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Publications

Browse publications authored by our scientists.  Publications available are: USGS-authored journal articles, series reports, book chapters, other government publications, and more. **Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

Filter Total Items: 4348

Implications of community concordance for assessing stream integrity at three nested spatial scales in Minnesota, U.S.A.

1. Fish and invertebrate assemblage data collected from 670 stream sites in Minnesota (U.S.A.) were used to calculate concordance across three nested spatial scales (statewide, ecoregion and catchment). Predictive taxa richness models, calibrated using the same data, were used to evaluate whether concordant communities exhibited similar trends in human‐induced taxa loss across all three scales. Fi
Authors
Christine L. Dolph, David D. Huff, Christopher J. Chizinski, Bruce C. Vondracek

Development and assessment of a landscape-scale ecological threat index for the Lower Colorado River Basin

Anthropogenic disturbances impact freshwater biota but are rarely incorporated into conservation planning due to the difficulties in quantifying threats. There is currently no widely accepted method to quantify disturbances, and determining how to measure threats to upstream catchments using disturbance metrics can be time consuming and subjective. We compared four watershed-scale ecological threa
Authors
Craig P. Paukert, K.L. Pitts, Joanna B. Whittier, Julian D. Olden

Effects of spatial disturbance on common loon nest site selection and territory success

The common loon (Gavia immer) breeds during the summer on northern lakes and water bodies that are also often desirable areas for aquatic recreation and human habitation. In northern New England, we assessed how the spatial nature of disturbance affects common loon nest site selection and territory success. We found through classification and regression analysis that distance to and density of dis
Authors
Kyle P. McCarthy, Stephen DeStefano

FishTraits: a database of ecological and life-history traits of freshwater fishes of the United States

The need for integrated and widely accessible sources of species traits data to facilitate studies of ecology, conservation, and management has motivated development of traits databases for various taxa. In spite of the increasing number of traits-based analyses of freshwater fishes in the United States, no consolidated database of traits of this group exists publicly, and much useful information
Authors
Paul L. Angermeier, Emmanuel A. Frimpong

Age, growth, mortality, and abundance of lake sturgeon in the Grasse River, New York, USA

An increased understanding of lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) population dynamics is a key requirement for successful management efforts. Little is known regarding the Grasse River population of lake sturgeon except that it is one of a few populations in New York State where spawning has been documented. Thus our purpose was to assess the current status of lake sturgeon in the Grasse River sy
Authors
D.G. Trested, J. Jeffery Isely

Assessing the effects of catch and release regulations on a quality adfluvial brook trout population using a computer based age-structure model

Assessing the Effects of Catch-and-Release Regulations on a Brook Trout Population Using an Age-Structured Model: North American Journal of Fisheries Management: Vol 30, No 6 var _prum=[['id','54ff88bcabe53dc41d1004a5'],['mark','firstbyte',(new Date()).getTime()]];(function(){var s=document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],p=document.createElement('script');p.async='async';p.src='//rum-static.pin
Authors
Casey A.L. Risley, Joseph D. Zydlewski

Influence of Physiochemical and watershed characteristics on mercury concentration in walleye, Sander vitreus, M.

Elevated mercury concentration has been documented in a variety of fish and is a growing concern for human consumption. Here, we explore the influence of physiochemical and watershed attributes on mercury concentration in walleye (Sander vitreus, M.) from natural, glacial lakes in South Dakota. Regression analysis showed that water quality attributes were poor predictors of walleye mercury concent
Authors
Cari-Ann Hayer, Steven R. Chipps, James J. Stone

Postfledging survival of Grasshopper Sparrows in grasslands managed with fire and grazing

More accurate estimates of survival after nestlings fledge are needed for population models to be parameterized and population dynamics to be understood during this vulnerable life stage. The period after fledging is the time when chicks learn to fly, forage, and hide from predators. We monitored postfledging survival, causespecific mortality, and movements of Grasshopper Sparrows (Ammodramus sava
Authors
Torre J. Hovick, James R. Miller, Rolf R. Koford, David M. Engle, Diane M. Debinski

Nest success of northern bobwhite on managed and unmanaged landscapes in southeast Iowa

Range‐wide declines in northern bobwhite populations (Colinus virginianus) have been attributed to concomitant loss of breeding habitat. Bobwhite management efforts to restore this habitat resource can be informed by empirical studies of associations between breeding success and multi‐scale habitat attributes. We compared bobwhite nest success in 2 southern Iowa landscapes as a function of microha
Authors
Lisa M. Potter, David L. Otis, Todd R. Bogenschutz

Rusa unicolor (Artiodactyla: Cervidae)

Rusa unicolor (Kerr, 1792), or sambar, is the largest Oriental deer. Seven subspecies occur in varied habitats and elevations from India and Sri Lanka throughout southeastern Asia. Body mass and antler length decrease from west to east. R. unicolor is considered ancestral relative to the form of its male-only antlers and social behavior. Populations are vulnerable because of overexploitation for s
Authors
David M. Leslie

The hypothalamus–pituitary–thyroid axis in teleosts and amphibians: Endocrine disruption and its consequences to natural populations

Teleosts and pond-breeding amphibians may be exposed to a wide variety of anthropogenic, waterborne contaminants that affect the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis. Because thyroid hormone is required for their normal development and reproduction, the potential impact of HPT-disrupting contaminants on natural teleost and amphibian populations raises special concern. There is laboratory evid
Authors
J.A. Carr, Reynaldo Patiño

Use of cover habitat by bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, and lake trout, Salvelinus namaycush, in a laboratory environment

Lacustrine-adfluvial bull trout, Salvelinus confluentus, migrate from spawning and rearing streams to lacustrine environments as early as age 0. Within lacustrine environments, cover habitat provides refuge from potential predators and is a resource that is competed for if limiting. Competitive interactions between bull trout and other species could result in bull trout being displaced from cover
Authors
Michael H. Meeuwig, Christopher S. Guy, Wade A. Fredenberg
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