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The spring 2017 mainland sea otter count began on April 30, and although the shore-based counts were completed by May 12, 2017, the aerial counts were not completed until July 12, 2017. Overall viewing conditions this year were good, although not as good as conditions experienced during the 2016 spring census (View Score 2.4 versus 3.1, 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 considerably below normal for this time of year in most areas of the mainland range. Sea otters along the mainland coast were surveyed from Pillar Point in San Mateo County in the north to Rincon Point in the south at the Santa Barbara/Ventura...
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The U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center (USGS-WERC) was requested by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to create a database for marine birds of the California Current System (CCS) that would allow quantification and species ranking regarding vulnerability to offshore wind energy infrastructure (OWEI). This was needed so that resource managers could evaluate potential impacts associated with siting and construction of OWEI within the California Current System section of the Pacific Offshore Continental Shelf, including California, Oregon, and Washington. Along with its accompanying Open File Report (OFR), this comprehensive database can be used (and modified or updated) to quantify...
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To improve our understanding of health and immune function in tortoises, we evaluated both standard blood diagnostic (body condition, hematologic, plasma biochemistry values, trace elements, plasma proteins, vitamin A levels) and gene transcription profiles in 21 adult tortoises (11 clinically abnormal; 10 clinically normal) from Clark County, NV, USA. Necropsy and histology evaluations from clinically abnormal tortoises revealed multiple physiological complications, with moderate to severe rhinitis or pneumonia being the primary cause of morbidity in all but one of the examined animals. Improved methods for health assessments are an important element of monitoring tortoise population recovery and can support the...
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We collected detailed spatial data on the density and size distribution of intertidal snails as part of a broader effort to understand food webs in California estuaries. The survey area was Carpinteria Salt Marsh, California USA, which comprises 9 Ha tidal channels, 2 Ha salt flats, 17 Ha upland habitat, 6 Ha tidal pans, 52 Ha vegetated marsh, 2 Ha tidal flats. Using nearly 4,000 transects in potential snail habitat, we mapped snails throughout the estuary. Specifically, we systematically placed transects at intervals stratified within targeted habitat types: channels, pans, or marsh (or planar habitat that was mixed marsh and pan). At a quarter of the quadrats, we also estimated snail size-frequency distributions....
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This dataset represents an archived record of annual California sea otter surveys from 1985-2014. Survey procedures involve counting animals during the "spring survey" -- generally beginning in late April or early May and usually ending in late May early June but may extend into early July, depending on weather conditions. Annual surveys are organized by survey year and within each year, three shapefiles are included: census summary of southern sea otter, extra limit counts of southern sea otter, and range extent of southern sea otter. The surveys, conducted cooperatively by scientists of the U.S. Geological Survey, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Monterey Bay Aquarium...
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Note: This dataset has been revised and superseded by version 2.0, available here: https://doi.org/10.5066/P90PG34S. Remote sensing based maps of tidal marshes, both of their extents and carbon stocks, have the potential to play a key role in conducting greenhouse gas inventories and implementing climate mitigation policies. Our objective was to generate a single remote sensing model of tidal marsh aboveground biomass and carbon that represents nationally diverse tidal marshes within the conterminous United States (CONUS). To meet this objective we developed the first national-scale dataset of aboveground tidal marsh biomass, species composition, and aboveground plant carbon content (%C) from six CONUS regions:...
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These data include a row for each duck nest equipped with a small video camera. We present the location of the nest, the timing of the start of hatch, the timing of the end of hatch, and the timing of the departure of the hen and ducklings from the nest. Additionally, this table includes any predators that were observed at the nest depredating eggs prior to hatch and any predators that were observed at the nest between hatch and departure from the nest. These data support the following publication: "Sitting ducklings: Timing of hatch, nest departure, and predation risk for dabbling duck broods" by Sarah H. Peterson, Joshua T. Ackerman, Mark P. Herzog, C. Alex Hartman, Rebecca Croston, Cliff L. Feldheim, and Michael...
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The sea-cliff bedstraw (Galium buxifolium) data set contains two types of information, formatted as CSVs: 1) Spatial coordinates (WGS 84) of known population occurrences on Santa Cruz and San Miguel Islands, California, as of 2006 (sensitive locality information); 2) Demographic data measured at four populations growing on Santa Cruz Island. Three of the populations were measured in 2005 and 2006, the fourth was measured in 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2014. These data support the following publication: McEachern, K., Chess, K.A., Flagg, K., and Niessen, K.G., 2019, Sea-cliff bedstraw (Galium buxifolium) patterns and trends, 2005–14, on Santa Cruz and San Miguel Islands, Channel Islands National Park, California:...
