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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

Endangered light-footed clapper rail affects parasite community structure in coastal wetlands

An extinction necessarily affects community members that have obligate relationships with the extinct species. Indirect or cascading effects can lead to even broader changes at the community or ecosystem level. However, it is not clear whether generalist parasites should be affected by the extinction of one of their hosts. We tested the prediction that loss of a host species could affect the struc
Authors
Kathleen L. Whitney, Ryan F. Hechinger, Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. Lafferty

An experimental evaluation of host specificity: The role of encounter and compatibility filters for a rhizocephalan parasite of crabs

The encounter/compatibility paradigm of host specificity provides three qualitative pathways to the success or failure of a potential host-parasite interaction. It is usually impossible to distinguish between two of these (encounter and compatibility filters closed versus encounter filter open and compatibility filter closed) because unsuccessful infection attempts are difficult to observe in natu
Authors
Armand M. Kuris, Jeffrey H. R. Goddard, Mark E. Torchin, Nicole Murphy, Robert Gurney, Kevin D. Lafferty

Taxonomic revisions in the genus Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae)

Changes are made in the nomenclature of species and subspecies in the genus Arctostaphylos(Ericaceae). In this study, the focus is on species found in the coast ranges of California. Changes are made in A. nortensis from the area around the Oregon border with California, in the A. nevadensiscomplex in the North Coast Ranges, in the A. nummularia complex of the north to central coast, in the A. tom
Authors
V. Thomas Parker, Michael C. Vasey, Jon E. Keeley

The kelp highway hypothesis: Marine ecology, the coastal migration theory, and the peopling of the Americas

In this article, a collaborative effort between archaeologists and marine ecologists, we discuss the role kelp forest ecosystems may have played in facilitating the movement of maritime peoples from Asia to the Americas near the end of the Pleistocene. Growing in cool nearshore waters along rocky coastlines, kelp forests offer some of the most productive habitats on earth, with high primary produc
Authors
Jon M. Erlandson, Michael H. Graham, Bruce J. Bourque, Debra Corbett, James A. Estes, Robert S. Steneck

Differential gene expression induced by exposure of captive mink to fuel oil: A model for the sea otter

Free-ranging sea otters are subject to hydrocarbon exposure from a variety of sources, both natural and anthropogenic. Effects of direct exposure to unrefined crude oil, such as that associated with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, are readily apparent. However, the impact of subtle but pathophysiologically relevant concentrations of crude oil on sea otters is difficult to assess. The present study was
Authors
Lizabeth Bowen, F. Riva, C. Mohr, B. Aldridge, J. Schwartz, A. Keith Miles, J.L. Stott

Biological effects of anthropogenic contaminants in the San Francisco Estuary

Concentrations of many anthropogenic contaminants in the San Francisco Estuary exist at levels that have been associated with biological effects elsewhere, so there is a potential for them to cause biological effects in the Estuary. The purpose of this paper is to summarize information about biological effects on the Estuary's plankton, benthos, fish, birds, and mammals, gathered since the early 1
Authors
B. Thompson, T. Adelsbach, Cynthia L. Brown, J. Hunt, James S. Kuwabara, J. Neale, H. Ohlendorf, Steven E. Schwarzbach, R. Spies, K. Taberski

Mercury concentrations and space use of pre-breeding American avocets and black-necked stilts in San Francisco Bay

We examined factors influencing mercury concentrations in pre-breeding American avocets (Recurvirostra americana) and black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), the two most abundant breeding shorebirds in San Francisco Bay, California. We tested the effects of species, site, sex, year, and date on total mercury concentrations in blood of pre-breeding adult birds and used radio telemetry to deter
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, John Y. Takekawa, Scott A. Demers, Terrence L. Adelsbach, J.D. Bluso, A. Keith Miles, Nils Warnock, Thomas H. Suchanek, Steven E. Schwarzbach

San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) Rare Plant Monitoring Review and Revision

Introduction The San Diego Multiple Species Conservation Program (MSCP) was developed for the conservation of plants and animals in the south part of San Diego County, under the California Natural Community Conservation Planning Act of 1991 (California Department of Fish and Game) and the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S. Code 1531-1544.) The Program is on the leading
Authors
Kathryn McEachern, Bruce M. Pavlik, Jon Rebman, Rob Sutter

Desert tortoise hibernation: Temperatures, timing, and environment

This research examined the onset, duration, and termination of hibernation in Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) over several years at multiple sites in the northeastern part of their geographic range, and recorded the temperatures experienced by tortoises during winter hibernation. The timing of hibernation by Desert Tortoises differed among sites and years. Environmental cues acting over the
Authors
K.E. Nussear, T. C. Esque, D.F. Haines, C.R. Tracy

Thamnophis hammondii foraging behavior

Thamnophis hammondii is considered one of the most aquatic of the gartersnakes and is closely associated with creeks and impoundments (Fitch 1940. Univ. California Publ. Zool. 44:1–150) with a diet consisting largely of both the larvae and transformed stages of amphibians (Spea, Bufo, Rana, Pseudacris) and small fish (Oncorhynchus, Gasterosteus, Eucyclogobius, and Cottus) (Jennings and Hayes 1994.
Authors
Edward L. Ervin, Robert N. Fisher

Sea otters in a dirty ocean

No abstract available.
Authors
David A. Jessup, Melissa A. Miller, Christine Kreuder Johnson, Patricia A. Conrad, M. Tim Tinker, James A. Estes, Jonna A.K. Mazet