Stephanie Romañach, Ph.D.
Stephanie uses a combination of field observations and predictive ecological models to explore the impacts of climate change and ecosystem restoration on wildlife.
Stephanie leads Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM), focused on developing predictive ecological models and decision support tools that help decision makers explore potential ecological impacts from ecosystem restoration and climate change. In addition to her work on Everglades restoration and conservation planning in Florida, she also works on natural resources conservation in Africa and Asia.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara
M.A., Ecology, University of California, Santa Barbara
B.S., Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville
Science and Products
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Defining conservation targets on a landscape-scale
Conservation planning, the process of deciding how to protect, conserve, enhance and(or) minimize loss of natural and cultural resources, is a fundamental process to achieve conservation success in a time of rapid environmental change. Conservation targets, the measurable expressions of desired resource conditions, are an important tool in biological planning to achieve effective outcomes. Conserv
Authors
A.M. Benscoter, Stephanie S. Romañach, Laura A. Brandt
Performance metrics and variance partitioning reveal sources of uncertainty in species distribution models
Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in basic and applied ecology, making it important to understand sources and magnitudes of uncertainty in SDM performance and predictions. We analyzed SDM performance and partitioned variance among prediction maps for 15 rare vertebrate species in the southeastern USA using all possible combinations of seven potential sources of uncertainty in SDMs
Authors
James I. Watling, Laura A. Brandt, David N. Bucklin, Ikuko Fujisaki, Frank J. Mazzotti, Stephanie S. Romañach, Carolina Speroterra
Modeling apple snail population dynamics on the Everglades landscape
Context
The Florida Everglades has diminished in size and its existing wetland hydrology has been altered. The endangered snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) has nearly abandoned the Everglades, and its prey, the apple snail (Pomacea paludosa), has declined.
Objective
We developed a population model (EverSnail) to understand apple snail response to inter- and intra-annual fluctuations in water dept
Authors
Phil Darby, Donald L. DeAngelis, Stephanie S. Romañach, Kevin J. Suir, Joshua L. Bridevaux
EverVIEW: a visualization platform for hydrologic and Earth science gridded data
The EverVIEW Data Viewer is a cross-platform desktop application that combines and builds upon multiple open source libraries to help users to explore spatially-explicit gridded data stored in Network Common Data Form (NetCDF). Datasets are displayed across multiple side-by-side geographic or tabular displays, showing colorized overlays on an Earth globe or grid cell values, respectively. Time-ser
Authors
Stephanie S. Romañach, Mark McKelvy, Kevin J. Suir, Craig Conzelmann
Climate changes, shifting ranges
Even a fleeting mention of the Everglades conjures colorful images of alligators, panthers, flamingos, and manatees. Over the centuries, this familiar cast of characters has become synonymous with life in south Florida. But the workings of a changing climate have the potential to significantly alter the menagerie of animals that call this area home. Global projections suggest south Florida wildlif
Authors
Stephanie S. Romañach
Dynamic reserve design in the face of climate change and urbanization
Reserve design is a process that must address many ecological, social, and political factors to successfully identify parcels of land in need of protection to sustain wildlife populations and other natural resources. Making land acquisition choices for a large, terrestrial protected area is difficult because it occurs over a long timeframe and may involve consideration future conditions such as cl
Authors
Stephanie S. Romañach, Fred A. Johnson, Bradley Stith, Mathieu Bonneau
Maximizing the social and ecological value of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina as the effects of global change processes increase.
