Data
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
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.
Annual California sea otter stranding data
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.
Filter Total Items: 341
Mortality factors for dead trees from a subset of plots from the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network from 1998 to 2010 Mortality factors for dead trees from a subset of plots from the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network from 1998 to 2010
This dataset was used to summarize and analyze the mortality factors recorded on dead trees in the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network, which is managed by the Sequoia and Kings Canyon Field station of the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center. Each row of the dataset represents an individual dead tree. These are dead trees that were recorded in the network...
Annual California Sea Otter Census: 2016 Spring Census Summary Annual California Sea Otter Census: 2016 Spring Census Summary
The spring 2016 mainland sea otter count began on 1 May and was completed on 11 May. Overall viewing conditions this year were very good, being more favorable than those during the 2015 spring census (3.1 vs. 2.6, where 0=poor, 1=fair, 2=good, 3=very good, and 4=excellent) and contributed to the relatively short duration of the count. The surface canopies of kelp (Macrocystis sp.) were...
Identifying Kittlitz's Murrelet nesting habitat in North America at the landscape scale Identifying Kittlitz's Murrelet nesting habitat in North America at the landscape scale
The Kittlitz's Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostris) is a small, non-colonial seabird endemic to marine waters of Alaska and eastern Russia that may have experienced significant population decline in recent decades, in part because of low reproductive success and terrestrial threats. Although recent studies have shed new light on Kittlitz's Murrelet nesting habitat in a few discrete...
Geospatial data collected from tagged sea otters in central California, 1998-2012 Geospatial data collected from tagged sea otters in central California, 1998-2012
The data are .csv files of tagged sea otter re-sighting locations (henceforth, resights) collected in the field using a combination of VHF radio telemetry and direct observation using high powered (80x) telescopes. Sea otters were tracked by shore based observers from the date of tagging until the time of radio battery failure or the animals death, whichever comes first. The frequency of...
DNA fingerprinting of Southern Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus) to determine movement across California State Route 67 DNA fingerprinting of Southern Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus) to determine movement across California State Route 67
The goal of this project was to primarily assess east-west connectivity across Route 67 and secondarily, north-south connectivity across Scripps Poway Parkway and Poway Road, two highly trafficked roads to the west of Route 67. We collected deer scat piles from both sides of these crossings in spring between March and June of 2015, and again in fall throughout October 2015. Collected...
Spatially Explicit Modeling of Annual and Seasonal Habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Nevada and Northeastern California - an Updated Decision-Support Tool for Management Spatially Explicit Modeling of Annual and Seasonal Habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in Nevada and Northeastern California - an Updated Decision-Support Tool for Management
Successful adaptive management hinges largely upon integrating new and improved sources of information as they become available. Updating management tools for greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus, hereafter referred to as sage-grouse) populations, which are indicators for the large-scale health of sagebrush ( Artemisia spp.) ecosystems in the Great Basin of North America...
Long-term effects of wildfire on greater sage-grouse - integrating population and ecosystem concepts for management in the Great Basin Long-term effects of wildfire on greater sage-grouse - integrating population and ecosystem concepts for management in the Great Basin
Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus; hereinafter, sage-grouse) are a sagebrush obligate species that has declined concomitantly with the loss and fragmentation of sagebrush ecosystems across most of its geographical range. The species has been considered for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act multiple times, and was most recently ruled to not warrant protection...
A Century of Landscape Disturbance and Urbanization of the San Francisco Bay Region affects the Present-day Genetic Diversity of the California Ridgways Rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus). A Century of Landscape Disturbance and Urbanization of the San Francisco Bay Region affects the Present-day Genetic Diversity of the California Ridgways Rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus).
Fragmentation and loss of natural habitat have important consequences for wild populations. Reductions in population size, density and connectivity can disrupt the distribution of genetic diversity within species and negatively impact long-term viability and resilience to environmental change. Genetic assessments of population structure, diversity and gene flow can provide important...
Estimates of pathogen exposure predict varying transmission likelihood: Host contact and shedding patterns may clarify disease dynamics in desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii Estimates of pathogen exposure predict varying transmission likelihood: Host contact and shedding patterns may clarify disease dynamics in desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii
These datasets (S1-S4) document the transmission of a bacterial pathogen (Mycoplasma agassizii) between desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). The desert tortoises were experimentally introduced in captivity and were used to create and compare models predicting transmission probability given data on the hosts and their interactions. Datasets S1 & S2 include variables describing the...
The effects of heterospecifics and climatic conditions on incubation behavior within a mixed-species colony The effects of heterospecifics and climatic conditions on incubation behavior within a mixed-species colony
Parental incubation behavior largely influences nest survival, a critical demographic process in avian population dynamics, and behaviors vary across species with different life history breeding strategies. Although research has identified nest survival advantages of mixing colonies, behavioral mechanisms that might explain these effects is largely lacking. We examined parental...
Arctostaphylos Occurence and Historical Fires table Arctostaphylos Occurence and Historical Fires table
Ecological factors favoring either resprouting or obligate seeding in plants have received considerable attention recently. Three ecological models have been proposed to explain patterns of these two life history types. In this study we test these three models using data from California chaparral. We take an innovative approach to testing these models by not testing community or...
Integrating Spatially Explicit Indices of Abundance and Habitat Quality: An Applied Example for Greater Sage-grouse Management Integrating Spatially Explicit Indices of Abundance and Habitat Quality: An Applied Example for Greater Sage-grouse Management
This study provides timely and highly useful information about greater sage-grouse over a large area of the Great Basin. USGS researchers and their colleagues created a template for combining landscape-scale occurrence or abundance data with habitat selection data in order to identify areas most critical to sustaining populations of species of conservation concern. The template also...