USGS National Wetlands Research Center: FY04 NWRC Accomplishments

Selected FY 2004 Status and Accomplishments
National Wetlands Research Center

I. Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and other strategic goals
— Resource protection (Improve the health of watersheds and landscapes and marine resources that are DOI-managed and influenced lands and waters in a manner consistent with obligations regarding the allocation and use of water
— Sustain biological communities on DOI-managed and influenced lands and waters in a manner consistent with obligations regarding the allocation and use of water
A. Report Center accomplishments, sorted under BRD program goals

Biological Informatics

Goal 4: Biological Informatics: Apply innovative technologies and best practices to improve the collection, description and dissemination of biological information to our customers.

Project: Science Information and Information Technology
Task: NBII Gulf Coast and Southwest Node
In FY04 NWRC proposed to expand an existing NBII regional information node to include the Gulf of Mexico coast and Lower Mississippi Valley areas and subsequently received funding in FY04. NBII is now considering expanding the node into Oklahoma and possibly Kansas. NWRC is currently sharing the node with another group in Texas and protocols are being worked out. Currently, team members are developing the infrastructure necessary to provide access to data and products through the Web. The intent is to accept proposals and sponsor projects through the information node once all infrastructure is in place. An overview of NBII was presented to a meeting of Lower Mississippi Valley partners in August. In September, a seminar will be held to familiarize NWRC research staff with NBII and the expanded information node. Staff members have attended several scientific meetings to identify stakeholders. An informational meeting is planned for October to introduce the NBII node to more U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel and USGS regional GIOs. The staff also plans a stakeholder meeting in November. A working strategic plan has been developed and a more comprehensive one with NBII headquarters will be developed in the second quarter of FY05.

Project: Science Information and Information Technology
Task: Metadata, NBII, and Spatial Database Transfer
For FY04, 40 metadata records were generated or updated for various gulf coast programs and projects (to include the Tampa Bay study, Galveston Bay wetland inventory, and brown marsh study). Assistance was provided for a number of inquires about metadata and data (25 requests for assistance), resulting in the delivery of specific coastal data sets and imagery and review of metadata records for external organizations.

Project: Science Information and Information Technology
Task: Information Science
Increased visibility and usage of library, documented by an increase in circulation of materials by 77% and Interlibrary Loan requests from staff by 21%. Increased by a quarter (from 246 to 325) the number of journal titles that Center staff can access online through online subscriptions or through bureau-wide subscriptions held by the USGS Libraries or through searching for open-access titles. Established an informal agreement with Dupre Library at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to increase shared library resources including indexes and databases. Established close contacts with other special libraries in the region including that of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, the Gulf Coast Research Lab, the Louisiana State University map library, and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality library in Baton Rouge. Developed a records management tool for Center staff to access outside agency documents to identify research needs. The NWRC librarian is a member of the USGS team that is producing a thesaurus for the USGS Enterprise team.

Project: Science Information and Information Technology
Task: Publishing
NWRC edited approximately 400 publications and produced 100 graphic products, including 4 scientific Web pages. About 100 or so total products were published in print and electronically (CD, Web), including 5 USGS series publications (2 reports and 3 fact sheets). The publishing section helped streamline the review and approval procedures for geographic information system maps that require many revisions. The Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map and Poster, produced in 2003 for USFWS and Institute of Arctic Biology, won three national awards in 2004.

Project: Science Information and Information Technology
Task: Science Information Management
Center Help Desk supported and serviced more than 350 networked workstations, servers, laptops, and printers. Resolved more than 2,000 employee computer requests successfully from October 1, 2003 to August 13, 2004. Replaced the NWRC data server with new hardware, increasing available server storage by 50%. Set up a Symantec Anti-virus server. Set up a Windows 2003 Active Directory domain for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office. Completed Windows XP Professional rollout, upgrading more than 210 computers. Combined two Windows NT 4.0 servers for SAB into one Windows 2003 Server with 2TB of network storage. Maintained Center firewalls and established new network firewalls for the Center’s annex and for offices at Gulf Breeze, Florida and Stennis, Mississippi. IT staff at NWRC is an active member of CSIRT (Computer Security Incident Response Team) and an active member of the ITSOT (Information Technology Security Operations Team) Firewall Team. NWRC’s network administrator has been placed in charge of establishing a new firewall appliance platform for all of USGS. Our network administrator has currently handled four deployments with three to come in the next 6 weeks. NWRC’s system administrator has served on the USGS Desktop Hardening Committee and the Central Region Active Directory Committee. IT has developed several personal digital assistant (PDA) applications that will support and aid the scientists in their fieldwork. IT in Lafayette is part of the BASIS+ software development. IT completed 88 software development assignments for the BASIS+ project that consisted primarily of reports and screens modules.

The IT telecommunication engineer, as the USGS biology radio officer, has processed over 55 radio/telemetry requests for the USGS Biology discipline successfully. In FY04, some telemetry requests had up to 500 frequency assignments. IT has also completed the submission of spreadsheets, DI-1s and specifications for the transitioning of voice and telemetry equipment affected by DOI narrowbanding mandate. The USGS narrowband task is a tedious coordinating effort in ensuring multimillion dollar funding is expended to radio replacements that benefit all biology centers. In addition, the NWRC telecommunications engineer is a certified technician for COAMS (Customer-Owned and Maintained Systems Program) and Northern Telecom equipment and has traveled and corrected PBX (private branch exchange) problems at other biology locations.

Invasive Species

Goal 3: Invasive Species: Monitoring-Assess changes in populations and distributions of established invaders

Project: Biological Invasions: Southeast Forests and Gulf Coastal Plain
Task: Monitoring and Modeling the Rate and Fate of Tallow Invasion in Coastal Louisiana
Forest surveys of canal spoil habitats reveal that Chinese tallow has displaced 70% of the canopy cover of native willow species, Salix nigra, since the arrival of tallow trees dated less than 30 years ago from tree rings. Frequently flooded zones of native bottomland hardwood habitat are undergoing forest decline with rapid ingrowth by tallow suppressed only by the density and dominance of palmetto. A landscape simulation model of the Barataria Preserve was developed to test the long-term fate of forest and marsh ecosystems under rising sea level.

Goal 6: Invasive Species: Determine effects of invasive species and susceptibility of habitats to invasions

Project: Biological Invasions: Southeast Forests and Gulf Coastal Plain
Task: Wetland Invaders: Life History in Native versus Invasive Environments
The invasive species in North America vs. Eurasia part of the task has succeeded in
(1.) Setting up teams of volunteers to make latitudinal comparisons of height, density, seed production and canopy coverage of Lythrum salicaria in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. At the present time, approximately 40 people have been involved in data collection. (2.) Securing USDA permits to import L. salicaria seeds from all over the world. The permits took more than a year to secure. Thus far, seeds have arrived from collaborators in Michigan, Wisconsin, Quebec, and New South Wales. The seeds will be used in a growth chamber experiment to determine the ability of L. salicaria to grow at cooler vs. hotter temperatures. Thus far, L. salicaria has only sporadically invaded the southern United States, and this study will determine if this species is likely to invade the South, as it has the northern wetlands of the North America. (3.) Set up collaborative teams of researchers and have written grant proposals to study L. salicaria ecology and genetics with Ken Systma (UW Madison), Keith Edwards (Czech Republic), Nuket Bingol and Cengiz Ture (Turkey), Joy Marburger (NPS, Indiana Dunes). (4.) An in-house study of the NWRC growth chambers to determine how to refurbish them for studies of invasive species and global climate change.

The Cornus sericea invasion of sedge meadows after cattle grazing part of the task has the following accomplishments:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is developing a plan to manage shrub invasion in the Lodi Marsh. Experimental burning was conducted in 2000. As the result of meetings with the DNR, a portion of the Lodi Marsh was burned in spring 2004. The results of the burn will be monitored, particularly regarding the effects of fire on shrub dominance.