Coastal ecosystems in the eastern U.S. have been severely altered by processes associated with human development, including drainage of coastal wetlands, changes in hydrology that alter sediment and freshwater delivery to the coast, land clearing, agricultural and forestry activity, and the construction of seawalls and other structures that “harden” the coast. Sea-level rise and the changing frequ
Authors
Raye Nilius, Sarah Dawsey, Mitchell J. Eaton, Julien Martin, Stephanie S. Romañach, Suzanne Baird, Michael Bryant, David J. Case, Fred A. Johnson, Gerard McMahon, Nancy Pau, Elizabeth Pienaar, Mary Ratnaswamy, Steven Seibert, Pamela Wingrove, Nathan J. Wood
A visualization tool to support decision making in environmental and biological planning
Large-scale ecosystem management involves consideration of many factors for informed decision making. The EverVIEW Data Viewer is a cross-platform desktop decision support tool to help decision makers compare simulation model outputs from competing plans for restoring Florida's Greater Everglades. The integration of NetCDF metadata conventions into EverVIEW allows end-users from multiple instituti
Authors
Stephanie S. Romañach, Mark McKelvy, Craig Conzelmann, Kevin J. Suir
Using scenario planning to evaluate the impacts of climate change on wildlife populations and communities in the Florida Everglades
It is uncertain how climate change will impact hydrologic drivers of wildlife population dynamics in freshwater wetlands of the Florida Everglades, or how to accommodate this uncertainty in restoration decisions. Using projections of climate scenarios for the year 2060, we evaluated how several possible futures could affect wildlife populations (wading birds, fish, alligators, native apple snails,
Authors
Christopher P. Catano, Stephanie S. Romañach, James M. Beerens, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Laura A. Brandt, Kristen M. Hart, Frank J. Mazzotti, Joel C. Trexler
Comparing species distribution models constructed with different subsets of environmental predictors
Aim
To assess the usefulness of combining climate predictors with additional types of environmental predictors in species distribution models for range-restricted species, using common correlative species distribution modelling approaches.
Location
Florida, USA
Methods
We used five different algorithms to create distribution models for 14 vertebrate species, using seven different predictor set
Authors
David N. Bucklin, Mathieu Basille, Allison M. Benscoter, Laura A. Brandt, Frank J. Mazzotti, Stephanie S. Romañach, Carolina Speroterra, James I. Watling
Assessing effects of variation in global climate data sets on spatial predictions from climate envelope models
Climate change poses new challenges for natural resource managers. Predictive modeling of species–environment relationships using climate envelope models can enhance our understanding of climate change effects on biodiversity, assist in assessment of invasion risk by exotic organisms, and inform life-history understanding of individual species. While increasing interest has focused on the role of
Authors
Stephanie S. Romañach, James I. Watling, Robert J. Fletcher, Carolina Speroterra, David N. Bucklin, Laura A. Brandt, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Yesenia Escribano, Frank J. Mazzotti
Validating predictions from climate envelope models
Climate envelope models are a potentially important conservation tool, but their ability to accurately forecast species’ distributional shifts using independent survey data has not been fully evaluated. We created climate envelope models for 12 species of North American breeding birds previously shown to have experienced poleward range shifts. For each species, we evaluated three different approac
Authors
J. Watling, D. Bucklin, C. Speroterra, L. Brandt, C. Cabal, Stephanie S. Romañach, Frank J. Mazzotti
Non-USGS Publications**
Lindsey, P.A., Havemann, C.P., Lines, R.M., Price, A.E., Retief, T.A., Rhebergen, T., Van der Waal, C. and Romañach, S.S., 2013. Benefits of wildlife-based land uses on private lands in Namibia and limitations affecting their development. Oryx, 47(01), pp.41-53.
Romañach, S.S., Lindsey, P.A. and Woodroffe, R., 2010. Attitudes toward predators and options for their conservation in the Ewaso Ecosystem. A Chronology of Middle Missouri Plains Village Sites, 85.
Lindsey, Peter Andrew, S. S. Romanach, S. Matema, C. Matema, I. Mupamhadzi, and J. Muvengwi. "Dynamics and underlying causes of illegal bushmeat trade in Zimbabwe." Oryx 45, no. 01 (2011): 84-95.
