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USGS2023

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on greater sage-grouse published from October 2019 to July 2022

Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) created a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of management concern for western lands. Previously published reports introduced a methodology for preparing annotated bibliographies to facilitate integration of recent, peer-reviewed science into resource management decisions. Therefore, relevant text from those efforts is reproduced here and built on to incorporate new information. The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter “GRSG”) has been a focus of scientific investigation and management action for the past two decades. The 2015 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing determination of “not warranted” under the Endangered Species Act was in part a result of a large-scale collaborative effort to develop strategies to conserve GRSG populations and their habitat and to reduce threats to both. New scientific information augments existing knowledge and can help inform updates or modifications to existing plans for managing GRSG and sagebrush ecosystems. However, the sheer number of scientific publications can be a challenge for managers tasked with evaluating and determining the need for potential updates to existing planning documents. To assist in this process, the USGS has reviewed and summarized the scientific literature published since January 1, 2015. Our most recent GRSG literature summary was published in 2020 (Carter and others, 2020) and included products published through October 2, 2019. Here, we consider products published between October 2, 2019, and July 21, 2022. We compiled and summarized peer-reviewed journal articles, data products, and formal technical reports (such as U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service General Technical Reports and USGS Open-File Reports) on greater sage-grouse. We first systematically searched three reference databases and three government databases using the search phrase “greater sage-grouse.” We refined the initial list of products by removing (1) duplicates, (2) publications not published as research, data products, or scientific review articles in peer-reviewed journals or as formal technical reports, and (3) products for which greater sage-grouse was not a research focus or the study did not present new data or findings about greater sage-grouse. We summarized each product using a consistent structure (background, objectives, methods, location, findings, and implications) and identified management topics addressed by each product; for example, species and population characteristics. We also identified projects that provided new geospatial data. The review process for this annotated bibliography included two initial internal colleague reviews of each summary, requesting input on each summary from an author of the original publication, and formal peer review. Our initial searches resulted in 221 total products, of which 147 met our criteria for inclusion. Across products summarized in the annotated bibliography, broad-scale habitat characteristics, behavior or demographics, site-scale habitat characteristics, habitat selection, and population estimates or targets were the most commonly addressed management topics. The online version of this bibliography, which will be available on the Science for Resource Managers tool ( https://apps.usgs.gov/science-for-resource-managers ), will be searchable by topic, location, and year, and will include links to each original publication. The studies compiled and summarized here may inform planning and management actions that seek to maintain and restore sagebrush landscapes and GRSG populations across the GRSG range.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

Mixed evidence for biotic homogenization of southern Appalachian fish communities

Anthropogenic impacts on the landscape can drive biotic homogenization, whereby distinct biological communities become more similar to one another over time. Land-use change in the Southern Appalachian region is expected to result in homogenization of the highly diverse freshwater fish communities as in-stream habitat alterations favor widespread cosmopolitan species at the expense of more narrowly distributed highland endemic species. We compiled four datasets spanning 25 years to (1) evaluate the effects of environmental factors on relative abundance and richness of highland endemic vs. cosmopolitan species in this region and (2) test for taxonomic homogenization, measured as a change in beta diversity over time. We found that several environmental factors differentially affected highland endemic and cosmopolitan species, with the proportion of forested land cover in a watershed most strongly predicting higher relative abundance and richness of highland endemic species. Our analysis of beta diversity change, however, shows mixed evidence of taxonomic homogenization, depending on how common species are weighted. Shifts in community composition, with or without homogenization, may warrant attention in biodiversity conservation planning.

Georgia, North Carolina↗
USGS2003

Effects of disturbance on contribution of energy sources to growth of juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in boreal streams

We used stable isotopes of carbon in a growth-dependent tissue-turnover model to quantify the relative contribution of autochthonous and terrestrial energy sources to juvenile chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in five small boreal streams tributary to the upper Yukon River. We used a tissue-turnover model because fish did not grow enough to come into isotopic equilibrium with their diet. In two streams, autochthonous energy sources contributed 23 and 41% to the growth of juvenile salmon. In the other three, fish growth was largely due to terrestrial (i.e., allochthonous) energy sources. This low contribution of autochthonous energy appeared to be related to stream-specific disturbances: a recent forest fire impacted two of the streams and the third was affected by a large midsummer spate during the study. These disturbances reduced the relative abundance of herbivorous macroinvertebrates, the contribution of autochthonous material to other invertebrates, and ultimately, the energy flow between stream algae and fish. Our findings suggest that disturbances to streams can be an important mechanism affecting transfer of primary energy sources to higher trophic levels.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗
USGS2004