Altogether, both of these subprojects have generated 7 papers, 1 workshop, 3 Web sites, and 8 presentations, with many more products planned in the near future. Collaborators involve Federal, State and agency personnel, and researchers from around the world (5 countries).

Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems

Goal 1: Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems: Develop indexes of ecosystem sensitivity to change and vulnerability to potential stressors, and tools to predict ecosystem responses to environmental change

Project: Genetic and Molecular Tools for Natural Resources Problem Solving: Gulf Coastal Plain
Task: Oil Spill Remediation: Factors Affecting Ecological Success and Long-term Viability of Populations Occupying Restored Marsh Habitats
Our findings indicate that restored populations of Spartina alterniflora maintain levels of genetic diversity comparable to natural populations, which should provide some measure of resistance against environmental disturbances. Overall, genetic differentiation among populations was small, and tended to increase with the geographic distance between them. We further determined that colonization, growth, and clonal morphology of S. alterniflora differ with genotype and are influenced by elevation in restored marshes.
In a separate phase of this project, we explored the hypothesis that S. alterniflora, which is characterized by small seeds with little competitive ability, will become increasingly dominated by vegetative recruitment in restored marshes following early colonization. We observed an increase in clonal diversity up to a maximum at 16 years, declining by about 50 years. Finally, we used a space-for-time substitution extending over more than a millennium to test the hypothesis that, once established, populations of S. alterniflora undergo a continuous decline in genotypic diversity because of limited seedling recruitment and gradual clone mortality. If so, then devising restoration strategies that maximize genotypic diversity may be critical to the proper functioning of restored marshes. We also tested the related prediction that genetic diversity at the population level will be maintained or even increase over time due to the competitive superiority of genetically diverse clones. Genetic diversity at the population level was consistent over the entire age range of the marshes sampled. Given the dynamic nature of wetlands, our results suggest that, under natural conditions, S. alterniflora marshes will rarely remain stable for time-spans sufficient for the development of genetic monocultures, or for the effects of inbreeding and genetic drift to pose a significant threat to population viability.

Project: Lake and Wetland Ecosystems: Ecology, Status and Trends, and Management Techniques in the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Task: Brown Marsh Collaborative Study
The Brown Marsh Data Information Management System (DIMS) was updated with new datasets and reports describing ongoing studies to determine causes and effects of the brown marsh occurrence in Louisiana. New photography and progress reports were posted. A new series of articles was posted which contains information about the response to the brown marsh phenomenon and the ongoing studies which monitor, organize and report findings about brown marsh.

Project: Lake and Wetland Ecosystems: Ecology, Status and Trends, and Management Techniques in the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Task: Wetland Restoration Ecology: Enhancing the Establishment and Persistence of Plant Communities

Data analysis for completed greenhouse studies and for the 2-year field trials were analyzed. Presentations were delivered on a comparison of sites restored using dredged materials in two different coastal regions of Louisiana.

Goal 3: Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems: Model factors controlling ecosystem patterns at various scales and develop decision support information with management options

Project: Forest and Marsh Ecology, Restoration, and Management
Task: NRPP Modeling Forest Succession and Surface Hydrology of Congaree Swamp National Monument, South Carolina
A coordination meeting of past and current research cooperators was organized and held at Congaree Swamp National Monument headquarters to discuss project objectives and integration with ongoing research activities. Recommended sampling sites and data sources were identified to set the stage for field start and project communication.

Tree-ring samples of Pinus taeda, loblolly pine, have been obtained from archived sources and processed for ring measurement. Field collections of various pine species were collected from regional sites in and beyond the park boundary for analysis of age and climatic sensitivity.

Water level gages have been installed across the floodplain and river corridor to monitor flood events. Historical water level stage and discharge data have been obtained and digitized from published sources and U.S. Geological Survey archives.

An interactive forest simulation model has been constructed with a graphic user interface that includes a species set and growth algorithms parameterized for the Congaree Swamp system. Additional subroutines will be added as field studies and GIS products are developed.

Project: Forest and Marsh Ecology, Restoration, and Management
Task: Wetland Forest Regeneration Dynamics and Productivity in the Mississippi River
The key finding of this project will be to compare the levels of carbon sequestration and other functional attributes of baldcypress swamps along a latitudinal gradient in order to make predictions of ecosystem changes in response to global climate change. Thus far, we have determined that leaf litter production levels are highest in the mid-range and lower to the North and South. This project has generated 12 journal articles/reports, 1 workshop, 3 Web sites, and 14 presentations.

Project: Forest and Marsh Ecology, Restoration, and Management
Task: Atchafalaya Basin Carbon Sequestration Spatial Analysis Research
FY04 Accomplishments: Completed the photo-interpretation and digitization of the study area. Field work will be initiated during FY05 to access the accuracy of the photo-interpretation. Waiting on completion of LIDAR data for the study area.

Project: Forest and Marsh Ecology, Restoration, and Management
Task: Evaluate Effects of Prescribed Burn and Other Management Tools on Coastal Prairie Community Dynamics and Restoration
In addition to our ongoing evaluations of vegetative changes at the Brazoria NWR Complex, we have conducted two main experiments, both relating to invasive species. In the first experiment, 10 exotic grass species have been compared to 10 native species in their requirements for colonization to see if the invaders have a unique set of requirements. In the second experiment, the impacts of grass species on native forbs have been examined to see which species might pose the greatest threat to native biota.
Presented results in informal presentations at the USFWS refuge and ecosystem team meetings.

Project: Forest and Marsh Ecology, Restoration, and Management
Task: Evaluate the Role of Wetland Forest in the Retention and Transformation of River-Borne Nutrients
(1) Greenhouse experiments demonstrated a positive response to nutrient enrichment of both baldcypress and black willow seedlings of varying degrees affected by flood and soil conditions. Marsh plugs were transplanted from field sites into a controlled greenhouse setting and treated with high and low sulfate and phosphorous loading that resulted in changes in nutrient relations and sulfide production affecting aboveground and belowground production and decomposition. (2) Water quality and plant biomass sampling of marsh sites in the Atchafalaya and Barataria basins demonstrated that similar freshwater cover types are responding differently in aboveground and belowground carbon allocation and ratios for nutrient-starved and nutrient-enriched hydrology that may explain high marsh mat degradation and dispersion in riverine controlled systems in contrast to control areas influenced primarily by rainfall. (3) Tree core samples were extracted from select species and sites for age and growth analysis to determine response to flood years and to calculate sedimentation rates. Results show significant interventions of flood events and sedimentation patterns over the last century. Growth releases corresponded with effects of Hurricane Carmen (1974) and Andrew (1992) the result of canopy disturbance and windthrow of competing neighbors. (4) Sedimentation rates were estimated based on clay pad accumulations across basin types and elevations averaging 15 mm/yr and as high as 100mm/yr depending on hydraulic connectivity of sampled sites. Soil analysis yielded an average 10% (range 1.7 - 69%) organic material, 4 % (range 0.9 - 14.3%) total carbon, and 0.3% (range 0.03 – 0.8%) total nitrogen. It is estimated that 435 million kg of organic material (175 million kg carbon) may be stored annually within the basin, suggesting an important role of lowland bottomlands in global carbon cycling.

