Karen Thorne, Ph.D.
Dr. Karen Thorne is a Research Ecologist with the USGS Western Ecological Research Center,
Her research focus is on climate change impacts to coastal ecosystems. In particular, her work has included assessing sea-level rise and storm impacts to coastal ecosystems, wetland ecology, restoration, and blue carbon. She received her Ph.D. and MS from the University of California, Davis.
Dr. Thorne's interests lie in conservation and management issues surrounding climate-related research that assess changes to ecosystems. Her current focus is assessing how sea-level rise and storms impact tidal wetland ecosystems in the U.S. and island habitats. She conducts research to inform climate adaptation and planning to help managers mitigate impacts and conduct restoration. Her research is based on field data collection methods that can be developed into climate change impact models using ArcGIS and other remote sensing tools.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Global Change Biology
- Coastal Ecosystems
- Wetland Ecology
- Restoration
- Threatened & Endangered Species
- Blue Carbon
- Landscape Ecology
- Ecological Response Modeling
- Storm Monitoring
- Sea-level Rise Planning & Decision Support
Professional Experience
Research Ecologist, USGS, Western Ecological Research Center, Davis Field Station, 2012 - present
Biologist, USGS, Western Ecological Research Center, San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station, 2005 to 2012
Research Associate, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, 2002 to 2005
Education and Certifications
PhD, Geography, Global Change, University of California, Davis, 2012
MSc, Geography, Environmental Studies, University of California, Davis, 2008
BS, Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis 2000
Affiliations and Memberships*
California Landscape Conservation Cooperative Science Team
Science and Products
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U.S. Pacific coastal wetland resilience and vulnerability to sea-level rise
We used a first-of-its-kind comprehensive scenario approach to evaluate both the vertical and horizontal response of tidal wetlands to projected changes in the rate of sea-level rise (SLR) across 14 estuaries along the Pacific coast of the continental United States. Throughout the U.S. Pacific region, we found that tidal wetlands are highly vulnerable to end-of-century submergence, with...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Richard F. Ambrose, Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, Jordan A. Rosencranz, James Homquist, John P. Smol, Kathryn Hargan, John Y. Takekawa
Inundation, vegetation, and sediment effects on litter decomposition in Pacific Coast tidal marshes
The cycling and sequestration of carbon are important ecosystem functions of estuarine wetlands that may be affected by climate change. We conducted experiments across a latitudinal and climate gradient of tidal marshes in the northeast Pacific to evaluate the effects of climate- and vegetation-related factors on litter decomposition. We manipulated tidal exposure and litter type in...
Authors
Christopher Janousek, Kevin Buffington, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Karen M. Thorne, Bruce D. Dugger, John Y. Takekawa
Are coastal managers ready for climate change? A case study from estuaries along the Pacific coast of the United States
A key challenge for coastal resource managers is to plan and implement climate change adaptation strategies inlight of uncertainties and competing management priorities. In 2014, we held six workshops across estuaries along the Pacific coast of North America with over 150 participants to evaluate resource managers' perceived level of understanding of climate change science, where they...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Deborah L. Elliott-Fisk, Chase M. Freeman, Thuy-Vy D. Bui, Katherine Powelson, Christopher Janousek, Kevin Buffington, John Y. Takekawa
Statistical correction of lidar-derived digital elevation models with multispectral airborne imagery in tidal marshes
Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a valuable tool for collecting large amounts of elevation data across large areas; however, the limited ability to penetrate dense vegetation with lidar hinders its usefulness for measuring tidal marsh platforms. Methods to correct lidar elevation data are available, but a reliable method that requires limited field work and maintains...
Authors
Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Karen M. Thorne, John Y. Takekawa
Balanced sediment fluxes in southern California’s Mediterranean-climate zone salt marshes
Salt marsh elevation and geomorphic stability depends on mineral sedimentation. Many Mediterranean-climate salt marshes along southern California, USA coast import sediment during El Niño storm events, but sediment fluxes and mechanisms during dry weather are potentially important for marsh stability. We calculated tidal creek sediment fluxes within a highly modified, sediment-starved, 1...
Authors
Jordan A. Rosencranz, Neil K. Ganju, Richard F. Ambrose, Sandra M. Brosnahan, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Glen M. MacDonald, John Y. Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne
Effects of climate change on tidal marshes along a latitudinal gradient in California
Public SummaryThe coastal region of California supports a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries. Tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays within coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects such as sea-level rise (SLR) are...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Rich F. Ambrose, Kevin Buffington, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher N. Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, James R. Holmquist, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Katherine W. Powelson, Patrick L. Barnard, John Y. Takekawa
Assessing wildlife benefits and carbon storage from restored and natural coastal marshes in the Nisqually River Delta: Determining marsh net ecosystem carbon balance
Working in partnership since 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nisqually Indian Tribe have restored 902 acres of tidally influenced coastal marsh in the Nisqually River Delta (NRD), making it the largest estuary-restoration project in the Pacific Northwest to date. Marsh restoration increases the capacity of the estuary to support a diversity of wildlife species...
