Zosterapalooza XXX ...is coming... March 31st! ...Be there

 

Find out about the future of SeagrassNet and global seagrass monitoring with the Smithsonian

Come hear about the future of SeagrassNet!

Remember to register for the upcoming talk:

Dr. Lefcheck is currently the Tennenbaum Coordinating Scientist for the MarineGEO Network at the Smithsonian Institution and is based at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Edgewater, MD, USA. He is a marine community ecologist and biodiversity scientist who has worked on a variety of coastal ecosystems from seagrasses, oyster and coral reefs to salt marshes, kelp forests, and deep-sea hydrothermal vents. He also develops novel statistical tools to help understand natural systems, particularly the growing technique of “structural equation modeling.” His current focus is on coordinating global seagrass monitoring and synthesis through MarineGEO and SeagrassNet – two efforts you will hear about during the seminar.

 

The seminar will take place on 31 March 2021 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (US and Canada).

 

To register, visit the ISBW14 website Pre-event Seminar Series page at https://isbw14.org/pre-event-seminar-series/

 

Following registration, a Zoom webinar link, meeting ID, and password will be sent to your email.

Check out this new article on our local efforts to restore eelgrass!

DURHAM, NH. (AP) - Peering over the side of his skiff anchored in the middle of New Hampshire's Great Bay, Fred Short liked what he saw.

Read the whole article here:
Scientists Struggle to Save Eelgrass from Coastal Pollution, December 23, 2019 AP news.com

BioSonics vs Divers -- a method comparison

Kathryn Ford, Steve Voss and I are happy to announce our recent publication in Estuaries and Coasts

"Reproducibility,Precision, and Accuracy of a Hydroacoustic Method to Estimate Seagrass Canopy Height and Percent Cover in Massachusetts"

Kathryn H. Ford, Steven Voss and N. Tay Evans

published online yesterday in Estuaries and Coasts. 

The full-text view-only version is here.

Here's the abstract:
Measured decreases in the spatial extent of seagrasses in Massachusetts are attributed to declining water quality, disease, or direct and indirect impact from dredging or construction. Routine aerial monitoring of seagrasses along the 2400-km coastline is costly and therefore limited both temporally and spatially. Diver surveys are used at two sites for in situ assessments of seagrass meadow structure. In order to examine spatial and temporal trends in seagrass extent and structure, a survey methodology that is less expensive and better at capturing structural characteristics than aerial photography and more efficient than divers is needed. Hydroacoustic methods are relatively inexpensive and rapidly deployed and can measure characteristics including canopy height and percent cover of eelgrass meadows. We tested the capabilities and limitations of a BioSonics DT-X echosounder using the EcoSAV algorithm to measure presence/absence, canopy height, and percent cover of eelgrass. Measurements were found to be reproducible on duplicate transects but had low precision: 36 cm for canopy height and 34% for percent cover. To assess accuracy, we compared EcoSAV estimates of canopy height and percent cover with diver measurements. The EcoSAV estimates of canopy height and percent cover were significantly higher than diver measurements by 60 cm and 46%. We conclude that the BioSonics with EcoSAV processing is an efficient tool to map eelgrass meadows and assess relative change over time, but because of differences in the way the echosounder measurements are made compared with diver measurements, echosounder data should not be used to directly compare with diver data or for surveys that require high accuracy and precision.

Fred Short's former and present students at the Festschrift symposium in his honor

NEERS Festschrift for Fred Short posted by Nedret Andre

https://www.nedretandre.com/the-new-england-estuarine-research-society-spring-meeting-2019/

DKP seagrass monitoring pictures

Kristen with the camera frame used to take pictures of a 1/4 m2 area at set locations throughout the bay

Tay measuring an eelgrass sample from NW Duxbury

Measuring an eelgrass sample from NW Duxbury

Another eelgrass sample from NW Duxbury

Eelgrass leaf with low wasting disease and low epiphytes

Patchy eelgrass in PKD

DMF kicks off "Eelgrass week" a volunteer monitoring program

designed to sample eelgrass throughout DKP with assistance from North and South River Watershed Association and the MassBays Program.  Stay tuned for updates this week.

