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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.

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Our Story

Blooming wildflowers in Pinnacles National Park.

The circular highlights how our research efforts fulfill larger USGS strategic goals.

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Our History

Tricolored Heron at Ding Darling National Park

This book is dedicated to those who are or have been associated with the unit program. 

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Our Research

Yellow-billed Loon on a lake in the northern area of Alaska.

This report provides abstracts of most of the ongoing and recently completed research.

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Filter Total Items: 3984

Expert-informed habitat suitability analysis for at-risk species assessment and conservation planning

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is responsible for reviewing the biological status of hundreds of species to determine federal status designations under the Endangered Species Act. The longleaf pine Pinus palustris ecological system supports many priority at-risk species designated for review, including five species of herpetofauna: gopher tortoise Gopherus polyphemus, southern hognose
Authors
Brian A. Crawford, John C. Maerz, Clinton T. Moore
By
Cooperative Research Units

Gear comparison study for sampling nekton in Barataria Basin marshes

This project was funded by the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG) to support decisions related to investments in long-term monitoring. The LA TIG seeks to ensure long-term monitoring informs coastal restoration activities with the goal of sustaining and improving fisheries impacted by the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) Oil Spill. The project objective was to compare nekton catch across an es
Authors
Caleb Taylor, Megan K. La Peyre, Shaye Sable, Erin P. Kiskaddon, Melissa M. Baustian
By
Cooperative Research Units

Fish predation on a landscape scale

Predator–prey dynamics can have landscape-level impacts on ecosystems, and yet, spatial patterns and environmental predictors of predator–prey dynamics are often investigated at discrete locations, limiting our understanding of the broader impacts. At these broader scales, landscapes often contain multiple complex and heterogeneous habitats, requiring a spatially representative sampling design. Th
Authors
Cyril J. Michel, Mark J. Henderson, Christopher M. Loomis, Joseph M. Smith, Nicholas J. Demetras, Ilysa S. Iglesias, Brendan M. Lehman, David D. Huff
By
Cooperative Research Units

Immigration does not offset harvest mortality in groups of a cooperatively breeding carnivore

The effects of harvest on cooperatively breeding species are often more complex than simply subtracting the number of animals that died from the group count. Changes in demographic rates, particularly dispersal, could offset some effects of harvest mortality in groups but this is rarely explored with cooperative breeders. We asked whether a cooperatively breeding species known for long-distance di
Authors
S. B. Bassing, David Edward Ausband, Michael S. Mitchell, M. K. Schwartz, J. J. Nowak, G. Hale, L. P. Waits
By
Cooperative Research Units

Modeling larval American Shad recruitment in a large river

Climate change is altering the spatial and temporal patterns of temperature and discharge in rivers, which is expected to have implications for the life stages of anadromous fish using those rivers. We developed an individual-based model to track American Shad Alosa sapidissima offspring within a coarse template of spatially and temporally variable habitat conditions defined by a combination of te
Authors
Elizabeth A. Marschall, David C. Glover, Martha E. Mather, Donna L. Parrish
By
Cooperative Research Units

Estimation of metademographic rates and landscape connectivity for a conservation-reliant anuran

ContextAmphibian conservation efforts commonly assume populations are tied to waterbodies that collectively function as a metapopulation. This assumption is rarely evaluated, and there is a need to understand the degree of connectivity among patches to appropriately define, manage, and conserve biological populations.ObjectivesOur objectives were to quantify local persistence, colonization, and re
Authors
Adam Duarte, James Peterson, Christopher Pearl, Jennifer Christine Rowe, Brome McCreary, Stephanie Galvan, Michael J. Adams
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Reservoir fish habitats: A perspective on coping with climate change

Climate change is the defining environmental problem for our generation. The effects of climate change are increasingly evident and are anticipated to profoundly affect our ability to conserve fish habitats and fish assemblages. Reservoirs are important structures for coping with projected shifts in water supply, but they also provide refuge for riverine fishes and retain distinct fish assemblages
Authors
Leandro E. Miranda, G. Coppola, J. Boxrucker
By
Cooperative Research Units

Effects of climate and land-use changes on fish catches across lakes at a global scale

Globally, our knowledge on lake fisheries is still limited despite their importance to food security and livelihoods. Here we show that fish catches can respond either positively or negatively to climate and land-use changes, by analyzing time-series data (1970–2014) for 31 lakes across five continents. We find that effects of a climate or land-use driver (e.g., air temperature) on lake environmen
Authors
Y. Kao, Mark W. Rogers, David Bunnell, I. G. Cowx, S. S. Qian, O. Anneville, T. Douglas Beard, A. Brinker, J. R. Britton, R. Chura-Crusz, N. J. Gownaris, J. R. Jackson, K. Kangur, J. Kolding, A.A. Lukin, Abigail Lynch, N. Mercado-Silva, R. Moncayo-Estrada, F. J. Njaya, I. Ostrovsky, L.G. Rudstam, A. L. E. Sandström, Y. Sato, Humberto Siguayro-Mamani, A. Thorpe, P. A. M. van Zwieten, P. Volta, Y. Q. Wang, A. Weiperth, O. L. F. Weyl, Joelle D. Young
By
Cooperative Research Units

Differences in macronutrient content of common aquatic macroinvertebrates available as prey for young-of-the-year Scaphirhynchus sturgeons in the lower Missouri River

Nutrient availability in prey items can have important consequences for the growth, reproduction, survival, and recruitment into adulthood of juvenile fish. For young of the year sturgeon, which are highly dependent on macroinvertebrates as prey, knowing the nutritional content across various prey items within their habitats can help managers during habitat restoration. The objective of this study
Authors
Alin Gonzalez, C. L. Barnes, S. M. Wilder, James M. Long
By
Cooperative Research Units

Golden Eagle perch site use in the U.S. southern plains: Understanding electrocution risk

Electrocution on overhead electric systems is a primary cause of anthropogenic mortality for Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in North America. Distribution poles supporting energized equipment are most often involved in electrocutions, but the frequency with which Golden Eagles perch on pole supporting equipment is unknown. To resolve questions of perch frequency, and by extension, electrocution
Authors
J.F. Dwyer, R.K. Murphy, D Stahlecker, Angela M. Dwyer, Clint W. Boal
By
Cooperative Research Units

A decision-support tool to prioritize candidate landscapes for lesser prairie-chicken conservation

ContextDevelopment of systematic methods for conservation planning has improved effectiveness and efficiency of implementing such plans. The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is a grouse species of conservation concern native to the southwestern Great Plains of the United States. Recent lesser prairie-chicken conservation planning has involved identifying ecologically important a
Authors
Alexander R. Schindler, David A. Haukos, Christian A. Hagen, Beth Ross
By
Cooperative Research Units

Tracking fisheries through time: The American Fisheries Society as an historical lens

The historical context of current environment conditions offers vital guidance to North American fisheries professionals as they strive to develop effective management plans and policies. This retrospective includes understanding the remarkable historic fisheries resource and causative reasons for establishing their public fisheries agencies and the American Fisheries Society (Society). Through a
Authors
G.E. Whelan, D.M Day, J. Casselman, L Gephart, C.J. Hall, J.A. Lichatowich, M. Matylewich, Leandro E. Miranda, L. Roulson, P.D. Shirey, N. Mercado-Silva, D. Winters, J. Waldman
By
Cooperative Research Units