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Publications

FORT scientists have produced more than 1,500 peer reviewed publications that are registered in the USGS Publications Warehouse, along with many others prior to their work at the USGS or in conjunction with other government agencies. 

Filter Total Items: 2241

Patterns of plant invasions: A case example in native species hotspots and rare habitats

Land managers require landscape-scale information on where exotic plant species have successfully established, to better guide research, control, and restoration efforts. We evaluated the vulnerability of various habitats to invasion by exotic plant species in a 100,000 ha area in the southeast corner of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. For the 97 0.1-ha plots in 11 vegetation ty
Authors
T.J. Stohlgren, Yuka Otsuki, C.A. Villa, M. Lee, J. Belnap

Economic development and conservation of biological and cultural diversity in Yunnan Province, China

Chinese and American scientists are co-operating to develop concepts, strategies, agreements, and proposals in support of an economic development and sustainable ecosystems project in Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China. Yunnan's Provincial Government has initiated a major programme to develop and further utilise its biological resources to help improve economic conditions for its citizens
Authors
R.C. Stendell, Richard L. Johnson, J.P. Mosesso, X. Zhang

The interplay of habitat change, human disturbance and species interactions in a waterbird colony

Potential responses to human disturbance at breeding colonies of waterbirds include reproductive failure, population declines and displacement from activity areas. Several additional factors, including species interactions and environmental change, can either mask or intensify the effects of human activity. This study highlights the importance of considering these factors in concert with breeding
Authors
Susan K. Skagen, Cynthia P. Melcher, Erin L. Muths

Role of patch size, disease, and movement in rapid extinction of bighorn sheep

The controversy (Berger 1990, 1999; Wehausen 1999) over rapid extinction in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) has focused on population size alone as a correlate to persistence time. We report on the persistence and population performance of 24 translocated populations of bighorn sheep. Persistence in these sheep was strongly correlated with larger patch sizes, greater distance to domestic sheep, hi
Authors
F. J. Singer, L. C. Zeigenfuss, L. Spicer

Rapid assessment of butterfly diversity in a montane landscape

We present the results of a rapid assessment of butterfly diversity in the 754 ha Beaver Meadows study area in Rocky Mountain National Park, Larimer County, Colorado. We measured butterfly species richness and relative abundance as part of a landscape-scale investigation of diversity patterns involving several groups of organisms. A stratified random sampling design was used to include replication
Authors
S.E. Simonson, P.A. Opler, T.J. Stohlgren, G.W. Chong

Geographic variation in the song of Willow Flycatchers: Differentiation between Empidonax traillii adastus and E. t. extimus

The vocal signatures of the primary song form (“fitz-bew”) of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) and its northern counterpart, E. t. adastus, are distinctive. Songs of the extimus subspecies are longer (total song, note, internote) and frequencies at maximum amplitude are lower than those of adastus. I used vocal evidence to clarify the distributional limits
Authors
J.A. Sedgwick

Archaic agencies, muddled missions, and conservation in the 21st century

No abstract available.
Authors
Fred B. Samson, Fritz L. Knopf

Assessing ecosystem effects of reservoir operations using food web-energy transfer and water quality models

We investigated the effects on the reservoir food web of a new temperature control device (TCD) on the dam at Shasta Lake, California. We followed a linked modeling approach that used a specialized reservoir water quality model to forecast operation-induced changes in phytoplankton production. A food web–energy transfer model was also applied to propagate predicted changes in phytoplankton up thro
Authors
L. Saito, B. M. Johnson, J. Bartholow, R.B. Hanna

Establishment, growth, and early survival of woody riparian species at a Colorado gravel pit

Presence of a wetted edge during the period of seedfall was an effective predictor of suitable establishment (defined as germination and survival to the 1st autumn) locations for Populas deltoides subsp. monilifera, Salix amygdaloides, S. exigua, and Tamarix ramosissima seedlings during 3 successive years of a gravel pit revegetation project in Fort Collins, Colorado. At locations predicted to be
Authors
J. E. Roelle, D.N. Gladwin, B.S. Cade

A high validity census technique for herpetofaunal assemblages

No abstract available.
Authors
G.H. Rodda, E.W. Campbell, T. H. Fritts

Distributions of roosting sandhill cranes as identified by aerial thermography

We used aerial thermography to determine the location of sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) roosting sites during a single night over a 142-km reach of the Platte River, Nebraska. We assessed the influences of human disturbance features, screening of disturbance features by woody vegetation, distance to surrounding cropland of various types and channel width on distribution patterns of sandhill cran
Authors
T.L. Parrish, W.A. Hubert, S.H. Anderson, M.J. Pucherelli, W. Mangus