We conducted a radio telemetry study of adult western spadefoots (Spea hammondii) at 2 sites in southern California to characterize their survival, behavior, and movements from breeding through aestivation to inform conservation and management for the species. These data support the following publication: Halstead, B.J., Baumberger, K.L., Backlin, A.R., Kleeman, P.M., Wong, M.N., Gallegos, E.A., Rose, J.P., and Fisher, R.N., 2021. Conservation implications of spatiotemporal variation in the terrestrial ecology of an ephemeral pool-breeding amphibian. The Journal of Wildlife Management.
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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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This USGS data release represents geospatial data for the sage-grouse habitat mapping project. This study provides timely and highly useful information about greater sage-grouse over a large area of the Great Basin. USGS researchers and their colleagues created a template for combining landscape-scale occurrence or abundance data with habitat selection data in order to identify areas most critical to sustaining populations of species of conservation concern. The template also identifies those areas where land use changes have minimal impact. To inform greater sage-grouse conservation planning, the researchers developed greater sage-grouse habitat management categories based on habitat selection indices (HSI) and...
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Twenty quadrats within the burn perimeter of a September 2021 wildfire outside of Boise, Idaho were surveyed for the abundance of fire effects, biocrusts and vascular plants immediately post-fire. The fire was too small to be named. Char was measured as a proxy for fire intensity. Biocrusts were surveyed by morphogroup (crustose lichens, cup lichens, fruticose lichens, gelatinous lichens, short moss, tall moss) and vascular plants were surveyed by functional group (annual forbs, perennial grasses). Char was measured ocularly and biocrust/plant abundance was measured via point-vertex intercept at 40 points per quadrat. These data support the following publication: Condon, L.A., Shinneman, D.J., Rosentreter, R. and...
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This dataset records mortality-- including involvement of bark beetles-- and burn severity information for trees in long term forest dynamics plots in Sequoia National Park and Yosemite National Park that experienced fire. These data support the following publication: Furniss, T.J., Das, A.J., van Mantgem, P.J., Stephenson, N.L. and Lutz, J.A., 2021. Crowding, climate, and the case for social distancing among trees. Ecological Applications, p.e2507, https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2507
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April through May (spring) and August through September (fall) locations for tule greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons elgasi) marked with GPS collars at Summer Lake Wildlife Area, OR in 2018 and 2019. Locations may include pre-migration and post-migration designations. Locations occurring between September 11, 2020, and arrival at, or within 50 kilometers of the Summer Lake Wildlife Area stopover location also provided with elevation information and smoke concentrations derived from the experimental HRRR-Smoke model. Median predicted smoke concentrations extrapolated from ground level through 5,000 meters also provided. These data supports the following publication: Overton, C.T., Lorenz, A.A., James,...
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San Francisco Bay, California is considered a mercury-impaired watershed. Elevated concentrations of mercury are found in water and sediment as well as fish and estuarine birds. Sources of mercury to the watershed since 1845 include sediment-associated mercury from mercury mining, mercury losses from gold amalgamation activities in mines of the Sierra Nevada, aerial deposition of mercury from global and regional emissions to air, and the direct discharge of mercury to Bay waters associated with the urbanization and industrialization of the estuary. We assessed historical trends in mercury bioaccumulation by measuring mercury concentrations in feathers of the endangered California Ridgway’s rail (formerly California...
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This dataset describes mesopredator locations (raccoons and striped skunks), dabbling duck nest locations (mallard, gadwall, and cinnamon teal), northern harrier nest locations, and random locations in relation to a set of habitat features in Suisun Marsh, California during 2016 through 2019. We designed a series of questions to link fine-scale predator movements and vulnerability of dabbling duck nests to predator encounters and egg predation. We conducted our study over a 4-year period using 41 GPS-collared raccoons and striped skunks, two of the most widespread mammalian predators of waterfowl eggs in North America, and more than 2000 monitored duck nests. Each night of movement for mesopredators contains the...
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These data represent trapping effort and captures of deer mice at Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin County, California. Deer mice were captured and marked with ear tags to allow identification of individuals. The location of captures can be used in a spatially explicit capture recapture model to estimate density of mice and how mouse density varies by site and habitat type.
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We used free-ranging northern elephant seals as a model species to investigate maternal transfer of mercury (Hg) to pups in relation to maternal traits, including maternal blood mercury concentrations, and to quantify the links between pup lanugo mercury concentrations and maternal mesopelagic foraging behavior during gestation. We satellite tracked known-age adult females at sea during their seven-month-long foraging trip to determine maternal foraging strategies (geographic locations and diving depths) and quantified mercury concentrations in maternal blood and their pups’ blood and lanugo (which is defined as pup hair grown in utero) early in lactation when seals were hauled out. We then tested how the maternal...
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These data represent an annotated training data for machine learned life history classification of the daily activity of dabbling ducks (f. Anatidae sf. Anatinae) using hourly GPS data. Each row of data represents a single GPS location for one of 5 species of dabbling duck. Note: the machine learned model was developed to be general across sf. Anatinae and does not include specific reference to the species included. That information is obtainable from the point of contact upon request. Each data record contains unique identifiers for individual bird, individual date of locations for an individual bird, and for individual location. Each record contains spatial, temporal and associated habitat information. Each record...
