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Jonathan Felis

Jonathan Felis is a geographer at the Western Ecological Research Center.

The research Jonathan Felis is involved in seeks to understand seabird foraging ecology and identify the processes responsible for habitat selection, particularly through the use of tracking technologies and at-sea surveys. As a geographer, Jonathan's goal is to apply these data spatially in order to better inform conservation and management decisions in the context of marine spatial planning. 

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS

  • Seabird Ecology
  • Wildlife Telemetry
  • Geographic Information Systems


EDUCATION

  • BS, Environmental Geology, The College of William and Mary, 2003


PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

  • Geographer, USGS Western Ecological Research Center, Santa Cruz Field Station, 2014-Present

Science and Products

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Three biologists on a boat look off to the left with binoculars

Marbled Murrelet Surveys off the Central California Coast

Since 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center has continued long-term at-sea surveys of federally threatened Marbled Murrelets in central California.
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Marbled Murrelet Surveys off the Central California Coast

Since 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center has continued long-term at-sea surveys of federally threatened Marbled Murrelets in central California.
Learn More
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Figure showing Pacific coast, a wind turbine, and identifying 3 ways birds may be affected by wind turbines

Seabird Vulnerability Assessment for Renewable Energy Projects

The WERC seabird studies team has developed a new framework for quantifying seabird species vulnerability to wind infrastructure in the California Current region of the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf. This tool supports marine resource-use planning by identifying sites where seabirds are most vulnerable and predicts how different species may be affected by wind-energy infrastructure.
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Seabird Vulnerability Assessment for Renewable Energy Projects

The WERC seabird studies team has developed a new framework for quantifying seabird species vulnerability to wind infrastructure in the California Current region of the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf. This tool supports marine resource-use planning by identifying sites where seabirds are most vulnerable and predicts how different species may be affected by wind-energy infrastructure.
Learn More
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Brown booby with chick

Breeding Seabirds of the Main Hawaiian Islands

The seabird research team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is working with many partners to map the terrestrial and marine distributions of breeding seabirds of the main Hawaiian islands.
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Energy & Wildlife (unpublished), Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Breeding Seabirds of the Main Hawaiian Islands

The seabird research team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is working with many partners to map the terrestrial and marine distributions of breeding seabirds of the main Hawaiian islands.
Learn More
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Ashy storm-petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa) with metal identification band being held by a USGS researcher

Ashy Storm-Petrel Range and Colony Attendance Behavior

Together with Federal and non-profit partners, WERC's Josh Adams and team are using cutting-edge technology to study the range and colony attendance patterns of the Ashy Storm-Petrel, an elusive seabird native to offshore rocks and islands along the California coast. Their research informs management and conservation for this threatened seabird species.
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Ashy Storm-Petrel Range and Colony Attendance Behavior

Together with Federal and non-profit partners, WERC's Josh Adams and team are using cutting-edge technology to study the range and colony attendance patterns of the Ashy Storm-Petrel, an elusive seabird native to offshore rocks and islands along the California coast. Their research informs management and conservation for this threatened seabird species.
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USGS WERC scientist Emily (Emma) Kelsey doing seabird monitoring research on Prisoner Rock

Seabird Health and Adaptive Management

Dr. Josh Adams and his science team at WERC study seabird health and support adaptive management by quantifying abundance patterns and behaviors associated with habitats at sea, where seabirds spend the overwhelming majority of their lives. Adams’s team also employs conservation science to support resource managers on land, where seabirds are obligated to nest. His group provides scientific...
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Status and Trends Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Seabird Health and Adaptive Management

Dr. Josh Adams and his science team at WERC study seabird health and support adaptive management by quantifying abundance patterns and behaviors associated with habitats at sea, where seabirds spend the overwhelming majority of their lives. Adams’s team also employs conservation science to support resource managers on land, where seabirds are obligated to nest. His group provides scientific...
Learn More
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White-tailed Tropicbird flying

Seabird Ecology and Marine Planning

Seabirds are Department of the Interior (DOI) Trust Species and are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act. To support science-based decision capacity and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) among U.S. Government resource managers, Dr. Josh Adams and the WERC seabird team have partnered with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...
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Energy & Wildlife (unpublished), Species Management Research Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Seabird Ecology and Marine Planning

Seabirds are Department of the Interior (DOI) Trust Species and are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Endangered Species Act. To support science-based decision capacity and Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) among U.S. Government resource managers, Dr. Josh Adams and the WERC seabird team have partnered with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...
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Photo of scientist climbing an island off the coast of Big Sur

Santa Cruz Field Station

Scientists at the Santa Cruz Field Station study sea otters and seabirds in their environment. The USGS Western Ecological Research Center has two research missions based in the Santa Cruz region:
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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Santa Cruz Field Station

