Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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: 3984

Temperature and winter duration requirements for reproductive success in johnny darter Etheostoma nigrum in the South Platte River basin, Colorado

Changes in water temperature and its seasonal timing influences the physiological processes of many aquatic ectotherms. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) contribute to warmer and more consistent water temperatures in streams draining the North American Great Plains, particularly during winter months. Reduced variation in seasonal water temperature may adversely affect fishes that rely on temperat
Authors
C.M. Baum, Dana L. Winkelman, R.M. Fitzpatrick

Effects of population density and environmental conditions on life-history prevalence in a migratory fish

Individual variation in life-history traits can have important implications for the ability of populations to respond to environmental variability and change. In migratory animals, flexibility in the timing of life-history events, such as juvenile emigration from natal areas, can influence the effects of population density and environmental conditions on habitat use and population dynamics. We eva
Authors
Mark H. Sorel, Andrew R. Murdoch, Richard W. Zabel, Cory M. Kamphaus, Eric R. Buhle, Mark David Scheuerell, Sarah J. Converse

Bayesian forecasting of disease spread with little or no local data

Rapid and targeted management actions are a prerequisite to efficiently mitigate disease outbreaks. Targeted actions, however, require accurate spatial information on disease occurrence and spread. Frequently, targeted management actions are guided by non-statistical approaches that define the affected area by a pre-determined distance surrounding a small number of disease detections. As an altern
Authors
Jonathan D Cook, David M. Williams, Daniel P. Walsh, Trevor J. Hefley

Survival of Common Loon chicks appears unaffected by Bald Eagle recovery in northern Minnesota

Recovering species are not returning to the same environments or communities from which they disappeared. Conservation researchers and practitioners are thus faced with additional challenges in ensuring species resilience in these rapidly changing ecosystems. Assessing the resilience of species in these novel systems can still be guided by species’ ecology, including knowledge of their population
Authors
Jennyffer Cruz, Steve K. Windels, Wayne E. Thogmartin, Shawn M. Crimmins, Benjamin Zuckerberg

Diverse migratory portfolios drive inter-annual switching behavior of elk across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

A growing body of evidence shows that some ungulates alternate between migratory and nonmigratory behaviors over time. Yet it remains unclear whether such short-term behavioral changes can help explain reported declines in ungulate migration worldwide, as opposed to long-term demographic changes. Furthermore, advances in tracking technology reveal that a simple distinction between migration and no
Authors
Gabriel R. Zuckerman, Kristin J. Barker, Laura C. Gigliotti, Eric K. Cole, Justin A. Gude, Mark A. Hurley, Matthew Kauffman, Daryl Lutz, Daniel R. MacNulty, Eric J. Maichak, Doug McWhirter, Tony W. Mong, Kelly Proffitt, Brandon M. Scurlock, Daniel R. Stahler, Ben Wise, Arthur D. Middleton

Spawning locations of pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River corroborate the mechanism for recruitment failure

Conservation propagation of pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) upstream of Fort Peck Reservoir, Montana, USA has successfully recruited a new generation of spawning-capable pallid sturgeon where there would otherwise be fewer than 30 remaining wild reproductively mature pallid sturgeon. Successful recovery of pallid sturgeon will now rely on the behavior of pallid sturgeon (e.g., successful sp
Authors
Tanner L. Cox, Christopher S. Guy, Luke M. Holmquist, Molly A. H . Webb

Optimal management decisions are robust to unknown dynamics in an amphibian metapopulation plagued by disease

Identifying conservation actions to recover threatened species can be challenging due to many ecological uncertainties. For example, major threats to a species' conservation are commonly known or suspected, but the specific impacts on population or metapopulation dynamics can be uncertain. This is frequently the case with emerging infectious diseases, including chytridiomycosis, a global driver of
Authors
Brian D. Gerber, Brittany A. Mosher, Larissa L. Bailey, Erin Muths, Harry J. Crockett, Sarah J. Converse

Parallel shifts in trout feeding morphology suggest rapid adaptation to alpine lake environments

Eco-evolutionary interactions following ecosystem change provide critical insight into the ability of organisms to adapt to shifting resource landscapes. Here we explore evidence for the rapid parallel evolution of trout feeding morphology following eco-evolutionary interactions with zooplankton in alpine lakes stocked at different points in time in the Wind River Range (Wyoming, USA). In this sys
Authors
Lucia L. Combrink, William C. Rosenthal, Lindsey J. Boyle, Jessica A. Rick, Amy C Krist, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Annika W. Walters, Catherine E. Wagner

Investing in a nest egg: Intraspecific variation in the timing of egg laying across a latitudinal gradient

Avian reproductive strategies vary widely, and many studies of life-history variation have focused on the incubation and hatching stages of nesting. Birds make proximate decisions regarding reproductive investment during the laying stage, and these decisions likely constrain and tradeoff with other traits and subsequent behaviors. However, we know relatively little about egg-laying stage behaviors
Authors
Carl G. Lundblad, Courtney J. Conway

Climate change risks to freshwater subsistence fisheries in Arctic Alaska: Insights and uncertainty from broad whitefish Coregonus nasus

Arctic freshwater ecosystems and fish populations are largely shaped by seasonal and long-term watershed hydrology. In this paper, we hypothesize how changing air temperature and precipitation will alter freeze and thaw processes, hydrology, and instream habitat to assess potential indirect effects, such as the change to the foraging and behavioral ecology, on Arctic fishes, using Broad Whitefish 
Authors
Jason C. Leppi, Daniel J. Rinella, Mark S. Wipfli, Anna K. Liljedahl, Andrew C. Seitz, Jeffrey A. Falke

Effects of large-scale disturbance on animal space use: Functional responses by greater sage-grouse after megafire

Global change has altered the nature of disturbance regimes, and megafire events are increasingly common. Megafires result in immediate changes to habitat available to terrestrial wildlife over broad landscapes, yet we know surprisingly little about how such changes shape space use of sensitive species in habitat that remains. Functional responses provide a framework for understanding and predicti
Authors
Bryan S. Stevens, Shane Roberts, Courtney J. Conway, Devin K. Engelstead