A5063754311- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Marine and coastal ecosystems
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Marine and fisheries research
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Coastal and Marine Dynamics
- Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics
- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Urban Stormwater Management Solutions
- Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal
- Coastal and Marine Management
- Fish Ecology and Management Studies
- Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology
- Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
- Water Quality and Pollution Assessment
- Geological formations and processes
- Tropical and Extratropical Cyclones Research
- Aeolian processes and effects
- Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology and Behavior
- Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
- Water Quality Monitoring Technologies
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2015-2025
Institut de Ciències del Mar
2011-2022
University of North Carolina Health Care
2018-2020
Ecological Society of America
2020
University of Connecticut
2017
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
2017
University of North Carolina Wilmington
2015
Northeastern University
2013
Valuation of ecosystem services can provide evidence the importance sustaining and enhancing those resources ecosystems that them. Long appreciated only as a commercial source oysters, oyster reefs are now acknowledged for other they provide, such water quality stabilizing shorelines. We develop framework to assess value these services. conservatively estimate economic reef services, excluding harvesting, is between $5500 $99,000 per hectare year recover their median restoration costs in...
Climate change disrupts ecological systems in many ways. Many documented responses depend on species' life histories, contributing to the view that climate effects are important but difficult characterize generally. However, systematic variation metabolic of temperature across trophic levels suggests warming may lead predictable shifts food web structure and productivity. We experimentally tested productivity under two resource supply scenarios. Consistent with predictions based universal...
Abstract Coastal ecosystems provide numerous services, such as nutrient cycling, climate change amelioration, and habitat provision for commercially valuable organisms. Ecosystem functions processes are modified by human activities locally globally, with degradation of coastal development occurring at unprecedented rates. The demand defense strategies against storms sea‐level rise has increased population growth along coastlines worldwide, even while that reduced natural buffering...
Human encroachment on aquatic ecosystems is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The impacts of human pollution and habitat alteration are most evident greatest concern the microbial level, where a bulk production nutrient cycling takes place. Aquatic additionally affected by natural perturbations, including droughts, storms, floods, frequency extent which may be increasing. Distinguishing integrating stressors essential for understanding environmentally driven change diversity function....
Human development of coastal watersheds has greatly increased nutrient loading and accelerated estuarine eutrophication. These waters are also affected by climatic perturbations (e.g., droughts, hurricanes, floods), which may be increasing. The ecological effects these stressors often most evident at the microbial level, where bulk primary production biogeochemical cycling occurs. Phytoplankton dominate thus indicative eutrophication other major underlying ecosystem change. Using...
Resource limitation controls the base of food webs in many aquatic ecosystems. In coastal ecosystems, nitrogen (N) has been found to be predominant limiting factor for primary producers. Due important role plays determining ecosystem function, understanding processes that modulate its availability is critical. Shallow-water estuarine systems are highly heterogeneous. temperate estuaries, multiple habitat types can exist close proximity one another, their distribution controlled primarily by...
In estuaries, phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) inputs generally control freshwater saltwater primary production, respectively. Improved wastewater P removal a P-detergent ban in the late 1980s decreased loading to nutrient over-enriched Neuse River Estuary, NC, without contemporaneous reduction N loading. This led decrease upstream phytoplankton production nuisance algal blooms. While this management approach appeared be effective reducing symptoms of eutrophication, it may have also...
Restoration of degraded ecosystems is an important societal goal, yet inadequate monitoring and the absence clear performance metrics are common criticisms many habitat restoration projects. Funding limitations can prevent adequate monitoring, but we suggest that lack accepted to address diversity objectives also presents a serious challenge A working group with experience in designing oyster reef projects was used develop standardized metrics, units, criteria would allow for comparison...
Carbon burial is increasingly valued as a service provided by threatened vegetated coastal habitats. Similarly, shellfish reefs contain significant pools of carbon and are globally endangered, yet considerable uncertainty remains regarding reefs' role sources (+) or sinks (−) atmospheric CO 2 . While release by-product carbonate shell production (then burial), also facilitate atmospheric-CO drawdown via filtration rapid biodeposition carbon-fixing primary producers. We provide framework to...
Anthropogenic elevation of atmospheric CO 2 is driving global-scale ocean acidification, which consequently influences calcification rates many marine invertebrates and potentially alters their susceptibility to predation. Ocean acidification may also impair an organism's ability process environmental biological cues. These counteracting impacts make it challenging predict how will alter species interactions community structure. To examine effects on consumptive behavioural between mud crabs...
The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is a foundation species providing significant ecosystem services. However, the roles of microbiomes have not been integrated into any services, particularly nitrogen removal through denitrification. We investigated composition and denitrification potential with an approach that combined 16S rRNA gene analysis, metabolic inference, qPCR nitrous oxide reductase (nosZ), N2 flux measurements. Microbiomes digestive gland, shell, sediments adjacent to...
MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout JournalEditorsTheme Sections 493:23-30 (2013) - DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10516 Oyster-mediated benthic-pelagic coupling modifies nitrogen pools and processes Ashley R. Smyth1,2,*, Nathan Geraldi1, Michael F. Piehler1 1The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Institute Sciences, 3431 Arendell St. Morehead City, 28557, USA...
Relative fitness of three bloom-forming and potentially toxic cyanobacteria from the subtropical St. John's River, Florida was investigated under a range nutrient conditions, during bloom dominated by Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii. Nitrogen (N) primary limiting phytoplankton productivity biomass. Phytoplankton biomass also enhanced phosphorus (P) added either alone or jointly with N, suggesting different components experienced distinct limitations. Based on quantitative PCR, diazotrophic...
Abstract Physical‐biological coupling helps structure aquatic communities, yet physical factors can vary widely across large, biogeographic scales. The eastern oyster ( Crassostrea virginica ) is an ecosystem engineer that creates intertidal reefs, filters water, promotes denitrification, stabilizes shorelines, and provides habitat throughout the inner waters of U.S. South Atlantic Bight (SAB). We quantified variables (temperature, salinity, duration depth water inundation), reef properties...
Summary Like many ecosystem functions in marine and terrestrial environments, nutrient processing varies dramatically over small spatial scales, making efforts to apply findings within across ecosystems challenging. In estuaries, information on the influence of habitat context sediment cycling is lacking even though this an important estuarine function with high societal value. We collected triplicate intact cores from restored oyster reefs located different contexts (adjacent salt marshes,...
Stormwater infrastructure can manage precipitation-driven flooding when there are no obstructions to draining. Coastal areas increasingly experience recurrent due elevated water levels from storms or tides, but the inundation of coastal stormwater by has not been broadly assessed. We conservatively estimated in municipalities along Atlantic United States coast using high-tide (HTF) on roads as a proxy. also modeled four North Carolina and measured one municipalities. Combining methodologies...
Phytoplankton diagnostic photopigments in near-surface waters (≈0.5 m) were identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography beginning April 1994 the Neuse River Estuary October 1999 Pamlico Sound, North Carolina. Photopigment concentrations analyzed using ChemTax to determine class-specific biomass of dominant phytoplankton groups. Long-term annual seasonal trends composition characterized along river-estuarine continuum compared river flow rates, which variable because...