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: 3707
Hookworm prevalence in ocelots in Costa Rica is inconsistent with spillover from domestic dogs despite high overlap Hookworm prevalence in ocelots in Costa Rica is inconsistent with spillover from domestic dogs despite high overlap
Spatial overlap between wildlife and related domestic animals can lead to disease transmission, with substantial evidence for viral and bacterial spillover. Domestic and wild animals can also share potentially harmful helminth parasites, many of which have environmental transmission stages that do not require direct contact between hosts. We used camera traps, fecal sampling, and...
Authors
Juan S. Vargas Soto, Katelyn M. Gstic, Natalka A. Melnycky, Julianna G. Johnson, Andrew P. Dobson, Peter S. Coates, Claire J. Standley, Peter K. Molnar
2023-2024 Coastal sage scrub and chaparral community monitoring for western San Diego County 2023-2024 Coastal sage scrub and chaparral community monitoring for western San Diego County
Western San Diego County is dominated by shrublands supporting biologically diverse native plant and animal communities. Widespread urbanization has led to regional habitat loss and fragmentation, and many species in these shrubland communities are rare, threatened, or endangered. Large-scale, multiple-species conservation planning has resulted in a regional preserve system that focuses...
Authors
Emily E. Perkins, Philip Robert Gould, Jennifer Kingston, Christopher W. Brown, Kristine L. Preston, Robert N. Fisher
Learning from a high-severity fire event—Conditions following the 2018 Carr Fire at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area Learning from a high-severity fire event—Conditions following the 2018 Carr Fire at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
The 2018 Carr Fire burned more than 90 percent of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, with much of the park burning at high severity. California yellow pine and mixed conifer forests are not well adapted to large, high-severity fires, and forest recovery after these events may be problematic. Large, high-severity fire patches pose difficulties for recruitment with interiors that are...
Authors
Phillip J. van Mantgem, Micah Wright, Karen M. Thorne, Jill Beckmann, Kevin Buffington, Lyndsay L. Rankin, Audrey Colley, Eamon A. Engber
Occupancy dynamics of the California Gnatcatcher in southern California Occupancy dynamics of the California Gnatcatcher in southern California
Executive Summary The Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica: “gnatcatcher”) is a resident species restricted to coastal sage scrub habitat in southern California. Listed as federally threatened, the gnatcatcher is subject to multiple threats, including habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, particularly in association with the increasing frequency of...
Authors
Barbara E. Kus, Alexandra Houston, Kristine L. Preston
Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Least Bell's Vireo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2022 annual report Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Least Bell's Vireo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2022 annual report
Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of endangered Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”). Surveys for the Least Bell's Vireo were completed at MCBCP, California, between April 4 and July 12, 2022. Core...
Authors
Suellen Lynn, Michelle Treadwell, Barbara E. Kus
Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Least Bell's Vireo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2021 annual report Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Least Bell's Vireo at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2021 annual report
Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of endangered Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”). Surveys for the Least Bell's Vireo were completed at MCBCP, California, between April 5 and July 13, 2021. Core...
Authors
Suellen Lynn, Michelle Treadwell, Barbara E. Kus
Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2022 annual report Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2022 annual report
Executive Summary Surveys for the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) were done at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP or “Base”), California, between May 9 and July 20, 2022. All of MCBCP’s historically occupied riparian habitat (core survey area) was surveyed for flycatchers in 2022. None of the non-core survey area was surveyed in 2022. Eight...
Authors
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2021 annual report Distribution, abundance, and breeding activities of the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California—2021 annual report
Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to provide the Marine Corps with an annual summary of abundance, breeding activity, demography, and habitat use of the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus) at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (MCBCP). Surveys for the flycatcher were completed at MCBCP between May 5 and July 31, 2021. All of MCBCP’s...
Authors
Scarlett L. Howell, Barbara E. Kus
The relationship between maturation size and maximum tree size from tropical to boreal climates The relationship between maturation size and maximum tree size from tropical to boreal climates
The fundamental trade-off between current and future reproduction has long been considered to result in a tendency for species that can grow large to begin reproduction at a proportionately larger size. Due to the prolonged time required to reach maturity, estimates of tree maturation size remain unavailable and we lack a global view on the generality and the shape of this trade-off...
