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Explore WARC's science publications.

Filter Total Items: 3374

Quantifying changes to infaunal communities associated with several deep-sea coral habitats in the Gulf of Mexico and their potential recovery from the DWH oil spill

Extensive information is available about infaunal soft-sediment communities in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) (Pequegnat et al. 1990, Rowe and Kennicutt II 2009, Wei et al. 2010), particularly from the large-scale sampling effort of the Deep Gulf of Mexico Benthos (DGOMB) project in the early 2000s (Rowe and Kennicutt II 2009). Infaunal soft-sediment communities in the northern Gulf differ by geographi
Authors
Jill R. Bourque, Amanda W.J. Demopoulos

Scientist’s guide to developing explanatory statistical models using causal analysis principles

Recent discussions of model selection and multimodel inference highlight a general challenge for researchers, which is how to clearly convey the explanatory content of a hypothesized model or set of competing models. The advice from statisticians for scientists employing multimodel inference is to develop a well‐thought‐out set of candidate models for comparison, though precise instructions for ho
Authors
James B. Grace, Kathryn Irvine

Plot Locator: An app for locating plots in the field

PREMISE: One of the challenges in field biology is locating previously sampled plots. The Plot Locator app was developed to assist field biologists with plot identification and location, with or without GPS or online connectivity. METHODS AND RESULTS: The Plot Locator Android app helps users locate field plots by creating a searchable database that stores study area information, such as site/plot
Authors
Jere Boudell, Beth Middleton

Using maintenance records from a long-term sensor monitoring network to evaluate the relationship between maintenance schedule and data quality

Sensor-based environmental monitoring networks are beginning to provide the large-scale, long-term data required to address important fundamental and applied questions in ecology. However, the data quality from deployed sensors can be difficult and costly to ensure. In this study, we use maintenance records from the 12-year history of Louisiana’s Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) to ass
Authors
Donald Schoolmaster, Sarai Piazza

Simulation of post-hurricane impact on invasive species with biological control management

Understanding the effects of hurricanes and other large storms on ecological communities and the post-event recovery in these communities can guide management and ecosystem restoration. This is particularly important for communities impacted by invasive species, as the hurricane may affect control efforts. Here we consider the effect of a hurricane on tree communities in southern Florida that has
Authors
Linhao Xu, Marya Claire Zdechlik, Melissa C. Smith, Min B. Rayamajhi, Don DeAngelis, Bo Zhang

Traveling to thermal refuges during stressful temperatures leads to foraging constraints in a central-place forager

Central-place foragers can be constrained by the distance between habitats. When an organism relies on a central place for thermal refuge, the distance to food resources can potentially constrain foraging behavior. We investigated the effect of distance between thermal refuges and forage patches of the cold-intolerant marine mammal, the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), on foraging
Authors
Catherine G. Haase, Robert J. Fletcher, Daniel H. Slone, James P. Reid, Susan M. Butler

Response of tidal marsh vegetation to pulsed increases in flooding and nitrogen

Worldwide, human activities have modified hydrology and nutrient loading regimes in coastal wetlands. Understanding the interplay between these drivers and subsequent response of wetland plant communities is essential to informing wetland management and restoration efforts. Recent restoration strategies in Louisiana proposes to use sediment diversions from the Mississippi River to build land in ad
Authors
Meagan M McCoy, Taylor M Sloey, Rebecca J. Howard, Mark W. Hester

A comparison of the Trojan Y Chromosome strategy to harvesting models for eradication of nonnative species

The Trojan Y Chromosome strategy (TYC) is a promising eradication method for biological control of nonnative species. The strategy works by manipulating the sex ratio of a population through the introduction of supermales that guarantee male offspring. In the current study, we compare the TYC method with a pure harvesting strategy. We also analyze a hybrid harvesting model that mirrors the TYC str
Authors
Jingjing Lyu, Pamela J. Schofield, Kristen Reaver, Matthew Beauregard, Rana D. Parshad

Comparing live-capture methods for nutria: single- versus multiple-capture cage traps

Herbivory and burrowing by nutria (Myocastor coypus) cause substantial ecological and economic damage. Trapping is a common, effective practice for reducing nutria damage; however, trapping approaches must continually be adapted to keep pace with evolving animal welfare and ethical issues and to more effectively target pest species of interest. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy of 2 nonle
Authors
Trevor R. Sheffels, Jacoby Carter, Mark S. Sytsma, Jimmy D. Taylor

Asian swamp eels in North America linked to the live-food trade and prayer-release rituals

We provide a history of swamp eel (family Synbranchidae) introductions around the globe and report the first confirmed nonindigenous records of Amphipnous cuchia in the wild. The species, native to Asia, is documented from five sites in the USA: the Passaic River, New Jersey (2007), Lake Needwood, Maryland (2014), a stream in Pennsylvania (2015), the Tittabawassee River, Michigan (2017), and Meado
Authors
Leo Nico, Jay V. Kilian, Andrew J. Ropicki, Matthew Harper

Dispersal asymmetry in a two-patch system with source–sink populations

This paper analyzes source–sink systems with asymmetric dispersal between two patches. Complete analysis on the models demonstrates a mechanism by which the dispersal asymmetry can lead to either an increased total size of the species population in two patches, a decreased total size with persistence in the patches, or even extinction in both patches. For a large growth rate of the species in the
Authors
Hong Wu, Yuanshi Wang, Yufeng Li, Donald L. DeAngelis