Download or read book The Effects of Salinity Depth and Turbidity on Submerged Aquatic Vegetation SAV Abundance in Eastern North Carolina written by Noah Scott Gwynn and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The state of North Carolina is concerned about the loss of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), which is critical fish and wildlife habitat in low-salinity estuaries. Sentinel sites have been established by the East Carolina University/Albemarle Pamlico National Estuarine Partnership (APNEP) SAV monitoring team at locations where SAV has been observed in historical surveys. Using monitoring data collected from low-salinity sentinel site locations in the Neuse River Estuary (NRE), Pamlico River Estuary (PRE), and Albemarle Sound (AS) from 2015 to 2019, I evaluated the effects of turbidity (measured by Secchi depth), salinity and water depth on SAV abundance (odds of occurrence, percent cover, percent frequency, and dry biomass). The maximum colonization depth of SAV was also analyzed. My goal was to understand what physical factors impact low-salinity SAV survival and growth in North Carolina estuaries by focusing on the three dominant species found (Ruppia maritima, Vallisneria americana, and Zannichellia palustris). Data came from inshore quadrat diver surveys that measured percent cover using 1 m2 quadrats at depths of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 m. Dry biomass abundance was determined by taking core samples along sampling transects. An ensemble data set from North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), Modmon, and North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) data bases) was used to create inverse distance weighted prediction models of Secchi depth and salinity for use in analysis of maximum colonization depth of SAV. SONAR methods included the use of Lowrance single beam 200khz echosounder to measure maximum colonization depth of SAV along 40 transects per sentinel site. Some sentinel sites were omitted from the analyses because they contained no SAV during the monitoring period. I observed that water transparency also called turbidity in this thesis (measured by Secchi depth), salinity, and water depth had significant effects on dominant SAV species with the direction of the association being species dependent. Ruppia maritima odds of occurrence increased with salinity, water depth, and turbidity. Vallisneria americana odds of occurrence showed a negative association with turbidity and salinity but a positive correlation with water depth out to 1 m. Zannichellia palustris odds of occurrence showed no significant effect with turbidity and salinity but was significantly associated with increased water depth. Differences in SAV species salinity and water transparency responses suggest these two factors contribute significantly to the distribution of dominant SAV species. Maximum colonization depth of SAV is greater in sentinel sites with higher Secchi depths, especially when a long-term average Secchi depth is used (ensemble data set). Ruppia maritima has been predicted by my logistic regression model and field observations to be favored in the competition among North Carolina SAV species.

Download or read book SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION IN A LOW VISIBILITY LOW SALINITY ESTUARY IN NORTH CAROLINA IDENTIFYING TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL DISTRIBUTIONS BY SONAR AND LOCAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE written by Hilde Speight and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rapid loss of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) across the globe has prompted state and federal agencies to conduct SAV inventories and develop monitoring programs, which are vital to the conservation and management of ecosystems. Due to advances in optical remote sensing technologies, the distribution and status of SAV in higher salinity, less turbid regions have been better documented than in turbid, low-salinity waters. Hence, much less is known about the status and trends of low-salinity SAV. The objectives of this dissertation were to document SAV abundance, distribution, and temporal variation in Albemarle Sound (AS), so scientists and managers can detect SAV changes through time and develop adequate management strategies. In 2014, I sampled the AS, North Carolina shoreline utilizing a single-beam sonar system. The AS rapid assessment survey (RAS), guided me to identify three large SAV beds (>10 km in length) and smaller intermediate size beds ([greater-than]10 km in length) throughout the Sound, most beds shallower than 2 m. The initial RAS allowed me to establish 10 permanent sentinel sites (SS) in the Sound. The purpose of establishing these sites was to examine SAV's spatial and temporal variation at regional (sound-wide) and local (site) scales at different depths, and to examine intra-annual variation of SAV to determine the optimal SAV sampling time. I sampled the SS for two consecutive years (2015, 2016), in the spring and fall each year. SAV abundance in AS was highly asynchronous sound-wide and by site. The biological surveys were complemented by a social science study that utilized Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) to study SAV stakeholders' perception about SAV and to assess their historical SAV distribution knowledge in western AS. Often, biological surveys do not go far back in time, so historical information (e.g., social surveys, interviews with fishers) can help expand our habitat knowledge beyond data collected during traditional surveys. I carried out open-ended interviews and written surveys with coastal residents, commercial fishers, and fisheries managers. The three groups had unique perspectives about SAV's ecological value and the effect of development on SAV. The LEK historical SAV distribution closely agreed with biological distribution data.

