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.
Annual 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. Since 1985, stranded otters from throughout their California coastal range have been collected and analyzed to inform resource management on recovery and conservation of the species.
Movement Maps for Suisun Marsh Waterfowl and Waterbird Studies
Suisun Marsh is a critical habitat for wintering and breeding waterbirds in California. USGS is working with the California DWR to examine the trends in bird decline and to assess the habitat factors driving long-term survival of waterfowl, rails, and other birds in this important area.
Annual sea otter survey data
WERC scientists conduct annual population surveys of the southern sea otter, a federally listed threatened species. Download annual survey data from 1985 to present.
Approved Data Releases
This public folder contains approved data release products produced by the USGS Western Ecologial Research Center. This folder also includes metadata that will be harvested and displayed by the USGS Science Data Catalog ( http://data.usgs.gov/datacatalog) to improve access and discovery.
Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) Trend Data
The ARMI database provides occupancy and abundance estimates at the project level. Data can be accessed in tabular format or plotted directly via an interactive map browser. The trend data is updated annually and is useful for tracking the status of some of our nation’s amphibian populations.
USGS Wildlife and Sport Fish Risk Estimator Tool
The "USGS Wildlife and Sport Fish Risk Estimator Tool Final (.xlsx)" tool is available for download via https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20151106. To learn more about this project, visit Monitoring Mercury'...
Genetic Landscapes GIS Toolbox: Tools to create genetic divergence and diversity landscapes in ArcGIS
A new analysis approach in landscape genetics and phylogeography is the creation of “genetic landscapes” to visualize genetic structure across geographic space. The Genetic Landscapes GIS Toolbox contains four tools to map genetic landscapes and to summarize multiple genetic landscapes as average and variance surfaces in ArcGIS ® (Environmental Science Research Institute, Redlands, CA, USA)....
San Francisco Bay Benthic Macroinvertebrate Atlas
Information on benthic macroinvertebrate populations is currently available from numerous agencies in disparate databases. To maximize the value of these data, San Francisco State University and the U. S. Geological Survey have combined data from several of these sources into a single comprehensive database. To request this database, please contact Dr. Susan De La Cruz (...
Pacific Coast Fisheries GIS Resource Database
Pacific Coast fisheries information is currently available only from wildlife agencies in disparate databases. To maximize the value of these data, BOEM and USGS have combined data from several of these sources into a single, comprehensive database. To request this database, please contact Dr. Susan De La Cruz (sdelacruz@usgs.gov) and Dr. Josh Adams (...