Debra A Willard, Ph.D.
I am a palynologist (pollen and spores) with expertise in paleoecology and biostratigraphy. My biostratigraphic expertise extends from the Carboniferous to the Holocene, with an emphasis on Euramerica (Paleozoic) and the Northern Hemisphere. My paleoecological expertise includes the late Paleozoic and the Paleogene to Holocene intervals.
Editorial Boards
- Global and Planetary Change
- Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution – Paleoecology section Review Editor
- Quaternary
- Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
Professional Experience
2021-Present Research Geologist, US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
2011-2021 Coordinator, USGS Land Change Science Program
1991-2011 Research Geologist, US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia
1990-1991 Postdoctoral Researcher, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
Education and Certifications
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Ph.D., Botany 1990
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - M.S., Botany 1985
The Pennsylvania State University - B.S., Botany 1982
Stephens College - A.A., Geology 1980
Affiliations and Memberships*
American Geophysical Union
Geological Society of America
The Palynological Society
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 105
Pollen and geochronological data from South Florida; Taylor Creek Site 2 Pollen and geochronological data from South Florida; Taylor Creek Site 2
Many recent changes in plant and animal communities of the Everglades have been attributed to human alteration of the environment, such as changes in the hydrologic regime and increased agricultural activity, but cause-and-effect relationships between environmental and biotic changes have not been documented scientifically. This report on pollen and geochronological evidence from cores...
Authors
Debra A. Willard, C. W. Holmes
Preliminary paleontologic report on cores 19A and 19B, from Russell Bank, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay Preliminary paleontologic report on cores 19A and 19B, from Russell Bank, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
The fauna and flora preserved in two cores, 19A and 19B, from the south side of Russell Bank (N 25 03.831', W 80 37.486') in north-central Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida, record a history of environmental change over the last century. The benthic foraminifera and molluscs indicate fluctuating salinities with increasing average salinity upcore in core 19B. Shifts from low...
Authors
G. L. Brewster-Wingard, S. E. Ishman, Debra A. Willard, Lucy E. Edwards, C. W. Holmes
Two new species of Scolecopteris (Marattiales), sources of Torispora securis Balme and Thymospora thiessenii (Kosanke) Wilson et Venkatachala Two new species of Scolecopteris (Marattiales), sources of Torispora securis Balme and Thymospora thiessenii (Kosanke) Wilson et Venkatachala
Two biostratigraphically significant miospore species, Thymospora thiessenii and Torispora securis, were isolated from marattialean synangia preserved in coal-ball permineralizations from Pennsylvanian strata of the Illinois Basin and Western Interior coal region. Synangia containing Thymospora thiessenii were recovered from the Missourian Parker Coal Member (Patoka Formation) of Indiana...
Authors
Alicia D. Lesnikowska, Debra A. Willard
Paleontological data from Mud Creek Core 1, southern Florida Paleontological data from Mud Creek Core 1, southern Florida
No abstract available.
Authors
Debra A. Willard, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, Claire Fellman, S. E. Ishman
Palynological census data from surface samples in south Florida Palynological census data from surface samples in south Florida
No abstract available.
Authors
Debra A. Willard, L. M. Weimer
Pollen census data from southern Florida: Sites along a nutrient gradient in Water Conservation Area 2A Pollen census data from southern Florida: Sites along a nutrient gradient in Water Conservation Area 2A
No abstract available.
Authors
Debra A. Willard, P.E. Malin
Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
No abstract available.
Authors
Gregory Gohn, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, T. G. Gibson, Meyer Rubin, Debra A. Willard
Southeast Atlantic marine and terrestrial response to middle Pliocene climate change Southeast Atlantic marine and terrestrial response to middle Pliocene climate change
Analysis of planktic foraminifers and pollen from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 532 located on the continental margin of southwest Africa provides information on the link between Pliocene paleoceanographic conditions and paleoenvironments of southwest Africa. Increased upwelling at Site 532 correlates with southward migration of onshore vegetation regions. Both terrestrial and marine...
Authors
Harry Dowsett, D. Willard
Pliocene–Pleistocene pollen assemblages from the Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean: Sites 910 and 911 Pliocene–Pleistocene pollen assemblages from the Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean: Sites 910 and 911
Palynological and paleobotanical research on upper Pliocene sediments from Meighen Island, Kap København, and deep-sea sites in the North Atlantic Ocean has indicated the presence of forest tundra far north of its present limits and warmer conditions than present. New pollen data from samples obtained on Ocean Drilling Program Leg 151 (Sites 910 and 911) on the Yermak Plateau of the...
Authors
Debra A. Willard
Preliminary paleontologic report on core T-24, Little Madeira Bay, Florida Preliminary paleontologic report on core T-24, Little Madeira Bay, Florida
No abstract available.
Authors
S. E. Ishman, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, Debra A. Willard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, C. W. Holmes
Preliminary report on the distribution of modern fauna and flora at selected sites in north-central and north-eastern Florida Bay Preliminary report on the distribution of modern fauna and flora at selected sites in north-central and north-eastern Florida Bay
No abstract available.