Scientists at the Santa Cruz Field Station study sea otters and seabirds in their environment. The USGS Western Ecological Research Center has two research missions based in the Santa Cruz region:
Learn More

Digital Imagery Used for Aerial Counts for Surface-Nesting Seabirds at Lehua Island and Moku Manu Islet and Ulupa'u Crater, O'ahu in 2019

This data release is a product of Atlas of Breeding Seabirds of the Main Hawaiian Islands (https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5fc0045cd34e4b9faad7ef37). Specific results and details about methods and additional information useful for interpreting these data can be found in the data series report: Adams, J., Kelsey, E.C., Stenske, J., and Felis, J.J., 2022, Aerial counts for surface-nesting s
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Annual Marbled Murrelet Abundance and Productivity Surveys Off Central California (Zone 6), 1999-2021 (ver. 4.0, May 2022)

Since 2017, U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center (USGS WERC) partnered with California State Parks to continue long-term, annual at-sea surveys to estimate at-sea abundance and juvenile (i.e. hatch-year) productivity of Marbled Murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Zone 6 (central California: San Francisco Bay to Monterey Bay). Ma
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Population Estimates for Selected Breeding Seabirds at Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauai, in 2019

Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) is an important seabird breeding site located at the northeastern tip of Kauai in the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). Despite the regional significance of KPNWR as one of the most important breeding sites for Red-tailed Tropicbirds (Phaethon rubricauda), Red-footed Boobies (Sula sula), and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) in MHI, robust and ac
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

At-Sea Ranging Behavior of Seabirds Breeding in the Main Hawaiian Islands: Bio-logger Data Release (ver. 2.0, May 2020)

Due to recent interest in developing offshore wind energy infrastructure around the main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research Center (USGS-WERC) partnered with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) from 2013-2016 to study breeding Hawaiian seabird distributions, habitat utilizations, and ranging behaviors within near-island and outer continental shelf w
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Trap records used to analyze trends in mammalian predator control trapping events intended to protect ground-nesting, endangered birds at Haleakal? National Park, Hawai'i (2000 - 2014)

Predation and habitat degradation by non-native species are principal terrestrial threats to the federally endangered Hawaiian Petrel ('ua'u, Pterodroma sandwichensis) and Hawaiian Goose (nene, Branta sandvicensis) within Haleakala National Park (HALE), Maui, Hawai'i. Since 1981, HALE has maintained a network of live-traps to control invasive mammalian predators and protect these endangered birds.
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Data for calculating population, collision and displacement vulnerability among marine birds of the California Current System associated with offshore wind energy infrastructure (ver. 2.0, June 2017)

The U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center (USGS-WERC) was requested by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to create a database for marine birds that would allow quantification and species ranking regarding vulnerability to offshore wind energy infrastructure (OWEI). This was needed so that resource managers could evaluate potential impacts associated with siting and
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

At-Sea Distribution and Abundance of Seabirds and Marine Mammals off Southern California GIS Resource Database: Aerial seabird and marine mammal surveys off southern California, 1999-2002

Background - Interest in developing alternative sources of renewable energy to reduce dependence on oil has increased in recent years. Some sources of renewable energy being considered will include power generation infrastructure and support activities located within continental shelf waters, and potentially within deeper waters off the U.S. Pacific coast and beyond state waters (i.e., outside thr
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Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
Map of the Americas with dots representing bird locations moving mostly from the west coast of N. America to Chile
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Biologists accessing the upper slopes of False Klamath Rock to place an acoustic monitoring unit.
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Emma Kelsey climbing Piedras Blancas rock, CA
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Pelicans sit on and fly near a large rock in the ocean
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Photo of scientist climbing an island off the coast of Big Sur
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Red-footed booby
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Photo of a white-tailed tropicbird flying
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Photo of red-tailed tropicbird
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Brown booby with chick
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Red-footed booby
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A flock of black colored birds float in the water off a pier.
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Image: Murre Colony on Prince Island
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Birds perched on rocks.
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Image: Murre Colony, Inset Detail
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A photo of birds perched on a rocky cliff.
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Filter Total Items: 24

Laysan albatross exhibit complex behavioral plasticity in the subtropical and subarctic North Pacific Ocean

Animals that regularly traverse habitat extremes between the subtropics and subarctic are expected to exhibit foraging behaviors that respond to changes in dynamic ocean habitats, and these behaviors may facilitate adaptations to novel and changing climates. During the chick-provisioning stage, Laysan albatross Phoebastria immutabilis parents regularly undertake short- and long-distance foraging t
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Aerial counts for surface-nesting seabirds at Lehua Island and Moku Manu Islet and Ulupaʻu Crater, Oʻahu, in 2019

