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: 42177
Assessment of skin and liver neoplasms in white sucker (Catostomus commersonii) collected in the Sheboygan River Area of Concern, Wisconsin, in 2017
Two hundred adult white sucker (Catostomus commersonii), age 3 years and older, were collected from the lower Sheboygan River Area of Concern in 2017, during the spring spawning run. Fish were euthanized, weighed, and measured, and any visible abnormalities were documented. Pieces of raised skin lesions as well as five to eight pieces of liver were removed and preserved for...
Authors
Vicki S. Blazer, Heather L. Walsh, Ryan P. Braham, Patricia Mazik
Migratory goose arrival time plays a larger role in influencing forage quality than advancing springs in an Arctic coastal wetland
With warmer springs, herbivores migrating to Arctic breeding grounds may experience phenological mismatches between their energy demands and the availability of high quality forage. However, the timing of high quality forage relative to the timing of grazing is often unknown. In coastal western Alaska, approximately one million migratory geese arrive each spring to breed where foliar %N...
Authors
Karen H. Beard, Ryan T. Choi, A. Joshua Leffer, Lindsay Carlson, Katharine C. Kelsey, Joel A. Schmutz, Jeffery M. Welker
Recreational impacts to wildlife: Managing visitors and resources to protect wildlife
Publication Abstract: Visitor use management is essential for maximizing benefits for visitors while achieving and maintaining desired resource conditions and visitor experiences on federally managed lands and waters. Visitor capacity, a component of visitor use management, is defined as the maximum amounts and types of visitor use that an area can accommodate while achieving and...
Authors
Jeffrey L. Marion
Fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), sand roller (Percopsis transmontana), and smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) interactions in a Snake River reservoir: A tale of three species
We studied some of the relationships between federally listed fall Chinook Salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, endemic Sand Roller, Percopsis transmontana, and non-native Smallmouth Bass, Micropterus dolomieu, in Lower Granite Reservoir on the Snake River. Because of its recent reappearance and population increase, the Sand Rollers could be filling the role of a “native invader” in the...
Authors
Rulon J. Hemingway, Kenneth Tiffan, John Erhardt, Tobyn N. Rhodes, Brad Bickford
Contemporary environmental assessment using a viability analysis in a large river system to inform restoration and adaptive management decisions
As large-scale restoration plans for degraded aquatic habitats evolve, it is essential that multiorganizational collaborations have a common vision to achieve consensus on restoration goals. Development of restoration targets and postrestoration monitoring strategies can be focused using a viability analysis framework that supports an adaptive management process. Viability analysis is a...
Authors
Robin L. DeBruyne, Edward Roseman, Jason E. Ross, Kurt R. Newman, Russell M. Strach
Long‐term plant community trajectories suggest divergent responses of native and non‐native perennials and annuals to vegetation removal and seeding treatments
Land managers frequently apply vegetation removal and seeding treatments to restore ecosystem function following woody plant encroachment, invasive species spread, and wildfire. However, the long‐term outcome of these treatments is unclear due to a lack of widespread monitoring. We quantified how vegetation removal (via wildfire or management) with or without seeding and environmental...
Authors
Stella M. Copeland, Seth Munson, John Bradford, Bradley J. Butterfield, Kevin L. Gunnell
Diversity and abundance of wild bees in an agriculturally dominated landscape of eastern Colorado
Agricultural intensification has resulted in loss of natural and semi-natural habitats impacting several important ecosystem services. One group of organisms that has suffered greatly are the bees and hence pollination, the supporting ecosystem service they complete. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has implemented conservation...
Authors
H. S. Arathi, Mark W. Vandever, Brian S. Cade
Current trends and future directions in swan research: Insights from the 6th International Swan Symposium
Given their popularity with researchers and public alike, together with their welldocumented importance in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, fundamental and applied research on swans continues to develop in the 21st century. The 6th International Swan Symposium (6th ISS), was held at the Estonian University of Life Sciences in Tartu, Estonia, in October 2018. The symposium brought...
Authors
Kevin Wood, Lei Cao, P. Clausen, Craig R. Ely, L. Luigujoe, Eileen C. Rees, Jeffrey Snyder, Diana V. Solovyeva, R. Wlodarczyk
Effects of land use on greenhouse gas flux in playa wetlands and associated watersheds in the High Plains, USA
In the High Plains, U.S., native prairie conversion to cropland agriculture has resulted in a loss of service delivery capabilities from most depressional wetlands as a result of sedimentation. Restoring historic hydrological conditions to affected wetlands may rejuvenate some services, however, there may be tradeoffs due to emissions of CH4 and N2O. We evaluated the influence of two...
Authors
Dale W. Daniel, Loren M. Smith, Scott T. McMurry, Brian Tangen, Charles F. Dahl, Ned H Euliss, Ted LaGrange
Complete genome sequences of the index isolates of two genotypes of Pacific salmon paramyxovirus
We report here the genome sequences of two index strains of Pacific salmon paramyxovirus isolated in 1982 and 1983 from adult salmon in Oregon. The isolates are most closely related to Atlantic salmon paramyxovirus, the type species of the genus Aquaparamyxovirus, but are sufficiently distinct to be considered two genotypes of a novel species.
Authors
James R Winton, William N. Batts, Rachel L. Thompson, Maureen Purcell
Observations on the range and nesting biology of the Mexican endemic rufous-capped brush-finch (Atlapetes Pileatus Pileatus)
The Rufous-capped Brush-finch (Atlapetes pileatus) is a species endemic to Mexico, whose breeding biology has received little attention. We studied two nests of the nominate subspecies from the mountains of southern Sonora. Nests were untidy, broad, open cups, placed in low, thick vegetation. Clutch size at one nest consisted of three immaculate white eggs. The second nest contained two...
Authors
Harold F. III Greeney, Jeff Port, Charles van Riper III
Multi-species duck harvesting using dynamic programming and multi-criteria decision analysis
1.Multiple species are often exposed to a common hunting season, but harvest and population objectives may not be fully achieved if harvest potential varies among species and/or species abundances are not correlated through time. Our goal was to develop an approach for setting a common hunting season that would recognize heterogeneity in species productivity and would select annual...
Authors
Fred A. Johnson, Guthrie S. Zimmerman, Min Huang, Paul I. Padding, Greg Balkcom, Michael Runge, Patrick K. Devers