Robert N Fisher
Dr. Robert Fisher is a conservation biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Ecological Research Center and works as part of a large integrated team.
His focus has been on how natural systems are responding to the Anthropocene, and what types of resiliency they have or lack as it relates to maintaining ecological integrity and biodiversity. Additionally, through understanding individual species and community responses to perturbations through modern monitoring techniques, he and his team can determine appropriate management experiments or options to possibly recover resiliency. Geographically they have two foci, the first is southern California where urbanization and conservation planning bring various direct and indirect drivers of ecological change, and climate variability is currently extreme and drives landscape level drought and wildfires. Their second foci are the tropical islands of the Pacific Basin, from Palau and Papua New Guinea east to Hawai’i. These islands have also been driven by human change and are on the front line as extreme recent weather variability in the cyclone belt impact terrestrial ecosystems. Understanding how biodiversity was generated in this ecoregion is critical to managing its loss, and their team focuses across time and space (biogeography) to understand these processes utilizing molecular tools tied to expeditions of discovery in this poorly studied ecoregion.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Conservation biology
- Biogeography
- Modelling
- Natural history
- Speciation
- Invasive species
- Climate variability
- Anthropocene
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 1995
M.S., Zoology, University of California, Davis, CA 1991
B.S., Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 1988
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 14
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Filter Total Items: 281
Cryptic extinction risk in a western Pacific lizard radiation
Cryptic ecologies, the Wallacean Shortfall of undocumented species’ geographical ranges and the Linnaean Shortfall of undescribed diversity, are all major barriers to conservation assessment. When these factors overlap with drivers of extinction risk, such as insular distributions, the number of threatened species in a region or clade may be underestimated, a situation we term ‘cryptic extinction
Authors
Peter J. McDonald, Rafe M. Brown, Frederick Kraus, Philip Bowles, Umilaela Arifin, Samuel J Eliades, Robert N. Fisher, Maren Gaulke, L Lee Grismer, Ivan Ineich, Benjamin R. Karin, Camila G Meneses, Stephen J Richards, Marites B Sanguila, Cameron D Siler, Paul M. Oliver
Hidden in plain sight: Detecting invasive species when they are morphologically similar to native species
Early detection and rapid response (EDRR) can help mitigate and control invasive species outbreaks early on but its success is dependent on accurate identification of invasive species. We evaluated a novel outbreak in San Diego County, California of the Sonoran Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis sonorae) in order to confirm their spread as well as quantify how to better detect and potentially manage t
Authors
Samuel R Fisher, Robert N. Fisher, Gregory B. Pauly
Range-wide persistence of the endangered arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus) for 20+ years following a prolonged drought
Prolonged drought due to climate change has negatively impacted amphibians in southern California, U.S.A. Due to the severity and length of the current drought, agencies and researchers had growing concern for the persistence of the arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus), an endangered endemic amphibian in this region. Range-wide surveys for this species had not been conducted for at least 20 years.
Authors
Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Elizabeth Gallegos, Adam R. Backlin, Russell Barabe, Peter H. Bloom, Kimberly Boss, Cheryl S. Brehme, Christopher W. Brown, Denise Clark, Elizabeth R. Clark, Kevin Cooper, Julie Donnell, Edward L Ervin, Peter Famolaro, Kim M. Guilliam, Jaquelyn Hancock, Nicholas Hess, Steven Howard, Valerie Hubbartt, Patrick Lieske, Robert E. Lovich, Tritia Matsuda, Katherin Meyer-Wilkins, Kamarul Muri, Barry Nerhus, Jeffrey A. Nordland, Brock Ortega, Robert Packard, Ruben Ramirez, Sam C. IV Stewart, Samuel Sweet, Manna L. Warburton, Jeffrey Wells, Ryan Winkleman, Kirsten Winter, Brian Zitt, Robert N. Fisher
Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine-scale environmental heterogeneity in old-growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals
The importance of terrestrial coastal ecosystems for maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems remains understudied. Sea kraits are amphibious snakes that require healthy coral reefs for foraging, but little is known about their requirements of terrestrial habitats, where they slough their skin, digest prey, and breed. Using concurrent microclimate measurements and behavior surveys, we show that a
Authors