Project: Forest and Marsh Ecology, Restoration, and Management
Task : Extent and Community Structure of Atlantic White Cedar Stands Along the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts
During FY2004 we conducted surveys to locate any additional Atlantic white cedar stands. Aerial surveys were attempted; however, Atlantic white cedar trees in known locations were not sufficiently different from surrounding vegetation to allow identification from an airplane. New stands were located through other means, such as boat surveys and contact with resource professionals. Water level gages were installed at three locations: Davis Creek on DeSoto National Forest in Forrest County, Miss.; Black Swamp on a mitigation bank in Jackson County, Miss.; and Grand Bay on Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Jackson County, Miss. Study plots were installed and measured at the Black Swamp area to examine the effects of clearing activities that are intended to enhance the Atlantic white cedar stands and increase their size. Vegetation surveys were conducted at all three stands with the assistance of botanists from the Louisiana State University herbarium. Initial considerations about adding a herpetology component to the study are being investigated. One manuscript "Locations of Atlantic white cedar in the coastal zone of Mississippi" by John W. McCoy and Bobby D. Keeland has been submitted for publication. Also, we noticed an infestation of "witches broom," a rust that alternates between Atlantic white cedar and wax myrtle. This rust has not previously been reported in Mississippi and we have already found it in two, nonadjacent counties. We are working with plant pathologists at North Carolina State University with respect to the rust infection.

Project: Restoration Techniques for Damaged or Degraded Ecosystems: Central U.S. River and Stream Ecosystems - Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Task: Adaptive Environmental Management and Restoration of Wetlands Ecosystems Improvements were identified for each of the reviewed projects but are too numerous to identify here. Some programmatic recommendations identified include (1) establish well defined goals as early as possible in the project development process and maintain them throughout the project’s evolution; (2) set targets for each of the goals but do not consider them success/failure criteria; (3) reconstitute multidisciplinary project development teams to facilitate communication over project life; (4) investigate contractor payments on beneficial use projects based on volume placed rather than amount cut; (5) operation and maintenance plans should incorporate plans for extreme weather events and additional contingency funding; (6) joint operation, maintenance, and monitoring reports should replace existing separate reports; and (7) the USGS/DNR/LSU proposed Coastwide Reference Monitoring System was identified as a necessity to conduct ecosystem-level assessments of restoration effectiveness.

Project: Science for the Conservation of Coastal and Marine Systems, Coral Reefs, and Benthic Ecosystems: Central Region
Task: Role of Halophila in Restoration of Halodule Seagrass Meadows in the Laguna Madre of Texas
The following are highlights of this research:
1. Results show dramatic changes in root production rates and patterns in response to nutrient enrichment, but the effect differs with hydroedaphic conditions.
2. Fertilization of stunted red mangrove stands with phosphorus increased surface and subsurface root production rates almost 10-fold, whereas addition of nitrogen had no effect.
3. Differences in root production were highly correlated with soil surface elevation change, indicating a tight feedback relationship between roots and elevation relative to sea level.
4. Several papers have been presented and presentations made on this work.

Project: Spatial Analysis: Biological Characterization of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Landscapes
Task: Biological and Spatial Analysis Support for Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (Breaux Act) Planning Activities
Provided proposed restoration project screening assessments for over 18 projects in 2004. Updated the comprehensive restoration project polygon database consisting of over 140 projects to include new restoration projects approved in 2003. Provided annual updated approved coastal Louisiana restoration project poster for task force members. Added an annual comprehensive wetland restoration poster depicting all known restoration projects. Enhanced oyster lease screening assessment by adding new spatial datasets and analyses as requested by partners. Provided annual oyster lease screening update to assist in identifying oyster lease conflicts with approved restoration projects and proposed projects. Completed map production for existing project fact sheets.

Classified more than 20 Landsat 5 and 7 TM scenes for coastal Louisiana ranging from 1985, 1988, 1998, 2001, and fall 2002 to supplement existing 1990, 1999, and 2002 land and water data sets. Initial classified data was used to refine multitemporal land and water trends assessments based on Landsat TM Imagery.

Project: Spatial Analysis: Biological Characterization of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Landscapes
Task: Ecological and Spatial Analysis Research for Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act Monitoring
To date, there are over 60 active CWPPRA projects. These projects have aerial photography, wetland classification, and land/water analysis. For projects that have preconstruction and postconstruction photography, maps and analysis have been completed showing wetland trends. In 2005, the program has six new projects coming on-line. With high costs and tighter deadlines, we are searching for a medium to replace photography. One option is digital images taken from aerial mounted cameras. Turnaround time is quicker, and image is preprocessed for rectification. The one offset is cost. Cost is extremely high, and pros and cons are still being considered.

USGS worked with partners in CWPPRA monitoring programs to integrate individual project comprehensive report findings into basin-level report. Preliminary drafts of those reports have been prepared.

Statistically valid monitoring plans were developed and peer-reviewed on 66 CWPPRA projects to date.

Project: Spatial Analysis: Biological Characterization of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Landscapes
Task: Application of Advanced Spatial Analysis Technologies for the Management of Natural Resources and Public Lands
Staff was selected by USGS Enterprise GIS team to support GIS questions within BRD. Conducted an ArcGIS training session for the NWRC workshop series. Provided GIS technical assistance to USFWS.

Project: Spatial Analysis: Biological Characterization of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Landscapes
Task: Davis Pond and Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Projects Monitoring Program
Photography of the areas has been scanned, rectified, and mosaicked. Currently, classification of sample areas into land and water is underway.

Project: Spatial Analysis: Biological Characterization of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Landscapes
Task: Geospatial Coordination and GIS/RS Research Support for Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Comprehensive Restoration Plan
The NWRC in FY04: (1) utilized geospatial technology to support the LCA coastal restoration team at USACE district office in New Orleans by producing 100+ maps/figures for use in the “Near-Term” LCA main report, draft programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS), and numerous other reports, (2) produced numerous datasets of the LCA near-term plan, (3) continued developing and/or enhancing key spatial applications to increase the productivity of the LCA staff, (4) completed the key ecological and spatial development and analysis for the desktop modeling effort; results were published in a separate appendix to the main report, and (5) continued review of all LCA documents associated with main report and PEIS.

Project: Spatial Analysis: Biological Characterization of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Landscapes
Task: Advanced Photo Acquisition, Mapping and Surveying Techniques and Methods Assessment
NWRC produced over 1,836 frames of photography in FY04 and provided 107 copies of wetland, seagrass, and upland maps to client agencies and individuals. We produced 155 new habitat maps and 107 DOQQ’s during the year for 19 different research and monitoring projects. We conducted seven WETMAAP (Wetland Education Through Maps And Aerial Photography) workshops for 165 teachers in Louisiana, Washington, California, Missouri, Illinois, Florida, and Costa Rica. We presented four formal oral papers and 11 poster presentations to five scientific organizations and presented four posters at one state meeting. We reviewed seven National Science Foundation Proposals and four scientific articles for academic publication. We provided 12 training workshops covering GIS, GPS, wetland photointerpretation, remote sensing, National Wetlands Inventory Classification System, wetland forest trees, and hydric soils for over 100 participants from various Federal, State, and local agencies and universities, companies, or individuals. We had seven projects on U. S. Fish and Wildlife refuges and on two National Park Service parks and one on tribal lands. Our projects were located in the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Montana, Texas, and Virginia. We have provided technical consultations for the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Park Service, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Army Corps of Engineers, and to other disciplines within USGS. Assistance we have provided of some note includes providing accuracy assessment guidance for submerged aquatic vegetation identification to NASA in the State of Washington; copying and scanning aerial photography for NASA Ames, California; completing Hurricane Mitch mapping project of Honduras for USAID; participating in a CARTA workshop for NASA in Costa Rica; and providing GPS assistance for ground support of debris recovery and 4 weeks of photointerpretation of the Columbia Space Shuttle debris field for NASA. We supplied GIS technical personnel to help locate debris in east Texas. Images were acquired from National Technical Means data and are undergoing evaluation for Hurricane Lili impacts, brown marsh effects, and shoreline delineation.

