Under the USGS "Weeds in the West" initiative of 1998, the Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) began research that will improve the ability to detect, monitor, and predict the effects of invasive species. Equally important research is being conducted by WERC scientists on exotic animals. These studies will provide resource managers with the information and tools needed to better understand and control invasive species on the land they manage and to help them avoid or prevent future invasions.

Download a fact sheet (pdf file) describing our invasive species program.

WERC projects

• Alien Annual Grass Distribution, Abundance, and Impact on Desert Tortoise Habitat in the Western Mojave Desert
• Associations of Alien Annual Plants with Livestock Grazing, Off-highway Vehicle Use, and Fire Frequency in the Mojave Desert
• Effects of Livestock Grazing on a Community of Species at Risk of Extinction in the San Joaquin Valley, California.
• The Competitive Effect of the Introduced Annual Grass Bromus Madritensis Ssp. Rubens on Native Mojave Desert Perennials after Wildfire
• Differences Between California Serpentine Soils Dominated by Invasive Plant Species and Serpentine Soils Dominated by Native Plant Species
• Distribution, Abundance and Ecology of Introduced Plants in the Sierra Nevada National Parks: Baseline Data for Management
• Distribution Pattern of Mercury Burdens in the Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis) in Southern San Francisco Bay, California
• The Ecological Impacts of Invasive Exotic Species
• Impact of Fire and Grazing on Diversity and Invasion in Sierran Forests
• The Impact of Invasive Species on Reptiles and Amphibians
• The Influence of Timber Harvest and Floods on the Distribution of Exotic Riparian Plants
• Invasive Exotic Plants of the California Channel Islands
• Nonnative Grass Invasions and Fire in the Mojave Desert
• Nonnative Grass Invasions and Fire in the Sonoran Desert
• Perennial Pepperweed: A Growing Threat to Wildlife Refuges
• Responses of Introduced and Native Vegetation in the Mojave Desert to Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
• Safety and Efficacy of Green Crab Biological Control
• Status of Introduced Plants in Southern Arizona Parks and Refuges

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