Christopher G. Lowe, Gunnar Keppel, Kalisi Waqa, Stefan Peters, Robert N. Fisher, Annette Scanlon, Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, Nunia Thomas-Moko
Multi-scale patterns in occurrence of an ephemeral pool-breeding amphibian
Species distributions are governed by processes occurring at multiple spatial scales. For species with complex life cycles, the needs of all life stages must be met within the dispersal limitations of the species. Multi-scale processes can be particularly important for these species, where small-scale patterns in specific habitat components can affect the distribution of one life stage, whereas la
Authors
Brian J. Halstead, Jonathan P. Rose, Denise Clark, Patrick M. Kleeman, Robert N. Fisher
Defining relevant conservation targets for the endangered Southern California distinct population segment of the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa)
The endangered mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) has been reduced to <10 isolated populations in the wild. Due to frequent catastrophic events (floods, droughts, wildfires), the recent dynamics of these populations have been erratic, making the future of the species highly uncertain. In 2018, a recovery plan was developed to improve the species status by reducing the impacts of various th
Authors
Thierry Chambert, Adam R. Backlin, Elizabeth Gallegos, Bradd Baskerville-Bridges, Robert N. Fisher
Sex‐related differences in aging rate are associated with sex chromosome system in amphibians
Sex‐related differences in mortality are widespread in the animal kingdom. Although studies have shown that sex determination systems might drive lifespan evolution, sex chromosome influence on aging rates have not been investigated so far, likely due to an apparent lack of demographic data from clades including both XY (with heterogametic males) and ZW (heterogametic females) systems. Taking adva
Authors
Hugo Cayuela, Jean-François Lemaître, Jean-Paul Léna, Victor Ronget, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, Erin L. Muths, David Pilliod, Benedikt Schmidt, Gregorio Sánchez-Montes, Jorge Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Graham Pyke, Kurt Grossenbacher, Omar Lenzi, Jaime Bosch, Karen H. Beard, Lawrence L. Woolbright, Brad A. Lambert, David M. Green, Justin M Garwood, Robert N. Fisher, Kathleen Matthews, David Dudgeon, Anthony Lau, Jeroen Speybroeck, Rebecca Homan, Robert Jehle, Eyup Baskale, Emiliano Mori, Jan W. Arntzen, Pierre Joly, Rochelle Stiles, Michael J Lannoo, John C. Maerz, Winsor H. Lowe, Andres Valenzuela-Sanchez, Ditte Christianson, Claudio Angelini, Jean-Marc Thirion, Juha Merila, Guarino R. Colli, Mariana M. Vasconcellos, Taissa C. Boas, Isis da C. Arantes, Pauline Levionnois, Beth A. Reinke, Cristina Vieira, Gabriel A. B. Marais, Jean-Michael Gaillard, David A.W. Miller
Case 3853 – Eumeces niger Hombron & Jacquinot, 1853 (currently Emoia nigra) (Reptilia, Scincidae): proposed conservation of prevailing usage by setting aside a lectotype designation for Gongylus (Eumeces) freycineti Duméril & Bibron, 1839 (currently Emoia
The purpose of the present application, under Articles 74.1.1 and 81.1 of the Code, is to maintain consistent usage of the commonly used name Emoia nigra (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1853) by setting aside a lectotype designation for Gongylus (Eumeces) freycineti Duméril & Bibron, 1839 by Wells & Wellington in 1985 in favour of a later lectotype designation by Brown in 1991.
Authors
Glenn M. Shea, Robert N. Fisher, Ivan Ineich
Projecting the remaining habitat for the western spadefoot (Spea hammondii) in heavily urbanized southern California
Extensive urbanization in coastal southern California has reduced natural habitat in this biodiversity hotspot. To better conserve ecological communities, state and federal agencies, along with local jurisdictions and private stakeholders, developed regional conservation plans for southern California. Although many protected areas exist within this region, the patchwork nature of these protected a
Authors
Jonathan P. Rose, Brian J. Halstead, Robert H. Packard, Robert N. Fisher
Impacts of a non-indigenous ecosystem engineer, the American beaver (Castor canadensis), in a biodiversity hotspot
Non-native species having high per capita impacts in invaded communities are those that modulate resource availability and alter disturbance regimes in ways that are biologically incompatible with the native biota. In areas where it has been introduced by humans, American beaver (Castor canadensis) is an iconic example of such species due to its capacity to alter trophic dynamics of entire ecosyst
Authors
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Camm C. Swift, Thomas A. Wake, Cheryl S. Brehme, Kristine L. Preston, Barbara E. Kus, Edward L Ervin, Scott Tremor, Tritia Matsuda, Robert N. Fisher
Reproductive plasticity as an advantage of snakes during island invasion
