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
Comparison of AVIRIS and Landsat ETM+ detection capabilities for burn severity Comparison of AVIRIS and Landsat ETM+ detection capabilities for burn severity
Our study compares data on burn severity collected from multi-temporal Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) with similar data from the Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) using the differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR). Two AVIRIS and ETM+ data acquisitions recorded surface conditions immediately before the Hoover Fire began to spread rapidly and again the...
Authors
Jan W. Van Wagtendonk, Ralph R. Root, Carl H. Key
Rana aurora draytonii (California red-legged frog) Predation Rana aurora draytonii (California red-legged frog) Predation
No abstract available.
Authors
Gary M. Fellers, Leslie Long Wood
Effects of marine reserves and urchin disease on southern Californian rocky reef communities Effects of marine reserves and urchin disease on southern Californian rocky reef communities
While the species level effects of marine reserves are widely recognized, community level shifts due to marine reserves have only recently been documented. Protection from fishing of top predators may lead to trophic cascades, which have community-wide implications. Disease may act in a similar manner, regulating population levels of dominant species within a community. Two decades of...
Authors
Michael D. Behrens, Kevin D. Lafferty
Distribution and abundance of the southwestern willow flycatcher at selected southern California sites in 2001 Distribution and abundance of the southwestern willow flycatcher at selected southern California sites in 2001
No abstract available at this time
Authors
J. Rourke, B. Kus, M. Whitfield
Fire effects on the Point Reyes Mountain Beaver at Point Reyes National Seashore, California Fire effects on the Point Reyes Mountain Beaver at Point Reyes National Seashore, California
In October 1995, a wildlands fire burned 5,000 ha on the Point Reyes peninsula, California, USA. In most of the nonforested areas, the fire effectively cleared the ground of litter and vegetation and revealed thousands of Point Reyes mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa phaea) burrow openings. In the first 6 months after the fire, we surveyed burned coastal scrub and riparian habitat to (1)...
Authors
Gary M. Fellers, David Pratt, Jennifer L. Griffin
Habitat selection by female northern pintails wintering in the Grassland Ecological Area, California Habitat selection by female northern pintails wintering in the Grassland Ecological Area, California
To determine relative importance of habitats available in the Grassland Ecological Area (GEA) to wintering female northern pintails, Anas acuta, we studied habitat use relative to availability (i.e., habitat selection) in the GEA during September through March, 1991-94 for 196 Hatch-Year (HY) and 221 After-Hatch-Year (AHY) female pintails that were radio tagged during August-early...
Authors
Joseph P. Fleskes, David S. Gilmer, Robert L. Jarvis
Reproductive success of the Black-crowned Night Heron at Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, 1990-2002 Reproductive success of the Black-crowned Night Heron at Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, 1990-2002
Nesting chronology, habitat use, subcolony use, and hatchability were documented for the Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) nesting at Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California during 1990-2002. Reproductive success was estimated using the Mayfield method and compared among years. Totals of monitored nests per year ranged from 68 in 2001 to 341 in 1996, with a trend...
Authors
Roger L. Hothem, Daphne Hatch
Differential spring migration by male and female Western Sandpipers at interior and coastal stopover sites Differential spring migration by male and female Western Sandpipers at interior and coastal stopover sites
Western Sandpipers Calidris mauri are differential migrants on their non-breeding areas, with females wintering farther south. Earlier passage of males in the spring has been explained by sexual differences in winter latitude (male-biased sex ratios at more northerly areas) and onset of migration (males departing earlier). We investigated sex differences during spring migration by...
Authors
Mary Anne Bishop, Nils Warnock, John Y. Takekawa
Necropsies of six desert tortoises from California Necropsies of six desert tortoises from California
No abstract available at this time
Authors
E.R. Jacobson, K.H. Berry
Using larval trematodes that parasitize snails to evaluate a saltmarsh restoration project Using larval trematodes that parasitize snails to evaluate a saltmarsh restoration project
We conducted a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) study using larval digeneans infecting the California horn snail, Cerithidea californica, to evaluate the success of an ecological restoration project at Carpinteria Salt Marsh in California, USA. Digenean trematodes are parasites with complex life cycles requiring birds and other vertebrates as final hosts. We tested two hypotheses for...
Authors
Todd C. Huspeni, Kevin D. Lafferty
Fire as a physical process Fire as a physical process
This chapter explores fire as a physical process, including combustion, fuel characteristics, fuel models, fire weather, ignition sources, mechanisms for fire spread, and fire effects. In wildland fuels, combustion occurs in three phases: preheating, gaseous, and smoldering. Fuel is characterized by physical and chemical properties that affect combustion and fire behavior. Its...
Authors
J. W. van Wagtendonk
Research and application highlight: Effectiveness of postfire seeding to reduce cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) growth and reproduction in recently burned sagebrush steppe Research and application highlight: Effectiveness of postfire seeding to reduce cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) growth and reproduction in recently burned sagebrush steppe
No abstract available at this time
Authors
M.L. Brooks