Josh Adams
Dr. Josh Adams is a research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center.
He is the lead biologist in charge of the Seabird Studies program located at WERC's Santa Cruz Field Station. Dr. Adams' work focuses on understanding the distribution and abundance patterns of seabirds at sea, nesting biology, foraging ecology and conservation science. Dr. Adams' current studies are focused in the California Current and Hawaii.
Education and Certifications
PhD, Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand 2011
MSc, Marine Sciences, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California State University San Francisco 2004
BA, Biology (Thesis Honors), University of California Santa Cruz 1992
Affiliations and Memberships*
Member Pacific Seabird Group (since 1992)
Science and Products
Across borders: External factors and prior behaviour influence North Pacific albatross associations with fishing vessels
Global political responsibility for the conservation of albatrosses and large petrels
Population estimates for selected breeding seabirds at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauaʻi, in 2019
Multidecadal comparison of Red-footed Booby Sula sula diet at Ulupa'u Crater, O'ahu, Hawai'i
Genetic analysis of the diet of red‐footed boobies (Sula sula) provisioning chicks at Ulupa'u Crater, O'ahu
Genetic diversity, population structure, and historical demography of a highly vagile and human‐impacted seabird in the Pacific Ocean: The red‐tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda
Post-release survival of fallout Newell’s Shearwater fledglings from a rescue and rehabilitation program on Kauai, Hawaii
Abundance and productivity of marbled murrelets (Brachyramphus marmoratus) off central California during the 2019 breeding season
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
Habitat affinities and at-sea ranging behaviors among main Hawaiian Island seabirds: Breeding seabird telemetry, 2013–2016
Synopsis of research programs that can provide baseline and monitoring information for offshore energy activities in the Pacific region: Seabird and marine mammal surveys in the Pacific region
Spatial and temporal diving behavior of non-breeding common murres during two summers of contrasting ocean conditions
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 55
Across borders: External factors and prior behaviour influence North Pacific albatross associations with fishing vessels
Understanding encounters between marine predators and fisheries across national borders and outside national jurisdictions offers new perspectives on unwanted interactions to inform ocean management and predator conservation. Although seabird–fisheries overlap has been documented at many scales, remote identification of vessel encounters has lagged because vessel movement data often are lacking.HeAuthorsRachael A Orben, Josh Adams, Michelle M. Hester, Scott A. Shaffer, Robert M. Suryan, Tomo Deguchi, Kiyoaki Ozaki, Fumio Sato, Lindsay C. Young, Corey A. Clatterbuck, Melinda G. Conners, David A Kroodsma, Leigh G TorresGlobal 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 specieAuthorsMartin Beal, Maria P. Dias, Richard A. Phillips, Steffen Oppel, Carolina Hazin, Elizabeth J. Pearmin, Josh Adams, David J Anderson, Michelle Antolos, Javier A Arata, José Manuel Arcos, John P. Y. Arnould, Jill Awkerman, Elizabeth Bell, Mike Bell, Mark Carey, Ryan Carle, Thomas A Clay, Jaimie Cleeland, Valentina Colodro, Melinda G. Conners, Marta Cruz-Flores, Richard Cuthbert, Karine Delord, Lorna Deppe, Ben J Dilley, Herculano A. Dinis, Graeme Elliot, Fernanda de Felipe, Jonathan J. Felis, Manuela G. Forero, Amanda Freeman, Akira Fukuda, Jacob González-Solís, José Pedro Granadeiro, April Hedd, Peter Hodum, José Manuel Igual, Audrey Jaeger, Todd J Landers, Le Corre Matthieu, Azwianewi Makhado, Benjamin Metzger, Teresa Militão, William A Montevecchi, Virginia Morera-Pujol, Leia Navarro-Herrero, Deon Nel, David Nicholls, Daniel Oro, Ridha Ouni, Kiyoaki Ozaki, Flavio Quintana, Raül Ramos, Tim Reid, José Manuel Reyes-González, Christopher Robertson, Graham Robertson, Mohamed Salah Romdhane, Peter G. Ryan, Paul Sagar, Fumio Sato, Stefan Schoombie, R. Paul Scofield, Scott A. Shaffer, Nirmal Jivan Shah, Kim L Stevens, Christopher Surman, Robert M. Suryan, Akinori Takahashi, Vikash Tatayah, Graeme Taylor, David R. Thompson, Leigh Torres, Kath Walker, Ross M. Wanless, Susan M. Waugh, Henri Weimerskirch, Takashi Yamamoto, Zuzana Zajkova, Laura Zango, Paulo CatryPopulation 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 IslanAuthorsJonathan J. Felis, Emily C. Kelsey, Josh Adams, Jennilyn G. Stenske, Laney M. WhiteMultidecadal comparison of Red-footed Booby Sula sula diet at Ulupa'u Crater, O'ahu, Hawai'i
