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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: 3984

Addressing wild turkey population declines using structured decision making

We present a case study from New York, USA, of the use of structured decision making (SDM) to identify fall turkey harvest regulations that best meet stakeholder objectives, in light of recent apparent declines in abundance of wild turkeys in the northeastern United States. We used the SDM framework to incorporate the multiple objectives associated with turkey hunting, stakeholder desires, and reg
Authors
Kelly F. Robinson, Angela K. Fuller, Michael V. Schiavone, Bryan L. Swift, Duane R. Diefenbach, William F. Siemer, Daniel J. Decker

The role of density-dependent and –independent processes in spawning habitat selection by salmon in an Arctic riverscape

Density-dependent (DD) and density-independent (DI) habitat selection is strongly linked to a species’ evolutionary history. Determining the relative importance of each is necessary because declining populations are not always the result of altered DI mechanisms but can often be the result of DD via a reduced carrying capacity. We developed spatially and temporally explicit models throughout the C
Authors
Brock M. Huntsman, Jeffrey A. Falke, James W. Savereide, Katrina E. Bennett

Editorial

No abstract available.
Authors
Abigail Lynch, R. G. Asch, William W. L. Cheung, Craig P. Paukert, Ryan R. Rykaczewski, Warwick H. H. Sauer

Occupancy and abundance of Eleutherodactylus frogs in coffee plantations in Puerto Rico

Shaded coffee plantations are of conservation value for many taxa, particularly for resident avifauna in the face of extensive landscape changes. Yet, little is known about the value of coffee plantations for amphibians because there are scant demographic data to index their value among species with different habitat preferences. We estimated the probability of occupancy of three frog species: Ele
Authors
Kelen D. Monroe, Jaime A. Collazo, Krishna Pacifici, Brian J. Reich, Alberto R. Puente-Rolón, Adam J. Terando

Designing a global assessment of climate change on inland fishes and fisheries: knowns and needs

To date, there are few comprehensive assessments of how climate change affects inland finfish, fisheries, and aquaculture at a global scale, but one is necessary to identify research needs and commonalities across regions and to help guide decision making and funding priorities. Broadly, the consequences of climate change on inland fishes will impact global food security, the livelihoods of people
Authors
Craig P. Paukert, Abigail J. Lynch, T. Douglas Beard, Yushun Chen, Steven J. Cooke, Michael S. Cooperman, Ian G. Cowx, Dana M. Infante, Lilian Ibengwe, Bonnie Myers, Phu Hoa Nguyen, Ian J. Winfield

Sources, composition and spatial distribution of marine debris along the Mediterranean coast of Israel

Marine debris (litter) is a complex problem that affects human activities and the marine environment worldwide. The Clean Coast Program in Israel has had some success in keeping most of the coasts clean most of the time, but without understanding the mechanisms of accumulation of marine debris on the coasts of Israel. In 2012, we initiated a study to characterize the types of marine debris, its or
Authors
Galia Pasternak, Dov Zviely, Christine Ribic, Asaf Ariel, Ehud Spanier

White-cheeked Pintail duckling and brood survival across wetland types at Humacao Nature Reserve, Puerto Rico

Duckling survival is an important influence on recruitment in several North American Anas species. White-cheeked Pintail (Anas bahamensis) breeding in Puerto Rico encounter a variety of wetland types that may influence duckling survival. We monitored fates of 92 radio-tagged ducklings in 31 broods in 5 wetland habitat types at Humacao Nature Reserve in southeastern Puerto Rico from 2000 to 2002. W
Authors
J. Brian Davis, Francisco Vilella, Joseph D. Lancaster, Marisel Lopez-Flores, Richard M. Kaminski, José A. Cruz-Burgos

Functional visual sensitivity to ultraviolet wavelengths in the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus), and its influence on foraging substrate selection

Most diurnal birds are presumed visually sensitive to near ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths, however, controlled behavioral studies investigating UV sensitivity remain few. Although woodpeckers are important as primary cavity excavators and nuisance animals, published work on their visual systems is limited. We developed a novel foraging-based behavioral assay designed to test UV sensitivity in the Pi
Authors
Sean T. O'Daniels, Dylan C. Kesler, Jeanne D. Mihail, Elisabeth B. Webb, Scott J. Werner

Using variance structure to quantify responses to perturbation in fish catches

We present a case study evaluation of gill-net catches of Walleye Sander vitreus to assess potential effects of large-scale changes in Oneida Lake, New York, including the disruption of trophic interactions by double-crested cormorants Phalacrocorax auritus and invasive dreissenid mussels. We used the empirical long-term gill-net time series and a negative binomial linear mixed model to partition
Authors
Tiffany E. Vidal, Brian J. Irwin, Tyler Wagner, Lars G. Rudstam, James R. Jackson, James R. Bence

Effect of substrate size on sympatric sand darter benthic habitat preferences

The western sand darter, Ammocrypta clara, and the eastern sand darter, A. pellucida, are sand-dwelling fishes that have undergone range-wide population declines, presumably owing to habitat loss. Habitat use studies have been conducted for the eastern sand darter, but literature on the western sand darter remains sparse. To evaluate substrate selection and preference, western and eastern sand dar
Authors
Patricia A. Thompson, Stuart A. Welsh, Austin A. Rizzo, Dustin M. Smith

Fall and winter survival of brook trout and brown trout in a north-central Pennsylvania watershed

Stream-dwelling salmonids that spawn in the fall generally experience their lowest survival during the fall and winter due to behavioral changes associated with spawning and energetic deficiencies during this time of year. We used data from Brook Trout Salvelinus fontinalis and Brown Trout Salmo trutta implanted with radio transmitters in tributaries of the Hunts Run watershed of north-central Pen
Authors
John A. Sweka, Lori A. Davis, Tyler Wagner

Creating multithemed ecological regions for macroscale ecology: Testing a flexible, repeatable, and accessible clustering method

Understanding broad-scale ecological patterns and processes often involves accounting for regional-scale heterogeneity. A common way to do so is to include ecological regions in sampling schemes and empirical models. However, most existing ecological regions were developed for specific purposes, using a limited set of geospatial features and irreproducible methods. Our study purpose was to: (1) de
Authors
Kendra Spence Cheruvelil, Shuai Yuan, Katherine E. Webster, Pang-Ning Tan, Jean-Francois Lapierre, Sarah M. Collins, C. Emi Fergus, Caren E. Scott, Emily Norton Henry, Patricia A. Soranno, Christopher T. Filstrup, Tyler Wagner