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
The 2007 southern California wildfires: Lessons in complexity
The 2007 wildfire season in southern California burned over 1,000,000 ac (∼400,000 ha) and included several megafires. We use the 2007 fires as a case study to draw three major lessons about wildfires and wildfire complexity in southern California. First, the great majority of large fires in southern California occur in the autumn under the influence of Santa Ana windstorms. These fires also cost
Authors
Jon E. Keeley, H. Safford, C. J. Fotheringham, J. Franklin, M. Moritz
Mercury demethylation in waterbird livers: Dose-response thresholds and differences among species
We assessed methylmercury (MeHg) demethylation in the livers of adults and chicks of four waterbird species that commonly breed in San Francisco Bay: American avocets, black-necked stilts, Caspian terns, and Forster's terns. In adults (all species combined), we found strong evidence for a threshold, model where MeHg demethylation occurred above a hepatic total mercury concentration threshold of 8.
Authors
Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Joshua T. Ackerman, Y.E.E. Julie, T.L. Adelsbach
Use of a nesting platform by Gull-billed Terns and Black Skimmers at the Salton Sea, California
In 2006, we constructed an elevated nesting platform at the Salton Sea, California, and monitored its use by Gull-billed Terns and Black Skimmers over three subsequent breeding seasons. Black Skimmers were the first to colonize the platform with a total of five nests in 2006. In 2007 Gull-billed Terns colonized the platform with a total of 28 nests and the number of Black Skimmer nests increased t
Authors
Kathy C. Molina, Mark A. Ricca, A. Keith Miles, Christian Schoneman
The national Fire and Fire Surrogate study: Effects of fuel reduction methods on forest vegetation structure and fuels
Changes in vegetation and fuels were evaluated from measurements taken before and after fuel reduction treatments (prescribed fire, mechanical treatments, and the combination of the two) at 12 Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) sites located in forests with a surface fire regime across the conterminous United States. To test the relative effectiveness of fuel reduction treatments and their effect on ec
Authors
D. W. Schwilk, J. E. Keeley, E. E. Knapp, J. Mciver, J. D. Bailey, C.J. Fettig, C.E. Fiedler, R.J. Harrod, J.J. Moghaddas, K.W. Outcalt, C.N. Skinner, S.L. Stephens, T.A. Waldrop, D.A. Yaussy, A. Youngblood
Toward immunogenetic studies of amphibian chytridiomycosis: Linking innate and acquired immunity
Recent declines in amphibian diversity and abundance have contributed significantly to the global loss of biodiversity. The fungal disease chytridiomycosis is widely considered to be a primary cause of these declines, yet the critical question of why amphibian species differ in susceptibility remains unanswered. Considerable evidence links environmental conditions and interspecific variability of
Authors
J.Q. Richmond, Anna E. Savage, Kelly R. Zamudio, E.B. Rosenblum
Modeling habitat of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the Mojave and parts of the Sonoran Deserts of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona
Habitat modeling is an important tool used to simulate the potential distribution of a species for a variety of basic and applied questions. The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is a federally listed threatened species in the Mojave Desert and parts of the Sonoran Desert of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Land managers in this region require reliable information about the potential dist
Authors
Kenneth E. Nussear, Todd C. Esque, Richard D. Inman, Leila Gass, Kathryn A. Thomas, Cynthia S.A. Wallace, Joan B. Blainey, David M. Miller, Robert H. Webb
The assembly, collapse and restoration of food webs
Darwin chose the metaphor of a 'tangled bank' to conclude the 'Origin of species'. Two centuries after Darwin's birth, we are still untangling the complex ecological networks he has pondered. In particular, studies of food webs provide important insights into how natural ecosystems function (Pascual & Dunne 2005). Although the nonlinear interactions between many species creates challenges of scale
Authors
Andy Dobson, Stefano Allesina, Kevin Lafferty, Mercedes Pascual
Temporal and maternal effects on reproductive ecology of the giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas)
We used mixed-effects models to examine relationships of reproductive characteristics of the giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas) to improve population modeling and conservation planning for this species. Neonates from larger litters had lower mass, and mass of neonates also was affected by random variation among mothers. Length of mother did not affect relative mass of litters; however, our data
Authors
Brian J. Halstead, Glenn D. Wylie, Michael L. Casazza, Peter S. Coates
Spring migration routes and chronology of surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata): A synthesis of Pacific coast studies
Understanding interconnectivity among wintering, stopover, and breeding areas of migratory birds is pivotal to discerning how events occurring in each might have a cross-seasonal effect on another. Such information can guide the location and timing of conservation efforts. Thus, we examined spring migration routes, chronology, and stopover use of 85 surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata (L., 1758)
Authors
Susan E.W. De La Cruz, John Y. Takekawa, M. T. Wilson, D.R. Nysewander, J.R. Evenson, Daniel Esler, W. S. Boyd, David H. Ward
Migration of whooper swans and outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus in Eastern Asia
Evaluating the potential involvement of wild avifauna in the emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (hereafter H5N1) requires detailed analyses of temporal and spatial relationships between wild bird movements and disease emergence. The death of wild swans (Cygnus spp.) has been the first indicator of the presence of H5N1 in various Asian and European countries; however their role in
Authors
Scott H. Newman, Samuel A. Iverson, John Y. Takekawa, Martin Gilbert, Diann J. Prosser, Nyambyar Batbayar, Tseveenmyadag Natsagdorj, David C. Douglas
Geographic variation in Bar-headed geese Anser indicus: connectivity of wintering and breeding grounds across a broad front
The connectivity and frequency of exchange between sub-populations of migratory birds is integral to understanding population dynamics over the entire species' range. True geese are highly philopatric and acquire lifetime mates during the winter, suggesting that the number of distinct sub-populations may be related to the number of distinct wintering areas. In the Bar-headed Goose Anser indicus, a
Authors
John Y. Takekawa, Shane R. Heath, David C. Douglas, William M. Perry, Sàlim Javed, Scott H. Newman, Rajendra N. Suwal, Asad R. Rahman, Binod C. Choudhury, Diann J. Prosser, Baoping Yan, Yuansheng Hou, Nyambayar Batbayar, Tseveenmayadag Natsagdorj, Charles M. Bishop, Patrick J. Butler, Peter B. Frappell, William K. Milsom, Graham R. Scott, Lucy A. Hawkes, Martin Wikelski
Differential escape from parasites by two competing introduced crabs
Although introduced species often interact with one another in their novel communities, the role of parasites in these interactions remains less clear. We examined parasite richness and prevalence in 2 shorecrab species with different invasion histories and residency times in an introduced region where their distributions overlap broadly. On the northeastern coast of the USA, the Asian shorecrab H
Authors
April M. Blakeslee, Carolyn L. Keogh, James E. Byers, Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. Lafferty, Mark E. Torchin