Structural complexity and land-surface energy exchange along a gradient from arctic tundra to boreal forest

Question: Current climate changes in the Alaskan Arctic, which are characterized by increases in temperature and length of growing season, could alter vegetation structure, especially through increases in shrub cover or the movement of treeline. These changes in vegetation structure have consequences for the climate system. What is the relationship between structural complexity and partitioning of surface energy along a gradient from tundra through shrub tundra to closed canopy forest? Location: Arctic tundra-boreal forest transition in the Alaskan Arctic. Methods: Along this gradient of increasing canopy complexity, we measured key vegetation characteristics, including community composition, biomass, cover, height, leaf area index and stem area index. We relate these vegetation characteristics to albedo and the partitioning of net radiation into ground, latent, and sensible heating fluxes. Results: Canopy complexity increased along the sequence from tundra to forest due to the addition of new plant functional types. This led to non-linear changes in biomass, cover, and height in the understory. The increased canopy complexity resulted in reduced ground heat fluxes, relatively conserved latent heat fluxes and increased sensible heat fluxes. The localized warming associated with increased sensible heating over more complex canopies may amplify regional warming, causing further vegetation change in the Alaskan Arctic.

Alaska↗
USGS2018

Individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests

Questions What drives individual species–area relationships in temperate coniferous forests? Location Two 25.6‐ha forest plots on the Pacific Slope of North America, one in California, and one in Washington State. Methods We mapped all trees ≥1 cm in diameter and examined tree species diversity of their local neighbourhoods by calculating the individual species–area relationship for each species and for each of three diameter classes (saplings, mature trees and large‐diameter trees). Results In the California plot, small trees in four of the five major species occurred in neighbourhoods with higher levels of diversity than would be expected at random. In the Washington plot, small trees for four of five abundant species had neighbourhoods with lower than expected diversity at distances ≤5 m for small trees. However, at distances >5 m, all five species showed higher than expected diversity in their neighbourhoods. Larger trees at both plots tended to occur in neighbourhoods with lower than expected diversity, and no large‐diameter focal species had neighbourhoods with higher than expected diversity. Conclusion Diversity and co‐existence in temperate conifer‐dominated forests do not appear to be the result of random processes. Competitive interactions appear to dominate for the largest trees of most species, resulting in neighbourhoods with lower diversity. For smaller trees, we suggest that a positive response to environmental heterogeneity is the likely driver of neighbourhoods with higher than expected diversity, although we cannot rule out the possibility that facilitation or conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) also play a role.

Journal of Vegetation Science↗
USGS1990

Denitrification in sediments from the hyporheic zone adjacent to a small forested stream

Denitrifying potentials increased with increasing distance from the stream channel. Dissolved oxygen was 100% of the concentration expected in equilibrium with the atmosphere in water obtained from monitoring wells immediately adjacent to the stream but was as low as 7% of the expected value in water 11.4 m inland. Both nitrate and dissolved organic carbon decreased over summer in wells at the base of the alder-forested slope. A 48-h injection of nitrate-amended stream water into hyporheic water 8.4 m inland stimulated nitrous oxide production in the presence of acetylene. Nitrous oxide was generated as nitrate and acetylene were co-transported to a well 13 m down-gradient. Acetylene-block experiments coupled with the chemistry data suggest that denitrification can modify the chemistry of water during passage through the hyporheic zone. -from Authors

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗
USGS2017

Book review: Serendipity: An ecologist’s quest to understand nature

A common thought among graduate students is: “how do established scientists get where they are today?” In Serendipity: An Ecologist’s Quest to Understand Nature , James Estes offers a personal reflection on research experiences spanning his 50-year career, beginning as a Ph.D. student in 1970 and concluding with recognition as a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2014. Estes chronologically outlines the foundational trophic cascade ecology research that he and colleagues conducted in the Aleutian Islands, examining key relationships among kelp forests, sea otters, sea urchins, and killer whales through anecdotal stories of achievement and challenge. Estes’ 3 main goals in writing this book are to: (1) recount what he had learned from 50 years of research;...

