Research Ecologist
Climate Adaptation Science Centers
Email:
meaton@usgs.gov
Office Phone:
919-515-8640
Supervisor:
Katherine L Smith
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Abstract (from Ecology and Society): Coastal ecosystems in the eastern U.S. have been severely altered by human development, and climate change and other stressors are now further degrading the capacity of those ecological and social systems to remain resilient in the face of such disturbances. We sought to identify potential ways in which local conservation interests in the Lowcountry of South Carolina (USA) could participate in a social process of adaptation planning, and how that process might ultimately be broadened to engage a more diverse set of partners. We engaged participants through a combination of informal meetings, workshops, and other collaborative interactions to explore how the conservation community...
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1) Raw parcel-level habitat data for the South Carolina Lowcountry surrounding Cape Romain NWR and Francis Marion NF, from current current conditions and for three projected sea-level rise futures based on SLAMM model outputs, NLCD land cover and the projected distribution of sea levels for 2050. 2) a table of parcel identification numbers (without georeference) with parcel size (Ha) and sub-group identity. 3) Optimization-model derived reserve design portfolios that define the Pareto-optimal frontier for each sub-group and for four budget scenarios along axes of reserve design benefits and risk.
Categories: Data;
Tags: Data Visualization & Tools,
Science Tools For Managers,
Sea-Level Rise and Coasts,
Southeast CASC,
Water, Coasts and Ice, All tags...
decision support methods,
ecosystem services valuation,
mathematical modeling,
risk assessment,
spatial analysis, Fewer tags
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Abstract (from Landscape and Urban Planning): Cultural resources in coastal parks and recreation areas are vulnerable to climate change. The US National Park Service (NPS) is facing the challenge of insufficient budget allocations for both maintenance and climate adaptation of historic structures. Research on adaptation planning for cultural resources has predominately focused on vulnerability assessments of heritage sites; however, few studies integrate multiple factors (e.g., vulnerability, cultural significance, use potential, and costs) that managers should consider when making tradeoff decisions about which cultural resources to prioritize for adaptation. Moreover, heritage sites typically include multiple...
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Coastal management decisions are complex and include challenging tradeoffs. Decision science offers a useful framework to address such complex problems. We illustrate the process with several coastal restoration studies. Our capstone example is based on a recent barrier island restoration assessment project at Dauphin Island, Alabama, which included the development of geomorphological and ecological models that forecast environmental changes over a 10 year time period from 2015 to 2025. The proposed framework aims to serve as a tool to assist coastal managers with the process of restoration. Specifically, we discuss the importance of considering concepts and techniques from ecology, coastal geology, geomorphology,...
Categories: Data;
Tags: Adaptive Management,
Aquatic Biology,
Barrier Island,
Climatology,
Dauphin Island, Alabama, All tags...
Ecology,
Environmental Health,
Geography,
Geomorphology,
Geomorphology,
Hydrology,
Interdisciplinary Science,
Land Use Change,
Marine Geology,
Restoration,
Structured Decision Making,
USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC),
biota, Fewer tags
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Freshwater fish are among the most vulnerable taxa to climate change globally but are generally understudied in tropical island ecosystems. Climate change is predicted to alter the intensity, frequency, and variability of extreme flow events on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. These changes may impact Caribbean native and non-native stream ecosystems and biota complex ways. We compiled an extensive dataset of native and non-native fish assemblages collected at 119 sites across Puerto Rico from 2005 to 2015. We coupled these data with stream flow indices and dam height to understand how flow dynamics drive fish assemblage structure. Sixteen percent of sites contained exclusively non-native species, 34% contained...
Categories: Data,
Publication;
Types: Citation;
Tags: Aquatic Biology,
Caribbean,
Caribbean ecosystems,
Hydrology,
USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), All tags...
Water Quality,
biota,
extreme events,
fish,
fish,
flow extremes,
native assemblages,
non-native species,
non-native species,
streams, Fewer tags
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