Publications
Explore WARC's science publications.
Filter Total Items: 3374
The diamondback terrapin: The biology, ecology, cultural history, and conservation status of an obligate estuarine turtle
Ranging from Cape Cod to nearly the Texas-Mexico border, the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is the only species of North American turtle restricted to estuarine systems. Despite this extensive distribution, its zone of occurrence is very linear, and in places fragmented, resulting in a relatively small total area of occupancy. On a global scale, excluding marine species, few turtles ev
Authors
K.M. Hart, D.S. Lee
Towards sustainable management of Louisiana's coastal wetland forests: Problems, constraints, and a new beginning
Over 345,000 ha of forested swamps occur throughout the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain. Natural and anthropogenic changes in hydrology and geomorphology at local and landscape levels have reduced the productivity in many of these coastal wetland forests areas and have caused the complete loss of forest cover in some places. A summary and interpretation of the available science, suggestions for po
Authors
J. L. Chambers, W.H. Conner, R.F. Keim, S.P. Faulkner, J.W. Day, E.S. Gardiner, M.S. Hughes, S.L. King, K.W. McLeod, C.A. Miller, J.A. Nyman, G.P. Shaffer
Detection probabilities and site occupancy estimates for amphibians at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
We conducted an amphibian inventory at Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge from August 2000 to June 2002 as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior's national Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative. Nineteen species of amphibians (15 anurans and 4 caudates) were documented within the Refuge, including one protected species, the Gopher Frog Rana capito. We also collected 1 y of monitoring
Authors
L. L. Smith, W.J. Barichivich, J.S. Staiger, Kimberly G. Smith, C. K. Dodd
Interactive effects of substrate, hydroperiod, and nutrients on seedling growth of Salix nigra and Taxodium distichum
The large river swamps of Louisiana have complex topography and hydrology, characterized by black willow (Salix nigra) dominance on accreting alluvial sediments and vast areas of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) deepwater swamps with highly organic substrates. Seedling survival of these two wetland tree species is influenced by their growth rate in relation to the height and duration of annual flo
Authors
Richard H. Day, T.W. Doyle, R. O. Draugelis-Dale
Regional and local species richness in an insular environment: Serpentine plants in California
We asked how the richness of the specialized (endemic) flora of serpentine rock outcrops in California varies at both the regional and local scales. Our study had two goals: first, to test whether endemic richness is affected by spatial habitat structure (e.g., regional serpentine area, local serpentine outcrop area, regional and local measures of outcrop isolation), and second, to conduct this te
Authors
S. Harrison, H.D. Safford, J.B. Grace, J.H. Viers, K.F. Davies
Phylogeography, phylogeny and hybridization in trichechid sirenians: Implications for manatee conservation
The three living species of manatees, West Indian (Trichechus manatus), Amazonian (Trichechus inunguis) and West African (Trichechus senegalensis), are distributed across the shallow tropical and subtropical waters of America and the western coast of Africa. We have sequenced the mitochondrial DNA control region in 330 Trichechus to compare their phylogeographic patterns. In T. manatus we observed
Authors
J. A. Vianna, Robert K. Bonde, S. Caballero, J. P. Giraldo, R. P. Lima, A. Clark, M. Marmontel, B. Morales-Vela, M. J. De Souza, L. Parr, M. A. Rodriguez-Lopez, A. A. Mignucci-Giannoni, J. A. Powell, F. R. Santos
Permanent 'phase shifts' or reversible declines in coral cover? Lack of recovery of two coral reefs in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Caribbean coral reefs have changed dramatically in the last 3 to 4 decades, with significant loss of coral cover and increases in algae. Here we present trends in benthic cover from 1989 to 2003 at 2 reefs (Lameshur Reef and Newfound Reef) off St. John, US Virgin Islands (USVI). Coral cover has declined in the fore-reef zones at both sites, and no recovery is evident. At Lameshur Reef, Hurricane H
Authors
C.S. Rogers, J. Miller
Distribution and abundance of elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, and prevalence of white-band disease at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
In the 1970s and 1980s elkhorn coral, Acropora palmata, declined dramatically throughout the Caribbean primarily due to white-band disease (WBD). In 2005, elkhorn coral was proposed for listing as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act. WBD was first documented at Buck Island Reef National Monument (BIRNM). Together with hurricanes WBD reduced live elkhorn coral coverage by probably over 9
Authors
P.A. Mayor, C.S. Rogers, Z.-M. Hillis-Starr
Effects of shoreline vegetation on visibility of American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) during spotlight surveys
[No abstract available]
Authors
M.S. Cherkiss, F.J. Mazzotti, K.G. Rice
Regional processes in mangrove ecosystems: Spatial scaling relationships, biomass, and turnover rates following catastrophic disturbance
Physiological processes and local-scale structural dynamics of mangroves are relatively well studied. Regional-scale processes, however, are not as well understood. Here we provide long-term data on trends in structure and forest turnover at a large scale, following hurricane damage in mangrove ecosystems of South Florida, U.S.A. Twelve mangrove vegetation plots were monitored at periodic interval
Authors
G.A. Ward, T. J. Smith, K.R.T. Whelan, T.W. Doyle
Canopy reflectance related to marsh dieback onset and progression in Coastal Louisiana
In this study, we extended previous work linking leaf spectral changes, dieback onset, and progression of Spartina alterniflora marshes to changes in site-specific canopy reflectance spectra. First, we obtained canopy reflectance spectra (approximately 20 m ground resolution) from the marsh sites occupied during the leaf spectral analyses and from additional sites exhibiting visual signs of diebac
Authors
Elijah W. Ramsey, A. Rangoonwala
Clonal variation in response to salinity and flooding stress in four marsh macrophytes of the northern gulf of Mexico, USA
Intraspecific variation in stress tolerance can be an important factor influencing plant population structure in coastal wetland habitats. We studied clones of four species of emergent marsh macrophytes native to the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Louisiana, USA, to examine variation in response to salinity and flooding stress under controlled greenhouse conditions. Clones of Distichlis s
Authors
R.J. Howard, P.S. Rafferty