Publications
Explore WARC's science publications.
Filter Total Items: 3375
A causal examination of the effects of confounding factors on multimetric indices
The development of multimetric indices (MMIs) as a means of providing integrative measures of ecosystem condition is becoming widespread. An increasingly recognized problem for the interpretability of MMIs is controlling for the potentially confounding influences of environmental covariates. Most common approaches to handling covariates are based on simple notions of statistical control, leaving t
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, James B. Grace, E. William Schweiger, Brian R. Mitchell, Glenn R. Guntenspergen
Drought, deluge and declines: the impact of precipitation extremes on amphibians in a changing climate
The Class Amphibia is one of the most severely impacted taxa in an on-going global biodiversity crisis. Because amphibian reproduction is tightly associated with the presence of water, climatic changes that affect water availability pose a particularly menacing threat to both aquatic and terrestrial-breeding amphibians. We explore the impacts that one facet of climate change—that of extreme variat
Authors
Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Mary E. Brown
Reproductive health of yellow perch Perca flavescens in selected tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay
Reduced recruitment of yellow perch has been noted for a number of years in certain urbanized watersheds (South and Severn Rivers) of the Chesapeake Bay. Other rapidly developing watersheds such as Mattawoman Creek are more recently showing evidence of reduced recruitment of anadromous fishes. In this study, we used a battery of biomarkers to better document the reproductive health of adult yellow
Authors
Vicki Blazer, Alfred E. Pinkney, Jill A. Jenkins, Luke R. Iwanowicz, Steven Minkkinen, Rassa O. Draugelis-Dale, James H. Uphoff
Spectroscopic remote sensing of the distribution and persistence of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in Barataria Bay marshes
We applied a spectroscopic analysis to Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data collected from low and medium altitudes during and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to delineate the distribution of oil-damaged canopies in the marshes of Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Spectral feature analysis compared the AVIRIS data to reference spectra of oiled marsh by using absorption featur
Authors
Raymond F. Kokaly, Brady Couvillion, JoAnn M. Holloway, Dar A. Roberts, Susan L. Ustin, Seth H. Peterson, Shruti Khanna, Sarai C. Piazza
On the halophytic nature of mangroves
Scientists have discussed the halophytic nature of intertidal plants for decades, and have generally suggested that inherent differentiation of an obligate halophyte from a facultative halophyte relates strongly to whether the plant can survive in fresh water, and not much else. In this mini-review, we provide additional insight to support the pervasive notion that mangroves as a group are truly f
Authors
Ken W. Krauss, Marilyn C. Ball
Temporal shifts in top-down vs. bottom-up control of epiphytic algae in a seagrass ecosystem
In coastal marine food webs, small invertebrate herbivores (mesograzers) have long been hypothesized to occupy an important position facilitating dominance of habitat-forming macrophytes by grazing competitively superior epiphytic algae. Because of the difficulty of manipulating mesograzers in the field, however, their impacts on community organization have rarely been rigorously documented. Under
Authors
Matthew A. Whalen, J. Emmett Duffy, James B. Grace
Representing the acquisition and use of energy by individuals in agent-based models of animal populations
1. Agent-based models (ABMs) are widely used to predict how populations respond to changing environments. As the availability of food varies in space and time, individuals should have their own energy budgets, but there is no consensus as to how these should be modelled. Here, we use knowledge of physiological ecology to identify major issues confronting the modeller and to make recommendations ab
Authors
Richard M. Sibly, Volker Grimm, Benjamin T. Martin, Alice S.A. Johnston, Katarzyna Kulakowska, Christopher J. Topping, Peter Calow, Jacob Nabe-Nielsen, Pernille Thorbek, Donald L. DeAngelis
Trait contributions to fish community assembly emerge from trophicinteractions in an individual-based model
Community ecology seeks to understand and predict the characteristics of communities that can develop under different environmental conditions, but most theory has been built on analytical models that are limited in the diversity of species traits that can be considered simultaneously. We address that limitation with an individual-based model to simulate assembly of fish communities characterized b
Authors
Henrique C. Giacomini, Donald DeAngelis, Joel C. Trexler, Miguel Petrere
Movement mysteries unveiled: spatial ecology of juvenile green sea turtles
Locations of important foraging areas are not well defined for many marine species. Unraveling these mysteries is vital to develop conservation strategies for these species, many of which are threatened or endangered. Satellite-tracking is a tool that can reveal movement patterns at both broad and fine spatial scales, in all marine environments. This chapter presents records of the longest duratio
Authors
Donna J. Shaver, Kristen M. Hart, Ikuko Fujisaki, Cynthia Rubio, Autumn R. Sartain-Iverson
Importance of floodplain connectivity to fish populations in the Apalachicola River, Florida
Floodplain habitats provide critical spawning and rearing habitats for many large-river fishes. The paradigm that floodplains are essential habitats is often a key reason for restoring altered rivers to natural flow regimes. However, few studies have documented spatial and temporal utilization of floodplain habitats by adult fish of sport or commercial management interest or assessed obligatory ac
Authors
O.T. Burgess, William E. Pine, S. J. Walsh
Use and interpretation of climate envelope models: a practical guide
This guidebook is intended to provide a practical overview of climate envelope modeling for conservation
professionals and natural resource managers. The material is intended for people with little background or
experience in climate envelope modeling who want to better understand and interpret models developed by
others and the results generated by such models, or want to do some modeling them
Authors
James I. Watling, Laura A. Brandt, Frank J. Mazzotti, Stephanie S. Romañach