Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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The Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) is a USGS Ecosystems Mission Area operation serving primarily California and Nevada. WERC scientists work closely with Federal, State, academic, and other collaborators to address a diverse array of high-profile topics. Topics include research on effects of wildfire, sea level rise, drought, energy development and more on federal Trust species.
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Check out our most up-to-date data, events and science.
News
Annual Southern Sea Otter Census Cancelled Due to Health and Safety Concerns
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the USGS and partners at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have decided to cancel this year's annual rangewide southern sea otter census.
Remembering Philip Anthony Medica, Desert Tortoise Researcher and USGS Scientist Emeritus
Philip (Phil) Anthony Medica, USGS Scientist Emeritus, passed away on May 3. He is remembered as a dear friend and colleague and as a scientist who made substantial contributions to desert tortoise research and conservation.
California Red-legged Frogs Reintroduced to Historic Range in Southern California
In a historic and exciting first, the federally threatened California red-legged frog, the inspiration for Mark Twain’s short story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," has been successfully reintroduced to southern California by USGS scientists and collaborators.
Publications
Changes in capture rates and body size among vertebrate species occupying an insular urban habitat reserve
Long‐term ecological monitoring provides valuable and objective scientific information to inform management and decision‐making. In this article, we analyze 22 years of herpetofauna monitoring data from the Point Loma Ecological Conservation Area (PLECA), an insular urban reserve near San Diego, CA. Our analysis showed that counts of individuals...
Stanley, Thomas; Clark, Rulon W.; Fisher, Robert N.; Rochester, Carlton J.; Root, Stephanie A; Lombardo, Keith J; Ostermann-Kelm, Stacey D Subspecies differentiation in an enigmatic chaparral shrub species
PremiseDelimiting biodiversity units is difficult in organisms in which differentiation is obscured by hybridization, plasticity, and other factors that blur phenotypic boundaries. Such work is more complicated when the focal units are subspecies, the definition of which has not been broadly explored in the era of modern genetic methods. Eastwood...
Huang, Yi; Morrison, Glen R.; Brelsford, Alan; Franklin, Janet; Jolles, Diana D; Keeley, Jon; Parker, V Thomas; Saavedra, Natalie; Sanders, Andrew C; Stoughton, Thomas; Wahlert, Gregory A.; Litt, Amy Mitigation ponds offer drought resiliency for western spadefoot (Spea hammondii) populations
Synergistic effects of habitat loss, drought, and climate change exacerbate amphibian declines. In southern California urbanization continues to convert natural habitat, while prolonged drought reduces surface water availability. Protection of biodiversity may be provided through mitigation; however, the long-term effectiveness of different...
Baumberger, Katherine L.; Backlin, Adam R.; Gallegos, Elizabeth; Hitchcock, Cynthia Joan; Fisher, Robert N.