WERC Highlights -- January 1999

USGS Radio-telemetry Studies: Christopher Bauer from CNET television contacted Gloria Maender of the Western Ecological Research Center January 6 regarding the use of GPS and radio-telemetry by U.S. Geological Survey researchers. During the next couple of months he will develop a show about radio-tracking wildlife for a science-based program called "New Edge" to air on the USA Network and the Sci-Fi Channel (Note: show aired in March). Gloria put him in touch with several center scientists conducting such research, all of whom he plans to interview: Joe Fleskes re migratory waterfowl, Jeff Lovich re desert tortoise, Les Chow re mountain lion, Gary Fellers re red-legged frog, Cecil Schwalbe re barking frog, and Judd Howell re Tule elk, bobcat, and coyote. (Gloria Maender, AZ, 520-670-5596)

Declining Amphibians: National Geographic writer Virginia Morrel braved two hours of driving rain, perfect frog weather, at Point Reyes National Seashore the night of January 19 to interview USGS scientist Gary Fellers of the Western Ecological Research Center regarding amphibian declines. They discussed Gary's California amphibian field work and put radio transmitters on seven female red-legged frogs. Fellers' interview is part of Ms. Morrel's preparation for a story on amphibian diversity to be published by National Geographic in the coming year. (Gary Fellers, Point Reyes, CA, 415-663-8522 x236)

Sea Otter Declines Still in the News: Brian Hackney, science editor of KRON-TV in San Francisco contacted USGS scientist Jim Estes of the Western Ecological Research Center for an interview January 29 as part of a report showing a decline in the number of sea otters. The story of killer whales feeding on sea otters in the Alaska Aleutians, reported in the October 16 issue of the journal Science by Estes and his associates, continues to draw media attention. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820) Official news release

Desert Tortoises to Walk: Last spring Greenspace Productions sent out a crew to film the desert tortoise research of USGS scientist Jeff Lovich of the Western Ecological Research Center for an episode of the Walk on the Wild Side series titled "Creature of the Mojave Desert." This episode is being broadcast in Canada on the Life Network in January and February (Jan. 30: 15h and 21h; Feb. 4: 23h; Feb. 5: 20h) and in the United States this fall. Lovich spoke about reproduction of the desert tortoise while the film crew recorded Lovich and his assistants radiotracking female tortoises and making radiographs of the females in a portable x-ray machine to view the development of eggs. (Jeff Lovich, Riverside, CA, 909-787-4719)

Raven Adaptability in the Mojave Desert and Their Increasing Threat to Desert Tortoises: In the January issue of the magazine National Geographic, writer Douglas H. Chadwick interviewed USGS Western Ecological Research Center biologist Bill Boarman on how ravens move between human settings and remote areas in the Mojave Desert and how their increased ability to live in harsh environments has affected the threatened desert tortoise. Boarman explained how ravens use telephone poles, sanitary landfills, and sewage lagoons for nest sites, food, and water, respectively, to enable them to expand their range and numbers between towns and into environments normally too harsh to support more than a few ravens. Young desert tortoises, a food of desert-dwelling ravens, are at increasing risk from predation by ravens, whose numbers are estimated to have grown tenfold in the Mojave Desert in the past 25 years. (Bill Boarman, Riverside, CA, 909-787-5152)