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This dataset was used to summarize and analyze the mortality factors recorderd on dead trees in the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network, which is managed by the Sequoia and Kings Canyon Field station of the U.S. Geological Survey's Western Ecological Research Center. Each row of the dataset represents an individual dead tree. These are dead trees that were recorded in the network from 1998 to 2010 for the subset of plots as described in the associated manuscript; These data support the following: Das, A.J., Stephenson, N.L., Davis, K.P. 2016. Why do trees die? Characterizing the drivers of background tree mortality. Ecology. 97(10): 2616-2627, https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1497
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Fragmentation and loss of natural habitat have important consequences for wild populations and can negatively affect long-term viability and resilience to environmental change. Salt marsh obligate species, such as those that occupy the San Francisco Bay Estuary in western North America, occupy already impaired habitats as result of human development and modifications and are highly susceptible to increased habitat loss and fragmentation due to global climate change. We examined the genetic variation of the California Ridgway’s rail ( Rallus obsoletus obsoletus), a state and federally endangered species that occurs within the fragmented salt marsh of the San Francisco Bay Estuary. We genotyped 107 rails across 11...
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Decomposition of plant matter is one of the key processes affecting carbon cycling and storage in tidal wetlands. In this study, we evaluated the effects of factors related to climate change (temperature, inundation) and vegetation composition on rates of litter decay in seven tidal marsh sites along the Pacific coast. In 2014 we conducted manipulative experiments to test inundation effects on litter decay at Siletz Bay, OR and Petaluma marsh, CA. In 2015 we studied decay of litter in high and low elevation marshes at seven Pacific coast sites. These data support the following publication: Janousek, C.N., Buffington, K.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., Thorne, K.M., Dugger, B.D. and Takekawa, J.Y., 2017. Inundation, vegetation,...
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Sea otters are well-known tool users, employing objects such as rocks or shells to break open invertebrate prey. We used a series of generalized linear mixed effect models (GLMEs) to examine observational data on prey capture and tool use from 211 tagged individuals from five geographically defined study areas throughout the sea otter’s range in California. Our best supported model was able to explain 75% of the variation in the frequency of tool-use by individual sea otters with only ecological and demographic variables. In one study area, where sea otter food resources were abundant, all individuals had similar diets focusing on preferred prey items and used tools at low to moderate frequencies (4-38% of prey...
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Fire ranks among the top three threats to the greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) throughout its range, and among the top two threats in the western part of its range. The national research strategy for this species and the recent U.S. Department of the Interior Secretarial Order 3336 call for science-based threats assessment of fire to inform conservation planning and fire management efforts. The cornerstone of such assessments is a clear understanding of where fires are occurring and what aspects of fire regimes may be shifting outside of their historical range of variation. Analyses are stratified by major vegetation types and the seven greater sage-grouse management zones, delineated regionally as...
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The spring 2015 mainland sea otter count began on 2 May and wasn’t completed until 2 July. The delay in finishing the census was due primarily to limited availability of the survey plane (because of the need for the plane during the oil spill in the Refugio State Beach area). Overall viewing conditions this year were more favorable than those during the 2014 spring census (View Score = 2.6 vs. 2.3, where 0=poor, 1=fair, 2=good, 3=very good, and 4=excellent). The surface canopies of kelp (Macrocystis sp.) were considered by most participants to be about normal for this time of year. Sea otters along the mainland were surveyed (using a combination of ground-based and aerial-based surveys) from Pillar Point...
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The project is located at Carpinteria Salt Marsh, part of the University of California Reserve System. The marsh is located at 34.40°N, 119.53°W, which is near the city of Carpinteria, CA. The "exp_recruitment" data set includes information on site name (site), latitude (lat) and longitude (long) of each site, cage number (cage), the number of egg-transmitted (egginf) and miracidium-transmitted (mirainf) trematode infections per cage, the biomass of snails within a cage (cagebmdens), and the influence (g^3/4) of final hosts that carry egg-transmitted (eggfhi) and miracidium-transmitted (mirafhi) trematodes. The "exp_risk" data set includes information on site name (site), latitude (lat) and longitude (long) of each...
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These data describe coarse habitat use, activity information, and differences between used and available microhabitats and vegetation types to provide information about the behavior and habitat relationships of adult female giant gartersnakes (Thamnophis gigas) associated with a restored marsh in the Sacramento Valley of California. These data support the following publication: Brian J. Halstead, Patricia Valcarcel, Glenn D. Wylie, Peter S. Coates, Michael L. Casazza, and Daniel K. Rosenberg (2016) Active Season Microhabitat and Vegetation Selection by Giant Gartersnakes Associated with a Restored Marsh in California. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management: December 2016, Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 397-407. https://doi.org/10.3996/042016-JFWM-029
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The California desert occupies the southeastern 27% of California (11,028,300 ha, 110,283 km2 or 27,251,610 ac). It includes two ecoregional provinces comprised of five desert regions (“ecological sections”; Miles and Goudy 1997). The American Semi-Desert and Desert Province (warm deserts) includes the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, and Colorado Desert sections in the southern 83% of the California desert. The Intermountain Semi-Desert Province (cold deserts) includes the Southeastern Great Basin and Mono sections in the northern 17% of the region. Previous analyses of fire patterns across the California desert have used point occurrence data. Point occurrence data can have limitations because they can: (1) represent...