Lindsey, Peter Andrew, S. S. Romanach, Craig J. Tambling, K. Chartier, and R. Groom. "Ecological and financial impacts of illegal bushmeat trade in Zimbabwe." Oryx 45, no. 01 (2011): 96-111.
Lindsey, P. A., S. S. Romanach, and H. T. Davies‐Mostert. "The importance of conservancies for enhancing the value of game ranch land for large mammal conservation in southern Africa." Journal of Zoology 277, no. 2 (2009): 99-105.
Lindsey, P., Romanach, S., Romanach, S.S. and Davies-Mostert, H., 2009. A synthesis of early indicators of the drivers of predator conservation on private lands in south africa. Anonymous Reintroduction of Top-Order Predators.: Wiley-Blackwell, pp.321-344.
Lindsey, P.A., du Toit, R., Pole, A. and Romañach, S., 2008. Savé Valley Conservancy: a large-scale African experiment in cooperative wildlife management. Evolution and innovation in wildlife conservation: parks and game ranches to transfrontier conservation areas, pp.163-184.
Romañach, S.S. and Lindsey, P.A., 2008. Conservation implications of prey responses to wild dogs Lycaon pictus during the denning season on wildlife ranches. Animal conservation, 11(2), pp.111-117.
Romanach, S.S., Lindsey, P.A. and Woodroffe, R., 2007. Determinants of attitudes towards predators in central Kenya and suggestions for increasing tolerance in livestock dominated landscapes. Oryx, 41(02), pp.185-195.
Romanach, S.S., Seabloom, E.W. and Reichman, O.J., 2007. Costs and benefits of pocket gopher foraging: Linking behavior and physiology. Ecology, 88(8), pp.2047-2057.
Georgiadis, N.J., Olwero, J.N. and Romañach, S.S., 2007. Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape: I. Dependence on land use, rainfall, density, and time. Biological conservation, 137(3), pp.461-472.
Georgiadis, N.J., Ihwagi, F., Olwero, J.N. and Romañach, S.S., 2007. Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape. II: Ecological, conservation, and management implications of predator restoration. Biological Conservation, 137(3), pp.473-483.
Lindsey, P.A., Roulet, P.A. and Romanach, S.S., 2007. Economic and conservation significance of the trophy hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Biological conservation, 134(4), pp.455-469.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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Filter Total Items: 57
Defining conservation targets on a landscape-scale
Conservation planning, the process of deciding how to protect, conserve, enhance and(or) minimize loss of natural and cultural resources, is a fundamental process to achieve conservation success in a time of rapid environmental change. Conservation targets, the measurable expressions of desired resource conditions, are an important tool in biological planning to achieve effective outcomes. ConservAuthorsA.M. Benscoter, Stephanie S. Romañach, Laura A. BrandtPerformance metrics and variance partitioning reveal sources of uncertainty in species distribution models
Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in basic and applied ecology, making it important to understand sources and magnitudes of uncertainty in SDM performance and predictions. We analyzed SDM performance and partitioned variance among prediction maps for 15 rare vertebrate species in the southeastern USA using all possible combinations of seven potential sources of uncertainty in SDMsAuthorsJames I. Watling, Laura A. Brandt, David N. Bucklin, Ikuko Fujisaki, Frank J. Mazzotti, Stephanie S. Romañach, Carolina SperoterraModeling apple snail population dynamics on the Everglades landscape
Context The Florida Everglades has diminished in size and its existing wetland hydrology has been altered. The endangered snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis) has nearly abandoned the Everglades, and its prey, the apple snail (Pomacea paludosa), has declined. Objective We developed a population model (EverSnail) to understand apple snail response to inter- and intra-annual fluctuations in water deptAuthorsPhil Darby, Donald L. DeAngelis, Stephanie S. Romañach, Kevin J. Suir, Joshua L. BridevauxEverVIEW: a visualization platform for hydrologic and Earth science gridded data
