2009 LTER All Scientists Meeting - VCR

Live from the field: Capturing images and data from a barrier island via wireless networking

John Porter — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 11:52:58 +0000

Poster Number:

372

Presenter/Primary Author:

John Porter

Co-Authors:

David E. Smith

Co-Authors:

Thomas Williams

Wireless networks provide new opportunities for retrieving data from the field - and to support new types of data. At the Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research Project we have employed wireless networks to connect to three barrier islands, with some connections spanning over 20 km. The wireless network is used to integrate a variety of data sources. A network of ten wells, meteorological and tide stations produce data that is automatically processed to create a dataset or graph on the World-Wide Web.

The Virginia Coast Reserve Long-Term Ecological Research Project

John Porter — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:27:27 +0000

Poster Number:

330

Presenter/Primary Author:

Karen McGlathery

Co-Authors:

Patricia Wiberg

Co-Authors:

John Porter

The Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR) is an extremely dynamic, heterogeneous coastal barrier landscape comprising mainland watersheds, tidal marshes, lagoons, and barrier islands. Our goal for the VCR LTER program is to develop a predictive understanding of the response of coastal barrier systems to long-term environmental changes in climate, sea level and land use, and to relate these to the ecological services the coastal barrier systems provide.

MIRADA-LTERS

Linda Amaral-Zettler — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 15:45:14 +0000

Poster Number:

323

Presenter/Primary Author:

Linda Amaral-Zettler

Co-Authors:

McCliment, Elizabeth

Co-Authors:

Huse, Susan

The MIRADA project was launched in the fall of 2007 to establish a Microbial Biodiversity Survey and Inventory across all 13 of the major aquatic (marine and freshwater) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites in the NSF US LTER Program. The long-term objective of our study is to document and describe baseline diversity and relative abundance data for both common and rare members of microbial communities and to relate this diversity to the underlying physical and chemical environment.

Sources and Fates of Nitrogen in Virginia Coastal Bays

Iris Anderson — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:06:23 +0000

Poster Number:

302

Presenter/Primary Author:

Iris Anderson

Co-Authors:

Karen McGlathery

Co-Authors:

Amber Hardison

Co-Authors:

Jennifer Stanhope

Coastal bays, which are typically shallow, located in the photic zone, and have little freshwater input, respond differently to nutrient enrichment than deeper estuaries. Because of the diversity of benthic and pelagic autotrophs they support, coastal bays are capable of modulating the effects of nutrient enrichment, derived from both allochthonous and autochthonous sources. We describe a study performed in Hog Island Bay, Virginia, located along an eutrophication gradient on the Delmarva Peninsula, to determine sources, sinks, and fates of nitrogen (N).

Research Experience for High School Students program at the VCR-LTER

Arthur Schwarzschild — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:05:18 +0000

Poster Number:

288

Presenter/Primary Author:

Arthur Schwarzschild

A Research Experience for High School Students program (REHS), modeled after the Research Experience for Undergraduates, was initiated at the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER in 2007 with supplemental funding to our SLTER Program.

An ongoing field experiment to test if zonation of tidal marsh vegetation is in synchrony with hydrologic conditions developed during rising sea level

John Haywood — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:54:36 +0000

Poster Number:

251

Presenter/Primary Author:

John Haywood

Co-Authors:

Linda Blum

Co-Authors:

Mark Brinson

Co-Authors:

Robert Christian

A field experiment has been initiated in August 2008 to determine if the vegetation of a coastal marsh is in synchrony with hydrologic conditions that have developed with rising sea-level. The hypothesis being tested is that plant community structure will persist in existing zones of vegetation in the face of sea-level rise unless disturbance provides opportunities for species change under more frequent tidal inundation.

Student Poster:

Yes

The Effects of Seagrass Restoration on Nitrogen Processing in Shallow Coastal Lagoons

Luke Cole — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:21:27 +0000

Poster Number:

250

Presenter/Primary Author:

Luke Cole

Co-Authors:

Karen J. McGlathery

Co-Authors:

Robert J. Orth

Seagrass meadows are declining worldwide as a result of nutrient over-enrichment, warming water temperatures, and anthropogenic disturbances. In many areas, restoration projects are attempting to the reverse the trend with varying success. In the Virginia coastal lagoons, seagrasses (Zostera marina) were lost in the 1930’s due to a large hurricane impacting meadows already weakened by the wasting disease. A large-scale restoration effort has been underway since the early 2000’s and has resulted in >1000 acres of seagrass coverage.

Student Poster:

Yes

Evolution of site collaboration within the US LTER network

Robert Christian — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:09:29 +0000

Poster Number:

244

Presenter/Primary Author:

Robert Christian

Co-Authors:

Jeffrey C. Johnson

Co-Authors:

Caleb R. Hickman

Co-Authors:

James W. Brunt

Co-Authors:

Robert B. Waide

The US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program began in 1980 to address large scale ecological phenomena through research at individual sites and through comparative and synthetic activities among sites. We applied network science measures to assess how the LTER program has performed as a coherent system using joint publications among sites as the measure of collaborations across sites. We identified three periods of increasing collaboration.

Effects of nuisance macroalgae on nutrient cycling within the sediment microbial community

Amber Hardison — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:37:51 +0000

Poster Number:

212

Presenter/Primary Author:

Amber Hardison

Co-Authors:

Elizabeth Canuel

Co-Authors:

Iris Anderson

Co-Authors:

Bart Veuger

Shallow coastal bays such as those along the U.S. east coast are particularly vulnerable to changes in coastal zone activities that result in accelerated nutrient delivery rates. A major challenge in these systems is to understand how increased nutrient loading affects ecosystem structure and function. Much of the benthos in these shallow bays is illuminated by sunlight; as a result, benthic autotrophs such as seagrass, benthic microalgae (BMA) and macroalgae play an integral role in nutrient cycling.

Student Poster:

Yes

Potential avian influences on drivers of barrier island plant community composition

Sheri Shiflett — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:59:12 +0000

Poster Number:

209

Presenter/Primary Author:

Sheri Shiflett

Co-Authors:

Spencer Bissett

Co-Authors:

Donald R. Young

In addition to seed deposition of both native and invasive plant species, birds may pollinate flowers, provide nutrient inputs, and deliver mutualistic or pathogenic microbes. Birds therefore may drive community assembly and succession, and play an especially significant role in the frequently-disturbed environments of barrier islands, where repopulation following storm and overwash events is critical to long-term species persistence.

Student Poster:

Yes