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
Filter Total Items: 46
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Sediment deposition and sources into a Mississippi River floodplain lake; Catahoula Lake, Louisiana
Floodplain lakes are important wetlands on many lowland floodplains of the world but depressional floodplain lakes are rare in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. One of the largest is Catahoula Lake, which has existed with seasonally fluctuating water levels for several thousand years but is now in an increasingly hydrologically altered floodplain. Woody vegetation has been encroaching into th
Hydrological responses to channelization and the formation of valley plugs and shoals
Rehabilitation of floodplain systems focuses on restoring interactions between the fluvial system and floodplain, however, there is a paucity of information on the effects of valley plugs and shoals on floodplain hydrological processes. We investigated hydrologic regimes in floodplains at three valley plug sites, two shoal sites, and three unchannelized sites. Valley plug sites had altered surface
Seasonal movements and multiscale habitat selection of Whooping Crane (Grus americana) in natural and agricultural wetlands
Eleven of 15 species of cranes (family: Gruidae) are considered vulnerable or endangered, and the increase of agriculture and aquaculture at the expense of natural wetlands and grasslands is a threat to Gruidae worldwide. A reintroduced population of Whooping Crane (Grus americana) was studied in coastal and agricultural wetlands of Louisiana and Texas, USA. The objectives were to compare Whooping
Tree regeneration by seed in bottomland hardwood forests: A review
Bottomland hardwood forests (BLH) are found in temperate, humid regions of the southeastern US, primarily on alluvial floodplains adjacent to rivers. Altered hydrology in rivers and floodplains has caused changes in stand development and species composition of BLHs. We hypothesize that the driving mechanisms behind these changes are related to the regeneration process because of the complexity of
Satellite-derived temperature data for monitoring water status in a floodplain forest of the Upper Sabine River, Texas
Decreased water availability due to hydrologic modifications, groundwater withdrawal, and climate change threaten bottomland hardwood (BLH) forest communities. We used satellite-derived (MODIS) land-surface temperature (LST) data to investigate spatial heterogeneity of canopy temperature (an indicator of plant-water status) in a floodplain forest of the upper Sabine River for 2008–2014. High LST p
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
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 46
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 likeWetland 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 practiceEarly 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 habitatChallenging 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 (CoClimate 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 investigateEffect 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 diHydrologic 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 settinSediment deposition and sources into a Mississippi River floodplain lake; Catahoula Lake, Louisiana
Floodplain lakes are important wetlands on many lowland floodplains of the world but depressional floodplain lakes are rare in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley. One of the largest is Catahoula Lake, which has existed with seasonally fluctuating water levels for several thousand years but is now in an increasingly hydrologically altered floodplain. Woody vegetation has been encroaching into thHydrological responses to channelization and the formation of valley plugs and shoals
Rehabilitation of floodplain systems focuses on restoring interactions between the fluvial system and floodplain, however, there is a paucity of information on the effects of valley plugs and shoals on floodplain hydrological processes. We investigated hydrologic regimes in floodplains at three valley plug sites, two shoal sites, and three unchannelized sites. Valley plug sites had altered surfaceSeasonal movements and multiscale habitat selection of Whooping Crane (Grus americana) in natural and agricultural wetlands
Eleven of 15 species of cranes (family: Gruidae) are considered vulnerable or endangered, and the increase of agriculture and aquaculture at the expense of natural wetlands and grasslands is a threat to Gruidae worldwide. A reintroduced population of Whooping Crane (Grus americana) was studied in coastal and agricultural wetlands of Louisiana and Texas, USA. The objectives were to compare WhoopingTree regeneration by seed in bottomland hardwood forests: A review
Bottomland hardwood forests (BLH) are found in temperate, humid regions of the southeastern US, primarily on alluvial floodplains adjacent to rivers. Altered hydrology in rivers and floodplains has caused changes in stand development and species composition of BLHs. We hypothesize that the driving mechanisms behind these changes are related to the regeneration process because of the complexity ofSatellite-derived temperature data for monitoring water status in a floodplain forest of the Upper Sabine River, Texas
Decreased water availability due to hydrologic modifications, groundwater withdrawal, and climate change threaten bottomland hardwood (BLH) forest communities. We used satellite-derived (MODIS) land-surface temperature (LST) data to investigate spatial heterogeneity of canopy temperature (an indicator of plant-water status) in a floodplain forest of the upper Sabine River for 2008–2014. High LST p - Data
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