Coastal ecosystems provide critical local and national societal benefits such as coastal protection and fish nurseries but are some of the most heavily used and threatened systems on the planet. The Mangrove Science Network is a collaboration of USGS scientists focused on working with natural resource managers to develop and conduct mangrove research.
Recent Science Products:
A variety of ecosystems (e.g., marshes, freshwater forests, and estuaries) wrap around the continental U.S. and territorial islands in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans transitioning terrestrial systems into the marine world. In addition to direct impacts, coastal systems have been degraded by decisions made in terrestrial systems such as diverting freshwater flows, pollution, and land use changes.
USGS scientists are working to advance our understanding of how coastal systems are responding to sea level rise at various scales and how this could change the structure and species composition of these ecosystems. USGS ecologists also research the impacts of hurricanes, a natural periodic disturbance essential for productivity. Hurricanes bring a large influx of inorganic sediments such as phosphorus into coastal systems, clear open sandy areas necessary for some species, and create new wetlands. However, it is unknown how vegetation communities and biodiversity will respond to an increased frequency and intensity of these storms.
Coastal Research
Stress Physiology, Scaling, and Water Use of Forested Wetland Trees and Stands
Modeling Tidal Freshwater Forested Wetlands (TFFW) Habitat Changes for Land Management
RESTORE Science: Inventory of Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Indicators Using an Ecological Resilience Framework
Dynamics and Fluxes of Nutrients along Environmental Gradients in the Florida Everglades, USA
Integrated Modeling of Coastal Processes and Linkages to Management Applications
Louisiana’s Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS)
Plant Community Dynamics in a Mangrove-to-Marsh Transition Zone
Influence of Sea-Level Rise on Wetland Vegetation Community Structure, Primary Productivity, Organic Matter Decomposition and Carbon Storage
Forecasting Biological Vulnerabilities: Modeling Jamaica Bay Wetland Morphology under Future Hurricanes
Surface Elevation Vulnerability of Coastal Forested Wetlands to Sea-Level Rise
Population Biology and Ecology of Diamondback Terrapins in Mangrove Forested Ecosystems in the Greater Everglades
Hydrodynamics and Sediment Transport in Deltas and Coastal Wetlands
Mechanisms of Coastal Marsh Elevation Regulation
Connectivity of Tropical Marine Ecosystems: Understanding Biodiversity and Trophic Relationships in the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Wetland Evaluation and Sediment Elevation Monitoring and Analysis in the Indian River Lagoon
Life on the Edge: Can Corals in Mangroves Provide Insights into Climate Change and Recovery following Severe Hurricane Damage?
Coastal ecosystems provide critical local and national societal benefits such as coastal protection and fish nurseries but are some of the most heavily used and threatened systems on the planet. The Mangrove Science Network is a collaboration of USGS scientists focused on working with natural resource managers to develop and conduct mangrove research.
Recent Science Products:
A variety of ecosystems (e.g., marshes, freshwater forests, and estuaries) wrap around the continental U.S. and territorial islands in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans transitioning terrestrial systems into the marine world. In addition to direct impacts, coastal systems have been degraded by decisions made in terrestrial systems such as diverting freshwater flows, pollution, and land use changes.
USGS scientists are working to advance our understanding of how coastal systems are responding to sea level rise at various scales and how this could change the structure and species composition of these ecosystems. USGS ecologists also research the impacts of hurricanes, a natural periodic disturbance essential for productivity. Hurricanes bring a large influx of inorganic sediments such as phosphorus into coastal systems, clear open sandy areas necessary for some species, and create new wetlands. However, it is unknown how vegetation communities and biodiversity will respond to an increased frequency and intensity of these storms.