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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: 41778

Ecologically relevant moisture and temperature metrics for assessing dryland ecosystem dynamics

In drylands, water-limited regions that cover ~40% of the global land surface, ecosystems are primarily controlled by access to soil moisture and exposure to simultaneously hot and dry conditions. Quantifying ecologically relevant environmental metrics is difficult in drylands because the response of vegetation to moisture and temperature conditions is not easily explained solely by climate-based
Authors
D. A. Chenoweth, Daniel Rodolphe Schlaepfer, J. C. Chambers, J. L. Brown, A. K. Urza, Brice Hanberry, D. Board, M. Crist, John B. Bradford

Dabbling duck eggs hatch after nest abandonment in the wild

In most birds, parental incubation of eggs is necessary for embryo development and survival. Using a combination of weekly nest visits, temperature dataloggers, infrared video cameras, and GPS tracking of hens, we documented several instances of duck eggs hatching after being abandoned by the incubating female. Of 2826 Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) and Gadwall (Mareca strepera) nests monitored 2015
Authors
Carley Rose Schacter, Brady Lynn Fettig, Sarah H. Peterson, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog, Michael L. Casazza, Josh T. Ackerman

Brown bear–sea otter interactions along the Katmai coast: Terrestrial and nearshore communities linked by predation

Sea otters were extirpated throughout much of their range by the maritime fur trade in the 18th and 19th centuries, including the coast of Katmai National Park and Preserve in southcentral Alaska. Brown bears are an important component of the Katmai ecosystem where they are the focus of a thriving ecotourism bear-viewing industry as they forage in sedge meadows and dig clams in the extensive tidal
Authors
Daniel Monson, Rebecca L. Taylor, Grant Hilderbrand, Joy Erlenbach, Heather Coletti, James L. Bodkin

Framework for assessing and mitigating the impacts of offshore wind energy development on marine birds

Offshore wind energy development (OWED) is rapidly expanding globally and has the potential to contribute significantly to renewable energy portfolios. However, development of infrastructure in the marine environment presents risks to wildlife. Marine birds in particular have life history traits that amplify population impacts from displacement and collision with offshore wind infrastructure. Here
Authors
Donald A Croll, Aspen A Ellis, Josh Adams, Aonghais S. C. P. Cook, Stefan Garthe, Morgan Wing Goodale, C. Scott Hall, Elliott L. Hazen, Bradford S. Keitt, Emily C. Kelsey, Jeffery B Leirness, Don E Lyons, Matthew W. McKown, Astrid Potiek, Kate R Searle, Floor H. Soudjin, R. Cotton Rockwood, Bernie R. Tershy, Martin Tinker, Eric A. Vanderwerf, Kathryn A Williams, Lindsay C. Young, Kelly Zilliacus

Trends in vegetation and height of the topographic surface in a tidal freshwater swamp experiencing rooting zone saltwater intrusion

A decrease in the ground surface height of coastal wetlands is of worldwide concern because of its relationship to peat loss, coastal carbon, and biodiversity in freshwater wetlands. We asked if it is possible to determine indicators of impending transitions of freshwater swamps to other coastal types by examining long-term changes in the environment and vegetation. In a tidal Taxodium distichum s
Authors
Beth Middleton, John L. David

Ecological and socioeconomic factors associated with the human burden of environmentally mediated pathogens: A global analysis

BackgroundBillions of people living in poverty are at risk of environmentally mediated infectious diseases—that is, pathogens with environmental reservoirs that affect disease persistence and control and where environmental control of pathogens can reduce human risk. The complex ecology of these diseases creates a global health problem not easily solved with medical treatment alone.MethodsWe quant
Authors
Susanne H. Sokolow, Nicole Nova, Isabel J. Jones, Chelsea L. Wood, Kevin D. Lafferty, Andres Garchitorena, Skylar R. Hopkins, Andrea J Lund, Andrew J MacDonald, Christopher LeBoa, Alison J. Peel, Erin A. Mordecai, Meghan E Howard, Julia C Buck, David Lopez-Carr, Michele Barry, Matthew H Bonds, Giulio A. De Leo

Invasive corallimorpharians at Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge are no match for lye and heat

Invasive marine species are well documented but options to manage them are limited. At Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (Central North Pacific), native invasive corallimorpharians, Rhodactis howesii, have smothered live native corals since 2007. Laboratory and field trials were conducted evaluating two control methods to remove R. howesii overgrowing the benthos at Palmyra Atoll (Palmyra): 1
Authors
Thierry M. Work, Renee Breeden, Robert Rameyer, Vernon Born, Tim Clark, Jeremy Rainal, Chris Gillies, Julia Rose, Alex Wegmann, Stefan Kropidlowski

Growth, survival, and cohort formation of juvenile Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir, California—2020 monitoring report

Executive SummaryPopulations of federally endangered Lost River (Deltistes luxatus) and shortnose suckers (Chasmistes brevirostris) in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon, and Clear Lake Reservoir (hereinafter, Clear Lake), California, are experiencing long-term decreases in abundance. Upper Klamath Lake populations are decreasing not only because of adult mortality, which is relatively low, but also becau
Authors
Barbara A. Martin, Caylen M. Kelsey, Summer M. Burdick, Ryan J. Bart

Training and capacity building activities of Climate Adaptation Science Centers for the benefit of Tribal and Indigenous communities, 2010–2019

Tribal nations and Indigenous communities are key collaborators on adaptation work within the Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) network. The centers have partnered with numerous Tribal and Indigenous communities on projects or activities to better understand the communities’ specific knowledge of and exposure to impacts of climate change, to increase or assist with capacity to support adapt
Authors
Tori Pfaeffle, Robin O'Malley, Aparna Bamzai, Stefan Tangen

High dispersal rates in hybrids drive expansion of maladaptive hybridization

Hybridization between native and invasive species, a major cause of biodiversity loss, can spread rapidly even when hybrids have reduced fitness. This paradox suggests that hybrids have greater dispersal rates than non-hybridized individuals, yet this mechanism has not been empirically tested in animal populations. Here, we test if non-native genetic introgression increases reproductive dispersal
Authors
Samuel Bourret, Ryan P. Kovach, Timothy Joseph Cline, Jeffrey Strait, Clint C. Muhlfeld

Tough places and safe spaces: Can refuges save salmon from a warming climate?

The importance of thermal refuges in a rapidly warming world is particularly evident for migratory species, where individuals encounter a wide range of conditions throughout their lives. In this study, we used a spatially explicit, individual-based simulation model to evaluate the buffering potential of cold-water thermal refuges for anadromous salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus spp.) migrating upstre
Authors
Marcía N. Snyder, Nathan H. Schumaker, Jason B. Dunham, Joseph L. Ebersole, Mathew L Keefer, Jonathan Halama, Randy L Comeleo, Peter Leinenbach, Allen Brookes, Ben Cope, Jennifer Wu, John Palmer