Publications

Every year, volunteers use thousands of discarded Christmas trees to build brush fences in the coastal waters of Louisiana. The fences slow down waves and trap sediment, allowing aquatic vegetation to take root in the still water and stimulating the growth of new marsh. This is one of many efforts to counteract wetland loss (the loss of saline, brackish, intermediate, and freshwater...

Obviously, no one is recommending cutting down mangroves to sell, but environmental managers are working toward putting a price tag on the benefits they provide to help ensure that they are protected. Though the process is just beginning here, estimates from studies in other locations indicate that the 15,000 acres of mangrove forests surrounding Tampa Bay could be worth $75 to $225...

Introduced exotic species are a well-recognized problem in Florida's subtropical ecosystems. The presence of the exotic Mayan cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) was first confirmed in Florida in 1983, when numerous individuals were found in the northeastern Florida Bay. Since then, this species has continued to expand its range northward. The capture, beginning in October 2004 to present...

Navassa is a small oceanic island (5.2km2 in size) located ~30km west of the southwest tip of Haiti, 160km south of the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and in the heart of the Windward Passage. Navassa was claimed in 1856 by the United States. Navassa has also been claimed by Haiti since its independence in 1825 and, prior to that, was considered part of colonial Haitian...

This paper summarizes the geomorphic variability of these different reef types, their geologic setting, and the present coral-reef biological community. The paper is organized along a virtual depth transect by presenting different reef settings and types starting from the shallower mid-shelf or mid-ramp setting, moving to the shelf edge, and then to the deeper upper slope.

Bacteriophages are found wherever microbial life is present and play a significant role in aquatic ecosystems. They mediate microbial abundance, production, respiration, diversity, genetic transfer, nutrient cycling and particle size distribution. Most studies of bacteriophage ecology have been undertaken at temperate latitudes. Data on bacteriophages in polar inland waters are scant but...

In June and August of 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the shallow geologic framework from Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, to Mobile Bay, Alabama. This work was conducted onboard the Argonne National Laboratory's R/V ERDA-1 as part of the Mississippi/Alabama Pollution Project. This report is part of a series to digitally archive the...

These Lidar-derived topography maps were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) St. Petersburg, the National Park Service (NPS) Inventory and Monitoring Program, Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Wallops...

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has a long history of conducting research on threatened, endangered, and at-risk species inhabiting both terrestrial and marine environments, particularly those found within national parks and protected areas. In the coastal Gulf of Mexico region, for example, USGS scientist Donna Shaver at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas has focused on...

To understand the current community structure on reefs in the Dry Tortugas, we conducted specieslevel surveys of macroalgae, coral diversity, herbivorous and game fishes, urchins, and substratum composition (e.g., rugosity) in shallow (3- to 5-m depth) low-relief reef and hardbottom habitats in October 2007. We had particular interest in the ecological process of herbivory inside and...

Coral diseases have played a major role in the degradation of coral reefs in the Caribbean, including those in the US Virgin Islands (USVI). In 2005, bleaching affected reefs throughout the Caribbean, and was especially severe on USVI reefs. Some corals began to regain their color as water temperatures cooled, but an outbreak of disease (primarily white plague) led to losses of over 60%...

The geomorphology and vegetation of marsh-dominated coastal lowlands were mapped from airborne laser data points collected on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Cedar Key. Surface models were developed using low- and high-point filters to separate ground-surface and vegetation-canopy intercepts. In a non-automated process, the landscape was partitioned into functional landscape units to...