Publications
Explore WARC's science publications.
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Comparison of climate envelope models developed using expert-selected variables versus statistical selection Comparison of climate envelope models developed using expert-selected variables versus statistical selection
Climate envelope models are widely used to describe potential future distribution of species under different climate change scenarios. It is broadly recognized that there are both strengths and limitations to using climate envelope models and that outcomes are sensitive to initial assumptions, inputs, and modeling methods Selection of predictor variables, a central step in modeling, is...
Authors
Laura A. Brandt, Allison Benscoter, Rebecca G. Harvey, Carolina Speroterra, David N. Bucklin, Stephanie S. Romanach, James I. Watling, Frank J. Mazzotti
Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century
Coastal wetlands, existing at the interface between land and sea, are highly vulnerable to climate change. Macroclimate (for example, temperature and precipitation regimes) greatly influences coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. However, research on climate change impacts in coastal wetlands has concentrated primarily on sea-level rise and largely ignored macroclimatic...
Authors
Christopher A. Gabler, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Camille L. Stagg, Richard H. Day, Stephen B. Hartley, Nicholas M. Enwright, Andrew From, Meagan L. McCoy, Jennie L. McLeod
Signals of impending change Signals of impending change
Society has an increasing awareness that there are finite limits to what we can expect the planet to absorb and still provide goods and services at current rates1. Both historical reconstructions and contemporary events continue to remind us that ecological regime changes are often abrupt rather than gradual. This reality motivates researchers who seek to discover leading indicators for...
Authors
James B. Grace
Life history plasticity does not confer resilience to environmental change in the mole salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum) Life history plasticity does not confer resilience to environmental change in the mole salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)
Plasticity in life history strategies can be advantageous for species that occupy spatially or temporally variable environments. We examined how phenotypic plasticity influences responses of the mole salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum, to disturbance events at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (SMNWR), FL, USA from 2009 to 2014. We observed periods of extensive drought early in the...
Authors
Courtney L. Davis, David A.W. Miller, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Jeffrey W. Riley, Mary E. Brown
Climatic controls on the global distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests Climatic controls on the global distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests
Mangrove forests are highly productive tidal saline wetland ecosystems found along sheltered tropical and subtropical coasts. Ecologists have long assumed that climatic drivers (i.e., temperature and rainfall regimes) govern the global distribution, structure, and function of mangrove forests. However, data constraints have hindered the quantification of direct climate-mangrove linkages...
Authors
Michael J. Osland, Laura C. Feher, Kereen Griffith, Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Nicholas M. Enwright, Richard H. Day, Camille L. Stagg, Ken W. Krauss, Rebecca J. Howard, James B. Grace, Kerrylee Rogers
Food-web structure in canyon and slope-associated fauna revealed by stable isotopes Food-web structure in canyon and slope-associated fauna revealed by stable isotopes
Food webs and associated trophic linkages among organisms are central themes in ecology that provide insight into the structure and function of ecosystems. In the deep sea, food webs rely on particulate flux raining from surface waters for energy (Klages et al. 2003), except for chemosynthetic communities, which rely on in situ production via chemosynthesis (Van Dover 2007). In general...
Authors
Amanda W. J. Demopoulos, Jennifer P. McClain-Counts, Steve W. Ross, Sandra Brooke, Michael Rhode
Adaptive harvest management for the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) Adaptive harvest management for the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus)
This document describes progress to date on the development of an adaptive harvest-management strategy for maintaining the Svalbard population of pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) near their target level (60,000) by providing for sustainable harvests in Norway and Denmark. Specifically, this report provides an assessment of the most recent monitoring information and its...
Book review: Behavioral ecology of the eastern red-backed salamander: 50 years of research Book review: Behavioral ecology of the eastern red-backed salamander: 50 years of research
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the British Ecological Society, Sutherland et al. (2013) identified 100 questions of fundamental significance in “pure” (i.e., not applied) ecology. A somewhat unexpected outcome of these authors’ exercise was the realization that, after 100 years of comprehensive, intensive scientific research, there remained “profound knowledge gaps” in...
Authors
Susan C. Walls, Joseph C. Mitchell
Hydrologic modeling in a marsh-mangrove ecotone: Predicting wetland surface water and salinity response to restoration in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Florida, USA Hydrologic modeling in a marsh-mangrove ecotone: Predicting wetland surface water and salinity response to restoration in the Ten Thousand Islands region of Florida, USA
At the fringe of Everglades National Park in southwest Florida, United States, the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge (TTINWR) habitat has been heavily affected by the disruption of natural freshwater flow across the Tamiami Trail (U.S. Highway 41). As the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) proposes to restore the natural sheet flow from the Picayune Strand...
Authors
B.D. Michot, E.A. Meselhe, Ken W. Krauss, Surendra Shrestha, Andrew S. From, Eduardo Patino
Lithobates sylvaticus (wood frog) Lithobates sylvaticus (wood frog)
A single specimen found southwest of Hattiesburg in Timberton (31.270391oN, 89.327675oW; WGS 84). 23 July 2015. Gary, Kat, and Ron Lukens. Verifi ed by Kenneth Krysko, Florida Museum of Natural History (UF-Herpetology 176455). This species has never been recorded from the state of Mississippi before (Dodd 2013. Frogs of the United States and Canada – Volume 2. John Hopkins University...
Authors
Pam Fuller
Are we working towards global research priorities for management and conservation of sea turtles? Are we working towards global research priorities for management and conservation of sea turtles?
In 2010, an international group of 35 sea turtle researchers refined an initial list of more than 200 research questions into 20 metaquestions that were considered key for management and conservation of sea turtles. These were classified under 5 categories: reproductive biology, biogeography, population ecology, threats and conservation strategies. To obtain a picture of how research is...
Authors
A.F. Rees, J. Alfaro-Shigueto, P.C.R. Barata, K.A. Bjorndal, A.B. Bolten, J. Bourjea, A.C. Broderick, L.M. Campbell, L. Cardona, C. Carreras, P. Casale, S.A. Ceriani, P.H. Dutton, T. Eguchi, A. Formia, M.M.P.B. Fuentes, W.J. Fuller, M. Girondot, M.H. Godfrey, M. Hamann, Kristen M. Hart, G.C. Hays, S. Hochscheid, Y. Kaska, M.P. Jensen, J.C. Mangel, J.A. Mortimer, E. Naro-Maciel, C.K.Y. Ng, W.J. Nichols, A.D. Phillott, R.D. Reina, O. Revuelta, G. Schofield, J.A. Seminoff, K. Shanker, J. Tomas, van de Merwe, K.S. Van Houtan, H.B. Vander Zanden, B.P. Wallace, K.R. Wedemeyer-Strombel, Thierry M. Work, B.J. Godley
Overcoming challenges to the recovery of declining amphibian populations in the United States Overcoming challenges to the recovery of declining amphibian populations in the United States
The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) affords many potential benefits to species threatened with extinction. However, most at-risk amphibians—one of the most imperiled vertebrate groups—remain unlisted under the provisions of the ESA, and many impediments to recovery exist for those species that have been listed. Of the 35 US amphibian species and distinct population segments (...
Authors
Susan C. Walls, Lianne C. Ball, William J. Barichivich, Kenneth Dodd, Kevin M Enge, Thomas A. Gorman, Katherine M. O’Donnell, John G Palis, Raymond D. Semlitsch