Among important seabird breeding sites in the main Hawaiian Islands, Lehua Island offshore Niʻihau and Moku Manu Islets offshore Oʻahu support diverse and abundant seabird breeding populations. Both offshore islands provide excellent nesting habitat for surface-nesting boobies (Sula spp.) and terns but, of the two, only Moku Manu supports relatively large breeding populations of Sooty Tern (Onycho
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

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 conservation
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Marine distribution and foraging habitat highlight potential threats at sea for Endangered Bermuda Petrel Pterodroma cahow

Marine spatial planning relies on detailed spatial information of marine areas to ensure effective conservation of species. To enhance our understanding of marine habitat use by the highly pelagic Bermuda petrel Pterodroma cahow, we deployed GPS tags on 6 chick-rearing adults in April 2019 and constructed a habitat suitability model using locations classified as foraging to explore functional resp
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Modeling at-sea density of marine birds to support renewable energy planning on the Pacific outer continental shelf of the contiguous United States

This report describes the at-sea spatial distributions of marine birds in Pacific OCS waters off the contiguous U.S. (Figure 1.1) to inform marine spatial planning in the region. The goal was to estimate long-term average spatial distributions for marine bird species using all available science-quality transect survey data and numerous bathymetric, oceanographic, and atmospheric predictor variable
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Global political responsibility for the conservation of albatrosses and large petrels

Migratory marine species cross political borders and enter the high seas, where the lack of an effective global management framework for biodiversity leaves them vulnerable to threats. Here, we combine 10,108 tracks from 5775 individual birds at 87 sites with data on breeding population sizes to estimate the relative year-round importance of national jurisdictions and high seas areas for 39 specie
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Population estimates for selected breeding seabirds at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauaʻi, in 2019

Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) is an important seabird breeding site located at the northeastern tip of Kauaʻi in the main Hawaiian Islands. Despite the regional significance of KPNWR as one of the most important breeding sites for red-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon rubricauda), red-footed boobies (Sula sula), and wedge-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna pacifica) in the main Hawaiian Islan
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Abundance and productivity of marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2019 breeding season

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 conservation
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Pacific Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment (PaCSEA): Characterization of Seasonal Water Masses within the Northern California Current System Using Airborne Remote Sensing off Northern California, Oregon, and Washington, 2011–2012

Here, we use ocean color measurements (Figure 1) and sea surface temperature (SST) data collected using sensors mounted on low-flying aircraft to characterize NCCS water masses and identify patterns among seasons and between years. To accomplish this, we applied k-means clustering to measured and derived ecologically-relevant physical and bio-optical variables (SST, Chla, absorbance by colored dis
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Habitat affinities and at-sea ranging behaviors among main Hawaiian Island seabirds: Breeding seabird telemetry, 2013–2016

Recent Hawaiʻi state clean energy policy mandates and federal interest in developing offshore renewable energy resources have prompted unsolicited lease requests for offshore wind energy infrastructure (OWEI) to be located in ocean waters off Hawaiʻi. This study describing at-sea ranging behaviors for five seabirds was intended to provide new information on Hawaiian breeding seabird distribution a
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Trends in mammalian predator control trapping events intended to protect ground-nesting, endangered birds at Haleakalā National Park, Hawaiʻi: 2000–14

Predation and habitat degradation by non-native species are principal terrestrial threats to the federally endangered Hawaiian Petrel (ʻuaʻu, Pterodroma sandwichensis) and Hawaiian Goose (nēnē, Branta sandvicensis) within Haleakalā National Park (HALE), Maui, Hawaiʻi. Since 1981, HALE has maintained a network of live traps to control invasive mammalian predators and protect these endangered birds.
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Eastern Pacific migration strategies of pink-footed shearwaters Ardenna creatopus: Implications for fisheries interactions and international conservation

The pink-footed shearwater Ardenna creatopus has a breeding range restricted to 3 central-Chilean islands and travels north in the eastern Pacific Ocean during the non-breeding period. Despite its Vulnerable IUCN status, the locations and relative importance of core non-breeding areas and migratory pathways of the species are not well understood. During 5 years between 2006 and 2015, we tracked th
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Ecosystems, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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WERC Scientists Combine Bird Calls and Artificial Intelligence to Keep Tabs on the Elusive Ashy-Storm Petrel (Audubon magazine)

CALIFORNIA COAST – Artificial intelligence and acoustic sensors help scientists monitor seabirds

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A Day in the Life of a WERC Seabird Scientist

In the featured photo, WERC scientists search for potential nesting habitat of seabirds like the Ashy Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa) on False...

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