Sammy King, PhD
Unit Leader - Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Research Interests
Dr. King is interested in wetland systems and wetland-dependent wildlife. His students study a wide range of wetland processes and wetland wildlife, however, the ultimate focus is to better understand wetland systems to guide their conservation, restoration, and management.
Teaching Interests
Dr. King team teaches graduate courses in wetlands and floodplain ecology as well as special field-based courses on selected wetlands around the country. He believes that integrating classroom work with targeted, intensive field trips creates the greatest learning opportunities for students. Past special topics courses have included wetlands in the Ridge and Basin and Middle Rio Grande regions.
Professional Experience
Unit Leader, Louisiana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 2003-
Education and Certifications
Ph D Texas A&M University 1994
MS Auburn University 1990
BS Nicholls State University 1987
Science and Products
Effects of Wetland Management and Associated Abiotic Processes on Rare Plant Communities of Spring-fed Arid Wetlands at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge 2019-2020
This dataset consists of three datafiles: 1) vegetation, 2) abiotic factors, and 3) groundwater levels. Vegetation data were collected twice per month between July and September of 2019 and 2020. Data was collected by establishing 1m x 1m subplots within 12 5m-radius sampling plots distributed across the management units of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Subplots were established to represe
Seed germination requirements and seed responses to salinity for three rare wetland plants of spring-fed arid systems at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Roswell, New Mexico 2018-2020
Data includes seed germination experiments observations from seeds collected during the fall of 2018 and 2020 at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, near Roswell, New Mexico. Seeds of Cirsium wrightii, Agalinis calycina, and Helianthus paradoxus were collected by manually clipping seed heads from plants across the wetland management units. Seeds were placed in brown paper bags and transported to
Filter Total Items: 51
Relationships among rare plant communities and abiotic conditions in managed spring-fed arid wetlands
Spring-fed wetlands within arid and semiarid systems are hotspots for endemism and distribution of rare plants. Interactions among groundwater and the geomorphic and climatic features of the setting control the abiotic conditions, particularly soil salinity and moisture, that support these plants. However, water uncertainty and land use change challenge the persistence of conditions necessary to s
Authors
Antonio Cantu de Leija, Sammy L. King
Diurnal time–activity budget and habitat use of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) in the reintroduced Louisiana nonmigratory population
Time–activity budget studies provide valuable insights for better understanding animal behavior relative to spatial and temporal habitat use. We examined a reintroduced, nonmigratory Whooping Crane (Grus americana) population to determine how time–activity budgets change relative to crane age, sex, habitat type, and season. Our study area encompassed natural marshes and working wetlands primarily
Authors
Phillip L. Vasseur, Sammy L. King, Michael D. Kaller
Influences of channel and floodplain modification on expansion of woody vegetation into Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, USA
Ecosystem structure of wetlands in managed floodplains depends on hydrological processes controlled by geomorphology and water management. Overlapping effects of direct modifications and geomorphic adjustments to management can combine to trigger changes to floodplain ecosystem structure. We examined the case of woody vegetation encroaching into the depressional Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, in the c
Authors
R.F. Keim, L. Dugué, K.D. Latuso, S. Joshi, Sammy L. King, F.L. Willis
Seed germination responses to salinity for three rare wetland plants of spring-fed arid systems
Spring-fed wetlands within arid systems host unique species of plants, many of which are threatened due to the vulnerability of these ecosystems. Increased salinity and drier hydrologic regimes due to anthropogenic activities threaten these systems. Furthermore, limited knowledge regarding key life history traits of species jeopardize the restoration and management of their rare plants. Here, we e
Authors
Antonio Cantu de Leija, Sammy L. King, Tracy S. Hawkins
Floodplain forest tree seedling response to variation in flood timing and duration
The regeneration process is a sensitive period within life cycles of floodplain tree species and can strongly influence forest community composition. Yet, fundamental information remains limited on the relationship between regeneration processes and the flood disturbances that, together, construct floodplain forest landscapes. In a controlled greenhouse experiment we tested the effects of complete
Authors
W.A. Kroschel, Sammy L. King
Factors affecting nest success of colonial nesting waterbirds in southwest Louisiana
Subsidence and accelerated sea level rise impact nesting area availability and flood probabilities of breeding islands for colonial nesting waterbirds. In 2017 and 2018, we monitored 855 nests of four species of colonial nesting waterbirds on Rabbit Island, LA, to determine factors affecting nest and chick success. Based on logistic exposure models of nests, tricolored herons had the greatest like
Authors
K. Ritenour, Sammy L. King, S. M. Collins, M.D. Kaller
Wetland conservation: Challenges related to water law and farm policy
