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: 3723
The critical role of islands for waterbird breeding and foraging habitat in managed ponds of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, South San Francisco Bay, California The critical role of islands for waterbird breeding and foraging habitat in managed ponds of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project, South San Francisco Bay, California
The South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project aims to restore 50–90 percent of former salt evaporation ponds into tidal marsh in South San Francisco Bay, California. However, large numbers of waterbirds use these ponds annually as nesting and foraging habitat. Islands within ponds are particularly important habitat for nesting, foraging, and roosting waterbirds. To maintain current...
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog, Lacy M. Smith, Stacy M. Moskal, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, Julie L. Yee, John Y. Takekawa
Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction
San Francisco Bay Estuary in northern California has a legacy of mercury contamination, which could reduce the health and reproductive success of waterbirds in the estuary. The goal of this study was to use an integrated field and laboratory approach to evaluate the risks of mercury exposure to birds in the estuary. We examined mercury bioaccumulation, and other contaminants of concern...
Authors
Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Gary Heinz, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, John Y. Takekawa, A. Keith Miles, Terrence L. Adelsbach, Mark P. Herzog, Jill D. Bluso-Demers, Scott A. Demers, Garth Herring, David J. Hoffman, Christopher A. Hartman, James J. Willacker, Thomas H. Suchanek, Steven E. Schwarzbach, Thomas C. Maurer
Distance to human populations influences epidemiology of respiratory disease in desert tortoises Distance to human populations influences epidemiology of respiratory disease in desert tortoises
We explored variables likely to affect health of Agassiz's desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in a 1,183-km2 study area in the central Mojave Desert of California between 2005 and 2008. We evaluated 1,004 tortoises for prevalence and spatial distribution of 2 pathogens, Mycoplasma agassizii and M. testudineum, that cause upper respiratory tract disease. We defined tortoises as test...
Authors
Kristin H. Berry, no longer USGS Ashley A. Coble, Julie L. Yee, Jeremy S. Mack, William M. Perry, Kemp M. Anderson, Mary B. Brown
Densovirus associated with sea-star wasting disease and mass mortality Densovirus associated with sea-star wasting disease and mass mortality
Populations of at least 20 asteroid species on the Northeast Pacific Coast have recently experienced an extensive outbreak of sea-star (asteroid) wasting disease (SSWD). The disease leads to behavioral changes, lesions, loss of turgor, limb autotomy, and death characterized by rapid degradation (“melting”). Here, we present evidence from experimental challenge studies and field...
Authors
Ian Hewson, Jason B. Button, Brent M. Gudenkauf, Benjamin Miner, Alisa L. Newton, Joseph K. Gaydos, Janna Wynne, Cathy L. Groves, Gordon Hendler, Michael Murray, Steven Fradkin, Mya Breitbart, Elizabeth Fahsbender, Kevin D. Lafferty, A. Marm Kilpatrick, C. Melissa Miner, Peter T. Raimondi, Lesanna L. Lahner, Carolyn S. Friedman, Stephen D. Danielson, Martin Haulena, Jeffrey Marliave, Colleen A. Burge, Morgan E. Eisenlord, C. Drew Harvell
Disease dynamics during wildlife translocations: disruptions to the host population and potential consequences for transmission in desert tortoise contact networks Disease dynamics during wildlife translocations: disruptions to the host population and potential consequences for transmission in desert tortoise contact networks
Wildlife managers consider animal translocation a means of increasing the viability of a local population. However, augmentation may disrupt existing resident disease dynamics and initiate an outbreak that would effectively offset any advantages the translocation may have achieved. This paper examines fundamental concepts of disease ecology and identifies the conditions that will...
Authors
Christina M. Aiello, Kenneth E. Nussear, Andrew D. Walde, Todd C. Esque, Patrick G. Emblidge, Pratha Sah, S. Bansal, Peter J. Hudson
Prey choice and habitat use drive sea otter pathogen exposure in a resource-limited coastal system Prey choice and habitat use drive sea otter pathogen exposure in a resource-limited coastal system
The processes promoting disease in wild animal populations are highly complex, yet identifying these processes is critically important for conservation when disease is limiting a population. By combining field studies with epidemiologic tools, we evaluated the relationship between key factors impeding southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis) population growth: disease and resource...
