Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Species Biology
Research into life history, successful conservation, and recovery of threatened and endangered species listed under the Endangered Species Act; trust species that are protected by law; sensitive species that are declining, rare, or uncommon and are identified as candidates for future listing consideration; and species of management concern that warrant management or conservation attention as identified by a natural resource management agency. This category includes a variety of species, including those that are considered at-risk, have economic or intrinsic value, or are overly abundant and therefore leading to management conflicts; biological systematics to understand the evolutionary interrelationships of living things, trying to interpret the way in which life has diversified and changed over time; and decision science, a collaborative approach involving mathematical formulae, business tactics, technological applications, and behavioral sciences to help management make data driven decisions.
Browse Species Biology science related to:
Strategic Habitat Conservation for Gulf Sturgeon
WARC researchers partnered with Gulf Sturgeon decision makers and biologists to develop a Bayesian network model that uses habitat characteristics to predict the quantity of juvenile winter foraging habitat under alternative river discharge and timing of juvenile arrival scenarios.
Strategic Habitat Conservation for Brown Pelican
WARC researchers partnered with managers and species experts to develop a Bayesian network model and a geospatial habitat characteristics dataset to predict the number of Brown Pelican breeding pairs on islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Strategic Habitat Conservation for Black Skimmer and Gull-billed Tern
WARC researchers partnered with managers and species experts to develop a Bayesian network model and a geospatial habitat characteristics dataset to predict the number of breeding pairs of Black Skimmer and Gull-billed Tern along the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Strategic Habitat Conservation for Beach Mice (Peromyscus polionotus ssp.)
WARC researchers partnered with beach mice managers and biologists to estimate habitat objectives and the amount of effort needed to achieve the habitat objective (i.e., management efficiency) for three beach mice subspecies in Florida’s panhandle.
Development and Implementation of Environmental DNA (eDNA) Tools to Aid Listing and Recovery Efforts for Imperiled and Common Freshwater Mussels
Researchers will develop and optimize an eDNA assay to delineate the current distribution of P. inflatus. The assay will then be used to provide up-to-date distributional information and detection rates for P. inflatus in the Pearl River basin.
Post-Hurricane Florence Sea Turtle Nesting Habitat Nest Site Selection at Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores
WARC researchers will be surveying nesting beaches in Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores. They will record GPS locations for all crawls, nests, and turtles encountered/captured, and will be placing satellite tags on a subset of individuals to determine habitat use and delineate inter-nesting areas used by reproductive females.
Quantitative Tools for the Urgent Recovery and Regulatory Needs of the Florida Bonneted Bat, Eumops floridanus
WARC researchers are organizing Florida bonneted bat echolocation recordings into a database to assess population trends and bat response to management actions.
A Multiscale Approach to Understanding Migratory Landbird Habitat Use of Functional Stopover Habitat Types and Management Efforts
USGS scientists are using a spatially-explicit Bayesian network model to predict the difference between energetic value and energetic demand for stopover habitats for migrating landbirds.
Adapting to Climate Change: Trends and Severe Storm Responses by Migratory Landbirds and Their Habitats
USGS scientists will be analyzing weather surveillance radar observations of birds departing stopover habitats to measure responses to climate change.
Using Occupancy Analysis to Understand Ecological and Environmental Stressors that Affect the Range and Abundance of Gulf Coast Waterdogs (Necturus beyeri) in Louisiana Bayous
Sampling for Gulf Coast waterdogs is providing essential information to better understand the factors that impact the species' occupancy across Louisiana.
Effects of Saltwater Intrusion on Anuran Occupancy in Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas
WARC researchers sampled anuran populations at sites within Big Thicket National Preserve to explore saltwater intrusion on these populations.
Acoustic Monitoring for Two Rare Frog Species in Northwest Louisiana
WARC researchers are using automated recording units to monitor southern crawfish frogs and Strecker's chorus frogs in Louisiana.