Presentation: Life on Ever-Shrinking Sea Ice: A Penguin’s Perspective (Fraser)

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Bill Fraser, Polar Oceans Research Group, Oregon State University, NSF Palmer Station, Antarctica LTER Site The Western Antarctic Peninsula is among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. Mid-winter temperatures have increased, on average, by more than six degrees Celsius (10.8ºF) over the last six decades, resulting in melting of sea ice and changes in… Read more »

Presentation: Sustainability of Salt Marshes: Still a Realistic Goal? (Alber)

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Merryl Alber, University of Georgia, NSF Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Site Intertidal marshes—lands between the tides—are ever-changing ecosystems. They’ve kept pace with changes in sea level over millennia, but today’s rate of sea-level rise and increasingly common droughts and storms pose new challenges. An influx of saltwater, for example, has the potential to change how… Read more »

Presentation: How Do Tiny Plankton Turn into Fish on a Changing Northeast U.S. Shelf? (Menden-Deuer)

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Susanne Menden-Deuer, University of Rhode Island, NSF Northeast U.S. Shelf LTER Site The Northeast U.S. Shelf generates millions of dollars in revenue from fishing, energy development and shipping. It’s also used for waste disposal, recreation and conservation—and almost 30 percent of the U.S. population lives along its shores. Researchers at the NSF Northeast U.S. Shelf… Read more »

Presentation: Giant Kelp Forests: Stepping Stones to Biodiversity (Cavanaugh)

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Kyle Cavanaugh, University of California-Los Angeles, NSF Santa  Barbara Coastal LTER Site Giant kelp is an example of a foundation species—one that physically modifies its environment and provides food and habitat for an entire ecological community. In contrast to long-lived foundation species such as forests, coral reefs and mangroves, giant kelp has a short life… Read more »

Presentation: Hurricanes as Resilience-Builders (Gaiser)

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Evelyn Gaiser,  Florida International University, Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Site Ecosystem health—like human health—is the result of a combination of chronic and short-term stresses. When will these stresses result in a stronger system, and when will they launch a downward spiral? Researchers at the NSF Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Site combine field work, large-scale experiments,… Read more »