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: 41894
Context dependency of disease-mediated competitive release in bat assemblages following white-nose syndrome
White-nose syndrome (WNS) has caused dramatic declines of several cave-hibernating bat species in North America since 2006, which has increased the activity of non-susceptible species in some geographic areas or during times of night formerly occupied by susceptible species—indicative of disease-mediated competitive release (DMCR). Yet, this pattern has not been evaluated across multiple bat assem
Authors
Sara Bombaci, Robin E. Russell, Michael J. St. Germain, Christopher A. Dobony, W. Mark Ford, Susan Loeb, David S. Jachowski
Climatic aridity shapes post-fire interactions between Ceanothus spp. and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) across the Klamath Mountains
Climate change is leading to increased drought intensity and fire frequency, creating early-successional landscapes with novel disturbance–recovery dynamics. In the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, early-successional interactions between nitrogen (N)-fixing shrubs (Ceanothus spp.) and long-lived conifers (Douglas-fir) are especially important determinants of fo
Authors
Damla Cinoglu, Howard E Epstein, Alan J. Tepley, Kristina J. Anderson-Teixeira, Jonathan R. Thompson, Steven Perakis
Responses of American black bears to spring resources
In temperate regions of the world, food resources are seasonally limited, which causes some wildlife species to seek out nutrient-rich resources to better meet their caloric needs. Animals that utilize high-quality resources may reap fitness benefits as they prepare for mating, migration, or hibernation. American black bears (Ursus americanus) are omnivores that consume both plant and animal food
Authors
Nathaniel R. Bowersock, Andrea R. Litt, Jerod A. Merkle, Kerry A. Gunther, Frank T. van Manen
Modeling scenarios for the management of axis deer in Hawai‘i
Axis deer (Axis axis) are invasive species that threaten native ecosystems and agriculture on Maui Island. To mitigate negative effects, it is necessary to understand current abundance, population trajectory, and how to most effectively reduce the population. Our objectives were to examine the population history of Maui axis deer, estimate observed population growth, and use species-specific demog
Authors
Steve C. Hess, Seth Judge
Hawaiian hoary bat acoustic surveys on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, 2019–2021
The endangered Hawaiian hoary bat (Lasiurus semotus, Vespertilionidae, also known as Aeorestes semotus and ‘ōpe‘ape‘a) occurs on all the principal volcanic islands in Hawai‘i. Advances in acoustic bat monitoring techniques have contributed to the body of knowledge of bat activity and behavior in many areas of the State of Hawai‘i; however, there is still much that is unknown about the population a
Authors
Corinna A. Pinzari, Kristina Montoya-Aiona, Danielle Gross, Karen Courtot
Remotely sensed fine-fuel changes from wildfire and prescribed fire in a semi-arid grassland
The spread of flammable invasive grasses, woody plant encroachment, and enhanced aridity have interacted in many grasslands globally to increase wildfire activity and risk to valued assets. Annual variation in the abundance and distribution of fine-fuel present challenges to land managers implementing prescribed burns and mitigating wildfire, although methods to produce high-resolution fuel estima
Authors
Adam Gerhard Wells, Seth M. Munson, Steven E Sesnie, Miguel L. Villarreal
Strong evidence for two disjunct populations of Black Scoters Melanitta americana in North America
Black Scoters Melanitta americana were marked with satellite transmitters on Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America to examine continental-scale population delineation. Scoters marked on the different coasts did not overlap at any stage of the annual cycle, suggesting that birds in the two regions could be monitored and managed as separate populations: 1) an Atlantic population, which winter
Authors
Timothy D. Bowman, Scott G. Gilliland, Jason L Schamber, Paul L. Flint, Daniel Esler, W. Sean Boyd, Daniel H. Rosenberg, Jean-Pierre L. Savard, Matthew Perry, Jason E. Osenkowski
Riverscape approaches in practice: Perspectives and applications
Landscape perspectives in riverine ecology have been undertaken increasingly in the last 30 years, leading aquatic ecologists to develop a diverse set of approaches for conceptualizing, mapping and understanding ‘riverscapes’. Spatiotemporally explicit perspectives of rivers and their biota nested within the socio-ecological landscape now provide guiding principles and approaches in inland fisheri
Authors
Christian E. Torgersen, Céline Le Pichon, Aimee H. Fullerton, Stephen J. Dugdale, Jeffrey J. Duda, Floriane Giovannini, Évelyne Tales, Jérôme Belliard, Paulo Branco, Normand E. Bergeron, Mathieu L. Roy, Diego Tonolla, Nicolas Lamouroux, Hervé Capra, Colden V. Baxter
Decision-support framework for linking regional-scale management actions to continental-scale conservation of wide-ranging species
Anas acuta (Northern pintail; hereafter pintail) was selected as a model species on which to base a decision-support framework linking regional actions to continental-scale population and harvest objectives. This framework was then used to engage stakeholders, such as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives’ (LCCs’) habitat management partners within areas of importance to pintails, while maximizing c
Authors
Erik E. Osnas, G. Scott Boomer, James H. Devries, Michael C. Runge
Time to get real with qPCR controls: The frequency of sample contamination and the informative power of negative controls in environmental DNA studies
Environmental (e)DNA methods have enabled rapid, sensitive and specific inferences of taxa presence throughout diverse fields of ecological study. However, use of eDNA results for decision-making has been impeded by uncertainties associated with false positive tests putatively caused by sporadic or systemic contamination. Sporadic contamination is a process that is inconsistent across samples and
Authors
Patrick Ross Hutchins, Leah Nicole Simantel, Adam Sepulveda
Morphometric sex identification of nestling and free-flying Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax fleayi)
The endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax fleayi) is the focus of continued research and conservation efforts. A tool for accurate and efficient identification of the sex of individuals would be a valuable aid to research and management. However, plumages are monomorphic between the sexes, making sex identification difficult without molecular analyses. Our aim was to assess whether
Authors
James M. Pay, Todd E. Katzner, Jason M Wiersma, William E. Brown, Clare E. Hawkins, Kirstin M Proft, Elissa Z. Cameron
U.S. Geological Survey invasive species research—Improving detection, awareness, decision support, and control
More than 6,500 nonindigenous species are now established in the United States, posing risks to human and wildlife health, native plants and animals, and our valued ecosystems. The annual environmental, economic, and health-related costs of invasive species are substantial. Invasive species can drive native species onto the endangered species list, resulting in associated regulatory costs; exacerb
Authors
Cindy Kolar Tam, Wesley M. Daniel, Earl Campbell, James J. English, Suzanna C. Soileau