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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

Substitution of inland fisheries with aquaculture and chicken undermines human nutrition in the Peruvian Amazon

With declining capture fisheries production, maintaining nutrient supplies largely hinges on substituting wild fish with economically comparable farmed animals. Although such transitions are increasingly commonplace across global inland and coastal communities, their nutritional consequences are unknown. Here, using human demographic and health information, and fish nutrient composition data from
Authors
Sebastian A. Heilpern, Kathryn Fiorella, Carlos Cañas, Alexander S. Flecker, Luis Moya, Shahid Naeem, Suresh Sethi, Maria Uriarte, Ruth DeFries

Sex-specific migratory behaviors in a temperate ungulate

Sexual segregation has been intensely studied across diverse ecosystems and taxa, but studies are often limited to periods when animals occupy distinct seasonal ranges. Some avian and marine studies have revealed that habitat segregation, when sexes differ spatially or temporally in use of the physical landscape, is common during the migratory period and characterized by sex-specific differences i
Authors
Patrick A. Rodgers, Hall Sawyer, Tony W. Mong, Sam Stephens, Matthew Kauffman

Early successional riparian vegetation is important for western Yellow-billed Cuckoo nesting habitat

Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Cuckoo; Coccyzus americanus) populations continue to decline in the western United States despite efforts to increase availability of riparian forest. Cuckoos have unique breeding habitat requirements such as large contiguous tracts of riparian forest (>80 ha), large estimated home ranges (20–90 ha), and dense vertical structure around the nest. However, local habitat
Authors
P.J. Wohner, S.A. Laymon, J.E. Stanek, Sammy L. King, R.J. Cooper

Filling knowledge gaps for a threatened species: Age and growth of Green Sturgeon of the southern distinct population segment

The Green Sturgeon Acipenser medirostris is an anadromous, long-lived species that is distributed along the Pacific coast of North America. Green Sturgeon is vulnerable to global change because of its sensitive life history (e.g., delayed maturation) and few spawning locations. The persistence of Green Sturgeon is threatened by habitat modification, altered flows, and rising river temperatures. In
Authors
Marta Ulaski, Michael Quist

Determinants of gray wolf (Canis lupus) sightings in Denali National Park

Wildlife viewing within protected areas is an increasingly popular recreational activity. Management agencies are often tasked with providing these opportunities, yet quantitative analyses of factors influencing wildlife sightings are lacking. We analyzed locations of GPS-collared wolves and wolf sightings from 2945 trips in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA, to provide a mechanistic
Authors
Bridget L. Borg, Stephen M. Arthur, Jeffrey A. Falke, Laura R. Prugh

Migration phenology and patterns of American woodcock in central North America derived using satellite telemetry

American woodcock Scolopax minor (hereafter woodcock) migration ecology is poorly understood, but has implications for population ecology and management, especially related to harvest. To describe woodcock migration patterns and phenology, we captured and equipped 73 woodcock with satellite tracking devices in the Central Management Region (analogous to the Mississippi Flyway) of North America and
Authors
Joseph D. Moore, David Andersen, Tom Cooper, Jeffrey P. Duguay, Shaun L. Oldenburger, C. Al Stewart, David G. Krementz

Migration distance and maternal resource allocation determine timing of birth in a large herbivore

Birth timing is a key life-history characteristic that influences fitness and population performance. For migratory animals, however, appropriately timing birth on one seasonal range may be constrained by events occurring during other parts of the migratory cycle. We investigated how the use of capital and income resources may facilitate flexibility in reproductive phenology of migratory mule deer
Authors
Ellen O. Aikens, Samantha P. H. Dwinnell, Tayler N. LaSharr, Rhiannon P. Jakopak, Gary L. Fralick, Jill Randall, Rusty Kaiser, Mark Thonhoff, Matthew Kauffman, Kevin L. Monteith

Life history and population dynamics

Lake charr Salvelinus namaycush life history and population dynamics metrics were reviewed to evaluate populations inside (n = 462) and outside (n = 24) the native range. Our goals were to create a database of metrics useful for evaluating population status and to test for large-scale patterns between metrics and latitude and lake size. An average lake charr grew from a 69-mm length at age-0 (L0)
Authors
Michael J Hansen, Christopher S. Guy, Charles R. Bronte, Nancy A. Nate

Southwestern fish and aquatic systems: The climate challenge

No abstract available.
Authors
Jonathan T. Overpeck, Scott A. Bonar

Developing species-age cohorts from forest inventory and analysis data to parameterize a forest landscape model

Simulating long-term, landscape level changes in forest composition requires estimates of stand age to initialize succession models. Detailed stand ages are rarely available, and even general information on stand history often is lacking. We used data from USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) database to estimate broad age classes for a forested landscape to simulate changes in
Authors
Richard H. Odom, W. Mark Ford

Extent, configuration and diversity of burned and forested areas predict bat richness in a fire-maintained forest

ContextFire transforms, fragments and sometimes maintains forests, creating mosaics of burned and unburned patches. Highly mobile animals respond to resources in the landscape at a variety of spatial scales, yet we know little about their landscape-scale relationships with fire.ObjectivesWe aimed to identify drivers of bat richness in a landscape mosaic of forested and burned areas while identifyi
Authors
R. V. Blakey, Elisabeth B. Webb, D. C. Kesler, R. B. Siegel, D. Corcoran, J. S. Cole, Matthew Johnson

Evidence of economical territory selection in a cooperative carnivore

As an outcome of natural selection, animals are probably adapted to select territories economically by maximizing benefits and minimizing costs of territory ownership. Theory and empirical precedent indicate that a primary benefit of many territories is exclusive access to food resources, and primary costs of defending and using space are associated with competition, travel and mortality risk. A r
Authors
Sarah N. Sells, Michael S. Mitchell, Kevin M. Podruzny, Justin A. Gude, Allison Keever, Diane K. Boyd, T.D. Smucker, Abigail A. Nelson, Tyler W. Parks, Nathan J. Lance, Michael S. Ross, Robert M. Inman
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