WERC Highlights -- July 1999

USGS Western Ecological Research Center Hosts Russian Botanist: Dr. Dmitry Geltman, a plant taxonomist on the staff of the Komarov Botanical Institute in St. Petersburg, will come to the United States in August to assemble a database of the non-indigenous vascular plants of Russia, assist in completing the existing MABFlora database for Russia, assist in adding additional sites to the MABFlora database of species occurences, and summarize the distributions of non-indigenous vascular plants based upon information contained within the database. During his two-month visit, Dr. Geltman will interact with USGS biologists and information management specialists at the Information Center for the Environment in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis. The Information Center for the Environment developed MABFlora, a standardized computer database currently in use on biosphere reserves in western Russia. (Peter Stine, Sacramento, CA)

Two USGS Scientists to Speak to Environmental Journalists: Robert Fisher and Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center are invited speakers for the Society of Environmental Journalists National Conference in Los Angeles, Sept. 16-19, the Society's first conference held in California. The Society of Environmental Journalists is a professional organization dedicated to improving the quality, accuracy, and visibility of environmental reporting. Fisher will participate in a tour event Sept. 16 titled "Epicenter of Extinction," looking at issues of growth, biodiversity, and habitat loss in the Orange County area. Fisher will speak on herpetological research in southern California and declines in amphibian and reptile populations from urbanization. Keeley will take part in a panel discussion called "Disasterland" on Sept. 18, speaking about fire issues in the urban-wildland interface. Keeley recently published an article in the journal Science that revealed that fire suppression is not the cause of catastrophic wildfires in the California shrublands. (Robert Fisher, San Diego, CA, 619-594-8026; Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170)

Declining Amphibians: On the brink of federal listing, the Chiricahua leopard frog is gone from 80 percent of its historical localities in southeastern and central Arizona and southwestern and west-central New Mexico, and in the United States is now found at about 40 wetland sites. National Geographic writer Virginia Morell, who has been preparing over the past several months a story on global declines of frogs and toads, will interview USGS scientist Cecil Schwalbe of the Western Ecological Research Center when she visits him and his colleague Phil Rosen (Univ. of Arizona) August 13-16 on two national wildlife refuges in southeast Arizona, San Bernardino and Buenos Aires, to view Chiricahua leopard frog study sites. They will also visit the Magoffin Ranch, where efforts to save the Chiricahua leopard frog have earned Matt Magoffin and his family international acclaim and articles in Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, and Smithsonian magazines and ranching magazines. Magoffin is a member of The Malpai Borderlands group, an organization of private ranchers in southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico who have banded together to retain their ranching lifestyle while preserving the biodiversity on their lands. The National Geographic magazine story is expected to be published in the coming year. In January 1999, Ms. Morell interviewed USGS scientist Gary Fellers, also of the Western Ecological Research Center, regarding Fellers' California amphibian field work. She ventured into a rainy night to observe him capture and place radio transmitters on seven female red-legged frogs. (Cecil Schwalbe, Tucson, AZ, 520-621-5508).

Scientist Awarded Marine Conservation Fellowship: Exploring causes and solutions to declines of marine populations in the Bering Sea ecosystem is a project USGS marine biologist Jim Estes will conduct during the next four years, with funding of $150,000 from the Pew Fellows Program, the world's largest and most prestigious award for preservation of the sea. Estes, of the Western Ecological Research Center, has studied the Bering Sea ecosystem for nearly 30 years, observing a steady decline of the system. The complex and dynamic interactions between predator, prey, and habitat in and between the ocean and coastal zones have made pinpointing causes of decline difficult. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820) Official news release

Brushland Fire Story on San Francisco TV: A recent USGS study exonerates fire suppression for the rising loss of life and property from catastrophic wildfires in central and southern coastal shrublands of California. Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed by KTVU TV (Channel 2) in San Francisco and the San Francisco Examiner; the TV story is expected to air on the 10 p.m. news Sunday July 18. Results of Keeley's study were published in an article in the June 11 issue of the journal Science, and the study has attracted national media interest. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170) Official news release