Eelgrass monitoring stations in Duxbury Kingston and Plymouth Bays  (The DKP)

World Seagrass Month

Happy World Seagrass Month!

Seagrass is an underwater, flowering plant that can be found in relatively protected and healthy bays, with 60 species worldwide. Seagrass meadows are a critical habitat for young finfish and crustaceans, help protect our coastlines from storms and rising tides, and also soak up nutrients and bacteria, helping to keep our seawater clean. Two species of seagrass are found in Massachusetts: eelgrass and widgeon grass.

 But seagrasses around the world are being lost at a rate of about two football fields every hour. Many things can damage seagrass, from polluted water to boats dragging their anchors. To track changes in eelgrass, Mass DMF conducts diver-based and remote-sensing eelgrass surveys in bays throughout our coast and participates in SeagrassNet, an international seagrass monitoring network.

 In addition to successfully restoring tens of acres of eelgrass in Boston Harbor and Salem Sound, the team collaborates with partners on interesting projects like genetic diversity, citizen science monitoring, wasting disease, invasive species, and conservation moorings. DMF provides expertise and leadership in issues pertaining to seagrass and other sensitive habitats through the Technical Review process.

Keep tuning in to the blog to learn more about the exciting seagrass projects DMF has planned in 2018, and HAPPY SEAGRASS MONTH!

Expanded Eelgrass Meadows in Swampscott

On August 23, 2017 the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF) Habitat Team set out for Swampscott Harbor in search of eelgrass. Armed with a Humminbird acoustic sonar transducer, an underwater video camera, and the DEP 2012 aerial photo-interpretation eelgrass maps, we anticipated finding a bed similar to the size and footprint of the Swampscott Harbor mooring field, where DEP previously mapped a 23 acres meadow.

We were happy to find that not only has the Swampscott bed expanded to a total of 153 acres (a 665% expansion from DEP's 2012 mapping), an adjacent bed exists to the east of Swampscott Harbor which had not previously been mapped. This "new" bed is approximately 36 acres in size and is located in the cove east of Lincoln House Point.  While it is very close to the Swampscott Harbor bed, we believe that they are actually separate beds and not connected (see map). The eelgrass appears to be dense and healthy, and the sediment sandy. Reproductive shoots, some epiphytes, colonial tunicates, snail grazing, algae and potentially wasting disease could also be seen in the groundtruthing images (photos below). We found a somewhat uncommon algae, which we believe to be a Cord Weed (Chorda sp.), growing near and further seaward of the eelgrass meadow. It has a more similar appearance to eelgrass than most algae do (photo 4), however it did not share the same characteristic appearance in the sonar data so we are confident it was not mistakenly mapped during this survey.

Despite the good health and expansion of the bed in Swampscott Harbor, several human created impacts were observed in the sonar images.  The large pier and several dozen moorings in the harbor create scars and bare areas within the bed where pilings have been placed or  mooring chain has dragged on the bottom.  Too many direct impacts such as these could contribute to the bed becoming stressed or fracturing and shrinking in overall size. Impacts can be reduced by using specially made conservation moorings designed to reduce scars and by reducing/limiting the number of new and existing moorings located within the eelgrass bed.

By using side-scan sonar imaging to map eelgrass, we are able to quickly and effectively locate the extent of beds including areas unable to be confirmed by aerial imagery alone. An underwater video camera is used to groundtruth the sonar data.  We believe that continued use of sonar imaging will allow us to keep discovering new and/or expanded eelgrass beds in Massachusetts, as well as keep close records of how mapped eelgrass beds fluctuate over time.