Authors
Christine K. Johnson, M. Tim Tinker, James A. Estes, Patricia A. Conrad, Michelle M. Staedler, Melissa A. Miller, David A. Jessup, Jonna A.K. Mazet
Photographic evidence of interspecies mating in geckos of the Lepidodactylus lugubris unisexual-bisexual complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) Photographic evidence of interspecies mating in geckos of the Lepidodactylus lugubris unisexual-bisexual complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae)
An interspecies mating between unisexual Lepidodactylus lugubris and a male of the bisexual Lepidodactylus moestus was photographed by Carlos Cianchini on Kosrae [Island], FSM, at 18:15 h on 22 August 2013 (Figure 1). The mating pair was on a window frame inside a house at Pukusruk Wan village (05°21'01" N, 163°00'41" E, elev. 28 m a.s.l.) on the northeastern side of the island. This is...
Authors
Donald W. Buden, Carlos Cianchini, Danko Taborosi, Robert N. Fisher, Aaron Bauer, Ivan Ineich
Site selection and nest survival of the Bar-Headed Goose (Anser indicus) on the Mongolian Plateau Site selection and nest survival of the Bar-Headed Goose (Anser indicus) on the Mongolian Plateau
Waterbirds breeding on the Mongolian Plateau in Central Asia must find suitable wetland areas for nesting in a semiarid region characterized by highly variable water conditions. The first systematic nesting study of a waterbird dependent on this region for breeding was conducted on the Bar-headed Goose (Anser indicus). The purpose of this study was to document Bar-headed Goose nesting...
Authors
Nyambayar Batbayar, John Y. Takekawa, Tseveenmyadag Natsagdorj, Kyle A. Spragens, Xiamgming Xiao
Carryover effects and climatic conditions influence the postfledging survival of greater sage-grouse Carryover effects and climatic conditions influence the postfledging survival of greater sage-grouse
Prebreeding survival is an important life history component that affects both parental fitness and population persistence. In birds, prebreeding can be separated into pre- and postfledging periods; carryover effects from the prefledging period may influence postfledging survival. We investigated effects of body condition at fledging, and climatic variation, on postfledging survival of...
Authors
Erik J. Blomberg, James S. Sedinger, Daniel Gibson, Peter S. Coates, Michael L. Casazza
Mycoplasma agassizii in Morafka's desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) in Mexico Mycoplasma agassizii in Morafka's desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) in Mexico
We conducted health evaluations of 69 wild and 22 captive Morafka's desert tortoises (Gopherus morafkai) in Mexico between 2005 and 2008. The wild tortoises were from 11 sites in the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, and the captive tortoises were from the state-managed Centro Ecológico de Sonora Zoo in Hermosillo and a private residence in the town of Alamos. We tested 88 tortoises for...
Authors
Kristin H. Berry, Mary B. Brown, Mercy Vaughn, Timothy A. Gowan, Mary Ann Hasskamp, Ma. Cristina Melendez Torres
Water and food acquisition and their consequences for life history and metabolism of North American tortoises Water and food acquisition and their consequences for life history and metabolism of North American tortoises
No abstract available.
Authors
Todd C. Esque, K. Kristina Drake, Kenneth E. Nussear
Testing the nutritional-limitation, predator-avoidance, and storm-avoidance hypotheses for restricted sea otter habitat use in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska Testing the nutritional-limitation, predator-avoidance, and storm-avoidance hypotheses for restricted sea otter habitat use in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) inhabiting the Aleutian Islands have stabilized at low abundance levels following a decline and currently exhibit restricted habitat-utilization patterns. Possible explanations for restricted habitat use by sea otters can be classified into two fundamentally different processes, bottom-up and top-down forcing. Bottom-up hypotheses argue that changes in the...
Authors
Nathan L. Stewart, Brenda Konar, M. Tim Tinker