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Publications

Since its inception in 2008, CASC-funded research projects have generated over 2,000 publications in academic journals across the sciences, including articles in high-impact journals such as Science and Nature. Browse a selection of publications from CASC-funded projects below. For a complete list of our scientific projects, publications, and data, explore our Project Explorer database.

Filter Total Items: 503

Managing the whole landscape: Historical, hybrid, and novel ecosystems

The reality confronting ecosystem managers today is one of heterogeneous, rapidly transforming landscapes, particularly in the areas more affected by urban and agricultural development. A landscape management framework that incorporates all systems, across the spectrum of degrees of alteration, provides a fuller set of options for how and when to intervene, uses limited resources more effectively,
Authors
Richard J. Hobbs, Eric S. Higgs, Carol M. Hall, Peter Bridgewater, F. Stuart Chapin, John J. Ewel, Lauren M. Hallett, Erle C. Ellis, James Harris, Kristen B. Hulvey, Stephen T. Jackson, Patricia L. Kennedy, Christoph Kueffer, Lori Lach, Trevor C. Lantz, Ariel E. Lugo, Joseph Mascaro, Stephen D. Murphy, Cara Nelson, Michael P. Perring, David M. Richardson, Timothy Seastedt, Rachel J. Standish, Brian M. Starzomski, Katharine N. Suding, Pedro M. Tognetti, Laith Yakob, Laurie Yung

The National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center annual report for 2013

In 2008, Congress created the National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The center was formed to respond to the demands of natural resource managers for rigorous scientific information and effective tools for assessing and responding to climate change. Located at the USGS National Headquarters in Reston, Va., the NCCWSC has invested more
Authors
Elda Varela-Acevedo

Climate remains an important driver of post-European vegetation change in the eastern United States

The influence of climate on forest change during the past century in the eastern United States was evaluated in a recent paper (Nowacki & Abrams, 2014) that centers on an increase in ‘highly competitive mesophytic hardwoods’ (Nowacki & Abrams, 2008) and a concomitant decrease in the more xerophytic Quercus species. Nowacki & Abrams (2014) concluded that climate change has not contributed significa
Authors
Neil Pederson, Anthony W. D’Amato, James M. Dyer, David R. Foster, David Goldblum, Justin L. Hart, Amy E. Hessl, Louis R. Iverson, Stephen T. Jackson, Dario Martin-Benito, Brian C. McCarthy, Ryan W. McEwan, David J. Mladenoff, Albert J. Parker, Bryan Shuman, John W. Williams

Maintaining resilience in the face of climate change

Climate change, when combined with more conventional stress from human exploitation, calls into question the capacity of both existing ecological communities and resource management institutions to experience disturbances while substantially retaining their same functions and identities (Zellmer and Gunderson 2009; Ruhl 2011). In other words, the physical and biological effects of climate change r
Authors
Alejandro E. Camacho, T. Douglas Beard

Simulating 2,368 temperate lakes reveals weak coherence in stratification phenology

Changes in water temperatures resulting from climate warming can alter the structure and function of aquatic ecosystems. Lake-specific physical characteristics may play a role in mediating individual lake responses to climate. Past mechanistic studies of lake-climate interactions have simulated generic lake classes at large spatial scales or performed detailed analyses of small numbers of real lak
Authors
Jordan S. Read, Luke A. Winslow, Gretchen J. A. Hansen, Jamon Van Den Hoek, Paul C. Hanson, Louise C. Bruce, Corey D. Markfort

A cross comparison of spatiotemporally enhanced springtime phenological measurements from satellites and ground in a northern U.S. mixed forest

Cross comparison of satellite-derived land surface phenology (LSP) and ground measurements is useful to ensure the relevance of detected seasonal vegetation change to the underlying biophysical processes. While standard 16-day and 250-m Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) vegetation index (VI)-based springtime LSP has been evaluated in previous studies, it remains unclear whether
Authors
Li Li, Mark D. Schwartz, Zhuosen Wang, Feng Gao, Crystal B. Schaaf, Bin Tan, Jeffrey T. Morisette, Xiaoyang Zhang

Inland capture fishery contributions to global food security and threats to their future

Inland fish and fisheries play important roles in ensuring global food security. They provide a crucial source of animal protein and essential micronutrients for local communities, especially in the developing world. Data concerning fisheries production and consumption of freshwater fish are generally inadequately assessed, often leading decision makers to undervalue their importance. Modification
Authors
So-Jung Youn, William W. Taylor, Abigail J. Lynch, Ian G. Cowx, T. Douglas Beard, Devin Bartley, Felicia Wu

Identifying the pollen of an extinct spruce species in the Late Quaternary sediments of the Tunica Hills region, south-eastern United States

Late Quaternary fluvial deposits in the Tunica Hills region of Louisiana and Mississippi are rich in spruce macrofossils of the extinct species Picea critchfieldii, the one recognized plant extinction of the Late Quaternary. However, the morphology of P. critchfieldii pollen is unknown, presenting a barrier to the interpretation of pollen spectra from the last glacial of North America. To address
Authors
Luke Mander, Jacklyn Rodriguez, Pietra G. Mueller, Stephen T. Jackson, Surangi W. Punyasena

Where the waters meet: sharing ideas and experiences between inland and marine realms to promote sustainable fisheries management

Although inland and marine environments, their fisheries, fishery managers, and the realm-specific management approaches are often different, there are a surprising number of similarities that frequently go unrecognized. We contend that there is much to be gained by greater cross-fertilization and exchange of ideas and strategies between realms and the people who manage them. The purpose of this p
Authors
Steven J. Cooke, Robert Arlinghaus, Devin M. Bartley, T. Douglas Beard, Ian G. Cowx, Timothy E. Essington, Olaf P. Jensen, Abigail J. Lynch, William W. Taylor, Reg Watson

Downscaled climate projections for the Southeast United States: evaluation and use for ecological applications

Climate change is likely to have many effects on natural ecosystems in the Southeast U.S. The National Climate Assessment Southeast Technical Report (SETR) indicates that natural ecosystems in the Southeast are likely to be affected by warming temperatures, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, and changes in rainfall and evapotranspiration. To better assess these how climate changes could affect m
Authors
Adrienne Wootten, Kara Smith, Ryan Boyles, Adam Terando, Lydia Stefanova, Vasru Misra, Tom Smith, David L. Blodgett, Fredrick Semazzi

Tribal engagement strategy of the South Central Climate Science Center, 2014

The South Central Climate Science Center was established by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 2012 to increase understanding of climate change and coordinate an effective response to climate-change effects on Native American tribes and natural and cultural resources that the Department manages. The eight regional Climate Science Centers of the U.S. Department of the Interior work closely with
Authors
William J. Andrews, April Taylor, Kimberly T. Winton

Do cities simulate climate change? A comparison of herbivore response to urban and global warming

Cities experience elevated temperature, CO2, and nitrogen deposition decades ahead of the global average, such that biological response to urbanization may predict response to future climate change. This hypothesis remains untested due to a lack of complementary urban and long-term observations. Here, we examine the response of an herbivore, the scale insect Melanaspis tenebricosa, to temperature
Authors
Elsa Youngsteadt, Adam G. Dale, Adam Terando, Robert R. Dunn, Steven D. Frank