Eelgrass restoration and genetic experiment in Salem Sound 2017

✔ 1/2 acre of eelgrass planted 

After great transplanting success in Boston Harbor and Salem Sound under the HUB3 mitigation project, MarineFisheries is at it again. In early April 2017, divers from MarineFisheries (DMF) and Northeastern University (NEU) began the spring planting of the first quarter-acre site, which included harvesting eelgrass from multiple donor sites, weaving the eelgrass into burlap discs using the method developed by Chris Pickerell, of Cornell Cooperative Extension, and planting the discs at Middle Ground in Salem Sound.

DMF and NEU divers aboard DMF's R/V Craven, ready to plant eelgrass in May 2017

                       

Eelgrass planted in Spring 2017

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) is an important marine flowering plant that provides habitat for many fish and invertebrates including commercially and recreationally harvested species such as winter flounder, bay scallop and American lobster. Widespread eelgrass declines in Massachusetts, including a documented 18% loss of eelgrass in Salem Sound between 1995 and 2012, have lead to concern and a call for increased protection and restoration efforts. The two quarter-acre sites were planted in a checker-board pattern that was designed to enhance the spread and expansion of the grass and provide immediate habitat structure and function.

After monitoring confirmed that the Spring quarter-acre restoration site had survived and the eelgrass looked healthy, Fall planting took place in late August and early September at an adjacent quarter-acre site on Middle Ground.  The Fall restoration process was conducted utilizing the same methods as the Spring planting for a seasonal comparison.  On September 7, the final plots were planted at Middle Ground successfully.  We will be back in October to monitor after one month, then back again in 6 months and one year.

Funding for this fisheries habitat restoration is from the Massachusetts In Lieu Fee Program (ILFP), developed by the Army Corps of Engineers and administered by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game (DFG).  The ILFP affords Corps permittees the option of paying a fee as mitigation for their project impacts to federally-regulated aquatic resources, in-lieu of conducting their own on-the-ground mitigation project.  As The Commonwealth’s program sponsor, DFG aggregates the ILFP payments for use on larger-scale mitigation projects with long-term monitoring.  The goal is to increase the likelihood of mitigation success by scaling up the restoration and monitoring effort.  Proposals for ILFP funding must meet prioritization criteria outlined in the ILFP instrument including targeting resources under threat, restoration near the same area where the impacts occurred, and compatibility with broader conservation and management initiatives.  DFG has collected over $1,000,000 in ILFP payments from 26 individual permitees since the program began in 2014 and is currently in the process of identifying and selecting other mitigation projects for a future round of funding.  More information about the ILFP and the prioritization criteria can be found online here (http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/about/in-lieu-fee-mitigation-program-for-massachusetts.html).

In addition to a habitat restoration, DMF is also testing the use of multiple donor sites to improve restoration success by increasing genetic diversity and resilience to disease stress. By testing the genetics of donor sites, we hope to greatly improve the results of future restoration efforts as well as continue to expand our understanding of what characteristics make an ideal donor site and a successful restoration.

Burlap Disc with eelgrass and pvc collar ready to be planted.  Disc is buried with sediment and PVC is removed

Planting along three 40 meter transects, MarineFisheries biologists and the scientists from Northeastern scooped the sand and rocks away, placed burlap disks woven with eelgrass plants into the scooped areas and then carefully buried them with a thin layer of sediment.

 Each disk contained eelgrass from five, three or one donor meadow.  Plants from each donor site and from the new restoration site will be tested for their genetic composition and for the relative success of the mono vs. poly-source transplants, measured as the shoot density, percent cover and plot aerial expansion.

Keep an eye on the blog for updates from our monitoring efforts as well as posts about other interesting eelgrass projects that MarineFisheries is working on!

- Tay, Jill, Kate and Alex

Eelgrass Volunteer Event with Thompson Island Green Ambassadors

On the morning of July 14, 2015 the MarineFisheries habitat team arrived at Thompson Island in Boston Harbor with nearly 4,000 freshly harvest eelgrass shoots and a boatload of planting equipment. The Outward Bound's Green Ambassadors were eager and interested to learn about eelgrass restoration efforts. These high-schoolers have been participating in a variety of terrestrial habitat restoration projects around Thompson Island and were ready to get their hands wet.

