Time-series of number of seabeach amaranth observed in end-of-season surveys by NPS biologists. Shaded regions specify years where drought conditions persisted through the amaranth growing season. Vertical lines denote strong storms that occurred during the observation period.
Ben Gutierrez, PhD
Ben Gutierrez is a Geologist with the Coastal Change Project at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Science and Products
Developing a habitat model to support management of threatened seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) at Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland and Virginia
Integrating Bayesian networks to forecast sea-level rise impacts on barrier island characteristics and habitat availability
Predicted sea-level rise-driven biogeomorphological changes on Fire Island, New York: Implications for people and plovers
Piping plovers demonstrate regional differences in nesting habitat selection patterns along the U.S. Atlantic coast
Habitat studies that encompass a large portion of a species’ geographic distribution can explain characteristics that are either consistent or variable, further informing inference from more localized studies and improving management successes throughout the range. We identified landscape characteristics at Piping Plover nests at 21 sites distributed from Massachusetts to North Carolina and compar
Evaluating barrier island characteristics and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) habitat availability along the U.S. Atlantic Coast—Geospatial approaches and methodology
Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat
Smartphone technologies and Bayesian networks to assess shorebird habitat selection
Using a Bayesian network to predict barrier island geomorphologic characteristics
Using a Bayesian Network to predict shore-line change vulnerability to sea-level rise for the coasts of the United States
A Bayesian network approach to predicting nest presence of thefederally-threatened piping plover (Charadrius melodus) using barrier island features
Effects of sea-level rise on barrier island groundwater system dynamics: ecohydrological implications
Bridging groundwater models and decision support with a Bayesian network
Coastal Change Hazards
Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision Support
Beach-dependent Shorebirds
Empowering decision-makers: A dynamic web interface for running Bayesian networks
Assateague Island Seabeach Amaranth Survey Data — 2001 to 2018
Seabeach amaranth presence-absence and barrier island geomorphology metrics as relates to shorebird habitat for Assateague Island National Seashore — 2008, 2010, and 2014
Barrier island geomorphology and shorebird habitat metrics: 16 sites on the U.S. Atlantic Coast, 2013-2014
Barrier island geomorphology and shorebird habitat metrics: Four sites in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, 2010-2014
Time-series of number of seabeach amaranth observed in end-of-season surveys by NPS biologists. Shaded regions specify years where drought conditions persisted through the amaranth growing season. Vertical lines denote strong storms that occurred during the observation period.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
LinkedBNs_4Habitat - Matlab files to link Bayesian networks to generate habitat predictions
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 25
Developing a habitat model to support management of threatened seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) at Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland and Virginia
Amaranthus pumilus (seabeach amaranth) is a federally threatened plant species that has been the focus of restoration efforts at Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS). Despite several years with strong population numbers prior to 2010, monitoring efforts have revealed a significant decline in the seabeach amaranth population since that time, the causes of which have been unclear. To examine pAuthorsBenjamin T. Gutierrez, Erika LentzIntegrating Bayesian networks to forecast sea-level rise impacts on barrier island characteristics and habitat availability
Evaluation of sea-level rise (SLR) impacts on coastal landforms and habitats is a persistent need for informing coastal planning and management, including policy decisions, particularly those that balance human interests and habitat protection throughout the coastal zone. Bayesian networks (BNs) are used to model barrier island change under different SLR scenarios that are relevant to management aAuthorsBenjamin T. Gutierrez, Sara Zeigler, Erika Lentz, Emily J. Sturdivant, Nathaniel PlantPredicted sea-level rise-driven biogeomorphological changes on Fire Island, New York: Implications for people and plovers
Forecasting biogeomorphological conditions for barrier islands is critical for informing sea-level rise (SLR) planning, including management of coastal development and ecosystems. We combined five probabilistic models to predict SLR-driven changes and their implications on Fire Island, New York, by 2050. We predicted barrier island biogeomorphological conditions, dynamic landcover response, pipingAuthorsSara Lynn Zeigler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Erika Lentz, Nathaniel Plant, Emily J. Sturdivant, Kara S. DoranPiping plovers demonstrate regional differences in nesting habitat selection patterns along the U.S. Atlantic coast
Habitat studies that encompass a large portion of a species’ geographic distribution can explain characteristics that are either consistent or variable, further informing inference from more localized studies and improving management successes throughout the range. We identified landscape characteristics at Piping Plover nests at 21 sites distributed from Massachusetts to North Carolina and compar
AuthorsSara Lynn Zeigler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Anne Hecht, Nathaniel Plant, Emily J. SturdivantEvaluating barrier island characteristics and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) habitat availability along the U.S. Atlantic Coast—Geospatial approaches and methodology
Policy makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers face increasing demands to manage coastal areas in a way that meets economic, social, and ecological needs as sea levels rise. Scientific knowledge of how coastal processes drive beach and barrier island changes and how those changes affect habitat use can support decision makers as they balance sometimes conflictinAuthorsSara L. Zeigler, Emily J. Sturdivant, Benjamin T. GutierrezUsing a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat
Coastal storms have consequences for human lives and infrastructure but also create important early successional habitats for myriad species. For example, storm-induced overwash creates nesting habitat for shorebirds like piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). We examined how piping plover habitat extent and location changed on barrier islands in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia after Hurricane SaAuthorsSara L. Zeigler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Emily J. Sturdivant, Daniel H. Catlin, James D. Fraser, A. Hecht, Sarah M. Karpanty, Nathaniel G. Plant, E. Robert ThielerSmartphone technologies and Bayesian networks to assess shorebird habitat selection
