Publications

Aim: Species distribution models can guide invasive species prevention and management by characterizing invasion risk across space. However, extrapolation and transferability issues pose challenges for developing useful models for invasive species. Previous work has emphasized the importance of including all available occurrences in model estimation, but managers attuned to local processes may be

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees the recovery of many species protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). Recent research suggests that a structured approach to allocating conservation resources could increase recovery outcomes for ESA listed species. Quantitative approaches to decision support can efficiently allocate limited financial resources and maximize desired outcomes. Y

We used data collected during surveys of seven North American Breeding Bird Survey routes in eastern Texas to estimate avian populations within Big Thicket National Preserve. On only 61 of the 350 count locations located along these routes did observers monitor birds within the boundaries of this preserve. On selected routes, we recorded initial bird detections during the 3-min bird count within 1

Negative imagery of destruction may induce or inhibit action to reduce risks from climate-exacerbated hazards, such as wildfires. This has generated conflicting assumptions among experts who communicate with homeowners: half of surveyed wildfire practitioners perceive a lack of expert agreement about the effect of negative imagery (a burning house) on homeowner behavior, yet most believe negative

Accurately estimating stream characteristics is essential for managing and restoring populations and aquatic ecosystems. Reach-based sampling designs have been used extensively to collect fisheries related data; however, few studies have examined the effectiveness of reach-based sampling designs for stream habitat assessments. Here, we used continuous habitat surveys to census stream attributes in

The homogenization of freshwater ecosystems and their biological communities has emerged as a prevalent and concerning phenomenon because of the loss of ecosystem multifunctionality. The millions of prairie-pothole wetlands scattered across the Prairie Pothole Region (hereafter PPR) provide critical ecosystem functions at local, regional, and continental scales. However, an estimated loss of 50% o

The radiogenic isotope heterogeneity of oceanic basalts is often assessed using 2D isotope ratio diagrams. But because the underlying data are at least six dimensional (87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd, 176Hf/177Hf, and 208,207,206Pb/204Pb), it is important to examine isotopic affinities in multi-dimensional data space. Here, we apply t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE), a multi-variate stat

STORERIA OCCIPITOMACULATA (Red-bellied Snake). USA: LOUISIANA: St. Mary Parish: Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge (29.69425N, 91.46701W; WGS 84). 18 August 2022. William C. Carroll and Aidan G. Phillips. Verified by Coleman M. Sheehy III. Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida (UF 193423; photo voucher). Adult photographed in leaf litter in a wet bottomland hardwood forest wit

Peatlands play a disproportionate role in the global carbon cycle. However, many peatlands have been ditched to lower the water table and converted into agriculture, which contributes to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Hydrologic restoration of drained peatlands could offset greenhouse gas emissions from these actions, but field examples that consider various greenhouse gases are still rar

Despite significant efforts devoted to understanding the underlying complexity and emergence of collective movement in animal groups, the role of different external settings on this type of movement remains largely unexplored. Here, by combining time series analysis and complex network tools, we present an extensive investigation of the effects of shady environments on the behavior of a fish speci

Flash droughts, characterized by their unusually rapid intensification, have garnered increasing attention within the weather, climate, agriculture, and ecological communities in recent years due to their large environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Because flash droughts intensify quickly, they require different early warning capabilities and management approaches than are typically used for sl

Forest restoration efforts commonly occur in degraded ecosystems. For the floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River, the combination of aging canopy trees and expansion of invasive species such as reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.) can shift forested ecosystems to open meadows. Before this shift occurs, there may be opportunities to proactively underplant. Our study reports 2-year