Most invasive species are not studied during their initial colonization of ecosystems to which they were recently introduced. Rather, research is typically performed after invasive species are well established and causing harm to the native biodiversity. Thus, novel adaptations of invasive species during their initial invasions are rarely identified. The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californ
Authors
S R Fisher, Robert N. Fisher, S E Alcaraz, R Gallo-Barneto, C Patino-Martinez, L F López- Jurado, M Á Cabrera-Pérez, J L Grismer
Range eclipse leads to tenuous survival of a rare lizard species on a barrier atoll
Rediscovery of living populations of a species that was presumed to be extirpated can generate new narratives for conservation in areas suffering from losses in biodiversity. We used field observations and DNA sequence data to verify the rediscovery of the Critically Endangered scincid lizard Emoia slevini on Dåno′, an islet off the coast of Guam in the southern Mariana Islands, where for > 20 yea
Authors
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Elijah Wostl, Robert Reed, Robert N. Fisher
Filter Total Items: 20
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 14
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 281
Cryptic extinction risk in a western Pacific lizard radiation
Cryptic ecologies, the Wallacean Shortfall of undocumented species’ geographical ranges and the Linnaean Shortfall of undescribed diversity, are all major barriers to conservation assessment. When these factors overlap with drivers of extinction risk, such as insular distributions, the number of threatened species in a region or clade may be underestimated, a situation we term ‘cryptic extinction
Authors
Peter J. McDonald, Rafe M. Brown, Frederick Kraus, Philip Bowles, Umilaela Arifin, Samuel J Eliades, Robert N. Fisher, Maren Gaulke, L Lee Grismer, Ivan Ineich, Benjamin R. Karin, Camila G Meneses, Stephen J Richards, Marites B Sanguila, Cameron D Siler, Paul M. Oliver
Hidden in plain sight: Detecting invasive species when they are morphologically similar to native species
Early detection and rapid response (EDRR) can help mitigate and control invasive species outbreaks early on but its success is dependent on accurate identification of invasive species. We evaluated a novel outbreak in San Diego County, California of the Sonoran Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis sonorae) in order to confirm their spread as well as quantify how to better detect and potentially manage t
Authors
Samuel R Fisher, Robert N. Fisher, Gregory B. Pauly
Range-wide persistence of the endangered arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus) for 20+ years following a prolonged drought
Prolonged drought due to climate change has negatively impacted amphibians in southern California, U.S.A. Due to the severity and length of the current drought, agencies and researchers had growing concern for the persistence of the arroyo toad (Anaxyrus californicus), an endangered endemic amphibian in this region. Range-wide surveys for this species had not been conducted for at least 20 years.
Authors
Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Elizabeth Gallegos, Adam R. Backlin, Russell Barabe, Peter H. Bloom, Kimberly Boss, Cheryl S. Brehme, Christopher W. Brown, Denise Clark, Elizabeth R. Clark, Kevin Cooper, Julie Donnell, Edward L Ervin, Peter Famolaro, Kim M. Guilliam, Jaquelyn Hancock, Nicholas Hess, Steven Howard, Valerie Hubbartt, Patrick Lieske, Robert E. Lovich, Tritia Matsuda, Katherin Meyer-Wilkins, Kamarul Muri, Barry Nerhus, Jeffrey A. Nordland, Brock Ortega, Robert Packard, Ruben Ramirez, Sam C. IV Stewart, Samuel Sweet, Manna L. Warburton, Jeffrey Wells, Ryan Winkleman, Kirsten Winter, Brian Zitt, Robert N. Fisher
Fijian sea krait behavior relates to fine-scale environmental heterogeneity in old-growth coastal forest: The importance of integrated land–sea management for protecting amphibious animals
The importance of terrestrial coastal ecosystems for maintaining healthy coral reef ecosystems remains understudied. Sea kraits are amphibious snakes that require healthy coral reefs for foraging, but little is known about their requirements of terrestrial habitats, where they slough their skin, digest prey, and breed. Using concurrent microclimate measurements and behavior surveys, we show that a
Authors
Christopher G. Lowe, Gunnar Keppel, Kalisi Waqa, Stefan Peters, Robert N. Fisher, Annette Scanlon, Tamara Osborne-Naikatini, Nunia Thomas-Moko
Multi-scale patterns in occurrence of an ephemeral pool-breeding amphibian
Species distributions are governed by processes occurring at multiple spatial scales. For species with complex life cycles, the needs of all life stages must be met within the dispersal limitations of the species. Multi-scale processes can be particularly important for these species, where small-scale patterns in specific habitat components can affect the distribution of one life stage, whereas la
Authors
Brian J. Halstead, Jonathan P. Rose, Denise Clark, Patrick M. Kleeman, Robert N. Fisher
Defining relevant conservation targets for the endangered Southern California distinct population segment of the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa)
