Publications

USA: LOUISIANA: PLAQUEMINES PARISH: 0.15 km S of the intersection of LA-23 and Jump road, Venice (29.266630°N, 89.35570°W; WGS 84). 2 May 2019. V. C. Montross and W. McGighan. Verified by Aaron M. Bauer. Florida Museum of Natural History (UF 189238; photo voucher). New parish record. On 2 May 2019, three Hemidactylus parvimaculatus were observed after lifting an abandoned door left on...

Mangrove forests in the Florida Everglades (USA) are frequently affected by hurricanes that produce high-velocity winds, storm surge, and extreme rainfall, but also provide sediment subsidies that help mangroves adjust to sea-level rise. The long-term influence of hurricane sediment inputs on soil elevation dynamics in mangrove forests are not well understood. Here, we assessed the...

The introduction of snakeheads from their origins in Asia is relatively recent to the conterminous United States with the first of many collections beginning in the late 1990s. For decades they have been commercially fished and aquacultured around the world for human food and, to a lesser degree, for the aquarium trade. Over a dozen snakehead species known to be of economic importance...

As we enter the era of data science (Lortie 2018), quantitative analysis methodologies are proliferating rapidly, leaving ecologists with the task of choosing among many alternatives. The use of structural equation modeling (SEM) by ecologists has increased in recent years, prompting us to ask users a number of questions about their experience with the methodology. Responses indicate an

The Upper Mississippi Embayment (UME) ecoregion covers approximately 141,895 km2 and historically supported 9,712,455 ha of bottomland deciduous forests, swamps, bayous, and rivers. Only about 500 ha (

Background and Aims Coastal wetlands have evolved to withstand stressful abiotic conditions through the maintenance of hydrologic feedbacks among vegetation production and flooding. However, disruption of these feedbacks can lead to ecosystem collapse, or a regime shift from vegetated wetland to open water. To prevent the loss of critical coastal wetland habitat, we must improve...

Winter climate change is expected to lead to the tropicalization of temperate ecosystems, where tropical species expand poleward in response to a decrease in the intensity and duration of winter temperature extremes (i.e., freeze events). In the southeastern United States, freezing temperatures control the northern range limits of many invasive non‐native species. Here, we examine the...

Background Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis is increasingly being used to detect the presence and relative abundance of rare species, especially invasive or imperiled aquatic species. The rapid progress in the eDNA field has resulted in numerous studies impacting conservation and management actions. However, standardization of eDNA methods and reporting across the field is yet to be...

The System-Wide Assessment and Monitoring Program (SWAMP) has been envisioned as a long-term monitoring program to ensure a comprehensive network of coastal data collection activities is in place to support the development, implementation, and adaptive management of the coastal protection and restoration program within coastal Louisiana. The Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS)...

Context The greater Everglades region in Florida (USA) is an area of wetlands that has been altered and reduced to 50% of its original area and faces multiple threats. Spatial landscape analysis can help guide a large and complex ecosystem restoration process, involving billions of dollars and multiple groups of stakeholders.Objectives To guide Everglades restoration efforts, we...

Bivalves exhibit an astonishing diversity of sexual systems, with genetic and environmental determinants of sex, and possibly the only example of mitochondrial genes influencing sex determination pathways in animals. In contrast to all other animal species in which strict maternal inheritance (SMI) of mitochondria is the rule, bivalves possess a system known as doubly uniparental...

Near the tropical‐temperate transition zone, warming winter temperatures are expected to facilitate the poleward range expansion of freeze‐sensitive tropical organisms. In coastal wetlands of eastern and central North America, freeze‐sensitive woody plants (mangroves) are expected to expand northward into regions currently dominated by freeze‐tolerant herbaceous salt marsh plants. To...