Download or read book Responses of Submersed Vascular Plant Communities to Environmental Change Summary written by Graham J. Davis and published by . This book was released on 1980 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Building a Predictive Model of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation for Atlantic Brant Using Remote Sensing and In situ Sampling written by Harry Colmorgen and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 59 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), e.g. eelgrass (Zostera marina), and macroalgae (Ulva lactuca., Enteromorpha spp., Gracilaria tikvahiae) provides critical ecosystem functions. However, because of a changing coastal environment due to shifting climates and anthropogenic land alteration, it is becoming more important to protect this ecosystem. There is a need to create a predictive remotely sensed model to assess SAV abundance and thus potentially long-term degradation. Secondarily, because SAV has many benefits to organisms including the Atlantic brant (Branta bernicula hrota), which is a specialist on these food sources, building a predictive model will aid in assessing the potential energetic carrying capacity of wintering brant. To meet this need, I used Landsat 8 imagery to create a Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of potential SAV between the southern coast of Long Island, New York and intertidal zones of New Jersey, USA, December 2015-February 2016. To quantify the accuracy of this index, I assessed SAV presence at two hundred and fifty-six 900 m2 sample sites including 174 predicted SAV points and 82 null points. Further at each site, I collected SAV biomass within a 1 m2 quadrat, as well as two subsamples within the 900 m2 resolution. A series of microhabitat variables were collected at each sample site to better evaluate predicted presence including water depth, water temperature, NH3 - N, turbidity, bottom type, and salinity. The NDVI correctly identified presence of eelgrass with 46% accuracy and the Ulva/Enteromorpha and Rhodophyta with 61% accuracy. Using 22 a priori general linear models and AIC model averaging, Ulva/Enteromorpha was significantly predicted by water depth and NH3-N, Eelgrass was significantly predicted by NH3-N, and Rhodophyta was best predicted by water depth. Using the top averaged models, I produced predictive maps that show the potential presence/absence of SAV species throughout the study area and extrapolated presence to available biomass. Estimates of energetic carrying capacity for both study areas were similar to mid-winter survey population counts for 2015-2016, thus further validating the accuracy of the NDVI predictive modeling.

Download or read book Data on the Distribution and Abundance of Submersed Aquatic Vegetation in the Tidal Potomac River and Estuary Maryland Virginia and the District of Columbia 1986 written by and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Development of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Monitoring Protocols in North Carolina written by W. Judson Kenworthy and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Dispersion and Abundance of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Tidal Suwannee River Florida in Relation to Flow Salinity and Related Variables written by Ernest D. Estevez and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Effects of Salinity Pulses of Varying Duration and Intensity on Three Freshwater Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Species written by Rebecca Wright and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Utility of Digital Globe s WorldView 2 Satellite Data in Mapping Seagrass in North Carolina Estuaries written by Richard W. Curran and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 69 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is a valuable natural resource in North Carolina estuaries. The State's Coastal Habitat Protection Plan (CHPP) has stated a need to monitor SAV coverage over time. Thus, the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuarine Program (APNEP) SAV Partners has a project underway developing a mapping methodology combining remote sensing and boat-based methods to map SAV. As a partner in the APNEP mapping program, this research investigated the utility of satellite remote sensing in the mapping of SAV in NC estuaries. In particular, the data of DigitalGlobe's WorldView-2 (WV-2) satellite launched October 2009 were studied. The WV-2 data are of high spatial resolution (~2x2 m) and 5 visible multi-spectral bands, including a "coastal" band (400-450 nm). One WV-2 image per site was acquired. Three sites were, Jarrett Bay, Blounts Bay, and Sandy Point. Land and deep water (>2 m) pixels were eliminated from each image and subjected to a principal component analysis (PCA), where the first two components were input into the Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Techniques (ISODATA) unsupervised classification. Ground reference points were used to perform an accuracy assessment. At Jarrett Bay, where a continuous SAV bed covered 40%-70% of the study site, results showed an 86.4% classification accuracy in water depths 0.8 m and 40.9% accuracy in water depths 0.8m. At Blounts Bay, where SAV coverage was sparse (0%-10%), classification accuracy was 50% in water depths 0.8 m and remained at 50% in depths 0.8m. The Sandy Point image was deemed unusable due to extensive sun glint. Most misclassifications were due to dark sediment and the sensor's difficulty in detecting small SAV patches (

Download or read book Survival of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Transplants in Currituck Sound North Carolina written by Elizabeth L. Brinker and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thesis submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Elizabeth State University in partial fulfillment of thr requirements for the Master of Science in Biology.

Download or read book SAVE Currituck Sound Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Evaluation in Currituck Sound NC written by Natasha Biarrieta and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Salinity Variations in Currituck Sound March 1955 November 1955 written by Arthur W. Dickson and published by . This book was released on 1955 with total page 14 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Analysis of Historical Distribution of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation SAV in the York and Rappahannock Rivers as Evidence of Historical Water Quality Conditions written by and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Submerged Aquatic Vegetation written by and published by . This book was released on 2010* with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book North Carolina s Estuaries written by Walter Clark and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Initial Survey of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation and Associated Abiotic Factors Along a 4 km Stretch on the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg Virginia written by Heidi A. Hubbell and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is aquatic macrophytes that spend their entire life cycle submerged below the surface of the water. Six common riverine SAV species are abundant throughout the Piedmont section of Virginia and other Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern rivers. In 2004, a dam located at the fall line was removed allowing the Rappahannock to flow freely. No research has been conducted on SAV in this area of the upper Rappahannock (Piedmont) section prior or after the dam's removal. An initial survey of SAV composition and density (canopy cover) of all plant species was conducted during the growing season in 2012 and 2013 along a 4-km stretch of the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, Virginia from the former dam reservoir to just below the fall line. I hypothesized that after a decade since the dam was removed the river habitat directly affected by the dam will have transitioned to support SAV species found in the lower Piedmont section of other similar Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern rivers such as the James River. However, the most widespread SAV species found was Egeria densa, a nonnative invasive species that appeared throughout the study area in both 2012 and 2013. The only other SAV species observed was native Vallisneria Americana which contributed less than 5% of total plants found throughout the study area.

Download or read book Mapping Monitoring and Modeling Submersed Aquatic Vegetation Species and Communities written by Brett Michael Hartis and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: