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
Trophic interactions and feedbacks maintain intact and degraded states of Hawaiian tropical forests
Feedbacks within ecosystems can lead to internal reinforcement of the current state providing ecosystem resilience. Often, multiple biotic interactions across trophic levels play a role in such feedbacks, yet these are generally studied independently, obscuring the relative importance of interactions among different factors. We look at various potential feedbacks in intact and degraded mesic fores
Authors
Stephanie G. Yelenik, Eli T. Rose, Eben H. Paxton
Marine mammal hotspots across the circumpolar Arctic
AimIdentify hotspots and areas of high species richness for Arctic marine mammals.LocationCircumpolar Arctic.MethodsA total of 2115 biologging devices were deployed on marine mammals from 13 species in the Arctic from 2005 to 2019. Getis-Ord Gi* hotspots were calculated based on the number of individuals in grid cells for each species and for phylogenetic groups (nine pinnipeds, three cetaceans, a
Authors
Charmain Hamilton, Christian Lydersen, Jon Aars, Mario Acquarone, Todd C. Atwood, Alastair Baylis, Martin Biuw, Andrei N. Boltunov, Erik W. Born, Peter L. Boveng, Tanya M. Brown, Michael Cameron, John J. Citta, Justin A. Crawford, Rune Dietz, Jim Elias, Steven H. Ferguson, Aaron T. Fisk, Lars P. Folkow, Kathryn J. Frost, Dmitri M. Glazov, Sandra M. Granquist, Rowenna Gryba, Lois A. Harwood, Tore Haug, Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen, Nigel E. Hussey, Jimmy Kalinek, Kristin L. Laidre, Dennis I. Litovka, Josh M. London, Lisa Loseto, Shannon MacPhee, Marianne Marcoux, Cory J. D. Matthews, Kjell J Nilssen, Erling S. Nordøy, Greg O’Corry-Crowe, Nils Øien, Morten Tange Olsen, Lori T. Quakenbush, Aqqalu Rosing-Asvid, Varvara Semenova, Kim E. W. Shelden, Olga V. Shpak, Garry Stenson, Luke Storrie, Signe Sveegaard, Jonas Teilmann, Fernando Ugarte, Andrew L. Von Duyke, Cortney Watt, Øystein Wiig, Ryan R. Wilson, David J. Yurkowski, Kit M. Kovacs
Abundance and productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons
Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) have been listed as “endangered” by the State of California and “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1992 in California, Oregon, and Washington. Information regarding marbled murrelet abundance, distribution, population trends, and habitat associations is critical for risk assessment, effective management, evaluation of conservation
Authors
Jonathan J. Felis, Josh Adams, Cheryl Horton, Emily C. Kelsey, Laney M. White
Counterfactuals to assess effects to species and systems from renewable energy development
Renewable energy production, mostly via wind, solar, and biofuels, is central to goals worldwide to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate anthropogenic climate change (IPCC, 2014; Pörtner et al., 2021). Nevertheless, adverse impacts to natural systems, especially fatalities of wildlife and alteration of habitat, are key challenges for renewable energy production (Allison et al., 2019; Katzner et al
Authors
Todd E. Katzner, Taber D Allison, Jay E. Diffendorfer, Amanda Hale, Eric J. Lantz, Paul Veers
Social and reproductive behaviors
Sirenian social and reproductive behaviors lack much complexity or diversity. Whereas sirenians are usually sighted as solitary, or as cows with single calves, aggregations of many individuals can occur. Persistent social groupings are unknown. Home ranges are widely overlapping. Mating systems of dugongs (Dugong dugon) have been variously described as leks or as scramble promiscuity (mating herds
Authors
Thomas J. O'Shea, Cathy Beck, Amanda J. Hodgson, Lucy W Keith-Diagne, Miriam Marmontel
Controlling invasive fish in fluctuating environments: Model analysis of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in a shallow lake
Climate change can act to facilitate or inhibit invasions of non-native species. Here, we address the influence of climate change on control of non-native common carp (hereafter, carp), a species recognized as one of the “world's worst” invaders across the globe. Control of this species is exceedingly difficult, as it exhibits rapid population growth and compensatory density dependence. In many lo
Authors
James B Pearson, J. Ryan Bellmore, Jason B. Dunham
Grassland conservation supports migratory birds and produces economic benefits for the commercial beekeeping industry in the U.S. Great Plains
Although declines in grassland birds have been documented, national initiatives to conserve grasslands and their biota have fallen short in part because the non-market values of natural ecosystems and species are often not recognized in political decision making. Identifying shared, anthropogenic threats faced by market-valued and non-market-valued species may generate additional support for grass
Authors
Clint R.V. Otto, Haochi Zheng, Torre Hovick, Max Post van der Burg, Benjamin A. Geaumont
What common-garden experiments tell us about climate responses in plants
Common garden experiments are indoor or outdoor plantings of species or populations collected from multiple distinct geographic locations, grown together under shared conditions. These experiments examine a range of questions for theory and application using a variety of methods for analysis. The eight papers of this special feature comprise a cross section of contemporary approaches, summarized a
Authors
Susanne Schwinning, Christopher J. Lorti, Todd C. Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco
Minimizing extinction risk in the face of uncertainty: Developing conservation strategies for 2 rapidly declining forest bird species on Kaua‘i Island
Many species around the world are declining precipitously as a result of multiple threats and changing climate. Managers tasked with protecting species often face difficult decisions in regard to identifying which threats should be addressed, given limited resources and uncertainty in the success of any identified management action. On Kaua‘i Island, Hawai‘i, USA, forest bird species have experien
Authors
Eben H. Paxton, Lisa H. Crampton, John Vetter, Megan Laut, Lainie Berry, Steve Morey
Exposure to crop production alters cecal prokaryotic microbiota, inflates virulome and resistome in wild prairie grouse
Chemically intensive crop production depletes wildlife food resources, hinders animal development, health, survival, and reproduction, and it suppresses wildlife immune systems, facilitating emergence of infectious diseases with excessive mortality rates. Gut microbiota is crucial for wildlife's response to environmental stressors. Its composition and functionality are sensitive to diet changes an
Authors
Serguei Vyacheslavovich Drovetski, Brian K. Schmidt, Jonas Ethan Lai, Michael S. Gross, Michelle Hladik, Kenan Oguz Matterson, Natalie K. Karouna-Renier
Assessing conservation and management actions with ecosystem services better communicates conservation value to the public
Fish and wildlife populations are under unprecedented threats from changes in land use and climate. With increasing threats comes a need for an expanded constituency that can contribute to the public support and financial capital needed for habitat conservation and management. Using an ecosystem services approach can provide a framework for a more holistic accounting of conservation benefits. Our
Authors
David M. Mushet, Max Post van der Burg, Michael J. Anteau
Toxicity of wildland fire-fighting chemicals in pulsed exposures to rainbow trout and fathead minnows
Intrusions of fire-fighting chemicals in streams can result from containment and suppression of wildfires and may be harmful to native biota. We investigated the toxicity of seven current-use fire-fighting chemicals to juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) by simulating chemical intrusions under variable field conditions to provide insight on the po
Authors
Holly J. Puglis, Michael G. Iacchetta, Christina M. Mackey