Project: Spatial Analysis: Biological Characterization of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Landscapes
Task: Develop Advanced Spatial Analysis Technologies and Support
Collaborated with EPA on their second coastal condition report. Made several presentations and gave poster sessions on progress.

Goal 5: Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems: Quantify and understand factors influencing patterns of temporary and spatial variability in key ecosystem components

Project: Inventory and Monitoring of Species and Habitats with Special Emphasis on DOI Lands in the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Task: Remote Sensing as an Integrated Approach to Monitoring Vulnerabilities and Predicting Changes in Wetlands
In FY04, we initiated new projects and continued development of remote sensing mapping techniques and models in support of resource management, policy development and enforcement, and public information. (1) Argentina proposal: The combined University of Buenos Aires and USGS/NWRC proposal was completed. The proposed project will map the secondary succession of the riparian forest types occupying levees in an accreting delta system, the Parana River Delta in coastal Argentina. Hyperspectral image data and new remote sensing techniques will be applied to map the complex mix of forest types defining the different succession stages. (2) NOAA C-CAP mapping: The coastal Louisiana classification based on C-CAP protocols, completed in FY03, was reviewed and accepted by the U.S. National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and added to their C-CAP National Map. Our coastal mapping covered the years of 1990, 1993, 1996, and 1999 for eastern Louisiana for the central and western Louisiana, and 1999 for eastern Louisiana and the Mississippi River Delta. (3) Mid-Continent Mapping Center collaboration: Two courses covering remote sensing and image analysis were conducted at MCMC. The courses included lectures, project design, and practical application/use of hyperspectral data. A pilot study examining the use of hyperspectral leaf and canopy spectra to detect and map oak decline was completed. An expanded study was undertaken based on the pilot study results. (4) Venture Capital: Radar collection and post processing, paired interferometric collection and processing, high altitude photography collection and processing, biomass collection and processing, and water level collection and processing was completed. The final report is in progress. (5) Marsh Dieback: All analyses were competed and summarized. A final report was submitted and accepted. The methods and results of the marsh dieback remote sensing study, report on leaf optical properties was accepted after review and response and is in press in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. A second manuscript covering the canopy analyses was completed and submitted for publication in the Journal of Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing. That manuscript is in second revision following PE&RS reviewer’s comments. (6) Mapping Invasive Species: Our study as part of the NASA Science Validation Team for the newly developed hyperspectral Hyperion sensor on board the recently launched EO1 SatelliteMap was completed. Our study developed new methods to map low percent occurrences (a small number of trees) of Chinese tallow in mixed landscapes with a moderate spatial resolution (~30-m) allowing regional mapping but detection of subtle differences within the 30-m spatial resolution. Our methods and findings were documented in a report submitted to and accepted by NASA. Three manuscripts detailing our new methods and findings were submitted to the International Journal of Remote Sensing. (7) NPS mapping: the current and historic classification of the Palo Alto National Historic Site. (8) Our proposal to the USGS Global Climate Change (GCC) review committee covering coastal monitoring in collaboration with different research groups was written and submitted. The proposed purpose was to better link causes to coastal change by comparing landscape changes from the 1950’s to 2003, including subsidence in conjunction with exploration activities. The proposal was not funded. (9) Published new information on the optical properties of narrow and cylindrical leaves in the IEEE Journal of GeoSciences and Remote Sensing. (10) Published a book chapter on the measurement and monitoring of grassland canopies in support of remote sensing mapping and monitoring.

Project: Inventory and Monitoring of Species and Habitats with Special Emphasis on DOI Lands in the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Task: South Florida Ecosystem/Across Tropic Systems Simulation Decision Support System
Developed an ATLSS DVS Web site. Conducted one workshop in the usage of the ATLSS DVS system for the USFWS in Vero Beach, Florida.

Project: Inventory and Monitoring of Species and Habitats with Special Emphasis on DOI Lands in the Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast Ecosystems
Task: Advanced Electronic Technologies Applied to Natural Resources Management and Research
During FY04, several successful video flights were flown. Data from the flight were developed into usable information that led to multiple manuscripts. Presentations from the flights resulted in additional reimbursable funding for FY04 activities.

Project: Science for the Conservation of Coastal and Marine Systems, Coral Reefs, and Benthic Ecosystems: Central Region
Task: Biogenic Accretion Through Surface Root Production in Coastal Wetlands and Implications for Elevation Change Relative to Sea-Level Rise
Continued measurements of elevation change, vertical accretion, and contributions of root production to these processes at sites in Belize and Florida, analyzing data, and preparing manuscripts: (1) McKee, K.L., D.R. Cahoon, T.E. McGinnis, and P. Hensel. Impacts of Hurricane Mitch on soil stratigraphy, vertical accretion, and elevation change in autogenic vs. allogenic mangrove forests of Honduras, and (2) McKee, K.L. Biotic processes influencing sedimentation and vertical accretion in mangrove forests. Also presented findings at the 7th INTECOL Wetlands Conference in Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Project: Science for the Conservation of Coastal and Marine Systems, Coral Reefs, and Benthic Ecosystems: Central Region
Task: Biocomplexity: Collaborative Research: Microbial and Nutrient Controls in Mangrove Ecosystems
(1) Invited Lecture, "Mangrove Ecosystems: Definitions, Distribution, and Ecology," Biology Department, Louisiana State University, Tropical Plant Ecology, November 11, 2003.
(2) Invited Seminar, “Nutrient Controls on a Biogenic Mangrove Ecosystem: Peat Formation, Elevation Change, and Habitat Stability,” Biology Dept., University of New Orleans, October 13, 2003.
(3) Invited Seminar, “Nutrient Controls on a Biogenic Mangrove Ecosystem: Root Dynamics, Peat Formation, and Elevation Change,” Women in the Curriculum Program Distinguished Speaker Series, University of Maine, October 17, 2003
(4) Began developing nature trails and boardwalks in Belize to promote public understanding of mangrove ecosystems.
(4) Publication of at least four papers on mangroves.

Wildlife and Terrestrial Resources

Goal 3: Develop tools such as predictive models, decision support, and expert systems for science-based management of wildlife and plant populations and their habitats

Project : Application of Landscape and Population Ecology to Avian Species in the Gulf Coast and Southeastern U.S.
Task: Avian Migration Ecology in the Gulf Coast Region
Seventy-six foods regularly eaten by neotropical migratory birds have been collected. For all collected samples, physical measures, such as length and mass have been recorded. Nutritional measures including gross energy, percent water, percent ash, mineral composition, and sugar concentrations have been completed for additional samples. Lipid extractions have been completed and methodology for fatty acid determination is being developed. Nine lesser yellowlegs were collected during stopover in Louisiana ricefields. Lipid depots will be excised, weighed, and analyzed for fatty acid composition.

Project : Application of Landscape and Population Ecology to Avian Species in the Gulf Coast and Southeastern U.S.
Task: Bird Habitat Relations for Columbia Bottoms
Forty-one point count stations have been established (marked in field and with GPS coordinates) to create an avian monitoring site at an old-growth coastal live oak forest remnant in Brazoria County, Texas. Five years of point counts have been completed for the wintering and breeding seasons. Vegetation sampling at each of the 41 point count stations has been completed.

Project: Biological Invasions: Southeast Forests and Gulf Coastal Plain
Task: Assessment of Nutria Herbivory Impacts
We have developed a new type of enclosure design that significantly reduces the labor involved in constructing large enclosures on the marsh and is both removable and reusable. We have successfully tested a new method of attaching transmitters to nutria (on the tail). We have completed the initial development of the spatially explicit model. We are now debugging it and working on simulations.
Results from winter experiment indicate that we can predict nutria densities using scat and feeding sign.