The EverVIEW Data Viewer is a cross-platform desktop application that combines and builds upon multiple open source libraries to help users to explore spatially-explicit gridded data stored in Network Common Data Form (NetCDF). Datasets are displayed across multiple side-by-side geographic or tabular displays, showing colorized overlays on an Earth globe or grid cell values, respectively. Time-serAuthorsStephanie S. Romañach, Mark McKelvy, Kevin J. Suir, Craig ConzelmannClimate changes, shifting ranges
Even a fleeting mention of the Everglades conjures colorful images of alligators, panthers, flamingos, and manatees. Over the centuries, this familiar cast of characters has become synonymous with life in south Florida. But the workings of a changing climate have the potential to significantly alter the menagerie of animals that call this area home. Global projections suggest south Florida wildlifAuthorsStephanie S. RomañachDynamic reserve design in the face of climate change and urbanization
Reserve design is a process that must address many ecological, social, and political factors to successfully identify parcels of land in need of protection to sustain wildlife populations and other natural resources. Making land acquisition choices for a large, terrestrial protected area is difficult because it occurs over a long timeframe and may involve consideration future conditions such as clAuthorsStephanie S. Romañach, Fred A. Johnson, Bradley Stith, Mathieu BonneauMaximizing the social and ecological value of Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina as the effects of global change processes increase.
Coastal ecosystems in the eastern U.S. have been severely altered by processes associated with human development, including drainage of coastal wetlands, changes in hydrology that alter sediment and freshwater delivery to the coast, land clearing, agricultural and forestry activity, and the construction of seawalls and other structures that “harden” the coast. Sea-level rise and the changing frequAuthorsRaye Nilius, Sarah Dawsey, Mitchell J. Eaton, Julien Martin, Stephanie S. Romañach, Suzanne Baird, Michael Bryant, David J. Case, Fred A. Johnson, Gerard McMahon, Nancy Pau, Elizabeth Pienaar, Mary Ratnaswamy, Steven Seibert, Pamela Wingrove, Nathan J. WoodA visualization tool to support decision making in environmental and biological planning
Large-scale ecosystem management involves consideration of many factors for informed decision making. The EverVIEW Data Viewer is a cross-platform desktop decision support tool to help decision makers compare simulation model outputs from competing plans for restoring Florida's Greater Everglades. The integration of NetCDF metadata conventions into EverVIEW allows end-users from multiple institutiAuthorsStephanie S. Romañach, Mark McKelvy, Craig Conzelmann, Kevin J. SuirUsing scenario planning to evaluate the impacts of climate change on wildlife populations and communities in the Florida Everglades
It is uncertain how climate change will impact hydrologic drivers of wildlife population dynamics in freshwater wetlands of the Florida Everglades, or how to accommodate this uncertainty in restoration decisions. Using projections of climate scenarios for the year 2060, we evaluated how several possible futures could affect wildlife populations (wading birds, fish, alligators, native apple snails,AuthorsChristopher P. Catano, Stephanie S. Romañach, James M. Beerens, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Laura A. Brandt, Kristen M. Hart, Frank J. Mazzotti, Joel C. TrexlerComparing species distribution models constructed with different subsets of environmental predictors
Aim To assess the usefulness of combining climate predictors with additional types of environmental predictors in species distribution models for range-restricted species, using common correlative species distribution modelling approaches. Location Florida, USA Methods We used five different algorithms to create distribution models for 14 vertebrate species, using seven different predictor setAuthorsDavid N. Bucklin, Mathieu Basille, Allison M. Benscoter, Laura A. Brandt, Frank J. Mazzotti, Stephanie S. Romañach, Carolina Speroterra, James I. WatlingAssessing effects of variation in global climate data sets on spatial predictions from climate envelope models
