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
Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary
Sea-level rise (SLR) and obstructions to sediment delivery pose challenges to the persistence of estuarine habitats and the ecosystem services they provide. Restoration actions and sediment management strategies may help mitigate such challenges by encouraging the vertical accretion of sediment in and horizontal migration of tidal forests and marshes. We used a process-based soil...
Authors
Monica Mei Jeen Moritsch, Kristin B. Byrd, Melanie J. Davis, Anthony J. Good, Judith Z. Drexler, James T. Morris, Isa Woo, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Eric E. Grossman, Glynnis Nakai, Katrina L. Poppe, John M. Rybczyk
Taking the leap: A binational translocation effort to close the 420-km gap in the Baja California lineage of the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) Taking the leap: A binational translocation effort to close the 420-km gap in the Baja California lineage of the California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii)
Conservation translocations, the human-mediated movement and release of a living organism for a conservation benefit, are increasingly recommended in species’ recovery plans as a technique for mitigating population declines or augmenting genetic diversity. However, translocation protocols for species with broad distributions may require regionally specific considerations to increase...
Authors
Susan North, Jonathan Q. Richmond, Frank E. Santana, Anny Peralta-García, Elizabeth Gallegos, Adam R. Backlin, Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Bradford Hollingsworth, Jorge H. Valdez-Villavicencio, Zachary Principe, Robert N. Fisher, Clark S. Winchell
Cryptic extinction risk in a western Pacific lizard radiation Cryptic extinction risk in a western Pacific lizard radiation
Cryptic ecologies, the Wallacean Shortfall of undocumented species’ geographical ranges and the Linnaean Shortfall of undescribed diversity, are all major barriers to conservation assessment. When these factors overlap with drivers of extinction risk, such as insular distributions, the number of threatened species in a region or clade may be underestimated, a situation we term ‘cryptic...
Authors
Peter J. McDonald, Rafe M. Brown, Frederick Kraus, Philip Bowles, Umilaela Arifin, Samuel J Eliades, Robert N. Fisher, Maren Gaulke, L Lee Grismer, Ivan Ineich, Benjamin R. Karin, Camila G Meneses, Stephen J Richards, Marites B Sanguila, Cameron D Siler, Paul M. Oliver
Vegetation type conversion in the US Southwest: Frontline observations and management responses Vegetation type conversion in the US Southwest: Frontline observations and management responses
Forest and nonforest ecosystems of the western United States are experiencing major transformations in response to land-use change, climate warming, and their interactive effects with wildland fire. Some ecosystems are transitioning to persistent alternative types, hereafter called “vegetation type conversion” (VTC). VTC is one of the most pressing management issues in the southwestern...
Authors
Christopher H. Guiterman, Rachel M. Gregg, Laura Marshall, Jill Beckmann, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Donald A. Falk, Jon Keeley, Anthony C. Caprio, Jonathan D. Coop, Paula J. Fornwalt, Collin Haffey, R. Keala Hagmann, Stephen Jackson, Ann M. Lynch, Ellis Q. Margolis, Christopher Marks, Marc D. Meyer, Hugh Safford, Alexandra Dunya Syphard, Alan H. Taylor, Craig Wilcox, Dennis Carril, Carolyn Armstrong Enquist, David W. Huffman, Jose Iniguez, Nicole A. Molinari, Christina M Restaino, Jens T. Stevens
Late Holocene human-environment interactions on the central California coast, USA, inferred from Morro Bay salt marsh sediments Late Holocene human-environment interactions on the central California coast, USA, inferred from Morro Bay salt marsh sediments
Coastal salt marshes and estuaries provide valuable ecosystem services, yet are susceptible to alteration from human activities. Records of past environmental change in these ecosystems can elucidate relationships between human activities, such as land-use practices, and physical and ecological processes, such as sediment accretion and vegetation changes. To reconstruct the environmental...
