Western Ecological Research Center
Data and Tools
Below, you can find our stand alone data releases. For contemporary articles and their associated data, please visit our publications tab. We include tools that were developed to streamline analysis using different mediums. For further information, please contact authors.
Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the time periods 1980-2010, 2040-2070 (RCP8.5) and (RCP4.5) - data release
Five principal components are used to represent the climate variation in an original set of 12 climate variables reflecting precipitation and temperature gradients. The dataset provides coverage for four regions (the Sonoran Desert, Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and Southern Great Basin) and two time periods: current climate (defined as the 1980-2010 normal period) and future climate (...
Climate Distance Mapper - web application
Climate Distance Mapper is a spatial decision-support tool designed to help land managers match seed sources with restoration sites. Plant populations are commonly adapted to local climate gradients and frequently exhibit a home-site advantage. For this reason, climate information may serve as a proxy for local adaptation in restoration designs. Climate Distance Mapper allows users to rank the...
Geospatial Data for Object-Based High-Resolution Classification of Conifers within Greater Sage-Grouse Habitat across Nevada and a Portion of Northeastern California
These products were developed to provide scientific and correspondingly spatially explicit information regarding the distribution and abundance of conifers (namely, singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla), Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis)) in Nevada and portions of northeastern California.
Spatial predictions of habitat suitability for present-day (1950 – 2000 yr) and mid-Holocene (8.3 ka – 4.2 ka) time intervals
This dataset provides spatial predictions of habitat suitability for current (1950 – 2000 yr) and mid-Holocene (8.3 ka – 4.2 ka) intervals using hindcasting, and three separate paleo-distributions calibrated on the packrat midden archive: those without bias correction (naïve), those created with a standard method (standard), and those created with a novel...
Data for: A conservation planning tool for greater sage-grouse using indices of species distribution, resilience, and resistance
Managers require quantitative yet tractable tools that can identify areas for restoration yielding effective benefits for targeted wildlife species and the ecosystems they inhabit. A spatially explicit conservation planning tool that guides effective sagebrush restoration for sage-grouse can be made more effective by integrating baseline maps describing existing (pre-restoration) habitat...
Fire caused tree mortality in western US national parks (2018)
This data consists of observations of individual trees that were subjected to prescribed fire in western US national parks. Information on individual trees include measurements of tree size, competition, and fire-caused damage. The data also includes estimates of plot-level vapor pressure deficit anomaly before fire.
Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the future time period 2040-2070 (RCP 8.5)
Five principal components are used to represent the climate variation in an original set of 12 composite climate variables reflecting complex precipitation and temperature gradients. The dataset provides coverage for future climate (defined as the 2040-2070 normal period) under the RCP8.5 emission scenarios. Climate variables were chosen based on their known influence on local adaptation in...
Sage-grouse habitat management categories within phase 1 Pinyon-Juniper expansion in Nevada and northeastern California, derived from 2016 and 2017 Raster Products
This raster dataset depicts phase 1 pinyon-juniper expansion , where shrubs and herbs are the dominant vegetation and conifers occupy greater than zero percent to ten percent, intersecting documented sage-grouse habitat management categories (Coates et al., 2016a, Coates et al., 2016b). These data support the following publication: K. Benjamin Gustafson, Peter S. Coates, Cali L. Roth,...
Digital elevation model outputs from wetland accreting rate model of ecosystem resilience (WARMER) at ten year intervals from 2010-2110
Digital elevation model outputs from wetland accreting rate model of ecosystem resilience (WARMER) at ten year intervals from 2010-2110. Baseline elevations were collected with RTK GPS units and LiDAR elevations in non-surveyed areas were also corrected using LEAN method. Historical accretion rates were collected at each salt marsh and used to parameterize WARMER, predicting future elevations...
Data from: Broad-scale occurrence of a subsidized avian predator: reducing impacts of ravens on sage-grouse and other sensitive prey
Predictions of raven occurrence in the absence of natural environmental effects. Raven point counts were related to landscape covariates using Bayesian hierarchical occupancy models and the means of the posterior distributions for relevant effects were used to generate the predictions.
Principal components of climate variation in the Desert Southwest for the future time period 2040-2070 (RCP 4.5)
Five principal components are used to represent the climate variation in an original set of 12 composite climate variables reflecting complex precipitation and temperature gradients. The dataset provides coverage for future climate (defined as the 2040-2070 normal period) under the RCP4.5 emission scenarios. Climate variables were chosen based on their known influence on local adaptation in...
Annual California Sea Otter Census—1985-2014 Spring Census Summary
This dataset represents an archived record of annual California sea otter surveys from 1985-2014. Survey procedures involve counting animals during the "spring survey" -- generally beginning in late April or early May and usually ending in late May early June but may extend into early July, depending on weather conditions. Annual surveys are organized by survey year and within each year, three...