Understanding patterns of habitat selection across a species’ geographic distribution can be critical for adequately managing populations and planning for habitat loss and related threats. However, studies of habitat selection can be time consuming and expensive over broad spatial scales, and a lack of standardized monitoring targets or methods can impede the generalization of site-based studies.AuthorsSara L. Zeigler, E. Robert Thieler, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant, Megan Hines, James D. Fraser, Daniel H. Catlin, Sarah M. KarpantyUsing a Bayesian network to predict barrier island geomorphologic characteristics
Quantifying geomorphic variability of coastal environments is important for understanding and describing the vulnerability of coastal topography, infrastructure, and ecosystems to future storms and sea level rise. Here we use a Bayesian network (BN) to test the importance of multiple interactions between barrier island geomorphic variables. This approach models complex interactions and handles uncAuthorsBenjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant, E. Robert Thieler, Aaron TurecekUsing a Bayesian Network to predict shore-line change vulnerability to sea-level rise for the coasts of the United States
Sea-level rise is an ongoing phenomenon that is expected to continue and is projected to have a wide range of effects on coastal environments and infrastructure during the 21st century and beyond. Consequently, there is a need to assemble relevant datasets and to develop modeling or other analytical approaches to evaluate the likelihood of particular sea-level rise impacts, such as coastal erosionAuthorsBenjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant, Elizabeth A. Pendleton, E. Robert ThielerA Bayesian network approach to predicting nest presence of thefederally-threatened piping plover (Charadrius melodus) using barrier island features
Sea-level rise and human development pose significant threats to shorebirds, particularly for species that utilize barrier island habitat. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a federally-listed shorebird that nests on barrier islands and rapidly responds to changes in its physical environment, making it an excellent species with which to model how shorebird species may respond to habitat chAuthorsKatherina D. Gieder, Sarah M. Karpanty, James D. Fraser, Daniel H. Catlin, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. Plant, Aaron M. Turecek, E. Robert ThielerEffects of sea-level rise on barrier island groundwater system dynamics: ecohydrological implications
We used a numerical model to investigate how a barrier island groundwater system responds to increases of up to 60 cm in sea level. We found that a sea-level rise of 20 cm leads to substantial changes in the depth of the water table and the extent and depth of saltwater intrusion, which are key determinants in the establishment, distribution and succession of vegetation assemblages and habitat suiAuthorsJohn P. Masterson, Michael N. Fienen, E. Robert Thieler, Dean B. Gesch, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, Nathaniel G. PlantBridging groundwater models and decision support with a Bayesian network
Resource managers need to make decisions to plan for future environmental conditions, particularly sea level rise, in the face of substantial uncertainty. Many interacting processes factor in to the decisions they face. Advances in process models and the quantification of uncertainty have made models a valuable tool for this purpose. Long-simulation runtimes and, often, numerical instability makeAuthorsMichael N. Fienen, John P. Masterson, Nathaniel G. Plant, Benjamin T. Gutierrez, E. Robert Thieler - Science
Coastal Change Hazards
Natural processes such as waves, tides, and weather, continually change coastal landscapes. The integrity of coastal homes, businesses, and infrastructure can be threatened by hazards associated with event-driven changes, such as extreme storms and their impacts on beach and dune erosion, or longer-term, cumulative changes associated with coastal and marine processes, such as sea-level rise...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
Assateague Island Seabeach Amaranth Survey Data — 2001 to 2018
Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a plant species that was once prevalent on beaches of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast but is now listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For much of the 20th century, seabeach amaranth was absent from the mid-Atlantic coast and thought to be extinct, presumably as a result of increased development and recreational pressure. One region wherSeabeach amaranth presence-absence and barrier island geomorphology metrics as relates to shorebird habitat for Assateague Island National Seashore — 2008, 2010, and 2014
Understanding how sea-level rise will affect coastal landforms and the species and habitats they support is critical for developing approaches that balance the needs of humans and native species. Given the magnitude of the threat posed by sea-level rise, and the urgency to better understand it, there is an increasing need to forecast sea-level rise effects on barrier islands. To address this problBarrier island geomorphology and shorebird habitat metrics: 16 sites on the U.S. Atlantic Coast, 2013-2014
Understanding how sea-level rise will affect coastal landforms and the species and habitats they support is critical for crafting approaches that balance the needs of humans and native species. Given this increasing need to forecast sea-level rise effects on barrier islands in the near and long terms, we are developing Bayesian networks to evaluate and to forecast the cascading effects of sea-leveBarrier island geomorphology and shorebird habitat metrics: Four sites in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, 2010-2014
Understanding how sea-level rise will affect coastal landforms and the species and habitats they support is critical for crafting approaches that balance the needs of humans and native species. Given this increasing need to forecast sea-level rise effects on barrier islands in the near and long terms, we are developing Bayesian networks to evaluate and to forecast the cascading effects of sea-leve - Multimedia
Assateague Island Seabeach Amaranth: 2001-2020
Time-series of number of seabeach amaranth observed in end-of-season surveys by NPS biologists. Shaded regions specify years where drought conditions persisted through the amaranth growing season. Vertical lines denote strong storms that occurred during the observation period.
Time-series of number of seabeach amaranth observed in end-of-season surveys by NPS biologists. Shaded regions specify years where drought conditions persisted through the amaranth growing season. Vertical lines denote strong storms that occurred during the observation period.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science campMashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science campUSGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science campMashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science campUSGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science campMashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science campUSGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
USGS scientists participated in the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Preserving Our Homeland summer science camp in 2023.
- Software
LinkedBNs_4Habitat - Matlab files to link Bayesian networks to generate habitat predictions
Matlab m-files that were used to generate performance tests and hindcasts for geomorphologic characteristics and piping plover habitat probabilities for Fire Island New York - News