WERC Highlights -- October 2002

Tortoise Workshop: USGS research wildlife biologist Kristin Berry of the Western Ecological Research Center will give the keynote address and additional lectures at the annual Desert Tortoise Workshop, in Ridgecrest, California, Nov. 2-3. The two-day workshop, sponsored by the Desert Tortoise Council, includes lectures and field training designed to acquaint over 100 biologists from multiple agencies across the West, as well as industry and academia, for future field work on this federally and state-listed threatened species. Berry will present summaries of research findings on the ecology, physiology, health and diseases of desert tortoises, as well as anthropogenic impacts to the tortoises and their critical habitat. (Kristin Berry, Riverside, CA, 909-697-5361)

Kelp Forests: USGS research ecologist Jim Estes of the Western Ecological Research Center will present a paper titled “Complex trophic interactions in kelp forest ecosystems” next Wed., Nov. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at the 4th Mote International Symposium in Fisheries Symposium: Confronting Trade-offs in the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management, in Sarasota, Florida, Nov. 5-7. For symposium information, go to: http://www.bio.fsu.edu/mote/Pre_Call_for_papers_Mote_20021.htm. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820)

Invasive Mitten Crabs: Since 1992, the invasive Chinese mitten crab has spread throughout San Francisco Bay, its tributaries the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, and their tributaries. USGS is collaborating with USFWS in a study to determine the distribution of mercury-laden crabs among the streams of south San Francisco Bay, where the crabs inhabit a stream that drains an old mercury mine. The size of the mercury burdens and crab distribution among the streams with and without mercury contamination will provide an indication of the potential toxic threat posed to wildlife and human consumers of these crabs. This summer the team sampled three streams flowing through downtown San Jose, California, collecting 29 crabs to sample for mercury contamination. USGS biologist Clifford Hui of the Western Ecological Research Center recently presented the current state of knowledge about contaminants in mitten crabs at a DOI interagency workshop in Concord, California. Representatives from the USGS, USFWS, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, University of California, California State Universities, California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), California Department of Water Resources, Portland State University, University of Newcastle in England, Agriculture University of Szczecin in Poland, and others participated. Maps showing mitten crab invasion in California and other information are available at: http://www2.delta.dfg.ca.gov/mittencrab/. (Clifford Hui, Davis, CA, 530-752-6420)

Southwest Wildland Fires: Several USGS scientists are presenting papers and posters at the 2002 Fire Conference: Managing Fire and Fuels in the Remaining Wildlands and Open Spaces of the Southwestern United States at the Hyatt Regency Islandia Hotel and Marina in San Diego, California, Dec. 2-5. The conference, sponsored by the Association for Fire Ecology and the Western Section of The Wildlife Society, will consider the many issues confronting scientists, land managers, policymakers, and the public who address or are affected by management of fire and fuels across the Southwest (Utah, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and California). Topics include fire ecology, behavior, history, prevention, education, restoration and rehabilitation, air quality, wildlife-fire and vegetation-fire interactions, planning, watershed responses to fire, invasive species responses to fire, and NEPA and other policies. The plenary session, “Implementing fuels management treatments in the western United States,” will be the morning of Tues., Dec. 3. Conference information: http://www.tws-west.org/meetings.html#fc2002. (Matt Brooks, Las Vegas, NV, 702-564-4615)

Snake Trackers: USGS research zoologist Robert N. Fisher of the Western Ecological Research Center appeared in a TV segment on National Geographic Today, Oct. 28 and 29. The story included video footage of an interview of Fisher speaking about a study on radio tracking rosy boas – a species at risk -- conducted by USGS and the San Diego Zoo and funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. An online version of the news story appears at: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/10/1031_021031_TVSnakeTrackers.html. (Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882)

Geology for Aquatic Habitat Studies: Mary Ann Madej, a USGS research geologist with the Western Ecological Research Center is the featured speaker for the Humboldt Friends of Geology meeting in the Wharfinger Building in Eureka, California, Oct. 29 at 6-8 p.m. Her presentation will include a collection of ideas on how geologists can contribute to watershed assessments, such as what kinds of questions can be asked from study results. The geology meetings serve as an information exchange between local consultants, regulators, academics, researchers, and students, and raise community awareness about the local geologic environment. (Mary Ann Madej, Arcata, CA, 707- 825-5148)

Avian Reproduction on “The Rock”: Roger Hothem, a USGS research wildlife biologist with the Western Ecological Research Center, will present a summary of his 13 years of research on the black-crowned night-herons of Alcatraz Island at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the Waterbird Society in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Nov. 7. The paper, co-authored by Daphne Hatch, a biologist with the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, will discuss the results of monitoring black-crowned night-herons’ reproductive success on the island during 1990-2002, including nesting chronology, habitat use, hatchability, nest success, fledging success, and cause-specific failure rates. Nesting success has generally declined since about 1994, with predation, especially by common ravens, being the primary cause of nest losses. Western gulls -- as many as 800 or more pairs nest on Alcatraz -- have also limited nigh-heron nesting success, by predation and harrassment. The total numbers of night-heron nests have declined also. However, hatchability exceeded 90 percent each year, and contamination is not thought to be a significant limiting factor. (Roger L. Hothem, Davis, CA, 530-752-4605)