We describe the diet of Red-footed Boobies Sula sula nesting at Ulupaʻu Crater, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi based on 106 regurgitations collected during 2014 and 2015. We also compare our results to a diet study at this colony five decades earlier. Both studies indicate that flying squid (Ommastrephidae) and flyingfish (Exocoetidae) are important prey for this population while provisioning chicks. In particulaAuthorsSarah E. Donahue, Josh Adams, K David HyrenbachGenetic analysis of the diet of red‐footed boobies (Sula sula) provisioning chicks at Ulupa'u Crater, O'ahu
The diet of red‐footed boobies (Sula sula) provisioning chicks was quantified using 106 regurgitations collected from 81 adults over two study years with contrasting oceanographic conditions: 2014 and 2015.A total of 1,049 prey items were sorted into three broad categories (fish, squid, and other, consisting of highly‐digested ‘mush’ and parasitic isopods) and assigned a categorical freshness valuAuthorsSarah E. Donahue, Josh Adams, Mark A Renshaw, K David HyrenbachGenetic diversity, population structure, and historical demography of a highly vagile and human‐impacted seabird in the Pacific Ocean: The red‐tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda
Many seabird breeding colonies have recovered from heavy anthropogenic disturbance after conservation actions. The widely distributed red‐tailed tropicbird, Phaethon rubricauda, was used as a model species to assess potential anthropogenic impacts on the genetic diversity of breeding colonies in the Pacific Ocean.Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and control region sequences analyses were conducted aAuthorsAndrea I Varela, Katherina Brokordt, Stefanie M.H. Ismar‐Rebitz, Chris P Gaskin, Nicholas Carlile, Terence O'Dwyer, Josh Adams, Eric A. Vanderwerf, Guillermo Luna‐JorqueraPost-release survival of fallout Newell’s Shearwater fledglings from a rescue and rehabilitation program on Kauai, Hawaii
Light attraction impacts nocturnally active fledgling seabirds worldwide and is a particularly acute problem on Kaua‘i (the northern-most island in the main Hawaiian Island archipelago) for the Critically Endangered Newell’s shearwater Puffinus newelli. The Save Our Shearwaters (SOS) program was created in 1979 to address this issue and to date has recovered and released to sea more than 30500 fleAuthorsAndre F. Raine, Tracy Anderson, Megan Vynne, Scott Driskill, Helen Raine, Josh AdamsAbundance 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 conservationAuthorsJonathan J. Felis, Emily C. Kelsey, Josh Adams, Cheryl Horton, Laura (Laney) WhitePacific 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 disAuthorsJ A Schulien, Josh Adams, Jonathan J. FelisHabitat 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 aAuthorsJosh Adams, Jonathan J. Felis, Max CzapanskiySynopsis of research programs that can provide baseline and monitoring information for offshore energy activities in the Pacific region: Seabird and marine mammal surveys in the Pacific region
We assembled and tabulated information about marine bird and mammal research and monitoring programs that could provide data needed to support environmental risk assessments. This included identifying ongoing or completed research programs that contain information on species and habitats sensitive to offshore energy activities and that could provide baseline and monitoring data to understand and mAuthorsJosh Adams, Kevin D. Lafferty, Emily C. Kelsey, Cora A. JohnstonSpatial and temporal diving behavior of non-breeding common murres during two summers of contrasting ocean conditions
Successful foraging of marine predators depends on environmental conditions, which also influence prey availability. Neutral or negative El Niño Southern Oscillation and Pacific Decadal Oscillation ocean conditions during the summer of 2013 and strongly positive conditions during the summer of 2015 in the northern California Current System provided a case study to evaluate a marine predator's respAuthorsStephanie A Laredo, Rachael A Orben, Robert M. Suryan, Donald E. Lyons, Josh Adams - News
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government