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: 3789
Gambel’s quail survey variability and implications for survey design in the Mohave Desert Gambel’s quail survey variability and implications for survey design in the Mohave Desert
Careful design of a wildlife population monitoring strategy is necessary to obtain accurate and precise results whether the purpose of the survey is development of habitat suitability models, to estimate abundance, or assess site occupancy. Important characteristics to consider in survey design are sources of elevated variability, particularly within‐subject variability, which increases...
Authors
Cory T. Overton, Michael L. Casazza, Daniel Connelley, Scott C. Gardner
A science business model for answering important questions A science business model for answering important questions
Perhaps the biggest question in science is how to do better science. Many ecologists, including this book’s editors and authors, have succeeded under the current science “business model” and, from our perspective, the status quo works well enough. But science business models are under increased scrutiny. For instance, since 2012, at least nine papers have critiqued government-sponsored...
Authors
Kevin D. Lafferty
Changes in capture rates and body size among vertebrate species occupying an insular urban habitat reserve Changes in capture rates and body size among vertebrate species occupying an insular urban habitat reserve
Long‐term ecological monitoring provides valuable and objective scientific information to inform management and decision‐making. In this article, we analyze 22 years of herpetofauna monitoring data from the Point Loma Ecological Conservation Area (PLECA), an insular urban reserve near San Diego, CA. Our analysis showed that counts of individuals for one of the four most common...
Authors
Thomas Stanley, Rulon W. Clark, Robert N. Fisher, Carlton J. Rochester, Stephanie A Root, Keith J Lombardo, Stacey D Ostermann-Kelm
The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire The Fire and Tree Mortality Database, for empirical modeling of individual tree mortality after fire
Wildland fires have a multitude of ecological effects in forests, woodlands, and savannas across the globe. A major focus of past research has been on tree mortality from fire, as trees provide a vast range of biological services. We assembled a database of individual-tree records from prescribed fires and wildfires in the United States. The Fire and Tree Mortality (FTM) database...
Authors
C. Alina Cansler, Sharon M. Hood, J. Morgan Varner, Phillip J. van Mantgem, Michelle C. Agne, Robert A. Andrus, Matthew P. Ayres, Bruce D. Ayres, Jonathan D. Bakker, Michael A. Battaglia, Barbara J. Bentz, Carolyn R. Breece, James K. Brown, Daniel R. Cluck, Tom W. Coleman, R. Gregory Corace, W. Wallace Covington, Douglas S. Cram, James B. Cronan, Joseph E. Crouse, Adrian J. Das, Ryan S. Davis, Darci M. Dickinson, Stephen A Fitzgerald, Peter Z. Fule, Lisa M. Ganio, Lindsay M. Grayson, Charles B. Halpern, Jim L. Hanula, Brian J. Harvey, J. Kevin Hiers, David W. Huffman, MaryBeth Keifer, Tara L. Keyser, Leda N. Kobziar, Thomas E. Kolb, Crystal A. Kolden, Karen E. Kopper, Jason R. Kreitler, Jesse K. Kreye, Andrew M. Latimer, Andrew P. Lerch, Maria J. Lombardero, Virginia L. McDaniel, Charles W. McHugh, Joel D. McMillin, Jason J. Moghaddas, Joseph J. O’Brien, Daniel D. B. Perrakis, David W. Peterson, Susan J. Pritchard, Robert A. Progar, Kenneth F. Raffa, Elizabeth D. Reinhardt, Joseph C. Restaino, John P. Roccaforte, Brendan M. Rogers, Kevin C. Ryan, Hugh D. Safford, Alyson E. Santoro, Timothy M. Shearman, Alice M. Shumate, Carolyn H. Sieg, Sheri L. Smith, Rebecca J. Smith, Nathan L. Stephenson, Mary Stuever, Jens T. Stevens, Michael T. Stoddard, Walter G. Thies, Nicole M. Vaillant, Shelby A. Weiss, Douglas J. Westlind, Travis J. Woolley, Micah C. Wright
Newly documented population extends geographic range and genetic diversity for the Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus nocticolus) into the Transverse Ranges of southern California Newly documented population extends geographic range and genetic diversity for the Leaf-toed Gecko (Phyllodactylus nocticolus) into the Transverse Ranges of southern California
Between 19 – 30 May 2018, one of us [AW] discovered a disjunct population of Peninsula leaf-toed geckos, Phyllodactylus nocticolus (Phyllodactylidae) on the northern edge of the Coachella Valley in the Little San Bernardino Mountains of the Transverse Ranges (Fig. 1a). The previously northernmost location for the species is Tahquitz Canyon, Riverside Co. (MVZ 212205) in the Peninsular...
