USGS WERC Ecology Research Update: September 2015
USGS Western Ecological Research Center newsletters are posted on our blog. Check back for a rundown of new research and events on ecology and wildlife science in California and Nevada.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center newsletters are posted regularly on our blog. Check back for a rundown of new research and events on ecology and wildlife science in California, Nevada and the Pacific West. To add your name to our email subscription list, please contact xrojas-rocha@usgs.gov.
Download the current issue 4.13 (PDF | 0.485 MB)
HEADLINE

Teaming Up to Understand Wildfire: Two New Open-File Reports on Greater Sage-grouse
The sagebrush steppe that supports the Greater Sage-grouse and some 400 other species is in trouble. Invasive grasses like cheatgrass and more frequent and severe wildfires threaten to destroy much of sagebrush habitat. Wildfire threats to sagebrush are especially dire in the western part of the sage-grouse’s range, says a new Open-File Report led by supervisory research ecologist Matthew Brooks. A corresponding Open-File Report led by research wildlife biologist Pete Coates warns that uncontrolled wildfires could halve current sage-grouse populations across the Great Basin by the mid-2040s.
“Management of cheatgrass is definitely a key,” says Brooks in an interview with The Associated Press (AP). Both reports refer to cycles in which fires render burned land vulnerable to invasive cheatgrass, which spreads and burns faster than sagebrush.
The AP article, reprinted with The Seattle Times, states that the Coates report addresses Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s order for a new “science-based” wildfire-fighting strategy to protect remaining sagebrush habitat. Just last week, Secretary Jewell cited unprecedented collaborative efforts between ranchers, scientists, and others to conserve sage-grouse habitat as a driving force behind the decision not to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/feds-sage-grouse-populations-threatened-by-wildfires/
https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/peter-coates
https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/matthew-brooks
NEW OPEN-FILE REPORTS
Coates, PS, MA Ricca, BG Prochazka, KE Doherty, ML Brooks, ML Casazza. 2015. Long-term effects of wildfire on greater sage-grouse—Integrating population and ecosystem concepts for management in the Great Basin: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015–1165, 42 p., doi:10.3133/ofr20151165
http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20151165FWS
Brooks, ML, JR Matchett, DJ Shinneman, PS Coates. 2015. Fire patterns in the range of greater sage-grouse, 1984–2013—Implications for conservation and management: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1167, 66 p.,doi:10.3133/ofr20151167
http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20151167
NEW JOURNAL ARTICLES
Roberts, SL, DA Kelt, JW van Wagtendonk, AK Miles, MD Meyer. 2015. Effects of fire on small mammal communities in frequent-fire forests in California. Journal of Mammalogy 96(1): 107-199. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyu011
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156354
Peterson, SH, EA McHuron, SN Kennedy, JT Ackerman, LD Rea, JM Castellini, TM O’Hara, DP Costa. Evaluating hair as a predictor of blood mercury: The influence of ontogenetic phase and life history in pinnipeds. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. In press. doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0174-3
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156712
Seney, J and MA Madej. 2015. Soil carbon storage following road removal and timber harvesting in redwood forests. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. In press. doi:10.1002/esp.3781
Berry, KH, JF Weigand, TA Gowan, JS Mack. 2015. Bidirectional recovery patterns of Mojave Desert vegetation in an aqueduct pipeline corridor after 36 years: I. Perennial shrubs and grasses. Journal of Arid Environments. In press.doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.03.004
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156703
Brennan, TJ, and JE Keeley. 2015. Effect of mastication and other mechanical treatments on fuel structure in chaparral. International Journal of Wildland Fire. In press. doi:10.1071/WF14140
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156719
Krusor, C, WA Smith, MT Tinker, M Silver, PA Conrad, K Shapiro. 2015. Concentration and retention of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts by marine snails demonstrate a novel mechanism for transmission of terrestrial zoonotic pathogens in coastal ecosystems. Environmental Microbiology. In press. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.12927
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156723
McHuron, EA, SH Peterson, JT Ackerman, SR Melin, JD Harris, DP Costa. 2015. Effects of age, colony, and sex on mercury concentrations in California sea lions. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. In press. doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0201-4.