Climate change poses new challenges for natural resource managers. Predictive modeling of species–environment relationships using climate envelope models can enhance our understanding of climate change effects on biodiversity, assist in assessment of invasion risk by exotic organisms, and inform life-history understanding of individual species. While increasing interest has focused on the role ofAuthorsStephanie S. Romañach, James I. Watling, Robert J. Fletcher, Carolina Speroterra, David N. Bucklin, Laura A. Brandt, Leonard G. Pearlstine, Yesenia Escribano, Frank J. MazzottiValidating predictions from climate envelope models
Climate envelope models are a potentially important conservation tool, but their ability to accurately forecast species’ distributional shifts using independent survey data has not been fully evaluated. We created climate envelope models for 12 species of North American breeding birds previously shown to have experienced poleward range shifts. For each species, we evaluated three different approacAuthorsJ. Watling, D. Bucklin, C. Speroterra, L. Brandt, C. Cabal, Stephanie S. Romañach, Frank J. MazzottiNon-USGS Publications**
Lindsey, P.A., Havemann, C.P., Lines, R.M., Price, A.E., Retief, T.A., Rhebergen, T., Van der Waal, C. and Romañach, S.S., 2013. Benefits of wildlife-based land uses on private lands in Namibia and limitations affecting their development. Oryx, 47(01), pp.41-53.Romañach, S.S., Lindsey, P.A. and Woodroffe, R., 2010. Attitudes toward predators and options for their conservation in the Ewaso Ecosystem. A Chronology of Middle Missouri Plains Village Sites, 85.Lindsey, Peter Andrew, S. S. Romanach, S. Matema, C. Matema, I. Mupamhadzi, and J. Muvengwi. "Dynamics and underlying causes of illegal bushmeat trade in Zimbabwe." Oryx 45, no. 01 (2011): 84-95.Lindsey, Peter Andrew, S. S. Romanach, Craig J. Tambling, K. Chartier, and R. Groom. "Ecological and financial impacts of illegal bushmeat trade in Zimbabwe." Oryx 45, no. 01 (2011): 96-111.Lindsey, P. A., S. S. Romanach, and H. T. Davies‐Mostert. "The importance of conservancies for enhancing the value of game ranch land for large mammal conservation in southern Africa." Journal of Zoology 277, no. 2 (2009): 99-105.Lindsey, P., Romanach, S., Romanach, S.S. and Davies-Mostert, H., 2009. A synthesis of early indicators of the drivers of predator conservation on private lands in south africa. Anonymous Reintroduction of Top-Order Predators.: Wiley-Blackwell, pp.321-344.Lindsey, P.A., du Toit, R., Pole, A. and Romañach, S., 2008. Savé Valley Conservancy: a large-scale African experiment in cooperative wildlife management. Evolution and innovation in wildlife conservation: parks and game ranches to transfrontier conservation areas, pp.163-184.Romañach, S.S. and Lindsey, P.A., 2008. Conservation implications of prey responses to wild dogs Lycaon pictus during the denning season on wildlife ranches. Animal conservation, 11(2), pp.111-117.Romanach, S.S., Lindsey, P.A. and Woodroffe, R., 2007. Determinants of attitudes towards predators in central Kenya and suggestions for increasing tolerance in livestock dominated landscapes. Oryx, 41(02), pp.185-195.Romanach, S.S., Seabloom, E.W. and Reichman, O.J., 2007. Costs and benefits of pocket gopher foraging: Linking behavior and physiology. Ecology, 88(8), pp.2047-2057.Georgiadis, N.J., Olwero, J.N. and Romañach, S.S., 2007. Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape: I. Dependence on land use, rainfall, density, and time. Biological conservation, 137(3), pp.461-472.Georgiadis, N.J., Ihwagi, F., Olwero, J.N. and Romañach, S.S., 2007. Savanna herbivore dynamics in a livestock-dominated landscape. II: Ecological, conservation, and management implications of predator restoration. Biological Conservation, 137(3), pp.473-483.Lindsey, P.A., Roulet, P.A. and Romanach, S.S., 2007. Economic and conservation significance of the trophy hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Biological conservation, 134(4), pp.455-469.**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
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