Water is essential for wetland function and sustaining migratory networks for wetland wildlife across broad landscapes. Groundwater declines and surface flow reductions that impact aquatic and wetland organisms are common in the western U.S. and increasingly in the eastern U.S. Agriculture is the largest consumptive water user in the U.S. and understanding economic incentives of water-use practice
Authors
Sammy L. King, M. Laubbhan, P. Tashjian, J. Vradenburg, L. Fredrickson
Early successional riparian vegetation is important for western Yellow-billed Cuckoo nesting habitat
Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Cuckoo; Coccyzus americanus) populations continue to decline in the western United States despite efforts to increase availability of riparian forest. Cuckoos have unique breeding habitat requirements such as large contiguous tracts of riparian forest (>80 ha), large estimated home ranges (20–90 ha), and dense vertical structure around the nest. However, local habitat
Authors
P.J. Wohner, S.A. Laymon, J.E. Stanek, Sammy L. King, R.J. Cooper
Challenging our understanding of western Yellow-billed Cuckoo habitat needs and accepted management practices
Riparian restoration in the southwestern United States frequently involves planting cottonwood (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.). In the absence of flooding and gap-forming disturbance, planted forests often senesce without further young tree recruitment. This has largely been the case in California riparian systems that historically supported state-endangered western Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Co
Authors
P.J. Wohner, S.A. Laymon, J.E. Stanek, Sammy L. King, R.J. Cooper
Climate and human water use diminish wetland networks supporting continental waterbird migration
Migrating waterbirds moving between upper and lower latitudinal breeding and wintering grounds rely on a limited network of endorheic lakes and wetlands when crossing arid continental interiors. Recent drying of global endorheic water stores raises concerns over deteriorating migratory pathways, yet few studies have considered these effects at the scale of continental flyways. Here, we investigate
Authors
J.P. Donnelly, Sammy L. King, N.L. Silverman, D. P. Collins, E.M. Carrera-Gonzalez, A. Lafón-Terrazas, J.N. Moore
Effect of hydrologic, geomorphic, and vegetative conditions on avian communities in the Middle Rio Grande of New Mexico
We evaluated relationships among hydrogeomorphology, vegetation structure and composition, and avian communities among three subreaches of the San Acacia Reach of the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) River of New Mexico. The subreaches varied in degradation, with Subreach 1 being severely entrenched and hydrologically disconnected, Subreach 2 being the least impacted, and Subreach 3 being intermediately di
Authors
S. W. Hamilton, Sammy L. King, G. Dello Russo
Hydrologic modifications challenge bottomland hardwood forest management
Bottomland hardwoods are floodplain forests along rivers and streams throughout the southeastern United States. The interrelations among hydrology, soils, geomorphic landforms, and tree species composition are the foundation of forest management in bottomland hardwoods, and historically their correspondence has allowed for somewhat predictable forest responses based upon the hydrogeomorphic settin
Authors
Sammy L. King, R.F. Keim
Science and Products
Effects of Wetland Management and Associated Abiotic Processes on Rare Plant Communities of Spring-fed Arid Wetlands at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge 2019-2020
This dataset consists of three datafiles: 1) vegetation, 2) abiotic factors, and 3) groundwater levels. Vegetation data were collected twice per month between July and September of 2019 and 2020. Data was collected by establishing 1m x 1m subplots within 12 5m-radius sampling plots distributed across the management units of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Subplots were established to represe
Seed germination requirements and seed responses to salinity for three rare wetland plants of spring-fed arid systems at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge near Roswell, New Mexico 2018-2020
Data includes seed germination experiments observations from seeds collected during the fall of 2018 and 2020 at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge, near Roswell, New Mexico. Seeds of Cirsium wrightii, Agalinis calycina, and Helianthus paradoxus were collected by manually clipping seed heads from plants across the wetland management units. Seeds were placed in brown paper bags and transported to
Filter Total Items: 51
Relationships among rare plant communities and abiotic conditions in managed spring-fed arid wetlands
Spring-fed wetlands within arid and semiarid systems are hotspots for endemism and distribution of rare plants. Interactions among groundwater and the geomorphic and climatic features of the setting control the abiotic conditions, particularly soil salinity and moisture, that support these plants. However, water uncertainty and land use change challenge the persistence of conditions necessary to s
Authors
Antonio Cantu de Leija, Sammy L. King
Diurnal time–activity budget and habitat use of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) in the reintroduced Louisiana nonmigratory population
Time–activity budget studies provide valuable insights for better understanding animal behavior relative to spatial and temporal habitat use. We examined a reintroduced, nonmigratory Whooping Crane (Grus americana) population to determine how time–activity budgets change relative to crane age, sex, habitat type, and season. Our study area encompassed natural marshes and working wetlands primarily
Authors
