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: 3617
Interacting parasites
Parasitism is the most popular life-style on Earth, and many vertebrates host more than one kind of parasite at a time. A common assumption is that parasite species rarely interact, because they often exploit different tissues in a host, and this use of discrete resources limits competition (1). On page 243 of this issue, however, Telfer et al. (2) provide a convincing case of a highly interactive
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty
Flightless and post-molt survival and movements of female mallards molting in Klamath Basin
Flightless and post-molt survival and movements were studied during August-May, 2001-2002, 2002- 2003 and 2006-2007 for 181 adult female Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). Birds were radiotagged just before or early in their flightless period on four wetlands that differed in size on Klamath Basin (KB) National Wildlife Refuge complex. Flightless survival varied among years but was higher on two large
Authors
Joseph P. Fleskes, David M. Mauser, Julie L. Yee, David S. Blehert, Gregory S. Yarris
Unusual subterranean aggregations of the California Giant Salamander, Dicamptodon ensatus
Larval Dicamptodon are one of the most abundant vertebrates in headwater streams in the Pacific Northwest. Their numbers and biomass can exceed those of all other amphibians, and of salmonid fishes. By contrast, metamorphosed Dicamptodon are only found infrequently, usually during formal surveys using pitfall traps, cover boards, or time constrained surveys However, we found two aggregations (23 a
Authors
Gary M. Fellers, Leslie L. Wood, Sarah Carlisle, David Pratt
Invertebrate mercury bioaccumulation in permanent, seasonal, and flooded rice wetlands within California's Central Valley
We examined methylmercury (MeHg) bioavailability in four of the most predominant wetland habitats in California's Central Valley agricultural region during the spring and summer: white rice, wild rice, permanent wetlands, and shallowly-flooded fallow fields. We sampled MeHg and total mercury (THg) concentrations in two aquatic macroinvertebrate taxa at the inlets, centers, and outlets of four repl
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, A. Keith Miles, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Accuracy of egg flotation throughout incubation to determine embryo age and incubation day in waterbird nests
Floating bird eggs to estimate their age is a widely used technique, but few studies have examined its accuracy throughout incubation. We assessed egg flotation for estimating hatch date, day of incubation, and the embryo's developmental age in eggs of the American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), and Forster's Tern (Sterna forsteri). Predicted hatch dat
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Climatic water deficit, tree species ranges, and climate change in Yosemite National Park
Aim (1) To calculate annual potential evapotranspiration (PET), actual evapotranspiration (AET) and climatic water deficit (Deficit) with high spatial resolution; (2) to describe distributions for 17 tree species over a 2300-m elevation gradient in a 3000-km2 landscape relative to AET and Deficit; (3) to examine changes in AET and Deficit between past (c. 1700), present (1971–2000) and future (20
Authors
James A. Lutz, Jan W. Van Wagtendonk, Jerry F. Franklin
Fishing out marine parasites? Impacts of fishing on rates of parasitism in the ocean
Among anthropogenic effects on the ocean, fishing is one of the most pervasive and extends deepest into the past. Because fishing reduces the density of fish (reducing transmission efficiency of directly transmitted parasites), selectively removes large fish (which tend to carry more parasites than small fish), and reduces food web complexity (reducing transmission efficiency of trophically transm
Authors
Chelsea L. Wood, Kevin D. Lafferty, Fiorenza Micheli
Stochastic ecological network occupancy (SENO) models: a new tool for modeling ecological networks across spatial scales
Stochastic ecological network occupancy (SENO) models predict the probability that species will occur in a sample of an ecological network. In this review, we introduce SENO models as a means to fill a gap in the theoretical toolkit of ecologists. As input, SENO models use a topological interaction network and rates of colonization and extinction (including consumer effects) for each species. A SE
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty, Jennifer A. Dunne
Effects of subsidized predators, resource variability, and human population density on desert tortoise populations in the Mojave Desert, USA
Understanding predator–prey relationships can be pivotal in the conservation of species. For 2 decades, desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii populations have declined, yet quantitative evidence regarding the causes of declines is scarce. In 2005, Ft. Irwin National Training Center, California, USA, implemented a translocation project including 2 yr of baseline monitoring of desert tortoises. Unusual
Authors
Todd C. Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear, K. Kristina Drake, Andrew D. Walde, Kristin H. Berry, Roy C. Averill-Murray, A. Peter Woodman, William I. Boarman, Phil A. Medica, Jeremy S. Mack, Jill S. Heaton
Fuel buildup and potential fire behavior after stand-replacing fires, logging fire-killed trees and herbicide shrub removal in Sierra Nevada forests
Typically, after large stand-replacing fires in mid-elevation Sierra Nevada forests, dense shrub fields occupy sites formerly occupied by mature conifers, until eventually conifers overtop and shade out shrubs. Attempting to reduce fuel loads and expedite forest regeneration in these areas, the USDA Forest Service often disrupts this cycle by the logging of fire-killed trees, replanting of conifer
Authors
Thomas W. McGinnis, Jon E. Keeley, Scott L. Stephens, Gary B. Roller
California gull intrusions on breeding waterbird colonies and impacts to reproductive success: implications for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project.
No abstract available.
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Effectiveness of post-fire seeding in desert tortoise Critical Habitat following the 2005 Southern Nevada Fire Complex
In June 2005, lightning strikes ignited multiple wildfires in southern Nevada. The Southern Nevada Fire Complex burned more than 32,000 acres of designated desert tortoise Critical Habitat and an additional 403,000 acres of Mojave Desert habitat characterized as potentially suitable for the tortoise. Mortalities of desert tortoises were observed after the fires, but altered habitat is likely to pr
Authors
Lesley DeFalco, K. Kristina Drake, S. J. Scoles-Sciulla, Kyla L. Bauer