Authors
Ellie Broadman, Liam M. Reidy, David Wahl
Yuma Ridgway’s rail selenium exposure and occupancy within managed and unmanaged emergent marshes at the Salton Sea Yuma Ridgway’s rail selenium exposure and occupancy within managed and unmanaged emergent marshes at the Salton Sea
Yuma Ridgway’s rail (Rallus obsoletus yumanensis, hereafter, rail) is an endangered species for which patches of emergent marsh within the Salton Sea watershed comprise a substantial part of habitat for the species’ disjointed range in the southwestern United States. These areas of emergent marsh include (1) marshes managed by federal (particularly the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s...
Authors
Mark A. Ricca, Cory T. Overton, Thomas W. Anderson, Angela Merritt, Eamon Harrity, Elliott Matchett, Michael L. Casazza
Hidden in plain sight: Detecting invasive species when they are morphologically similar to native species Hidden in plain sight: Detecting invasive species when they are morphologically similar to native species
Early detection and rapid response (EDRR) can help mitigate and control invasive species outbreaks early on but its success is dependent on accurate identification of invasive species. We evaluated a novel outbreak in San Diego County, California of the Sonoran Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis sonorae) in order to confirm their spread as well as quantify how to better detect and...
Authors
Samuel R Fisher, Robert N. Fisher, Gregory B. Pauly
Machine learned daily life history classification using low frequency tracking data and automated modelling pipelines: Application to North American waterfowl Machine learned daily life history classification using low frequency tracking data and automated modelling pipelines: Application to North American waterfowl
Background Identifying animal behaviors, life history states, and movement patterns is a prerequisite for many animal behavior analyses and effective management of wildlife and habitats. Most approaches classify short-term movement patterns with high frequency location or accelerometry data. However, patterns reflecting life history across longer time scales can have greater relevance to...
Authors
Cory T. Overton, Michael L. Casazza, Joseph Bretz, Fiona McDuie, Elliott Matchett, Desmond Alexander Mackell, Austen Lorenz, Andrea Mott, Mark P. Herzog, Joshua T. Ackerman
Long-term effects of prescribed fire on large tree growth in mixed conifer forests at Lassen Volcanic National Park, California Long-term effects of prescribed fire on large tree growth in mixed conifer forests at Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
Prescribed fire in dry coniferous forests of the western U.S. is used to reduce fire hazards. How large, old trees respond to these treatments is an important management consideration. Growth is a key indicator of residual tree condition, which can be predictive of mortality and response to future disturbance. Using a combination of long-term plot records and dendrochronological samples...
Authors
Zachary Wenderott, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Micah C. Wright, Calvin A. Farris, Rosemary L. Sherriff
Abundance and productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons Abundance and productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2020 and 2021 breeding seasons
Marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) have been listed as “endangered” by the State of California and “threatened” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service since 1992 in California, Oregon, and Washington. Information regarding marbled murrelet abundance, distribution, population trends, and habitat associations is critical for risk assessment, effective management, evaluation of...
Authors
Jonathan J. Felis, Josh Adams, Cheryl Horton, Emily C. Kelsey, Laney M. White
What common-garden experiments tell us about climate responses in plants What common-garden experiments tell us about climate responses in plants
Common garden experiments are indoor or outdoor plantings of species or populations collected from multiple distinct geographic locations, grown together under shared conditions. These experiments examine a range of questions for theory and application using a variety of methods for analysis. The eight papers of this special feature comprise a cross section of contemporary approaches...
Authors
Susanne Schwinning, Christopher J. Lorti, Todd Esque, Lesley A. DeFalco
Invasion of annual grasses following wildfire corresponds to maladaptive habitat selection by a sagebrush ecosystem indicator species Invasion of annual grasses following wildfire corresponds to maladaptive habitat selection by a sagebrush ecosystem indicator species
Numerous wildlife species within semi-arid shrubland ecosystems across western North America are experiencing substantial habitat loss and fragmentation. These changes in habitat are often attributed to a diverse suite of factors including prolonged and increasingly severe droughts, conifer expansion, anthropogenic development, domestic and feral livestock grazing, and invasion of exotic...
Authors
Brianne E. Brussee, Peter S. Coates, Shawn T. O’Neil, Michael L. Casazza, Shawn P. Espinosa, John D. Boone, Elisabeth M. Ammon, Scott C. Gardner, David J. Delehanty