Publications
Below is a list of WERC's peer-reviewed publications. If you are searching for a specific publication and cannot find it in this list, please contact werc_web@usgs.gov
Filter Total Items: 3724
Mercury contamination and stable isotopes reveal variability in foraging ecology of generalist California gulls Mercury contamination and stable isotopes reveal variability in foraging ecology of generalist California gulls
Environmental contaminants are a concern for animal health, but contaminant exposure can also be used as a tracer of foraging ecology. In particular, mercury (Hg) concentrations are highly variable among aquatic and terrestrial food webs as a result of habitat- and site-specific biogeochemical processes that produce the bioaccumulative form, methylmercury (MeHg). We used stable isotopes...
Authors
Sarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith
Landscape genetic approaches to guide native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert Landscape genetic approaches to guide native plant restoration in the Mojave Desert
Restoring dryland ecosystems is a global challenge due to synergistic drivers of disturbance coupled with unpredictable environmental conditions. Dryland plant species have evolved complex life-history strategies to cope with fluctuating resources and climatic extremes. Although rarely quantified, local adaptation is likely widespread among these species and potentially influences...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Caroline A. Havrilla, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque, Nathan Custer, Troy E. Wood
Temporal segmentation of animal trajectories informed by habitat use Temporal segmentation of animal trajectories informed by habitat use
Most animals live in seasonal environments and experience very different conditions throughout the year. Behavioral strategies like migration, hibernation, and a life cycle adapted to the local seasonality help to cope with fluctuations in environmental conditions. Thus, how an individual utilizes the environment depends both on the current availability of habitat and the behavioral...
Authors
Marielle L. van Toor, Scott H. Newman, John Y. Takekawa, Martin Wegmann, Kamran Safi
A global database of ant species abundances A global database of ant species abundances
What forces structure ecological assemblages? A key limitation to general insights about assemblage structure is the availability of data that are collected at a small spatial grain (local assemblages) and a large spatial extent (global coverage). Here, we present published and unpublished data from 51,388 ant abundance and occurrence records of more than 2693 species and 7953...
Authors
Heloise Gibb, Rob R. Dunn, Nathan J. Sanders, Blair F. Grossman, Manoli Photakis, Silvia Abril, Donat Agosti, Alan N. Andersen, Elena Angulo, Ingre Armbrecht, Xavier Arnan, Fabricio B. Baccaro, Tom R. Bishop, Raphael Boulay, Carsten Bruhl, Cristina Castracani, Xim Cerda, Israel Del Toro, Thibaut Delsinne, Mireia Diaz, David A. Donoso, Aaron M. Ellison, Martha L. Enriquez, Tom M. Fayle, Donald H. Feener, Brian L. Fisher, Robert N. Fisher, Matthew C. Fitpatrick, Cristanto Gomez, Nicholas J. Gotelli, Aaron Gove, Donato A. Grasso, Sarah Groc, Benoit Guenard, Nihara Gunawardene, Brian Heterick, Benjamin Hoffmann, Milan Janda, Clinton Jenkins, Michael Kaspari, Petr Klimes, Lori Lach, Thomas Laeger, John Lattke, Maurice Leponce, Jean-Philippe Lessard, John Longino, Andrea Lucky, Sarah H. Luke, Jonathan Majer, Terrence P. McGlynn, Sean Menke, Dirk Mezger, Alessandra Mori, Jimmy Moses, Thinandavha Caswell Munyai, Renata Pacheco, Omid Paknia, Jessica Pearce-Duvet, Martin Pfeiffer, Stacy M. Philpott, Julian Resasco, Javier Retana, Rogerio R. Silva, Magdalena D. Sorger, Jorge Souza, Andrew V. Suarez, Melanie Tista, Heraldo L. Vasconcelos, Merav Vonshak, Michael D. Weiser, Michelle Yates, Catherine L. Parr
Potential effects of drought on carrying capacity for wintering waterfowl in the Central Valley of California Potential effects of drought on carrying capacity for wintering waterfowl in the Central Valley of California
We used the bioenergetics model TRUEMET to evaluate potential effects of California's recent drought on food supplies for waterfowl wintering in the Central Valley under a range of habitat and waterfowl population scenarios. In nondrought years in the current Central Valley landscape, food supplies are projected to be adequate for waterfowl from fall through early spring (except late...
