Isa Woo
I am a Biologist with USGS, Western Ecological Research Center. My research focuses on estuaries, restoration research, and monitoring in the San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound ecosystems.
With over 10 years of experience leading the Wetland Restoration Program at USGS San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station, I have been fortunate to have worked in amazing wetlands, including the Alaskan tundra, Mo'orea mangroves, Wisconsin lacustrine wetlands, and coastal and tidal marshes in San Francisco Bay and Puget Sound. At USGS, I have helped developed, implemented, and established new tools to track restoration change (i.e., remote sensing, RTK GPS mapping, bathymetry system, remote logger network) as well as establish the benthic ecology laboratory. As a cohesive team, we provide science support to land managers with assessments of early phase estuarine restorations within a long term monitoring framework (incorporating Climate Change and Blue Carbon data needs).
We work closely with Federal, Tribal, and State managers so that applied research addresses adaptive management priorities on a variety of topic areas such as: restoration effectiveness, USFWS Tidal Marsh Recovery Plan species and habitats, benthic invertebrate prey availability and carrying capacity for shorebirds, juvenile salmonid invertebrate prey within habitat mosaics within a restored estuary, benthic invertebrate colonization along elevation gradients, methylmercury in tidal marsh, food webs, and inundation and salinity effects on plants. The manuscript Woo and Zedler 2002 was selected as one of the top 30 papers in the past 30 years in the international journal Wetlands (http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/ecology/journal/13157?detailsPage=press)
I am also interested in outreach and education. I co-created an online repository of wetland monitoring www.nisquallydeltarestoration.org, and designed a practitioner’s online guide to monitoring methods http://tidalmarshmonitoring.net/. Our programs have benefitted from student interns (high school to graduate level students) through various internships (e.g., USGS NAGT, SISNAR, and Youth internships, Solano Community College Internships, and Benicia High School Ech2O Academy).
PAST PUBLICATIONS
Davis, M. J., Woo, I., Ellings, C. S., Hodgson, S., Beauchamp, D. A., Nakai, G. and De La Cruz, S. E. W. 2019. Freshwater Tidal Forests and Estuarine Wetlands May Confer Early Life Growth Advantages for Delta‐Reared Chinook Salmon. Trans Am Fish Soc, 148: 289-307. doi:10.1002/tafs.10134
Drexler, J. Z., Woo, I. , Fuller, C. C. and Nakai, G. 2019. Carbon accumulation and vertical accretion in a restored versus historic salt marsh in southern Puget Sound, Washington, United States. Restor Ecol. doi:10.1111/rec.12941
Holmquist, J.R., L. Windham-Myers, N. Bliss, S. Crooks, J.T. Morris, P.J. Megonigal, T. Trox
Science and Products
Habitat of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) in San Francisco Bay
Disentangling the effects of habitat biogeochemistry, food web structure, and diet composition on mercury bioaccumulation in a wetland bird
Development and implementation of an empirical habitat change model and decision support tool for estuarine ecosystems
A mosaic of estuarine habitat types with prey resources from multiple environmental strata supports a diversified foraging portfolio for juvenile Chinook salmon
Carbon accumulation and vertical accretion in a restored vs. historic salt marsh in southern Puget Sound, Washington, United States
Freshwater tidal forests and estuarine wetlands may confer early life growth advantages for delta-reared Chinook Salmon
Changes in aquatic prey resources in response to estuary restoration in Willapa Bay, southwestern Washington
Integrated diet analyses reveal contrasting trophic niches for wild and hatchery juvenile Chinook Salmon in a large river delta
Toward salt marsh harvest mouse recovery: A review
Enhanced invertebrate prey production following estuarine restoration supports foraging for multiple species of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.)
