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Graduate Research Fellowship
The influence of habitat degradation on benthic secondary production and trophic transfer efficiency in unvegetated estuarine shallows David Gillett Graduate Research Fellow 2006-2008 Chesapeake Bay NERR, VA Virginia Institute of Marine Science The structure of a benthic community can be diagnostic of environmental health and quality. Macrobenthic organisms are considered useful indicators because they are closely associated with the sediment, where most pollution effects are concentrated; are sessile in nature, which prevents them from avoiding pollution; and have relatively long life spans of months to years, which means that they integrate environmental conditions over time. The links between structure and key functional processes, such as trophic transfer, are not well understood, but are important for effective management and restoration of estuarine habitat. This project proposes to explore the relationship between community structure and function of macrobenthic communities in shallow water portions of the Chesapeake Bay estuary along a gradient of habitat degradation, from the relatively pristine Catlett Islands to the excessively toxic and eutrophied parts of the Elizabeth River. The project will assess how changes in macrobenthic assemblages along these gradients alter the flow of organic matter between primary producers and commercially and ecologically important finfish and crustaceans. Return to Project Abstracts |
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Privacy Policy | Disclaimer http://nerrs.noaa.gov/Fellowship/grf_sus_51.html