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156711
Tinker, MT, BB Hatfield, MD Harris, JA Ames. 2015. Dramatic increase in sea otter mortality from white sharks in California. Marine Mammal Science. In press. doi:10.1111/mms.12261
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156724
Lafferty, KD, G DeLeo, CJ Briggs, AP Dobson, T Gross, AM Kuris. 2015. A general consumer-resource population model. Science 349(6250): 854-857. doi:10.1126/science.aaa6224
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70157115
EVENTS
October 22, 2015 (Mountain View, CA)
Laura Valoppi, Susan De La Cruz, Josh Ackerman, and Alex Hartman will speak at theBiennial South Bay Science Symposium at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/Event.aspx?ID=220
November 2-3, 2015 (Sacramento, CA)
WERC researchers Phil van Mantgem, Adrian Das, Laura Valoppi, Elliott Matchett, andKaren Thorne will attend the 2015 Southwest Climate Summit.
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/Event.aspx?ID=223
IN THE NEWS
The Most Endangered Resource is Trust When It Comes to Wildlife Issues (Idaho Statesman)
Writer Rocky Barker tells how a friendship between Katelyn Andrle and an 11-year-old girl helped foster partnership between a rancher and the government.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/09/25/4003931_rocky-barker-the-most-endangered.html?rh=1
The Forests of the World are in Serious Trouble, Scientists Report (The Washington Post)
Writer Chris Mooney quotes lead author Constance Millar and co-author Nate Stephensonin a comprehensive article about the threats that global forests face.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/20/the-worlds-forests-are-in-major-trouble-scientists-report/
Is the Drought Killing California’s Giant Sequoias? (The Los Angeles Times)
Nate Stephenson’s work on the drought and giant sequoias was featured on the front page of The LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-sequoia-drought-20150828-story.html
Le Séquoia En Californie, le Général Sherman a soif (Le Monde)
Le Monde’s Corine Lesnes composed an article on Nate Stephenson’s research on drought stress in giant sequoias.
http://www.lemonde.fr/festival/article/2015/08/14/en-californie-le-general-sherman-a-soif_4724551_4415198.html
More Dry Days Mean Deepening Threat for State’s Wildlife (The Press Enterprise)
Writer Janet Zimmerman interviewed Adam Backlin on the California drought’s impact on endangered arroyo toads in San Diego County. Less moisture in the sand where the toads burrow puts them at risk of drying out during their long hibernation through summer and fall.
http://www.pe.com/articles/water-777640-california-drought.html
Dying California Forests Offer a Glimpse into Climate Change (CBC News)
Reporter Kim Brunhuber narrates a short video featuring Nate Stephenson and colleagues’ research on the combined effects of warming temperatures and intense drought.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/dying-california-forests-offer-a-glimpse-into-climate-change-1.3187672
Researchers Map Effects of Drought on Giant Sequoias (The Daily Californian)
Writer Jamie Nguyen describes the results of studies on the prolonged drought’s effects on giant sequoias.
http://www.dailycal.org/2015/08/12/researchers-map-effects-of-drought-on-giant-sequoias/
Great White Sharks are Killing More and More Threatened Sea Otters—But Not Eating Them (Newsweek)
Writer Douglas Main highlights Tim Tinker’s recent study on great white sharks biting and killing, but not eating, southern sea otters off the coast of California.
http://www.newsweek.com/great-white-sharks-are-killing-more-and-more-endangered-otters-not-eating-them-364854
This newsletter is produced as a service to USGS WERC staff, colleagues, partners and the interested public. To add your email address to the mailing list or to report errors/suggestions, please contact xrojas-rocha@usgs.gov. Download the current issue (4.13).
USGS Western Ecological Research Center newsletters are posted on our blog. Check back for a rundown of new research and events on ecology and wildlife science in California and Nevada.
USGS Western Ecological Research Center newsletters are posted regularly on our blog. Check back for a rundown of new research and events on ecology and wildlife science in California, Nevada and the Pacific West. To add your name to our email subscription list, please contact xrojas-rocha@usgs.gov.
Download the current issue 4.13 (PDF | 0.485 MB)
HEADLINE

Teaming Up to Understand Wildfire: Two New Open-File Reports on Greater Sage-grouse
The sagebrush steppe that supports the Greater Sage-grouse and some 400 other species is in trouble. Invasive grasses like cheatgrass and more frequent and severe wildfires threaten to destroy much of sagebrush habitat. Wildfire threats to sagebrush are especially dire in the western part of the sage-grouse’s range, says a new Open-File Report led by supervisory research ecologist Matthew Brooks. A corresponding Open-File Report led by research wildlife biologist Pete Coates warns that uncontrolled wildfires could halve current sage-grouse populations across the Great Basin by the mid-2040s.
“Management of cheatgrass is definitely a key,” says Brooks in an interview with The Associated Press (AP). Both reports refer to cycles in which fires render burned land vulnerable to invasive cheatgrass, which spreads and burns faster than sagebrush.
The AP article, reprinted with The Seattle Times, states that the Coates report addresses Interior Secretary Sally Jewell’s order for a new “science-based” wildfire-fighting strategy to protect remaining sagebrush habitat. Just last week, Secretary Jewell cited unprecedented collaborative efforts between ranchers, scientists, and others to conserve sage-grouse habitat as a driving force behind the decision not to list the bird under the Endangered Species Act.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/feds-sage-grouse-populations-threatened-by-wildfires/
https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/peter-coates
https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/matthew-brooks
NEW OPEN-FILE REPORTS
Coates, PS, MA Ricca, BG Prochazka, KE Doherty, ML Brooks, ML Casazza. 2015. Long-term effects of wildfire on greater sage-grouse—Integrating population and ecosystem concepts for management in the Great Basin: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015–1165, 42 p., doi:10.3133/ofr20151165
http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20151165FWS
Brooks, ML, JR Matchett, DJ Shinneman, PS Coates. 2015. Fire patterns in the range of greater sage-grouse, 1984–2013—Implications for conservation and management: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1167, 66 p.,doi:10.3133/ofr20151167
http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20151167
NEW JOURNAL ARTICLES
Roberts, SL, DA Kelt, JW van Wagtendonk, AK Miles, MD Meyer. 2015. Effects of fire on small mammal communities in frequent-fire forests in California. Journal of Mammalogy 96(1): 107-199. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyu011
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156354
Peterson, SH, EA McHuron, SN Kennedy, JT Ackerman, LD Rea, JM Castellini, TM O’Hara, DP Costa. Evaluating hair as a predictor of blood mercury: The influence of ontogenetic phase and life history in pinnipeds. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. In press. doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0174-3
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156712
Seney, J and MA Madej. 2015. Soil carbon storage following road removal and timber harvesting in redwood forests. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms. In press. doi:10.1002/esp.3781
Berry, KH, JF Weigand, TA Gowan, JS Mack. 2015. Bidirectional recovery patterns of Mojave Desert vegetation in an aqueduct pipeline corridor after 36 years: I. Perennial shrubs and grasses. Journal of Arid Environments. In press.doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.03.004
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156703
Brennan, TJ, and JE Keeley. 2015. Effect of mastication and other mechanical treatments on fuel structure in chaparral. International Journal of Wildland Fire. In press. doi:10.1071/WF14140
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156719
Krusor, C, WA Smith, MT Tinker, M Silver, PA Conrad, K Shapiro. 2015. Concentration and retention of Toxoplasma gondii oocysts by marine snails demonstrate a novel mechanism for transmission of terrestrial zoonotic pathogens in coastal ecosystems. Environmental Microbiology. In press. doi:10.1111/1462-2920.12927
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156723
McHuron, EA, SH Peterson, JT Ackerman, SR Melin, JD Harris, DP Costa. 2015. Effects of age, colony, and sex on mercury concentrations in California sea lions. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. In press. doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0201-4.
