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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

Estimates of carrying capacity for sea otters in Washington state

Analyses of eggs of three species of North American accipitrine hawks for organochlorines and heavy metals indicate that contamination with DDE may be the primary cause of recent population declines of two of the species, Cooper's hawk and sharp-shinned hawk.
Authors
K.L. Laidre, R.J. Jameson, S.J. Jeffries, R.C. Hobbs, C.E. Bowlby, G.R. VanBlaricom

Microsatellite DNA and mitochondrial DNA variation in remnant and translocated sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations

All existing sea otter (Enhydra lutris) populations have suffered at least 1, and in some cases 2, population bottlenecks. The 1st occurred during the 18th and 19th centuries as a result of commercial hunting that eliminated sea otters from much their native range and reduced surviving populations to small remnants. The 2nd bottleneck occurred when small numbers of otters were reintroduced, via tr
Authors
Shawn E. Larson, Ronald J. Jameson, James L. Bodkin, Michelle Staedler, Paul Bentzen

Trophic strategies, animal diversity and body size

A primary difference between predators and parasites is the number of victims that an individual attacks throughout a life-history stage. A key division within natural enemies is whether a successful attack eliminates the fitness of the prey or the host. A third distinctive axis for parasites is whether the host must die to further parasite development. The presence or absence of intensity-depende
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty, Armand M. Kuris

Good medicine for conservation biology: The intersection of epidemiology and conservation theory

A survey of organochlorine residues in woodcock wings was undertaken to determine whether these wings are suitable for showing regional differences in residues and to obtain a baseline in 1970-71 for later comparisons. Woodcock wings were obtained from the annual hunter's wing survey. Samples came from eight States (Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty, Leah R. Gerber

Conflict of interest between a nematode and a trematode in an amphipod host: Test of the "sabotage" hypothesis

Microphallus papillorobustus is a manipulative trematode that induces strong behavioural alterations in the gamaridean amphipod Gammarus insensibilis, making the amphipod more vulnerable to predation by aquatic birds (definitive hosts). Conversely, the sympatric nematodeGammarinema gammari uses Gammarus insensibilis as a habitat and a source of nutrition. We investigated the conflict of interest b
Authors
Frédéric Thomas, Jerome Fauchier, Kevin D. Lafferty

Of mice and mallards: Positive indirect effects of coexisting prey on waterfowl nest success

Coexisting prey species interact indirectly via their shared predators when one prey type influences predation rates of the second prey type. In a temperate system where the predominant shared predator is a generalist, I studied the indirect effects of rodent populations on waterfowl nest success, both within the nesting season among sites and among years. Among six to ten upland fields (14 to 27
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman

Polychlorinated biphenyls and toxaphene in Pacific tree frog tadpoles (Hyla regilla) from the California Sierra Nevada, USA

Pacific tree frog (Hyla regilla) tadpoles were collected throughout the Sierra Nevada mountain range, California, USA, in 1996 and 1997 and analyzed for the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and toxaphene. Whole-tadpole Σ PCB levels ranged from 244 ng/g (wet wt) at lower elevations on the western slope to 1.6 ng/g high on the eastern slope, whereas Σ toxaphene levels ranged from 15.6 to
Authors
Jeffrey E. Angermann, Gary M. Fellers, Fumio Matsumura

Southwestern willow flycatcher breeding site and territory summary - 2001

No abstract available at this time
Authors
M. Sogge, S. Sferra, T. McCarthey, S. O Williams, B. Kus