WERC Highlights -- July 2003

San Francisco Bay Salt Pond Ecology: USGS scientist John Takekawa of the Western Ecological Research Center will present a talk at the Societas Internationalis Limnologiae, Working Group on Aquatic Birds meeting in Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada, Aug. 4-7, 2003. Takekawa's talk will be on trophic structure and avian communities in salt ponds of the San Francisco Bay estuary. For more information: http://www.links.umoncton.ca/lw/. (John Takekawa, Vallejo, CA, 707-562-2000, john_takekawa@usgs.gov)

Cowbird Parasitism in Endangered Hosts: USGS scientist Barbara Kus of the Western Ecological Research Center will give an invited paper in a symposium titled "Ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions and cowbird management" at the annual meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, Aug. 5-9, 2003. Kus will discuss the results of cowbird control for the recovery of two endangered riparian species in southern California, the least Bell’s vireo and southwestern willow flycatcher, and what prolonged reliance on cowbird control may mean for the long-term survival of these species. For more information: http://www.conferences.uiuc.edu/conferences/conference.asp?ID=264. (Barbara Kus, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6881, barbara_kus@usgs.gov)

Biodiversity and Urban Growth in California: USGS scientist Robert N. Fisher of the Western Ecological Research Center will be the speaker for the USGS public lecture in Menlo Park, California, on Aug. 28, 2003. His presentation titled “Human Footprints on the Web of Life” about why biodiversity matters will discuss: why California leads the country in endangered species; why so many reptiles and amphibians are in decline; the growing economic costs from fire ants, Asian clams, and other aggressive invasive species; new species are still being discovered; the California lizard that keeps Lyme disease in check and the butterflies that prevented development on San Bruno Mountain; and how will California’s spreading asphalt, already at 5 million acres, affect future biodiversity. For information on this and other lectures: http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/. (Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882, rfisher@usgs.gov)

More Whales: USGS scientist Jim Estes of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed in a story in the San Jose Mercury News about the significance of a recent study that suggests whales were once 10 times more abundant that previously thought: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/6403329.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov)

Salmon Spawning and Sediment: Mary Ann Madej, a USGS research geologist at the Western Ecological Research Center, is an invited speaker at the 133rd annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society, to be held in Québec City, Canada, Aug. 10-14. The symposium is “Physical factors affecting salmon spawning and egg survival to emergence: integrating science and remediation management” and Madej's talk is “Reach-scale channel response to sediment pulses,” which details channel changes following large sediment inputs over a 30-year period. For more information: http://www.fapaq.gouv.qc.ca/fr/AFS_congres/accueil.htm. (Mary Ann Madej, Arcata, CA, 707-825-5148, mary_ann_madej@usgs.gov)

Assessing Mohave Ground Squirrel Population: The Mohave ground squirrel (Spermophilus mohavensis) is listed as threatened by the California Fish and Game Commission, due largely to the loss of habitat within its geographic range, which is limited to 2 million hectares in the western Mojave Desert. Information is needed to delineate critical habitat and evaluate population trends of this species. In a recent study, published in the journal California Fish and Game, USGS scientists Matt Brooks and John Matchett of the Western Ecological Research Center reviewed the existing Mohave ground squirrel trapping records and developed a set of recommendations to facilitate future habitat modeling and population trend predictions. To improve the utility of future datasets, the scientists presented a set of 40 variables to quantify. Their study also found an unexplained decrease in trapping success between 1980 and 2000 across most of the squirrel’s range, which suggests additional studies are needed to determine if this decrease reflects a decline in the Mohave ground squirrel, and if so, what the reasons are for this trend. A summary for resource managers is available at: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/brookspbjul2003.html. (Matt Brooks, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4615, matt_brooks@usgs.gov; John Matchett, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4617, jmatchett@usgs.gov)

Picturing Fire: USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center contributed a selection of photos from his fire research in the California shrublands for the development of an exhibit panel about the role of fire in chaparral. The fire panel will be a permanent part of a new interpretive outdoor display to open around late fall or winter at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, an educational science museum that attracts almost 2 million visitors a year including many school groups. To learn more about the museum: www.californiasciencecenter.org. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Forest Ecology: USGS fire ecologists at the Western Ecological Research Center will give presentations at the 88th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Savannah, Georgia, Aug. 3-8, 2003. Phil van Mantgem will discuss the effects of the exotic white pine blister rust disease and fire exclusion on the long-term population viability of sugar pine in the Sierra Nevada. Tom McGinnis will discuss the results of field and lab tests on the effects of fire on the survival and recruitment of both native plants and cheatgrass, an exotic grass that has increased following prescription burning in the old growth yellow pine forest of Kings Canyon National Park. For more information: http://www.esa.org/savannah/. (Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem@usgs.gov; Tom McGinnis, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-4262, tmcginnis@usgs.gov)

