors associated with the presence of the causative fungal agent of WNS, Pseudogymnoascus destructans
Authors
John Grider, Robin E. Russell, Anne Ballmann, Trevor J. Hefley
Hierarchical models improve the use of alligator abundance as an indicator
Indicator species are species which can be monitored as an index to measure the overall health of an ecosystem. Crocodylians have been shown to be good indicators of wetland condition as they respond to changes in hydrology, can be efficiently monitored, and are a key part of ecosystem trophic relationships. Eye shine surveys at night are a standard method used to sample alligators, but because so
Authors
Seth C. Farris, Hardin Waddle, Caitlin E. Hackett, Laura A. Brandt, Frank J. Mazzotti
Impacts of extreme environmental disturbances on piping plover survival are partially moderated by migratory connectivity
Effective conservation for listed migratory species requires an understanding of how drivers of population decline vary spatially and temporally, as well as knowledge of range-wide connectivity between breeding and nonbreeding areas. Environmental conditions distant from breeding areas can have lasting effects on the demography of migratory species, yet these consequences are often the least under
Authors
Kristen S. Ellis, Michael J. Anteau, Francesca J. Cuthbert, Cheri L Gratto-Trevor, Joel G. Jorgensen, David J Newstead, Larkin A. Powell, Megan Ring, Mark H. Sherfy, Rose J. Swift, Dustin L. Toy, David N. Koons
Gene expression profiles in two razor clam populations: Discerning drivers of population status
With rapidly changing marine ecosystems, shifts in abundance and distribution are being documented for a variety of intertidal species. We examined two adjacent populations of Pacific razor clams (Siliqua patula) in lower Cook Inlet, Alaska. One population (east) supported a sport and personal use fishery, but this has been closed since 2015 due to declines in abundance, and the second population
Authors
Heather A. Coletti, Lizabeth Bowen, Brenda Ballachey, Tammy L Wilson, Shannon C. Waters, Michael Booz, Katrina L Counihan, Tuula E. Hollmen, Benjamin Pister