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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

Effects of effects of suspended sediment on early-life stage survival of Yaqui chub, an endangered USA–Mexico borderlands cyprinid

High levels of total suspended sediment (TSS) can have negative consequences on fishes, such as altering food supply, lowering food acquisition, clogging gills, and disrupting reproduction. While effects of TSS on salmonids and estuarine fish are well studied, less is known about possible negative impacts of suspended sediment on desert fishes. Several imperiled desert fishes inhabit streams and s
Authors
Stephani L. Clark Barkalow, Scott A. Bonar

Occupancy modeling for improved accuracy and understanding of pathogen prevalence and dynamics

Most pathogen detection tests are imperfect, with a sensitivity < 100%, thereby resulting in the potential for a false negative, where a pathogen is present but not detected. False negatives in a sample inflate the number of non-detections, negatively biasing estimates of pathogen prevalence. Histological examination of tissues as a diagnostic test can be advantageous as multiple pathogens can be
Authors
Michael E. Colvin, James Peterson, Michael L. Kent, Carl B. Schreck

Hybridization threatens shoal bass populations in the Upper Chattahoochee River Basin: Chapter 37

Shoal bass are native only to the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system of Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, and are vulnerable to extinction as a result of population fragmentation and introduction of non-native species. We assessed the genetic integrity of isolated populations of shoal bass in the upper Chattahoochee River basin (above Lake Lanier, Big Creek, and below Morgan Falls Dam) and
Authors
Elizabeth E Dakin, Brady A. Porter, Byron J. Freeman, James M. Long

Comparing models of Red Knot population dynamics

Predictive population modeling contributes to our basic scientific understanding of population dynamics, but can also inform management decisions by evaluating alternative actions in virtual environments. Quantitative models mathematically reflect scientific hypotheses about how a system functions. In Delaware Bay, mid-Atlantic Coast, USA, to more effectively manage horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphe
Authors
Conor P. McGowan

Importance of reservoir tributaries to spawning of migratory fish in the upper Paraná River

Regulation of rivers by dams transforms previously lotic reaches above the dam into lentic ones and limits or prevents longitudinal connectivity, which impairs access to suitable habitats for the reproduction of many migratory fish species. Frequently, unregulated tributaries can provide important habitat heterogeneity to a regulated river and may mitigate the influence of impoundments on the main
Authors
P. S. da Silva, Maristela Cavicchioli Makrakis, Leandro E. Miranda, Sergio Makrakis, L. Assumpcao, S. Paula, João Henrique Pinheiro Dias, H. Marques

The role of depth in regulating water quality and fish assemblages in oxbow lakes

We evaluated water quality and fish assemblages in deep (> 3.0 m; N = 7) and shallow (< 1.5 m; N = 6) floodplain lakes in the intensively cultivated Yazoo River Basin (Mississippi, USA) using indirect gradient multivariate procedures. Shallow lakes displayed wide diel oxygen fluctuations, some reaching hypoxic/anoxic conditions for extended periods of time, high suspended solids, and extreme water
Authors
Daniel B. Goetz, Leandro E. Miranda, Robert Kroger, Caroline S. Andrews

Record long-distance movement of a Deer Mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, in a New England montane boreal forest

We report a single-season, non-homing movement of 4287 ± 10 m by an adult male Deer Mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, in western Maine, United States, in summer 2014. The movement was achieved in two stages: 927 ± 3 m in four days and an additional 3360 ± 10 m in 44 days. This is approximately 40% greater than the previously documented maximum linear movement for an individual of this species.
Authors
Connor M. Wood, Shawn T. McKinney

Community structure of age-0 fishes in paired mainstem and created shallow-water habitats in the Lower Missouri River

Anthropogenic alterations to aquatic ecosystems have greatly reduced and homogenized riverine habitat, especially those used by larval and juvenile fishes. Creation of shallow-water habitats is used as a restoration technique in response to altered conditions in several studies globally, but only recently in the USA. In the summer of 2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sampled larval and juveni
Authors
Trevor A. Starks, James M. Long, Andrew R. Dzialowski

Reservoir area of influence and implications for fisheries management

Understanding the spatial area that a reservoir draws anglers from, defined as the reservoir's area of influence, and the potential overlap of that area of influence between reservoirs is important for fishery managers. Our objective was to define the area of influence for reservoirs of the Salt Valley regional fishery in southeastern Nebraska using kernel density estimation. We used angler survey
Authors
Dustin R. Martin, Christopher J. Chizinski, Kevin L. Pope

An assessment of fish assemblage structure in a large river

The Penobscot River drains the largest watershed in Maine and once provided spawning and rearing habitats to 11 species of diadromous fishes. The construction of dams blocked migrations of these fishes and likely changed the structure and function of fish assemblages throughout the river. The proposed removal of two main-stem dams, improved upstream fish passage at a third dam, and construction of
Authors
Ian A. Kiraly, S.M. Coghlan, Joseph D. Zydlewski, D. Hayes

Modeling risk of pneumonia epizootics in bighorn sheep

Pneumonia epizootics are a major challenge for management of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) affecting persistence of herds, satisfaction of stakeholders, and allocations of resources by management agencies. Risk factors associated with the disease are poorly understood, making pneumonia epizootics hard to predict; such epizootics are thus managed reactively rather than proactively. We developed a
Authors
Sarah N. Sells, Michael S. Mitchell, J. Joshua Nowak, Paul M. Lukacs, Neil J. Anderson, Jennifer M. Ramsey, Justin A. Gude, Paul R. Krausman

The importance of scaling for detecting community patterns: success and failure in assemblages of introduced species

Community saturation can help to explain why biological invasions fail. However, previous research has documented inconsistent relationships between failed invasions (i.e., an invasive species colonizes but goes extinct) and the number of species present in the invaded community. We use data from bird communities of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, which supports a community of 38 successfully establi
Authors
Craig R. Allen, David G. Angeler, Michael P. Moulton, Crawford S. Holling