Publications

One of the most significant features of the Northwest Atlantic, the Gulf Stream influences high magnitude environmental fluctuations in deep habitats across the South Atlantic Bight. Amid this variability, the Blake Plateau harbors extensive reefs formed by cold-water corals that were previously assumed to rely on narrow ranges of temperature, currents, and particulate supply. A benthic...

In freshwater forested wetlands, bald cypress knees (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) have the potential to emit large amounts of methane (CH4), but only a few studies have examined their greenhouse gas contribution. In this study, we measured CH4 fluxes associated with cypress knees across various climate and flooding gradients of the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley in southcentral...

The emergence of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in North America has resulted in mass mortalities of hibernating bats and total extirpation of local populations. The need to mitigate this disease has stirred a significant body of research to understand its pathogenesis. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative agent of WNS, is a psychrophilic (cold-loving) fungus that resides within the...

Climate change impacts on large river basins, such as the Mekong River Basin (MRB), are complex due to shared governance and interconnected socioeconomic areas, making them highly vulnerable to change. The MRB, spanning six countries including Thailand, is crucial for the food and economic security of > 60 million people. However, in 2021, Thailand was ranked as the 9th highest risk...

Large mammals with general habitat needs can persist throughout mixed used landscapes, however, human-wildlife conflict frequently leads to their restriction to protected areas. Conservation efforts, especially for reducing conflicts with humans, can enhance tolerance of humans towards species like Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in human-dominated landscapes. Here, we examine how...

Managing fire ignitions for resource benefit decreases fuel loads and reduces the risk of high-severity fire in fire-suppressed dry conifer forests. However, the reintroduction of low-severity wildfire can injure trees, which may decrease their growth after fire. Post-fire growth responses could change from first-entry fires to reburns, as first-entry fires reduce fuel loads and the...

Upper estuarine forested wetlands (UEFWs) play an important role in the sequestration of atmospheric carbon (C), which is facilitated by their position at the boundary of terrestrial and maritime environments but threatened by sea level rise. This study assessed the change in aboveground C stocks along the estuarine–riverine hydrogeomorphic gradient spanning salt-impacted freshwater...

Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has a history of conducting traditional fish surveys in urban streams of Seattle, Washington. Limited staff resources have reduced SPU's capacity to monitor fish, and environmental DNA (eDNA) was recognized as an alternative survey method that could potentially improve the efficiency and capacity of SPU-sponsored fish surveys. We performed spatiotemporal...

Fire facilitates erosion through changes in vegetation and soil, with major postfire erosion commonly occurring even with moderate rainfall. As climate warms, the western United States (U.S.) is experiencing an intensifying fire regime and increasing frequency of extreme rain. We evaluated whether these hydroclimatic changes are evident in patterns of postfire erosion by modeling...

The U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partnered to develop a new type of science product: the structured science synthesis. Structured science syntheses are peer-reviewed reports that synthesize science information about a priority resource management issue on public lands. Structured science syntheses are developed explicitly to...

Executive Summary The Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica: “gnatcatcher”) is a resident species restricted to coastal sage scrub habitat in southern California. Listed as federally threatened, the gnatcatcher is subject to multiple threats, including habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, particularly in association with the increasing frequency of...

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are widespread soil photosynthetic communities covering about 12% of Earth's land surface and play crucial roles in terrestrial carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycles, yet scalable quantifications of biocrusts and their biogeochemical contributions are notably lacking. While remote sensing has enormous potential to assess, scale, and contextualize biocrusts...