Publications
Below is a list of available NOROCK peer reviewed and published science. If you are in search of a specific publication and cannot find it below or through a search, please contact twojtowicz@usgs.gov.
Filter Total Items: 1220
Migratory hummingbirds make their own rules: The decision to resume migration along a barrier
Knowing how naïve migrants respond to intrinsic and extrinsic factors experienced en route will allow a more thorough understanding of the endogenous migratory programme. To understand how inexperienced individuals respond to ecological features, we tracked the migratory departures of juvenile ruby-throated hummingbirds, Archilochus colubris, one of the smallest (∼ 3 g) and least-studied migrants,
Authors
Theodore J. Zenzal, Frank R. Moore, Robert H. Diehl, Michael B. Ward, JIll Deppe
Winter feeding of elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem and its effects on disease dynamics
Providing food to wildlife during periods when natural food is limited results in aggregations that may facilitate disease transmission. This is exemplified in western Wyoming where institutional feeding over the past century has aimed to mitigate wildlife–livestock conflict and minimize winter mortality of elk (Cervus canadensis). Here we review research across 23 winter feedgrounds where the mos
Authors
Gavin G. Cotterill, Paul C. Cross, Eric Cole, Rebecca K. Fuda, Jared D. Rogerson, Brandon Scurlock, Johan T. du Toit
Fish response to contemporary timber harvest practices in a second-growth forest from the central Coast Range of Oregon
We used a paired-watershed approach to investigate the effects of contemporary logging practices on headwater populations of coastal cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) and juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in a second-growth Douglas-fir forested catchment in Oregon. Stream habitat and fish population characteristics, including biomass, abundance, growth, size, and movement, w
Authors
Douglas S. Bateman, Robert E. Gresswell, Dana Warren, David Hockman-Wert, David W. Leer, Jeffrey T. Light, John D. Stednick
Oil and gas development footprint in the Piceance Basin, western Colorado
Understanding long-term implications of energy development on ecosystem functionrequires establishing regional datasets to quantify past development and determine relationships to predict future development. The Piceance Basin in western Colorado has a history of energy production and development is expected to continue into the foreseeable future due to abundant natural gas resources. To facilita
Authors
Cericia D. Martinez, Todd M. Preston
On the exchange of sensible and latent heat between the atmosphere and melting snow
The snow energy balance is difficult to measure during the snowmelt period, yet critical for predictions of water yield in regions characterized by snow cover. Robust simplifications of the snowmelt energy balance can aid our understanding of water resources in a changing climate. Research to date has demonstrated that the net turbulent flux (FT) between a melting snowpack and the atmosphere is ne
Authors
Paul C. Stoy, Erich H. Peitzsch, David J. A. Wood, Daniel Rottinghaus, Georg Wohlfahrt, Michael Goulden, Helen Ward
Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published since January 2015
The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter GRSG) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” was in part due to a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New
Authors
Sarah K. Carter, Daniel J. Manier, Robert S. Arkle, Aaron N. Johnston, Susan L. Phillips, Steven E. Hanser, Zachary H. Bowen
Occurrence of quiescence in free-ranging migratory songbirds
Quiescence is a period of inactivity that occurs before the onset of migratory activity in nocturnally migrating birds. This behavior has been observed in captive birds in migratory disposition, but its occurrence in free-ranging migratory birds has been documented only anecdotally, and causal factors and function(s), if any, are unknown. In this study, we documented and characterized quiescence i
Authors
Lynn N. Schofield, Jill L. Deppe, Robert H. Diehl, Michael P. Ward, Rachel T. Bolus, Theodore J. Zenzal, Jaclyn A. Smolinsky, Frank R. Moore
Vegetation responses to sagebrush-reduction treatments measured by satellites
Time series of vegetative indices derived from satellite imagery constitute tools to measure ecological effects of natural and management-induced disturbances to ecosystems. Over the past century, sagebrush-reduction treatments have been applied widely throughout western North America to increase herbaceous vegetation for livestock and wildlife. We used indices from satellite imagery to 1) quantif
Authors
Aaron N. Johnston, Erik A. Beever, Jerod Merkle, Geneva W. Chong
Demographic modelling reveals a history of divergence with gene flow for a glacially tied stonefly in a changing post-Pleistocene landscape
AimClimate warming is causing extensive loss of glaciers in mountainous regions, yet our understanding of how glacial recession influences evolutionary processes and genetic diversity is limited. Linking genetic structure with the influences shaping it can improve understanding of how species respond to environmental change. Here, we used genome-scale data and demographic modelling to resolve the
Authors
Scott Hotaling, Clint C. Muhlfeld, J. Joseph Giersch, Omar Ali, Steve Jordan, Michael R. Miller, Gordon Luikart, David W. Weisrock
Investigating runoff efficiency in upper Colorado River streamflow over past centuries
With increasing concerns about the impact of warming temperatures on water resources, more attention is being paid to the relationship between runoff and precipitation, or runoff efficiency. Temperature is a key influence on Colorado River runoff efficiency, and warming temperatures are projected to reduce runoff efficiency. Here, we investigate the nature of runoff efficiency in the upper Colorad
Authors
Connie A. Woodhouse, Gregory T. Pederson
Hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin
Despite the importance of the Missouri River for navigation, recreation, habitat, hydroelectric power, and agriculture, relatively little is known about the basic hydroclimatology of the Missouri River basin (MRB). This is of particular concern given the droughts and floods that have occurred over the past several decades and the potential future exacerbation of these extremes by climate change. H
Authors
Erika K. Wise, Connie A. Woodhouse, Gregory J. McCabe, Gregory T. Pederson, Jeannine-Marie St. Jacques
Fine-scale heterogeneity drives forest use by spring migrant landbirds across a broad, contiguous forest matrix
Much of our understanding of en route landbird habitat use comes from research performed at local scales, ignoring effects at larger spatial scales. We used a multiscale approach to investigate stopover habitat use by landbirds using transect surveys in 68 forested sites in southwestern Michigan, USA, during the springs of 2002 and 2003. We modeled relationships of bird density and arthropod abund
Authors
Theodore J. Zenzal, Robert J. Smith, David N. Ewert, Robert H. Diehl, Jeffrey J. Buler