Journal of Mammalogy↗
USGS2015

The rise of fire: Fossil charcoal in late Devonian marine shales as an indicator of expanding terrestrial ecosystems, fire, and atmospheric change

Fossil charcoal provides direct evidence for fire events that, in turn, have implications for the evolution of both terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere. Most of the ancient charcoal record is known from terrestrial or nearshore environments and indicates the earliest occurrences of fire in the Late Silurian. However, despite the rise in available fuel through the Devonian as vascular land plants became larger and trees and forests evolved, charcoal occurrences are very sparse until the Early Mississippian where extensive charcoal suggests well-established fire systems. We present data from the latest Devonian and Early Mississippian of North America from terrestrial and marine rocks indicating that fire became more widespread and significant at this time. This increase may be a function of rising O 2 levels and the occurrence of fire itself may have contributed to this rise through positive feedback. Recent atmospheric modeling suggests an O 2 low during the Middle Devonian (around 17.5%), with O 2 rising steadily through the Late Devonian and Early Mississippian (to 21–22%) that allowed for widespread burning for the first time. In Devonian-Mississippian marine black shales, fossil charcoal (inertinite) steadily increases up-section suggesting the rise of widespread fire systems. There is a concomitant increase in the amount of vitrinite (preserved woody and other plant tissues) that also suggests increased sources of terrestrial organic matter. Even as end Devonian glaciation was experienced, fossil charcoal continued to be a source of organic matter being introduced into the Devonian oceans. Scanning electron and reflectance microscopy of charcoal from Late Devonian terrestrial sites indicate that the fires were moderately hot (typically 500–600 °C) and burnt mainly surface vegetation dominated by herbaceous zygopterid ferns and lycopsids, rather than being produced by forest crown fires. The occurrence and relative abundance of fossil charcoal in marine black shales are significant in that these shales may provide a more continuous record of fire than is preserved in terrestrial environments. Our data support the idea that major fires are not seen in the fossil record until there is both sufficient and connected fuel and a high enough atmospheric O 2 content for it to burn.

American Journal of Science↗
USGS2013

Woody vegetation communities of tidal freshwater swamps in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida (US) with comparisons to similar systems in the US and South America

Questions What are the general tree communities found in tidal freshwater swamps along four large coastal rivers in the southeastern United States (US)? How do these communities compare to other tidal freshwater swamps in the US and South America? Locations Tidal floodplains of major rivers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the southeastern US: Savannah, Altamaha, Suwannee and Apalachicola Rivers. Methods An extensive survey of trees and shrubs was conducted to describe the communities from a range of tidal freshwater swamps. River basins studied include micro-tidal (Gulf coast) and meso-tidal (Atlantic coast) regimes, and study areas were located both near and distant to primary channels. A total of 128 plots (100 m2 each) were inventoried, distributed evenly over the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers along the Atlantic coast, and the Suwannee and Apalachicola Rivers along the Gulf coast. Multivariate statistics helped discern communities and the significant indicator species in each. Results Four general communities were characterized and named according to the strongest individual indicator species in each: Water Tupelo (Nyssa aquatica) Community, Swamp Tupelo (Nyssa biflora) Community, Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor) Community and Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto) Community. Conclusions Descriptions of most tidal freshwater swamps in the southeastern US fit within the communities described in this study. Because studies that make inferences between environmental drivers (e.g. salinity, hydroperiod, hurricanes) and specific community types are best applied to the same communities (but perhaps different river systems), this work provides a framework by which tidal freshwater forested wetlands can be accurately compared based on their tree communities. We suggest that, within the broad range of our inventories, the four communities described identify the primary associations that should be tracked within most tidal freshwater swamps of the US. However, we identify some river basins in the US that do not fit this construct. Diversity of major tree communities in tidal freshwater swamps outside the US is generally much lower (with the notable exception of Amazonian hardwood tidal várzea), as are basal area values.

