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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

Modeling how to achieve localized areas of reduced white-tailed deer density

Localized management of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) involves the removal of matriarchal family units with the intent to create areas of reduced deer density. However, application of this approach has not always been successful, possibly because of female dispersal and high deer densities. We developed a spatially explicit, agent-based model to investigate the intensity of deer remov
Authors
Amanda N. Van Buskirk, Christopher S. Rosenberry, Bret D. Wallingford, Emily Just Domoto, Marc E. McDill, Patrick Drohan, Duane R. Diefenbach

Uncovering process domains in large rivers: Patterns and potential drivers of benthic substrate heterogeneity in two North American riverscapes

Identifying and understanding functional process domains (sensu Montgomery, 1999) in rivers is paramount for linking the physical habitat template to ecosystem structure and function. To date, efforts to do this have been rare, especially in large rivers, as they require appropriate tools for quantifying habitat heterogeneity with fine-scale resolution across broad spatial extents. In this study,
Authors
E.A Scholl, W. F. Cross, C. V. Baxter, Christopher S. Guy

Effects of experimental flea removal and plague vaccine treatments on survival of northern Idaho ground squirrels and two coexisting sciurids

Plague is a non-native disease in North America that reduces survival of many mammals. Previous studies have focused on epizootic plague which causes acute mortality events and dramatic declines in local abundance. We know much less about enzootic plague which causes less punctuated reductions in survival and abundance of infected populations. As a result, enzootic plague is much more difficult to
Authors
Amanda R. Goldberg, Courtney J. Conway, Dean E. Biggins

Historical data provide important context for understanding declines in Cutthroat Trout

We used historical stocking and population survey records of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri and other salmonids in the North Fork Shoshone River drainage, Wyoming to summarize fish stocking history and population trends. Based on 98 years of historical records, we found that despite extensive stocking of Yellowstone Cutthroat Trout and minimal stocking of nonnative salmo
Authors
Brittany J. Nordberg, Elizabeth G. Mandeville, Annika W. Walters, Jason C. Burckhardt, Catherine E. Wagner

Stormwater systems as a source of marine debris: A case study from the Mediterranean coast of Israel

Drainage (or stormwater) systems are a potential source of marine debris. Approximately 67 km (33%) of the land along the Mediterranean coast of Israel is considered urban, covered by concrete and asphalt. The purpose of the present pilot study was to determine the composition of the solid waste in a drainage system and evaluate to what extent municipal sources contribute to marine debris. We samp
Authors
Galia Pasternak, Christine Ribic, Ehud Spanier, Dov Zviely

Terrestrial and semi-aquatic scavengers on invasive Pacific pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) carcasses in a riparian ecosystem in northern Norway.

Pacific pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) invasions, thought to originate from populations introduced and established in Russia, occurred along the Norwegian coast in 2017 and 2019. Despite several thousand pink salmon entering and establishing in northern Norwegian rivers, current understanding of the ecological effect of the species in northern Europe is limited. Scavengers feeding on pacific
Authors
Kathy M. Dunlop, Mark S. Wipfli, Rune Muladal, Grzegorz Wierzbinski

Big runs of little fish: First estimates of run size and exploitation in an amphidromous postlarvae fishery

Amphidromous postlarvae fisheries (APFs) constitute a globally widespread and distinctive class of fishery that is largely unknown to fisheries science. APFs harvest ocean-to-river migrating fishes at smaller sizes and younger ages than any other class of fishery. No quantitative estimates of run size and exploitation exist, which are needed to evaluate APF sustainability. Migrating amphidromous f
Authors
A.C. Engman, Thomas J. Kwak, J.R. Fischer

Winter roost selection of Lasiurine tree bats in a pyric landscape

Day-roost selection by Lasiurine tree bats during winter and their response to dormant season fires is unknown in the southeastern United States where dormant season burning is widely applied. Although fires historically were predominantly growing season, they now occur in the dormant season in this part of the Coastal Plain to support a myriad of stewardship activities, including habitat manageme
Authors
Marcelo H. Jorge, W. Mark Ford, Sara E. Sweeten, Samuel R. Freeze, Michael C. True, Michael J. St. Germain, Hila Taylor, Katherine M. Gorman, Michael J. Cherry, Elina P. Garrison

Intraspecific variation in incubation behaviors along a latitudinal gradient is driven by nest microclimate and selection on neonate quality

The strategies by which animals allocate reproductive effort across their lifetimes vary, and the causes of variation in those strategies are actively debated. In birds, most research has focused heavily on variation in clutch size and fecundity, but incubation behaviour and other functionally related traits have received less attention. Variation in incubation period duration is notable because t
Authors
Carl G. Lunblad, Courtney J. Conway

Reduced recruitment of Chinook salmon in a leveed bar-built estuary

Estuaries are commonly touted as nurseries for salmonids, providing numerous advantages for smolts prior to ocean entry. In bar-built estuaries, sandbars form at the mouth of rivers during periods of low stream flow, closing access to the ocean and preventing outmigration. We evaluated how summer residency in a leveed bar-built estuary affects the growth, survival, and recruitment of a Chinook sal
Authors
Emily K. Chen, Mark J. Henderson

Effects of surveying for the federally endangered Spruce-fir Moss Spider (Microhexura montivaga Crosby & Bishop) on its bryophyte habitat

Microhexura montivaga (Spruce-fir Moss Spider) is a federally endangered arachnid endemic to high-elevation montane conifer forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains. The spider is cryptic and difficult to monitor because this species lives in the interface between the bryophyte mat and the rock surface. Since temporary removal of the bryophyte mat is necessary to monitor the spider, surveyors
Authors
Corinne A. Diggins, W. Mark Ford

Urbanization’s influence on the distribution of mange in a carnivore revealed with multistate occupancy models

Increasing urbanization and use of urban areas by synanthropic wildlife has increased human and domestic animal exposure to zoonotic diseases and exacerbated epizootics within wildlife populations. Consequently, there is a need to improve wildlife disease surveillance programs to rapidly detect outbreaks and refine inferences regarding spatiotemporal disease dynamics. Multistate occupancy models c
Authors
Craig D. Reddell, Fitsum Abadi, David K. Delaney, James W. Cain, Gary W. Roemer
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