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Allison Benscoter

Allison Benscoter is a quantitative ecologist and geographic information specialist who focuses on ecological restoration and wildlife conservation at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center. 

Research areas include applying geospatial techniques to understand species responses to environmental variation, habitat suitability modeling, animal home range analyses, and plant ecophysiology.

 

Education and Certifications

  • M.S. in Plant Biology from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale

    B.A. in Environmental Studies from Saint Olaf College

Science and Products

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Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow

Knowledge Synthesis of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Science

WARC researchers have developed a literature review of science on the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow focused on topics relevant to upcoming management decisions.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Knowledge Synthesis of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Science

WARC researchers have developed a literature review of science on the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow focused on topics relevant to upcoming management decisions.
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Snowy Egret

Modeling Conservation Targets for the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative

The USGS is working with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative to develop forecast models that integrate potential impacts from external drivers for selected conservation targets and priority resources.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Modeling Conservation Targets for the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative

The USGS is working with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative to develop forecast models that integrate potential impacts from external drivers for selected conservation targets and priority resources.
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Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow

Modeling Spatial Habitat Quality for the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow

The Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) team will develop species distribution models that incorporate hydrologic and habitat variables known to influence Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow occurrence.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Modeling Spatial Habitat Quality for the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow

The Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) team will develop species distribution models that incorporate hydrologic and habitat variables known to influence Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow occurrence.
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Wood storks in Greater Everglades

Ecological Modeling in Support of the Western Everglades Restoration Project

Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) provides ecological models tailored to address specific management issues, for example, the Western Everglades Restoration Project.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Ecological Modeling in Support of the Western Everglades Restoration Project

Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) provides ecological models tailored to address specific management issues, for example, the Western Everglades Restoration Project.
Learn More
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Snail kite: Photo credit: NPS

Habitat Modeling for the Endangered Everglades Snail Kite and Its Prey

Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) provides real-time habitat suitability models for species of interest in Everglades restoration planning, including the federally endangered Everglades snail kite.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Wildlife Program (unpublished), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Habitat Modeling for the Endangered Everglades Snail Kite and Its Prey

Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) provides real-time habitat suitability models for species of interest in Everglades restoration planning, including the federally endangered Everglades snail kite.
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A nesting loggerhead carrying a satellite tag on the St. Joseph Peninsula, FL

Sea Turtle Movement and Habitat Use in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) uses trawling to capture and relocate live sea turtles away from dredging locations to minimize the risk of turtle entrainment. These incidental turtle captures provide a unique opportunity to fill critical data gaps for difficult to capture life-stages of marine turtles.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Sea Turtle Movement and Habitat Use in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) uses trawling to capture and relocate live sea turtles away from dredging locations to minimize the risk of turtle entrainment. These incidental turtle captures provide a unique opportunity to fill critical data gaps for difficult to capture life-stages of marine turtles.
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Socio-Ecological Conservation Targets for the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative

Socio-Ecological Conservation Targets for the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative

Peninsular Florida has a high density of species and ecosystems of conservation concern, as well as many threats to the persistence of native species and their habitats. USGS worked closely with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative to define conservation targets to help meet conservation goals.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Socio-Ecological Conservation Targets for the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative

Peninsular Florida has a high density of species and ecosystems of conservation concern, as well as many threats to the persistence of native species and their habitats. USGS worked closely with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative to define conservation targets to help meet conservation goals.
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Climate Envelope Modeling for Evaluating Anticipated Effects of Climate Change on Threatened and Endangered Species

Climate Envelope Modeling for Evaluating Anticipated Effects of Climate Change on Threatened and Endangered Species

Modeling both potential changes in climate and responses of species and habitats can increase certainty in management decisions by helping managers to understand the range of possible species and habitat responses under different alternative futures. Climate envelope modeling is one type of modeling that can be useful in understanding species and habitat responses to climate change because it...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Climate Envelope Modeling for Evaluating Anticipated Effects of Climate Change on Threatened and Endangered Species

Modeling both potential changes in climate and responses of species and habitats can increase certainty in management decisions by helping managers to understand the range of possible species and habitat responses under different alternative futures. Climate envelope modeling is one type of modeling that can be useful in understanding species and habitat responses to climate change because it...
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Sea Turtle Habitat Use at Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands

USGS researchers tag and track endangered and threatened sea turtles to inform adaptive management strategies in marine protected areas.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Sea Turtle Habitat Use at Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands

USGS researchers tag and track endangered and threatened sea turtles to inform adaptive management strategies in marine protected areas.
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KiteNest modeling scripts and output

KiteNest is a spatially explicit model of Everglades snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus) relative nest site selection that quantifies the relationships between a range of environmental factors and nest site selection specific to the southern portion of the species' range. Using hydrologic conditions such as mean 2-week water depth and water depth change rate, days since the last fire, dist
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Satellite tracking data for post-nesting green turtles from Northwest Florida (2002-2020)