Gauging resource exploitation by juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in restoring estuarine habitat
Remote sensing for wetland mapping and historical change detection at the Nisqually River Delta
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Filter Total Items: 35
Habitat of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) in San Francisco Bay
Understanding habitat associations is vital for conservation of at‐risk marsh‐endemic wildlife species, particularly those under threat from sea level rise. We modeled environmental and habitat associations of the marsh‐endemic, Federally endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris, RERA) and co‐occurrence with eight associated small mammal species from annual trap data, 1998–AuthorsBruce G. Marcot, Isa Woo, Karen M. Thorne, Chase M. Freeman, Glenn R. GuntenspergenDisentangling the effects of habitat biogeochemistry, food web structure, and diet composition on mercury bioaccumulation in a wetland bird
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a globally pervasive contaminant with known toxicity to humans and wildlife. Several sources of variation can lead to spatial differences in MeHg bioaccumulation within a species including: biogeochemical processes that influence MeHg production and availability within an organism’s home range; trophic positions of consumers and MeHg biomagnification efficiency in food websAuthorsLaurie Anne Hall, Isa Woo, Mark C. Marvin-DiPasquale, Danika C Tsao, David P. Krabbenhoft, John Y. Takekawa, Susan E. W. De La CruzDevelopment and implementation of an empirical habitat change model and decision support tool for estuarine ecosystems
Widespread land use change in coastal ecosystems has led to a decline in the amount of habitat available for fish and wildlife, lower production of ecosystem goods and services, and loss of recreational and aesthetic value. This has prompted global efforts to restore the natural hydrologic regimes of developed shorelines, especially resource-rich estuaries, but the resilience of these restored ecoAuthorsMelanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Susan E. W. De La CruzA mosaic of estuarine habitat types with prey resources from multiple environmental strata supports a diversified foraging portfolio for juvenile Chinook salmon
Estuaries provide vital nursery habitat for threatened Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) by promoting an ecological portfolio effect, whereby multiple habitat types and environmental strata maximize foraging opportunities for out-migrating salmon by varying the abundance and composition of prey through space and time. To study this portfolio effect, we evaluated the foraging capacity of fiAuthorsIsa Woo, Melanie J. Davis, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, John Y. Takekawa, Glynnis Nakai, Susan E. W. De La CruzCarbon accumulation and vertical accretion in a restored vs. historic salt marsh in southern Puget Sound, Washington, United States
Few comparisons exist between vertical accretion (VA) and carbon accumulation rates (CARs), in restored vs. historic (i.e., reference) marshes. Here we compare these processes in a formerly diked, sparsely vegetated, restored salt marsh (Six Gill Slough, SG), whose surface is subsided relative to the tidal frame, to an adjacent, relatively pristine, historic salt marsh (Animal Slough, AS). Six sAuthorsJudith Z. Drexler, Isa Woo, Christopher C. Fuller, Glynnis NakaiFreshwater tidal forests and estuarine wetlands may confer early life growth advantages for delta-reared Chinook Salmon
Large river deltas are complex ecosystems that are believed to play a pivotal role in promoting the early marine growth and survival of threatened Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. We used a fish bioenergetics model to assess the functional role of multiple delta habitats across a gradient of salinities and vegetation types, where consumption and growth rate potential (GRP) were consideredAuthorsMelanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, David A. Beauchamp, Glynnis Nakai, Susan E. W. De La CruzChanges in aquatic prey resources in response to estuary restoration in Willapa Bay, southwestern Washington
Executive SummaryThe ongoing restoration of more than 200 hectares of estuarine habitat at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Washington, is expected to benefit a variety of species, including salmonids that use estuarine and tidal marshes as rearing and feeding areas as well as migratory waterbirds. During March–June 2014 and 2015, U.S. Geological Survey Western Ecological Research CeAuthorsIsa Woo, Melanie J. Davis, Susan E. W. De La CruzIntegrated diet analyses reveal contrasting trophic niches for wild and hatchery juvenile Chinook Salmon in a large river delta
Hatchery programs have been used as a conservation tool to bolster declining populations of Chinook Salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha along much of the North American Pacific coast. In many watersheds, hatchery stocks are released concurrently with the wild population, thus raising the potential for density‐dependent effects. Competition for prey resources during the critical period for early marineAuthorsMelanie J. Davis, Isa Woo, Christopher S. Ellings, Sayre Hodgson, David A. Beauchamp, Glynnis Nakai, Susan E.W. De La CruzToward salt marsh harvest mouse recovery: A review
The salt marsh harvest mouse (SMHM, Reithrodontomys raviventris) is an endangered species, endemic to the San Francisco Estuary. Despite being protected for almost half a century and being included in a large number of recovery, restoration, and management plans, significant data gaps hinder conservation and management of the species, a challenge further complicated by developing threats such as cAuthorsKatherine R. Smith, Melissa K. Riley, Laureen Barthman-Thompson, Isa Woo, Mark J. Statham, Sarah Estrella, Douglas A. KeltEnhanced invertebrate prey production following estuarine restoration supports foraging for multiple species of juvenile salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp.)
Estuaries provide crucial foraging resources and nursery habitat for threatened populations of anadromous salmon. As such, there has been a global undertaking to restore habitat and tidal processes in modified estuaries. The foraging capacity of these ecosystems to support various species of out-migrating juvenile salmon can be quantified by monitoring benthic, terrestrial, and pelagic invertebratAuthorsIsa Woo, Melanie J. Davis, Christopher S. Ellings, Glynnis Nakai, John Y. Takekawa, Susan E. W. De La CruzGauging resource exploitation by juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in restoring estuarine habitat
In the context of delta restoration and its impact on salmonid rearing, success is best evaluated based on whether out-migrating juvenile salmon can access and benefit from suitable estuarine habitat. Here, we integrated 3 years of post-restoration monitoring data including habitat availability, invertebrate prey biomass, and juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) physiological conditiAuthorsMelanie J. Davis, Christopher S. Ellings, Isa Woo, Sayre Hodgson, Kimberly A. Larsen, Glynnis NakaiRemote sensing for wetland mapping and historical change detection at the Nisqually River Delta
Coastal wetlands are important ecosystems for carbon storage and coastal resilience to climate change and sea-level rise. As such, changes in wetland habitat types can also impact ecosystem functions. Our goal was to quantify historical vegetation change within the Nisqually River watershed relevant to carbon storage, wildlife habitat, and wetland sustainability, and identify watershed-scale anthrAuthorsLaurel Ballanti, Kristin B. Byrd, Isa Woo, Christopher Ellings - News