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: 41894
Freshwater biogeochemical hotspots: High primary production and ecosystem respiration in shallow waterbodies
Ponds, wetlands, and shallow lakes (collectively “shallow waterbodies”) are among the most biogeochemically active freshwater ecosystems. Measurements of gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net ecosystem production (NEP) are rare in shallow waterbodies compared to larger and deeper lakes, which can bias our understanding of lentic ecosystem processes. In this study, we calculated
Authors
Joseph Rabaey, Meredith Holgerson, David Richardson, Mikkel R. Andersen, Sheel Bansal, Lauren E Bortolotti, James Cotner, Daniel Hornbach, Kenneth T. Martinsen, Eric Moody, Olivia F. Schloegel
Modeling rare plant habitat together with public land managers using an iterative, coproduced process to inform decision-making on multiple-use public lands
Public lands across the United States are managed for multiple uses, resources, and values ranging from energy development to rare plant conservation. Intensified energy development and other land use changes across the Southwestern United States have increased the need for proactive management to mitigate impacts to rare plants. Habitat suitability models can inform decision-making and lead to mo
Authors
Catherine S. Jarnevich, Sarah K. Carter, Zoe M. Davidson, Nicole D. MacPhee, Patrick J. Alexander, Brandon Hayes, Pairsa N. Belmaric, Benjamin R Harms
Incorporating projected climate conditions to map future riparian refugia
Identifying areas expected to remain buffered from climate change and maintain biodiversity and ecological function (i.e., climate refugia) is important for climate adaptation planning. As structurally diverse transitional zones between terrestrial and aquatic environments, riparian areas are often biological hotspots and provide critical corridors for species movement, particularly in arid and se
Authors
Kimberly E Szcodronski, Alisa A. Wade, Sarah Elizabeth Burton, Blake R. Hossack
Assisted migration of coho salmon: Influences of passage and habitat availability on population dynamics
Assisted migration is a means of introducing a species into a previously unoccupied area. Although this idea is relatively new for many species, there are many extant examples involving fish that can be instructive. We studied a case of assisted migration where upstream access of migrating adult coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch over a naturally impassible barrier was established through constructi
Authors
Joseph R. Benjamin, Jason B. Dunham, Nicholas Scheidt, Carla Rothenbuecher, Cory Sipher
Little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) are resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection
It has been proposed that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus that spread through human populations as a pandemic originated in Asian bats. There is concern that infected humans could transmit the virus to native North American bats; therefore, the susceptibility of several North American bat species to the pandemic virus has been experimentally assessed. Big bro
Authors
Jeffrey S. Hall, Sean Nashold, Erik K. Hofmeister, Ariel Elizabeth Leon, Elizabeth Falendysz, Hon S. Ip, Carly M. Malave, Tonie E. Rocke, Mariano Carossino, Udeni B.R. Balasuriya, Susan Knowles
Computational approaches improve evidence synthesis and inform broad fisheries trends
Addressing ecological impacts with effective conservation actions requires information on the links between human pressures and localized responses. Understanding links is a priority for many conservation contexts, including the world's fresh waters, which face intensifying threats to disproportionately high species diversity, including more than half of the world's fish species. Literature synthe
Authors
Gretchen L. Stokes, Abigail Lynch, John V. Flores, Jesse P. Wong, Connor Morang, Chelsie Romulo, Simon Funge-Smith, John Valbo-Jorgensen, Samuel J. Smidt
Modeling the effects of spatial distribution on dynamics of an invading Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) Blake population
To predict the potential success of an invading non-native species, it is important to understand its dynamics and interactions with native species in the early stages of its invasion. In spatially implicit models, mathematical stability criteria are commonly used to predict whether an invading population grows in number in an early time period. But spatial context is important for real invasions
Authors
Yuanming Lu, Junfei Xia, Robert D. Holt, Don DeAngelis
Restoration of common loon (Gavia immer) in Minnesota—2023 annual report
The Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform exploded on April 20, 2010. The resulting massive oil spill injured natural resources in the Gulf of Mexico, including wintering common loons (Gavia immer). We report on activities completed under the “Restoration of Common Loons in Minnesota” project in calendar year 2023, which was funded by the Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group. In 2022, a su
Authors
William S. Beatty, Kelly Amoth, Katelyn Bergstrom, Luke J. Fara, Brian R. Gray, Steven C. Houdek, Jayden Jech, Kevin P. Kenow, Robert Rabasco, Spencer Rettler, Michael Wellik, Steven Yang
Mercury concentrations in Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Rice Rats differ across the Mississippi River Estuary
Mercury (Hg) concentrations and their associated toxicological effects in terrestrial ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico are largely unknown. Compounding this uncertainty, a large input of organic matter from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have altered Hg cycling and bioaccumulation dynamics. To test this idea, we quantified blood concentrations of total mercury (THg) in Seaside Sparrows (
Authors
Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati, Allyson K. Jackson, Collin Eagles-Smith, Sydney Moyo, Anna A. Pérez-Umphre, Michael J. Polito, Allison M. Snider, S. Tyler Williams, Stefan Woltmann, Philip C. Stouffer, Sabrina S. Taylor
Delineating draft inventory analysis units for National Scenic and Historic Trails inventory, assessment, and monitoring programs
As of 2024, there are 32 National Scenic and Historic Trails (NSHTs) in the system administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service, and U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service. The BLM administers, manages, and protects 19 of these trails as part of its system of national conservation lands. Various laws, regulations, and policies require that the BLM conduct and m
Authors
Sarah M. Lindley, Emily J. Wilkins, Carin Farley, Karla Rogers, Rudy Schuster
Feedbacks: A new synthesis of causal loops across ecology
Feedbacks are the basic linkages of living systems. In organisms, they regulate the processes of growth and homeostasis, as well as their interactions with their world. Feedback, which Judson (1980) called ‘one of the chief themes of scientific understanding,' is equally important in ecological systems. The ecological literature is rich in papers dealing with the role of feedback in various phenom
Authors
Donald L. DeAngelis, Linhao Xu
Predictor importance in habitat suitability models for invasive terrestrial plants
AimDue to the socioeconomic and environmental damages caused by invasive species, predicting the distribution of invasive plants is fundamental for effectively targeting management efforts. A habitat suitability model (HSM) is a powerful tool to predict potential habitat of invasive species to help guide the early detection of invasive plants. Despite numerous studies of the predictors used in HSM
Authors
Demetra A. Williams, Keana S. Shadwell, Ian Pearse, Janet S. Prevéy, Peder Engelstad, Grace Henderson, Catherine S. Jarnevich