WERC Highlights -- October 2003

Waterfowl Biology and Management: USGS scientists will participate in the 3rd North American Duck Symposium in Sacramento, California, Nov. 5-9, 2003. Presentations include the topics of waterfowl ecology, behavior, physiology, abundance and distribution, habitat, foraging, nesting, survival, impacts and disturbance, movement, conservation, surveys, and management. For additional information: http://www.ducksymp3.com/pages/1/index.htm. (Joe Fleskes, Dixon, CA, 707-678-0682 x628, joe_fleskes@usgs.gov)

California Fires: USGS scientist Jan van Wagtendonk of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for an Oct. 30 Fresno Bee story and one for the Los Angeles Times about the southern California wildfires. (Jan van Wagtendonk, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1306, jan_van_wagtendonk@usgs.gov)

African Clawed Frogs: USGS scientist T’Shaka Touré of the Western Ecological Research Center contributed to an article initiated by Irvine Ranch Water District that will appear in the Turtle Rock Pointe Association homeowners’ November newsletter. The article discusses the drainage of the Sand Canyon Reservoir in the city of Irvine, Calif., to disrupt the breeding cycle of the invasive African clawed frogs that currently exist in the reservoir. (T’Shaka Touré, Irvine, CA, 714-227-1109, ttoure@usgs.gov)

Fire Meetings: USGS scientists will participate in the 5th Symposium on Fire and Forest Meteorology to be held jointly with the 2nd International Wildland Fire Ecology and Fire Management Congress in Orlando, FL, Nov. 16-20. Their presentation topics include wildfire burn severity mapping, fire effects on wildlife, and fire as a management tool for invasive plants. For more information: www.ametsoc.org. (Matt Brooks, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4615, matt_brooks@usgs.gov)

Research Advances: On Nov. 5, 2003, USGS scientist Jim Estes of the Western Ecological Research Center will give the keynote address at the Research Advances in Fisheries, Wildlife and Ecology Symposium at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Estes’ paper is titled "Defaunated Food Webs: Large Vertebrates and Nature's Balance." Other USGS scientists will also participate in this one-day public event. For more information: http://oregonstate.edu/groups/fwgsa. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov)

Amphibian and Reptile Lectures: On Nov. 12, 2003, USGS scientist T’Shaka Touré of the Western Ecological Research Center will speak at the Nature Reserve of Orange County Land Managers Meeting to be held at the Irvine Ranch Water District in Irvine, Calif., on November 12. His presentation is titled "Amphibian and Reptile Management: Concerns and Opportunities." That evening at 7-8:30 p.m., he will give a public lecture at the Orange County Museum /Acorn Naturalist Center in Tustin on “Amphibians and Vernal Pools in the County of Orange.” (T’Shaka Touré, Irvine, CA, 714-227-1109, ttoure@usgs.gov)

Chaparral Fires: USGS scientist Jon Keeley of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed about the fire ecology of Calfornia shrublands for an Oct. 28 story in the Washington Post. (Jon Keeley, Three Rivers, CA, 559-565-3170, jon_keeley@usgs.gov)

Giant Sequoia Burned: USGS scientist Nate Stephenson of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed in an Oct. 25 story in the Fresno Bee about sizes and ages of the largest giant sequoias, after a lightning fire in Sequoia National Park damaged the Washington Tree, the world’s second-largest tree. (Nate Stephenson, 559-565-3176, nstephenson@usgs.gov)

Invasive Plant Conference: USGS scientists will present papers and posters on invasive plant research and management at the joint Invasive Plants in Natural and Managed Systems: Linking Science and Management and 7th International Conference on the Ecology and Management of Alien Plant Invasions to be held Nov. 3-7, 2003, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A workshop titled “Use of Fire to Control Invasive Plants” is co-chaired by USGS scientists. Other USGS presentations will discuss several topics including how global change, increasing atmospheric nitrogen, fuel treatments, and fire temperatures influence plant invasion, the use of biological controls to manage invasive plants, and how invasive plant management may affect recovery of endangered species. For additional information: http://esa.org/ipinams-emapi7/. (Matt Brooks, Henderson, NV, 702-564-4615, matt_brooks@usgs.gov; David Pyke, Corvallis, OR, 541-750-7334, david_a_pyke@usgs.gov)