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We used a hierarchical Bayesian modeling framework to estimate resource selection functions and survival for early and late brood-rearing stages of sage-grouse in relation to a broad suite of habitat characteristics evaluated at multiple spatial scales within the Great Basin from 2009 to 2019. Sage-grouse selected for greater perennial grass cover, higher relative elevations, and areas closer to springs and wet meadows during both early and late brood-rearing. Terrain characteristics, including heat load and aspect, were important in survival models, as was variation in shrub height. We also found strong evidence for higher survival for both early and late broods within previously burned areas, but survival within...
map background search result map search result map Historical methyl mercury in San Francisco Bay Mortality factors for dead trees from a subset of plots from the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network from 1998 to 2010 Integrating Spatially Explicit Indices of Abundance and Habitat Quality: An Applied Example for Greater Sage-grouse Management Distribution and mapping of the snail Cerithideopsis (Cerithidea) californica at Carpinteria Salt Marsh, California USA, June to August 2012 Data for calculating population, collision and displacement vulnerability among marine birds of the California Current System associated with offshore wind energy infrastructure (ver. 2.0, June 2017) Blood variable data for clinically normal and clinically abnormal Mojave Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in 2013 Tidal marsh biomass field plot and remote sensing datasets for six regions in the conterminous United States Annual California Sea Otter Census - 2017 Spring Census Summary Annual California Sea Otter Census - 1985-2014 Spring Census Summary Demographic data and location information for the endangered Gailum buxifolium from 2005 to 2014 on Santa Cruz and San Miguel Islands, California The timing of dabbling duckling hatch, nest departure and depredation in Suisun Marsh, California from 2015-2017 Tule Greater White-fronted Goose Migration Tracks (2019-2020) and Atmospheric Smoke Concentrations (2020) Western Spadefoot Habitat Selection Based on Radio Telemetry in Orange County, California 2019 Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks Mortality and Fire Data (1990-2019) for Competition-Fire-Drought Interaction Analysis Predator Movements and Duck Nests in Relation to Habitat Features in Suisun Marsh, CA (2016-2019) Fire Response Effects, Biocrust, and Vascular Plant Abundance Following Wildfire near Boise, Idaho (October 2021) Spatially-Explicit Predictive Maps of Greater Sage-Grouse Brood Selection Integrated with Brood Survival in Nevada and Northeastern California, USA Hourly GPS Locations, Associated Habitat Condition, and Annotated Life History State for Training Machine Learned Models of Waterfowl Daily Activity Captures and Trapping Effort for Deer Mice (Peromyscus sonoriensis) at Point Reyes National Seashore, California, USA from 2021 to 2022 Maternal Transfer of Mercury to Northern Elephant Seal Pups Distribution and mapping of the snail Cerithideopsis (Cerithidea) californica at Carpinteria Salt Marsh, California USA, June to August 2012 The timing of dabbling duckling hatch, nest departure and depredation in Suisun Marsh, California from 2015-2017 Captures and Trapping Effort for Deer Mice (Peromyscus sonoriensis) at Point Reyes National Seashore, California, USA from 2021 to 2022 Predator Movements and Duck Nests in Relation to Habitat Features in Suisun Marsh, CA (2016-2019) Western Spadefoot Habitat Selection Based on Radio Telemetry in Orange County, California 2019 Fire Response Effects, Biocrust, and Vascular Plant Abundance Following Wildfire near Boise, Idaho (October 2021) Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks Mortality and Fire Data (1990-2019) for Competition-Fire-Drought Interaction Analysis Mortality factors for dead trees from a subset of plots from the Sierra Nevada Forest Dynamics Plot Network from 1998 to 2010 Blood variable data for clinically normal and clinically abnormal Mojave Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in 2013 Annual California Sea Otter Census - 2017 Spring Census Summary Annual California Sea Otter Census - 1985-2014 Spring Census Summary Integrating Spatially Explicit Indices of Abundance and Habitat Quality: An Applied Example for Greater Sage-grouse Management Spatially-Explicit Predictive Maps of Greater Sage-Grouse Brood Selection Integrated with Brood Survival in Nevada and Northeastern California, USA Historical methyl mercury in San Francisco Bay Data for calculating population, collision and displacement vulnerability among marine birds of the California Current System associated with offshore wind energy infrastructure (ver. 2.0, June 2017) Tule Greater White-fronted Goose Migration Tracks (2019-2020) and Atmospheric Smoke Concentrations (2020) Tidal marsh biomass field plot and remote sensing datasets for six regions in the conterminous United States Hourly GPS Locations, Associated Habitat Condition, and Annotated Life History State for Training Machine Learned Models of Waterfowl Daily Activity Maternal Transfer of Mercury to Northern Elephant Seal Pups