Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Publications

Explore WARC's science publications.

Filter Total Items: 3374

Fine-scale spatial variation in plant species richness and its relationship to environmental conditions in coastal marshlands

Previous studies have shown that variations in environmental conditions play a major role in explaining variations in plant species richness at community and landscape scales. In this study, we considered the degree to which fine-scale spatial variations in richness could be related to fine-scale variations in abiotic and biotic factors. To examine spatial variation in richness, grids of 1 m2 plot
Authors
J.E. Mancera, G.C. Meche, P.P. Cardona-Olarte, E. Castaneda-Moya, R.L. Chiasson, N.A. Geddes, L.M. Schile, H.G. Wang, G.R. Guntenspergen, J.B. Grace

Estimating size and composition of biological communities by modeling the occurrence of species

We develop a model that uses repeated observations of a biological community to estimate the number and composition of species in the community. Estimators of community-level attributes are constructed from model-based estimators of occurrence of individual species that incorporate imperfect detection of individuals. Data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey are analyzed to illustrate the
Authors
Robert Dorazio, J. Andrew Royle

Implications of global climatic change and energy cost and availability for the restoration of the Mississippi delta

Over the past several thousand years, inputs from the Mississippi River formed the Mississippi delta, an area of about 25,000 km2. Over the past century, however, there has been a high loss of coastal wetlands of about 4800 km2. The main causes of this loss are the near complete isolation of the river from the delta, mostly due to the construction of flood control levees, and pervasive hydrologica
Authors
John W. Jr. Day

Depicting coastal Louisiana land loss

The Coastal Louisiana Land Loss map depicts historical (1932-2000) changes of land to water and water to land, as well as projected changes (2000-2050). Projections are based on the assumption of no future restoration.
Authors
Gregory J. Smith

Cryopreservation of sperm of red abalone (Haliotis rufescens)

Abalone culture, a developing industry in Baja California, Mexico, would benefit from genetic improvement and controlled breeding. The use of cryopreserved sperm would allow germplasm availability, and this study was designed to develop sperm cryopreservation protocols for red abalone Haliotis rufescens. The acute toxic effects of the cryoprotectants dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), propylene glycol (PG
Authors
L. Salinas-Flores, C. G. Paniagua-Chavez, J.A. Jenkins, T.R. Tiersch

Seed storage conditions change the germination pattern of clonal growth plants in Mediterranean salt marshes

The effect of salinity level and extended exposure to different salinity and flooding conditions on germination patterns of three salt‐marsh clonal growth plants (Juncus subulatus, Scirpus litoralis, and S. maritimus) was studied. Seed exposure to extended flooding and saline conditions significantly affected the outcome of the germination process in a different, though predictable, way for each s
Authors
J. L. Espinar, L. V. Garcia, L. Clemente

Predicted sex ratio of juvenile Kemp's Ridley sea turtles captured near Steinhatchee, Florida

The Kemp's Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is one of the most endangered sea turtles in the world, and it possesses temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). Sex ratios produced under TSD can vary widely and can affect the reproductive ecology of a population. Therefore, sex ratios produced from TSD are of ecological and conservation interest. The current study validated and utilized a testoster
Authors
A.A. Geis, W.J. Barichivich, T. Wibbels, M. Coyne, A.M. Landry, D. Owens

Species frequency dynamics in an old-field succession: Effects of disturbance, fertilization and scale

Question:Can patterns of species frequency in an old-field be explained within the context of a metapopulation model? Are the patterns observed related to time, spatial scale, disturbance, and nutrient availability?Location:Upland and lowland old-fields in Illinois, USA.Method:Species richness was recorded annually for seven years following plowing of an upland and lowland old-field subject to cro
Authors
David J. Gibson, Beth A. Middleton, K. Foster, Y. A. K. Honu, E. W. Hoyer, M. Mathis

Chronic boat strike and polycyctic kidneys in a free-ranging Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

No abstract available.
Authors
Renee Rember, K. Harr, Pamela E. Ginn, Jessica Lightsey, M. Keller, R. Bonde, J. Reid

Inducible defenses in food webs: Chapter 3.4

This chapter reviews the predicted effects of induced defenses on trophic structure and two aspects of stability, “local” stability and persistence, as well as presenting novel results on a third, resilience. Food webs are structures of populations in a given location organized according to their predator–prey interactions. Interaction strengths and, therefore, prey defenses are generally recogniz
Authors
Matthijs Vos, Bob W. Kooi, Donald L. DeAngelis, Wolf M. Mooij