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Where we WERC

Our scientists conduct studies from the deserts of the Mojave to the diverse ecosystems of the Great Basin

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Mission Statement

Our Scientists at WERC

Ecologists collecting field samples to detect contaminants in the environment

Research Scientists

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Scientists use a variety of survey methods in the field

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Join us as we discover the secrets of the natural world

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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

The Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) is a USGS Ecosystems Mission Area operation serving primarily California and Nevada. WERC scientists work closely with Federal, State, academic, and other collaborators to address a diverse array of high-profile topics. Topics include research on effects of wildfire, sea level rise, drought, energy development and more on federal Trust species.

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WERC science is driven forward by our scientists and staff.

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Check out our most up-to-date data, events and science.

News

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Amphibians have one more thing to worry about—mercury—large USGS study shows

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3 Cool Ways USGS is Studying Bats in National Parks

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Annual Southern Sea Otter Census Temporarily Modified

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Publications

Selection of microhabitats, plants, and plant parts eaten by a threatened tortoise: Observations during a superbloom

Populations of the threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) continue to decline throughout the geographic range, in part because of degraded and fragmented habitats in the Mojave and western Sonoran deserts. The species is herbivorous and highly selective in choice of plant species. To increase options for recovery, we analyzed behaviors, patterns of movements while foraging, and parts of p
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W. Bryan Jennings, Kristin H. Berry
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Predicted distribution of ‘ua‘u (Hawaiian petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis) nest sites on Haleakalā, Maui

Haleakalā National Park and montane areas on east Maui, Hawaiian Archipelago, support critical nesting habitat for endangered ‘ua‘u Hawaiian petrel Pterodroma sandwichensis. Habitat loss, non-native predators, and damage by feral ungulates are limiting factors for ground-nesting petrels at Haleakalā and throughout Hawai‘i. Because nesting habitats differ among the Hawaiian Islands, habitat distrib
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Josh Adams, Jonathan J. Felis, Robert C. Klinger, Emily C. Kelsey, Joy Tamayose, Raina Kaholoa'a, Cathleen Natividad Bailey, Jay F. Penniman, Jennifer Learned, Ciara Ganter, John Medeiros, Huisheng Chen
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Stress gradients structure spatial variability in coastal tidal marsh plant composition and diversity in a major Pacific coast estuary

Understanding the drivers of variability in plant diversity from local to landscape spatial scales is a challenge in ecological systems. Environmental gradients exist at several spatial scales and can be nested hierarchically, influencing patterns of plant diversity in complex ways. As plant community dynamics influence ecosystem function, understanding the drivers of plant community variability a
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Lyndsay Lee Rankin, Scott F. Jones, Christopher N. Janousek, Kevin J. Buffington, John Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Science

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photo of dirt road cutting through sagebrush habitat, blue partly cloudy skies above

Understanding Population Trends for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse to Inform Adaptive Management

In partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, scientists from USGS Fort Collins Science Center and Western Ecological Research Center are applying a hierarchical monitoring framework to Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) to evaluate population trends and inform adaptive management.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wildland Fire Science
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Understanding Population Trends for the Gunnison Sage-Grouse to Inform Adaptive Management

In partnership with the Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, scientists from USGS Fort Collins Science Center and Western Ecological Research Center are applying a hierarchical monitoring framework to Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) to evaluate population trends and inform adaptive management.
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photo of female Greater sage-grouse in front of brown grasses

Using simulation models to project and evaluate post-fire success in restoring sage-grouse habitat over large landscapes

Wildfires are increasingly destroying wildlife habitat in sagebrush (Artemisia species) ecosystems, and managers need approaches to scope the pace and degree to which post-fire restoration actions can re-create habitat in dynamic landscapes. Sagebrush recovery takes a long time, and it can be difficult to anticipate restoration outcomes over large, diverse landscapes that have experienced decades...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wildland Fire Science
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Using simulation models to project and evaluate post-fire success in restoring sage-grouse habitat over large landscapes

Wildfires are increasingly destroying wildlife habitat in sagebrush (Artemisia species) ecosystems, and managers need approaches to scope the pace and degree to which post-fire restoration actions can re-create habitat in dynamic landscapes. Sagebrush recovery takes a long time, and it can be difficult to anticipate restoration outcomes over large, diverse landscapes that have experienced decades...
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photo of two male greater sage-grouse

Simulating the influence of sagebrush restoration on post-fire sage-grouse population recovery

Increased wildfire-induced loss of sagebrush in North American shrublands are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial habitat loss for sagebrush-obligate species like sage-grouse. Transplanting sagebrush (Artemisia species) is a possible strategy for revegetating burned areas, but little is known about sage-grouse or other wildlife responses to restoration strategies.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Fort Collins Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Wildland Fire Science
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Simulating the influence of sagebrush restoration on post-fire sage-grouse population recovery

Increased wildfire-induced loss of sagebrush in North American shrublands are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial habitat loss for sagebrush-obligate species like sage-grouse. Transplanting sagebrush (Artemisia species) is a possible strategy for revegetating burned areas, but little is known about sage-grouse or other wildlife responses to restoration strategies.
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