The endangered mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) has been reduced to <10 isolated populations in the wild. Due to frequent catastrophic events (floods, droughts, wildfires), the recent dynamics of these populations have been erratic, making the future of the species highly uncertain. In 2018, a recovery plan was developed to improve the species status by reducing the impacts of various th
Authors
Thierry Chambert, Adam R. Backlin, Elizabeth Gallegos, Bradd Baskerville-Bridges, Robert N. Fisher
Sex‐related differences in aging rate are associated with sex chromosome system in amphibians
Sex‐related differences in mortality are widespread in the animal kingdom. Although studies have shown that sex determination systems might drive lifespan evolution, sex chromosome influence on aging rates have not been investigated so far, likely due to an apparent lack of demographic data from clades including both XY (with heterogametic males) and ZW (heterogametic females) systems. Taking adva
Authors
Hugo Cayuela, Jean-François Lemaître, Jean-Paul Léna, Victor Ronget, Iñigo Martínez-Solano, Erin L. Muths, David Pilliod, Benedikt Schmidt, Gregorio Sánchez-Montes, Jorge Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Graham Pyke, Kurt Grossenbacher, Omar Lenzi, Jaime Bosch, Karen H. Beard, Lawrence L. Woolbright, Brad A. Lambert, David M. Green, Justin M Garwood, Robert N. Fisher, Kathleen Matthews, David Dudgeon, Anthony Lau, Jeroen Speybroeck, Rebecca Homan, Robert Jehle, Eyup Baskale, Emiliano Mori, Jan W. Arntzen, Pierre Joly, Rochelle Stiles, Michael J Lannoo, John C. Maerz, Winsor H. Lowe, Andres Valenzuela-Sanchez, Ditte Christianson, Claudio Angelini, Jean-Marc Thirion, Juha Merila, Guarino R. Colli, Mariana M. Vasconcellos, Taissa C. Boas, Isis da C. Arantes, Pauline Levionnois, Beth A. Reinke, Cristina Vieira, Gabriel A. B. Marais, Jean-Michael Gaillard, David A.W. Miller
Case 3853 – Eumeces niger Hombron & Jacquinot, 1853 (currently Emoia nigra) (Reptilia, Scincidae): proposed conservation of prevailing usage by setting aside a lectotype designation for Gongylus (Eumeces) freycineti Duméril & Bibron, 1839 (currently Emoia
The purpose of the present application, under Articles 74.1.1 and 81.1 of the Code, is to maintain consistent usage of the commonly used name Emoia nigra (Hombron & Jacquinot, 1853) by setting aside a lectotype designation for Gongylus (Eumeces) freycineti Duméril & Bibron, 1839 by Wells & Wellington in 1985 in favour of a later lectotype designation by Brown in 1991.
Authors
Glenn M. Shea, Robert N. Fisher, Ivan Ineich
Projecting the remaining habitat for the western spadefoot (Spea hammondii) in heavily urbanized southern California
Extensive urbanization in coastal southern California has reduced natural habitat in this biodiversity hotspot. To better conserve ecological communities, state and federal agencies, along with local jurisdictions and private stakeholders, developed regional conservation plans for southern California. Although many protected areas exist within this region, the patchwork nature of these protected a
Authors
Jonathan P. Rose, Brian J. Halstead, Robert H. Packard, Robert N. Fisher
Impacts of a non-indigenous ecosystem engineer, the American beaver (Castor canadensis), in a biodiversity hotspot
Non-native species having high per capita impacts in invaded communities are those that modulate resource availability and alter disturbance regimes in ways that are biologically incompatible with the native biota. In areas where it has been introduced by humans, American beaver (Castor canadensis) is an iconic example of such species due to its capacity to alter trophic dynamics of entire ecosyst
Authors
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Camm C. Swift, Thomas A. Wake, Cheryl S. Brehme, Kristine L. Preston, Barbara E. Kus, Edward L Ervin, Scott Tremor, Tritia Matsuda, Robert N. Fisher
Reproductive plasticity as an advantage of snakes during island invasion
Most invasive species are not studied during their initial colonization of ecosystems to which they were recently introduced. Rather, research is typically performed after invasive species are well established and causing harm to the native biodiversity. Thus, novel adaptations of invasive species during their initial invasions are rarely identified. The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californ
Authors
S R Fisher, Robert N. Fisher, S E Alcaraz, R Gallo-Barneto, C Patino-Martinez, L F López- Jurado, M Á Cabrera-Pérez, J L Grismer
Range eclipse leads to tenuous survival of a rare lizard species on a barrier atoll
Rediscovery of living populations of a species that was presumed to be extirpated can generate new narratives for conservation in areas suffering from losses in biodiversity. We used field observations and DNA sequence data to verify the rediscovery of the Critically Endangered scincid lizard Emoia slevini on Dåno′, an islet off the coast of Guam in the southern Mariana Islands, where for > 20 yea
Authors
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Elijah Wostl, Robert Reed, Robert N. Fisher
Filter Total Items: 20