This dataset includes processed satellite tracking data collected from green turtles between July 2002 and October 2020 in the Gulf of Mexico along the west coast of Florida from the Florida Keys to the Gulf Islands National Seashore. It contains model output including from the state-space model (SSM) described in Lamont et al. (2022) and centroids associated with the 50 percent and 95 percent ker
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Sea level rise scenarios for the Cape Sable seaside sparrow

The endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis; CSSS) occurs in marl prairie habitat at the southern end of the Everglades, at the southernmost part of the Florida peninsula. The locations of three of its six subpopulations are proximate to the coast, putting them at risk for inundation caused by sea level rise (SLR). The spatially explicit predictive model EverSparrow pro
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ecological Model Support for the Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP) Round One of Four, 2018

Ecological models facilitate evaluation and assessment of alternative approaches to restore the Greater Everglades ecosystem. However, the provision of useful and accessible models is a challenge because there is often a disconnect between model output and its use by decision makers. Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) meets this challenge by providing ecological model output tailored to management dec
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ecological Model Support for the Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP) Round Two of Four, 2018

Ecological models facilitate evaluation and assessment of alternative approaches to restore the Greater Everglades ecosystem. However, the provision of useful and accessible models is a challenge because there is often a disconnect between model output and its use by decision makers. Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) meets this challenge by providing ecological model output tailored to management dec
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ecological Model Support for the Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP) Round Three of Four, 2019

Ecological models facilitate evaluation and assessment of alternative approaches to restore the Greater Everglades ecosystem. However, the provision of useful and accessible models is a challenge because there is often a disconnect between model output and its use by decision makers. Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) meets this challenge by providing ecological model output tailored to management dec
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ecological Model Support for the Western Everglades Restoration Project (WERP) Round Four of Four, 2020

Ecological models facilitate evaluation and assessment of alternative approaches to restore the Greater Everglades ecosystem. However, the provision of useful and accessible models is a challenge because there is often a disconnect between model output and its use by decision makers. Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) meets this challenge by providing ecological model output tailored to management dec
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ecological Model Support for RECOVER's Update of Interim Goals, 2019

Ecological models facilitate evaluation and assessment of alternative approaches to restore the Greater Everglades ecosystem. However, the provision of useful and accessible models is a challenge because there is often a disconnect between model output and its use by decision makers. Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) meets this challenge by providing ecological model output tailored to management dec
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

EverSparrow model scripts and outputs

EverSparrow is a spatially explicit Bayesian model of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis; CSSS) presence that quantifies the interdependent relationships between a range of environmental factors and CSSS presence. Using hydrologic conditions such as mean 4-year hydroperiod and maximum depth, fire occurrence history, and vegetation structure throughout the range of CSSS, EverS
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Tagging date, site, turtle size, and migration and foraging behavioral data for loggerheads (Caretta caretta) nesting at three sites in the Gulf of Mexico from 2011–2019

Tagging information, including migration and foraging behavioral data, for female reproductive loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) that were satellite tagged at nesting beaches at Gulf Shores (Alabama [AL]), Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO, Florida [FL]), and Everglades National Park (ENP, FL) from 2011–2019. Variables include the tagging date, tagging site, the curved carapace leng
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ecological modeling output for the Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir 2020

Ecological models facilitate evaluation and assessment of alternative approaches to restore the Greater Everglades ecosystem. The models of particular interest to the South Florida Water Management District for planning for the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir were: (1) Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Marl Prairie Indicator, (2) Florida apple snail (native) population model (EverSnail), (3)
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Land Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Ecological modeling output for the Combined Operational Plan, Round 1 in the Greater Everglades, 2018-2019

Ecological models facilitate evaluation and assessment of alternative plans for restoring the Greater Everglades ecosystem. Modeling outputs were used in evaluations of alternative water control plans to be performed by the Combined Operational Plan (COP). The models used were: (1) Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Marl Prairie Indicator in conjunction with (2) Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow Helper, (3) Flor
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Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Filter Total Items: 19

Green turtle movements in the Gulf of Mexico: Tracking reveals new migration corridor and habitat use suggestive of MPA expansion

Globally, Marine Protected Areas are an important tool in the conservation of large marine vertebrates. Recent studies have highlighted the use of protected areas by imperiled green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the southern Gulf of Mexico. To identify and characterize inter-nesting, migratory, and foraging areas for green turtles that nest in the northern Gulf of Mexico, we deployed 14 satellite ta
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Nest-site selection model for endangered Everglade snail kites to inform ecosystem restoration

dictors of nesting for snail kites in south Florida. The results of our modeling indicate that hydrology, percent canopy cover, and proximity to recently burned areas were the most important factors associated with nest-site selection for snail kites. Water depths between 75 and 100 cm, water recession rates between 0 and 1.25 cm/day, percent canopy covers
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Sea level rise may pose conservation challenges for the endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow

Biodiversity conservation under a changing climate is a challenging endeavor. Landscapes are shifting as a result of climate change and sea level rise but plant communities in particular may not keep up with the pace of change. Predictive ecological models can help decision makers understand how species are likely to respond to change and then adjust management actions to align with desired future
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow ecology: Actions towards recovery through landscape-scale ecosystem restoration

