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
What can commercial fishery data in the Great Lakes reveal about juvenile sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) ecology and management?
The Laurentian Great Lakes of North America support a large and profitable freshwater fishery, but one continuously beset by parasitism from the invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Despite being the life stage that inflicts damage to the fishery, therefore necessitating a bi-national control program, our knowledge of juvenile sea lamprey ecology is poor and their response to control efforts
Authors
John B. Hume, Gale A Bravener, Shane Flinn, Nicholas S. Johnson
Trade-offs between suppression and eradication of sea lampreys from the Great Lake
Ecosystem managers confronted with newly invasive species may respond with a program of suppression or eradication. Suppression of an invasive species refers to management of a species such that its effect on other biota in the local ecosystem is acceptable. Eradication is the removal of all individuals of a species from a defined region. We examine the cost and benefit trade-offs between suppress
Authors
Jean V. Adams, Oana Birceanu, W. Lindsay Chadderton, Michael L. Jones, Jesse M. Lepak, Titus S Selheimer, Todd B. Steeves, W. Paul Sullivan, Jill Wingfield
Predicted climate-induced reductions in scavenging in eastern North America
Scavenging is an important function within ecosystems where scavengers remove organic matter, reduce disease, stabilize food webs, and generally make ecosystems more resilient to environmental changes. Global change (i.e., changing climate and increasing human impact) is currently influencing scavenger communities. Thus, understanding what promotes species richness in scavenger communities can hel
Authors
Courtney J. Marneweck, Todd E. Katzner, David S. Jachowski
Mercury and water level management in lakes of northern Minnesota
Water level (WL) fluctuations substantially alter the fauna, flora, and microbial community of nearshore aquatic ecosystems. Water level management therefore has the potential to strongly influence a wide variety of ecosystem processes. Many northern temperate lake food webs experience substantial methylmercury contamination, which is partially mediated by the action of sulfate-reducing bacteria o
Authors
James H. Larson, Ryan P. Maki, Victoria Christensen, Enrika Hlavacek, Mark B. Sandheinrich, Jaime F. LeDuc, Claire Kissane, Brent C. Knights
Riverine complexity and life history inform restoration in riparian environments in the southwestern U.S.
Riparian habitat in the southwestern USA has undergone substantial degradation over the past century, prompting extensive management and restoration of these critical ecosystems. Most restoration efforts, however, do not account for life history traits or riverine complexity that may influence genetic diversity and structure. Here, we use simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in four southwestern r
Authors
Emily C. Palmquist, Gerald J Allan, Kiona Ogle, Thomas G. Whitham, Bradley J. Butterfield, Patrick B. Shafroth
Sharing knowledge to improve ecological restoration outcomes
Ecological restoration efforts are likely to be more successful when project components are informed by relevant stakeholders. However, key stakeholders are often not included in restoration design and deployment. This is largely driven by a lack of practitioner knowledge of and experience with stakeholder relations. However, inclusion of stakeholders across the entire restoration process can be a
Authors
Elise S Gornish, Molly L. McCormick, Marquel Begay, Mlungele M Nsikani
Sagebrush recovery patterns after fuel treatments mediated by disturbance type and plant functional group interactions
Fire and fuel management is a high priority in North American sagebrush ecosystems where the expansion of piñon and juniper trees and the invasion of nonnative annual grasses are altering fire regimes and resulting in loss of sagebrush species and habitat. We evaluated 10-yr effects of woody fuel treatments on sagebrush recruitment and plant functional group interactions using Sagebrush Steppe Tre
Authors
Jeanne C. Chambers, Alexandra K. Urza, David I. Board, Richard F. Miller, David A. Pyke, Bruce A. Roundy, Eugene W. Schupp, Robin J. Tausch
Microbial ecology of coral-dominated reefs in the Federated States of Micronesia
Microorganisms are central to the functioning of coral reef ecosystems, but their dynamics are unstudied on most reefs. We examined the microbial ecology of shallow reefs within the Federated States of Micronesia. We surveyed 20 reefs surrounding 7 islands and atolls (Yap, Woleai, Olimarao, Kosrae, Kapingamarangi, Nukuoro, and Pohnpei), spanning 875053 km2. On the reefs, we found consistently high
Authors
Amy Apprill, Henry Holm, Alyson E. Santoro, Cynthia Becker, Matthew Neave, Konrad Hughen, Angela Richards Donà, Greta Aeby, Thierry M. Work, Laura Weber, Sean McNally
Authors’ reply to letter to the editor: Continued improvement to genetic diversity indicator for CBD
We appreciate the encouraging response to our call for indicators for genetic diversity within the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD (Laikre et al. 2020; Hoban et al. 2020). In agreement with us, Frankham (2021) highlights the urgent necessity for the CBD to include an indicator that tracks the maintenance of genetic diversity within populations
Authors
Linda Laikre, Paul A. Hohenlohe, Fred W. Allendorf, Laura D. Bertola, Martin F Breed, Michael W. Bruford, W. Chris Funk, Gonzalo Gajardo, Antonio González-Rodríguez, Catherine E. Grueber, Philip W Hedrick, Myriam Heuertz, Margaret Hunter, Kerstin Johannesson, Libby Liggins, Anna J. MacDonald, Joachim Mergeay, Farideh Moharrek, David O’Brien, Rob Ogden, Pablo Orozco-terWengel, Clarisse Palma-Silva, Jennifer Pierson, Ivan Paz-Vinas, Isa-Rita M Russo, Nils Ryman, Genot Segelbacher, Per Sjögren-Gulve, Lisette P Waits, Cristiano Vernesi, Sean M. Hoban
Priority species lists to restore desert tortoise and pollinator habitats in Mojave Desert shrublands
Mojave Desert shrublands are home to unique plants and wildlife and are experiencing rapid habitat change due to unprecedented large-scale disturbances; yet, established practices to effectively restore disturbed landscapes are not well developed. A priority species list of native plant taxa was developed to guide seed collectors, commercial growers, resource managers, and restoration practitioner
Authors
Todd C. Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco, Gayle Loren Tyree, K. Kristina Drake, Kenneth E. Nussear, Joseph S Wilson
Field-level exposure of bumble bees to fungicides applied to a commercial cherry orchard
Bumble bees, Bombus spp. (Apidae), are important native pollinators; however, populations of some species are declining in North America and agricultural chemicals are a potential cause. Fungicides are generally not highly toxic to bees, but little is known about sublethal or synergistic effects. This study evaluates bumble bee exposure to fungicides by quantifying concentrations of boscalid and p
Authors
Kathryn M. Kuivila, Houston Judd, Michelle Hladik, James P. Strange
Blue sucker habitat use in a regulated Texas river: Implications for conservation and restoration
Species conservation requires a clear understanding of habitat availability and subsequent use of those habitats. In cases where species declines have occurred and gone undetected by conservation managers, habitat alteration, fragmentation, and loss are often the largest contributors. River fragmentation often results in altered flow regimes, subsequently impacting the availability of riverine hab
Authors
Matthew Ross Acre, Timothy B. Grabowski, Daniel J. Leavitt, Nathan G. Smith, Allison A. Pease, Jessica E. Pease