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: 41778
The detection and attribution of extreme reductions in vegetation growth across the global land surface
Negative extreme anomalies in vegetation growth (NEGs) usually indicate severely impaired ecosystem services. These NEGs can result from diverse natural and anthropogenic causes, especially climate extremes (CEs). However, the relationship between NEGs and many types of CEs remains largely unknown at regional and global scales. Here, with satellite-derived vegetation index data and supporting tree
Authors
Huiping Yang, Seth M. Munson, Chris Huntingford, Nuno Carvalhais, Alan K. Knapp, Xiangyi Li, Josep Peñuelas, Jakob Zscheichler, Anping Chen
Drivers and facilitators of the illegal killing of elephants across 64 African sites
Ivory poaching continues to threaten African elephants. We (1) used criminology theory and literature evidence to generate hypotheses about factors that may drive, facilitate or motivate poaching, (2) identified datasets representing these factors, and (3) tested those factors with strong hypotheses and sufficient data quality for empirical associations with poaching. We advance on previous analys
Authors
Timothy Kuiper, Res Altwegg, Colin Beale, Thea Carroll, Holy Dublin, Severin Hauenstein, Mrigesh Kshatriya, Carl Schwarz, Chris Thouless, Andy Royle, E.J. Milner-Gulland
Modeled production, oxidation, and transport processes of wetland methane emissions in temperate, boreal, and Arctic regions
Wetlands are the largest natural source of methane (CH4) to the atmosphere. The eddy covariance method provides robust measurements of net ecosystem exchange of CH4, but interpreting its spatiotemporal variations is challenging due to the co-occurrence of CH4 production, oxidation, and transport dynamics. Here, we estimate these three processes using a data-model fusion approach across 25 wetlands
Authors
Masahito Ueyama, Sarah Knox, Kyle B. Delwiche, Sheel Bansal, William J. Riley, Dennis Baldocchi, Takashi Hirano, Gavin McNicol, Karina Schafer, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Benjamin Poulter, Robert B. Jackson, Kuang-Yu Chang, Jiquan Chen, Housen Chu, Ankur R. Desai, Sebastien Gogo, Hiroki Iwata, Minseok Kang, Ivan Mammarella, Matthias Peichl, Oliver Sonnentag, Eeva-Stiina Tuittila, Youngryel Ryu, Eugenie S. Euskirchen, Mathias Goeckede, Adrien Jacotot, Mats B. Nilsson, Torsten Sachs
Burmese pythons in Florida: A synthesis of biology, impacts, and management tools
Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are native to southeastern Asia, however, there is an established invasive population inhabiting much of southern Florida throughout the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. Pythons have severely impacted native species and ecosystems in Florida and represent one of the most intractable invasive-species management issues across the globe. The difficulty stems f
Authors
Jacquelyn C. Guzy, Bryan G. Falk, Brian J. Smith, John David Willson, Robert Reed, Nicholas Aumen, Michael L. Avery, Ian A. Bartoszek, Earl Campbell, Michael Cherkiss, Natalie M. Claunch, Andrea Faye Currylow, Tylan Dean, Jeremy Dixon, Richard M. Engeman, Sarah Funck, Rebekah Gibble, Kodiak C. Hengstebeck, John S. Humphrey, Maggie Hunter, Jillian Josimovich, Jennifer Ketterlin Eckles, Michael Kirkland, Frank J. Mazzotti, Robert A. McCleery, Melissa A. Miller, Matthew F. McCollister, M. Rockwell Parker, Shannon E. Pittman, Michael R. Rochford, Christina Romagosa, Art Roybal, Ray W. Snow, McKayla M. Spencer, Hardin Waddle, Amy A. Yackel Adams, Kristen Hart
Sources and chemical stability of soil organic carbon in natural and created coastal marshes of Louisiana
Coastal marshes are globally important for sequestering carbon, yet sea-level rise and anthropogenic stressors can reduce their capacity as carbon sinks. Marsh restoration can offset a portion of carbon loss through the degradation of natural marshes, but potential differences in the sources and stability of soil organic carbon (SOC) between created and natural marshes may affect their function as
Authors
Megan Kelsall, Tracy Quirk, Carol Wilson, Gregg Snedden
Validating a non-lethal method of aging endangered juvenile Lost River and Shortnose Suckers
Populations of imperiled Lost River Deltistes luxatus and Shortnose Chasmistes brevirostris suckers in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, are experiencing long-term decreases in abundance due to limited recruitment of juvenile suckers into the adult populations. Researchers use estimated ages based on fin rays to study environmental factors affecting year-class formation, generate annual juvenile sucker