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Abstract Ecological factors favoring either resprouting or obligate seeding in plants have received considerable attention recently. Three ecological models have been proposed to explain patterns of these two life history types. In this study we test these three models using data from California chaparral. We take an innovative approach to testing these models by not testing community or landscape patterns, but instead, investigating environmental patterns characteristic of pairs of either resprouting or obligate seeding subspecies of Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae), a dominant and diverse shrub genus in chaparral. Four species were investigated that contain both a resprouting and an obligate seeding subspecies. Data...
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The goal of this project was to primarily assess east-west connectivity across Route 67 and secondarily, north-south connectivity across Scripps Poway Parkway and Poway Road, two highly trafficked roads to the west of Route 67. We collected deer scat piles from both sides of these crossings in spring between March and June of 2015, and again in fall throughout October 2015. Collected pellets were extracted and amplified using protocols and loci developed by Bohonak and Mitelberg (2014). DNA fingerprinting results were used to investigate mule deer movement in the region directly by identifying individuals which had been captured multiple times throughout the study period. We also assessed movement indirectly through...
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Recent interest has increased related to developing alternative sources of renewable energy to reduce dependence on oil. Some of those sources will include power generation infrastructure and support activities located within continental shelf waters, and potentially within deeper waters off the U.S. Pacific coast and beyond state waters (i.e., outside three nautical miles). Currently, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is considering renewable energy proposals off the coast of Oregon. The 2011-2012 Pacific Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment (PaCSEA) project is intended to provide new information on species composition, distribution, abundance, seasonal variation, and habitat utilization among...
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We identified five common habitat types in Carpinteria Salt Marsh: channels, pans (flats), marsh, salt flat and upland. We then drew polygons around each habitat type identified from a registered and orthorectified aerial photograph and created a GIS shapefile. Polygons were ground-truthed in the field. From these habitat polygons, one can use GIS applications to estimate the area of each habitat type in this estuary. These data support the following publications: Kuris, Armand M., et al. "Ecosystem energetic implications of parasite and free-living biomass in three estuaries." Nature 454.7203 (2008): 515-518. Hechinger, Ryan F., Kevin D. Lafferty, Andy P. Dobson, James H. Brown, and Armand M. Kuris. "A common...
    map background search result map search result map Pacific Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment (PaCSEA) GIS Resource Database Mortality factors for dead trees from a subset of plots from the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network from 1998 to 2010 Annual California Sea Otter Census - 2015 Spring Census Summary Fire Patterns in the Range of the Greater Sage-Grouse, 1984–2013—Implications for Conservation and Management Arctostaphylos Occurrence and Historical Fires Table A Century of Landscape Disturbance and Urbanization of the San Francisco Bay Region affects the Present-day Genetic Diversity of the California Ridgway’s Rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus) DNA fingerprinting of Southern Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus) to determine movement across California State Route 67 Microhabitat and Vegetation Selection by Giant Gartersnakes Associated with a Restored Marsh in California Parasite Recruitment and Host Risk in a Snail-Trematode System at Carpinteria Salt Marsh Carpinteria Salt Marsh Habitat Polygons Fire Patterns among Ecological Zones in the California Desert, 1984-2013 Decomposition of plant litter in Pacific coast tidal marshes, 2014-2015 Tool-use frequency by individual sea otters in California Parasite Recruitment and Host Risk in a Snail-Trematode System at Carpinteria Salt Marsh Carpinteria Salt Marsh Habitat Polygons Microhabitat and Vegetation Selection by Giant Gartersnakes Associated with a Restored Marsh in California DNA fingerprinting of Southern Mule Deer (Odocoileus hemionus fuliginatus) to determine movement across California State Route 67 A Century of Landscape Disturbance and Urbanization of the San Francisco Bay Region affects the Present-day Genetic Diversity of the California Ridgway’s Rail (Rallus obsoletus obsoletus) Mortality factors for dead trees from a subset of plots from the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network from 1998 to 2010 Annual California Sea Otter Census - 2015 Spring Census Summary Tool-use frequency by individual sea otters in California Fire Patterns among Ecological Zones in the California Desert, 1984-2013 Pacific Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment (PaCSEA) GIS Resource Database Decomposition of plant litter in Pacific coast tidal marshes, 2014-2015 Arctostaphylos Occurrence and Historical Fires Table Fire Patterns in the Range of the Greater Sage-Grouse, 1984–2013—Implications for Conservation and Management