Publications
Below is a list of WERC's peer-reviewed publications. If you are searching for a specific publication and cannot find it in this list, please contact werc_web@usgs.gov
Filter Total Items: 3618
Intraseasonal variation in survival and probable causes of mortality in greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus
The mortality process is a key component of avian population dynamics, and understanding factors that affect mortality is central to grouse conservation. Populations of greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have declined across their range in western North America. We studied cause-specific mortality of radio-marked sage-grouse in Eureka County, Nevada, USA, during two seasons, nesting (20
Authors
Erik J. Blomberg, Daniel Gibson, James S. Sedinger, Michael L. Casazza, Peter S. Coates
How to predict community responses to perturbations in the face of imperfect knowledge and network complexity
Recent attempts to predict the response of large food webs to perturbations have revealed that in larger systems increasingly precise information on the elements of the system is required. Thus, the effort needed for good predictions grows quickly with the system's complexity. Here, we show that not all elements need to be measured equally well, suggesting that a more efficient allocation of effor
Authors
Helge Aufderheide, Lars Rudolf, Thilo Gross, Kevin D. Lafferty
Detecting short-term responses to weekend recreation activity: desert bighorn sheep avoidance of hiking trails
To study potential effects of recreation activity on habitat use of desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni), we placed Global Positioning System collars on 10 female bighorn sheep within the Wonderland of Rocks–Queen Mountain region of Joshua Tree National Park (JOTR), California, USA, from 2002 to 2004. Recreation use was highest from March to April and during weekends throughout the year.
Authors
Kathleen M. Longshore, Chris Lowrey, Daniel B. Thompson
Greater sage-grouse nest predators in the Virginia Mountains of northwestern Nevada
Greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter sage-grouse, populations have declined across their range due to the loss, degradation, and fragmentation of habitat. Habitat alterations can lead not only to vegetative changes but also to shifts in animal behavior and predator composition that may influence population vital rates, such as nest success. For example, common ravens Corvus cor
Authors
Zachary B. Lockyer, Peter S. Coates, Michael L. Casazza, Shawn Espinosa, David J. Delehanty
Net primary productivity of subalpine meadows in Yosemite National Park in relation to climate variability
Subalpine meadows are some of the most ecologically important components of mountain landscapes, and primary productivity is important to the maintenance of meadow functions. Understanding how changes in primary productivity are associated with variability in moisture and temperature will become increasingly important with current and anticipated changes in climate. Our objective was to describe p
Authors
Peggy E. Moore, Jan W. Van Wagtendonk, Julie L. Yee, Mitchel P. McClaran, David N. Cole, Neil K. McDougald, Matthew L. Brooks
Multiple factors affect a population of Agassiz's desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the Northwestern Mojave Desert
Numerous factors have contributed to declines in populations of the federally threatened Agassiz's Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) and continue to limit recovery. In 2010, we surveyed a low-density population on a military test facility in the northwestern Mojave Desert of California, USA, to evaluate population status and identify potential factors contributing to distribution and low densit
Authors
Kristin H. Berry, Julie L. Yee, Ashley A. Coble, William M. Perry, Timothy A. Shields
Pesticides in amphibian habitats of Central and Northern California, USA
Previous studies have indicated that toxicity from pesticide exposure may be contributing to amphibian declines in California and that atmospheric deposition could be a primary pathway for pesticides to enter amphibian habitats. We report on a survey of California wetlands sampled along transects associated with Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and Sequoia Nationa
Authors
Gary M. Fellers, W Sparling, Laura McConnell, Patrick M. Kleeman, Leticia Drakeford
New host and distributional records for Cryptosporidium sp. (Apicomplexa: Cryptosporidiidae) from lizards (Sauria: Gekkonidae, Scincidae) from the Cook Islands and Vanuatu, South Pacific
Between 1991 and 1993, 295 lizards, comprising 21 species in 2 families (Gekkonidae, Scincidae) from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Palau, Takapoto, and Vanuatu in the South Pacific, were examined for Cryptosporidium oocysts. Only 6 lizards (2%) were found to be passing Cryptosporidium oocysts in their feces, including 2 of 30 (7%) Oceania geckos, Gehyra oceanica, from Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and 4 of 2
Authors
Chris T. McAllister, Donald W. Duszynski, Robert N. Fisher
Evaluating greater sage-grouse seasonal space use relative to leks: Implications for surface use designations in sagebrush ecosystems
The development of anthropogenic structures, especially those related to energy resources, in sagebrush ecosystems is an important concern among developers, conservationists, and land managers in relation to greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) populations. Sage-grouse are dependent on sagebrush ecosystems to meet their seasonal life-phase requirements, and resea
Authors
Michael L. Casazza, Peter S. Coates
Survival of mountain quail translocated from two distinct source populations
Translocation of mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus) to restore viable populations to their former range has become a common practice. Because differences in post-release vital rates between animals from multiple source populations has not been well studied, wildlife and land managers may arbitrarily choose the source population or base the source population on immediate availability when planning tr
Authors
Ronald J. Troy, Peter S. Coates, John W. Connelly, Gifford Gillette, David J. Delehanty
Can reliable sage-grouse lek counts be obtained using aerial infrared technology
More effective methods for counting greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are needed to better assess population trends through enumeration or location of new leks. We describe an aerial infrared technique for conducting sage-grouse lek counts and compare this method with conventional ground-based lek count methods. During the breeding period in 2010 and 2011, we surveyed leks from fixed
Authors
Gifford L. Gillette, Peter S. Coates, Steven Petersen, John P. Romero
Ability of matrix models to explain the past and predict the future of plant populations.
Uncertainty associated with ecological forecasts has long been recognized, but forecast accuracy is rarely quantified. We evaluated how well data on 82 populations of 20 species of plants spanning 3 continents explained and predicted plant population dynamics. We parameterized stage-based matrix models with demographic data from individually marked plants and determined how well these models forec
Authors
Kathryn McEachern, Elizabeth E. Crone, Martha M. Ellis, William F. Morris, Amanda Stanley, Timothy Bell, Paulette Bierzychudek, Johan Ehrlen, Thomas N. Kaye, Tiffany M. Knight, Peter Lesica, Gerard Oostermeijer, Pedro F. Quintana-Ascencio, Tamara Ticktin, Teresa Valverde, Jennifer I. Williams, Daniel F. Doak, Rengaian Ganesan, Andrea S. Thorpe, Eric S. Menges