Geology topics

J.L. Schnase

Publications and source records attributed to J.L. Schnase.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2006

A tamarisk habitat suitability map for the continental US

This paper presents a national-scale map of habitat suitability for tamarisk ( Tamarix spp, salt cedar), a high-priority invasive species. We successfully integrate satellite data and tens of thousands of field sampling points through logistic regression modeling to create a habitat suitability map that is 90% accurate. This interagency effort uses field data collected and coordinated through the US Geological Survey and nationwide environmental data layers derived from NASA's MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We demonstrate the use of the map by ranking the 48 continental US states (and the District of Columbia) based on their absolute, as well as proportional, areas of “highly likely” and “moderately likely” habitat for Tamarix . The interagency effort and modeling approach presented here could be used to map other harmful species, in the US and globally.

Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment↗

USGS2005

Risk analysis for biological hazards: What we need to know about invasive species

Risk analysis for biological invasions is similar to other types of natural and human hazards. For example, risk analysis for chemical spills requires the evaluation of basic information on where a spill occurs; exposure level and toxicity of the chemical agent; knowledge of the physical processes involved in its rate and direction of spread; and potential impacts to the environment, economy, and human health relative to containment costs. Unlike typical chemical spills, biological invasions can have long lag times from introduction and establishment to successful invasion, they reproduce, and they can spread rapidly by physical and biological processes. We use a risk analysis framework to suggest a general strategy for risk analysis for invasive species and invaded habitats. It requires: (1) problem formation (scoping the problem, defining assessment endpoints); (2) analysis (information on species traits, matching species traits to suitable habitats, estimating exposure, surveys of current distribution and abundance); (3) risk characterization (understanding of data completeness, estimates of the “potential” distribution and abundance; estimates of the potential rate of spread; and probable risks, impacts, and costs); and (4) risk management (containment potential, costs, and opportunity costs; legal mandates and social considerations and information science and technology needs).

Risk Analysis↗

USGS2003

Information technology challenges of biodiversity and ecosystems informatics

Computer scientists, biologists, and natural resource managers recently met to examine the prospects for advancing computer science and information technology research by focusing on the complex and often-unique challenges found in the biodiversity and ecosystem domain. The workshop and its final report reveal that the biodiversity and ecosystem sciences are fundamentally information sciences and often address problems having distinctive attributes of scale and socio-technical complexity. The paper provides an overview of the emerging field of biodiversity and ecosystem informatics and demonstrates how the demands of biodiversity and ecosystem research can advance our understanding and use of information technologies.

Information Systems↗