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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

Infection at an ecotone: Cross‐system foraging increases satellite parasites but decreases core parasites in raccoons

Ecotones can increase free-living species richness, but little is known about how parasites respond to ecotones. Here we use parasite communities in raccoons (Procyon lotor) to test the hypothesis that parasite communities can be divided into core and satellite species, each with fundamentally different responses to ecotones. We used published parasite surveys to classify parasites as common core
Authors
Sara B. Weinstein, Jacey C. Van Wert, Mike Kinsella, Vasyl V. Tkach, Kevin D. Lafferty

Potential vulnerability of 348 herbaceous species to atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur in the United States

Atmospheric nitrogen and sulfur pollution increased over much of the United States during the twentieth century from fossil fuel combustion and industrial agriculture. Despite recent declines, nitrogen and sulfur deposition continue to affect many plant communities in the United States, although which species are at risk remains uncertain. We used species composition data from >14,000 survey sites
Authors
Christopher M. Clark, Samuel M. Simkin, Edith B. Allen, William D. Bowman, Jayne Belnap, Matthew L. Brooks, Scott L. Collins, Linda H Geiser, Frank S Gilliam, Sarah E. Jovan, Linda H Pardo, Bethany K Schultz, Carly J. Stevens, Katharine N. Suding, Heather L. Throop, Donald M. Waller

Southern California and range‐wide raccoon gastrointestinal helminth database

Local and global measurements of parasite prevalence and abundance are critical for understanding the dynamics that underlie the diversity, distribution, and evolution of infectious diseases. Here, we present a data set of gut helminths found in (1) raccoons throughout their range, based on primary literature from 1925–2017 and (2) raccoons in Santa Barbara County, California, USA surveyed from 20
Authors
Sara B. Weinstein, Jacey C. Van Wert, Mike Kinsella, Vasyl V. Tkach, Kevin D. Lafferty

Gopherus Agassizii (Agassiz's Desert Tortoise). Predation.

No abstract available.
Authors
Kemp M. Anderson, Kristin H. Berry

Synopsis of research programs that can provide baseline and monitoring information for offshore energy activities in the Pacific region: Seabird and marine mammal surveys in the Pacific region

We assembled and tabulated information about marine bird and mammal research and monitoring programs that could provide data needed to support environmental risk assessments. This included identifying ongoing or completed research programs that contain information on species and habitats sensitive to offshore energy activities and that could provide baseline and monitoring data to understand and m
Authors
Josh Adams, Kevin D. Lafferty, Emily C. Kelsey, Cora A. Johnston

Overlap of Pink-footed Shearwaters and central Chilean purse-seine fisheries: Implications for bycatch risk

Understanding susceptibility of seabirds to fisheries bycatch requires quantifying overlap of seabird at-sea habitat with fisheries’ distribution and effort. Pink-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna creatopus) are vulnerable seabirds that breed only in Chile. Recently, high rates of Pink-footed Shearwater bycatch (i.e. >1,500 observed mortalities 2015–2017) were documented by observers in central Chilean
Authors
Ryan D. Carle, Jonathan J. Felis, Rodrigo Vega, Jessie Beck, Josh Adams, Veronica Lopez, Peter J. Hodum, Andrés González, Valentina Colodro, Tiare Varela

Monitoring protocol development and assessment for narrowly endemic toads in Nevada, 2018

Several species and subspecies of toads are endemic to small spring systems in the Great Basin, and their restricted ranges and habitat extent make them vulnerable to environmental perturbations. Very little is known about several of these toad populations, so a group of stakeholders including the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Nevada Department
Authors
Brian J. Halstead, Patrick M. Kleeman, Adam Duarte, Jonathan P. Rose, Kris Urquhart, Chad Mellison, Kevin Guadalupe, Melanie Cota, Rachel Van Horne, Alexa Killion, Kelsey Ruehling

Negative impacts of summer heat on Sierra Nevada tree seedlings

Understanding the response of forests to climate change is important for predicting changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services, including carbon storage. Seedlings represent a key demographic stage in these responses, because seedling establishment is necessary for population persistence and spread, and because the conditions allowing seedlings to survive and grow are often more restrictive th
Authors
Emily V. Moran, Adrian J. Das, Jon Keeley, Nathan L. Stephenson

Thin-layer sediment addition to an existing salt marsh to combat sea-level rise and improve endangered species habitat in California, USA

Current tidal marsh elevations and their accretion rates are important predictors of vulnerability to sea-level rise. When tidal marshes are at risk, adaptation measures, such as sediment addition to increase elevations, can be implemented to prevent degradation and loss. In 2016, wildlife managers prescribed a thin-layer sediment addition of locally sourced dredged material from Anaheim Bay to mi
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Chase M. Freeman, Jordan A. Rosencranz, Neil K. Ganju, Glenn R. Guntenspergen

Spatially consistent high-resolution land surface temperature mosaics for thermophysical mapping of the Mojave Desert

Daytime and nighttime thermal infrared observations acquired by the ASTER and MODIS instruments onboard the NASA Terra spacecraft have produced a dataset that can be used to map thermophysical properties across large regions, which have implications on surface processes, thermal environments and habitat suitability for desert species. ASTER scenes acquired between 2004 and 2012 are combined using
Authors
Scott A Nowicki, Rich Inman, Todd C. Esque, Kenneth E. Nussear, Christopher S. Edwards

Community-based conservation and recovery of native species on Monuriki Island, Fiji

The small uninhabited island of Monuriki (40.4 ha) in western Fiji is of national and international conservation concern for its several protected species. Exotic invasive species and a Category 5 cyclone have exacerbated conservation challenges. The cooperation of local, national, and international stakeholders continues to be crucial in restoration of the island’s native flora and fauna. This su
Authors
Robert N. Fisher, Jone Niukula, Peter S. Harlow, Sia Rasalato, Ramesh Chand, Baravi Thaman, Elenoa Seniloli, Joeli Vadada, Steve Cranwell, J. Jed Brown, Kim Lovich, Nunia Thomas-Moko

Operationalizing resilience and resistance concepts to address invasive grass-fire cycles

Plant invasions can affect fuel characteristics, fire behavior, and fire regimes resulting in invasive plant-fire cycles and alternative, self-perpetuating states that can be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse. Concepts related to general resilience to disturbance and resistance to invasive plants provide the basis for managing landscapes to increase their capacity to reorganize and adjust f
Authors
Jeanne C. Chambers, Matthew L. Brooks, Matthew J. Germino, Jeremy D Maestas, David I Board, Matthew O. Jones, Brady W Allred