Southeast Ecological Science Center

Current Interest

Study Finds 74 Percent of Freshwater Snails in the US and Canada Imperiled

According to a decade-long study conducted by the American Fisheries Society (AFS), 74 percent of all freshwater snails in the United States and Canada are currently imperiled. The AFS conservation status review created a database of the all freshwater snails in the United States and Canada, the first database of its kind. The findings have been published in the June 2013 issue of Fisheries, a monthly journal of the AFS. Three Fisheries Section biologists with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) led the conservation status review. Alabama Press Release SESC Website

Image courtesy of Deepwater Canyons 2012 Expedition, NOAA-OER/BOEM

DISCOVRE Cruise

From April 30 and May 27, the USGS DISCOVRE team will participate in a research expedition aboard the NOAA vessel Ronald H. Brown. Using the remotely operated vehicle JASON (WHOI), they will investigate the biology and ecology of deepwater canyons off the eastern coast of the United States. This will be a NOAA signature expedition and will have web coverage on the Ocean Explorer website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov). This work is being conducted in cooperation with BOEM-funded contractors from a variety of academic institutions. DISCOVRE Website

Science in Support of Sturgeon Recovery

The Suwannee River is home to Florida’s largest population of Gulf sturgeon, a large federally threatened fish that can be seen jumping in the river during summer months. USGS biologists are working on a population census with support from NOAA. Sturgeon are being tagged, measured, and weighed to determine mortality and reproduction rates as part of the Gulf sturgeon population recovery plan. MyFWC YouTube Video

Weather Resources

Recent Publications

Siegal-Willott, J.L., K.E. Harr, J.O. Hall, L.C. Hayek, N. Auil-Gomez, R.K. Bonde, J.A. Powell and D.H. Heard. 2013. Blood mineral concentrations in manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris and Trichechus manatus manatus). Journal Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 44(2):285-294.

Sulak, K. J. 2013. Catching Air - Those Magnificent Jumping Suwannee Sturgeons. American Currents (quarterly journal, North American Native Fishes Association) 38(2);23-25, Spring (April) 2013.

Johnson, P. D., A. E. Bogan, K. M. Brown, N. M. Burkhead, J. R. Cordeiro, J. T. Garner, P. D. Hartfield, D. A. W. Lepitzki, G. L. Mackie, E. Pip, T. A. Tarpley, J. S. Tiemann, N. V. Whelan, and E. E. Strong. 2013. Conservation Status of Freshwater Gastropods of Canada and the United States. Fisheries 38(6):247-282. [SESC Website]

Jiang, J., D. L. DeAngelis, T. J. Smith, III, S. Y. Teh, and H. L. Koh. 2012. Spatial pattern formation of coastal vegetation in response to hydrodynamics of soil porewater salinity: A model study. Landscape Ecology 27:109-119.

Shaver, D. J., Hart, K. M., Fujisaki, I., Rubio, C., Sartain, A. R., Peña, J., Burchfield, P. M., Gamez, D. G. and Ortiz, J. (2013), Foraging area fidelity for Kemp's ridleys in the Gulf of Mexico. Ecology and Evolution. doi: 10.1002/ece3.594. [USGS Press Release] [Journal Article]

Smith, T.J., III, A.M. Foster, G. Tiling-Range, and J.W. Jones. 2013. Dynamics of mangrove–marsh ecotones in subtropical coastal wetlands: fire, sea-level rise, and water levels. Fire Ecology 9(1): 66-77. doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0901066. [Journal Abstract]

Jones, J.W., A.E. Hall, A.M. Foster, and T.J. Smith. 2013. Wetland fire scar monitoring and analysis using archival Landsat data for the Everglades. Fire Ecology 9(1): 133-150. doi: 10.4996/fireecology.0901133. [Journal Abstract]

Adams MJ, Miller DAW, Muths E, Corn PS, Grant EHC, Bailey LL, Fellers GM, Fisher RN, Sadinski WJ, Waddle H, Walls SC. (2013) Trends in Amphibian Occupancy in the United States. PLoS ONE 8(5): e64347. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064347. [Journal Abstract]

Ruiz, Pablo L., Jay P. Sah, James R. Snyder and Michael S. Ross. 2012. Mapping and assessing fire damage on broadleaved forest communities in Big Cypress National Preserve. Report submitted to the National Park Service, Big Cypress National Preserve. 14 pp. and Appendix.

Karamperidou, C., Engel, V., Stabenau, E., Lall, U. and Smith, T.J. III. 2013. Implications of multi-scale sea level and climate variability for coastal resources: a case study for south Florida and Everglades National Park, USA. Reg. Environ. Change, doi: 1-.1007/s10113-013-0408-8.

Decker, J., Swain, E., Stith, B., and Langtimm, C. (2013). Assessing Factors Affecting the Thermal Properties of a Passive Thermal Refuge Using Three-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Flow and Transport Modeling. J. Waterway, Port, Coastal, Ocean Eng., 139(3), 209-220. [Journal Abstract]

Walls SC, Barichivich WJ, Brown ME. Drought, Deluge and Declines: The Impact of Precipitation Extremes on Amphibians in a Changing Climate. Biology. 2013; 2(1):399-418. [Journal Abstract]

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