Publications

Mangrove forests occur worldwide along tropical coasts in inundated soils where primary production and anaerobic conditions contribute to the building of soil organic matter (Also see Mangroves Hot-spot, Volume 2). Note that peat may accumulate in certain coastal mangrove (Middleton and McKee, 2001). The actual amount of soil organic matter stored in these wetlands depends on the balance...

Peatland forests occur worldwide in inundated soils where primary production and anaerobic conditions contribute to the building of soil organic matter (Günther et al., 2020). Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) can be substantial from drained freshwater forests with organic soils. Therefore, rewetting peat via hydrologic restoration (see factsheet n°12 on Peatland restoration, this volume)...

Coastal wetland restoration can be used to offset past wetland losses and/or reduce future losses due to land-use changes, rising sea levels, and accelerating climate change. However, there is a need for information regarding the restoration-relevant performance of foundation species like mangrove and marsh plants, including their responses to acute and chronic stressors that can affect

Mangroves are significant carbon (C) sinks and ecological engineers as they accumulate sediments and increase soil surface elevation. Thus, the forest management practice of thinning may not only alter forest structure, but also facilitate new biogeomorphological processes that affect soil development. Thinning may create additional opportunity for understorey species, such as the light...

The handbooks and synchronized MP4 recordings provide hands-on instruction for creating and analyzing vegetation live fractional cover (LFC) maps. The methods and protocols used in the instruction materials follow those developed and recorded in Rangoonwala and Ramsey (2019). The LFC mapping and geographic information system (GIS) analyses highlight the consortium of rangeland...

Imperfect detection is an important problem when counting wildlife, but new technologies such as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) can help overcome this obstacle. We used data collected by a UAS and a Bayesian closed capture-mark-recapture model to estimate abundance and distribution while accounting for imperfect detection of aggregated Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) at...

In order to reconstruct the ecosystem structure of chemosynthetic environments in the fossil record, geochemical proxies must be developed. Here, we present a suite of novel compound-specific isotope parameters for tracing chemosynthetic production with a focus on understanding nitrogen dynamics in deep-sea cold seep environments. We examined the chemosymbiotic bivalve Bathymodiolus...

Barrier islands are dynamic environments that experience gradual change from waves, tides, and currents, and rapid change from extreme storms. These islands are expected to change drastically over the coming century due to accelerated sea-level rise and changes in frequency and intensity of storm events. The dynamic nature of barrier islands coupled with the importance of these...

River deltas are maintained by a continuous supply of terrestrial sediments that provide critical land building material to help sustain and protect vulnerable ecological communities and serve as natural storm protection barriers. Local hydrodynamics are important in determining the degree to which fluvial sediments are removed from the water column and retained on the delta complex...

Few ecological studies have been conducted on Gulf Coast Waterdogs (Necturus beyeri), and published studies have focused on relatively small stream sections of 125 m to 1.75 km. In 2015, we sampled 25 sites along a 13.4-km stretch of Bayou Lacombe (Saint Tammany Parish, Louisiana, USA) to better understand factors that may influence the distribution of Gulf Coast Waterdogs within streams...

Understanding the spatial ecology of an invasive species is critical for designing effective control programs. Determining and quantifying home range estimates and habitat associations can streamline targeted removal efforts for wide-ranging, cryptic animals. The Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is a large-bodied constrictor snake with an established and expanding invasive population...

This final report summarizes activities, outcomes, and lessons learned from a 3-year project titled “Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges” with the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and local partners in the surrounding South Carolina Lowcountry. The Lowcountry is classified as the 10-county area encompassing the coastal plain of South Carolina (this...