Dr. Robert Fisher is a conservation biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Western Ecological Research Center and works as part of a large integrated team.
His focus has been on how natural systems are responding to the Anthropocene, and what types of resiliency they have or lack as it relates to maintaining ecological integrity and biodiversity. Additionally, through understanding individual species and community responses to perturbations through modern monitoring techniques, he and his team can determine appropriate management experiments or options to possibly recover resiliency. Geographically they have two foci, the first is southern California where urbanization and conservation planning bring various direct and indirect drivers of ecological change, and climate variability is currently extreme and drives landscape level drought and wildfires. Their second foci are the tropical islands of the Pacific Basin, from Palau and Papua New Guinea east to Hawai’i. These islands have also been driven by human change and are on the front line as extreme recent weather variability in the cyclone belt impact terrestrial ecosystems. Understanding how biodiversity was generated in this ecoregion is critical to managing its loss, and their team focuses across time and space (biogeography) to understand these processes utilizing molecular tools tied to expeditions of discovery in this poorly studied ecoregion.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Conservation biology
- Biogeography
- Modelling
- Natural history
- Speciation
- Invasive species
- Climate variability
- Anthropocene
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 1995
M.S., Zoology, University of California, Davis, CA 1991
B.S., Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 1988
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 235
Habitat use and movement of the endangered Arroyo Toad (Anaxyrus californicus) in coastal southern California
Information on the habitat use and movement patterns of Arroyo Toads (Anaxyrus californicus) is limited. The temporal and spatial characteristics of terrestrial habitat use, especially as it relates to upland use in coastal areas of the species' range, are poorly understood. We present analyses of radiotelemetry data from 40 individual adult toads tracked at a single site in coastal southern Calif
Three pathogens in sympatric populations of pumas, bobcats, and domestic cats: Implications for infections disease transmission
Anthropogenic landscape change can lead to increased opportunities for pathogen transmission between domestic and non-domestic animals. Pumas, bobcats, and domestic cats are sympatric in many areas of North America and share many of the same pathogens, some of which are zoonotic. We analyzed bobcat, puma, and feral domestic cat samples collected from targeted geographic areas. We examined exposure
Wildfires alter rodent community structure across four vegetation types in southern California, USA
We surveyed burned and unburned plots across four habitat reserves in San Diego County, California, USA, in 2005 and 2006, to assess the effects of the 2003 wildfires on the community structure and relative abundance of rodent species. The reserves each contained multiple vegetation types (coastal sage scrub, chaparral, woodland, and grassland) and spanned from 250 m to 1078 m in elevation. Multiv
A preliminary assessment of the Nactus pelagicus species group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in New Guinea and a new species from the Admiralty Islands
The Slender-toed Geckos (Nactus) currently have four recognized species in New Guinea, and these species divide into two sister clades: a pelagicus clade and a vankampeni clade (Heinicke et al. 2010). The latter contains three dwarf species. The former consists of five bisexual populations, of which numerous New Guinea populations are uncharacterized nomenclaturally and lumped under the epithet ‘p
Report on the reptiles of Upland Savai’i
The reptile team conducted a 21 kilometre transect from the coast east of Asau to the uplands ending near Mauga Silisili at over 1720 m elevation. This transect covered the main habitats on Savai’i and allowed the team to determine where various reptile species and invasive species occurred across this elevational gradient. No previous reptile research had taken place on Savai’i above the elevatio
Responses in bird communities to wildland fires in southern California
There is a growing body of literature covering the responses of bird species to wildland fire events. Our study was unique among these because we investigated the effects of large-scale wildland fires on entire bird communities across multiple vegetation types. We conducted avian point counts during the breeding seasons for two years before and two years after the Cedar and Otay Fires in 2003 in s
Refugial isolation and divergence in the Narrowheaded Gartersnake species complex (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) as revealed by multilocus DNA sequence data
Glacial–interglacial cycles of the Pleistocene are hypothesized as one of the foremost contributors to biological diversification. This is especially true for cold‐adapted montane species, where range shifts have had a pronounced effect on population‐level divergence. Gartersnakes of the Thamnophis rufipunctatus species complex are restricted to cold headwater streams in the highlands of the Sierr
Status of Amphibians in California and Arizona
No abstract available at this time
Effects of urbanization on carnivore species distribution and richness
Urban development can have multiple effects on mammalian carnivore communities. We conducted a meta-analysis of 7,929 photographs from 217 localities in 11 camera-trap studies across coastal southern California to describe habitat use and determine the effects of urban proximity (distance to urban edge) and intensity (percentage of area urbanized) on carnivore occurrence and species richness in na
Effects of large-scale wildfire on ground foraging ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in southern California
We investigated the effect of broad-scale wildfire on ground foraging ants within southern California. In October and November of 2003, two wildfires burned large portions of the wildlands within San Diego County. Between January 2005 and September 2006, we surveyed 63 plots across four sites to measure the effect of the fires on the ant assemblages present in four vegetation types: 1) coastal sag
Conservation genetics of evolutionary lineages of the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog, Rana muscosa (Amphibia: Ranidae), in southern California
