WERC Highlights -- December 2004

Goose Research: USGS scientists from the Western Ecological Research Center will present three posters regarding research on the Tule and Pacific Greater White-fronted Goose at the “11th North American Arctic Goose Conference and Workshop” to be held Jan 5-8, 2005 in Reno, Nevada. The presentations will discuss changes that have occurred in the wintering ecology of geese over the past decade in response to California's Central Valley Joint Venture; Tule Geese heart rates in response to human disturbance; and estimating identification error in distinguishing Tule from Pacific Greater White-fronted Geese in the Pacific Flyway. (Josh Ackerman, Davis, CA, 530-752-0485, jackerman@usgs.gov)

Recognition for USGS Scientist: The board of directors for the George Wright Society recently announced on its website the winners of the organization’s 2005 awards, which recognize outstanding contributions to research, resource management, and public education in and about parks and other protected areas. Their highest honor and top-of-career award, the George Melendez Wright Award for Excellence, will be shared by two recipients, one of whom is USGS scientist Jan van Wagtendonk of the Western Ecological Research Center. van Wagtendonk is being honored for his ground-breaking research and influence on resource management in Yosemite National Park and the Sierra Nevada. He will share the award with John Hope Franklin, who is being recognized for his long and distinguished career as a historian of slavery. All of the awardees will be recognized during the George Wright Society’s biennial conference to be held March 14-18, 2005, in Philadelphia. For more: http://www.georgewright.org. (Jan van Wagtendonk, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1306, jan_van_wagtendonk@usgs.gov)

Graduate Research Recognized: USGS scientist Josh Ackerman of the Western Ecological Research Center has recently been recognized by the Delta Waterfowl Foundation (Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada) for his graduate research published in 2003. He received “Publication of the Year Award” for the best contribution to the scientific literature by a Delta Waterfowl graduate student in 2003. The publication is “Current versus future reproduction: an experimental test of parental investment decisions using nest desertion by mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)” by JT Ackerman and JM Eadie, published in Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 54:264–273. He also received the “Most Productive Student of the Year Award” for publishing the most papers out of all of the funded Delta Waterfowl graduate students in 2003. (Josh Ackerman, Davis, CA, 530-752-0485, jackerman@usgs.gov)

Multiple Species Conservation Planning: The California Department of Fish and Game has released a new guidance document that can help new monitoring programs take advantage of and improve upon previous efforts. “Designing Monitoring Programs in an Adaptive Management Context for Regional Multiple Species Conservation Plans” is a recent collaborative project of the CDFG, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and USGS Biological Resources Discipline. The document provides background and a step-by-step procedure for designing monitoring programs in an adaptive management context, based upon lessons learned from southern California Natural Community Conservation Plans/Habitat Conservation Plans (NCCP/HCPs) and other ecosystem monitoring programs around the world. For more: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/nccp/updates.htm. (Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858- 637-6882, rfisher@usgs.gov)

Oil Spill: USGS scientist Jim Estes of the Western Ecological Research Center was quoted Dec. 11 in a Los Angeles Times story on the recent oil spill along the northwest shore of Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Archipelago. Estes indicated the spill occurred in a particularly vulnerable area for sea otters and other wildlife: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-spill11dec11,1,2988467.story?coll=la-headlines-nation. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831- 459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov)

Mistletoe: Todd Esque of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a Dec. 14 taped story on KMOX radio (St. Louis, Mo.) about mistletoe and wildlife. (Todd Esque, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4506, todd_esque@usgs.gov)

Overfishing and Disease Outbreaks in Prey Species: USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a news brief in Conservation In Practice, a publication of the Society for Conservation Biology, on his recent publication in the journal Ecological Applications, “Fishing for lobsters indirectly increases epidemics in sea urchins.” His study compared disease epidemics in sea urchins occurring in fished and unfished kelp-forest ecosystems of Channel Islands National Park in southern California. He found that disease outbreaks in sea urchins were 4 times greater in areas where lobsters, a predator of urchins, were heavily fished, than in marine reserves, where greater lobster numbers prevented urchins from exceeding high-density thresholds favorable for disease transmission. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov)

Introduced Species: USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed on Dec. 15 for a story in the USA Weekend, the Sunday magazine for USA Today, regarding introduced species and their parasites. Lafferty and colleagues found that introduced species often leave a large fraction of their parasites behind, giving them an advantage over native species which must struggle with their own well-adapted parasites. This “release” from natural enemies can lead to larger body sizes and higher densities in introduced species, among other things. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov)