Understanding the ecology of endangered taxa and the factors affecting their population growth and decline is imperative for their recovery. In the southeastern USA, the Everglades wetland ecosystem supports a high diversity of species and communities, including many endemic and imperiled taxa, such as the federally endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow Ammospiza maritima mirabilis (CSSS). The Eve
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Inter-nesting movements, migratory pathways, and resident foraging areas of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) satellite-tagged in Southwest Florida

Globally, sea turtle research and conservation efforts are underway to identify important high-use areas where these imperiled individuals may be resident for weeks to months to years. In the southeastern Gulf of Mexico, recent telemetry studies highlighted post-nesting foraging sites for federally endangered green turtles (Chelonia mydas) around the Florida Keys. In order to delineate additional
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at smaller sizes than expected in the Gulf of Mexico: Implications for turtle behavior, population dynamics, and conservation

Estimates of parameters that affect population dynamics, including the size at which individuals reproduce, are crucial for efforts aimed at understanding how imperiled species may recover from the numerous threats they face. In this study, we observed loggerhead marine turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at three sites in the Gulf of Mexico at sizes assumed nonreproductive in this region (≤87 cm cu
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Landscape-scale drivers of endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis) presence using an ensemble modeling approach

The Florida Everglades is a vast and iconic wetland ecosystem in the southern United States that has undergone dramatic changes from habitat degradation, development encroachment, and water impoundment. Starting in the past few decades, large restoration projects have been undertaken to restore the landscape, including improving conditions for threatened and imperiled taxa. One focus of restoratio
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Knowledge synthesis of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow science

This report represents a literature review of science conducted on the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis, hereafter “CSSS” or “spar-row”). This information can be used as a foundation for the upcoming Species Status Assessment and for updating the CSSS Recovery Plan. This report focuses on areas of interest relative to CSSS management such as habitat, hydrology, fire, and po
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Migration corridors and threats in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits for loggerhead sea turtles

Along migration corridors, animals can face natural and anthropogenic threats that differ from those in breeding and non-breeding residence areas. Satellite telemetry can aid in describing the timing and location of these migrations. We use this tool with switching state-space modeling and line kernel density estimates to identify migration corridors of post-nesting adult female loggerhead sea tur
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Potential impacts of future urbanization and sea level rise on Florida’s natural resources

As urban development continues to encroach into natural systems, these ecosystems experience increasing degradation to their form and function. Losses in biodiversity and ecosystem function are further compounded by changing climatic conditions. The State of Florida is known for its biodiversity but has experienced declines in species populations and habitats because of urbanization and sea level
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Coastal marsh bird habitat selection and responses to Hurricane Sandy

Wetlands provide numerous ecosystem functions such as water purification, nutrient cycling, and wildlife habitat. Avian populations are indicators of wetland health, and understanding their responses to extreme events can aid in targeting restoration efforts following disturbance. Here, we assessed the habitat selection of six coastal wetland bird species (American Bittern, Black-crowned Night Her
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Fire disturbance influences endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammopiza maritima mirabilis) relative bird count

Periodicity of fire disturbance is a known driver of ecosystem function and is reported as important in both promoting and maintaining viable breeding habitat for the endangered Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis; CSSS). In south Florida, the CSSS serves as a fine-scale indicator of the marl and mixed-marl prairie communities of the Florida Everglades. The CSSS distribution i
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Caruso, C. M., A. M. Benscoter, N. V. Gale, E. K. Seifert, E. R. Mills, and A. L. Case. 2015. Effects of crossing distance on performance of the native wildflower Lobelia siphilitica: implications for ecological restoration. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 142(2): 140-151.
Baer, S. G., D. J. Gibson, D. J. Gustafson, A. M. Benscoter, L. K. Reed, R. E. Campbell, R. P. Klopf, J. E. Willand, and B. R. Wodika. 2013. No effect of seed source on multiple aspects of ecosystem functioning during ecological restoration: cultivars compared to local ecotypes of dominant grasses. Evolutionary Applications 7(2): 323-335.
Caruso, C. M., A. M. Lambert, and H. Maherali. 2012. Why are trade-offs between flower size and number infrequently detected? A test of three hypotheses. International Journal of Plant Sciences 173(1): 26-35.
Creese, C. F., A. M. Benscoter, and H. Maherali. 2011. Xylem function and climate adaptation in Pinus. American Journal of Botany 98(9): 1437-1445.
Lambert, A. M., S. G. Baer, and D. J. Gibson. 2011. Intraspecific variation in ecophysiology of three dominant prairie grasses used in restoration: cultivar vs. non-cultivar population sources. Restoration Ecology 19(101): 43-52.
Lambert, A. M., A. J. Miller-Rushing, and D. W. Inouye. 2010. The effect of climate change on the flowering phenology and abundance of Erythronium grandiflorum. American Journal of Botany 97(9): 1431-1437.
Umbanhower, C. E., A. M. Lambert, and L. Vandelinder. 2008. Effects of freezing on Young’s Modulus of twigs of coniferous and deciduous trees and shrubs. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 38: 394-399.

**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.

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