Severe population declines led to the listing of southern California Rana muscosa (Ranidae) as endangered in 2002. Nine small populations inhabit watersheds in three isolated mountain ranges, the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto. One population from the Dark Canyon tributary in the San Jacinto Mountains has been used to establish a captive breeding population at the San Diego Zoo Instit
Ants as a measure of effectiveness of habitat conservation planning in southern California
In the United States multispecies habitat conservation plans were meant to be the solution to conflicts between economic development and protection of biological diversity. Although now widely applied, questions exist concerning the scientific credibility of the conservation planning process and effectiveness of the plans. We used ants to assess performance of one of the first regional conservatio
Filter Total Items: 13
Science and Products
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- Publications
Filter Total Items: 235
Habitat use and movement of the endangered Arroyo Toad (Anaxyrus californicus) in coastal southern California
Information on the habitat use and movement patterns of Arroyo Toads (Anaxyrus californicus) is limited. The temporal and spatial characteristics of terrestrial habitat use, especially as it relates to upland use in coastal areas of the species' range, are poorly understood. We present analyses of radiotelemetry data from 40 individual adult toads tracked at a single site in coastal southern CalifThree pathogens in sympatric populations of pumas, bobcats, and domestic cats: Implications for infections disease transmission
Anthropogenic landscape change can lead to increased opportunities for pathogen transmission between domestic and non-domestic animals. Pumas, bobcats, and domestic cats are sympatric in many areas of North America and share many of the same pathogens, some of which are zoonotic. We analyzed bobcat, puma, and feral domestic cat samples collected from targeted geographic areas. We examined exposureWildfires alter rodent community structure across four vegetation types in southern California, USA
We surveyed burned and unburned plots across four habitat reserves in San Diego County, California, USA, in 2005 and 2006, to assess the effects of the 2003 wildfires on the community structure and relative abundance of rodent species. The reserves each contained multiple vegetation types (coastal sage scrub, chaparral, woodland, and grassland) and spanned from 250 m to 1078 m in elevation. MultivA preliminary assessment of the Nactus pelagicus species group (Squamata: Gekkonidae) in New Guinea and a new species from the Admiralty Islands
The Slender-toed Geckos (Nactus) currently have four recognized species in New Guinea, and these species divide into two sister clades: a pelagicus clade and a vankampeni clade (Heinicke et al. 2010). The latter contains three dwarf species. The former consists of five bisexual populations, of which numerous New Guinea populations are uncharacterized nomenclaturally and lumped under the epithet ‘pReport on the reptiles of Upland Savai’i
The reptile team conducted a 21 kilometre transect from the coast east of Asau to the uplands ending near Mauga Silisili at over 1720 m elevation. This transect covered the main habitats on Savai’i and allowed the team to determine where various reptile species and invasive species occurred across this elevational gradient. No previous reptile research had taken place on Savai’i above the elevatioResponses in bird communities to wildland fires in southern California
There is a growing body of literature covering the responses of bird species to wildland fire events. Our study was unique among these because we investigated the effects of large-scale wildland fires on entire bird communities across multiple vegetation types. We conducted avian point counts during the breeding seasons for two years before and two years after the Cedar and Otay Fires in 2003 in sRefugial isolation and divergence in the Narrowheaded Gartersnake species complex (Thamnophis rufipunctatus) as revealed by multilocus DNA sequence data
Glacial–interglacial cycles of the Pleistocene are hypothesized as one of the foremost contributors to biological diversification. This is especially true for cold‐adapted montane species, where range shifts have had a pronounced effect on population‐level divergence. Gartersnakes of the Thamnophis rufipunctatus species complex are restricted to cold headwater streams in the highlands of the SierrStatus of Amphibians in California and Arizona
No abstract available at this timeEffects of urbanization on carnivore species distribution and richness
Urban development can have multiple effects on mammalian carnivore communities. We conducted a meta-analysis of 7,929 photographs from 217 localities in 11 camera-trap studies across coastal southern California to describe habitat use and determine the effects of urban proximity (distance to urban edge) and intensity (percentage of area urbanized) on carnivore occurrence and species richness in naEffects of large-scale wildfire on ground foraging ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in southern California
We investigated the effect of broad-scale wildfire on ground foraging ants within southern California. In October and November of 2003, two wildfires burned large portions of the wildlands within San Diego County. Between January 2005 and September 2006, we surveyed 63 plots across four sites to measure the effect of the fires on the ant assemblages present in four vegetation types: 1) coastal sagConservation genetics of evolutionary lineages of the endangered mountain yellow-legged frog, Rana muscosa (Amphibia: Ranidae), in southern California
Severe population declines led to the listing of southern California Rana muscosa (Ranidae) as endangered in 2002. Nine small populations inhabit watersheds in three isolated mountain ranges, the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto. One population from the Dark Canyon tributary in the San Jacinto Mountains has been used to establish a captive breeding population at the San Diego Zoo InstitAnts as a measure of effectiveness of habitat conservation planning in southern California
In the United States multispecies habitat conservation plans were meant to be the solution to conflicts between economic development and protection of biological diversity. Although now widely applied, questions exist concerning the scientific credibility of the conservation planning process and effectiveness of the plans. We used ants to assess performance of one of the first regional conservatio - News
Filter Total Items: 13