My research focuses on landscape ecology in coastal systems, with the goal of developing actionable science for the conservation of threatened and endangered species.
Sara Zeigler is a research geographer at the U.S. Geological Survey. She uses landscape modeling, geographic information systems, remote sensing classification, and (non-human) population modeling to better understand how sea-level rise and storms impact coastal species. She is involved in research projects focused on:
- Current and likely future shorebird habitat use and availability in the U.S.
- Long-term storm patterns on early successional habitats in the Outer Banks
- Sea-level rise-driven ecological and geomorphological evolution of barrier islands
- Restoration assessments and decision analysis to support management of coastal species
The results of her work are used to inform coastal management for shorebirds and other coastal species on barrier islands under current habitat conditions and possible future scenarios.
Science and Products
Beyond waves and shifting sand: considering ecosystem processes in forecasts of coastal landscape change
Sea-level rise and storms cause major changes on coastal landscapes, including shifts in elevation, ecosystem type (for example, dunes and tidal wetlands), soils, and plant communities. Because these changes can have impacts on human communities, the local economy, and ecosystems, understanding how, when, and why these changes occur can be important for informing policy and natural resource manage
Coast Train: Massive Library of Labeled Coastal Images to Train Machine Learning for Coastal Hazards and Resources
Scientists who study coastal ecosystems and hazards such as hurricanes, flooding, and cliff failure collect lots of photographs of coastal environments from airplanes and drones. A large area can be surveyed at high resolution and low cost. Additionally, satellites such as Landsat have provided imagery of the Nation’s coastlines every few days for decades. Scientist’s ability to understand coastal...
Coastal Resource Evaluation for Management Application (CREMA)
Coastal environments are dynamic systems that provide high ecological, economical, recreational, and cultural value. Managing coastal systems requires a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between geological and ecological processes, as well as the ability to predict both the near-term and long-term impacts of storms and sea-level rise. The Coastal Resource Evaluation for...
Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision Support
The Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision-Support project assesses present and future coastal vulnerability to provide actionable information for management of our Nation’s coasts. Through multidisciplinary research and collaborative partnerships with decision-makers, physical, biological, and social factors that describe landscape and habitat changes are incorporated in a probabilistic modeling...
Beach-dependent Shorebirds
Policy-makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers are under increasing pressure to manage changing coastal areas to meet social, economic, and natural resource demands, particularly under a regime of sea-level rise. Scientific knowledge of coastal processes and habitat-use can support decision-makers as they balance these often-conflicting human and ecological...
Empowering decision-makers: A dynamic web interface for running Bayesian networks
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are at the forefront of research that is critical for decision-making, particularly through the development of models (Bayesian networks, or BNs) that forecast coastal change. The utility of these tools outside the scientific community has been limited because they rely on expensive, technical software and a moderate understanding of statistical analyses. W
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Beyond waves and shifting sand: considering ecosystem processes in forecasts of coastal landscape change
Sea-level rise and storms cause major changes on coastal landscapes, including shifts in elevation, ecosystem type (for example, dunes and tidal wetlands), soils, and plant communities. Because these changes can have impacts on human communities, the local economy, and ecosystems, understanding how, when, and why these changes occur can be important for informing policy and natural resource manageCoast Train: Massive Library of Labeled Coastal Images to Train Machine Learning for Coastal Hazards and Resources
Scientists who study coastal ecosystems and hazards such as hurricanes, flooding, and cliff failure collect lots of photographs of coastal environments from airplanes and drones. A large area can be surveyed at high resolution and low cost. Additionally, satellites such as Landsat have provided imagery of the Nation’s coastlines every few days for decades. Scientist’s ability to understand coastal...Coastal Resource Evaluation for Management Application (CREMA)
Coastal environments are dynamic systems that provide high ecological, economical, recreational, and cultural value. Managing coastal systems requires a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between geological and ecological processes, as well as the ability to predict both the near-term and long-term impacts of storms and sea-level rise. The Coastal Resource Evaluation for...Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision Support
The Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision-Support project assesses present and future coastal vulnerability to provide actionable information for management of our Nation’s coasts. Through multidisciplinary research and collaborative partnerships with decision-makers, physical, biological, and social factors that describe landscape and habitat changes are incorporated in a probabilistic modeling...Beach-dependent Shorebirds
Policy-makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers are under increasing pressure to manage changing coastal areas to meet social, economic, and natural resource demands, particularly under a regime of sea-level rise. Scientific knowledge of coastal processes and habitat-use can support decision-makers as they balance these often-conflicting human and ecological...Empowering decision-makers: A dynamic web interface for running Bayesian networks
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are at the forefront of research that is critical for decision-making, particularly through the development of models (Bayesian networks, or BNs) that forecast coastal change. The utility of these tools outside the scientific community has been limited because they rely on expensive, technical software and a moderate understanding of statistical analyses. W - Data
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