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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

WARC conducts relevant and objective research, develops new approaches and technologies, and disseminates scientific information needed to understand, manage, conserve, and restore wetlands and other aquatic and coastal ecosystems and their associated plant and animal communities throughout the nation and the world. 

News

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Sound Waves Newsletter - May-June 2023

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The USGS estimates potential spread of invasive species carried by hurricane-induced flooding

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News Briefs - May-June 2023

Publications

Boreal conifers maintain carbon uptake with warming despite failure to track optimal temperatures

Warming shifts the thermal optimum of net photosynthesis (ToptA) to higher temperatures. However, our knowledge of this shift is mainly derived from seedlings grown in greenhouses under ambient atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) conditions. It is unclear whether shifts in ToptA of field-grown trees will keep pace with the temperatures predicted for the 21st century under elevated atmospheric CO2 con
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Mirindi E. Dusenge, Jeffery M. Warren, Peter B. Reich, Eric Ward, Bridget K. Murphy, Artur Stefanski, Raimundo Bermudez, Marisol Cruz, David A. McLennan, Anthony W. King, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Paul J. Hanson, Danielle A. Way

Tidal restriction likely has greater impact on the carbon sink of coastal wetland than climate warming and invasive plant

AimsCoastal salt marshes are productive ecosystems that are highly efficient carbon sinks, but there is uncertainty regarding the interactions among climate warming, plant species, and tidal restriction on C cycling.MethodsOpen-top chambers (OTCs) were deployed at two coastal wetlands in Yancheng, China, where native Phragmites australis (Phragmites) and invasive Spartina alterniflora (Spartina) w
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Pan Zhou, Siyuan Ye, Liujuan Xie, Ken Krauss, Lixin Pei, Samantha K. Chapman, Hans Brix, Edward A. Laws, Hongming Yuan, Shixiong Yang, Xigui Ding, Shucheng Xie

Estuarine salinity extremes: Using the Coastal Salinity Index to quantify the role of droughts, floods, hurricanes, and freshwater flow alteration

In the face of accelerating climate change, advancing understanding of how extreme climatic events influence estuarine salinities can help to inform resource management. Extreme salinities driven by droughts, hurricanes, floods, and freshwater flow alterations can lead to ecological transformations in estuarine ecosystems. Here, we applied the Coastal Salinity Index (CSI; Conrads and Darby 2017) t
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Laura Feher, Michael Osland, Christopher Swarzenski

Science

Population Monitoring of the Federally Threatened Okaloosa Darter at Eglin Air Force Base

USGS' and Loyola University New Orleans' innovative research techniques played a role in the decision to downlist the Okaloosa Darter, a freshwater fish endemic to northwest Florida, from Endangered to Threatened in 2011, and the removal of the fish from the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2023.
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Population Monitoring of the Federally Threatened Okaloosa Darter at Eglin Air Force Base

USGS' and Loyola University New Orleans' innovative research techniques played a role in the decision to downlist the Okaloosa Darter, a freshwater fish endemic to northwest Florida, from Endangered to Threatened in 2011, and the removal of the fish from the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2023.
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Use of Portable Radar to Monitor Flying Animals in the Offshore Environment

USGS will deploy a small, portable radar aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to measure the abundance, geographic distribution, and flight altitude of birds migrating across the continental shelf of the northern Gulf.
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Use of Portable Radar to Monitor Flying Animals in the Offshore Environment

USGS will deploy a small, portable radar aboard a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel to measure the abundance, geographic distribution, and flight altitude of birds migrating across the continental shelf of the northern Gulf.
Learn More

Ecology of the Diamondback Terrapin: Demographics, Movements, and Habitat Use

In response to declining populations, researchers at WARC are collecting data on demographics, movement patterns and habitat use, ecological niche and foraging ecology, and nesting ecology of diamondback terrapins.
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Ecology of the Diamondback Terrapin: Demographics, Movements, and Habitat Use

In response to declining populations, researchers at WARC are collecting data on demographics, movement patterns and habitat use, ecological niche and foraging ecology, and nesting ecology of diamondback terrapins.
Learn More