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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: 3743

Application of ecological criteria in selecting marine reserves and developing reserve networks Application of ecological criteria in selecting marine reserves and developing reserve networks

Marine reserves are being established worldwide in response to a growing recognition of the conservation crisis that is building in the oceans. However, designation of reserves has been largely opportunistic, or protective measures have been implemented (often overlapping and sometimes in conflict) by different entities seeking to achieve different ends. This has created confusion among...
Authors
Callum M. Roberts, George Branch, Rodrigo H. Bustamante, Juan Carlos Castilla, Jenifer Dugan, Benjamin S. Halpern, Kevin D. Lafferty, Heather Leslie, Deborah McArdle, Mary Ruckelshaus, Robert R. Warner

Long term productivity of canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) in a snowpack-driven desert marsh Long term productivity of canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria) in a snowpack-driven desert marsh

Ruby Lake, Nevada, is a large palustrine wetland that hosts the southern-most major breeding population of Canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria). That arid marsh, fed by springs derived from mountain snowpack, differs in climate and hydrology from glaciated potholes of the northern prairies where most Canvasbacks breed. Fourteen years of nesting data on Canvasbacks over a 31 year period (1970...
Authors
Kammie L. Kruse, James R. Lovvorn, John Y. Takekawa, Jeffrey Mackay

Are Mojave Desert annual species equal? Resource acquisition and allocation for the invasive grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens (Poaceae) and two native species Are Mojave Desert annual species equal? Resource acquisition and allocation for the invasive grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens (Poaceae) and two native species

Abundance of invasive plants is often attributed to their ability ot outcompete native species. We compared resource acquisition and allocation of the invasive annual grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens with that of two native Mojave Desert annuals, Vulpia octoflora and Descurainia pinnata, in a glasshouse experiment. Each species was grown in monoculture at two densities and two...
Authors
Lesley A. DeFalco, David R. Bryla, Vickie Smith-Longozo, Robert S. Nowak

Are Mojave Desert annual species equal? Resource acquisition and allocation for the invasive grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens (Poaceae) and two native species Are Mojave Desert annual species equal? Resource acquisition and allocation for the invasive grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens (Poaceae) and two native species

Abundance of invasive plants is often attributed to their ability ot outcompete native species. We compared resource acquisition and allocation of the invasive annual grass Bromus madritensis subsp. rubens with that of two native Mojave Desert annuals, Vulpia octoflora and Descurainia pinnata, in a glasshouse experiment. Each species was grown in monoculture at two densities and two...
Authors
Lesley A. Defalco, David R. Bryla, Vickie Smith-Longozo, Robert S. Nowak

Ecological criteria for evaluating candidate sites for marine reserves Ecological criteria for evaluating candidate sites for marine reserves

Several schemes have been developed to help select the locations of marine reserves. All of them combine social, economic, and biological criteria, and few offer any guidance as to how to prioritize among the criteria identified. This can imply that the relative weights given to different criteria are unimportant. Where two sites are of equal value ecologically, then socioeconomic...
Authors
Callum M. Roberts, Sandy Andelman, George Branch, Rodrigo H. Bustamante, Juan Carlos Castilla, Jenifer Dugan, Benjamin S. Halpern, Kevin D. Lafferty, Heather Leslie, Jane Lubchenco, Deborah McArdle, Hugh P. Possingham, Mary Ruckelshaus, Robert R. Warner

Effects of backpack radiotags on female northern pintails wintering in California Effects of backpack radiotags on female northern pintails wintering in California

To test whether backpack radiotags impacted the wintering biology of northern pintails (Anas acuta), I attached spear-suture (SSU, n=82 in 1993) or harness (HAR, n=337 in 1991-1993) backpack radiotags to female Hatch-Year (HY) and After-Hatch-Year (AHY) pintails after their autumn arrival in California. I evaluated impacts of radiotags on 1) wintering population distribution; 2) flock...
Authors
Joseph P. Fleskes

Uta stansburiana and Elgaria multicarinata on the California Channel Islands: Natural dispersal or artificial introduction? Uta stansburiana and Elgaria multicarinata on the California Channel Islands: Natural dispersal or artificial introduction?

Uta stansburiana and Elgaria multicarinata occur on several California Channel Islands, and recent introduction of some populations has been suggested because of similarity in life-history traits and body size to mainland populations. We sequenced representatives of each species from mainland southern California and some of the islands on which they occur. For each species, cytochrome...
Authors
Meredith J. Mahoney, Duncan S.M. Parks, Gary M. Fellers

Altered behavior in spotted hyenas associated with increased human activity Altered behavior in spotted hyenas associated with increased human activity

To investigate how anthropogenic activity might affect large carnivores, we studied the behaviour of spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) during two time periods. From 1996 to 1998, we documented the ecological correlates of space utilization patterns exhibited by adult female hyenas defending a territory at the edge of a wildlife reserve in Kenya. Hyenas preferred areas near dense...
Authors
Erin E. Boydston, Karen M. Kapheim, Heather E. Watts, Micaela Szykman, Kay E. Holekamp
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