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156711
Tinker, MT, BB Hatfield, MD Harris, JA Ames. 2015. Dramatic increase in sea otter mortality from white sharks in California. Marine Mammal Science. In press. doi:10.1111/mms.12261
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70156724
Lafferty, KD, G DeLeo, CJ Briggs, AP Dobson, T Gross, AM Kuris. 2015. A general consumer-resource population model. Science 349(6250): 854-857. doi:10.1126/science.aaa6224
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70157115
EVENTS
October 22, 2015 (Mountain View, CA)
Laura Valoppi, Susan De La Cruz, Josh Ackerman, and Alex Hartman will speak at theBiennial South Bay Science Symposium at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA.
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/Event.aspx?ID=220
November 2-3, 2015 (Sacramento, CA)
WERC researchers Phil van Mantgem, Adrian Das, Laura Valoppi, Elliott Matchett, andKaren Thorne will attend the 2015 Southwest Climate Summit.
http://www.werc.usgs.gov/Event.aspx?ID=223
IN THE NEWS
The Most Endangered Resource is Trust When It Comes to Wildlife Issues (Idaho Statesman)
Writer Rocky Barker tells how a friendship between Katelyn Andrle and an 11-year-old girl helped foster partnership between a rancher and the government.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/2015/09/25/4003931_rocky-barker-the-most-endangered.html?rh=1
The Forests of the World are in Serious Trouble, Scientists Report (The Washington Post)
Writer Chris Mooney quotes lead author Constance Millar and co-author Nate Stephensonin a comprehensive article about the threats that global forests face.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/08/20/the-worlds-forests-are-in-major-trouble-scientists-report/
Is the Drought Killing California’s Giant Sequoias? (The Los Angeles Times)
Nate Stephenson’s work on the drought and giant sequoias was featured on the front page of The LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-sequoia-drought-20150828-story.html
Le Séquoia En Californie, le Général Sherman a soif (Le Monde)
Le Monde’s Corine Lesnes composed an article on Nate Stephenson’s research on drought stress in giant sequoias.
http://www.lemonde.fr/festival/article/2015/08/14/en-californie-le-general-sherman-a-soif_4724551_4415198.html
More Dry Days Mean Deepening Threat for State’s Wildlife (The Press Enterprise)
Writer Janet Zimmerman interviewed Adam Backlin on the California drought’s impact on endangered arroyo toads in San Diego County. Less moisture in the sand where the toads burrow puts them at risk of drying out during their long hibernation through summer and fall.
http://www.pe.com/articles/water-777640-california-drought.html
Dying California Forests Offer a Glimpse into Climate Change (CBC News)
Reporter Kim Brunhuber narrates a short video featuring Nate Stephenson and colleagues’ research on the combined effects of warming temperatures and intense drought.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/dying-california-forests-offer-a-glimpse-into-climate-change-1.3187672
Researchers Map Effects of Drought on Giant Sequoias (The Daily Californian)
Writer Jamie Nguyen describes the results of studies on the prolonged drought’s effects on giant sequoias.
http://www.dailycal.org/2015/08/12/researchers-map-effects-of-drought-on-giant-sequoias/
Great White Sharks are Killing More and More Threatened Sea Otters—But Not Eating Them (Newsweek)
Writer Douglas Main highlights Tim Tinker’s recent study on great white sharks biting and killing, but not eating, southern sea otters off the coast of California.
http://www.newsweek.com/great-white-sharks-are-killing-more-and-more-endangered-otters-not-eating-them-364854
This newsletter is produced as a service to USGS WERC staff, colleagues, partners and the interested public. To add your email address to the mailing list or to report errors/suggestions, please contact xrojas-rocha@usgs.gov. Download the current issue (4.13).