Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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The Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) is a USGS Ecosystems Mission Area operation serving primarily California and Nevada. WERC scientists work closely with Federal, State, academic, and other collaborators to address a diverse array of high-profile topics. Topics include research on effects of wildfire, sea level rise, drought, energy development and more on federal Trust species.
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News
Research Spotlight: New Models Demonstrate the Role of Climate and Seed Production in Post-fire Forest Regeneration
A new publication from USGS scientists and collaborators assessed how post-fire climate and seed production influence conifer regeneration following severe wildfire. The results allow researchers and managers to predict where forests will recover from future fires and where management action may be appropriate.
Research Spotlight: New Research Indicates that Greater Sage-Grouse are Struggling to Adapt to Wildfire-Induced Changes in the Great Basin
Research from the USGS and partners concluded that greater sage-grouse in the Great Basin often select nest sites that result in poor nest survival following wildfire. The poor quality nest sites are strongly associated with spread of invasive understory grasses and loss of shrub canopy cover.
Scientists Study Selenium Hazard in the Salton Sea Environment
In the past decade, Salton Sea water elevation has declined due to drought, lining of canals, and changes to management of the Colorado River. This has resulted in the creation of new wetlands caused by drains and rivers no longer reaching the Salton Sea.
Publications
Free-roaming horses disrupt greater sage-grouse lekking activity in the Great Basin
Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; hereafter, sage-grouse) and free-roaming horses (Equus caballus) co-occur within large portions of sagebrush ecosystems within the Great Basin of western North America. In recent decades, sage-grouse populations have declined substantially while concomitant free-roaming horse populations have...
Munoz, Diana A.; Coates, Peter S.; Ricca, Mark A.
Population estimates for selected breeding seabirds at Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, Kauaʻi, in 2019
Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge (KPNWR) is an important seabird breeding site located at the northeastern tip of Kauaʻi in the main Hawaiian Islands. Despite the regional significance of KPNWR as one of the most important breeding sites for red-tailed tropicbirds (Phaethon rubricauda), red-footed boobies (Sula sula), and wedge-tailed...
Felis, Jonathan J.; Kelsey, Emily C.; Adams, Josh; Stenske, Jennilyn G.; White, Laney M. How to identify win–win interventions that benefit human health and conservation
To reach the Sustainable Development Goals, we may need to act on synergies between some targets while mediating trade-offs between other targets. But what, exactly, are synergies and trade-offs, and how are they related to other outcomes, such as ‘win–win’ solutions? Finding limited guidance in the existing literature, we developed an operational...
Hopkins, Skylar R.; Sokolow, Susanne H.; Buck, Julia C; De Leo, Giulio A.; Jones, Isabel J.; Kwong, Laura H; LeBoa, Christopher; Lund, Andrea J; MacDonald, Andrew J; Nova, Nicole; Olson, Sarah H; Peel, Alison J.; Wood, Chelsea L.; Lafferty, Kevin D.