Publications

We propose a new method to help ornithologists and ecologists discover shared segments on the migratory pathway of the bar-headed geese by time-based plane-sweeping trajectory clustering. We present a density-based time parameterized line segment clustering algorithm, which extends traditional comparable clustering algorithms from temporal and spatial dimensions. We present a time-based...

Desert tortoises with scute injuries due to fire or disease related processes can result in loss of the scute. These animals appear to function normally, and can replace the scute material with a keratinized layer that covers the bone. This paper describes a tortoise with severe scute loss from a wildfire in 2005, and an animal that lost its scute for unknown reasons. Both animals...

Introduction - Pinus is a diverse genus of trees widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Understanding pine life history is critical to both conservation and fire management. Objectives - Here I lay out the different pathways of pine life history adaptation and a brief overview of pine evolution and the very significant role that fire has played. Results - Pinus originated...

In 1972, Yosemite National Park established a wilderness fire zone in which lightning fires were allowed to run their courses under prescribed conditions. This zone was expanded in 1973 to include the 16 209 ha Illilouette Creek basin, just to the southeast of Yosemite Valley. From 1973 through 2011, there have been 157 fires in the basin. Fire severity data were collected on all 28 of...

We studied growth, development, and metamorphic traits of Polypedates braueri tadpoles in Taiwan to elucidate the cause of tadpole overwintering in man-made water containers in lowland orchards on the Bagua Terrace. Polypedates braueri bred from March to August, but tadpoles were present year round. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that tadpole overwintering was facultative; low...

No abstract available.

Settlement by Anglo-Americans in the desert shrublands of North America resulted in the introduction and subsequent invasion of multiple nonnative grass species. These invasions have altered presettlement fire regimes, resulted in conversion of native perennial shrublands to nonnative annual grasslands, and placed many native desert species at risk. Effective management of these...

Resolving how complexity affects stability of natural communities is of key importance for predicting the consequences of biodiversity loss. Central to previous stability analysis has been the assumption that the resources of a consumer are substitutable. However, during their development, most species change diets; for instance, adults often use different resources than larvae or...

Nematomorph parasites alter the behavior of their orthopteran hosts, driving them to water and creating a source of food for stream salmonids. We investigated whether nematomorphs could explain variation in terrestrial subsidies across several streams. In nine study streams, orthopterans comprise much of the stomach contents of trout (46 ± 31% on average). Total mass of ingested prey per...

Background Infection incidence increases with the average number of contacts between susceptible and infected individuals. Contact rates are normally assumed to increase linearly with host density. However, social species seek out each other at low density and saturate their contact rates at high densities. Although predicting epidemic behaviour requires knowing how contact rates scale...

We found amphibian chytrid fungus (Bd = Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) to be widespread within a coastalwatershed at Point Reyes National Seashore, California and within two high elevation watersheds at Yosemite NationalPark, California. Bd was associated with all six species that we sampled (Bufo boreas, B. canorus, Pseudacris regilla, Ranadraytonii, R. sierrae, and Lithobates...

As wildfires have increased in frequency and extent, so have the number of homes developed in the wildland-urban interface. In California, the predominant approach to mitigating fire risk is construction of fuel breaks, but there has been little empirical study of their role in controlling large fires.We constructed a spatial database of fuel breaks on the Los Padres National Forest in...