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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

Age, growth and fall diet of channel catfish in Cheat Lake, West Virginia

Acidification has historically impaired Cheat Lake's fish community, but recent mitigation efforts within the Cheat River watershed have improved water quality and species richness. Presently, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus are abundant and attain desirable sizes for anglers. We evaluated the age, growth, and fall diet of the population. We collected a sample of 155 channel catfish from Cheat
Authors
Corbin D. Hilling, Stuart A. Welsh, Dustin M. Smith

Effect of morphological fin curl on the swimming performance and station-holding ability of juvenile shovelnose sturgeon

We assessed the effect of fin-curl on the swimming and station-holding ability of juvenile shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus (mean fork length = 17 cm; mean weight = 16 g; n = 21) using a critical swimming speed test performed in a small swim chamber (90 L) at 20°C. We quantified fin-curl severity using the pectoral fin index. Results showed a positive relationship between pectoral f
Authors
David Deslauriers, Ryan Johnston, Steven R. Chipps

Getting quantitative about consequences of cross-ecosystem resource subsidies on recipient consumers

Most studies of cross-ecosystem resource subsidies have demonstrated positive effects on recipient consumer populations, often with very large effect sizes. However, it is important to move beyond these initial addition–exclusion experiments to consider the quantitative consequences for populations across gradients in the rates and quality of resource inputs. In our introduction to this special is
Authors
John S. Richardson, Mark S. Wipfli

Influence of Didymosphenia geminata blooms on prey composition and associated diet and growth of Brown Trout

We compared diet, stomach fullness, condition, and growth of Brown Trout Salmo trutta among streams with or without blooms of the benthic diatom Didymosphenia geminata in the Black Hills, South Dakota. In Rapid Creek, where D. geminata blooms covered ∼30% of the stream bottom, Brown Trout consumed fewer ephemeropterans (6–8% by weight) than individuals from two stream sections that have not had D.
Authors
Daniel A. James, Steven R. Chipps

Physiological basis of climate change impacts on North American inland fishes

Global climate change is altering freshwater ecosystems and affecting fish populations and communities. Underpinning changes in fish distribution and assemblage-level responses to climate change are individual-level physiological constraints. In this review, we synthesize the mechanistic effects of climate change on neuroendocrine, cardiorespiratory, immune, osmoregulatory, and reproductive system
Authors
James E. Whitney, Robert K. Al-Chokhachy, David B. Bunnell, Colleen A. Caldwell, Steven J. Cooke, Erika J. Eliason, Mark W. Rogers, Abigail J. Lynch, Craig P. Paukert

Wildfire may increase habitat quality for spring Chinook salmon in the Wenatchee River subbasin, WA, USA

Pacific Northwest salmonids are adapted to natural disturbance regimes that create dynamic habitat patterns over space and through time. However, human land use, particularly long-term fire suppression, has altered the intensity and frequency of wildfire in forested upland and riparian areas. To examine the potential impacts of wildfire on aquatic systems, we developed stream-reach-scale models o
Authors
Rebecca L. Flitcroft, Jeffrey A. Falke, Gordon H. Reeves, Paul F. Hessburg, Kris M. McNyset, Lee E. Benda

Consequences of seasonal variation in reservoir water level for predatory fishes: linking visual foraging and prey densities

In reservoirs, seasonal drawdown can alter the physical environment and may influence predatory fish performance. We investigated the performance of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) in a western reservoir by coupling field measurements with visual foraging and bioenergetic models at four distinct states (early summer, mid-summer, late summer, and fall). The models suggested that lake trout prey,
Authors
Stephen L. Klobucar, Phaedra Budy

Predictive habitat models derived from nest-box occupancy for the endangered Carolina northern flying squirrel in the southern Appalachians

In the southern Appalachians, artificial nest-boxes are used to survey for the endangered Carolina northern flying squirrel (CNFS; Glaucomys sabrinus coloratus), a disjunct subspecies associated with high elevation (>1385 m) forests. Using environmental parameters diagnostic of squirrel habitat, we created 35 a priori occupancy models in the program PRESENCE for boxes surveyed in western North Car
Authors
W. Mark Ford, A.M. Evans, Richard H. Odom, Jane L. Rodrigue, C.A. Kelly, Nicole Abaid, Corinne A. Diggins, Doug Newcomb

Conservation of imperiled crayfish species - Cambarus veteranus (Decapoda: Cambaridae)

No abstract available.
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Zachary J. Loughman, Roger F. Thoma, James W. Fetzner

Hydrologic effects on diameter growth phenology for Celtis laevigata and Quercus lyrata in the floodplain of the lower White River, Arkansas

Bottomland hardwood (BLH) forests represent an extensive wetland system in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley and southeastern USA, and it is currently undergoing widespread transition in species composition. One such transition involves increased establishment of sugarberry (Celtis laevigata), and decreased establishment of overcup oak (Quercus lyrata). The ecological mechanisms that control this tr
Authors
Scott T. Allen, Wesley Cochran, Ken W. Krauss, Richard F. Keim, Sammy L. King

Regulating services as measures of ecological resilience on DoD lands

Knowledge of the capacity and flow of ecosystem services can help DoD land managers make decisions that enhance cost-effectiveness, minimize environmental damage, and maximize resources available for military missions. We demonstrated a methodology to quantify and map selected regulating services (RS), which helps land managers envision tradeoffs. Our objectives were to 1) estimate current capacit
Authors
Paul L. Angermeier, Amy M. Villamagna

Upstream dam passage and use of an eel ladder by the common watersnake (Nerodia sipedon)

No abstract available.
Authors
Stuart A. Welsh, Zachary J. Loughman