Assateague Island Seabeach Amaranth Survey Data — 2001 to 2018

Dates

Publication Date: 2023-04-26
Start Date: 2001
End Date: 2018

Citation

Chase, J.B., Hulslander, B., Strum, M., Lea, C., Gutierrez, B.T., Henderson, R.E., and Sterne, T.K., 2023, Assateague Island seabeach amaranth survey data — 2001 to 2018: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9IZMQ1B.

Summary

Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a plant species that was once prevalent on beaches of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast but is now listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For much of the 20th century, seabeach amaranth was absent from the mid-Atlantic coast and thought to be extinct, presumably as a result of increased development and recreational pressure. One region where there has been an effort to restore the seabeach amaranth population is Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), a National Park Service land holding located along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. Here, the Natural Resources staff at ASIS planted seabeach amaranth cultivars for three growing seasons from 1999 to 2001 to re-establish [...]

Summary

Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a plant species that was once prevalent on beaches of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast but is now listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For much of the 20th century, seabeach amaranth was absent from the mid-Atlantic coast and thought to be extinct, presumably as a result of increased development and recreational pressure. One region where there has been an effort to restore the seabeach amaranth population is Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), a National Park Service land holding located along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. Here, the Natural Resources staff at ASIS planted seabeach amaranth cultivars for three growing seasons from 1999 to 2001 to re-establish a wild population. To monitor the effectiveness of this restoration effort, the Natural Resources staff performed yearly surveys on Assateague Island to locate seabeach amaranth from 2001 to the present. The surveys were typically conducted during early August, when the presence of the plant could be monitored following the efforts to re-establish a population from earlier in the year. The surveys were conducted in coordination with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In each survey, GPS was used to measure the location of each plant found while also tracking several parameters including: (1) plant size, (2) evidence of grazing by insects or ungulates (2005 and later), and whether the plant was protected by cages put in place by ASIS Natural Resources staff (2004 and later).

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Jonathan B Chase
Originator :: Jonathan B Chase, Bill Hulslander, Mark Strum, Chris Lea, Ben Gutierrez, Rachel E Henderson, Travis K Sterne
USGS Program :: Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program
Data Owner :: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
SDC Data Owner :: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
USGS Mission Area :: Natural Hazards

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NPS_AMPU_BrowseGraphic.jpg “Survey image: 2018, J. Chase NPS image, inset photo: NPS ASIS”		188.93 KB	image/jpeg
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.csv		1.33 MB	text/csv

Shapefile: NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.zip
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData_metadata.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	42.76 KB
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.cpg		5 Bytes
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.dbf		7.53 MB
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.prj		167 Bytes
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.sbn		97.28 KB
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.sbx		1.38 KB
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.shp		286.06 KB
NPS_AMPU_2001to2018_FieldData.shx		81.8 KB

Related External Resources

Type: Related Primary Publication

Gutierrez, B.T., and Lentz, E.E., 2023, Developing a habitat model to support management of threatened seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) at Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland and Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2023–5034, https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20235034.	https://doi.org/10.3133/sir2023503

Purpose

Plant location surveys were conducted to monitor the population of seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) on Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) following a three-year effort to re-establish the species on the island. Since the conclusion of the restoration project in 2002, the seabeach amaranth population along ASIS has been carefully monitored and actively managed on an annual basis. Species management protocols have been developed, implemented and refined. The result is over a decade of detailed census data on individual plants. In addition, seed bank dynamics, fecundity, seed dispersal, measures of habitat quality, and ungulate grazing impacts on survival and growth have all been observed in situ.

Assateague Island Seabeach Amaranth Survey Data — 2001 to 2018

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