Project: Nutria Modeling, Management and Eradication Research
Task: Assessing Nutria Impacts on Marsh Loss and the Impact of Control and Eradication Efforts on Marsh Conservation and Restoration
(1) A new method of building enclosures was developed for this project. This method has low impact on floating marsh, is modular, and reusable.
(2) We have demonstrated that nutria population densities can be estimated by using a combination of trail sign types and frequency over a 20-m transect.
(3) Densities at which nutria impact the marsh are higher than we expected.

Award Highlights

Center Director Bob Stewart was named Professional Conservationist of the Year by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation in recognition for, according to the Federation, “developing and guiding the nation’s premiere wetlands research facility and lending its expertise to better understand and preserve wetland resources.”

Center Director Bob Stewart was a recipient of a Gulf Guardian Award in the individual category for his leadership and scientific contributions to coastal wetland conservation and protection in the Gulf Coast region during the past 30 years.

Beth Middleton received the Society of Wetland Scientists’ Merit award at its 2004 meeting in Seattle. She was recognized for her two books, Wetlands Restoration, Flood Pulsing and Disturbance Dynamics and Flood Pulsing in Wetlands: Restoring the Natural Hydrological Balance.

Coastal America, a consortium of 13 Federal agencies and numerous State and nongovernmental partnerships, chose the Task Force of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA; also known as the Breaux Act) to receive the 2004 Coastal America Partnership Award. USGS scientists Jimmy Johnston, Greg Steyer, and Scott Wilson and USGS contractor Gabrielle Bodin, who serves as Outreach Coordinator for the Breaux Act Task Force, were honored for their outstanding efforts to restore and protect the coastal environment of Louisiana.

Jill Jenkins received an award from the J.M. Malone Catfish Fingerling, Co., Arkansas, August 2004, for research applicable to aquaculture industries.

Jill Jenkins served on the graduate committee for Ph.D. student William Rittenhouse Wayman, whose dissertation received the LSU Distinguished Dissertation Award in Science, Engineering, and Technology.

The Center’s publishing staff (Tammy Charron, Natalie Trahan, Beth Vairin, Sue Lauritzen, and Rhonda Davis) received three national awards for Circumpolar Arctic Vegetation Map and Poster: an Apex 2004 award for publication excellence from Communications Concepts; a second place award for special projects as well as an award of excellence in the individual map category from the National Association of Government Communicator’s Blue and Gold Screen awards program. The poster and map were partnership products with the Institute of Arctic Biology and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Assistant Secretary of Transportation Policy, U.S. Department of Transportation, presented the 2004 Coastal America Partnership Award to a coalition of 16 local, State, Federal, and private organizations who worked on the Cameron Creole Watershed-Marsh Terracing Project in Louisiana. Steve Hartley received an award for the habitat change maps that he produced for the project.

Clint Padgett received a certificate of appreciation from Brigadier General Don Riley, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer’s Mississippi Valley Division, for his contributions to the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Comprehensive Coastwide Ecosystem Restoration Study.

Alaina Owens, a Master’s student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, working with adjunct faculty and USGS scientists Jim Grace and Ed Proffitt, received an award of honorable mention from the Society of Wetland Scientists for the second greatest number of points given for a student presentation during the group’s annual meeting. Owens’ “Survival, re-growth and recruitment of Iva frutescens in a restored saline wetland following fire and vegetation clipping” was one of more than 150 student papers presented.

Leslie Holland received an award from the City of Lafayette Chamber of Commerce for her participation in Leadership Lafayette Class XVIII.

Gaye Farris received two awards from the National Association of Government Communicators for her work as national president from December 2000 to February 2004.

National Wetlands Research Center FY04 Publications

Refereed Publications (25)

Ashby, S.L., Faulkner, S.P., Gambrell, R.P., and Smith, B.A., 2004, Assessing iron dynamics in the release from a stratified reservoir: Lake and Reservoir Management, v. 20, no. 1, p. 65-75.

Brandon, A.L., Gibson, D.J., and Middleton, B.A., In press, Mechanisms for dominance in an early old field by the invasive exotic Lespedeza cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don: Biological Invasions.

Brooks, M.L., D’Antonio, C.M, Richardson, D.M., Grace, J.B., Keeley, J.E., DiTomaso, J.M., Hobbs, R.J., Pellant, M., and Pyke, D., 2004, Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes: BioScience, v. 54, no. 7, p. 677-688.

Cahoon, D.R., Hensel, P., Rybczyk, J., McKee, K.L., Proffitt, C.E., and Perez, B.C., 2003, Mass tree mortality leads to mangrove peat collapse at Bay Islands, Honduras after Hurricane Mitch: Journal of Ecology, v. 91, no. 6, p. 1093-1105.

C·rdenas, W., Dankert, J.R., and Jenkins, J.A., 2004, Flow cytometric analysis of crayfish haemocytes activated by lipopolysaccharides: Fish and Shellfish Immunology, v. 17, no. 3, p. 223-233.

Coronado-Molina, C., Day, J.W., Reyes, E., and Perez, B.C., 2004, Standing crop and aboveground biomass partitioning of a dwarf mangrove forest in Taylor River Slough, Florida: Wetlands Ecology and Management, v. 12, no. 3, p. 157-164.

Faulkner, S.P., 2004, Introduction: wetlands in urban watersheds: Urban Ecosystems, v. 7, p. 87-88.

Faulkner, S.P., 2004, Urbanization impacts on the structure and function of forested weltands: Urban Ecosystems, v. 7, p. 89-106.

Gauthier, J.D., Jenkins, J.A., and LaPeyre, J.F., 2004, Flow cytometric analysis of lectin binding to in vitro-cultured Perkinsus marinus surface carbohydrates: Journal of Parasitology, v. 90, no. 3, p. 446-454.

Krauss, K.W., and Allen, J.A., 2003, Influences of salinity and shade on seedling photosynthesis and growth of two mangrove species, Rhizophora mangle and Bruguiera sexangula, introduced to Hawaii: Aquatic Botany, v. 77, p. 311-324.

Larson, D.L., and Grace, J.B., 2004, Temporal dynamics of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) and two species of flea beetles (Aphthona spp.) used as biological control agents: Biological Control, v. 29, p. 207-214.

Lewison, R.L., and Carter, J., 2004, Exploring behavior of an unusual megaherbivore: a spatially explicit foraging model of the hippopotamus: Ecological Modelling, v. 171, p. 127-138.

Lovelock, C.E., Feller, I.C., McKee, K.L., Engelbrecht, B.M.J., and Ball, M.C., 2004, The effect of nutrient enrichment on growth, photosynthesis and hydraulic conductance of dwarf mangroves in Panama: Functional Ecology, v. 18, no. 1, p. 25-33.

McKee, K.L., Mendelssohn, I.A., and Materne, M.D., 2004, Acute salt marsh dieback in the Mississippi River deltaic plain: a drought-induced phenomenon? Global Ecology and Biogeography, v. 13, p. 65-73.

Middleton, B.A., and McKee, K.L., In press, Primary production in an impounded baldcypress swamp at the northern limit of the range: Wetlands Ecology and Management.

Middleton, B.A., and McKee, K.L., 2004, Use of a latitudinal gradient in bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) production to examine physiological controls of biotic boundaries and potential responses to environmental change: Global Ecology and Biogeography, v. 13, p. 247-258.

Ramsey, E.W., III, and Rangoonwala, A., 2004, Remote sensing and the optical properties of the narrow cylindrical leaves of Juncus roemerianus: IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, v. 42, no. 5, p. 1064-1075.

Ritland, K., and Travis, S., 2004, Inferences involving individual coefficients of relatedness and inbreeding in natural populations of Abies: Forest Ecology and Management, v. 197, p. 171-180.

