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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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Blooming wildflowers in Pinnacles National Park.

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

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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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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

Effects of body size on estimation of mammalian area requirements

Accurately quantifying species’ area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area-based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting home-range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on the previous work, we hypothesized the magnitude of underestimat
Authors
Michael T. Noonan, Christen H. Fleming, Marlee A. Tucker, Roland Kays, Autumn-Lynn Harrison, Margaret Crofoot, Briana Abrahms, Susan C Alberts, Ali Abdullahi, Jeanne Altmann, Pamela Castro Antunes, Nina Attias, Jerrold L. Belant, Rogerio Cunha de Paula, J. Antonio de la torre, Jasia Dekker, Christopher S. DePerno, Mohammad Farhadinia, Julian Fennessy, Claudia Fichtel, Christina Fischer, Adam T. Ford, Jacob R. Goheen, Rasmus W. Havmøller, Ben T. Hirsch, Cindy Hurtado, Lynne A. Isbell, René Janssen, Florian Jeltsch, Petra Kaczensky, Yayoi Kaneko, Peter M. Kappeler, Anjan Katna, Matthew Kauffman, Flavia Koch, Abhijeet Kulkarn, Scott LaPoint, Peter Leimgruber, David W. Macdonald, A. Catherine Markham, Laura Mcmahon, Katherine Mertes, Christopher Moorman, Ronaldo G. Morato, Alexander M. Mosbrucker, Guilherme Mourao, David O'Connor, Luiz G. R. Oliveira-Santos, Jennifer Pastorini, Bruce D. Patterson, Janet L. Rachlow, Dustin H. Ranglack, Neil Reid, David M. Scantlebury, Dawn M. Scott, Nuria Selva, Agnieszka Sergiel, Melissa Songer, Nucharin Songsasen, Jared A. Stabach, Jenna Stacy-Dawes, Morgan B. Swingen, Jeffrey J. Thompson, Wiebke Ullmann, Abi Tamim Vanak, Marie Thaker, John W. Wilson, Koji Yamazaki, Richard W. Yarnell, Filip Zieba, Tomasz Zwijacz-Kozica, William F. Fagan, Thomas Mueller, J.M. Calabrese
By
Cooperative Research Units

Two Ocean Pass: An alternative hypothesis for invasion of Yellowstone Lake by lake trout, and implications for future invasions

Preventing the interbasin transfer of aquatic invasive species is a high priority for natural resource managers. Such transfers can be made by humans or can occur by dispersal through connected waterways. A natural surface water connection between the Atlantic and Pacific drainages in North America exists at Two Ocean Pass south of Yellowstone National Park. Yellowstone cutthroat trout Oncorhynchu
Authors
Todd M. Koel, Colleen R. Detjens, Alexander V. Zale
By
Cooperative Research Units

Prioritizing uncertainties to improve management of a reintroduction program

The success of wildlife reintroduction efforts rests on the demographic performance of released animals. Whooping Cranes in the eastern migratory population—reintroduced beginning in 2001—demonstrate adequate survival but poor reproduction. Managers and scientists have used an iterative process of learning and management to respond to this management challenge, but by 2015, uncertainty about the c
Authors
Sarah J. Converse
By
Cooperative Research Units

Reserve network design for prairie-dependent taxa in South Puget Sound

Conserving species requires managing threats, including habitat loss. One approach to managing habitat loss is to identify and protect habitat in networks of reserves. Reserve network design is a type of resource allocation problem: how can we choose the most effective reserve network design given available resources? We undertook development and implementation of a patch dynamics model to allow u
Authors
Sarah J. Converse, Beth Gardner, Steve Morey
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Decision analysis of restoration actions for faunal conservation and other stakeholder values: Dauphin Island, Alabama

