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Filter Total Items: 3377

Data from in situ Observations of Fish Traps Set by Fishermen in St. John Waters, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1992-94

In order to estimate (1) the trapping pressure within Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) waters, (2) the effect of fish traps on park marine resources (both fishes and habitats), and (3) the effectiveness of park regulations in protecting marine resources, traps set by fishers were visually observed and contents censused in situ in 1992, 1993, and 1994, around St. John (U.S. Virgin Islands), with
Authors
Virginia H. Garrison, Jim Beets, Alan M. Friedlander, Steven Canty

Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness

For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity. Although recent meta-analyses questioned the g
Authors
Peter B. Adler, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Helmut Hillebrand, Yann Hautier, Andy Hector, W. Stanley Harpole, Lydia R. O'Halloran, James B. Grace, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori A. Biederman, Cynthia S. Brown, Yvonne M. Buckley, Laura B. Calabrese, Cheng-Jin Chu, Elsa E. Cleland, Scott L. Collins, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Michael J. Crawley, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Paul Frater, Eve I. Gasarch, Daneil S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Hope Humphries, Virginia L. Jin, Adam D. Kay, Kevin P. Kirkman, Julia A. Klein, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, John G. Lambrinos, Wei Li, Andrew S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Brett A. Melbourne, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Brent Mortensen, John L. Orrock, Suzanne M. Prober, David A. Pyke, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Melinda D. Smith, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren L. Sullivan, Gang Wang, Peter D. Wragg, Justin P. Wright, Louie H. Yang

Are all intertidal wetlands naturally created equal? Bottlenecks, thresholds and knowledge gaps to mangrove and saltmarsh ecosystems

Intertidal wetlands such as saltmarshes and mangroves provide numerous important ecological functions, though they are in rapid and global decline. To better conserve and restore these wetland ecosystems, we need an understanding of the fundamental natural bottlenecks and thresholds to their establishment and long-term ecological maintenance. Despite inhabiting similar intertidal positions, the bi
Authors
Daniel A. Friess, Ken W. Krauss, Erik M. Horstman, Thorsten Balke, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Demis Galli, Edward L. Webb

Monitoring coastal inundation with Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite data

Maps representing the presence and absence of surface inundation in the Louisiana coastal zone were created from available satellite scenes acquired by the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency's Advanced Land Observing Satellite and by the European Space Agency's Envisat from late 2006 through summer 2009. Detection of aboveground surface flooding relied on the well-documented and distinct signat
Authors
Yukihiro Suzuoki, Amina Rangoonwala, Elijah W. Ramsey

No evidence of interference competition among the invasive feral pig and two native peccary species in a Neotropical wetland

In South America, the invasive feral pig (Sus scrofa Linnaeus) has become established in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and in a wide range within Brazil, along the southern half of the Atlantic Forest, in the cerrado (savanna) and in the Pantanal wetland. The geographical ranges of the two most common South American native peccary (Tayassu pecari Link and Pecari tajacu Linnaeus) overlap almost enti
Authors
Luiz G. R. Oliveira-Santos, Robert M. Dorazio, Walfrido M. Tomas, Guilherme Mourao, Fernando A.S. Fernandez

Population genetic structure and conservation genetics of threatened Okaloosa darters (Etheostoma okaloosae)

Imperiled Okaloosa darters (Etheostoma okaloosae) are small, benthic fish limited to six streams that flow into three bayous of Choctawhatchee Bay in northwest Florida, USA. We analyzed the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene and 10 nuclear microsatellite loci for 255 and 273 Okaloosa darters, respectively. Bayesian clustering analyses and AMOVA reflect congruent population genetic structure
Authors
James D. Austin, Howard L. Jelks, Bill Tate, Aria R. Johnson, Frank Jordan

Potential use of weather radar to study movements of wintering waterfowl

To protect and restore wintering waterfowl habitat, managers require knowledge of routine wintering waterfowl movements and habitat use. During preliminary screening of Doppler weather radar data we observed biological movements consistent with routine foraging flights of wintering waterfowl known to occur near Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Louisiana. During the winters of 2004–2005 an
Authors
Lori A. Randall, Robert H. Diehl, Barry C. Wilson, Wylie C. Barrow, Clinton W. Jeske

Changes in diameter growth of Taxodium distichum in response to flow alterations in the Savannah River

Efforts to maximize or restore ecological function on floodplains impacted by dam construction have increasingly focused on river flow management. Few studies, however, consider floodplain hydrogeomorphic position and annual climatic variation in dam impact assessment. The Savannah River, a large river ecosystem in the Southeastern United States, was impounded in the 1950's. Our study objectives w
Authors
M Palta, Thomas W. Doyle, C. Rhett Jackson, L Meyer, R Sharitz

Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) ecological model documentation volume 2: roseate spoonbill (Platalea ajaja) landscape habitat suitability index v1.0.0

Ecological conditions in the Greater Everglades have changed due to human activities, including the construction of canals to divert water away from the core of the landscape. Current and planned restoration projects are designed to produce a natural sheetflow of water across the landscape. This restoration of water flow should provide an increase in freshwater needed to restore natural salinities
Authors
Stephanie S. Romañach, Craig Conzelmann, Adam Daugherty, Jerome J. Lorenz, Christina Hunnicutt, Frank J. Mazzotti

Joint Ecosystem Modeling (JEM) ecological model documentation volume 1: Estuarine prey fish biomass availability v1.0.0

Estuarine fish serve as an important prey base in the Greater Everglades ecosystem for key fauna such as wading birds, crocodiles, alligators, and piscivorous fishes. Human-made changes to freshwater flow across the Greater Everglades have resulted in less freshwater flow into the fringing estuaries and coasts. These changes in freshwater input have altered salinity patterns and negatively affecte
Authors
Stephanie S. Romañach, Craig Conzelmann, Adam Daugherty, Jerome L. Lorenz, Christina Hunnicutt, Frank J. Mazzotti

Fitting a structured juvenile-adult model for green tree frogs to population estimates from capture-mark-recapture field data

We derive point and interval estimates for an urban population of green tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) from capture–mark–recapture field data obtained during the years 2006–2009. We present an infinite-dimensional least-squares approach which compares a mathematical population model to the statistical population estimates obtained from the field data. The model is composed of nonlinear first-order hype
Authors
Azmy S. Ackleh, J. Carter, Keng Deng, Qihua Huang, Nabendu Pal, Xing Yang

Vegetation of Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana-Recent plant communities with comparison to a three-decade-old survey

Shifts in plant community composition and structure can affect the quality of habitat for wildlife species. Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Louisiana was established in 1937 with a primary goal of providing habitat for wintering waterfowl species. A large freshwater impoundment constructed on the refuge to improve waterfowl habitat value was completed in 1943. About 10 years aft
Authors
Rebecca J. Howard, Thomas C. Michot, Larry Allain