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Publications

USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center staff publish results of their research in USGS series reports and in peer-reviewed journals. Publication links are below.  Information on all USGS publications can be found at the USGS Publications Warehouse.

Filter Total Items: 1907

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1979 wetland classification: a review

In 1979 the US Fish and Wildlife Service published and adopted a classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. The system was designed for use in a national inventory of wetlands. It was intended to be ecologically based, to furnish the mapping units needed for the inventory, and to provide national consistency in terminology and definition. We review the performance of t
Authors
L.M. Cowardin, F.C. Golet

Spring-staging ecology of midcontinent greater white-fronted geese

A major part of the midcontinent greater white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) population stages for several weeks in spring in the Rainwater Basin Area (RBA) of south-central Nebraska where substantial mortality from disease occurs periodically. Effective management of this population requires better data on use of habitat, vulnerability to disease, and the role of staging areas in migration and
Authors
Gary Krapu, Kenneth J. Reinecke, Dennis G. Jorde, S. G. Simpson

Contributions of the Conservation Reserve Program to populations of breeding birds in North Dakota

Previous studies have shown that habitat provided by the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), a feature of the 1985 farm bill, is used by many birds. The present study quantitatively assesses the importance of the CRP by estimating changes in breeding-bird populations of North Dakota projected if CRP land would revert to cultivation. Of 18 species that were common in CRP or crop fields or both, 12
Authors
D. H. Johnson, L.D. Igl

Research access to privately owned wetland basins in the prairie pothole region of the United States

We describe efforts to obtain access for research to 81 wetland basins on 69 farms in four zones of the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota. Access was obtained to 54% of the farms in areas where land was intensively cropped and 87% of farms in areas of low cropping intensity. On average, 1.35 operators had to be contacted and 1.70 interviews were required to obtain
Authors
David P. Fellows, Thomas K. Buhl

Climate response among growth increments of fish and trees

Significant correlations were found among the annual growth increments of stream fish, trees, and climate variables in the Ozark region of the United States. The variation in annual growth increments of rock bass (Ambloplites rupestris) from the Jacks Fork River was significantly correlated over 22 years with the ring width of four tree species: white oak (Quercus alba), post oak (Quercus stellata
Authors
R.P. Guyette, C.F. Rabeni

A noteworthy record and the breeding distribution of the blue grosbeak in North Dakota

The northern limit of the blue grosbeak's (Guiraca caerulea) breeding distribution occurs in southern North Dakota. Records of the blue grosbeak in North Dakota are uncommon. Here, I report my observation of a blue grosbeak at a site where the species was recorded 25 years earlier. A summary of the species' distribution and records in North Dakota are provided.
Authors
L.D. Igl

Woody vegetation and channel morphogenesis in low-gradient, gravel-bed streams in the Ozarks Plateaus, Missouri and Arkansas

Woody vegetation affects channel morphogenesis in Ozark streams of Missouri and Arkansas by increasing local roughness, increasing bank strength, providing sedimentation sites, and creating obstructions to flow. Variations in physiographic controls on channel morphology result in systematic changes in vegetation patterns and geomorphic functions with increasing drainage basin area. In upstream rea
Authors
R. McKenney, R. B. Jacobson, R.C. Wertheimer

Factors associated with duck nest success in the prairie pothole region of Canada

Populations of some dabbling ducks have declined sharply in recent decades and information is needed to understand reasons for this. During 1982-85, we studied duck nesting for 1-4 years in 17 1.6 by 16.0-km, high-density duck areas in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) of Canada, 9 in parkland and 8 in prairie. We estimated nest-initiation dates, habitat preferences, nest success, and nest fates fo
Authors
Raymond J. Greenwood, Alan B. Sargeant, Douglas H. Johnson, Lewis M. Cowardin, Terry L. Shaffer