It is hard to put into words how exciting and simultaneously peaceful life is in this hidden corner of the world. The best we can hope to do is take you along for a regular day GCE LTER…make sure to slather yourself with sunscreen!
The LTER Network Office is excited to announce that three Scientific Peers Advancing Research Collaborations (SPARC) proposals were funded this year. The three groups will meet in person at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis for one week, starting in the fall.
Marine LTER sites come together to synthesize how consumer-mediated nutrient dynamics are changing throughout time and in response to disturbances.
Atlantic marsh fiddler crabs facilitate the aboveground growth of a foundational saltmarsh grass, but this positive interaction becomes negative as crabs migrate north.
A recent paper from researchers at the University of Georgia, in collaboration with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, uses oxygen isotope analysis of mollusk shells found at archaeological sites to show how ancestral Muskogean villages collectively, and sustainably, managed shellfish harvest.
“We know that salt marsh plants face stressors like sea level rise, drought, and excess nutrient runoff. What is more difficult to predict is the localized response to these stressors,” writes Kyle Runion of his
Ecosystems resist devastation from hurricanes by choosing either of two strategies: high resistance or high resilience.
GCE LTER researchers simulated the effects of long term (press) and short term (pulse) salt water intrusions in tidal freshwater marshes. Press conditions were more disastrous for the ecosystem, altering the N cycle, while the landscape was able to recover from pulse conditions.
On the boundaries of fresh and saltwater systems, coastal marshes give rise to diverse, productive ecosystems that act as carbon sinks. Their secret? Freshwater marsh plants receive just the right amount of nutrients and salt from periodic seawater tides to thrive. However, incursions of saltwater into these systems are increasing —often caused by drought and… Read more »
Parking under a bridge, I walked down a short dirt road to the cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliacea) marsh. The bright green stalks waved overhead, completely immersing me as I stepped onto a narrow boardwalk that provides access to the gridded plots. The air was hot and humid, t-shirts and shorts sticking to arms and legs as students and researchers moved amid the marsh.