Sengupta, R., Middleton, B., Yan, C., Zuro, M. and Hartman, H., In press, Propagule deposition and landscape characteristics of source forests of Rhizophora mangle in coastal landscapes in Florida: Landscape Ecology.

Spyreas, G., Gibson, D.J. and Middleton, B.A., 2001, Effects of endophyte infection in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea—Poaceae) on community diversity: International Journal of Plant Science, v. 162, p. 1237-1245.

Taylor, J. and Middleton, B.A., 2004, Comparison of litter decomposition in a natural versus coal-slurry pond reclaimed as a wetland: Land Degradation and Development, v. 15, p. 439-446.

Travis, S.E., Proffitt, C.E., and Ritland, K., 2004, Population structure and inbreeding vary with successional stage in created Spartina alterniflora marshes: Ecological Applications, v. 14, no. 4, p. 1189-1202.

Ture, C., Akanil Bingol, N., and Middleton, B.A, 2004, Characterization of the gap environment of Lythrum salicaria L. and its relationship to seed production and stem height along arid rivers dominated by Populus alba L. in Turkey: Wetlands, v. 24, p. 619-637.

Ullah, S., Breitenbec, G.A., and Faulkner, S.P., In press, Denitrification and N2O emission from forested and cultivated alluvial clay soil: Biogeochemistry.

Weiher, E., Forbes, S., Schauwecker, T., and Grace, J.B., 2004, Multivariate control of plant species richness and community biomass in blackland prairie: OIKOS, v. 106, p. 151-157.

Books and Book Chapters (11)

Brinson, M., Bedford, B., Middleton, B., and Verhoeven, J., In press, Temperate freshwater wetlands, in Polunin, N., editor, Environmental Future of Freshwater and Marine Ecosystems: Cambridge University Press.

Doyle, T.W., Day, R.H., and Biagas, J.M., 2003, Predicting coastal retreat in the Florida Big Bend region of the gulf coast under climate change induced sea-level rise, in Ning, Z.H., Turner, R.E., Doyle, T., and Abdollahi, K., eds., Integrated Assessment of the Climate Change Impacts on the Gulf Coast Region: Baton Rouge, La., GRCCC and LSU Graphic Services, p. 201-209.

Doyle, T.W., Girod, G.F., and Books, M.A., 2003, Modeling mangrove forest migration along the southwest coast of Florida under climate change, in Ning, Z.H., Turner, R.E., Doyle, T., and Abdollahi, K., eds., Integrated Assessment of the Climate Change Impacts on the Gulf Coast Region: Baton Rouge, La., GRCCC and LSU Graphic Services, p. 211-221.

Faulkner, S., 2004, Soils and sediment: understanding wetland biogeochemisty, in Spray, S.L., and McGlothlin, K.L., eds., Exploring Environmental Challenges, A Multidisciplinary Approach, Wetlands: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., p. 30-54.

Michot, T.C., Jeske, C.W., Vermillion, W., Mazourek, J., and Kemmerer, S., In press, Atlas and Census of Wading Bird and Seabird Nesting Colonies in South Louisiana, 2001: BTNEP Report No. 32.

Michot, T.C., and Woodin, M.C., In press, Redhead (Aythya americana), in Kear, J., ed.: Bird Families of the World: Ducks, Geese, Swans and Screamers: Oxford University Press, U.K.

Middleton, B.A., In press, Biodiversity Conservation Through the Reengineering of Flood Pulse in Natural and Restored Wetlands in India: India Water Works Society, Pune, India.

Nickum, J.G., Bart, H.L., Jr., Bowser, P.R., Greer, I.E., Hubbs, C., Jenkins, J.A., MacMillan, J.R., Rachlin, J.W., Rose, J.D., Sorensen, P.W., and Tomasso, J.R., 2004, Guidelines for the Use of Fishes in Research: Bethesda, Md., American Fisheries Society. Also available at http://www.fisheries.org/html/Public_Affairs/Sound_Science/Guidelines2004.shtml.

Ning, Z.H., Turner, R.E., Doyle, T., and Abdollahi, K., 2003, Integrated Assessment of the Climate Change Impacts on the Gulf Coast Region: Baton Rouge, La., GRCCC and LSU Graphic Services, 236 p.

Ning, Z.H., Turner, R.E., Doyle, T., and Abdollahi, K., 2003, Preparing for a Changing Climate, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change, Findings of the Gulf Coast Regional Assessment: Baton Rouge, La., GCRCC and LSU Graphic Services, 80 p.

Ramsey, E.W., III, Nelson, G., Baarnes, F., and Spell, R., 2004, Light attenuation profiling as an indicator of structural changes in coastal marshes, in Lunetta, R.S., and Lyon, J.G., eds., Remote Sensing and GIS Accuracy Assessment: New York, CRC Publishing, p. 59-73.

Other Peer Reviewed Publications (16)

Barko, V.A., Burke, B.A., Gibson, D.J., and Middleton, B.A., 2004, Seedling growth of Wisconsin fast plants (Brassica rapa) in field environments: TIEE—Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology, v. 1, available at http://tiee.ecoed.net/vol/v1/toc.html.

Brasseaux, C.A., Hoese, H.D., and Michot, T.C., 2004, Pioneer amateur naturalist Louis Judice: observations on the fauna, flora, geography, and agriculture of the Bayou LaFourche Region, Louisiana, 1772-1786: Louisiana History, v. 45, no. 1, p. 71-103.

Burkett, V.R., 2004, Potential impacts of climate change and variability on transportation in the Gulf Coast/Mississippi Delta region, in The Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Transportation, The DOT Center for Climate Change and Environmental Forecasting workshop, October 1-2, 2002: U.S. Department of Transportation, p. 1-11.

Carter, J., 2004, Worldwide distribution, spread of, and efforts to eradicate the nutria (Myocastor coypus): Lafayette, La., U.S. Geological Survey, http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/special/nutria/index.htm.

Craig, J.M., Jenkins, J.A., and Nichols, S.J., In press, Baseline body morphology and blood cell data from lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, from lower Lake Huron, in Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Fisheries Society, August 22-26, 2004, 1 p.

Giraldo, A.M., Jenkins, J.A., and Bondioli, K.R., Dresser, B.L., and Pope, C.E., In press, Inhibition of apoptosis in rusty-spotted cat fibroblasts in serum-starved media, in Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Environmental Research Consortium of Louisiana, October 2004, 1 p.

Grace, J.B., Allain, L., Baldwin, H., Billock, A., Eddleman, W., Given, A., Jeske, C., and Moss, R. In press. An Assessment of Prescribed Fire Effects at the Texas Midcoast Wildlife Refuge Complex, USGS Open File Report 2004-XXXX.

Jenkins, J.A., In press, Fish bioindicators of ecosystem condition at the Calcasieu Estuary, Louisiana, USGS Open File Report 2004-1323

Keeland, B.D., McCoy, J.W., and Otton, J.K., In press, Effects of produced water and hydrocarbon releases on vegetation at site A of the Osage-Skiatook petroleum environmental research project, Osage, County, Oklahoma, in Proceedings of the International Petroleum Environmental Conference, November 11-14, 2003, Houston, Tex.

McCoy, J.W., and Keeland, B.D., In press, Status of Atlantic white cedar in the coastal zone of Alabama and Mississippi, in Proceedings of the Atlantic White Cedar Management and Restoration Ecology Symposium, Uniting Forces for Action, June 2-4, 2003, Millersville, Md.

McCoy, J.W., Keeland, B.D., and Wharton, K., In press, Survival and growth of bottomland hardwood seedlings and natural woody invaders near forest edges, in Proceedings of the 12th Biennial Southern Silvicultural Research Conference, February 2003, Biloxi, Miss.