Authors
Frank Anderson, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Isa Woo, Susan De La Cruz, Judith Z. Drexler, Kristin Byrd, Karen M. Thorne
Potential effects of sea-level rise on plant productivity: Species-specific responses in northeast Pacific tidal marshes
Coastal wetland plants are adapted to varying degrees of inundation. However, functional relationships between inundation and productivity are poorly characterized for most species. Determining species-specific tolerances to inundation is necessary to evaluate sea-level rise (SLR) effects on future marsh plant community composition, quantify organic matter inputs to marsh accretion, and...
Authors
Christopher Janousek, Kevin Buffington, Karen M. Thorne, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, John Y. Takekawa, Bruce D. Dugger
Tidal marsh susceptibility to sea-level rise: importance of local-scale models
Increasing concern over sea-level rise impacts to coastal tidal marsh ecosystems has led to modeling efforts to anticipate outcomes for resource management decision making. Few studies on the Pacific coast of North America have modeled sea-level rise marsh susceptibility at a scale relevant to local wildlife populations and plant communities. Here, we use a novel approach in developing...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Kevin Buffington, Deborah L. Elliott-Fisk, John Y. Takekawa
Marshes to mudflats—Effects of sea-level rise on tidal marshes along a latitudinal gradient in the Pacific Northwest
Summary In the Pacific Northwest, coastal wetlands support a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries and flood protection. The tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays of coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects such as sea...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Bruce D. Dugger, Kevin Buffington, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher N. Janousek, Katherine W. Powelson, Glenn R. Gutenspergen, John Y. Takekawa
Case Study, California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis corturniculus): Science Foundation Chapter 5, Appendix 5.1 in The Baylands and climate change: What can we do?
The Black Rail is the smallest member of the avian family Rallidae and has a wide-ranging but highly scattered distribution throughout the New World. Of five subspecies, two occur in North America—the Eastern Black Rail (L.j. jamaicensis) and the California Black Rail (L.j. coturniculus). Throughout its range, the Black Rail is a secretive inhabitant of tidal and freshwater wetlands and...
Authors
Jules G. Evens, Karen M. Thorne
Collaborative decision-analytic framework to maximize resilience of tidal marshes to climate change
Decision makers that are responsible for stewardship of natural resources face many challenges, which are complicated by uncertainty about impacts from climate change, expanding human development, and intensifying land uses. A systematic process for evaluating the social and ecological risks, trade-offs, and cobenefits associated with future changes is critical to maximize resilience and...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Brady J. Mattsson, John Y. Takekawa, Jonathan Cummings, Debby Crouse, Giselle Block, Valary Bloom, Matt Gerhart, Steve Goldbeck, Beth Huning, Christina Sloop, Mendel Stewart, Karen Taylor, Laura Valoppi
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 36
Filter Total Items: 29
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 68
U.S. Pacific coastal wetland resilience and vulnerability to sea-level rise
We used a first-of-its-kind comprehensive scenario approach to evaluate both the vertical and horizontal response of tidal wetlands to projected changes in the rate of sea-level rise (SLR) across 14 estuaries along the Pacific coast of the continental United States. Throughout the U.S. Pacific region, we found that tidal wetlands are highly vulnerable to end-of-century submergence, with...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Richard F. Ambrose, Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, Jordan A. Rosencranz, James Homquist, John P. Smol, Kathryn Hargan, John Y. Takekawa
Inundation, vegetation, and sediment effects on litter decomposition in Pacific Coast tidal marshes
The cycling and sequestration of carbon are important ecosystem functions of estuarine wetlands that may be affected by climate change. We conducted experiments across a latitudinal and climate gradient of tidal marshes in the northeast Pacific to evaluate the effects of climate- and vegetation-related factors on litter decomposition. We manipulated tidal exposure and litter type in...
Authors
Christopher Janousek, Kevin Buffington, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Karen M. Thorne, Bruce D. Dugger, John Y. Takekawa
Are coastal managers ready for climate change? A case study from estuaries along the Pacific coast of the United States
A key challenge for coastal resource managers is to plan and implement climate change adaptation strategies inlight of uncertainties and competing management priorities. In 2014, we held six workshops across estuaries along the Pacific coast of North America with over 150 participants to evaluate resource managers' perceived level of understanding of climate change science, where they...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Deborah L. Elliott-Fisk, Chase M. Freeman, Thuy-Vy D. Bui, Katherine Powelson, Christopher Janousek, Kevin Buffington, John Y. Takekawa
Statistical correction of lidar-derived digital elevation models with multispectral airborne imagery in tidal marshes
Airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) is a valuable tool for collecting large amounts of elevation data across large areas; however, the limited ability to penetrate dense vegetation with lidar hinders its usefulness for measuring tidal marsh platforms. Methods to correct lidar elevation data are available, but a reliable method that requires limited field work and maintains...