Authors
G. L. Brewster-Wingard, S. E. Ishman, Lucy E. Edwards, Debra A. Willard
Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
During April and May, 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a 510-ft-deep, continuously cored, stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound, as part of a field study of the Neogene and Quaternary geology of the Mississippi coastal area. The USGS drilled two new holes at the Horn Island site. The first hole was continuously cored to a depth of 510 ft; coring stopped...
Authors
Gregory S. Gohn, G. Lynn Brewster-Wingard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, Thomas G. Gibson, Meyer Rubin, Debra A. Willard
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 105
Pollen and geochronological data from South Florida; Taylor Creek Site 2 Pollen and geochronological data from South Florida; Taylor Creek Site 2
Many recent changes in plant and animal communities of the Everglades have been attributed to human alteration of the environment, such as changes in the hydrologic regime and increased agricultural activity, but cause-and-effect relationships between environmental and biotic changes have not been documented scientifically. This report on pollen and geochronological evidence from cores...
Authors
Debra A. Willard, C. W. Holmes
Preliminary paleontologic report on cores 19A and 19B, from Russell Bank, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay Preliminary paleontologic report on cores 19A and 19B, from Russell Bank, Everglades National Park, Florida Bay
The fauna and flora preserved in two cores, 19A and 19B, from the south side of Russell Bank (N 25 03.831', W 80 37.486') in north-central Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, Florida, record a history of environmental change over the last century. The benthic foraminifera and molluscs indicate fluctuating salinities with increasing average salinity upcore in core 19B. Shifts from low...
Authors
G. L. Brewster-Wingard, S. E. Ishman, Debra A. Willard, Lucy E. Edwards, C. W. Holmes
Two new species of Scolecopteris (Marattiales), sources of Torispora securis Balme and Thymospora thiessenii (Kosanke) Wilson et Venkatachala Two new species of Scolecopteris (Marattiales), sources of Torispora securis Balme and Thymospora thiessenii (Kosanke) Wilson et Venkatachala
Two biostratigraphically significant miospore species, Thymospora thiessenii and Torispora securis, were isolated from marattialean synangia preserved in coal-ball permineralizations from Pennsylvanian strata of the Illinois Basin and Western Interior coal region. Synangia containing Thymospora thiessenii were recovered from the Missourian Parker Coal Member (Patoka Formation) of Indiana...
Authors
Alicia D. Lesnikowska, Debra A. Willard
Paleontological data from Mud Creek Core 1, southern Florida Paleontological data from Mud Creek Core 1, southern Florida
No abstract available.
Authors
Debra A. Willard, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, Claire Fellman, S. E. Ishman
Palynological census data from surface samples in south Florida Palynological census data from surface samples in south Florida
No abstract available.
Authors
Debra A. Willard, L. M. Weimer
Pollen census data from southern Florida: Sites along a nutrient gradient in Water Conservation Area 2A Pollen census data from southern Florida: Sites along a nutrient gradient in Water Conservation Area 2A
No abstract available.
Authors
Debra A. Willard, P.E. Malin
Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
No abstract available.
Authors
Gregory Gohn, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, T. G. Gibson, Meyer Rubin, Debra A. Willard
Southeast Atlantic marine and terrestrial response to middle Pliocene climate change Southeast Atlantic marine and terrestrial response to middle Pliocene climate change
Analysis of planktic foraminifers and pollen from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 532 located on the continental margin of southwest Africa provides information on the link between Pliocene paleoceanographic conditions and paleoenvironments of southwest Africa. Increased upwelling at Site 532 correlates with southward migration of onshore vegetation regions. Both terrestrial and marine...
Authors
Harry Dowsett, D. Willard
Pliocene–Pleistocene pollen assemblages from the Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean: Sites 910 and 911 Pliocene–Pleistocene pollen assemblages from the Yermak Plateau, Arctic Ocean: Sites 910 and 911
Palynological and paleobotanical research on upper Pliocene sediments from Meighen Island, Kap København, and deep-sea sites in the North Atlantic Ocean has indicated the presence of forest tundra far north of its present limits and warmer conditions than present. New pollen data from samples obtained on Ocean Drilling Program Leg 151 (Sites 910 and 911) on the Yermak Plateau of the...
Authors
Debra A. Willard
Preliminary paleontologic report on core T-24, Little Madeira Bay, Florida Preliminary paleontologic report on core T-24, Little Madeira Bay, Florida
No abstract available.
Authors
S. E. Ishman, G. L. Brewster-Wingard, Debra A. Willard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, C. W. Holmes
Preliminary report on the distribution of modern fauna and flora at selected sites in north-central and north-eastern Florida Bay Preliminary report on the distribution of modern fauna and flora at selected sites in north-central and north-eastern Florida Bay
No abstract available.
Authors
G. L. Brewster-Wingard, S. E. Ishman, Lucy E. Edwards, Debra A. Willard
Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound Neogene and Quaternary geology of a stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound
During April and May, 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) drilled a 510-ft-deep, continuously cored, stratigraphic test hole on Horn Island, Mississippi Sound, as part of a field study of the Neogene and Quaternary geology of the Mississippi coastal area. The USGS drilled two new holes at the Horn Island site. The first hole was continuously cored to a depth of 510 ft; coring stopped...
Authors
Gregory S. Gohn, G. Lynn Brewster-Wingard, Thomas M. Cronin, Lucy E. Edwards, Thomas G. Gibson, Meyer Rubin, Debra A. Willard
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government