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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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Amphibians have one more thing to worry about—mercury—large USGS study shows

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Now Available: First CONUS-wide Coastal Wetland Collection

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USGS Scientists Explore Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities in the Gulf of Mexico

Publications

Mapping high marsh and salt pannes/flats along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast

Coastal wetlands are predicted to undergo extensive transformation due to climate and land use change. Baseline maps of coastal wetlands can be used to help assess changes. Found in the upper portion of the estuarine zone, high marsh and salt pannes/flats provide ecosystem goods and services and are particularly important to fish and wildlife. We developed the first map of high marsh and salt pann
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Nicholas Enwright, Wyatt Charles Cheney, Kristine O. Evans, Hana R. Thurman, Mark S. Woodrey, Auriel M.V. Fournier, Jena A. Moon, Heather E. Levy, James A. Cox, Peter J. Kappes, John A. Nyman, Jonathan L. Pitchford

Hawksbill and green turtle niche overlap in a marine protected area, US Virgin Islands

Studying how species interact with their environment and other co-occurring species are 2 main aspects of ecology. For marine turtles, ocean currents drive migratory routes and may determine the location of surrounding foraging grounds. As a result, circumglobal species like the hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata and green turtle Chelonia mydas adapt to diverse foraging habitats and employ va
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Melissa A. Moorehouse, John D. Baldwin, Kristen Hart

Observing coastal wetland transitions using national land cover products

Over the coming century, climate change and sea-level rise are predicted to cause widespread change to coastal wetlands. Estuarine vegetated wetlands can adapt to sea-level rise through both vertical development (i.e., biophysical feedbacks and sedimentation) and upslope/horizontal migration. Quantifying changes to estuarine vegetated wetlands over time can help to inform current and future decisi
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Nicholas Enwright, Michael Osland, Karen M. Thorne, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James Grace, Gregory Steyer, Nate Herold, Bogdan Chivoiu, Minoo Han

Science

Nekton References and Targets: Assessing the Abundance and Density of Fish and Invertebrates Associated with Louisiana’s Marsh Habitat

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is leading a Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) activity with USGS collaborators to establish reference ranges and restoration targets, assess data gaps for focal nekton species and/or guilds associated with Louisiana’s estuarine and coastal habitats, implement the fixed-area sampling strategy to quantify fishes and invertebrates...
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Nekton References and Targets: Assessing the Abundance and Density of Fish and Invertebrates Associated with Louisiana’s Marsh Habitat

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is leading a Monitoring and Adaptive Management (MAM) activity with USGS collaborators to establish reference ranges and restoration targets, assess data gaps for focal nekton species and/or guilds associated with Louisiana’s estuarine and coastal habitats, implement the fixed-area sampling strategy to quantify fishes and invertebrates...
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Natural Resource Damage and Assessment (NRDA) Program- DOI Monitoring and Adaptive Management Technical Assistance

WARC researchers are providing support to Louisiana Monitoring and Adaptive Management activities.
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Quantifying Changes in Wetland Area and Habitat Types in the Deepwater Horizon Louisiana Restoration Area 1985-Present with Remote Sensing

USGS researchers will quantify wetland change and wetland vegetation community type change through the analyses of aerial vegetation survey data and investigate potential relationships between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and marsh elevation change.
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Quantifying Changes in Wetland Area and Habitat Types in the Deepwater Horizon Louisiana Restoration Area 1985-Present with Remote Sensing

USGS researchers will quantify wetland change and wetland vegetation community type change through the analyses of aerial vegetation survey data and investigate potential relationships between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and marsh elevation change.
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