Authors
Kevin Buffington, Bruce D. Dugger, Karen M. Thorne, John Y. Takekawa
Balanced sediment fluxes in southern California’s Mediterranean-climate zone salt marshes
Salt marsh elevation and geomorphic stability depends on mineral sedimentation. Many Mediterranean-climate salt marshes along southern California, USA coast import sediment during El Niño storm events, but sediment fluxes and mechanisms during dry weather are potentially important for marsh stability. We calculated tidal creek sediment fluxes within a highly modified, sediment-starved, 1...
Authors
Jordan A. Rosencranz, Neil K. Ganju, Richard F. Ambrose, Sandra M. Brosnahan, Patrick J. Dickhudt, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Glen M. MacDonald, John Y. Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne
Effects of climate change on tidal marshes along a latitudinal gradient in California
Public SummaryThe coastal region of California supports a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries. Tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays within coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects such as sea-level rise (SLR) are...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Glen M. MacDonald, Rich F. Ambrose, Kevin Buffington, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher N. Janousek, Lauren N. Brown, James R. Holmquist, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Katherine W. Powelson, Patrick L. Barnard, John Y. Takekawa
Assessing wildlife benefits and carbon storage from restored and natural coastal marshes in the Nisqually River Delta: Determining marsh net ecosystem carbon balance
Working in partnership since 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Nisqually Indian Tribe have restored 902 acres of tidally influenced coastal marsh in the Nisqually River Delta (NRD), making it the largest estuary-restoration project in the Pacific Northwest to date. Marsh restoration increases the capacity of the estuary to support a diversity of wildlife species...
Authors
Frank Anderson, Brian A. Bergamaschi, Lisamarie Windham-Myers, Isa Woo, Susan De La Cruz, Judith Z. Drexler, Kristin Byrd, Karen M. Thorne
Potential effects of sea-level rise on plant productivity: Species-specific responses in northeast Pacific tidal marshes
Coastal wetland plants are adapted to varying degrees of inundation. However, functional relationships between inundation and productivity are poorly characterized for most species. Determining species-specific tolerances to inundation is necessary to evaluate sea-level rise (SLR) effects on future marsh plant community composition, quantify organic matter inputs to marsh accretion, and...
Authors
Christopher Janousek, Kevin Buffington, Karen M. Thorne, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, John Y. Takekawa, Bruce D. Dugger
Tidal marsh susceptibility to sea-level rise: importance of local-scale models
Increasing concern over sea-level rise impacts to coastal tidal marsh ecosystems has led to modeling efforts to anticipate outcomes for resource management decision making. Few studies on the Pacific coast of North America have modeled sea-level rise marsh susceptibility at a scale relevant to local wildlife populations and plant communities. Here, we use a novel approach in developing...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Kevin Buffington, Deborah L. Elliott-Fisk, John Y. Takekawa
Marshes to mudflats—Effects of sea-level rise on tidal marshes along a latitudinal gradient in the Pacific Northwest
Summary In the Pacific Northwest, coastal wetlands support a wealth of ecosystem services including habitat provision for wildlife and fisheries and flood protection. The tidal marshes, mudflats, and shallow bays of coastal estuaries link marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats, and provide economic and recreational benefits to local communities. Climate change effects such as sea...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Bruce D. Dugger, Kevin Buffington, Chase M. Freeman, Christopher N. Janousek, Katherine W. Powelson, Glenn R. Gutenspergen, John Y. Takekawa
Case Study, California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis corturniculus): Science Foundation Chapter 5, Appendix 5.1 in The Baylands and climate change: What can we do?
The Black Rail is the smallest member of the avian family Rallidae and has a wide-ranging but highly scattered distribution throughout the New World. Of five subspecies, two occur in North America—the Eastern Black Rail (L.j. jamaicensis) and the California Black Rail (L.j. coturniculus). Throughout its range, the Black Rail is a secretive inhabitant of tidal and freshwater wetlands and...
Authors
Jules G. Evens, Karen M. Thorne
Collaborative decision-analytic framework to maximize resilience of tidal marshes to climate change
Decision makers that are responsible for stewardship of natural resources face many challenges, which are complicated by uncertainty about impacts from climate change, expanding human development, and intensifying land uses. A systematic process for evaluating the social and ecological risks, trade-offs, and cobenefits associated with future changes is critical to maximize resilience and...
Authors
Karen M. Thorne, Brady J. Mattsson, John Y. Takekawa, Jonathan Cummings, Debby Crouse, Giselle Block, Valary Bloom, Matt Gerhart, Steve Goldbeck, Beth Huning, Christina Sloop, Mendel Stewart, Karen Taylor, Laura Valoppi
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government