Authors
Mark J. Petrie, Joseph P. Fleskes, Mike A. Wolder, Craig R. Isola, Gregory S. Yarris, Daniel A. Skalos
Rare alluvial sands of El Monte Valley, California (San Diego County), support high herpetofaunal species richness and diversity, despite severe habitat disturbance Rare alluvial sands of El Monte Valley, California (San Diego County), support high herpetofaunal species richness and diversity, despite severe habitat disturbance
We characterized the species richness, diversity, and distribution of amphibians and reptiles inhabiting El Monte Valley, a heavily disturbed, alluvium-filled basin within the lower San Diego River in Lakeside, California. This rare habitat type in coastal southern California is designated as a critical sand resource by the state of California and is currently under consideration for a...
Authors
Jonathan Q. Richmond, Carlton J. Rochester, Nathan W. Smith, Jeffrey A. Nordland, Robert N. Fisher
Gopherus agassizii (Mohave Desert Tortoise). Probable rattlesnake envenomation Gopherus agassizii (Mohave Desert Tortoise). Probable rattlesnake envenomation
No abstract available.
Authors
Kristin H. Berry, Timothy A. Shields, Elliott R. Jacobson
Diadophis Punctuatus (Ring-necked Snake). Diet. Diadophis Punctuatus (Ring-necked Snake). Diet.
No abstract available.
Authors
Dustin A. Wood, Jason Myrand, Andrew T. Holycross
Historical reconstructions of California wildfires vary by data source Historical reconstructions of California wildfires vary by data source
Historical data are essential for understanding how fire activity responds to different drivers. It is important that the source of data is commensurate with the spatial and temporal scale of the question addressed, but fire history databases are derived from different sources with different restrictions. In California, a frequently used fire history dataset is the State of California...
Authors
Alexandra D. Syphard, Jon E. Keeley
The relative contributions of disease and insects in the decline of a long-lived tree: a stochastic demographic model of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) The relative contributions of disease and insects in the decline of a long-lived tree: a stochastic demographic model of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis)
Pathogens and insect pests have become increasingly important drivers of tree mortality in forested ecosystems. Unfortunately, understanding the relative contributions of multiple mortality agents to the population decline of trees is difficult, because it requires frequent measures of tree survival, growth, and recruitment, as well as the incidence of mortality agents. We present a...
Authors
Erik S Jules, Jenell I. Jackson, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Jennifer S. Beck, Michael P. Murray, E. April Sahara
Habitat selection by Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri) at multiple spatial scales in an urbanized estuary: The importance of salt ponds Habitat selection by Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri) at multiple spatial scales in an urbanized estuary: The importance of salt ponds
The highly urbanized San Francisco Bay Estuary, California, USA, is currently undergoing large-scale habitat restoration, and several thousand hectares of former salt evaporation ponds are being converted to tidal marsh. To identify potential effects of this habitat restoration on breeding waterbirds, habitat selection of radiotagged Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri) was examined at...
Authors
Jill Bluso-Demers, Joshua T. Ackerman, John Y. Takekawa, Sarah H. Peterson
Environmental extremes and biotic interactions facilitate depredation of endangered California Ridgway’s rail in a San Francisco Bay tidal marsh Environmental extremes and biotic interactions facilitate depredation of endangered California Ridgway’s rail in a San Francisco Bay tidal marsh
On 23 December 2015 while performing a high tide population survey for endangered Ridgway’s rails (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus; formerly known as the California clapper rail) and other rail species at Arrowhead Marsh, Martin Luther King Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, California, the authors observed a series of species interactions resulting in the predation of a Ridgway’s rail by an...
Authors
Cory T. Overton, Steven Bobzien, Marcia Grefsrud