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
Biodemography of ectothermic tetrapods provides insights into the evolution and plasticity of mortality patterns Biodemography of ectothermic tetrapods provides insights into the evolution and plasticity of mortality patterns
No abstract available.
Authors
David A. W. Miller, Fredric J. Janzen, Gary M. Fellers, Patrick M. Kleeman, Anne M. Bronikowski
Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: implications for transmission line development Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: implications for transmission line development
A goal in avian ecology is to understand factors that influence differences in nesting habitat and distribution among species, especially within changing landscapes. Over the past 2 decades, humans have altered sagebrush ecosystems as a result of expansion in energy production and transmission. Our primary study objective was to identify differences in the use of landscape...
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Kristy B. Howe, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
Energetic demands of immature sea otters from birth to weaning: Implications for maternal costs, reproductive behavior and population-level trends Energetic demands of immature sea otters from birth to weaning: Implications for maternal costs, reproductive behavior and population-level trends
Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) have the highest mass-specific metabolic rate of any marine mammal, which is superimposed on the inherently high costs of reproduction and lactation in adult females. These combined energetic demands have been implicated in the poor body condition and increased mortality of female sea otters nearing the end of lactation along the central California coast...
Authors
N. M. Thometz, M. T. Tinker, M. M. Staedler, K. A. Mayer, T. M. Williams
Sapronosis: a distinctive type of infectious agent Sapronosis: a distinctive type of infectious agent
Sapronotic disease agents have evolutionary and epidemiological properties unlike other infectious organisms. Their essential saprophagic existence prevents coevolution, and no host–parasite virulence trade-off can evolve. However, the host may evolve defenses. Models of pathogens show that sapronoses, lacking a threshold of transmission, cannot regulate host populations, although they...
Authors
Armand M. Kuris, Kevin D. Lafferty, Susanne H. Sokolow
How have fisheries affected parasite communities? How have fisheries affected parasite communities?
To understand how fisheries affect parasites, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies that contrasted parasite assemblages in fished and unfished areas. Parasite diversity was lower in hosts from fished areas. Larger hosts had a greater abundance of parasites, suggesting that fishing might reduce the abundance of parasites by selectively removing the largest, most heavily parasitized...
Authors
Chelsea L. Wood, Kevin D. Lafferty
Common raven occurrence in relation to energy transmission line corridors transiting human-altered sagebrush steppe Common raven occurrence in relation to energy transmission line corridors transiting human-altered sagebrush steppe
Energy-related infrastructure and other human enterprises within sagebrush steppe of the American West often results in changes that promote common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter, raven) populations. Ravens, a generalist predator capable of behavioral innovation, present a threat to many species of conservation concern. We evaluate the effects of detailed features of an altered landscape...
Authors
Peter S. Coates, Kristy B. Howe, Michael L. Casazza, David J. Delehanty
Dietary mercury exposure to endangered California Clapper Rails in San Francisco Bay Dietary mercury exposure to endangered California Clapper Rails in San Francisco Bay
California Clapper Rails (Rallus longirostris obsoletus) are an endangered waterbird that forage in tidal-marsh habitats that pose risks from mercury exposure. We analyzed total mercury (Hg) in six macro-invertebrate and one fish species representing Clapper Rail diets from four tidal-marshes in San Francisco Bay, California. Mercury concentrations among individual taxa ranged from...
Authors
Michael L. Casazza, Mark A. Ricca, Cory T. Overton, John Y. Takekawa, Angela Merritt, Joshua T. Ackerman
Bird migration and avian influenza: a comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods Bird migration and avian influenza: a comparison of hydrogen stable isotopes and satellite tracking methods
Satellite-based tracking of migratory waterfowl is an important tool for understanding the potential role of wild birds in the long-distance transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza. However, employing this technique on a continental scale is prohibitively expensive. This study explores the utility of stable isotope ratios in feathers in examining both the distances traveled by...
Authors
Eli S. Bridge, Jeffrey F. Kelly, Xiangming Xiao, John Y. Takekawa, Nichola J. Hill, Mat Yamage, Enam Ul Haque, Mohammad Anwarul Islam, Taej Mundkur, Kiraz Erciyas Yavuz, Paul Leader, Connie Y.H. Leung, Bena Smith, Kyle A. Spragens, Kurt J. Vandegrift, Parviez R. Hosseini, Samia Saif, Samiul Mohsanin, Andrea Mikolon, Ausrafal Islam, Acty George, Balachandran Sivananinthaperumal, Peter Daszak, Scott H. Newman
Evolutionary ecology of resprouting and seeding in fire-prone ecosystems Evolutionary ecology of resprouting and seeding in fire-prone ecosystems
There are two broad mechanisms by which plant populations persist under recurrent disturbances: resprouting from surviving tissues, and seedling recruitment. Species can have one of these mechanisms or both. However, a coherent framework explaining the differential evolutionary pressures driving these regeneration mechanisms is lacking. We propose a bottom-up approach in addressing this...
Authors
Juli G. Pausas, Jon E. Keeley
Abrupt climate-independent fire regime changes Abrupt climate-independent fire regime changes
Wildfires have played a determining role in distribution, composition and structure of many ecosystems worldwide and climatic changes are widely considered to be a major driver of future fire regime changes. However, forecasting future climatic change induced impacts on fire regimes will require a clearer understanding of other drivers of abrupt fire regime changes. Here, we focus on...
Authors
Juli G. Pausas, Jon E. Keeley
Life-history traits predict perennial species response to fire in a desert ecosystem Life-history traits predict perennial species response to fire in a desert ecosystem
The Mojave Desert of North America has become fire-prone in recent decades due to invasive annual grasses that fuel wildfires following years of high rainfall. Perennial species are poorly adapted to fire in this system, and post-fire shifts in species composition have been substantial but variable across community types. To generalize across a range of conditions, we investigated...
Authors
Daniel F. Shryock, Lesley A. DeFalco, Todd C. Esque
Seedling ecology and restoration of blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) in the Mojave Desert, United States Seedling ecology and restoration of blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) in the Mojave Desert, United States
Increases in fire frequency are disrupting many ecological communities not historically subjected to fire. In the southwestern United States, the blackbrush (Coleogyne ramosissima) community is among the most threatened, often replaced by invasive annual grasses after fire. This long-lived shrub is vulnerable because it recruits sporadically, partially due to mast seeding and the absence...
Authors
Lisa C. Jones, Susanne Schwinning, Todd C. Esque