Assessing Alien Plant Threats: Invasive alien plants can bring about significant changes in ecosystems by changing structural attributes of native plant communities and the processes that support them. A recent report published by the U.S. Geological Survey documents nonnative plants in Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yosemite national parks. The scientists ranked the alien plant species into 4 management categories and provided guidance for setting management priorities. The process of researching life histories and then prioritizing plant species serves as a model for all resource management agencies in dealing with alien species. The 149-page report, titled “Alien Plant Species Threat Assessment and Management Prioritization for Sequoia-Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks,” by John D. Gerlach, Jr., Peggy E. Moore, Brent Johnson, D. Graham Roy, Patrick Whitmarsh, Daniel M. Lubin, David M. Graber, Sylvia Haultain, Anne Pfaff, and Jon E. Keeley, is U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-170. A summary of the report is available in a Publication Brief for Resource Managers at: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/keeleypbjul2003.html. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559- 565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov; Anne Pfaff, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3172, anne_hopkins_pfaff@usgs.gov) Official news release

Parasites Lost: ScienCentralNews.com reported on research by a team of parasitologists, among them USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty, who found that introduced animals have only about half the number of parasites on average as they had in their native range: http://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?language=english&type=article&article_id=218392006%3Ehttp://www.sciencentral.com/articles/view.php3?language=english&type=article&article_id=218392006. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov)

Gnawing Problem: USGS scientist Todd Esque was interviewed for stories by the Los Angeles Times and Associated Press (AP story ran in Long Beach Press-Telegram, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, Palm Springs Desert Sun), and in a live interview on KZFR radio (Chico, CA) regarding the destructive bark chewing by rodents on Joshua trees, which is resulting in the death of many of this Mojave Desert icon during a period of drought. Preliminary analyses from a USGS survey conducted at Joshua Tree National Park in May 2003 indicated 57 percent of trees marked as damaged by rodents a year ago have died, while only 5 percent of marked undamaged trees died. Additional coverage was by NBC 4 and ABC 7 (Los Angeles) and KMIR6 (ABC) in Palm Springs, and KNX (Los Angeles) and KPSI (Palm Springs) radio stations. Print stories: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-joshua7jul07001419,1,5284180.story; http://www.presstelegram.com/cda/article/print/0,1674,204%257E21474%257E1499361,00.html. (Todd Esque, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4506, todd_esque@usgs.gov)

Fire and Forests: USGS scientists Nate Stephenson and Matt Brooks were interviewed by Time magazine for an upcoming article on the ecology of fire and forest restoration. (Nate Stephenson, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3176, nstephenson@usgs.gov; Matt Brooks, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4615, matt_brooks@usgs.gov)

Grinnell Sites Revisited: USGS scientist Leslie Chow was interviewed by the Stockton Record for a story on the University of California, Berkeley, Museum of Vertebrate Zoology’s resurvey of sites surveyed for vertebrate species in 1914-19 by Joseph Grinnell. Some of the sites are located in Yosemite National Park, where as many as 15 sites having the highest diversity may be resurveyed over the next 3 years. News story: http://www.recordnet.com/daily/news/articles/071403-gn-3.php. (Leslie Chow, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1307, les_chow@usgs.gov)

San Francisco Bay Area Wildlife: Erin Boydston was interviewed for a San Francisco Chronicle story on urban wildlife: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/13/BA293273.DTL. (Erin Boydston, Sausalito, CA, 415-331-0639, eboydston@usgs.gov)

Whether Thick- or Thin-barked, Small Conifers Resist Fire Similarly: Prescribed fire is commonly used to thin overly-dense forests and promote forest health. Understanding how fire may result in tree death depends on knowing exactly how fire causes damage to plant tissues. In a study recently published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management, USGS scientist Phil van Mantgem of the Western Ecological Research Center and Mark Schwartz of the University of California at Davis demonstrate how heat stress from fires overcomes the protective layer of bark to damage the conductive tissues of trees. The study focused on small trees, which are often a target of management actions. The authors found that differences in bark thickness among species do not necessarily translate into large differences in stem fire resistance for small trees. Hence, it may prove difficult to selectively remove particular species via stem damage using prescription burning. A summary of the study and management implications is available online in a new Publication Brief for Resource Managers at: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/vanmantgempbjun2003.html. (Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem@usgs.gov)

Pintails: USGS scientist Michael Miller was interviewed for a story on pintail spring migration for National Wildlife magazine. (Michael R. Miller, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x618, michael_r_miller @usgs.gov)