Kari Cretini

Ecologist

Short Biography

Education

M.S. 2004, Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University

B.S. 2001, Biology, Murray State University

Current Position

Ecologist, 2007 - Present

Emphasis of work involves implementing project-specific and ecosystem-level monitoring and assessment programs in Louisiana coastal wetlands, including the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA) and Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) programs (http://www.lacoast.gov/crms2/Home.aspx).  Duties include implementation of QA/QC and metadata requirements, ensuring completion and delivery of vegetation data, overseeing ecological activities, and serving on the CRMS vegetation analysis team to perform analyses and develop and define ecological indicators to assess the condition of coastal wetlands at various scales including site, project and landscape. 

Professional Membership

Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF), 2009 - Present

Steyer, G.D., Cretini, K.F., Piazza, S., Sharp, L.A., Snedden, G.A., Sapkota, S., 2010, Hurricane influences on vegetation community change in coastal Louisiana: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1105, 21. p. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1105/

Middleton, B., D. Devlin, E. Proffitt, K. McKee, and K.F. Cretini.  2008.  Characteristics of mangrove swamps managed for mosquito control in eastern Florida, USA.  Marine Ecology Progress Series 327: 117-129.

Gibson, D.J., B.A. Middleton, K. Foster, Y.A.K. Honu, E.W. Hoyer, and M. Mathis.  2005.  Species frequency dynamics in an old-field succession: Effects of disturbance, fertilizer and scale.  Journal of Vegetation Science 16: 415-422.

My Science Topics

My USGS Science Strategy Areas