Authors
Barbara A. Martin, Summer M. Burdick, Rachael Katelyn Paul-Wilson, Ryan J Bart
Wind-energy development alters pronghorn migration at multiple scales
Migration is a critical behavioral strategy necessary for population persistence and ecosystem functioning, but migration routes have been increasingly disrupted by anthropogenic activities, including energy development. Wind energy is the world's fastest growing source of electricity and represents an important alternative to hydrocarbon extraction, but its effects on migratory species beyond bir
Authors
Megan C. Milligan, Aaron N. Johnston, Jeffery L. Beck, Kaitlyn L. Taylor, Embere Hall, Lee Knox, Teal Cufaude, Cody F. Wallace, Geneva W. Chong, Matthew Kauffman
Sound-side inundation and seaward erosion of a barrier island during hurricane landfall
Barrier islands are especially vulnerable to hurricanes and other large storms, owing to their mobile composition, low elevations, and detachment from the mainland. Conceptual models of barrier-island evolution emphasize ocean-side processes that drive landward migration through overwash, inlet migration, and aeolian transport. In contrast, we found that the impact of Hurricane Dorian (2019) on No
Authors
Christopher R. Sherwood, Andrew C. Ritchie, Jin-Si R. Over, Christine J. Kranenburg, Jonathan Warrick, Jenna A. Brown, Wayne Wright, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Sara Zeigler, Phillipe Alan Wernette, Daniel D. Buscombe, Christie Hegermiller
Simulating post-dam removal effects of hatchery operations and disease on juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) production in the Lower Klamath River, California
Executive SummaryThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been considering the approval to breach four dams on lower Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California. Approval of this application would allow for Strikeouts indicate text deletion hereafter. decommissioning and dam removal, beginning as early as 2023. This action would affect Klamath River salmon (Oncorhynchus ssp.) popu
Authors
Russell W. Perry, John M. Plumb, Michael J. Dodrill, Nicholas A. Som, H. Eve Robinson, Nicholas J. Hetrick
Skinks of Oceania, New Guinea, and Eastern Wallacea: An underexplored biodiversity hotspot
Context: Skinks comprise the dominant component of the terrestrial vertebrate fauna in Oceania, New Guinea, and Eastern Wallacea (ONGEW). However, knowledge of their diversity is incomplete, and their conservation needs are poorly understood.Aims: To explore the diversity and threat status of the skinks of ONGEW and identify knowledge gaps and conservation needs.Methods: We compiled a list of all
Authors
Alex Slavenko, Allen Allison, Christopher C. Austin, Aaron Bauer, Rafe M. Brown, Robert N. Fisher, Ivan Ineich, Bulisa Iova, Benjamin R. Karin, Frederick Kraus, Sven Mecke, Shai Meiri, Clare Morrison, Paul M. Oliver, Mark O'Shea, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Glenn M. Shea, Oliver J. S. Tallowin, David G. Chapple
Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Effects of volcanic heat and other stressors on the conservation of a critically endangered plant in Hawaiʻi
Loss of local biodiversity resulting from abrupt environmental change is a significant environmental problem throughout the world. Extinctions of plants are particularly important yet are often overlooked. Drawing from a case in Hawai‘i, a global hotspot for plant and other extinctions, we demonstrate an effort to better understand and determine priorities for the management of an endangered plant
Authors
Nathan S. Gill, Jeff Stallman, Linda Pratt, Jennifer L. Lewicki, Tamar Elias, Patricia Nadeau, Stephanie G. Yelenik
Round goby detection in Lakes Huron and Michigan— An evaluation of eDNA and fish catches
Aquatic surveys for fish in large water bodies (e.g., Laurentian Great Lakes of North America) often require a flexible approach using multiple methods, surveying different depths, and sampling across seasons, especially when the target species is elusive in its natural habitat. The round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) is an invasive, bottom-dwelling fish inhabiting rocky areas of all five Great La
Authors
Katarzyna Przybyla-Kelly, Ashley M. Spoljaric, Meredith B. Nevers