After a presentation about marine biology careers, eelgrass ecology and resource management, the group got to work. Volunteers tied eelgrass shoots to TERFs or "Transplanting Eelgrass Remotely with Frames" units. After a couple of hours and a quick thunderstorm, we had a total of 40 frames tied and ready to be deployed. Without the help of the Green Ambassadors, the divers would have been preparing the frames for at least a full day. 

keep scrolling for more pictures and details about planting...

We quickly loaded the TERFs on the boat, said our goodbyes and headed out to Peddocks Island. Divers brought the TERFs underwater and secured them to the sediment using long metal stakes, every 2 meters along an 80 meter transect parallel to shore in approximately 8 feet of water (MLW). Sediment was sandy with gravel and shell hash - a bottom type that has been beneficial at several of our successful restoration sites. We are hopeful that this site's sediment, water quality, light penetration and energy characteristics prove suitable for our transplants to thrive - and look forward to checking in on them later this summer.

THANK YOU to the coordinators and volunteers at Thompson Island.

Have questions? Contact Jill Carr at 978-282-0308 x108 or jillian.carr@state.ma.us. 

2014 HUB3 Eelgrass Restoration Field Season

The 2014 field season was a busy one for the HUB3 Eelgrass Restoration Project. After putting the finishing touches on the Hubline Eelgrass Restoration 2013 Progress Report, we were ready for the annual monitoring at six restoration sites and four reference beds in Salem Sound and Boston Harbor. We also did some additional planting at two of our existing sites in order to increase the total restored area.

Transplanted eelgrass filling in at Middle Ground in Salem Sound.

Monitoring the restoration sites entails counting how many planted squares remain, noting if the planted squares are beginning to coalesce, taking shoot counts from randomly selected squares, measuring the area of each planted plot at the site, and taking plenty of pictures to document the process. Reference bed monitoring is slightly different in that we are not targeting planted plots, rather quadrats to be sampled are selected using a random number generator along a 50m transect across the natural eelgrass meadow. This allows us to collect data that reflects the entire bed. As our restoration sites expand and fill in between planted plots, we will begin the same type of random quadrat monitoring throughout the entire sites. Annual monitoring results look promising so far for most sites and we may be able to adopt the transect method of monitoring for the restoration sites as soon as next year.

Planting eelgrass at Middle Ground using the BD method, 
developed by Chris Pickerell at Cornell Cooperative Extension.

Along with monitoring all of the HUB3 sites, we also added additional plots at Governors Island Flats in Boston Harbor and at Middle Ground in Salem Sound. These additional plantings increased the expected expansion areas of each site from approximately ⅓ acre to over ½ acre for each site. We expect these newly planted plots to do equally as well as the other plots at both sites.

The winter months will be spent pouring over the data we collected throughout the field season, drafting the 2014 annual report, and making plans for 2015. In the meantime, the HublineEelgrass Restoration 2013 Progress Report is available for your reading pleasure. 

Conservation moorings as a tool to minimize boating impacts to eelgrass: Observations from Massachusetts  Presented at the Restore America's Estuaries conference in Washington DC, November 1-6

L. Berry Engler, K. Uiterwyk, T. Evans

 A few highlights from the presentation:

 

Mooring scars in eelgrass meadow. 2014.  LightHawk flight

Gear costs  from 2014 installation in West Falmouth, MA and Eco- Mooring Helix Anchor 1 ½” sq. sharft 8’long w/ 8” & 10” helices $469 Eco Mooring Rode $500 Eco Mooring Misc. Shackles & Chain $222 Installation  Cost $800 Total for one eco-mooring $1,991 Diver measuring eelgrass scar

 

		Eco-mooring installed