WERC Highlights -- July 2002

California Forest Blaze: USGS fire ecologists Nate Stephenson, Jon Keeley, and Jan van Wagtendonk were interviewed about the fire risk to giant sequoia groves from the McNalley fire, for stories in the Fresno Bee, Los Angeles Times, and Sacramento Bee. (Nate Stephenson, 559-565-3176, and Jon Keeley, 559-565-3170, Three Rivers, CA; Jan van Wagtendonk, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1306)

Desert Frogs Clamor for Mates, Attract Media: A Radio Expeditions crew (NPR/National Geographic) and an Arizona Daily Star reporter and photographer joined USGS research ecologist Cecil Schwalbe and volunteers to document choruses of as many as 6 species of frogs that may gather at a single pond to call for mates. Schwalbe and other researchers are developing standard methods for monitoring amphibians that breed in temporary pools in southern Arizona and California. NPR also documented Schwalbe and volunteers as they recaptured bullfrogs marked earlier in the season to learn how far bullfrogs travel between pools. Earlier research found bullfrogs had traveled overland as far as 3.1 miles from where they were marked. Introduced bullfrogs prey on and compete with native desert frogs and toads. The newspaper story is expected in the Sunday edition on July 28. The NPR stories may air as early as the second week of August on the Morning Edition program. (Cecil Schwalbe, Tucson, AZ, 520-621-5508)

Vacation Otters: A story slated to appear in the January issue of Endless Vacation will include information on the USGS 2002 survey of California sea otters. (Gloria Maender, Tucson, AZ, 520-670-5596)

Fire, Invasive Species, and Ecosystem Recovery: A dozen scientists from the Western Ecological Research Center will be on hand to talk about USGS research at the joint conference of the Ecological Society of America and Society of Ecological Restoration in Tucson, Arizona, Aug. 5-9. Most are giving papers or poster presentations at the conference, which has an expected attendance of more than 3,500. Additionally, WERC scientists are participating on a fire panel about the recent Arizona wildfires and co-chairing two symposia: “Fire and invasive plant ecology and management: the need for integration to effectively restore ecosystems,” and “Natural recovery and restoration of disturbed desert environments in the Mojave Desert.” (Gloria Maender, Tucson, AZ, 520-670-5596)

Why Biodiversity Matters: USGS research zoologist Robert N. Fisher of the Western Ecological Research Center speaks “live” online on the importance of biodiversity in San Diego ecosystems (accompanied by live critters including the largest insects of southern California). The presentation, made at the University of California, San Diego, was recorded by UCSD-TV for the university’s series “Science Matters” and can be viewed at the university’s educational website: http://www.ucsd.tv/sciencematters/. (Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882)

Gutsy Ravens: USGS research wildlife biologist William I. Boarman was interviewed by Science Now for a story about raven populations in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, whose diet is subsidized by elk “gut piles” left by hunters. (William I. Boarman, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6880)

Urban Coyotes: USGS research ecologist Erin Boydston of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a story in the Pacific Sun on coyotes that live in urban areas of Marin County, California. After a 40-year absence, coyotes are recolonizing Marin headlands. USGS researchers are studying coyotes on protected lands and their urban edges, gathering data on coyote distribution, abundance and habitat use, and interaction with smaller predators and humans. (Erin Boydston, Sausalito, CA, 415-331-0639)

Parasites and Sea Otters: Parasites and Sea Otters: Media coverage on non-otter parasites in California sea otters includes the San Francisco Chronicle and “World and Wonder,” a weekly documentary series on a TV station in Munich, Germany. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778)

USGS Begins Project to Identify Metals Contaminations from Abandoned Mine Lands at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California: During April-June 2002, the USGS, funded by the Water Quality Assessment and Monitoring Program, completed the first year of data collection of a three-year study to evaluate the potential risks from metals in Whiskeytown's major watersheds. The project will identify and characterize potential contaminant “hot spots” based on concentrations of metals in sediments and biota, water quality, benthic macroinvertebrate community structure, and stream habitat quality. In addition, the project will evaluate potential adverse effects that mercury or other metals may have on watershed biota. The primary goal in the first year is to identify sources of contamination and areas most severely impacted by the contamination. The second year of the study (2003) will focus on those most contaminated sites to determine potential for adverse biological effects. This integrated research is being conducted cooperatively by USGS biological and water resources disciplines, the University of Montana, California Department of Fish and Game, Bureau of Land Management, and the National Park Service. A web site for this project has been established at: http://ca.water.usgs.gov/projects02/ca598.html. (Roger L. Hothem, Davis, CA, 530-752-4605)

USGS Evaluates Potential Mercury Contamination in Remediation Site: Stream channels and flood plains within the lower reach of the Clear Creek Watershed, located west of Redding, California, are currently being restored using dredge and hydraulic mine tailings. These tailings are potentially contaminated with mercury from earlier mining operations. During October 2001 and May 2002, the USGS biological and water resources disciplines cooperated to collect samples of aquatic insects, amphibians, and fish for mercury analysis to evaluate the effects of this restoration project on biological resources. Water and sediment were collected from the same sites and analyzed by scientists of the USGS geological discipline. Researchers from the three disciplines will use results of the chemical analyses of the various media to identify and characterize contaminant “hot spots” within the lower Clear Creek Watershed and will evaluate the potential adverse effects that mercury may have on fish and other biota within the project area and downstream of the watershed. (Roger L. Hothem, Davis, CA, 530-752-4605)

Reptile and Amphibian Research: USGS scientists of the Western Ecological Research Center will give presentations at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, in Kansas City, Missouri, July 3-8. T’Shaka Touré will discuss long-term monitoring in fragmented habitats and the impacts of urbanization on amphibians and reptiles in Orange County, California. At 14 sites sampled over the past 2-5 years in this study, USGS scientists have recorded 35 herpetofaunal species (9 amphibians, 26 reptiles) of the 43 species known to historically occur in Orange County. In another presentation, Ed Ervin will report on the importance of historic cattle ponds for the conservation of native amphibians in southern California. Following removal or control of nonnative aquatic and amphibious predatory species, three native amphibian species -- the western spadefoot toad, western toad, and Pacific treefrog -- successfully produced surviving young at these artificial wetlands for the first time in the three years of this study. (T’Shaka Touré, Irvine, CA, 714-330-5042; Ed Ervin, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6890)

Fire in the Desert: New Scientist, a British magazine, interviewed USGS fire ecologists Todd Esque and Matt Brooks of the Western Ecological Research Center about the interrelationship of desert wildfires and exotic invasive plants. Invasion of Southwestern deserts by nonnative grasses and other plants, is associated with more frequent and larger wildfires, decreasing water infiltration to the soil, changes in plant nutrient cycling, and conversion of the deserts to exotic fire-driven grasslands. (Todd Esque, Las Vegas, NV, 702-914-2206 x226; Matt Brooks, Las Vegas, NV, 702-914-2206 x225)

Parasites and Sea Otters: Kevin Lafferty, a marine ecologist at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, was interviewed for a story in the Sacramento Bee on newly emerging diseases that are affecting threatened California sea otters. These diseases, which can result in otter deaths, are caused by non-otter parasites that are entering the ecosystem because of human-related activities. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-87778)