WERC Highlights -- May 2003

Careers in Biology: USGS wildlife research biologist Keith Miles of the Western Ecological Research Center was an invited speaker on biological research in USGS for the Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology Career Night at the University of California, Davis, on May 27. Miles joined speakers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, and Jones and Stokes in providing information on job opportunities and availability and an overall impression of their respective organization’s functions. (A. Keith Miles, Davis, CA, 530-752-5365, keith_miles@usgs.gov)

Tree Mortality: “Which Trees Will Be Killed by Fire? Pre-fire Growth Rate is a Factor,” a new publication brief from the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, summarizes a recently published study in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research by USGS scientists Phil van Mantgem and Nate Stephenson, and their colleagues. They found that pre-fire tree growth rate, in addition to fire-induced crown scorch, influences probability of tree death following fire. The publication brief, which also provides management implications, is online at: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/vanmantgempbmay2003.html (Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem@usgs.gov; Nate Stephenson, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3176, nstephenson@usgs.gov)

Contaminants Workshop: The USGS video “Sonoran Desert: Fragile Land of Extremes” aired as an addition to the banquet agenda at a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contaminants training workshop held last week in Tucson, Ariz. Steve Schwarzbach, a USGS scientist and research manager at the Western Ecological Research Center, introduced the video to an audience of about 300, including the USFWS assistant regional directors and contaminants biologists from across the country. An invited speaker for the workshop, Schwarzbach co-taught a class on harvesting and processing bird eggs for contaminant analysis. He also chaired a session on mercury, presenting his own paper on field assessment of mercury exposure in aquatic birds and two other mercury papers for USGS scientists unable to attend. (Steve Schwarzbach, Sacramento, CA, 916-379-3745, steven_schwarzbach@usgs.gov)

Mojave Desert Tortoises: USGS scientist Kristin Berry of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed about measuring the status and trends, and effects of diseases and other human-related impacts on populations of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise for a story in the East Bay Express (San Francisco area): http://www.eastbayexpress.com/issues/2003-05-28/feature.html/1/index.html.

Textbook Snake: A photograph by USGS scientists Chris Brown, Western Ecological Research Center, of a California red-sided garter snake will appear in a new online textbook on introductory biology titled “Bio 101: From Biosphere to Molecules,” expected in summer 2003. (Chris Brown, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6883, cwbrown@usgs.gov)

Student Award: Sarah Spring, a USGS biological science technician with the Western Ecological Research Center won third place for best student presentation at the Northern California Regional Chapter(NorCal) of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) annual meeting reception, held at University of California, Berkeley, on May 7, 2003. Her presentation was on the biological impact of TCE and PCE on wild rodents at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In addition to an award certificiate, Spring will receive a year of free membership to both NorCal SETAC and SETAC North America. (Sarah Spring, Davis, CA, 530-752-0485, sarah_spring@usgs.gov)

Lizard Facts: USGS scientist Robert N. Fisher provided technical assistance for a story on Dragonfly TV, the PBS kids science television program, regarding lizards in Topanga Canyon in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. (Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882, rfisher@usgs.gov)

Wildlife Corridors: USGS scientists Chris Haas and Lisa Lyren were interviewed for a story on linking lands in southern California for mountain lions featured on the National Geographic Today news program on May 21, 2003. For more information about the TV schedule, go to: www.nationalgeographic.com or see story description: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0521_030521_tvmountainlions.html. (Chris Haas, Corona, CA, 909-735-0774, chaas@usgs.gov; Lisa Lyren, Corona, CA, 909-735-0773, llyren@usgs.gov)

Crafty Canines: On Thursday, May 22, 2003, USGS scientists Lisa Lyren and Chris Haas of the Western Ecological Research Center will give a presentation titled "Following in the Footsteps of the Urban Coyote" at the San Diego Natural History Museum as part of the museum's 7-month-long exhibition "Dogs: Wolf, Myth, Hero, and Friend." They will discuss how habitat fragmentation is affecting coyotes’ home range sizes, dispersal distances, and relationships with urban landscape features such as residential density, road density, and corridor width. Lyren and Haas will also discuss the various factors contributing to coyote mortality along freeways, the types and dimensions of underpasses that coyotes use to successfully navigate under freeways, and the activity times of coyotes in areas of high human recreation. The discussion will conclude with current monitoring strategies USGS scientists are using to determine coyote distribution and abundance throughout southern California. For additional information: http://www.sdnhm.org/exhibits/dogs/index.html. (Lisa Lyren, Corona, CA, 909-735-0773, llyren@usgs.gov; Chris Haas, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6898, chaas@usgs.gov).