Phillip L. Vasseur, Sammy L. King, Michael D. Kaller
Influences of channel and floodplain modification on expansion of woody vegetation into Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, USA
Ecosystem structure of wetlands in managed floodplains depends on hydrological processes controlled by geomorphology and water management. Overlapping effects of direct modifications and geomorphic adjustments to management can combine to trigger changes to floodplain ecosystem structure. We examined the case of woody vegetation encroaching into the depressional Catahoula Lake, Louisiana, in the c
Authors
R.F. Keim, L. Dugué, K.D. Latuso, S. Joshi, Sammy L. King, F.L. Willis
Seed germination responses to salinity for three rare wetland plants of spring-fed arid systems
Spring-fed wetlands within arid systems host unique species of plants, many of which are threatened due to the vulnerability of these ecosystems. Increased salinity and drier hydrologic regimes due to anthropogenic activities threaten these systems. Furthermore, limited knowledge regarding key life history traits of species jeopardize the restoration and management of their rare plants. Here, we e
Authors
Antonio Cantu de Leija, Sammy L. King, Tracy S. Hawkins
Floodplain forest tree seedling response to variation in flood timing and duration
The regeneration process is a sensitive period within life cycles of floodplain tree species and can strongly influence forest community composition. Yet, fundamental information remains limited on the relationship between regeneration processes and the flood disturbances that, together, construct floodplain forest landscapes. In a controlled greenhouse experiment we tested the effects of complete
Authors
W.A. Kroschel, Sammy L. King
Factors affecting nest success of colonial nesting waterbirds in southwest Louisiana
Subsidence and accelerated sea level rise impact nesting area availability and flood probabilities of breeding islands for colonial nesting waterbirds. In 2017 and 2018, we monitored 855 nests of four species of colonial nesting waterbirds on Rabbit Island, LA, to determine factors affecting nest and chick success. Based on logistic exposure models of nests, tricolored herons had the greatest like
Authors
K. Ritenour, Sammy L. King, S. M. Collins, M.D. Kaller
Wetland conservation: Challenges related to water law and farm policy
Water is essential for wetland function and sustaining migratory networks for wetland wildlife across broad landscapes. Groundwater declines and surface flow reductions that impact aquatic and wetland organisms are common in the western U.S. and increasingly in the eastern U.S. Agriculture is the largest consumptive water user in the U.S. and understanding economic incentives of water-use practice
Authors
Sammy L. King, M. Laubbhan, P. Tashjian, J. Vradenburg, L. Fredrickson
Early successional riparian vegetation is important for western Yellow-billed Cuckoo nesting habitat
Western Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Cuckoo; Coccyzus americanus) populations continue to decline in the western United States despite efforts to increase availability of riparian forest. Cuckoos have unique breeding habitat requirements such as large contiguous tracts of riparian forest (>80 ha), large estimated home ranges (20–90 ha), and dense vertical structure around the nest. However, local habitat
Authors
P.J. Wohner, S.A. Laymon, J.E. Stanek, Sammy L. King, R.J. Cooper
Challenging our understanding of western Yellow-billed Cuckoo habitat needs and accepted management practices
Riparian restoration in the southwestern United States frequently involves planting cottonwood (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.). In the absence of flooding and gap-forming disturbance, planted forests often senesce without further young tree recruitment. This has largely been the case in California riparian systems that historically supported state-endangered western Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Co
Authors
P.J. Wohner, S.A. Laymon, J.E. Stanek, Sammy L. King, R.J. Cooper
Climate and human water use diminish wetland networks supporting continental waterbird migration
Migrating waterbirds moving between upper and lower latitudinal breeding and wintering grounds rely on a limited network of endorheic lakes and wetlands when crossing arid continental interiors. Recent drying of global endorheic water stores raises concerns over deteriorating migratory pathways, yet few studies have considered these effects at the scale of continental flyways. Here, we investigate
Authors
J.P. Donnelly, Sammy L. King, N.L. Silverman, D. P. Collins, E.M. Carrera-Gonzalez, A. Lafón-Terrazas, J.N. Moore
Effect of hydrologic, geomorphic, and vegetative conditions on avian communities in the Middle Rio Grande of New Mexico
We evaluated relationships among hydrogeomorphology, vegetation structure and composition, and avian communities among three subreaches of the San Acacia Reach of the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) River of New Mexico. The subreaches varied in degradation, with Subreach 1 being severely entrenched and hydrologically disconnected, Subreach 2 being the least impacted, and Subreach 3 being intermediately di
Authors
S. W. Hamilton, Sammy L. King, G. Dello Russo
Hydrologic modifications challenge bottomland hardwood forest management
Bottomland hardwoods are floodplain forests along rivers and streams throughout the southeastern United States. The interrelations among hydrology, soils, geomorphic landforms, and tree species composition are the foundation of forest management in bottomland hardwoods, and historically their correspondence has allowed for somewhat predictable forest responses based upon the hydrogeomorphic settin
Authors
Sammy L. King, R.F. Keim