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.
Climate Distance Mapper
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.
web applicationAnnual California sea otter stranding data
The California Sea Otter Stranding Network is part of the USGS effort to monitor southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) and provide data to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Data
Site and Survey Data for Dixie Valley Toads in Churchill County, Nevada, 2019
These data include site- and survey-specific information for occupancy surveys of Dixie Valley Toads (Anaxyrus williamsi) collected in the Dixie Valley, Churchill County, Nevada, in May 2019. The data include both multiple surveys of the same sites and time-to-detection information to quantify detection probabilities and account for imperfect detection in assessments of Dixie Valley Toa
Site and Survey Data for Amphibian Surveys in Yosemite National Park, 2018
These data represent occupancy surveys conducted in long-term monitoring sites in Yosemite National Park in 2018 for three anurans, the Yosemite Toad (Anaxyrus canorus), the Sierran Treefrog (Pseudacris sierra), and the Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged Frog (Rana sierrae). The data include independent double-observer surveys and time-to-detection data to calculate detection probabili
Pacific Northwest tidal marsh plant biomass from a 2017 greenhouse experiment with flooding and salinity manipulations
The sensitivity of tidal marshes to environmental changes that result from sea-level rise or drought conditions is uncertain. We used a controlled greenhouse experiment and factorial flooding x salinity treatments to explore the differential responses of three tidal marsh plant species. Each species exhibited unique responses, with negative responses to increased salinity and longer flooding%...
Sediment biogeochemistry and mercury measurements from wetlands of the San Francisco Bay, CA.
Habitat biogeochemistry was assessed by measuring 26 variables in sediments and porewater related to mercury content, organic matter, sediment characteristics, and microbial rates of sulfate reduction, iron reduction, and methanogenesis. Thirty-six composite surface (0-2 cm) sediment cores were collected in each of three wetlands in the spring and summer of 2005 and 2006.
Sediment biogeochemistry and subsequent mercury biomagnification in wetland food webs of the San Francisco Bay, CA
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a globally pervasive contaminant that biomagnifies in food webs and can reach toxic concentrations in consumers at higher trophic levels, including wildlife and humans. The production of MeHg, and its subsequent entry and biomagnification in food webs, is governed by a complex suite of biogeochemical, physical, and ecological processes, resulting in variati
Mercury concentrations and stable isotope ratios for California black rails and their invertebrate prey from wetlands of the San Francisco Bay, CA
Methylmercury concentrations and stable isotope ratios were measured from back feathers of California black rails (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus) and six taxa of their invertebrate prey (Amphipoda, Arachnida, Coleoptera, Diptera, Gastropoda, and Hemiptera). Samples were collected from three wetlands in the spring and summer of 2005 and 2006.
Hair and blood total mercury concentrations in raccoons and striped skunks from Suisun Marsh 2016 to 2019
Total mercury concentrations were determined in hair and whole blood of raccoons and skunks in Suisun Marsh from 2016 to 2019. Individual skunks and raccoons were identified by a unique identifier (Animal_ID) and some animals were sampled multiple times. This dataset includes animal sex, age class, the date the sample was collected, animal body mass, head length, and head-to-torso l
Greater Sage-grouse Nest Site Source-Sink, Nevada and California 2019
Ranked index of model-projected nest site selection integrated with nesting productivity (i.e., nest survival), demonstrating the spatial distribution of adaptive vs. maladaptive habitat selection at each 30 m pixel. Hierarchical models of nest selection and survival were fit to landscape covariates within a Bayesian modeling framework in Nevada and California from 2009 through 2017 to de
Greater Sage-grouse Nest Survival, Nevada and California 2019
Map of cumulative 38-day nest survival predicted from a Bayesian hierarchical shared frailty model of sage-grouse nest fates. The midpoint of coefficient conditional posterior distributions of 38-day nest survival were used for prediction at each 30 meter pixel across the landscape.
Greater Sage-grouse Nest Selection, Nevada and California 2019
Map of nesting habitat selection scores predicted from a resource selection function (RSF) developed from sage-grouse nest locations. Nest site selection was modeled using a generalized linear mixed model of used and random locations in a Bayesian modeling environment, and the midpoint of coefficient conditional posterior distributions were used for prediction. Continuous values were reclas...
Spatially-explicit predictive maps of greater sage-grouse nest selection integrated with nest survival in Nevada and northeastern California, USA
We applied spatially-explicit models to a spatiotemporally robust dataset of greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) nest locations and fates across wildfire-altered sagebrush ecosystems of the Great Basin ecoregion, western USA. Using sage-grouse as a focal species, we quantified scale-dependent factors driving nest site selection and nest survival across broad spatial scales in
Avian eggshell thickness for 12 species in the western U.S. from 2014 to 2018
Eggshell thickness was measured at the egg equator and poles (sharp pole and blunt pole) for 12 avian species. Eggshell thickness was related to egg morphometrics (egg length and width), embryonic development, egg status, and mercury contamination. Individual eggshells each have up to 3 thickness measurements, linked by the eggshell identification. Each measurement has the corresp