Georgia;Florida;South Carolina↗
USGS2000

Carbon distribution in subalpine forests and meadows of the Olympic Mountains, Washington

stimates of C storage in mountainous regions are rare. Forest–meadow ecotones in subalpine ecosystems, which contain a mosaic of forests and meadows, may be particularly sensitive to future changes in climate and are therefore important to include in estimates of terrestrial C storage. In this study, we quantified soil C and ecosystem C pools in subalpine forest and meadow soils of the northeastern (NE, dry climate) and southwestern (SW, wet climate) Olympic Mountains. Carbon concentrations of mineral soil are relatively high in upper horizons, ranging from 43 to 142 g kg −1 in NE soils and 27 to 162 g kg −1 in SW soils. Northeastern meadow soils store more C than NE forests ( P = 0.009) , while SW forest soils store more C than SW meadows ( P = 0.038) Ecosystem C storage is greater in forests than in meadows. Under a warmer climatic scenario with drier summers and wetter winters, subalpine C storage may decrease in the NE and increase in the SW, and changes in C storage will be closely related to vegetation distribution, ecosystem productivity, decomposition rates, and local disturbance regimes. Because ecosystem processes and associated C storage differ between high- and low-elevation ecosystems, it is important that data from both high- and low-elevation sites are included in estimates of C storage in terrestrial ecosystems.

Soil Science Society of America Journal↗
USGS1995

Non-native animals on public lands

Non-native plants and animals have become part of our surroundings, in cities, agricultural areas, and wildlands. While there are many beneficial purposes for non-native animals, such as for food and sport hunting and as agricultural animals, the introduction of some has had major negative economic consequences (Palmer 1899), and adverse effects on native wildlife, plants, and habitats. The British ecologist Charles Elton, in a major review of introduced species, described the increasing number of invasions as constituting "one of the great historical convulsions in the world's flora and fauna" (Elton 1958, p. 31). Non-native species are significant problems on large areas of state and federal public lands, and areas set aside to protect native plant and animal communities are not immune to such harm. Science and conservation journals have devoted entire issues to the threats posed by non-native plants and animals in nature reserves (e.g., Usher et al. 1988). In a compilation of threats to U.S. national parks, non-native plants and animals were the most often reported threat, and were reported by the most areas; feral cats ( Felis catus ), feral dogs ( Canis familiaris ), and wild pigs ( Sus scrofa ) were the non-native animals cited most often (NPCA 1977). Non-native species present serious threats, but at the same time, coordinated efforts on public lands offer the best possibility for controlling some harmful non-native species, and protecting both native plant and animal communities and human interests and needs. We compiled information on non-native animals on public and private land-management areas by conducting a mail survey to assess their occurrence and management status in land-management areas. Survey results represent contributions from 937 national parks, national forests, national wildlife refuges, Bureau of Land Management field areas, and state and private land-management areas. The results reflect those species that land managers considered of greatest concern, and their general distribution on public lands. Non-native invertebrate animals, particularly forest insects and agricultural pests, cause severe economic and environmental damage as well (OTA 1993), but were not the focus of this survey.

Book chapter↗
USGS2013

Projected surface radiative forcing due to 2000--2050 land-cover land-use albedo change over the eastern United States

Satellite-derived contemporary land-cover land-use (LCLU) and albedo data and modeled future LCLU are used to study the impact of LCLU change from 2000 to 2050 on surface albedo and radiative forcing for 19 ecoregions in the eastern United States. The modeled 2000–2050 LCLU changes indicate a future decrease in both agriculture and forested land and an increase in developed land that induces ecoregion radiative forcings ranging from −0.175 to 0.432 W m −2 driven predominately by differences in the area and type of LCLU change. At the regional scale, these projected LCLU changes induce a net negative albedo decrease (−0.001) and a regional positive radiative forcing of 0.112 W m −2 . This overall positive forcing (i.e., warming) is almost 4 times greater than that estimated for documented 1973–2000 LCLU albedo change published in a previous study using the same methods.

