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Publications

Explore WARC's science publications.

Filter Total Items: 3510

Rediscovering traditional vegetation management in preserves: trading experiences between cultures and continents Rediscovering traditional vegetation management in preserves: trading experiences between cultures and continents

Land managers are grappling with massive changes in vegetation structure, particularly in protected areas formerly subjected to fire and grazing. The objective of this review was to compare notes on the historical and current management of ecosystems around the world (especially in wet to dry grasslands in the Americas, Australia, Africa, Europe and Asia) with respect to the usage of...
Authors
Beth A. Middleton

Tracking sedimentation from the historic A.D. 2011 Mississippi River flood in the deltaic wetlands of Louisiana, USA Tracking sedimentation from the historic A.D. 2011 Mississippi River flood in the deltaic wetlands of Louisiana, USA

Management and restoration of the Mississippi River deltaic plain (southern United States) and associated wetlands require a quantitative understanding of sediment delivery during large flood events, past and present. Here, we investigate the sedimentary fingerprint of the 2011 Mississippi River flood across the Louisiana coast (Atchafalaya Delta, Terrebonne, Barataria, and Mississippi...
Authors
Nicole S. Khan, Benjamin P. Horton, Karen L. McKee, Douglas Jerolmack, Federico Falcini, Mihaela D. Enache, Christopher H. Vane

Contaminants assessment in the coral reefs of Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument Contaminants assessment in the coral reefs of Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument

Coral, fish, plankton, and detritus samples were collected from coral reefs in Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS) and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICR) to assess existing contamination levels. Passive water sampling using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) and semi-permeable membrane devices found a few emerging pollutants of concern (DEET and...
Authors
Timothy A. Bargar, Virginia H. Garrison, David A. Alvarez, Kathy Echols

Resilience thinking and a decision-analytic approach to conservation: strange bedfellows or essential partners? Resilience thinking and a decision-analytic approach to conservation: strange bedfellows or essential partners?

There has been some tendency to view decision science and resilience theory as opposing approaches, or at least as contending perspectives, for natural resource management. Resilience proponents have been especially critical of optimization in decision science, at least for those cases where it is focused on the aggressive pursuit of efficiency. In general, optimization of resource...
Authors
Fred A. Johnson, Byron K. Williams, James D. Nichols

Controls of biological soil crust cover and composition shift with succession in sagebrush shrub-steppe Controls of biological soil crust cover and composition shift with succession in sagebrush shrub-steppe

Successional stage may determine strength and causal direction of interactions among abiotic and biotic factors; e.g., species that facilitate the establishment of other species may later compete with them. We evaluated multivariate hypotheses about abiotic and biotic factors shaping biological soil crusts (BSCs) in early and late successional stages. We surveyed vegetation and BSC in...
Authors
E. Dettweiler-Robinson, J.D. Bakker, J.B. Grace

Do hummocks provide a physiological advantage to even the most flood tolerant of tidal freshwater trees? Do hummocks provide a physiological advantage to even the most flood tolerant of tidal freshwater trees?

Hummock and hollow microtopography is pervasive in tidal freshwater swamps. Many tree species grow atop hummocks significantly more than in hollows, leading to the hypothesis that hummocks provide preferred locations for maximizing physiological proficiency of inhabiting trees that experience repeated flooding. We used thermal dissipation probes to measure the ecophysiological...
Authors
Jamie A. Duberstein, Ken W. Krauss, William H. Conner, William C. Bridges, Victor B. Shelburne

The influence of vegetation on the hydrodynamics and geomorphology of a tree island in Everglades National Park (Florida, United States) The influence of vegetation on the hydrodynamics and geomorphology of a tree island in Everglades National Park (Florida, United States)

Transpiration-driven nutrient accumulation has been identified as a potential mechanism governing the creation and maintenance of wetland vegetation patterning. This process may contribute to the formation of nutrient-rich tree islands within the expansive oligotrophic marshes of the Everglades (Florida, United States). This study presents hydrogeochemical data indicating that tree root...
Authors
Pamela L. Sullivan, Victor C. Engel, Michael S. Ross, Rene M. Price

Global climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico: Considerations for integrated coastal management Global climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico: Considerations for integrated coastal management

Global climate change is important in considerations of integrated coastal management in the Gulf of Mexico. This is true for a number of reasons. Climate in the Gulf spans the range from tropical to the lower part of the temperate zone. Thus, as climate warms, the tropical temperate interface, which is currently mostly offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, will increasingly move over the...
Authors
John W. Day, Alejandro Yáñez-Arancibia, James H. Cowan, Richard H. Day, Robert R. Twilley, John R. Rybczyk

Conservation status of freshwater gastropods of Canada and the United States Conservation status of freshwater gastropods of Canada and the United States

This is the first American Fisheries Society conservation assessment of freshwater gastropods (snails) from Canada and the United States by the Gastropod Subcommittee (Endangered Species Committee). This review covers 703 species representing 16 families and 93 genera, of which 67 species are considered extinct, or possibly extinct, 278 are endangered, 102 are threatened, 73 are...
Authors
Paul D. Johnson, Arthur E. Bogan, Kenneth M. Brown, Noel M. Burkhead, James R. Cordeiro, Jeffrey T. Garner, Paul D. Hartfield, Dwayne A. Lepitzki, Gerry L. Mackie, Eva Pip, Thomas A. Tarpley, Jeremy S. Tiemann, Nathan V. Whelan, Ellen E. Strong

The silent threat of low genetic diversity The silent threat of low genetic diversity

Across the Caribbean, protected coastal waters have served as primary feeding and breeding grounds for the endangered Antillean manatee. Unfortunately, these same coastal waters are also a popular “habitat” for humans. In the past, the overlap between human and manatee habitat allowed for manatee hunting and threatened the survival of these gentle marine mammals. Today, however, threats...
Authors
Margaret E. Hunter
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