Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a federally threatened plant species that was once prevalent on beaches of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. To re-establish a population at Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), seabeach amaranth cultivars were planted by ASIS natural resources staff for three growing seasons from 1999 to 2001 and have been monitored since 2001. Characteristics of favorable seabeach amaranth locations were assessed by sampling barrier island and habitat characteristics at sites where plants are and are not observed in 2008, 2010, and 2014. These data can then be used to develop probabilistic models that provide maps of habitat suitability to identify high-priority areas for amaranth protection. The modeling effort also helps to inform management decisions that are most likely to result in the protection of a long-term sustainable population.

Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a federally threatened plant species that was once prevalent on beaches of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. To re-establish a population at Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), seabeach amaranth cultivars were planted by ASIS natural resources staff for three growing seasons from 1999 to 2001 and have been monitored since 2001. Characteristics of favorable seabeach amaranth locations were assessed by sampling barrier island and habitat characteristics at sites where plants are and are not observed in 2008, 2010, and 2014. The data are then used to develop probabilistic models that provide spatially explicit maps of habitat suitability that help to identify high-priority areas for amaranth protection. The modeling effort also helps to inform management decisions that are most likely to result in the protection of a long-term sustainable population.

Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a federally threatened plant species that was once prevalent on beaches of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast. For much of the 20th century, seabeach amaranth was absent and thought to be extinct along this coast presumably due to development and recreational pressure. Few plants were observed over much of the 20th century and the species was federally listed as endangered in 1993. To re-establish a population, the Natural Resources staff at Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) planted seabeach amaranth cultivars for three growing seasons from 2000 to 2002. To monitor the impact of this effort, the Natural Resources staff conducted yearly surveys on Assateague Island to locate seabeach amaranth from 2001 to the present. These surveys were undertaken, typically during early August, to monitor the presence and dispersal of the plant following the effort to re-establish a population. The surveys were conducted in coordination with Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Surveys measured the location of each plant found using GPS and noted several parameters including: 1) plant size, 2) evidence of grazing by insects or ungulates (2005 and later) and noted if the plant was protected by cages put in place by ASIS Natural Resources staff.

Understanding how sea-level rise will affect coastal landforms and the species and habitats they support is critical for developing approaches that balance the needs of humans and native species. Given this increasing need to forecast sea-level rise effects on barrier islands in the near and long terms, we are developing Bayesian networks to evaluate and to forecast the effects of sea-level rise on shoreline change, barrier island geomorphology, and habitat availability for species such as piping plover (Charadrius melodus) and seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus). We use publicly available data products, such as lidar, orthophotography, and vegetation/substrate maps to extract metrics of barrier island characteristics for Assateague Island National Seashore. The metrics are used to conduct statistical analyses and used to training and test probabilistic models developed for barrier island systems. This data release contains the extracted metrics of barrier island geomorphology, and field collected species information (amaranth) that are input to Bayesian networks to evaluate the occurrence probabilities for a suite of barrier island characteristics and ultimately habitat suitability. While the data presented here samples conditions at Assateague Island National Seashore in 2008, this work is one component of a larger research and management program that seeks to understand the future states of barrier island systems and resulting impacts to coastal habitat driven by sea-level rise.

Understanding how sea-level rise will affect coastal landforms and the species and habitats they support is critical for crafting approaches that balance the needs of humans and native species. Given this increasing need to forecast sea-level rise effects on barrier islands in the near and long terms, we are developing Bayesian networks to evaluate and to forecast the cascading effects of sea-level rise on shoreline change, barrier island state, and piping plover habitat availability. We use publicly available data products, such as lidar, orthophotography, and geomorphic feature sets derived from those, to extract metrics of barrier island characteristics at consistent sampling distances. The metrics are then incorporated into predictive models and the training data used to parameterize those models. This data release contains the extracted metrics of barrier island geomorphology and spatial data layers of habitat characteristics that are input to Bayesian networks for piping plover habitat availability and barrier island geomorphology. These datasets and models are being developed for sites along the northeastern coast of the United States. This work is one component of a larger research and management program that seeks to understand and sustain the ecological value, ecosystem services, and habitat suitability of beaches in the face of storm impacts, climate change, and sea-level rise.

Beach elevation profiles were measured along 29 shore-normal transects on and around Arey and Barter Islands, Alaska in August 2010 and July 2011. Profile data are available in a single comma-delimited file and a zip file including multiple .jpg images that show a visual representation of the individual profiles.

These files contain topographic profiles collected at ASIS through the Spring 2025 field season

These files contain topographic profiles collected at ASIS through the Spring 2025 field season

This part of DS 781 presents the habitat map of the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Habitat_RefugioBeach.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreRefugioBeach/data_catalog_OffshoreRefugioBeach.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Johnson, S.Y., Dartnell, P., Cochrane, G.R., Golden, N.E., Phillips, E.L., Ritchie, A.C., Krigsman, L.M., Dieter, B.E., Conrad, J.E., Greene, H.G., Seitz, G.G., Endris, C.A., Sliter, R.W., Wong, F.L., Erdey, M.D., Gutierrez, C.I., Yoklavich, M.M., East, A.E., and Hart, P.E. (S.Y. Johnson and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2015, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Refugio Beach, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3319, pamphlet 42 p., 11 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3319. Potential marine benthic habitat maps were constructed using multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter data. The habitats were based on substrate types and documented or "ground truthed" using underwater video images and seafloor samples obtained by the USGS. These maps display various habitat types that range from flat, soft, unconsolidated sediment-covered seafloor to hard, deformed (folded), or highly rugose and differentially eroded bedrock exposures.

This part of DS 781 presents the habitat map of the Offshore of Refugio Beach map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Habitat_RefugioBeach.zip," which is accessible from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreRefugioBeach/data_catalog_OffshoreRefugioBeach.html. These data accompany the pamphlet and map sheets of Johnson, S.Y., Dartnell, P., Cochrane, G.R., Golden, N.E., Phillips, E.L., Ritchie, A.C., Krigsman, L.M., Dieter, B.E., Conrad, J.E., Greene, H.G., Seitz, G.G., Endris, C.A., Sliter, R.W., Wong, F.L., Erdey, M.D., Gutierrez, C.I., Yoklavich, M.M., East, A.E., and Hart, P.E. (S.Y. Johnson and S.A. Cochran, eds.), 2015, California State Waters Map Series—Offshore of Refugio Beach, California: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3319, pamphlet 42 p., 11 sheets, scale 1:24,000, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim3319. Potential marine benthic habitat maps were constructed using multibeam echosounder (MBES) bathymetry and backscatter data. The habitats were based on substrate types and documented or "ground truthed" using underwater video images and seafloor samples obtained by the USGS. These maps display various habitat types that range from flat, soft, unconsolidated sediment-covered seafloor to hard, deformed (folded), or highly rugose and differentially eroded bedrock exposures.