Geology and Rivers: USGS research geologist Mary Ann Madej of the Western Ecological Research Center, is an invited speaker at the Geological Society of America meeting to be held in Seattle, Nov. 2-5. She will be presenting in the session "The Role of Geology in the Management of Public and Private Western Temperate Forest Lands" and will focus on the influence of geology on river processes. For more information: http://www.geosociety.org/meetings/2003/. (Mary Ann Madej, Arcata, CA, 707-825-5148, mary_ann_madej@usgs.gov)

Night Creatures: USGS scientist Gary M. Fellers of the Western Ecological Research Center will be the speaker for the USGS public lecture in Menlo Park, California, on Oct. 30, 2003. In his presentation titled “Creatures of the Night,” Fellers will discuss the bats of the San Francisco Bay area and the bat inventories he’s conducting using automated recording stations to record bat vocalizations at Point Reyes National Seashore, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Eugene O'Neill National Historic Monument, and John Muir National Historic Monument. He’ll also discuss his research on other nocturnal animals such as mountain lions and weasels, which he’s studying at Point Reyes. Fellers has candidly documented park wildlife by using both video cameras triggered by multiple passive infrared sensors and still cameras triggered by active infrared sensors. For information on this and other lectures: http://online.wr.usgs.gov/calendar/. (Gary Fellers, Point Reyes, 415-464-5185, gary_fellers@usgs.gov)

Snowy Plovers: USGS scientist Kevin Lafferty was interviewed about the snowy plover nesting success at the public beach of Coal Oil Point Reserve, California, for stories in the the Santa Barbara News-Press (Sept. 26), the Daily Nexus (Oct. 8), and Goleta Valley Voice. (Kevin Lafferty, Santa Barbara, CA, 805-893-8778, klafferty@usgs.gov)

Mercury Contamination of Estuarine Birds in San Francisco Bay: USGS scientist and research manager Steven Schwarzbach of the Western Ecological Research Center is giving a talk titled "The Biological Legacy of Mercury Contamination: Implications of methylmercury bioaccumulation for estuarine birds in San Francisco Bay" at the 6th Biennial State of the Estuary Conference, to be held in Oakland, California, Oct. 21-23, 2003. To discover whether widespread mercury contamination of the bay and delta from historic sources in the watershed could be posing a health threat to fish-eating wildlife, levels of methylmercury in bird eggs were assessed. Eggs of three species had methelmercury levels above the currently accepted Lowest Observed Adverse Effect Concentration of 0.8 ppm: Caspian and Forster’s terns, and the endangered California clapper rail, the most vulnerable of the three. For more information: http://www.abag.ca.gov/events/estuary_state. (Steven Schwarzbach, Sacramento, CA, 916-379-3745, steven_schwarzbach@usgs.gov)

Ravens and Tortoises: USGS scientist William I. Boarman of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed about the risk of raven predation on young desert tortoises, and stories have appeared or are expected in the Salt Lake City Deseret News, the San Diego Union Tribune, Victorville Valley Press, North County Times, Science Daily, Eurekalert, Sacramento Bee, Associated Press, Der Spiegel, and the Cal State University San Marcos faculty and staff newsletter. (William I. Boarman, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6880, william_boarman@usgs.gov)

North Pacific Marine Mammal Collapse: USGS scientist Jim Estes of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a TV story that aired on KPIX San Francisco (CBS affiliate) on the sea mammal population declines in the North Pacific following the collapse of the great whale fishery in the region. (Jim Estes, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-459-2820, jim_estes@usgs.gov)

Vertebrate Species Resurvey: USGS scientist Les Chow of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a story to run in a Sunday supplement of the San Diego Union-Tribune about the resurvey of the Grinnell Sites by the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California at Berkeley. (Leslie Chow, El Portal, CA, 209-379-1307, les_chow@usgs.gov)

Southern California Crickets: USGS scientists Amy Vandergast and Robert N. Fisher of the Western Ecological Research Center were interviewed for a Sunday Garden Section story in the Los Angeles Times on crickets in southern California. They spoke about USGS research on Jerusalem crickets. (Amy Vandergast, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6845, avandergast@usgs.gov; Robert N. Fisher, San Diego, CA, 858-637-6882, rfisher@usgs.gov

Desert Tortoises: USGS scientist Kim Goodwin of the Western Ecological Research Center was interviewed for a story about desert tortoises by the Las Vegas Review-Journal while she was marking tortoises for a study on a respiratory disease that affects the reptiles. (Kim Goodwin, Henerson, NV, 702-564-4560, kgoodwin@usgs.gov)