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
Foraging behavior in a generalist snake (brown treesnake, Boiga irregularis) with implications for avian reintroduction and recovery
Broad foraging classifications, such as generalist or specialist forager, are generally beneficial for population management in defining expectations of typical behavior. However, better understanding as to how individual variance in behavior interfaces with management actions, such as control of an invasive predator (such as brown treesnakes; Boiga irregularis) responsible for ecological collapse
Authors
Melia G. Nafus, Peter X. Xiong, Eben H. Paxton, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Scott Michael Goetz
Understanding grass invasion, fire severity, and Acacia koa regeneration for forest restoration in Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park
With invasive grasses increasing wildfire occurrence worldwide, a better understanding of the relationships between native plants, fire, and invasive grass is needed to help restoration plans facilitate ecosystem resilience. Invasive grasses are particularly problematic for altering fire regimes in the tropics, yet in Hawaiʻi, restoration sites are often planted with monocultures of the native tre
Authors
Hamilton Natalia, Stephanie G. Yelenik, Tara Durboraw, Robert Cox, Nathan S. Gill
Thermal stability of an adaptable, invasive ectotherm: Argentine giant tegus in the Greater Everglades ecosystem, USA
Invasive species globally threaten biodiversity and economies, but the ecophysiological mechanisms underlying their success are often understudied. For those alien species that also exhibit high phenotypic plasticity, such as habitat generalists, adaptations in response to environmental pressures can take place relatively quickly. The Argentine giant tegu (Salvator merianae; tegu) is a large omniv
Authors
Andrea Faye Currylow, Michelle Collier, Emma B. Hanslowe, Bryan G. Falk, Brian S. Cade, Sarah E. Moy, Alejandro Grajal-Puche, Frank N. Ridgley, Robert Reed, Amy A. Yackel Adams
The application of metacommunity theory to the management of riverine ecosystems
River managers strive to use the best available science to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem function. To achieve this goal requires consideration of processes at different scales. Metacommunity theory describes how multiple species from different communities potentially interact with local-scale environmental drivers to influence population dynamics and community structure. However, this body of
Authors
Christopher J. Patrick, Kurt E. Anderson, Brown L. Brown, Charles P. Hawkins, Anya N. Metcalfe, Parsa Saffarinia, Tadeu Siqueira, Christopher M. Swan, Jonathan D. Tonkin, Lester L. Yuan
Intraspecific variation mediates density dependence in a genetically diverse plant species
Interactions between neighboring plants are critical for biodiversity maintenance in plant populations and communities. Intraspecific trait variation and genome duplication are common in plant species and can drive eco-evolutionary dynamics through genotype-mediated plant–plant interactions. However, few studies have examined how species-wide intraspecific variation may alter interactions between
Authors
Andrii Zaiats, Matthew Germino, Marcelo D. Serpe, Bryce Richardson, Trevor Caughlin
Pedigree accumulation analysis: Combining methods from community ecology and population genetics for breeding adult estimation
Estimates of the number of successfully breeding adults (NS) in a population can predict levels of recruitment. However, assessments of NS are often difficult to obtain because encounters with adults are limited due to life-history characteristics, low abundance or other constraints associated with access to critical habitats. Alternatively, efforts to sample individuals at earlier ontogenetic sta
Authors
Nicholas Sard, Robert D. Hunter, Edward F. Roseman, Daniel B. Hayes, Robin L . DeBruyne, Kim T Scribner
Post-fire temporal trends in soil-physical and -hydraulic properties and simulated runoff generation: Insights from different burn severities in the 2013 Black Forest Fire, CO, USA
Burn severity influences on post-fire recovery of soil-hydraulic properties controlling runoff generation are poorly understood despite the importance for parameterizing infiltration models. We measured soil-hydraulic properties of field-saturated hydraulic conductivity (Kfs), sorptivity (S), and wetting front potential (ψf) for four years after the 2013 Black Forest Fire, Colorado, USA at six sit
Authors
Brian A. Ebel, John A. Moody, Deborah A. Martin
Evidence for interannual persistence of infectious influenza A viruses in Alaska wetlands
Influenza A viruses (IAVs) deposited by wild birds into the environment may lead to sporadic mortality events and economically costly outbreaks among domestic birds. There is a paucity of information, however, regarding the persistence of infectious IAVs within the environment following deposition. In this investigation, we assessed the persistence of 12 IAVs that were present in the cloaca and/or
Authors
Andrew M. Ramey, Andrew B. Reeves, Benjamin Joel Lagassé, Vijay P. Patil, Laura E. Hubbard, Dana W. Kolpin, R. Blaine McCleskey, Deborah A. Repert, David E. Stallknecht, Rebecca L. Poulson
A protocol for modelling generalised biological responses using latent variables in structural equation models
In this paper we consider the problem of how to quantitatively characterize the degree to which a study object exhibits a generalized response. By generalized response, we mean a multivariate response where numerous individual properties change in concerted fashion due to some internal integration. In latent variable structural equation modeling (LVSEM), we would typically approach this situation
Authors
James B. Grace, Magdalena Steiner
Instrumental variable methods in structural equation models
Instrumental variable regression (RegIV) provides a means for detecting and correcting parameter bias in causal models. Widely used in economics, recently several papers have highlighted its potential utility for ecological applications. Little attention has thus far been paid to the fact that IV methods can also be implemented within structural equation models (SEMIV). In this paper I present the
Authors
James Grace
Conservation of northwestern and southwestern pond turtles: Threats, population size estimates, and population viability analysis
Accurate status assessments of long-lived, widely distributed taxa depend on the availability of long-term monitoring data from multiple populations. However, monitoring populations across large temporal and spatial scales is often beyond the scope of any one researcher or research group. Consequently, wildlife managers may be tasked with utilizing limited information from different sources to det
Authors
Stephanie Manzo, E. Griffin Nicholson, Devereux. Zachary, Robert N. Fisher, Christopher W. Brown, Peter A Scott, H. Bradley Shaffer
How to increase the supply of native seed to improve restoration success: The US native seed development process
With the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, restoration of damaged ecosystems is turning into a global movement. Restoration actions that are not based on science and an understanding of ecosystem function can thwart desired restoration outcomes at best and cause further damage to ecosystems at worst. Restoration often includes revegetation using seed. Where we source seed for restora
Authors
Molly Lutisha Mccormick, Amanda N. Carr, Robert Massatti, Daniel E. Winkler, Patricia De Angelis, Peggy Olwell