WERC Highlights -- January 2004

Environmental Health: USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center is an invited speaker for the “Spirit of the Land” symposium in San Diego, California, Feb. 13-14, 2004. Keeley will be a panelist in the Friday session titled “Fire Ecology: The Role of Fire in Ecosystems.” This panel will examine the importance of the natural fire regime of California shrublands, and discuss implications from a variety of standpoints including the historical role of fire, recreation, ecosystem management and community design. The event, cosponsored by San Diego State University Library and Information Access and the Viejas Band of the Kumeyaay Indians, is anticipated to attract upwards of 1,000 people. For more information: http://spirit.sdsu.edu. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Desert Tortoise Workshops: During the last week of January, Kristin Berry and Kevin Keith of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center are teaching two, two-day workshops in Moreno Valley, California on shell-skeletal remains of desert tortoises for Bureau of Land Management, Department of Defense, USGS, and California State Park employees who conduct field surveys for this federally- and state-listed threatened species. The classes cover identification of remains in the field and in predator scats; instructions on how to collect; estimating size, sex, and time since death; and determining causes or contributors to death. (Kristin Berry, Box Springs Field Station, Moreno Valley, California, 909-697-5361, kristin_berry@usgs.gov)

After the Fires: In the January 2004 issue of Geotimes, USGS scientists Ken Hudnut, Susan Cannon, and Jon Keeley, who were interviewed in a story about the recent southern California wildfires, discussed opportunities to now learn more about fault zones, debris flows and flooding, and ecosystems in those burn areas. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Fire Workshop: USGS fire ecologist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center is an invited speaker and advisory team member for a special scoping workshop that will convene scientists, government experts and policy makers to identify the environmental impacts of the 2003 southern California fires and the research, monitoring, restoration and education efforts needed to minimize the ecological, environmental and natural resource costs from future fires. A partnership of public agencies, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions is convening this meeting titled “Between Fires: Ecological Implications and Policy Responses,” at the University of California Los Angeles, Lake Arrowhead Conference Center, Feb. 5 –6, 2004. Keeley will speak on “Lessons Learned from the 2003 Wildfires.” A possible outcome from this workshop is a major symposium in the spring of 2004 to bring hundreds of science and policy experts together with community leaders to discuss, network, learn, and forge new directions. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Habitat Preferences of Northern Pintails in the Tulare Basin: Habitat selection and use are measures of relative importance of habitats to wildlife and necessary information for effective wildlife conservation. In a study recently published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin, USGS scientists Joseph P. Fleskes and David S. Gilmer of the Western Ecological Research Center and Oregon State University professor Robert L. Jarvis measured the relative importance of flooded agricultural fields and other landscapes to northern pintails wintering in the Tulare Basin, in California’s Central Valley. Among their findings were the reliance of radiotagged pintails during fall on agricultural fields, especially safflower, that were flooded after harvest. Pintails switched in early winter to managed wetlands but most left the Tulare Basin as the fallow, safflower, and grain fields dried, indicating a lack of preferred habitat. A summary of the publication including management implications is available at: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/fleskespbjan2004.html. Citation: Fleskes, J. P., R. L. Jarvis, and D. S. Gilmer. 2003. Selection of flooded agricultural fields and other landscapes by female northern pintails wintering in the Tulare Basin, California. Wildlife Society Bulletin 31(3):793-803. (Joe Fleskes, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x628, joe_fleskes@usgs.gov)

Argentine Ants/Coast Horned Lizards: In the February issue of San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles, USGS scientist Robert N. Fisher of the Western Ecological Research Center discussed how invasive Argentine ants affect native wildlife of southern California, by competing with and replacing native ants and by threatening species already in decline, such as least Bell’s vireo, arroyo toad, and coast horned lizard, a species that depends on ant diversity. (Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882, rfisher@usgs.gov)

Stream Turbidity and Salmon: USGS scientist Mary Ann Madej of the Western Ecological Research Center has been invited by the California Board of Forestry Monitoring Study Group to discuss her study of stream turbidity and fish-feeding behavior at their meeting in Willits, California on January 22, 2004. The study shows that organic suspended particles contribute significantly to turbidity levels, and that the efficiency of salmonid feeding decreases with increasing turbidities. (Mary Ann Madej, Arcata, CA, 707-825-5148, mary_ann_madej@usgs.gov)

Common Ravens in the Mojave Desert: In a recent article in the journal Environmental Management, USGS scientist William I. Boarman of the Western Ecological Research Center discussed the implications of overabundance of common ravens in the Mojave Desert and management strategies to reduce raven numbers and their negative effects on the threatened desert tortoise. Ravens have increased in the Mojave by more than 1,000 percent in the past 25 years, and young tortoises are vulnerable to raven predation. A review of scientific literature yielded three categories of management recommendations: managing raven populations by reducing access to anthropogenic resources; removing offending ravens or birds in specially-targeted tortoise management zones; and continuing research on raven ecology, raven behavior, and methods of reducing raven predation on tortoises. Boarman recommended approaching the raven problem within an adaptive management framework for an unbiased assessment of the effectiveness of approach. A summary of this article is available at: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/boarmanpbjan2004.html. Citation: Boarman, W. I. 2003. Managing a subsidized predator population: reducing common raven predation on desert tortoises. Environmental Management 32:205-217. (William I. Boarman, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6880, william_boarman@usgs.gov)

Waterfowl: USGS scientist Joe Fleskes of the Western Ecological Research Center was contacted by California Waterfowl, the bimonthly magazine of the California Waterfowl Association, for details about his recent presentation on impacts of landscape changes on waterfowl wintering in the Central Valley of California that he gave at the recent 3rd North American Duck Symposium. The magazine will run a story on the symposium in its February 2004 issue. (Joe Fleskes, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x628, joe_fleskes@usgs.gov)

Mountain Lions: USGS scientist Les Chow of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a Jan. 11 story in the Los Angeles Times about recent mountain lion attacks on humans in southern California. (Leslie Chow, El Portal, 209-379-1307, les_chow@usgs.gov)

Spading Toad Pools: On January 17, USGS scientist T'Shaka Touré of the Western Ecological Research Center will lead a group of volunteers and park rangers through Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Orange County, California to create temporary breeding pools for Western spadefoot toads, a locally rare species. This is a continuation of the pilot program that began in 2001 designed to educate, provide guidance, and demonstrate inexpensive ways to prevent continued loss of breeding habitats of the Western spadefoot toad. (T'Shaka Touré, Irvine, CA, 714-832-7968, ttoure@usgs.gov)

Restoring Wetlands: USGS scientist Isa Woo of the Western Ecological Research Center guided Calfed staff and representatives on a recent fieldtrip tour of the Tolay Creek and Tubbs Setback wetland restoration projects in the San Francisco Bay area, highlighting the progress and challenges of wetland restoration. (Isa Woo, Vallejo, CA 707-562-2001, iwoo@usgs.gov)

Diving Ducks: USGS scientist Joe Fleskes of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed about diving duck trends in “Grassland Today,” the grassland wetlands newsletter of the California Grassland Water District. Fleskes discussed research to assess population and distribution trends over time, part of a cooperative project to determine response of waterfowl to the Central Valley Habitat Joint Venture and other habitat changes in California: http://www.grasslandwetlands.com/grasslandtodayvol13no6/page3.html. Also referenced in this story were results from a study on canvasbacks that was recently published in Condor and co-authored by USGS scientist John Takekawa and others. (Joe Fleskes, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x628, joe_fleskes@usgs.gov)

Fire: USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center was quoted in a Jan. 5 story by newsdesk.org that examined fire factors in southern California newsdesk.org. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)