I am a Biologist with USGS, Western Ecological Research Center. My research focuses on estuaries, restoration research, and monitoring in the San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound ecosystems.
With over 10 years of experience leading the Wetland Restoration Program at USGS San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station, I have been fortunate to have worked in amazing wetlands, including the Alaskan tundra, Mo'orea mangroves, Wisconsin lacustrine wetlands, and coastal and tidal marshes in San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound. At USGS, I have helped developed, implemented, and established new tools to track restoration change (i.e., remote sensing, RTK GPS mapping, bathymetry system, remote logger network) as well as establish the benthic ecology laboratory. As a cohesive team, we provide science support to land managers with assessments of early phase estuarine restorations within a long term monitoring framework (incorporating Climate Change and Blue Carbon data needs).
We work closely with Federal, Tribal, and State managers so that applied research addresses adaptive management priorities on a variety of topic areas such as: restoration effectiveness, USFWS Tidal Marsh Recovery Plan species and habitats, benthic invertebrate prey availability and carrying capacity for shorebirds, juvenile salmonid invertebrate prey within habitat mosaics within a restored estuary, benthic invertebrate colonization along elevation gradients, methylmercury in tidal marsh, food webs, and inundation and salinity effects on plants. The manuscript Woo and Zedler 2002 was selected as one of the top 30 papers in the past 30 years in the international journal Wetlands (http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/ecology/journal/13157?detailsPage=press)
I am also interested in outreach and education. I co-created an online repository of wetland monitoring www.nisquallydeltarestoration.org, and designed a practitioner’s online guide to monitoring methods http://tidalmarshmonitoring.net/. Our programs have benefitted from student interns (high school to graduate level students) through various internships (e.g., USGS NAGT, SISNAR, and Youth internships, Solano Community College Internships, and Benicia High School Ech2O Academy).
PAST PUBLICATIONS
Davis, M. J., Woo, I., Ellings, C. S., Hodgson, S., Beauchamp, D. A., Nakai, G. and De La Cruz, S. E. W. 2019. Freshwater Tidal Forests and Estuarine Wetlands May Confer Early Life Growth Advantages for Delta‐Reared Chinook Salmon. Trans Am Fish Soc, 148: 289-307. doi:10.1002/tafs.10134
Drexler, J. Z., Woo, I. , Fuller, C. C. and Nakai, G. 2019. Carbon accumulation and vertical accretion in a restored versus historic salt marsh in southern Puget Sound, Washington, United States. Restor Ecol. doi:10.1111/rec.12941
Holmquist, J.R., L. Windham-Myers, N. Bliss, S. Crooks, J.T. Morris, P.J. Megonigal, T. Trox
Science and Products
Recreational Birdwatching and Habitat
Fisheries and Fish Habitat
Marsh Elevation Change and Carbon Sequestration
An Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Nisqually River Delta, South Puget Sound, Washington
NASA-USGS National Blue Carbon Monitoring System
Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries
Wetland Restoration in the San Francisco Bay Delta and Pacific Northwest
Science and Products
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Recreational Birdwatching and Habitat
Thousands of visitors flock to the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge every year to look for birds both rare and common. Birdwatching activities contribute to economic activity for the Nisqually area and play a role in the broader outdoor-loving culture of the Pacific Northwest.Fisheries and Fish Habitat
The estuarine habitat of the Delta is critical to the production of salmon, which supports recreational, commercial, and subsistence fishing. The combination of shaded pools, shallow reaches, and a rich prey population provide excellent feeding grounds for juvenile fish. Fishing also holds great importance in the cultural practices of the Nisqually Tribe.Marsh Elevation Change and Carbon Sequestration
Tidal marsh vegetation grows in a narrow elevation zone between sea level and the upland behind it. These plant communities have evolved to accumulate sediment over time and maintain their relative elevation with gradual rates of change in sea level. It is uncertain which marsh vegetation communities will be able to accumulate sediment at a rate that keeps pace with accelerated sea level rise.An Ecosystem Services Assessment of the Nisqually River Delta, South Puget Sound, Washington
Overview of Nisqually River Delta ecosystem services modelingNASA-USGS National Blue Carbon Monitoring System
The NASA-USGS National Blue Carbon Monitoring System project will evaluate the relative uncertainty of iterative modeling approaches to estimate coastal wetland (marsh and mangrove) C stocks and fluxes based on changes in wetland distributions, using nationally available datasets (Landsat) and as well as finer scale satellite and field derived data in six sentinel sites.Assessing the Benefits and Vulnerability of Current and Future Potential Ecosystem Services of the Nisqually River Delta and other Puget Sound Estuaries
The Nisqually River Delta represents the largest wetland restoration in the Pacific Northwest. The restoration resulted in a 50% increase in potential salt marsh habitat. The Delta supports threatened salmon fisheries, large populations of migratory birds, and provides unique opportunities for recreation. The Delta also provides multiple ecosystem services, which are the benefits that wildlife orWetland Restoration in the San Francisco Bay Delta and Pacific Northwest
Estuaries and healthy coastal habitats are among the most productive ecosystems on Earth. They provide a variety of benefits, including habitat and food for fish and wildlife, flood and erosion protection, improved water quality, increased carbon sequestration, as well as beautiful scenery and opportunities for recreation. Along the U.S. Pacific Coast, both the San Francisco Bay estuary and the... - Data
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