Publications

1. Sea-level rise, one indirect consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2, poses a major challenge to long-term stability of coastal wetlands. An important question is whether direct effects of elevated CO 2 on the capacity of marsh plants to accrete organic material and to maintain surface elevations outweigh indirect negative effects of stressors associated with sea-level rise (salinity and floo

Communities of plants, biological soil crusts (BSCs), and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are known to influence soil stability individually, but their relative contributions, interactions, and combined effects are not well understood, particularly in arid and semiarid ecosystems. In a landscape-scale field study we quantified plant, BSC, and AM fungal communities at 216 locations along a gradie

Satellite Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and RADARSAT-1 (radar) satellite image data collected before and after the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area on the Louisiana-Mississippi border, USA, were applied to the study of forested wetland impact and recovery. We documented the overall similarity in the radar and optical satellite mapping of impact and recovery

Estimates of submerged aquatic vegetative (SAV) along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) generally focus on seagrasses. In 2000, we attempted a synoptic survey of SAV in the mesohaline (5–20 ppt) zone of estuarine and nearshore areas of the northeastern Gulf. Areas with SAV were identified from existing aerial 1992 photography, and a literature review was used to select those areas that were likely to

Hurricane Katrina pushed mixed Taxodium distichum forests toward a dominance of Taxodium distichum (baldcypress) and Nyssa aquatica (water tupelo) because these species had lower levels of susceptibility to wind damage than other woody species. This study documents the volume of dead versus live material of woody trees and shrubs of T. distichum swamps following Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Co

Usually, fibroblasts are frozen in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO, 10% v/v) at a cooling rate of 1 °C/min in a low-temperature (−80 °C) freezer (LTF) before storage in liquid nitrogen (LN2); however, a LTF is not always available. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate apoptosis and viability of bovine fibroblasts frozen in a LTF or conventional freezer (CF; −20 °C) and their subsequent abili

The Everglades ecosystem contains the largest contiguous tract of mangrove forest outside the tropics that were also coincidentally intersected by a major Category 5 hurricane. Airborne videography was flown to capture the landscape pattern and process of forest damage in relation to storm trajectory and circulation. Two aerial video transects, representing different topographic positions, were us

The dynamics of plant regeneration via seed and vegetative spread in coastal wetlands dictate the nature of community reassembly that takes place after hurricanes or sea level rise. The objectives of my project were to evaluate the potential effects of saltwater intrusion and flooding of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on seedling regeneration in coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast. Specifically I test

The regularity and severity of tropical storms are major determinants controlling ecosystem structure and succession for coastal ecosystems. Hurricane landfall rates vary greatly with high and low frequency for given coastal stretches of the southeastern United States. Site-specific meteorological data of hurricane wind speeds and direction, however, are only available for select populated cities

Soil elevation affects tidal inundation period, inundation frequency, and overall hydroperiod, all of which are important ecological factors affecting species recruitment, composition, and survival in wetlands. Hurricanes can dramatically affect a site's soil elevation. We assessed the impact of Hurricane Wilma (2005) on soil elevation at a mangrove forest location along the Shark River in Evergla

Understanding the consequences of hurricanes on the food resources available to neotropical-nearctic migrant songbirds may provide important insight into the effects of hurricanes on migratory populations. During autumn migration 2006 we investigated the foraging ecology of two species of insectivorous migrants, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea) and Yellow Warbler (Dendroica petechia), a

Little is known about the effectiveness of mangroves in suppressing water level heights during landfall of tropical storms and hurricanes. Recent hurricane strikes along the Gulf Coast of the United States have impacted wetland integrity in some areas and hastened the need to understand how and to what degree coastal forested wetlands confer protection by reducing the height of peak water level. I