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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: 41758

Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagle) and Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagle) mortality and exposure to lead, mercury, and anticoagulant rodenticides in eight western and midwestern States, 2014–17

The U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center measured environmental contaminants in Haliaeetus leucocephalus (bald eagles) and Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagles) to evaluate dietary exposure to lead, mercury, and anticoagulant rodenticides (AR), all of which were identified by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a priority issue of concern for Mountain Prairie Region 6. Data were needed
Authors
Barbara L. Bodenstein, Julia S. Lankton, Robin E. Russell, Matthew S. Schwarz

Characterization of maternal immunity following vaccination of broodstock against IHNV or Flavobacterium psychrophilum in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis (IHN) is a significant viral disease affecting salmonids, whereas Flavobacterium psychrophilum (Fp), the causative agent of bacterial coldwater disease (BCWD), remains one of the most significant bacterial pathogens of salmonids. We explored maternal immunity in the context of IHN and BCWD management in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) aquaculture. Two experime
Authors
Jie Ma, Jesse T. Trushenski, Evan M. Jones, Timothy J. Bruce, Doug G. McKenney, Gael Kurath, Kenneth D. Cain

Population Monitoring

No abstract available.
Authors
J. Joshua Nowak, Mark A. Hurley, Paul M Lukacs, Daniel P. Walsh, C. LeAnn White

Karst terrain promotes thermal resiliency in headwater streams

The response of stream ecosystems to climate change will depend in part on groundwater processes that reduce the sensitivity of streams to atmospheric conditions.  We investigated the thermal sensitivity of streams across a gradient of groundwater inputs defined by karst terrain (carbonate parent materials) in the headwaters of the Potomac River basin in eastern North America.  We collected stream
Authors
Karmann G. Kessler, Karli M Rogers, Charles Marshak, Nathaniel Hitt

A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean Sea

Echinoderm mass mortality events shape marine ecosystems by altering the dynamics among major benthic groups. The sea urchin Diadema antillarum, virtually extirpated in the Caribbean in the early 1980s by an unknown cause, recently experienced another mass mortality beginning in January 2022. We investigated the cause of this mass mortality event through combined molecular biological and veterinar
Authors
Ian Hewson, Isabella T. Ritchie, James S. Evans, Ashley Altera, Donald Behringer, Erin Bowman, Marilyn E. Brandt, Kayla A. Budd, Ruleo A. Camacho, Tomas O. Cornwell, Peter D. Countway, Aldo Croquer, Gabriel A. Delgado, Christopher M. DeRito, Elizabeth Duermit-Moreau, Ruth Francis-Floyd, Samuel Gittens Jr., Leslie Henderson, Alwin Hylkema, Christina A. Kellogg, Yasu Kiryu, Kimani A. Kitson-Walters, Patricia Kramer, Judith C. Lang, Harilaos Lessios, Lauren Liddy, David Marancik, Stephen Nimrod, Joshua T. Patterson, Marit Pistor, Isabel C. Romero, Rita Sellares-Blasco, Moriah L. B. Sevier, William C. Sharp, Matthew Souza, Andreina Valdez-Trinidad, Marijn van der Laan, Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas, Maria Villalpando, Sarah D. Von Hoene, Matthew Warham, Tom Wijers, Stacey M. Williams, Thierry M. Work, Roy P. Yanong, Someira Zambrano, Alizee Zimmermann, Mya Breitbart

Understanding and mitigating thiaminase activity in silver carp

A deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), an essential cofactor for enzymes involved in metabolic processes, can be caused by the enzyme thiaminase. Thiaminase in food stocks has been linked to morbidity and mortality due to thiamine depletion in many ecologically and economically important species. Thiaminase activity has been detected in certain bacteria, plants, and fish species, including carp. T
Authors
Patricia C. Wolfe, Amber M. Tuske, Donald E. Tillitt, Fred Allen, Katie A. Edwards

Community for data integration 2019 project report

The U.S. Geological Survey Community for Data Integration annually supports small projects focusing on data integration for interdisciplinary research, innovative data management, and demonstration of new technologies. This report provides a summary of the 14 projects supported in fiscal year 2019 and outlines their goals, activities, and accomplishments. Proposals in 2019 were encouraged to addre
Authors
Amanda N. Liford, Caitlin M. Andrews, Aparna Bamzai, Joseph A. Bard, David S. Blehert, John B. Bradford, Wesley M. Daniel, Sara L. Caldwell Eldridge, Frank Engel, Jason A. Ferrante, Amy K. Gilmer, Margaret E. Hunter, Jeanne M. Jones, Benjamin Letcher, Frances L. Lightsom, Richard R. McDonald, Leah E. Morgan, Sasha C. Reed, Leslie Hsu

Forest structure and residual tree growth at the Northwest Gateway project area, Lassen Volcanic National Park, California

Mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are common mitigation treatments to reduce fire hazards. However, these treatments are infrequently applied together within national parks. The Northwest Gateway project at Lassen Volcanic National Park is an exception to this pattern. Various thinning prescriptions were applied to the project area in 2014, with a subset of the area prescribed burned in 2018
Authors
Micah C. Wright, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Calvin Farris

Using integral projection models to explore management strategies for silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix)

Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) are planktivorous fish that were originally introduced to the United States for use in fish production ponds and have since escaped these enclosures and are invading the Mississippi River Basin. The silver carp invasion of the Illinois River has a myriad of negative effects on native ecosystems. In this paper, we introduce key dependencies that are likely
Authors
Cameron Coles, Elizabeth Balas, James P Peirce, Greg J. Sandland, Richard A. Erickson

Insectivorous bat foraging tracks the availability of aquatic flies (Diptera)

Rivers and their adjacent riparian zones are model ecosystems for observing cross-ecosystem energy transfers. Aquatic insects emerging from streams, for example, are resource subsidies that support riparian consumers such as birds, spiders, lizards, and bats. We collaborated with recreational river runners in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, to record acoustic bat activity and sample riparian insects u
Authors
Anya Metcalfe, Carol Fritzinger, Theodore J. Weller, Michael Dodrill, Jeffrey Muehlbauer, Charles Yackulic, Brandon P. Holton, Cheyenne Maxime Szydlo, Laura E. Durning, Joel B. Sankey, Theodore Kennedy

Waterfalls in reservoirs: Tracking the development of nickpoints in the sediments of declining reservoirs

Recent drought has resulted in dramatic lowering of the two largest water-storage reservoirs in the western United States: Lake Powell and Lake Mead. These decreases in reservoir elevations have resulted in the re-emergence of over 100 km of the Colorado and San Juan rivers at the upstream end of Lake Powell and over 80 km of the Colorado River at the upstream end of Lake Mead. Upon reservoir lowe
Authors
Paul Grams, Robert B. Tusso