Journal of Land Change Science↗
USGS2003

Habitat association, size, stomach contents, and reproductive condition of Puerto Rican boas (Epicrates inornatus)

The Puerto Rican boa occurs in a variety of habitats, including wet montane forest, lowland wet forest, mangrove forest, wet limestone karst, and offshore cays, and from sea level to 480 m. Mean SVL of 49 encountered boas (live and road-killed) was 136.9 ?? 35.1 (range = 38.8-205 cm), with a mean mass of 952.1 ?? 349.0 g (n = 47; range = 140-1662 g). Prey in digestive tracts (n = 29) included remains of black rats, house mice, three species of anoles, bats, common ground-doves, domestic fowl chicks, and invertebrates. Females were in reproductive condition in late April through mid-August and had an average brood size of 21.8 ?? 6.0 (n = 9, range = 13-30 ).

Caribbean Journal of Science↗
USGS2009

Measuring phenological variability from satellite imagery

Vegetation phenological phenomena are closely related to seasonal dynamics of the lower atmosphere and are therefore important elements in global models and vegetation monitoring. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data derived from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite sensor offer a means of efficiently and objectively evaluating phenological characteristics over large areas. Twelve metrics linked to key phenological events were computed based on time-series NDVI data collected from 1989 to 1992 over the conterminous United States. These measures include the onset of greenness, time of peak NDVI, maximum NDVI, rate of greenup, rate of senescence, and integrated NDVI. Measures of central tendency and variability of the measures were computed and analyzed for various land cover types. Results from the analysis showed strong coincidence between the satellite-derived metrics and predicted phenological characteristics. In particular, the metrics identified interannual variability of spring wheat in North Dakota, characterized the phenology of four types of grasslands, and established the phenological consistency of deciduous and coniferous forests. These results have implications for large-area land cover mapping and monitoring. The utility of remotely sensed data as input to vegetation mapping is demonstrated by showing the distinct phenology of several land cover types. More stable information contained in ancillary data should be incorporated into the mapping process, particularly in areas with high phenological variability. In a regional or global monitoring system, an increase in variability in a region may serve as a signal to perform more detailed land cover analysis with higher resolution imagery.

North Dakota↗
USGS2011

Interactions between natural-occurring landscape conditions and land use influencing the abundance of riverine smallmouth bass, micropterus dolomieu

This study examined how interactions between natural landscape features and land use influenced the abundance of smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu, in Missouri, USA, streams. Stream segments were placed into one of four groups based on natural-occurring watershed characteristics (soil texture and soil permeability) predicted to relate to smallmouth bass abundance. Within each group, stream segments were assigned forest (n = 3), pasture (n = 3), or urban (n = 3) designations based on the percentages of land use within each watershed. Analyses of variance indicated smallmouth bass densities differed between land use and natural conditions. Decision tree models indicated abundance was highest in forested stream segments and lowest in urban stream segments, regardless of group designation. Land use explained the most variation in decision tree models, but in-channel features of temperature, flow, and sediment also contributed significantly. These results are unique and indicate the importance of natural-occurring watershed conditions in defining the potential of populations and how finer-scale filters interact with land use to further alter population potential. Smallmouth bass has differing vulnerabilities to land-use attributes, and the better the natural watershed conditions are for population success, the more resilient these populations will be when land conversion occurs.

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences↗
USGS2019

A bibliometric profile of the Remote Sensing Open Access Journal published by MDPI between 2009 and 2018

