WERC Highlights -- November 2006

New Tool for Watershed Restoration: Abandoned forest roads commonly result in accelerated erosion, and road decommissioning is a regularly used restoration technique. Much of the restoration work to date, however, has been implemented on a site-by-site basis, and does not necessarily encompass a watershed-wide perspective. In a study published in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, USGS scientist Mary Ann Madej and her coauthors developed a method to evaluate the trade-offs between costs of different levels of treatment and the net effect on reducing sediment risks to streams. The optimization approach may be helpful to develop the most cost-effective strategy for sediment reduction on a watershed scale. The authors combined field-based investigations and modeling of sediment savings to assess the effectiveness of various restoration strategies in steep, forested terrain in reducing sediment loads to streams. Optimized restoration strategies saved more sediment under constrained budgets than the currently used approaches. For more: http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/madejpbnov2006.html. (Mary Ann Madej, Arcata, CA, 707- 825-5148, mary_ann_madej@usgs.gov) Citation: Madej, M. A., E. A. Eschenbach, C. Diaz, R. Teasley, and K. Baker. 2006. Optimization strategies for sediment reduction practices on roads in steep, forested terrain. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 31:1643–1656.

Mountain Yellow-legged Frogs: USGS scientist Adam Backlin of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed about the multi-agency conservation partnership for the recovery of endangered mountain yellow-legged frogs in southern California for stories in the Press-Enterprise (Nov. 20, 2006) and North County Times (Nov. 21). The group was recently involved in the emergency rescue of tadpoles now being raised in captivity at San Diego Zoo’s center for Conservation and Research for Endangered Species. Backlin has also responded to recent requests for photographs of mountain yellow-legged frogs, for a children’s book and for an international frog exhibit at ECHO, Lake Champlain’s Science Center and Lake Aquarium, in Burlington, VT. (Adam Backlin, Irvine, CA, 714- 508-4702, abacklin@usgs.gov)

Pallid Bats: A story on pallid bats, a California species of special concern, in the fall 2006 issue of MSCP News (the newsletter of the County of San Diego’s Multiple Species Conservation Program) mentions that USGS is helping to determine specific areas where pallid bats live in San Diego; a photograph by USGS scientists Drew Stokes and Cheryl Brehme appears with the story. For more: http://dplu-mscp.sdcounty.ca.gov/pub_out/Fall2006.pdf. (Drew Stokes, San Diego, CA, 619-225-6449, dstokes@usgs.gov; Cheryl Brehme, San Diego, CA, 619-225-6421, cbrehme@usgs.gov)

Tracking Bobcat Movements in Southern California: Researchers from USGS Western Ecological Research Center and Colorado State University are conducting a bobcat movement study in the greater San Joaquin Hills in Orange County in coordination with The Nature Conservancy, City of Irvine, State Parks, County Parks, and the Irvine Company. In a two-year study, the researchers will fit up to 13 bobcats with GPS collars to document their movement patterns to better understand how habitat fragmentation affects wide-ranging species. Color ear tags will enable visual identification by viewers and by “camera traps” along trails, and visitors are encouraged to report sightings of collared or unmarked bobcats. For more: http://www.lagunagreenbelt.org/bobcatstudy.html. (Erin Boydston, Irvine, CA, 714-508-4704, eboydston@usgs.gov)

Avian Influenza Media Event: USGS scientists John Takekawa and Greg Yarris of the Western Ecological Research Center and Paul Slota of the National Wildlife Health Center participated in the California Avian Influenza and Wild Birds media event at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area near Sacramento on November 16, 2006. It was a joint event with the California Department of Fish and Game, the Department of the Interior (FWS and USGS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Media at the event included Associated Press TV, San Francisco Chronicle, four TV news stations from the Sacramento area and four TV news stations from the Bay Area. (John Takekawa, Vallejo, CA, 707-562-2000, john_takekawa@usgs.gov; Paul Slota, Madison, WI, 608-270-2420, paul_slota@usgs.gov)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/17/BAGN2MESEP1.DTL&type=health
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=local&id=4770017
http://cbs13.com/local/local_story_320183030.html
http://www.kcra.com/news/10337661/detail.html
http://cbs5.com/localwire/localfsnews/bcn/2006/11/16/n/HeadlineNews/AVIAN-FLU/resources_bcn_html

California Wildfires of 2003: On November 14, 2006, during an international fire congress in San Diego, the Associated Press and the North County Times (CA) reported on studies about the recovery of plant and animal life after the 2003 fires in southern California. USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center was quoted in the stories, saying that vegetation recovery is occurring, regardless of fire severity, but that increased fire frequency can bring increases in flammable nonnative grasses. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov) http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/northern_california/16011767.htm http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/11/15/news/sandiego/3_03_2811_14_06.txt

Nature Reserve of Orange County Symposium: On November 18, 2006, USGS scientists of the Western Ecological Research Center will participate in the 10th Anniversary Symposium of the Nature Reserve of Orange County, to be held in Irvine, California. Erin Boydston will discuss space utilization patterns of bobcats in the Santa Ana Mountains of southern California, and Adam Backlin will present snake and lizard diversity patterns relative to habitat fragmentation in Orange County. USGS scientists also contributed to a poster on invasive Argentine ant occurrence and impacts on the native ant community of the Reserve. The day-long symposium, for interested laypeople, biological consultants, and agency personnel, will examine the status of the Reserve’s biological resources and will feature panel discussions, keynote speakers, and presentations on ecological studies conducted at the Reserve. (Erin Boydston, Irvine, CA, 714-508-4704, eboydston@usgs.gov; Adam Backlin, Irvine, CA, 714-508-4702, abacklin@usgs.gov)

Contaminants and Reproductive Success of Aquatic Nesting Birds at Edwards Air Force Base: A recent USGS study published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology estimated the exposure of nesting aquatic birds to contaminants at Edwards Air Force Base (EAFB) at the sewage lagoons that comprise Piute Ponds; evaluated the impacts of contaminants on avian reproduction; and evaluated contaminant levels in African clawed frogs, a common prey species of breeding black-crowned night-herons at these ponds. Black-crowned night-herons serve as an indicator of environmental contamination, bioaccumulating contaminants from their prey. A preliminary study at Piute Ponds in 1996 had found concentrations of organochlorines and metals to be high enough in night-heron eggs to warrant further investigation. Among findings of the current study, avian reproduction at Piute Ponds was similar to uncontaminated sites; concentrations of environmental contaminants measured in clawed frogs and avian eggs from the Piute Ponds were not significantly elevated; and there was no detected relationship between avian reproduction and the presence of environmental contaminants in eggs or frogs at Piute Ponds. (Roger Hothem, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x626, roger_hothem@usgs.gov) Citation: Hothem, R.L., J.J. Crayon, and M.A. Law. 2006. Effects of contaminants on reproductive success of aquatic birds nesting at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 51:711-719.

Microbes: USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed about roles of microbes in marine ecosystems for an article in Seed magazine. The article reports on a recent journal publication by other scientists, who have examined the role of microbes as consumers in food webs. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov)

Global Warming and Animal Diseases: A November 8, 2006, story in CO2 Science magazine about a recent study analyzing potential effects of global warming on various animal diseases and included a citation of a 2004 publication by USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty to indicate how other species can affect parasitism of host populations. Lafferty’s study on how lobster fishing indirectly increases epidemics in sea urchins demonstrated the role of predators in maintaining host species densities below levels required for parasites to persist. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov) http://www.co2science.org/scripts/CO2ScienceB2C/articles/V9/N45/EDIT.jsp