Fire and Forest Health: USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center is an invited speaker for the "Fire, Forest Health and Biodiversity" symposium of the National Commission on Science for Sustainable Forestry (NCSSF), June 5-6, 2003, in Denver. The goal of this symposium is to evaluate the state of knowledge, as well as gaps in the understanding of the relationship between patterns of biodiversity and fire suppression and exclusion, proposed restoration treatments such as thinning and prescribed fire, and post-fire remediation. Keeley will take part in a session dedicated to intra and inter regional comparisons of fire regimes and history, addressing the Sierra Nevada region, and will participate in a roundtable associated with this session. This event will be open to the public, with an expected audience of about 100. For additional information: http://www.ncseonline.org/NCSSF/page.cfm?FID=2264. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Healthy Forests: USGS fire ecologist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center will participate in a roundtable discussion for the public regarding the President's Healthy Forest Initiative (focusing on fire-suppression and forest thinning, and related issues) to be held at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law, on May 14, 2003. Panelists representing a variety of perspectives will field questions from the media, and include Undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey, a forest industry representative, two academic researchers, and Keeley. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Sediments and Watersheds: Mary Ann Madej, Research Geologist at WERC, is an invited speaker at a workshop sponsored by the University of California Cooperative Extension (http://cesonoma.ucdavis.edu), to be held in Santa Rosa, California on May 22. "Applying What We Are Learning: Sedimentation in Northern California Watersheds" is aimed to bridge the gap between research and land management. Participants will learn about new advances and tools available to identify sediment sources and methods to control the impacts of sedimentation. (Mary Ann Madej, Arcata, CA 707-825-5148, mary_ann_madej@usgs.gov)

Fire Science Award: USGS scientist Matt Brooks of the Western Ecological Research Center was recently recognized as most responsive principal investigator of 2002 by the Joint Fire Science Program’s Governing Board and Program Office. Brooks’ quick and thorough replies to requests assisted the office in responding to various requests for information and data from a large list of customers including the JFSP partner headquarters offices, agency fire directors, various field offices, universities, various publics, and members of Congress or their staffs. (Matt Brooks, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4615, matt_brooks@usgs.gov)

Which trees are killed by fire? One of the primary tools available for thinning over-dense forests and restoring forest health is prescribed fire. Land managers must therefore be able to confidently forecast the outcomes of prescribed burns, which requires knowledge of which trees are most likely to be killed by a fire. In a study recently published in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, USGS scientists Phil van Mantgem and Nate Stephenson, and their colleagues addressed this issue using a unique long-term data set, consisting of observations of thousands of trees over a period of 16 years. They found that pre-fire tree growth rate, in addition to fire-induced crown scorch, influences probability of tree death following fire. This finding suggests that resource managers will need to consider the effects of stresses interacting with fire. For example, if tree growth is reduced by air pollution, climatic change, increasing forest density, or other stresses, there will likely be a de facto increase in fire severity (numbers of trees killed), even when there is no change in fire intensity. (Phil van Mantgem, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3179, pvanmantgem@usgs.gov)

Amphibian and Reptile Workshop: USGS scientists of the Western Ecological Research Center are among leading experts invited to present information on identification, ecology, and survey techniques, and diseases of California herptofauna at the Wildlife Society workshop on Ecology and Identification of Sensitive Amphibians and Reptiles of Southern California, in Riverside, California, May 8-10, 2003. This workshop is designed to provide biologists with the knowledge necessary to identify and understand the ecology of several sensitive species in the southern-California region. For more information: http://www.tws-west.org/meetings.html#sc%20herps. (Kristin Berry, Moreno Valley, CA, 909-697-5361, kristin_berry@usgs.gov; Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882, rfisher@usgs.gov)

Habitat Conservation Plans: USGS scientist Robert N. Fisher of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a story in High Country News about habitat conservation plans. Fisher and other USGS scientists in San Diego provide science support for multiple species conservation planning in southern California. (Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882, rfisher@usgs.gov)

Fire and Plant Invasions: Research by USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center is featured in two new publications. In the spring 2003 issue (vol. 63, no. 2) of Fire Management Today, the U.S. Forest Service’s quarterly magazine on wildland fire, Keeley discussed the interrelationship of fire and plant invasion in his article “Fire and Invasive Plants in California Ecosystems.” The magazine is available as a downloadable PDF file at: http://www.fs.fed.us/fire/fmt/index.html. In the April-June 2003 issue of Bay Nature magazine, Keeley was interviewed about the role of fire in California shrublands in the story titled “Penetrating the Chaparral: Untangling the Charms of a Prickly Landscape.” Information about the magazine issue is online at: http://www.baynature.com/home.html. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Sea Otters: USGS scientist Brian Hatfield of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a story in the San Luis Obispo Tribune and the Cambrian about the 2003 spring census of California sea otters, which is led by USGS scientists and begins May 12, and the high numbers of California sea otters that have washed ashore this year. (Brian Hatfield, San Simeon, CA, 805-927-3893, brian_hatfield@usgs.gov)