WERC Highlights -- May 2005

Future Challenges Project Workshop: On June 8-9, 2005, in Sacramento, Calif., the USGS Western Ecological Research Center will host one of four workshops around the U.S. as part of the joint USGS/USFWS Future Challenges Project. The objectives of the workshops are to identify major challenges that are likely to affect fish and wildlife conservation, and how USGS science strategies could help FWS with those challenges. The four topic areas that have been identified for these workshops are: (1) global climate change; (2) water resources/availability, (3) invasive species, and (4) bioengineering/biotechnology. Following the workshops, a national synthesis team will compile results from the four workshops into a prioritized list of specific strategies and actions. To accomplish this, the Sacramento workshop will bring together about 30 invitees from the USGS, USFWS, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California Davis, University of California Riverside, California State University East Bay, and California Department of Water Resources. (Tom Suchanek, Sacramento, CA, 916-278-9573, tsuchanek@usgs.gov)

Plot Shape Effects on Plant Species Diversity Measurements: Published studies of sampling designs have concluded that rectangular-shaped sample plots record substantially greater plant species than square plots of the same total area. A paper published recently in the Journal of Vegetation Science by scientist Jon Keeley of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center and colleague C. J. Fotheringham from the University of California, Los Angeles, disputes that conclusion. According to Keeley and Fotheringham’s study, it appears that the increase in species richness obtained from surveying rectangular plots resulted from those investigators varying both shape and spatial distribution simultaneously. Keeley and Fotheringham further suggested that rectangles do not record greater diversity than squares because species turnover varies along complex environmental gradients that are both parallel and perpendicular to the long axis of rectangular plots. For more: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/keeleypbmay2005.html. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov) Citation: Keeley, J. E. and C. J. Fotheringham. 2005. Plot shape effects on plant species diversity measurement. Journal of Vegetation Science 16:249–256.

Fairy Shrimp: A photo of the Riverside fairy shrimp taken by scientist Chris W. Brown of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center appears with a May 21, 2005, story in the San Diego Union-Tribune that discusses habitat designation for threatened and endangered species: http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050521/news_1n21habitat.html. (Chris Brown, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6883, cwbrown@usgs.gov)

USGS Research Wildlife Biologist Recognized for Desert Tortoise Work: Scientist William I. Boarman of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center received a Recognition Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for his outstanding job fulfilling the agency’s charge to conduct a scientific assessment of the 1994 Desert Tortoise (Mojave Population) Recovery Plan. As a member of the Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan Assessment Committee, Boarman was recognized for helping provide substantial guidance for desert tortoise recovery efforts, which included “identification of different genetic and ecological structure of tortoise populations relative to the original recovery units; application of innovative analytical tools and models with which to evaluate existing data, as well as to direct future research and monitoring; recognition of the complexity of threats to desert tortoise populations and how management must adapt its approach to mitigating those threats; and recommendations to better coordinate, monitor, and evaluate recovery efforts, as well as disseminate scientific information for effective use in these efforts.” Boarman was presented an award plaque in Reno, Nevada, on May 16, 2005, at the inaugural meeting of the Desert Tortoise Science Advisory Committee. (William I. Boarman, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6880, william_boarman@usgs.gov)

California Sea Otters: Scientist Brian Hatfield of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News about sea otter strandings in the Morro Bay area for a May 18, 2005 story that discussed sewage treatment and sea otter ailments and deaths along the California coast: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/11674552.htm. (Brian Hatfield, San Simeon, CA, 805-927-3893, brian_hatfield@usgs.gov)

Killer Whales: Scientist Jim Estes of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed on May 11, 2005 by NPR for an upcoming story on a recent study published in the journal Ecology in which Estes and coauthors from the University of California at Santa Cruz and University of Alaska Fairbanks developed a method based on comparative bioenergetics and demographic modeling to evaluate predator effects and then assessed the potential impact of killer whales on sea otter and Steller sea lion populations in the Aleutian Islands. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov) Citation: Williams, T. M., J. A. Estes, D. F. Doak, and A. M. Springer. 2004. Killer appetites: assessing the role of predators in ecological communities. Ecology 85:3373-3384.