Authors
Dustin A. Wood, Alyssa Worrel-Black, Robert Black, Anna Mitelberg, Mark Fisher, Robert N. Fisher, Amy G. Vandergast, Cameron W. Barrows
Historical museum collections and contemporary population studies implicate roads and introduced predatory bullfrogs in the decline of western pond turtles Historical museum collections and contemporary population studies implicate roads and introduced predatory bullfrogs in the decline of western pond turtles
The western pond turtle (WPT), recently separated into two paripatrically distributed species (Emys pallida and Emys marmorata), is experiencing significant reductions in its range and population size. In addition to habitat loss, two potential causes of decline are female-biased road mortality and high juvenile mortality from non-native predatory bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). However
Authors
E. Griffin Nicholson, Stephanie Manzo, Zachary Devereux, Thomas Morgan, Robert N. Fisher, Christopher W. Brown, Rosi Dagit, Peter A Scott, H. Bradley Shaffer
First recorded observations of conspecific egg and nestling consumption in common ravens (Corvus corax) First recorded observations of conspecific egg and nestling consumption in common ravens (Corvus corax)
We observed cannibalism, the act of consuming a conspecific, of eggs and nestlings by Common Ravens (Corvus corax; hereafter “raven”) by video-monitoring nests in Nevada and California. Specifically, within the sagebrush steppe of Nevada, adult ravens killed and consumed raven chicks from an active nest. Additionally, on the coast of California, we observed adult ravens consume inviable...
Authors
Joseph Atkinson, Peter S. Coates, Brianne E. Brussee, David J. Delehanty
Subspecies differentiation in an enigmatic chaparral shrub species Subspecies differentiation in an enigmatic chaparral shrub species
Premise
Authors
Yi Huang, Glen R. Morrison, Alan Brelsford, Janet Franklin, Diana D Jolles, Jon E. Keeley, V Thomas Parker, Natalie Saavedra, Andrew C Sanders, Thomas Stoughton, Gregory A. Wahlert, Amy Litt
Locality note for rubber boa Locality note for rubber boa
CHARINA BOTTAE BOTTAE (N. Rubber Boa), USA: CALIFORNIA: Monterey Co.: Landels-Hill Big Creek Reserve, east side of Hwy. 1, 80 km (50 miles) south of Carmel, Calif., (36.0719055 N 121.5991555 W) 19 June, 2009; (36.0703611 N 121.5982222 W) 06 July 2009; (36.9516666 N 121.5991944 W) 27 July 2009. In chronological order, photo vouchers MVZObs:Herp:26, MVZObs:Herp:27, MVZObs:Herp:28. Verified...
Authors
Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Richard F Hoyer
Protecting the wildland-urban interface in California: Greenbelts vs thinning for wildfire threats to homes Protecting the wildland-urban interface in California: Greenbelts vs thinning for wildfire threats to homes
This study utilized native chaparral and sage scrub shrubs to evaluate the impact of light summer irrigation on live fuel moisture content (LFMC) and predicted fire behavior. As to be expected LFMC varied markedly throughout the year being over 100% in winter in all species and treatments but differed markedly by treatment in the summer and fall. For most species lightly irrigated plants...
Authors
Jon E. Keeley, Greg Rubin, Teresa J. Brennan, Bernadette Piffard
Mitigation ponds offer drought resiliency for western spadefoot (Spea hammondii) populations Mitigation ponds offer drought resiliency for western spadefoot (Spea hammondii) populations
Synergistic effects of habitat loss, drought, and climate change exacerbate amphibian declines. In southern California urbanization continues to convert natural habitat, while prolonged drought reduces surface water availability. Protection of biodiversity may be provided through mitigation; however, the long-term effectiveness of different strategies is often unreported. As a mitigation...
Authors
Katherine L. Baumberger, Adam R. Backlin, Elizabeth Gallegos, Cynthia Joan Hitchcock, Robert N. Fisher
Emergence of a zoonotic pathogen in a coastal marine sentinel: Capillaria hepatica (syn. Calodium hepaticum)-associated hepatitis in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis) Emergence of a zoonotic pathogen in a coastal marine sentinel: Capillaria hepatica (syn. Calodium hepaticum)-associated hepatitis in southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)
Capillaria hepatica is a globally distributed zoonotic nematode parasite that most commonly infects feral and native rats. Soil contact, pica, and living in close proximity to rat populations are risk factors for human infection. Larval nematodes and eggs that were morphologically consistent with C. hepatica were observed microscopically in livers of stranded southern sea otters (Enhydra...
Authors
Melissa A. Miller, Padraig J Duignan, Erin Dodd, Francesca Batac, Michelle M. Staedler, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Michael J. Murray, Heather Harris, Chris Gardiner