California Sea Otter News Coverage Ongoing: Newsweek.com and the Environment Show, a syndicated news show of WAMC radio in Albany, New York, contacted the USGS Western Ecological Research Center for stories on the 1999 spring survey of California sea otters, which reported a total of 2,090 otters. An overall 12.1 percent decline in the population of California sea otters has occurred since a high of 2,377 sea otters in spring 1995. The USGS-led 1999 spring survey reported a 1.14 percent decline in the population since the 1998 survey and a disconcerting 5 percent decline in the group composed of adult and subadult sea otters. Jim Estes of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed by WAMC regarding the 1999 spring survey and decline of California sea otters, and Nancy Thomas of the USGS National Wildlife Health Center was interviewed by Newsweek.com regarding the health status of the California sea otter population. (Gloria Maender, Tucson, AZ, 520-670-5596) Official news release

Raven Predation on Tortoises: Subsidized by urban development, desert-dwelling ravens of the Mojave Desert have increased in number dramatically. Their growing numbers pose an increasing threat to the federally threatened desert tortoise whose young are raven prey. Bill Boarman of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center was recently interviewed for a story about raven predation on tortoises in the San Jose Mercury News. (Bill Boarman, Riverside, CA, 909-787-5152)

Pacific Loggerhead Sea Turtles Get International Attention: A 90 percent decline in Pacific loggerhead sea turtles returning to nesting beaches near the town of Minabe, Japan, occurred between 1990 and 1998. Declines have also been observed at the loggerhead's foraging grounds along the coast of Baja California, Mexico. A vacationing USGS scientist had a rare opportunity to speak about the need for increased international cooperation in sea turtle studies. Cecil Schwalbe of the Western Ecological Research Center, who met Japanese sea turtle researchers, was interviewed by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (Nippon Hoso Kyokai), about the importance of research being conducted in Japan and Mexico. Two of Schwalbe's doctoral students at the University of Arizona, Wallace Nichols and Jeffrey Seminoff, were part of an international research team of Mexican, U.S., and Japanese scientists who recently published the first documented accounts of Pacific loggerheads successfully migrating from Mexico to nesting beaches in Japan. The journey of one of the turtles, Adelita, who carried a satellite transmitter, was followed closely on a computer website by thousands of interested viewers; her trip of 368 days extended over more than 11,500 km, an average of 31 km per day. The upcoming half-hour radio broadcast (in English) will be aired throughout Japan and in selected areas in the United States. (Cecil Schwalbe, Tucson, AZ, 520-621-5508)

California Sea Otters Still in News: The USGS-led 1999 spring survey of California sea otters reported a 1.14 percent decline in the population and a disconcerting 5 percent decline in the group composed of adult and subadult sea otters. A downward trend in the population has occurred since a high of 2,377 in spring 1995. Survey data will be used by federal and state wildlife agencies to make management decisions regarding this sea mammal. Brian Hatfield of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed this week for stories in the Los Angeles Times, The Coast Weekly, Seaside, and KCSN radio, Northridge. (Brian Hatfield, Piedras Blancas, CA, 805-927-3893) Official news release

Radio-tracking Story Online: Wetlands of the California Central Valley provide a winter home to 60 percent of ducks and geese that migrate along the Pacific Flyway, 20 percent of all North American waterfowl. Understanding the kinds of habitats these waterfowl select for feeding and roosting will help scientists evaluate the effectiveness of habitat restoration efforts of the last 10 years. USGS scientists and their cooperators are radio-tracking the movements of wintering white-fronted geese northern pintails, mallards, and green-winged teal over three years. This study was reported in a news release in December 1998 and has been picked up by the at Waterfowler.com. (Joe Fleskes, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x628) Official news release