Authors
Valentin Journe, Michał Bogdziewicz, Benoit Courbaud, Georges Kunstler, Tong Qiu, Marie-Claire Aravena Acuña, Davide Ascoli, Yves Bergeron, Daniel Berveiller, Thomas Boivin, Raul Bonal, Thomas Caignard, Maxime Cailleret, Rafael Calama, J. Julio Camarero, Chia-Hao Chang-Yang, Jerome Chave, Francesco Chianucci, Thomas Curt, Andrea Cutini, Adrian Das, Evangelia Daskalakou, Hendrik Davi, Nicolas Delpierre, Sylvain Delzon, Michael Dietze, Sergio Donoso Calderon, Laurent Dormont, Josep Maria Espelta, William Farfan-Rios, Michael Fenner, Jerry F. Franklin, Catherine A. Gehring, Gregory S. Gilbert, Georg Gratzer, Cathryn H. Greenberg, Arthur Guignabert, Qinfeng Guo, Andrew Hacket-Pain, Arndt Hampe, Qingmin Han, Mick E. Hanley, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Jan Holik, Kazuhiko Hoshizaki, Ines Ibanez, Jill F. Johnstone, Johannes M. H. Knops, Richard K. Kobe, Hiroko Kurokawa, Jonathan G. A. Lageard, Jalene LaMontagne, Mateusz Ledwon, Francois Lefevre, Theodor Leininger, Jean-Marc Limousin, James A. Lutz, Diana Macias, Anders Marell, Eliot J. B. McIntire, Emily V. Moran, Renzo Motta, Jonathan A. Myers, Thomas A. Nagel, Shoji Naoe, Mahoko Noguchi, Julian Norghauer, Michio Oguro, Jean-Marc Ourcival, Robert Parmenter, Ian Pearse, Ignacio M. Perez-Ramos, Lukasz Piechnik, Tomasz Podgorski, John Poulsen, Miranda D. Redmond, Chantal D. Reid, Pavel Samonil, C. Lane Scher, William H. Schlesinger, Barbara Seget, Shubhi Sharma, Mitsue Shibata, Miles Silman, Michael A. Steele, Nathan L. Stephenson, Jacob N. Straub, Samantha Sutton, Jennifer J. Swenson, Margaret Swift, Peter A. Thomas, Maria Uriarte, Giorgio Vacchiano, Amy V. Whipple, Thomas G. Whitham, S. Joseph Wright, Kai Zhu, Jess K. Zimmerman, Magdalena Zywiec, James S. Clark
Least Bell's Vireos and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers—Breeding activities and habitat use—2023 annual report Least Bell's Vireos and Southwestern Willow Flycatchers—Breeding activities and habitat use—2023 annual report
Executive Summary We completed four protocol surveys for Least Bell’s Vireos (Vireo bellii pusillus; hereinafter vireo) during the breeding season, supplemented by weekly territory monitoring visits between April 6 and July 20 at the San Luis Rey Flood Risk Management Project Area (hereinafter Project Area). We identified a total of 136 territorial male vireos; 121 were confirmed as...
Authors
Alexandra Houston, Lisa D. Allen, Shannon M. Mendia, Barbara E. Kus
Climate and weather drivers in southern California Santa Ana Wind and non-Santa Wind fires Climate and weather drivers in southern California Santa Ana Wind and non-Santa Wind fires
Background. Autumn and winter Santa Ana Winds (SAW) are responsible for the largest and most destructive wildfires in southern California. Aims. 1) To contrast fires ignited on SAW days vs non-SAW days, 2) evaluate the predictive ability of the Canadian Fire Weather Index (CFWI) for these two fire types, and 3) determine climate and weather factors responsible for the largest wildfires...
Authors
Jon Keeley, Michael Flannigan, Tim J. Brown, Tom Rolinski, Daniel Cayan, Alexandra D. Syphard, Janin Guzman-Morales, Alexander Gershunov
Foraging ecology of southern sea otters at the northern range extent informs regional population dynamics Foraging ecology of southern sea otters at the northern range extent informs regional population dynamics
Sea otters Enhydra lutris are vital keystone predators throughout the North Pacific that were nearly extirpated during the maritime fur trade. Recovery of southern sea otters E. l. nereis has proceeded slowly, with much of their historical range remaining unoccupied, resulting in reduced ecosystem functioning. Numerous studies have used foraging metrics to assess the population status of...
Authors
Sophia N. Lyon, Joseph A. Tomoleoni, Julie L. Yee, Jessica Fujii, Nicole M. Thometz