Fungi, Fire Exclusion, and the Fate of Sugar Pine in the Sierra Nevada: An exotic pathogen, white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), has caused declines in five-needled pines throughout North America. Simultaneously, fire exclusion has resulted in dense forest stands that may cause additional stress for these generally shade-intolerant pines. Although white pine blister rust and fire exclusion are widely recognized threats, long-term demographic data that document the effects of these stressors are rare. In a study recently published in Ecological Applications, USGS scientists Phil van Mantgem, Nate Stephenson, Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center and NPS fire ecologist MaryBeth Keifer addressed these issues using a unique long-term data set for sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) in the Sierra Nevada of California. White pine blister rust and fire exclusion appear to be having significant negative effects on sugar pine populations, with high frequencies of infected trees linked to considerable numbers of mortalities. The population-level effect of white pine blister rust was not uniform, and only one population was clearly declining. Most populations appeared to be buffered against significant declines due to relatively high survivorship of large individuals, although the increasing scarcity of smaller individuals, often due to blister rust-induced mortalities, and low recruitment rates point to future problems. These results suggest managers have time to apply and refine recovery strategies (e.g., blister rust resistant genotypes, prescription fire to encourage recruitment and growth) to protect this species. For more: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/vanmantgempbdec2004.html. (Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem@usgs.gov) Citation: van Mantgem, P. J., N. L. Stephenson, M. B. Keifer, and J. E. Keeley. 2004. Effects of an introduced pathogen and fire exclusion on the demography of sugar pine. Ecological Applications 14:1590–1602.

Mistletoe: USGS scientist Todd Esque of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed regarding mistletoe and birds of the desert southwest for a daily science magazine television show that airs on the Discovery Channel in Canada, as well as a weekly version that airs on The Science Channel in the U.S. and on Discovery Channels from North to South America. Acacias and mesquite trees are host trees to some mistletoes, whose berries are an important food for phainopeplas, one of many kinds of birds that eat mistletoe berries. (Todd Esque, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4506, todd_esque@usgs.gov)

More Ravens: On Dec. 9, USGS scientist William I. Boarman was interviewed for a Los Angeles Times article on the increase in common raven populations over much of the United States (expected in Outdoor section on Dec. 14). In the western Mojave Desert, where Boarman studies ravens, a dramatic increase in raven numbers during the past 30 years, due to increased human-provided resources, has become a concern to resource managers because raven prey includes the federally threatened desert tortoise. (William I. Boarman, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6880, william_boarman@usgs.gov)

San Diego County Bird Atlas: USGS scientist Barbara Kus of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed on Dec. 6, 2004, for an upcoming article by the North County Times newspaper (Escondido, CA) regarding the recently completed San Diego County Bird Atlas, produced and published by the San Diego Natural History Museum and supported by numerous agencies, groups, and individuals. USGS is among contributors of data to the bird atlas, and Kus has served on the advisory committee for the atlas project. While informing birders and residents of San Diego County, the atlas’ level of detail also makes it a useful tool for evaluating the effectiveness of land-management programs underway throughout the county, and for assessing the effects of the firestorms of 2002 and 2003. The atlas is based on the work of over 400 volunteer observers who spent over 55,000 hours in the field from February 1997 to February 2002, accumulating 400,000 records on 492 natives, migrants, and well-established exotics. The atlas' text includes discoveries through spring 2004. The book is expected to be available in January 2005; for more information: http://www.sdnhm.org/research/birdatlas/. (Barbara Kus, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6881, barbara_kus@usgs.gov)

Bird Research: On Nov. 17, 2004, USGS scientist Barbara Kus of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed about USGS research on birds, including endangered species, at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, as part of an upcoming article in National Wildlife Magazine on bird conservation at military installations. The interview took place during a field trip around the base with the DOD Partners in Flight program manager and Camp Pendleton environmental resource management personnel to view habitats and discuss research and conservation. (Barbara Kus, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6881, barbara_kus@usgs.gov)

Workshop on Global Cycles of Carbon, Energy, and Water: USGS scientist Nate Stephenson of the Western Ecological Research Center will be an invited contributor to a NASA-funded workshop of FLUXNET in Florence, Italy, December 13-15, 2004. FLUXNET is an international network aimed at understanding and reducing uncertainties in global cycles of carbon, energy, and water. Stephenson will help lead a session seeking to link measured energy and water fluxes with vegetation types, and will present recent findings on global patterns of forest turnover rates and their potential relevance to global carbon dynamics. Results of the workshop are expected to be published in a special issue of Global Change Biology. (Nate Stephenson, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3176, nstephenson@usgs.gov)

Living with Fire in Southern California: USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center and other experts are contributors to the new book titled “Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California” by Richard W. Halsey. Keeley discussed factors leading up to the chaparral fires of October 2003 as well as responses for reducing the chances of a repeat of the catastrophic impacts of severe weather-driven fires. Book release date is Dec. 1, 2004, and the paperback is available through Sunbelt Publications Bookstore (http://www.sunbeltbooks.com). (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Studying California Sea Otters: A front-page story in the Nov. 23 Los Angeles Times took a close-up look at the collaborative research effort that is investigating the threatened southern sea otter’s sluggish recovery. Among researchers quoted or named in the article are several from USGS: Jim Estes from the Western Ecological Research Center and Jim Bodkin, Dan Monson, and Heather Coletti from the Alaska Science Center: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-otters23nov23,1,5118756.story. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov)