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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

Association of seasonal reproductive patterns with changing food availability in an equatorial carnivore, the spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta)

Reproductive seasonalitywas examined inan equatorial populationof free-living spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) inKenya. The study population was observed continuously for 10 years, duringwhich time the dates of all births, conceptions, weanings,andcubdeathswererecorded.Local preyabundancewasestimatedtwoto four timespermonth, andrainfallwas recordeddailythroughout thestudyperiod. Birthsoccurreddur
Authors
K.E. Holekamp, M. Szykman, E. E. Boydston, L. Smale

Stem demography and postfire recruitment of a resprouting serotinous conifer

The contribution of resprouts and seedling recruitment to post-fire regeneration of the South African fynbos conifer Widdringtonia nodiflora was compared eight months after wildfires in 1990. Stems on all trees were killed by fire but resprouting success was > 90 % at all but one site. A demographic study of burned skeletons revealed that prior to these fires, nearly all plants were multi-stemmed
Authors
Jon E. Keeley, Melanie B. Keeley, William J. Bond

Reexamining fire suppression impacts on brushland fire regimes

California shrubland wildfires are increasingly destructive, and it is widely held that the problem has been intensified by fire suppression, leading to larger, more intense wildfires. However, analysis of the California Statewide Fire History Database shows that, since 1910, fire frequency and area burned have not declined, and fire size has not increased. Fire rotation intervals have declined, a
Authors
Jon E. Keeley, C. J. Fotheringham, Marco Morais

Extirpation and recolonization in a metapopulation of an endangered fish, the tidewater goby

The tidewater goby ( Eucyclogobius newberryi ), an endangered species in the United States, occurs in a series of isolated coastal wetlands in California. Using historical presence-absence data and our own surveys, we estimated annual rates of extirpation and recolonization for several populations of the goby in southern California. As predicted, large wetlands had lower rates of extirpation than
Authors
K. D. Lafferty, C. C. Swift, R.F. Ambrose

Subcutaneous anchor attachment increases retention of radio transmitters on Xantus' and marbled murrelets

We modified a subcutaneous anchor attachment and achieved transmitter reten- tion times that exceeded those reported previously for other attachments used on alcids. Traditional suture and epoxy attachment methods were used on Xantus' Murrelets in 1995 and 1996, while the modified attachment was used for Xantus' Murrelets in 1996 and 1997 and Marbled Murrelets in 1997. Modifications included use o
Authors
Scott H. Newman, John Y. Takekawa, Darrell L. Whitworth, Esther E. Burkett

Seroepidemiology of upper respiratory tract disease in the desert tortoise of California

Several factors have combined with an upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) to produce declines on some population numbers of desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the western USA. This study was designed to determine the seroepidemiology of URTD in a population of wild adult tortoises at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area (DTNA) study site in Kern County (California, USA). Prior to ini
Authors
Mary B. Brown, Kristin H. Berry, Isabella M. Schumacher, Kenneth A. Nagy, Mary M. Christopher, Paul A. Klein

Pitta recollections

No abstract available.
Authors
G. B. Rathbun

The evolution of trophic transmission

Parasite increased trophic transmission (PITT) is one of the more fascinating tales of parasite evolution. The implications of this go beyond cocktail party anecdotes and science fiction plots as the phenomenon is pervasive and likely to be ecologically and evolutionarily important. Although the subject has already received substantial review, Kevin Lafferty here focuses on evolutionary aspects th
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty