Research and Monitoring Related to Sea Level Rise at the Grand Bay NERR

Will UnderwoodStewardship Coordinator

Practice and Promote the stewardship of coasts and estuaries through innovative research, education, and training using a placed based system of protected areas.

Water Quality

Habitat Protection

Climate Change

• NERRS System Wide Monitoring Program

• Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Program

• Grand Bay NERR site profile (ecological characterization)

• Coordinate research with DMR, universities, NOAA, and NERRS

• Applied research to local & regional issues

The YSI 6600 EDS Datasonde

Bangs Lake

06-02-0505-18-0505-03-0504-18-0504-03-0503-19-0503-04-05

pH

8.00

7.00

6.00

5.00

4.00

MS Phosphates Spill(April 2005)

TS Lee(Sep 2011)

Long Term Monitoring• Erosion• Habitat

Mapping/Change• SAV• Invasive Species• Marsh Elevations

What is SLAMM?• Sea Level Rise Affecting Marshes Model• SLAMM simulates the dominant processes

involved in wetland conversions and shoreline modifications during long-term sea level rise.

• A complex decision tree incorporating geometric and qualitative relationships is used to represent transfers among coastal classes.

Study AreaPercent change

-100 - -75-74 - -50-49 - -25-24 - 0

Irregularly-flooded marsh viability: 2009 to 2025

Study AreaPercent change

-100 - -75-74 - -50-49 - -25-24 - 0

Irregularly-flooded marsh viability: 2009 to 2050

Study AreaPercent change

-100 - -75-74 - -50-49 - -25-24 - 0

Irregularly-flooded marsh viability: 2009 to 2075

Study AreaPercent change

-100 - -75-74 - -50-49 - -25-24 - 0

Irregularly-flooded marsh viability: 2009 to 2100

Effects of fire on water quality, plant production, and accretion in a Juncus roemerianus marsh

Primary Research Question: What are the effects of prescribed burning on a salt marsh

ecosystem?

How does fire affect:

• Primary productivity • Accretion processes

• Transect[Treatment] : NS• Treatment: NS• Location: F(2,63) = 5.59, P=<.0001• Treatment*Location: NS

Means (mm ± 1 SE)Control Plots:Low =15.17 ± 2.9Mid =7.81 ± 1.11High =5.41 ±2.00

Burn Plots:Low =13.42 ± 0.94Mid =7.38 ± 2.58High =4.26 ± 1.06

Burn Plots:Low =686.52 ± 50.04Mid =363.3 ± 94.75

High =356.18 ± 187.5

• Transect[Treatment] : NS• Treatment: : F(1,8) = 1.86, P=

0.005• Location: F(2,8) = 1.24, P= 0.04• Treatment*Location: NS

MeansControl Plots:Low =911.09 ±175.38Mid =838.37 ±159.58High = 673.3 ± 237.8

GRAND BAY FIRE EFFECTS STUDY:Results

Variable Low Marsh Mid Marsh High Marsh pH 6.22±0.02 6.21±0.08 6.46±0.06Salinity (ppt) 24.58±0.98 22.80±1.29 20.10±0.99Vertical accretion (mm) 15.4±2.5 5.2±1.8 2.4±0.4Juncus Density (no/m2) 706.7±75.2 701.7±89.6 511.7±55.4

Juncus Biomass (g/m2) 988.6±122.5 718.2±83.0 557.18±55.4

Juncus community proportion 98.7% 100% 97.5%

Table 1: Edaphic and biological variables at low, mid, and high marsh plots following Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in 2008 (n=6 for each). Data are means ± 1SE.

ECOLOGY OF TIDAL MARSH BIRDS ALONG THE MS/AL COAST

Drs. Mark Woodrey, Bob Cooper, Scott Rush

Clapper Rail Response

www.flood.firetree.net

Current

1 m sea-level rise