Michot, T., and Jeske, C., 2004, Gulf Coast states wood stork tracking project: Louisiana Ornithological Society Newsletter, April 2004, no. 204, p. 3.

Michot, T.C, and Wells, C.J., 2004, Prehurricane survey of barrier islands (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama): Lafayette, La., U.S. Geological Survey, http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/hurricane/prehurricane-survey-2004.htm.

Middleton, B., 2004, Purple loosestrife volunteers web pages: Lafayette, La., U.S. Geological Survey, http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/special/purplel/index.htm.

Middleton, B., Ture, C., and Bingol, N.A., 2004, Invasive plant species of North America that are native to Turkey: Lafayette, La., U.S. Geological Survey, http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/invasive_species/invasiveplants.htm.

Pitre, J., and Allain, L., 2003, Lost and found: Louisiana’s coastal prairies: Birdscapes, p. 14-17.

Published Reviews (2)

Middleton, B.A., and Grace, J.B., In press, Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning—synthesis and perspectives [book review], Restoration Ecology.

Proffitt, E., 2004, Handbook of ecological restoration [book review]: Restoration Ecology, v. 12, no. 1, p. 143-144.

Published Abstracts (23)

Boustany, R.G., 2004, Hydrologic management for restoration of a eutrophic lake – a case study of Lake Martin, Louisiana [abs.], in Charting the Future: A Quarter Century of Lessons Learned, 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Seattle, Wash., July 18-23, 2004: Seattle, Wash., p. 217.

Carter, J., 2004, Review of the current status of nutria (Myocastor coypus) management and research [abs.], in Charting the Future: A Quarter Century of Lessons Learned, 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Seattle, Wash., July 18-23, 2004: Seattle, Wash., p. 150.

Carter, J., and Norling, D., 2004, Researchers without borders: what you should know about health related issues before you go! [abs.], in Lessons of Lewis and Clark, Ecological Exploration of Inhabited Landscapes, 89th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Portland, Ore., August 1-6, 2004: Portland, Ore., p. P-66.

Faulkner, S.P., and Ullah, S., 2004, Restoration of carbon sequestration, water quality, and ecosystem services in the Lower Mississippi Valley [abs.], in 7th Intecol International Wetlands Conference, July 25-30, Utrecht, The Netherlands, p. 95.

Faulkner, S.P., and Ullah, S., 2004, Restoration of carbon storage and water quality functions in riparian forests of the Lower Mississippi River Valley [abs.], in AWRA Summer Specialty Conference, Riparian Ecosystems and Buffers: Multi-scale Structure, Function, and Management, June 28-30, 2004, Olympic Valley, Calif.

Faulkner, S.P., Ullah, S., and Yu, K., 2004, Carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions in forested weltands of the Lower Mississippi River Valley [abs.], in Third Annual Conference on Carbon Capture and Sequestration, May 3-6, 2004, Alexandria, Va.

Grace, J., and Scheiner, S., 2004, An overview of structural equation modeling and path analysis [abs.], in Lessons of Lewis and Clark, Ecological Exploration of Inhabited Landscapes, 89th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Portland, Ore., August 1-6, 2004: Ecological Society of America, Portland, Ore., p. P-56.

Howard, R.J., Olney, T., and Perez, B., 2004, Soil elevation change in a brackish marsh restored with dredged material [abs.], in Charting the Future: A Quarter Century of Lessons Learned, 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Seattle, Wash., July 18-23, 2004: Seattle, Wash., p. 106.

Hoyer, E.W., Middleton, B.A., and Gibson, D.J., 2004, Wetland soil characteristics in restored floodplain forests [abs.], in Charting the Future: A Quarter Century of Lessons Learned, 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Seattle, Wash., July 18-23, 2004: Seattle, Wash., p. 162.

King, E., Herrick, J., and Carter, J., 2004, Ecological theory and rangeland sustainability: local strategies, global solutions [abs.], in Lessons of Lewis and Clark, Ecological Exploration of Inhabited Landscapes, 89th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Portland, Ore., August 1-6, 2004: Portland, Ore., p. P-34.

McKee, K., Mendelssohn, I.A., and Materne, M.D., 2004, Acute salt marsh dieback in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain: survey of multiple sites in Barataria and Terrebonne basins [abs.], in Marsh Dieback Workshop, February 2-3, 2004, Savannah, Ga., available at http://www.marsci.uga.edu/coastalcouncil/samplesummary.htm.

Michot, T.C., and Kemmerer, R.S., 2004, Plant and soil characterizations in a Spartina alterniflora saltmarsh experiencing dieback in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, USA [abs.], in Marsh Dieback Workshop, February 2-3, 2004, Savannah, Ga., available at http://www.marsci.uga.edu/coastalcouncil/samplesummary.htm.

Michot, T.C., Wells, C.J., and Kemmerer, R.S., 2004, Spatial and temporal distribution of coastal marsh dieback in Louisiana, 2000-2002, as determined from aerial surveys [abs.], in Marsh Dieback Workshop, February 2-3, 2004, Savannah, Ga., available at http://www.marsci.uga.edu/coastalcouncil/samplesummary.htm.

Middleton, B.A., 2004, Latitudinal variation in height and seed set of purple loosestrife in Eurasia vs. North America: volunteer program for purple loosestrife research [abs.], in Charting the Future: A Quarter Century of Lessons Learned, 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Seattle, Wash., July 18-23, 2004: Seattle, Wash., p. 197.

Middleton, B.A., and Stevens, M.L., 2004, Capacity building in the Iraqi scientific community – internet courses on the Mesopotamian marshes for Iraqi women [abs.], in Charting the Future: A Quarter Century of Lessons Learned, 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Seattle, Wash., July 18-23, 2004: Seattle, Wash., p. 169.

Middleton, B.A., and van Diggelen, R., In press, Global issues in fen/sedge meadow research, management and biodiversity maintenance: an overview and Wisconsin perspective [abs.], in 7th Intecol International Wetlands Conference, July 25-30, Utrecht, The Netherlands, p. ?.

Middleton, B.A., and Wu, X.B., 2004, Regional patterns in seedbanks of baldcypress swamps along the Cache River and influence of human disturbances [abs.], in Charting the Future: A Quarter Century of Lessons Learned, 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, Seattle, Wash., July 18-23, 2004: Seattle, Wash., p. 197.

Padgett, C., Johnston, J., Hartley, S., Barras, J., Steyer, G., and Linscomb, G., 2004, Pontchartrain basin coastal land and marsh vegetative type trends [abs], in Basics of the Basin 7th Biennial Research Symposium organized by The Pontchartrain Research Committee, New Orleans, La., May 20-21, p. 36.

Padgett, W.C., Johnston, J.B., Barras, J., and Hartley, S., 2004, Planning coastwide restoration in Louisiana with GIS and predicted models [abs], in ESRI International User Conference 2004, San Diego, Calif., August 9-13, p. 123.

Travis, S. E., 2004, Genetic structure of native and restored populations of Spartina alterniflora in Louisiana and its implications for salt marsh restoration [abs.], in Joint Training of CWPPRA Workgroups: advancing plant science and application technology in Louisiana coastal restoration, Section 4, Baton Rouge, La.

Travis, S., Baggs, J., and Maschinski, J., 2004, The ghost of hybridization past: Characterizing the threat of genetic assimilation in the endangered Arizona cliffrose [abs.], in SCB 2004: 18th Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, July 30-August 2, New York, N.Y., available at http://eiwall.ei.columbia.edu/cerc/contributed.php?grouptag=CO15#TOP.

