Skip to main content

University of Maine

thumbnail
Globally, groundwater dependent ecosystems (GDEs) are increasingly vulnerable to groundwater extraction and land use practices. Groundwater supports these ecosystems by providing inflow, which can maintain water levels, water temperature, and chemistry necessary to sustain the biodiversity that they support. Many aquatic systems receive groundwater as a portion of base flow, and in some systems (e.g., springs, seeps, fens) the connection with groundwater is significant and important to the system’s integrity and persistence. Groundwater management decisions for human use may not consider ecological effects of those actions on GDEs, which rely on groundwater to maintain ecological function. This disconnect between...
This project is a collaborative effort to assess risks and set response priorities for tidal-marsh dependent bird species from Virginia to maritime Canada. With more than 1,500 sampling sites for estimating bird abundance and plant community composition, 22 sampling sites for estimating species fecundity and survival, and 651 sampling points for measuring salt marsh elevation, the Salt marsh Habitat and Avian Research Program is an unprecedented undertaking to characterize threats to tidal-marsh dependent bird species along the entire mid-Atlantic coastline. Originally initiated in 2011 by a team of scientists looking to align efforts towards understanding threats to salt marsh birds across the region SHARP had...
thumbnail
Needs Assessment and Work Plan for Coastal Change Outreach on the Beaufort Sea coast, Alaska
The Beaufort Sea coast in Arctic Alaska and neighboring northern Canada has recently experienced extreme and accelerated climate change, including a dramatic reduction in summer sea ice. Human systems will likely be impacted through changes to oil industry and community infrastructure currently in place along parts of the coast, to habitat availability for harvested species such as caribou, waterbirds, and anadromous fish, to culturally important landscape elements, and to both recreational and subsistence coastal access. We used literature review and structured interviews to 1) identify current, broad interests for ongoing coastal research in the arctic, 2) identify the best mechanisms and format for communicating...
thumbnail
The Beaufort Sea coast in arctic Alaska and neighboring northern Canada has recently experienced extreme and accelerated climate change, including a dramatic reduction in summer sea ice (Gildor and Tziperman 2003, Holland et al. 2006). This absence of ice allows increased wind and wave energy to directly affect the coast, resulting in island and mainland flooding, coastal erosion, and further movement of barrier islands and beaches. The period each year in which the arctic is free of summer ice is increasing and is predicted to increase non-linearly in the future. This suggests a “tipping point” has been reached, producing internal feedback mechanisms that will further accelerate coastal change (Comiso et al., 2008).These...
View more...
ScienceBase brings together the best information it can find about USGS researchers and offices to show connections to publications, projects, and data. We are still working to improve this process and information is by no means complete. If you don't see everything you know is associated with you, a colleague, or your office, please be patient while we work to connect the dots. Feel free to contact sciencebase@usgs.gov.