Publications
Explore WARC's science publications.
Filter Total Items: 3369
Identifying invasive species threats, pathways, and impacts to improve biosecurity
Managing invasive species with prevention and early-detection strategies can avert severe ecological and economic impacts. Horizon scanning, an evidence-based process combining risk screening and consensus building to identify threats, has become a valuable tool for prioritizing invasive species management and prevention. We assembled a working group of experts from academic, government, and nonpr
Authors
Deah Lieurance, Susan Canavan, Donald C. Behringer, Amy E. Kendig, Carey R. Minteer, Lindsey S. Reisinger, Christina M. Romagosa, S. Luke Flory, Julie L. Lockwood, Patti J. Anderson, Shirley M. Baker, Jamie Bojko, Kristen E. Bowers, Kim Canavan, Kelly Carruthers, Wesley M. Daniel, Doria R. Gordon, Jeffrey E. Hill, Jennifer G. Howeth, Basil V. Iannone, Lucas Jennings, Lyn A. Gettys, Eutychus M. Kariuki, John M. Kunzer, H. Dail Laughinghouse, Nicholas E. Mandrak, Sara McCann, Tolulope Morawo, Cayla R. Morningstar, Matthew Neilson, Tabitha Petri, Ian Pfingsten, Robert Reed, Linda J. Walters, Christian Wanamaker
Relative effectiveness of a radionuclide (210Pb), surface elevation table (SET), and LiDAR at monitoring mangrove forest surface elevation change
Sea-level rise (SLR) is one of the greatest future threats to mangrove forests. Mangroves have kept up with or paced past SLR by maintaining their forest floor elevation relative to sea level through root growth, sedimentation, and peat development. Monitoring surface elevation change (SEC) or accretion rates allows us to understand mangrove response to SLR and prioritizes resilient ecosystems for
Authors
Richard A. MacKenzie, Ken Krauss, Nicole Cormier, Eugene Eperiam, Jan van Aardt, Ali Rouzbeh Kargar, Jessica Grow, J. Val Klump
Ecological benefits of integrative weed management of Melaleuca quinquenervia in Big Cypress National Preserve
The southern tip of North America coalesces into one of the world’s largest freshwater wetlands, the Everglades, Florida, USA. Though this region is much like an island, home to high biodiversity and endemism, it is also the site of a century of development and associated landscape-scale species invasions. Melaleuca quinquenervia (hereafter melaleuca), a tree native to tropical Australia, was plan
Authors
Melissa C. Smith, Paul Julien, Don DeAngelis, Bo Zhang
Bobcat occupancy, tree islands, and invasive Burmese pythons in an Everglades conservation area
Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are terrestrial mammals that also inhabit tree islands (i.e., topographically elevated patches of forested land) embedded in the subtropical Everglades wetlands, which serve as a dry refuge habitat during the wet season in this region of Florida, USA. The Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan seeks to restore Everglades water flow to pre-drainage conditions, but little is
Authors
Katherine M. Buckman, Laura D'Acunto, Stephanie Romanach, Rachel M. Taylor, Nathan J. Dorn
America's most wanted fishes: Cataloging risk assessments to prioritize invasive species for management action
Hundreds of fish species enter the United States through human intervention (e.g., importation) and some of these fishes pose a substantial risk to the nation’s assets and ecosystems. Prevention, early detection, and rapid response (EDRR) are vital to stop species invasions, but time and resources to manage the large suite of fish species that enter the nation are limited. Evaluating the risk of a
Authors
Emily M. Dean, Audrey Jordon, Aimee Christine Agnew, Nicole D Hernandez, Cayla R. Morningstar, Matthew Neilson, Sara Elizabeth Piccolomini, Brian Reichert, Amy Kristine Wray, Wesley M. Daniel
A minimally invasive, field-applicable CRISPR/Cas biosensor to aid in the detection of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the causative fungal agent of white-nose syndrome in bats
The accessibility to CRISPR/Cas (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats/CRISPR-associated protein) genetic tools has given rise to applications beyond site-directed genome editing for the detection of DNA and RNA. These tools include precise diagnostic detection of human disease pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2 and Zika virus. Despite the technology being rapid and cost-effective,
Authors
Adam Alberto Perez, Abigail Tobin, John V. Stechly, Jason Ferrante, Margaret Hunter
Mapping high marsh and salt pannes/flats along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast
Coastal wetlands are predicted to undergo extensive transformation due to climate and land use change. Baseline maps of coastal wetlands can be used to help assess changes. Found in the upper portion of the estuarine zone, high marsh and salt pannes/flats provide ecosystem goods and services and are particularly important to fish and wildlife. We developed the first map of high marsh and salt pann
Authors
Nicholas Enwright, Wyatt Charles Cheney, Kristine O. Evans, Hana R. Thurman, Mark S. Woodrey, Auriel M.V. Fournier, Jena A. Moon, Heather E. Levy, James A. Cox, Peter J. Kappes, John A. Nyman, Jonathan L. Pitchford
Satellite telemetry reveals space use of diamondback terrapins
Movement and space use information of exploited and imperiled coastal species is critical to management and conservation actions. While satellite telemetry has been successfully used to document movements of marine turtles, the large tag sizes available have limited use on smaller turtle species. We used small Argos-based satellite tags to document movement patterns of diamondback terrapins (Malac
Authors
Margaret Lamont, Melissa E. Price, Daniel J. Catizone
Conclusions of evaluation of restoration for avian species at Caminada Headland and Whiskey Island, Louisiana
We conducted various analyses to determine the impact of coastal restoration on several focal avian species at Caminada Headland and Whiskey Island, Louisiana. We assessed if restoration affected avian use of restored sites by determining overall habitat changes, occupancy trends, and impacts of construction activities. Here, we summarize our findings from Chapters 2-9. For more details and additi
Authors
Darin L. Lee, Amanda Nicole Anderson, Paul Leberg, Nicholas Enwright, J. Hardin Waddle, Delaina LeBlanc, Theodore J. Zenzal
Mapping habitats and shorelines pre-, during, and post-restoration on Caminada Headland and Whiskey Island, Louisiana, 2012–2020
Barrier islands and headlands provide ecological services that are integral to economic and environmental interests. Adaptive management may help in ensuring their resilience and the continued provision of ecosystems goods and services over time. The dynamic nature of these environments makes evaluating the impacts from restoration and extreme events an important part of adaptively managing these
Authors
Hana R. Thurman, Nicholas Enwright, Wyatt C Cheney, Jason Dugas, Darin M. Lee, William Jones
An introduction to the evaluation of restoration for avian species at Caminada Headland and Whiskey Island in Louisiana
Barrier islands are crucial for protecting Louisiana’s coastal communities and ecosystems as they reduce coastal erosion and help safeguard native flora and fauna. Along the Louisiana shoreline, these islands are mostly long and thin, running parallel to the shoreline. The islands typically consist of the following components: 1) a sandy beach facing the Gulf of Mexico; 2) vegetated and non-vegeta
Authors
Delaina LeBlanc, Amanda Nicole Anderson, Paul Leberg, Hardin Waddle, Nicholas Enwright, Hana R. Thurman, Theodore J. Zenzal
Adult mosquito and butterfly exposure to permethrin and relative risk following ULV sprays from a truck-mounted sprayer
Ground applications of adulticides via a specialized truck-mounted sprayer are one of the most common practices for control of flying adult mosquitoes. Aerosols released to drift through a targeted area persist in the air column to contact and kill flying mosquitoes, but may also drift into adjacent areas not targeted by the applications where it may affect nontarget insects such as imperiled butt
Authors
Timothy Bargar, Yongxing Jiang