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
Influence of fuels, weather and the built environment on the exposure of property to wildfire
Wildfires can pose a significant risk to people and property. Billions of dollars are spent investing in fire management actions in an attempt to reduce the risk of loss. One of the key areas where money is spent is through fuel treatment – either fuel reduction (prescribed fire) or fuel removal (fuel breaks). Individual treatments can influence fire size and the maximum distance travelled from th
Authors
Trent D. Penman, Luke S. Collins, Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley, Ross A. Bradstock
Interspecific nest parasitism by chukar on greater sage-grouse
Nest parasitism occurs when a female bird lays eggs in the nest of another and the host incubates the eggs and may provide some form of parental care for the offspring (Lyon and Eadie 1991). Precocial birds (e.g., Galliformes and Anseriformes) are typically facultative nest parasites of both their own and other species (Lyon and Eadie 1991). This behavior increases a female’s reproductive success
Authors
Michelle L. Fearon, Peter S. Coates
An online database for informing ecological network models: http://kelpforest.ucsc.edu
Ecological network models and analyses are recognized as valuable tools for understanding the dynamics and resiliency of ecosystems, and for informing ecosystem-based approaches to management. However, few databases exist that can provide the life history, demographic and species interaction information necessary to parameterize ecological network models. Faced with the difficulty of synthesizing
Authors
Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Mark Novak, Mark H. Carr, M. Tim Tinker, August Black, Jennifer E. Caselle, Michael Hoban, Dan Malone, Alison C. Iles
Climatic and density influences on recruitment in an irruptive population of Roosevelt elk
Current paradigms of ungulate population ecology recognize that density-dependent and independent mechanisms are not always mutually exclusive. Long-term data sets are necessary to assess the relative strength of each mechanism, especially when populations display irruptive dynamics. Using an 18-year time series of population abundances of Roosevelt elk (Cervus elaphus roosevelti) inhabiting Redwo
Authors
Heath D. Starns, Mark A. Ricca, Adam Duarte, Floyd W. Weckerly
Biodemography of ectothermic tetrapods provides insights into the evolution and plasticity of mortality patterns
No abstract available.
Authors
David A. W. Miller, Fredric J. Janzen, Gary M. Fellers, Patrick M. Kleeman, Anne M. Bronikowski
Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: implications for transmission line development
A goal in avian ecology is to understand factors that influence differences in nesting habitat and distribution among species, especially within changing landscapes. Over the past 2 decades, humans have altered sagebrush ecosystems as a result of expansion in energy production and transmission. Our primary study objective was to identify differences in the use of landscape characteristics and natu
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Kristy B. Howe, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
Energetic demands of immature sea otters from birth to weaning: Implications for maternal costs, reproductive behavior and population-level trends
Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of any marine mammal, which is superimposed on the inherently high costs of reproduction and lactation in adult females. These combined energetic demands have been implicated in the poor body condition and increased mortality of female sea otters nearing the end of lactation along the central California coast. However, the c
Authors
N. M. Thometz, M. T. Tinker, M. M. Staedler, K. A. Mayer, T. M. Williams
Sapronosis: a distinctive type of infectious agent
Sapronotic disease agents have evolutionary and epidemiological properties unlike other infectious organisms. Their essential saprophagic existence prevents coevolution, and no host–parasite virulence trade-off can evolve. However, the host may evolve defenses. Models of pathogens show that sapronoses, lacking a threshold of transmission, cannot regulate host populations, although they can reduce
Authors
Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. Lafferty, Susanne H. Sokolow
How have fisheries affected parasite communities?
To understand how fisheries affect parasites, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies that contrasted parasite assemblages in fished and unfished areas. Parasite diversity was lower in hosts from fished areas. Larger hosts had a greater abundance of parasites, suggesting that fishing might reduce the abundance of parasites by selectively removing the largest, most heavily parasitized individuals.
Authors
Chelsea L. Wood, Kevin D. Lafferty
Common raven occurrence in relation to energy transmission line corridors transiting human-altered sagebrush steppe
Energy-related infrastructure and other human enterprises within sagebrush steppe of the American West often results in changes that promote common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven) populations. Ravens, a generalist predator capable of behavioral innovation, present a threat to many species of conservation concern. We evaluate the effects of detailed features of an altered landscape on the pr
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Kristy B. Howe, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
Dietary mercury exposure to endangered California Clapper Rails in San Francisco Bay
California Clapper Rails (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) are an endangered waterbird that forage in tidal-marsh habitats that pose risks from mercury exposure. We analyzed total mercury (Hg) in six macro-invertebrate and one fish species representing Clapper Rail diets from four tidal-marshes in San Francisco Bay, California. Mercury concentrations among individual taxa ranged from lowest at Colma
Authors
Michael L. Casazza, Mark A. Ricca, Cory T. Overton, John Y. Takekawa, Angela Merritt, Joshua T. Ackerman
Bird migration and avian influenza: a comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods
Satellite-based tracking of migratory waterfowl is an important tool for understanding the potential role of wild birds in the long-distance transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, employing this technique on a continental scale is prohibitively expensive. This study explores the utility of stable isotope ratios in feathers in examining both the distances traveled by migratory
Authors
Eli S. Bridge, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Xiangming Xiao, John Y. Takekawa, Nichola J. Hill, Mat Yamage, Enam Ul Haque, Mohammad Anwarul Islam, Taej Mundkur, Kiraz Erciyas Yavuz, Paul Leader, Connie Y.H. Leung, Bena Smith, Kyle A. Spragens, Kurt J. Vandegrift, Parviez R. Hosseini, Samia Saif, Samiul Mohsanin, Andrea Mikolon, Ausrafal Islam, Acty George, Balachandran Sivananinthaperumal, Peter Daszak, Scott H. Newman