WERC Highlights -- June 2007

Toxoplasma gondii: On June 24, USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty was interviewed by Scholastic's Science World magazine for an upcoming story on the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, a cat parasite that also can infect other vertebrates including humans. He was also interviewed for the magazine’s career column about careers studying parasites and what it’s like being a parasitologist. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov)

Postfire Recovery in Southern California: On June 20, 2007, USGS scientist Jon Keeley will give an invited presentation on postfire management in California chaparral at a symposium on postfire recovery efforts following the May fires at Los Angeles’ Griffith Park and Catalina Island. Keeley will also participate in a panel discussion and field trip to Griffith Park. The Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council and the City of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department developed the symposium as a venue to exchange information on postfire recovery best practices. Large-scale, multi-agency recovery planning efforts are underway that will address the need to protect public health and safety and threatened property and natural resources. About 100 individuals involved in these efforts are expected to attend the symposium. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

USGS Scientist Joins Editorial Advisory Board of New Journals: USGS scientist Jon Keeley has been invited to join the Editorial Advisory Board that reviews articles for three new open-access peer-review journals in the field of forest science: The Open Forest Science Journal, Open Forest Science Reviews, and Open Forest Science Letters. Topics covered in the new journals will include forest ecology; conservation and management, tree genetics and physiology, wood quality and production, systems analysis and modeling, and silviculture. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Desert Tortoise Hibernation: According to a recent study in the journal Copeia by USGS and University of Nevada, Reno, scientists, the transition in and out of hibernation by Mojave desert tortoises extends over much longer periods than was previously thought. The scientists examined the onset, duration, and termination of hibernation in Mojave desert tortoises over several years at multiple sites in the northeastern part of their geographic range, and recorded the temperatures experienced by tortoises during winter hibernation. The timing of hibernation by desert tortoises differed among sites and years. Different individual tortoises entered hibernation over as many as 44 days in the fall and emerged from hibernation over as many as 49 days in the spring. Environmental cues did not appear to influence the timing of the hibernation period; however, regionally, hibernation tended to begin earlier and continue longer at sites that were higher in elevation and generally cooler. The average temperatures experienced by tortoises while hibernating differed by only about five degrees from the coldest site to the warmest site. The variability in timing of hibernation and kinds of subterranean burrows (hibernacula) used at different sites are important considerations for management decisions that allow activities to occur during winter months in desert tortoise habitat. See: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/nussearpbjun2007.html. (Ken Nussear, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4515, knussear@usgs.gov) Citation: Nussear, K.E., T.C. Esque, D.F. Haines, and C.R. Tracy. 2007. Desert tortoise hibernation: temperatures, timing, and environment. Copeia:378–386.

Fires and Forests: USGS scientist Jan van Wagtendonk has had recent follow-up contacts for an upcoming cover story in USA Weekend magazine that will highlight the role fire plays in providing nutrients and reducing fire hazards in U.S. forests, and for an upcoming story in Sunset Magazine that will discuss climate change and wildfires in the western U.S. (Jan van Wagtendonk, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1306, jan_van_wagtendonk@usgs.gov)

Chaparral Shrublands: On June 12, 2007, USGS scientist Jon Keeley was interviewed in the field by a Los Angeles Times reporter working on an upcoming story on fire-induced type conversion of native chaparral shrublands to non-native grasslands. Keeley and his field crew are working on fire hazards research in southern California. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Endangered Species: On June 7, 2007, USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty was interviewed by the Jane Goodall Institute for a future book on endangered species: he discussed his research on white abalone and conservation of snowy plovers. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov)

USGS Scientists to Participate at Wetland Science Meeting: USGS scientists of the Western Ecological Research Center and their colleagues will present about a dozen papers and posters at the Society of Wetland Scientists annual meeting to be held June 10-15, 2007, in Sacramento, California. Several of these presentations cover a range of topics relating to the restoration of wetlands in San Francisco Bay (e.g., use of different wetland habitats by migratory birds, methylmercury concentrations in the California black rail foodweb), as well as bird use of a constructed saline wetland complex at the Salton Sea. See: http://www.sws.org/sacramento2007/index.html. (Gloria Maender, Tucson, AZ, 520-670-5596, gloria_maender@usgs.gov)

California Sea Otters: On June 6, 2007, USGS scientists Jim Estes and Brian Hatfield were interviewed for an upcoming story by the Associated Press regarding the threatened California sea otter population and the 2007 spring survey results. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov; Brian Hatfield, San Simeon, CA, 805-927-3893, brian_hatfield@usgs.gov)

Warming Forests: On June 5, 2007, USGS scientist Nate Stephenson and field crew were interviewed by National Public Radio for an upcoming California Report series on climatic change. The interview focused on observed and potential climatic change effects on forests of the Sierra Nevada, and particularly on potential effects of climatic changes on giant sequoias. (Nate Stephenson, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3176, nstephenson@usgs.gov)