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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: 41763

A three-dimensional Lagrangian particle tracking model for predicting transport of eggs of rheophilic-spawning carps in turbulent rivers

Grass carp, bighead carp, and silver carp spawn in flowing water. Their eggs, and then larvae, develop while drifting. Hydraulic conditions and water temperature control spawning locations, egg survival, and the downstream distance traveled before the hatched larvae can swim for low velocity nursery habitats. Existing egg drift models simulate the fluvial transport of carp eggs but have limitation
Authors
Geng Li, Binbin Wang, Caroline M. Elliott, Bruce Call, Duane Chapman, R. B. Jacobson

Biogeography of freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionida) in Texas and implications on conservation biology

AimBiogeography seeks to identify and explain the spatial distributions of species and has become an important tool used by conservationists to protect and manage aquatic organisms. Texas, located in the southwestern United States, is home to 52 species of freshwater mussels, 9 of which are endemic to Texas and 7 that are endemic to Texas and neighboring states or countries. There have been two ma
Authors
Michael de Moulpied, Chase H. Smith, Clint R. Robertson, Nathan Johnson, Roel Lopez, Charles R. Randklev

Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary

Sea-level rise (SLR) and obstructions to sediment delivery pose challenges to the persistence of estuarine habitats and the ecosystem services they provide. Restoration actions and sediment management strategies may help mitigate such challenges by encouraging the vertical accretion of sediment in and horizontal migration of tidal forests and marshes. We used a process-based soil accretion model (
Authors
Monica Mei Jeen Moritsch, Kristin B. Byrd, Melanie J. Davis, Anthony J. Good, Judith Z. Drexler, James T. Morris, Isa Woo, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Eric E. Grossman, Glynnis Nakai, Katrina L. Poppe, John M. Rybczyk

Quantifying the effects of tides, river flow, and barriers on movements of Chinook Salmon smolts at junctions in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta using multistate models

Successful migration of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) smolts seaward in the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta (hereafter, Delta) requires navigating a network of numerous branching channels. Within the Delta, several key junctions route smolts either towards more direct paths to the ocean or towards the interior Delta, an area associated with decreased survival. Movements within the

Authors
Michael Dodrill, Russell Perry, Adam Pope, Xiaochun Wang

Dynamic sensitivity to resource availability influences population responses to mismatches in a shorebird

Climate change has caused shifts in seasonally recurring biological events leading to the temporal decoupling of consumer-resource pairs – i.e., phenological mismatching. Although mismatches often affect individual fitness, they do not invariably scale up to affect populations, making it difficult to assess the risk they pose. Individual variation may contribute to this inconsistency, with changes
Authors
Luke R. Wilde, Josiah E. Simmons, Rose J. Swift, Nathan R. Senner

Taking the leap: A binational translocation effort to close the 420-km gap in the Baja California lineage of the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii)

Conservation translocations, the human-mediated movement and release of a living organism for a conservation benefit, are increasingly recommended in species’ recovery plans as a technique for mitigating population declines or augmenting genetic diversity. However, translocation protocols for species with broad distributions may require regionally specific considerations to increase success, as en
Authors
Susan North, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Frank E. Santana, Anny Peralta-García, Elizabeth Gallegos, Adam R. Backlin, Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Bradford Hollingsworth, Jorge H. Valdez-Villavicencio, Zachary Principe, Robert N. Fisher, Clark S. Winchell

Chew-cards can accurately index invasive rat densities in Mariana Island forests

Rats (Rattus spp.) are likely established on 80–90% of the world’s islands and represent one of the most damaging and expensive biological invaders. Effective rat control tools exist but require accurate population density estimates or indices to inform treatment timing and effort and to assess treatment efficacy. Capture-mark-recapture data are frequently used to produce robust density estimates,
Authors
Emma B. Hanslowe, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Melia Gail Nafus, Douglas A Page, Danielle R. Bradke, Francesca T. Erickson, Larissa L. Bailey

Sailing into new waters with IAGLR

No abstract available.
Authors
Jean V. Adams

New state and county records of introduced amphibians and reptiles of Georgia, USA.

Recent efforts to eradicate the invasive Argentine Giant Tegu (Salvator merianae) has led to the discovery of several county records of this introduced lizard as well as several other potentially invasive amphibian and reptile species in the state of Georgia, USA. New records were determined using a database of county records maintained by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. All specimens
Authors
Michael Brennan, Lance McBrayer, Joseph Carroll, Kenneth L. Krysko, Amy A. Yackel Adams

Lake Ontario April prey fish survey results and Alewife assessment, 2022

The annual Lake Ontario April bottom trawl survey and Alewife, Alosa pseudoharengus, population assessment provide science to inform management decisions related to predator-prey balance and fish community dynamics. The 2022 survey was conducted from March 31 to April 26, included 235 trawls in the main lake and embayments, and sampled depths from 5 to 219 m (16 – 723 ft). The survey captured 311,
Authors
Brian C. Weidel, Lee F G Gutowsky, Jessica Goretzke, Jeremy Holden, Scott P. Minihkeim

2021 National park visitor spending effects: Economic contributions to local communities, states, and the nation

The National Park Service (NPS) manages the Nation’s most iconic destinations that attract millions of visitors from across the Nation and around the world. Trip-related spending by NPS visitors generates and supports economic activity within park gateway communities. This report summarizes the annual economic contribution analysis that measures how NPS visitor spending cycles through local econom
Authors
Catherine M. Cullinane Thomas, Matthew Flyr, Lynne Koontz