Ture, C., Akanil Bingol, N., and Middleton, B.A., In press, Growth and development of Lythrum salicaria L. In different biogeographical regions of Turkey [abs.], in 7th Intecol International Wetlands Conference, July 25-30, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Ullah, S., Faulkner, S.P., and Breitenbeck, G.A., 2004, Denitrification and greenhouse gas emissions from sultivated and forested clay soil, Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley [abs.], in 7th Intecol International Wetlands Conference, July 25-30, 2004, Utrecht, The Netherlands, p. 326.

Management Reports (20)

Allain, L., 2004, WRP prairie restoration annual report (to USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service), 4 p.

Carter, J., and Biagas, J., 2004, Aquatic invasive research and researcher priorities in Louisiana (to Gulf Coast ANS Research Working Group), 12 p.

Habib, E., Rivera-Monroy, V.H., Visser, J.M., Steyer, G.D., Twilley, R.R., Swenson, E., Rose, K.A., Justic, D., Nuttle, W., and Hyfield, E., 2004, Louisiana Coastal Area ecosystem model, uncertainties and limitations, in Twilley, R.R., ed.: LCA Ecosystem Restoration Study, Appendix C, p. 219-246.

Hawes, S., Reed, D., Carloss, M., Clarain, E., Ettinger, J., Grouchy, C., Haase, B., Llewellyn, D., Roy, K., Sasser, C., and Steyer, G.D., 2004, Louisiana Coastal Area benefits assessment protocols, in Twilley, R.R., ed.: LCA Ecosystem Restoration Study, Appendix C, p. 207-218.

Jenkins, J.A., 2004 Alligator serum and phagocytosis of beads (to Crocodile Specialists Group of the International Union of Conservationists, Australia).

Jenkins, J.A., 2004, DNA integrity and genome size of lake sturgeon blood cell nuclei analyzed by flow cytometry in FY 2004 (to USGS Great Lakes Science Center), 20 p.

Jenkins, J.A., In press, Flow cytometrically determined ploidy values of cells from eyes of black carp Mylophyaryngodon piceus (to Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries), 7 p.

McCorquodale, A., Mashriqui, H., Reed, D., Reyes, E., Day, J., Georgiou, I., Visser, J., Kemp, P., Stutts, V., Foret, J., Swenson, E., Steyer, G., Meselhe, E., and Wilson, C., 2004, Effects of river diversion projects using a “pulsing” scenario of proposed alternatives based on both simulation and box modeling approaches, final report to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, 74 p.

McCoy, J., 2004, Lower Wilcox Environmental assessment survey (to USGS Energy Division), 16 p.

Michot, T.C., Kemmerer, R.S., and Reiser, J.J., 2004, Plant and soil characterizations in a Spartina alterniflora saltmarsh experiencing dieback in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, USA (to Louisiana Department of Natural Resources), 37 p.

Michot, T.C., Wells, C., and Kemmerer, R.S., 2003, Spatial and temporal distribution of coastal marsh dieback in Louisiana, 2000-2002, as determined from aerial surveys (to Louisiana Department of Natural Resources), 70 p.

Perez, B.C., and Cahoon, D.R., 2004, Marsh vertical accretion and elevation change in hydrologically managed and unmanaged marshes within the McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge, Texas (to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), 13 p.

Ramsey III, E.W., Lu, Z., Nelson, G., Barnes, F., Hakobyan, M., Oh-ig, K., Rangoonwala, A., and Sapkota, S., 2004, Imaging RADAR applied to characterizing vegetation type and structure and detecting and monitoring flood frequency and depth in coastal ecosystems (to USGS Headquarters), 82 p.

Ramsey, E.W., III, Nelson, G., Baarnes, F., and Spell, R., 2003, Light attenuation profiling as an indicator of structural changes in coastal marshes, in Lunetta, R., and Lyon, J., ed.: Geospatial Data Accuracy Assessment, EPA/600/R-03/064, p. 67-86.

Raynie, R.C., Steyer, G.D., and Twilley, R.R., 2004, Louisiana Coastal Area ecosystem model, modeling and monitoring, in Twilley, R.R., ed.: LCA Ecosystem Restoration Study, Appendix C, p 257-260.

Steyer, G.D. Visser, J.M., Good, B., Nestler, J.M., Nuttle, W., Reed, D., Rivera-Monroy, V., Rose, K.A., and Twilley, RR., 2004, Adaptive environmental assessment and management: a draft framework, Final report to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, 28 p.

Steyer, G.D., Visser, J.M., and Twilley, R.R., 2004, Louisiana Coastal Area ecosystem model, model evaluation based on simulations of a virtual basin, in Twilley, R.R., ed.: LCA Ecosystem Restoration Study, Appendix C, p. 247-256.

Swarzenski, C.M., Perez, B.C., Faulkner, S.P., Gambrell, R., Michot, T.C., Cahoon, D.R., 2004, A field investigation into causes and potential consequences of widespread salt marsh dieback in coastal Louisiana in 2000 (to Louisiana Department of Natural Resources), 122 p.

Visser, J.M., Reed, D., Steyer, G.D., Callaway, J., Swenson, E.M., Suir, G.M., and Suhayda, J., 2004, Louisiana Coastal Area wetland nourishment module, in Twilley, R.R., ed.: LCA Ecosystem Restoration Study, Appendix C., p. 135-147.

Visser, J.M., Steyer, G.D., Shaffer, G.P., Hoeppner, S.S., Hester, M.W., Reyes, E., Keddy, P., Mendelssohn, I.A., Sasser, C.E., and Swarzenski, C., 2004, Louisiana Coastal Area habitat switching module, in Twilley R.R., ed.: LCA Ecosystem Restoration Study, Appendix C, p. 148-165.

USGS Fact Sheets (3)

Middleton, B., 2004, Cattle grazing and its long-term effects on sedge meadows: USGS FS-2004-3027, available at http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/factshts/2004-3027.pdf.

Middleton, B., 2004, Purple loosestrife volunteers: USGS FS-2004-3040, available at http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/factshts/2004-3040.pdf.

Middleton, B., and McKee, K., 2004, Latitudinal variation in carbon storage can help predict changes in swamps affected by global warming: USGS FS-2004-3019, available at http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/factshts/2004-3019.pdf.

Miscellaneous Publications (2)

Brooks, M.L., Grace, J.B., Keeley, J.E., and Pyke, D.A., 2004, Effects of invasive alien plants on fire regimes: U.S. Geological Survey Publication Brief for Resource Managers, available at http://www.werc.usgs.gov/pubbriefs/index.html.

Farris, G.S., 2004, USGS wins 15 blue pencil, gold screen awards: Sound Waves, v. FY 2004, no. 62, p. 11.

Reports and Products Produced by NWRC (3)

Allen, J.A., Keeland, B.D., Stanturf, J.A., Clewell, A.F., and Kennedy, H.E., Jr., 2001, (revised May 2004), A guide to bottomland hardwood restoration: U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division Information and Technology Report USGS/BRD/ITR-2000-0011, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, General Technical Report SRS-40, 132 p.

Gilmer, D.S., Yee., J.L., Mauser, D.M., and Hainline, J.L., 2004, Waterfowl migration on Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges 1953-2001: U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Discipline Biological Science Report, USGS/BRD/BSR—2003-0004, 66 p.

Wilson, B.C., and Esslinger, C.G., 2004, North American Waterfowl Management Plan, Gulf Coast Joint Venture Initiative Plans CD-ROM: Albuquerque, N.M., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Maps (1)

Barras, J., Hartley, S., Johnston, J.B., and Jones, W.R., 2004, 100+ years of land change for coastal Louisiana, in Sappington, N., ed.: ESRI Map Book, v. 19, p. 74.

2003 Accomplishments

Return to About NWRC.

Selected FY 2004 Status and Accomplishments National Wetlands Research Center