THURSDAY 2/21: Aquatic Ecosystems Seminar at Coastal Research Center

“Monitoring Seagrass Meadow and Oyster Reef Ecosystem Services” will be presented 7 p.m. Thursday, February 21, at Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center in Oyster.

The seminar will be presented by Jennie Rheuban and Sara Taube of the University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences.

Jennie and Sara are Ph.D. candidates monitoring ecosystem services provided by key aquatic ecosystems in the Virginia Coast Reserve.

Jennie’s research is focused on seagrass meadows. She uses a high-tech eddy correlation approach to measure photosynthesis and respiration in seagrass meadows and adjacent bare areas to determine net ecosystem production. Her research provides valuable information concerning the carbon balance in seagrass meadows and how seagrasses add to the coastal food web.

Sara’s research is focused on coastal shorelines and the ability of oyster reefs to buffer wave action, potentially protecting shorelines from erosion during coastal storms. Through shoreline mapping and wave monitoring Sara is examining a 50-year record of shoreline change to help understand the role natural oyster reefs may have had over time in helping to shape our mainland salt marshes.

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