Arctic Foxes and Seabirds: An Anchorage Daily News story of May 14, 2005 (same appeared on May 15 in the Seattle Times and Arizona Daily Star) and an earlier story on April 21 in the Christian Science Monitor reported on a study published in March in the journal Science in which researchers, including scientist Jim Estes of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, found that introduced predators had transformed Aleutian islands from grassland to tundra. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov)

Sea Otter Survey: On May 12, scientist Brian Hatfield of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed in the field by the San Luis Obispo County NBC affiliate, KSBY TV, regarding the annual spring survey of California sea otters, which is led by USGS. The piece is expected to air next week. (Brian Hatfield, San Simeon, CA, 805-927-3893, brian_hatfield@usgs.gov)

Using Bat Assemblages as a Measure of Ecosystem Health: Bat research at Yosemite National Park by USGS and the University of California- Berkeley is featured in the NPS Natural Resource Year in Review—2004 (Science for Parks): http://www2.nature.nps.gov/YearinReview/PDF/YIR2004_06.pdf. The 3-year “Bats and Rivers” project, started in 2003 to investigate patterns of bat distribution and activity in response to aquatic insect emergence and abundance. Two years of fieldwork suggest that the techniques used also have application for monitoring ecosystem function by detecting changes in bat assemblages (groups of bat species inhabiting specific areas). (Les Chow, El Portal, 209-379-1307, les_chow@usgs.gov)

"Live Fast, Die Young" Also Applies to Forests: Trees in the world's most productive forests -- forests that add the most new growth each year -- also tend to die young, according to a USGS study published in a recent issue of the journal Ecology Letters. This discovery could help scientists predict how forests will respond to ongoing and future environmental changes. In their article, scientists Nate Stephenson and Phil van Mantgem of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center show that birth and death rates of trees vary in parallel with global and regional patterns of forest productivity. Half of all trees in tropical forests growing on rich soils die and are replaced by new trees in just 30 years. In comparison, a century or more can pass before half of the trees die and are replaced in coniferous forests growing at high latitudes. Implications of fast turnover include: 1) the world's most productive forests may be those likely to respond most quickly to such things as climatic change, 2) environmental changes that increase productivity of a given forest could lead to more rapid turnover of trees (decreasing the average age of trees), and 3) increased dominance by younger trees could lead to changes in the amount of carbon stored in forests. For more: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/stephensonpbmay2005.html. (Nate Stephenson, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3176, nstephenson@usgs.gov) Citation: Stephenson, N. L., and P. J. van Mantgem. 2005. Forest turnover rates follow global and regional patterns of productivity. Ecology Letters 8:524–531.

Xantus’s Murrelets: Xantus’s murrelets were recently listed by the state of California as threatened, and predation at breeding colonies was identified within the listing decision as a significant obstacle to murrelet recovery. In a study by Channel Islands National Park (CINP) and USGS, scientists investigated the impacts of nest predation on Xantus’s murrelets by native deer mice on Santa Barbara Island, California, from 1983–2002. The researchers found that the mean nest occupancy rates by murrelets declined over the 20-year period, whereas the mean number of eggs hatching in a nest when it was occupied increased. Consequently, the total number of eggs hatching from this sub-colony for the past twenty years has remained unchanged. (Josh Ackerman, Davis, CA, 530-752-0485, jackerman@usgs.gov) Citation: Schwemm, C. A., J. T. Ackerman, P. L. Martin, and W. M. Perry. 2005. Nest occupancy and hatching success of Xantus’s murrelets (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus) breeding on Santa Barbara Island, California during a twenty-year period. Pages 385–394 in D. K. Garcelon and C. A. Schwemm (eds.), Proceedings of the Sixth California Islands Symposium, National Park Service Technical Publication CHIS-05-01, Institute for Wildlife Studies, Arcata, California.

Migratory Waterfowl: Migratory waterfowl research by the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is highlighted in the spring 2005 edition of Valley Ventures (newsletter of the Central Valley Joint Venture). Topics include how the USGS-led Central Valley Waterfowl and the Tulare Fields projects are supporting the Joint Venture, the response of white-fronted geese to Joint Venture’s habitat improvements, and the pintail satellite and spring ecology projects. The Joint Venture is a public-private partnership formed in 1988 to implement the North American Waterfowl Management Plan within the Central Valley of California: http://www.usbr.gov/mp/cvhjv/. (Joe Fleskes, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 ext 628, joe_fleskes@usgs.gov)

Dogs and Desert Tortoises: Scientist Kristin Berry of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center was quoted in an April 11, 2005, “Writers on the Range” column in High Country News about injuries to desert tortoises by domestic and feral dogs in the Mojave Desert: http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.WOTRArticle?article_id=15461. (Kristin Berry, Moreno Valley, CA, 951-697-5361, kristin_berry@usgs.gov)

Smoke and Germination: Scientist Jon Keeley of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center was quoted in a feature story in the April 2005 issue of BioScience on recent findings in fire ecology. Keeley’s research has shown that many species in California chaparral ecosystems are highly dependent on recurrent fire because their seeds require smoke to induce germination. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)