D’Acunto, L.E. and Zollner, P.A. 2019. Factors influencing endangered bat conservation management by professional foresters. Forest Ecology and Management, 434:172-180.
Laura E D'Acunto, PhD
Biography
Laura is a quantitative ecologist interested in the behavioral landscape ecology of wildlife communities and how climate change and ecosystem restoration impact those wildlife communities.
Education
PhD., Wildlife Science, Purdue University, 2018
MSc., Biology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 2012
BSc., Wildlife Conservation Biology, University of Rhode Island, 2010
Background
Before joining USGS, Laura's research focused on modeling anthropogenic disturbance to wildlife such as recreation or road traffic to identify management strategies that mitigate adverse effects to wildlife populations. They also researched the landscape and social ecology of threatened and endangered Midwestern bats.
Science and Products
Date published: March 9, 2021
Status: Active Quantitative Tools for the Urgent Recovery and Regulatory Needs of the Florida Bonneted Bat, Eumops floridanus
WARC researchers are organizing Florida bonneted bat echolocation recordings into a database to assess population trends and bat response to management actions.
Contacts: Laura E D'Acunto, PhD
Attribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Date published: October 15, 2019
Status: Active Spatial Ecology of Bobcats in the Greater Everglades
WARC researchers will estimate the density and distribution of bobcats in relation to environmental variables through the development of spatially explicit capture-recapture and occupancy models.
Contacts: Stephanie Romañach, Ph.D.
Date published: June 27, 2019
Status: Active Model Improvements for Louisiana’s 2023 Coastal Master Plan
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s Coastal Master Plan is a blueprint for responding to environmental changes. As part of the agency’s continued engagement, USGS supports model developments and improvements for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan.
Date published: May 23, 2019
Status: Active 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.
Contacts: Stephanie Romañach, Ph.D.
Date published: May 1, 2019
Status: Active Evaluating Ecological Vulnerabilities of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem to Provide Decision Support for Restoration
USGS scientists develop decision support tools to help inform management and restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem.
Contacts: Laura E D'Acunto, PhD, Stephanie Romañach, Ph.D.
Date published: February 27, 2019
Status: Active 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.
Contacts: Stephanie Romañach, Ph.D.
Date published: May 11, 2016
Status: Active Assessment of Small Mammal Demographics and Communities in the Picayune Strand Restoration Area
The Picayune Strand Restoration Project (PSRP) is in the process of restoring pre-drainage hydrology to the southwest portion of the Greater Everglades ecosystem.
Contacts: Stephanie Romañach, Ph.D.
Year Published: 2021
The Everglades vulnerability analysis—Integrating ecological models and addressing uncertainty
The Everglades vulnerability analysis (EVA) is a project led by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Park Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to accomplish one of the science goals of Restoration Coordination & Verification (RECOVER), a multiagency group responsible for providing scientific and technical evaluations...
D’Acunto, Laura E.; Romañach, Stephanie S.; Haider, Saira M.; Hackett, Caitlin E.; Nestler, Jennifer H.; Shinde, Dilip; Pearlstine, Leonard G.Attribution: Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 4: Mississippi Basin
View Citation
D’Acunto, L.E., Romañach, S.S., Haider, S.M., Hackett, C.E., Nestler, J.H., Shinde, D., and Pearlstine, L.G., 2021, The Everglades vulnerability analysis—Integrating ecological models and addressing uncertainty: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2021–3033, 4 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20213033.
Year Published: 2021
Habitat suitability index model improvement recommendations
As part of the model improvement effort for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan, the Habitat Suitability Index (HSI) models used during previous master plans were reevaluated to assess how the model relationships could be improved, and to determine what species should be included in the master plan analyses. This process considered the technical reviews...
Sable, Shaye E.; Lindquist, David C.; D'Acunto, Laura; Hijuelos, Ann; LaPeyre, Megan K.; O'Connell, Ann M.; Robinson, Elizabeth M.
Year Published: 2021
Habitat suitability index model improvements
Habitat suitability index (HSI) models were developed for the 2023 Coastal Master Plan to evaluate the potential effects of coastal restoration and protection projects on habitat for key coastal fish, shellfish, and wildlife species. These species included: eastern oyster, brown shrimp, white shrimp, blue crab, crayfish, gulf menhaden, spotted...
Lindquist, David C.; Sable, Shaye E.; D'Acunto, Laura; Hijuelos, Ann; Johnson, Erik I.; Langlois, Summer R.M; Michel, Nicole L.; Nakashima, Lindsay; O’Connell, Ann M.; Percy, Katie L.; Robinson, Elizabeth M.
Year Published: 2021
Joint species distribution models of Everglades wading birds to inform restoration planning
Restoration of the Florida Everglades, a substantial wetland ecosystem within the United States, is one of the largest ongoing restoration projects in the world. Decision-makers and managers within the Everglades ecosystem rely on ecological models forecasting indicator wildlife response to changes in the management of water flows within the...
D'Acunto, Laura; Pearlstine, Leonard G.; Romanach, Stephanie
Year Published: 2021
Small mammal responses to wetland restoration in the Greater Everglades ecosystem
Wetlands have experienced dramatic losses in extent around the world, disrupting ecosystem function, habitat, and biodiversity. In Florida’s Greater Everglades, a massive restoration effort costing billions of dollars and spanning multiple decades is underway. As Everglades restoration is implemented in incremental projects, scientists and...
Romanach, Stephanie; D'Acunto, Laura; Chapman, Julia; Hanson, Matthew RPre-USGS Publications
D’Acunto, L.E., Spaul, R.J., Heath, J.A., and Zollner, P.A. 2018. Simulating the success of trail closure strategies on reducing disturbance to nesting Golden Eagles. The Condor: Ornithological Applications, 120, 703-719.
Flaherty, E.A., Urbanek, R., Wood, D., Day, C., D’Acunto, L., Quinn, V., and Zollner, P.A. 2018. A framework for mentoring students attending their first professional conference. Natural Sciences Education, 47, 1-8.
D’Acunto, L.E., Pauli, B.P., Moy, M., Johnson, K., Abu-Omar, J., and Zollner, P.A. 2018. Timing and technique impact the effectiveness of road-based, mobile acoustic surveys of bats. Ecology and Evolution, 8, 3153-3160.
Mutascio, H.E., Zollner, P.A., Pittman, S.E., and D’Acunto, L.E. 2017. Modeling relative habitat suitability of southern Florida for invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus). Landscape Ecology, 33, 257-274.
Quackenbush*, H., D’Acunto, L.E., Flaherty, E.A., and Zollner, P.A. 2016. Testing the efficacy of an acoustic lure on bat mist-netting success in North American central hardwood forests. Journal of Mammalogy, 97, 1602-1616.