Remote Sensing Open Access Journal (RS OAJ) is an international leading journal in the field of remote sensing science and technology. It was first published in the year 2009 and is currently celebrating tenth year of publications. In this research, a bibliometric analysis of RS OAJ was conducted based on 5588 articles published during the 10-year (2009–2018) time-period. The bibliometric analysis includes a comprehensive set of indicators such as dynamics and trends of publications, journal impact factor, total cites, eigenfactor score, normalized eigenfactor, CiteScore, h-index, h-classic publications, most productive countries (or territories) and institutions, co-authorship collaboration about countries (territories), research themes, citation impact of co-occurrences keywords, intellectual structure, and knowledge commutation. We found that publications of RS OAJ presented an exponential growth in the past ten years. From 2010 to 2017 (for which complete years data were available), the h-index of RS OAJ is 67. From 2009–2018, RS OAJ includes publications from 129 countries (or territories) and 3826 institutions. The leading nations contributing articles, based on 2009–2018 data, and listed based on ranking were: China, United States, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Canada, England, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland and Austria. The leading institutions, also for the same period and listed based on ranking were: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing Normal University, The university of Maryland, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, China University of Geosciences, United States Geological Survey, German Aerospace Centre, University of Twente, and California Institute of Technology. For the year 2017, RS OAJ had an impressive journal impact factor of 3.4060, a CiteScore of 4.03, eigenfactor score of 0.0342, and normalized eigenfactor score of 3.99. In addition, based on 2009–2018, data co-word analysis determined that “remote sensing”, “MODIS”, “Landsat”, “LiDAR” and “NDVI” are the high-frequency of author keywords co-occurrence in RS OAJ. The main themes of RS OAJ are multi-spectral and hyperspectral remote sensing, LiDAR scanning and forestry remote sensing monitoring, MODIS and LAI data applications, Remote sensing applications and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Through author keywords citation impact analysis, we find the most influential keyword is Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), followed, forestry, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), terrestrial laser scanning, airborne laser scanning, forestry inventory, urban heat island, monitoring, agriculture, and laser scanning. By analyzing the intellectual structure of RS OAJ, we identify the main reference publications and find that the themes are about Random Forests, MODIS vegetation indices and image analysis, etc. RS OAJ ranks first in cited journals and third in citing, this indicates that RS OAJ has the internal knowledge flow. Our results will bring more benefits to scholars, researchers and graduate students, who hopes to get a quick overview of the RS OAJ. And this article will also be the starting point for communication between scholars and practitioners. Finally, this paper proposed a nuanced h-index (nh-index) to measure productivity and intellectual contribution of authors by considering h-index based on whether the one is first, second, third, or nth author. This nuanced approach to determining h-index of authors is powerful indicator of an academician’s productivity and intellectual contribution.

Remote Sensing↗
USGS2009

LANDFIRE: A nationally consistent vegetation, wildland fire, and fuel assessment

LANDFIRE is a 5-year, multipartner project producing consistent and comprehensive maps and data describing vegetation, wildland fuel, fire regimes and ecological departure from historical conditions across the United States. It is a shared project between the wildland fire management and research and development programs of the US Department of Agriculture Forest Service and US Department of the Interior. LANDFIRE meets agency and partner needs for comprehensive, integrated data to support landscape-level fire management planning and prioritization, community and firefighter protection, effective resource allocation, and collaboration between agencies and the public. The LANDFIRE data production framework is interdisciplinary, science-based and fully repeatable, and integrates many geospatial technologies including biophysical gradient analyses, remote sensing, vegetation modelling, ecological simulation, and landscape disturbance and successional modelling. LANDFIRE data products are created as 30-m raster grids and are available over the internet at www.landfire.gov , accessed 22 April 2009. The data products are produced at scales that may be useful for prioritizing and planning individual hazardous fuel reduction and ecosystem restoration projects; however, the applicability of data products varies by location and specific use, and products may need to be adjusted by local users.

International Journal of Wildland Fire↗
USGS2023

Winter distribution of golden eagles in the Eastern USA

Golden Eagles ( Aquila chrysaetos ) have a Holarctic distribution, but some details of that overall distribution are poorly understood, including parts of the range in eastern North America. Recent studies in the region suggest that Golden Eagles may be more widely distributed than previously recognized. For species specific conservation efforts to be effective, an understanding of the distribution of the species is essential. Thus, the goal of this study was to map the winter distribution of Golden Eagles in the eastern half of the USA. To accomplish this, we reviewed and compiled 11,981 Golden Eagle records from eight data sources, including literature and ornithology records, community science data, survey data, and telemetry data. We found that Golden Eagles were observed in winter in each of the 31 states that lie completely east of the 100th meridian and in 1244 of the 2045 counties (61%) in those states. The proportion of counties with records varied by physiographic province, with higher proportions in physiographic provinces with more rugged terrain and greater forest cover. Our study shows that Golden Eagles are more widely distributed during winter in eastern USA states than was previously recognized. This work provides an important foundation for future management and research at a time when threats to this species are expanding rapidly on the landscape.

Journal of Raptor Research↗