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: 41876
Laboratory and field comparisons of TFM bar formulations used to treat small streams for larval sea lamprey
A solid formulation of the pesticide TFM (4-nitro-3-(trifluoromethyl)-phenol) was developed in the 1980s for application in small tributaries during treatments to control invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus Linnaeus, 1758). Several initial inert ingredients were discontinued and substituted, culminating with an interim formulation that unacceptably softens and rapidly decays in warm condition
Authors
James A. Luoma, Justin Schueller, Nicholas A. Schloesser, Todd Johnson, Courtney A Kirkeeng
Complex life histories alter patterns of mercury exposure and accumulation in a pond-breeding amphibian
Quantifying how contaminants change across life cycles of species that undergo metamorphosis is critical to assessing organismal risk, particularly for consumers. Pond-breeding amphibians can dominate aquatic animal biomass as larvae and are terrestrial prey as juveniles and adults. Thus, amphibians can be vectors of mercury exposure in both aquatic and terrestrial food webs. However, it is still
Authors
Freya Elizabeth Rowland, Erin L. Muths, Collin Eagles-Smith, Craig A. Stricker, Johanna M. Kraus, Rachel A. Harrington, David Walters
Random forest classification of multitemporal Landsat 8 spectral data and P\phenology metrics for land cover mapping in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts
Geospatial data and tools evolve as new technologies are developed and landscape change occurs over time. As a result, these data may become outdated and inadequate for supporting critical habitat-related work across the international boundary in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts Bird Conservation Region (BCR 33) due to the area’s complex vegetation communities and the discontinuity in data availabil
Authors
Madeline Melichar, Kamel Didan, Armando Barreto-Muñoz, Jennifer N. Duberstein, Eduardo Jiménez Hernández, Theresa Crimmins, Haiquan Li, Myles B. Traphagen, Kathryn A. Thomas, Pamela L. Nagler
A hidden cost of single species management: Habitat-relationships reveal potential negative effects of conifer removal on a non-target species
Land management priorities and decisions may result in population declines for non-target wildlife species. In the western United States, large-scale removal of conifer from sagebrush ecosystems (Artemisia spp.) is occurring to recover greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) populations and may result in pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) habitat loss. Jay populations have experienced
Authors
Nicholas J. Van Lanen, Adrian P. Monroe, Cameron L. Aldridge
Changes in mangrove blue carbon under elevated atmospheric CO2
While there is consensus that blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, have an important role in mitigating some aspects of global climate change, little is known about mangrove carbon cycling under elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (eCO2). Here, we review studies in order to identify pathways for how eCO2 might influence mangrove ecosystem carbon cycling. In general, eCO2 alters plant pro
Authors
Xiaoxuan Gu, Peiyang Qiao, Ken Krauss, Catherine E. Lovelock, Janine B. Adams, Samantha K. Chapman, Tim C. Jennerjahn, Qiulian Lin, Luzhen Chen
Identifying research in support of the management and control of dreissenid mussels in the western United States
On February 9–10, 2022, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Washington State University hosted a workshop to establish research priorities that support the implementation of action items listed in a current invasive species management plan, the Quagga and Zebra Mussel Action Plan (QZAP) 2.0, that are intended to limit the esta
Authors
Timothy D. Counihan, Lisa DeBruyckere, Stephen M. Bollens, Stephen Phillips, Theresa Thom, Barak Shemai
Vulnerability of estuarine systems in the contiguous United States to water quality change under future climate and land-use
Changes in climate and land-use and land-cover (LULC) are expected to influence surface water runoff and nutrient characteristics of estuarine watersheds, but the extent to which estuaries are vulnerable to altered nutrient loading under future conditions is poorly understood. The present work aims to address this gap through the development of a new vulnerability assessment framework that account
Authors
Lise R. Montefiore, Natalie Nelson, Michelle Staudinger, Adam J. Terando
Functional stability of vegetation following biocontrol of an invasive riparian shrub
Understanding plant community response to environmental change is a crucial aspect of biological conservation and restoration, but species-based approaches are limited in that they do not reveal the underlying mechanisms driving vegetation dynamics. An understanding of trait-environment relationships is particularly important in the case of invasive species which may alter abiotic conditions and a
Authors
Annie L. Henry, Eduardo Gonzalez-Sargas, Patrick B. Shafroth, Alexander R.B. Goetz, Anna A. Sher
Juvenile salmonid monitoring to assess natural recolonization following removal of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, Washington, 2016–21
Condit Dam was removed from river kilometer (rkm) 5.3 of the White Salmon River, Washington, in 2011 and 2012 after blocking upstream passage of anadromous fish for nearly 100 years. The dam removal opened habitat upstream and improved habitat downstream with addition of cobble and gravel to a reach depauperate of spawning and rearing habitat. We assessed juvenile anadromous salmonid abundance and
Authors
Ian G. Jezorek, Jill M. Hardiman
The ties that bind the sagebrush biome: Integrating genetic connectivity into range-wide conservation of greater sage-grouse
Conserving genetic connectivity is fundamental to species persistence, yet rarely is made actionable into spatial planning for imperilled species. Climate change and habitat degradation have added urgency to embrace connectivity into networks of protected areas. Our two-step process integrates a network model with a functional connectivity model, to identify population centres important to maintai
Authors
Todd B. Cross, Jason D. Tack, David E. Naugle, Michael D. Schwartz, Kevin E. Doherty, Sara J. Oyler-McCance, Ronald D. Pritchert, Brad C. Fedy
Geothermal energy production adversely affects a sensitive indicator species within sagebrush ecosystems in western North America
Growing demand for renewable energy has resulted in expansion of energy infrastructure across sagebrush ecosystems of western North America. Geothermal power is an increasingly popular renewable energy source, especially within remote areas, but little is known about the impacts it may have on local wildlife populations. Investigations are warranted given similarities to more conventional surface
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Brian G. Prochazka, Shawn T. O'Neil, Sarah C. Webster, Shawn Espinosa, Mark A. Ricca, Steven R. Mathews, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
Tracking status and trends in seven key indicators of stream health in the Chesapeake Bay watershed
“The Bay Connects us, the Bay reflects us” writes Tom Horton in the book “Turning the Tide—Saving the Chesapeake Bay”. The Chesapeake Bay watershed contains the largest estuary in the United States. The watershed stretches north to Cooperstown, New York, south to Lynchburg and Virginia Beach, Virginia, west to Pendleton County, West Virginia, and east to Seaford, Delaware, and Scranton, Pennsylvan
Authors
Samuel H. Austin, Matthew Joseph Cashman, John W. Clune, James E. Colgin, Rosemary M. Fanelli, Kevin P. Krause, Emily Majcher, Kelly O. Maloney, Chris A. Mason, Doug L. Moyer, Tammy M. Zimmerman
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Environmental Health Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center