Dauphin Island is a barrier island located in the northern Gulf of Mexico and serves as the only barrier island providing protection to much of the State of Alabama’s coastal natural resources. The ecosystem spans over 3,500 acres of barrier island habitat including, beach, dune, overwash fans, intertidal wetlands, maritime forest and freshwater ponds. In addition, Dauphin Island provides protecti
Authors
Elise R. Irwin, K. Ouellette Coffman, E. S. Godsey, Nicholas Enwright, M. Clint Lloyd, K. Joyner, Q. T. Lai
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Cooperative Research Units, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Gulf of Mexico

The relationship between biodiversity and wetland cover varies across regions of the conterminous United States

Identifying the factors that determine the spatial distribution of biodiversity is a major focus of ecological research. These factors vary with scale from interspecific interactions to global climatic cycles. Wetlands are important biodiversity hotspots and contributors of ecosystem services, but the association between proportional wetland cover and species richness has shown mixed results. It i
Authors
Jeremy S. Dertien, Stella Self, Beth Ross, Kyle Barrett, Robert F. Baldwin
By
Cooperative Research Units

Using the Delphi process to gather information from a Bald Eagle expert panel

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) populations are classified by the Southwest Alaska Network (SWAN) of the National Park Service as a vital sign of biological integrity, largely because of their importance as an indicator species for environmental contaminants and human disturbance. Though Bald Eagles are plentiful in Alaska, it is still imperative to have a monitoring plan that allows for the
Authors
Rebecca Kolstrom, Tammy L. Wilson, Larry M. Gigliotti
By
Cooperative Research Units

Seasonal selection of riverine habitat by Spotted Bass and Shorthead Redhorse in a regulated river in the Midwestern U.S.

Riverine fish populations depend on habitats supporting their resource and life history needs. Dynamic streamflow caused by river regulation or natural events influences the distribution of downstream habitat characteristics. Through studying habitat selection, we can identify the most utilized and valuable habitats for the success of native fishes. We determined seasonal habitat selection of two
Authors
E.N. Edge, Craig Paukert, M.D. Lobb III, B. Landwer, T.W. Bonnot
By
Cooperative Research Units

Movement ecology and habitat use differences in Black Scoters wintering along the Atlantic coast

For migratory species such as Black Scoters (Melanitta americana) whose range encompasses a variety of habitats, it is especially important to obtain habitat use information across the species’ range to better understand anthropogenic threats, e.g., marine development and climate change. The objective of our study was to investigate the winter movement patterns and habitat use of Black Scoters in
Authors
H. M. Plumpton, S. G. Gilliland, Beth Ross
By
Cooperative Research Units

Trophodynamics of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the food web of a large Atlantic slope river

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have attracted scientific and regulatory attention due to their persistence, bioaccumulative potential, toxicity, and global distribution. We determined the accumulation and trophic transfer of 14 PFASs (5 short-chain and 9 long-chain) within the food web of the Yadkin-Pee Dee River of North Carolina and South Carolina, US. Food web components and pathwa
Authors
T. N. Penland, W. G. Cope, Thomas J. Kwak, M.J. Strynar, C. A. Grieshaber, R. J. Heise, F.W. Sessions
By
Cooperative Research Units

A novel quantitative framework for riverscape genetics

Riverscape genetics, which applies concepts in landscape genetics to riverine ecosystems, lack appropriate quantitative methods that address the spatial autocorrelation structure of linear stream networks and account for bidirectional geneflow. To address these challenges, we present a general framework for the design and analysis of riverscape genetic studies. Our framework starts with the estima
Authors
Shannon L. White, Ephraim M. Hanks, Tyler Wagner
By
Cooperative Research Units

High spatial fidelity among foraging trips of Masked Boobies from Pedro Cays, Jamaica

In marine environments, tropical and subtropical habitats are considered to be inherently less productive than more temperate systems. As such, foraging site fidelity among vertebrate predators occupying low-latitude marine systems is generally low as a response to an increased unpredictability of resources. We investigated the foraging movements of Masked Boobies breeding on Middle Cay, Jamaica u
Authors
Bradley P. Wilkinson, Ann M. Haynes-Sutton, Llewelyn Meggs, Patrick G.R. Jodice
By
Cooperative Research Units