Sea Otters and Other Carnivores: Defenders of Wildlife is presenting its 4th bi-annual conference on carnivore conservation and biology on Nov. 17-20, at the Monterey Conference Center and Double Tree Hotel in Monterey, California. On Nov. 18 at 8 a.m., USGS research ecologist Jim Estes with the Western Ecological Research Center will deliver a keynote speech titled “Ecological Chain Reactions in Kelp Forest Ecosystems.” Estes, who has studied sea otters and kelp forests in California and in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands for the past 30 years, will also give a paper on causes of mortality in California sea otters based on death assemblage analysis, and is coauthor of several other sea otter topics being covered at this conference. Brian Hatfield, a wildlife biologist also with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, will present a poster evaluating potential threats to sea otters from trap fisheries. Details about this conference can be found at: http://www.defenders.org/carnivores2002/. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820; Brian Hatfield, San Simeon, CA, 805-927-3893)

Long-distance Fire Ecology Course: A taped lecture on fire ecology by Jon Keeley, a USGS research ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center, is part of a continuing education course offered for the first time by Oregon State University for distance education delivery using video- and web-based technologies. Keeley's 50-minute lecture covered recent findings on historical patterns of burning in California chaparral and their management implications. A full class of 40 students have enrolled for the course (Wildland Fire Ecology, FOR/FW/RNG 446), some from as far distant as Florida, New York, and Minnesota. (Jon E. Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170)

Long-distance Travelers: The North American breeding population of northern pintail ducks has fallen from an estimated 5 to 7 million pintails in principal nesting areas in the 1970s to an all-time low of 1.8 million by 1991 and again in 2002. Persistent drought, large populations of alien predators, and conversion of native prairie to farming in critical nesting regions of southern Canada and the northern Great Plains in the U.S. have resulted in repeated pintail nest failures over many decades. USGS scientists lead an international team in its fourth year of a study using satellite telemetry to determine migration routes and identify major resting areas of these birds. This research combines with additional USGS studies using standard radio telemetry in the search for unknown factors that may be affecting this species’ decline. (Joe Fleskes, Dixon, CA, 707- 678-0682 x628; Michael R. Miller, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x618)

Reducing Fire Fuels: Jan van Wagtendonk, a USGS fire ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center, was interviewed by the Sonora Union Democrat regarding the use of prescribed fire to reduce fuels. (Jan van Wagtendonk, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1306)

Did wildfire threaten sequoias? USGS scientist Nate Stephenson with the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) as to the level of threat that California's record-sized McNally wildfire had posed to giant sequoias this summer. Stephenson spoke about both the threats and benefits of fire to giant sequoias in general. (Nate Stephenson, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3176)

High-tech Otters: Brian Hatfield, a USGS wildlife biologist with the Western Ecological Research Center, was interviewed by the San Luis Obispo Tribune and The Cambrian about California sea otter research in which scientists use radio transmitters and electronic time and depth recorders combined with observations to document an otter’s daily activities. (Brian Hatfield, San Simeon, CA, 805-927-3893

Ornithologist Selected for Science Committee: Barbara Kus, a USGS research ecologist with the Western Ecological Research Center has been appointed as an inaugural member of the Audubon-California Science Advisory Committee. The committee assists Audubon-California in accomplishing its mission and implementing conservation programs by providing sound scientific advice on key statewide and regional conservation and restoration issues, and development of conservation priorities. Appointed by the Audubon-California board of directors to a three-year, renewable term, Kus joins up to ten other scientists serving on the committee at any given time. Each has a broad range of expertise on California's birds, other wildlife, and their habitats. (Barbara Kus, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6881)

Wildfires: Jan van Wagtendonk, a fire ecologist with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center, was quoted in an Associated Press story about the role of fire in western forests. (Jan van Wagtendonk, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1306)

Leopard Frogs Head Uptown to Weather Drought: The worst drought in southern Arizona in possibly a century may have eliminated the Chiricahua leopard frog from the Altar Valley southwest of Tucson, Arizona. Working with the Arizona Game and Fish Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS research ecologist Cecil Schwalbe from the Southwest Biological Science Center and University of Arizona collaborator Philip Rosen moved Chiricahua leopard frogs from the Altar Valley into a pond in Schwalbe's back yard, where the frogs have produced two egg masses and approximately 1,000 tadpoles. Some of these tadpoles have been moved to other captive sites to increase chances of survival of this frog recently federally listed as threatened. Schwalbe was quoted in a story about the frogs this week in the Tucson Citizen. (Cecil Schwalbe, Tucson, AZ, 520-621-5508)