research goal |
Our goal is to understand the effects of environmental stressors on large-scale physiological processes such as plant development and reproduction within seagrass populations and to communicate these results to resource agencies and policy makers charged with their management. Specifically, we are interested in how environmental conditions impact:
- seagrass life history strategies
- reproductive output
- resilience to disturbance
Why seagrass?
Seagrasses, marine angiosperms, are found at the land-sea margin, a highly variable, stressful, and disturbed habitat. They produce essential ecosystem services such as habitat provision, nutrient cycling, shoreline stabilization, and carbon sequestration. In recent decades increases in anthropogenic disturbances and impacts from climate change in coastal and estuarine habitats have resulted in a global decline in seagrass populations.
Research approach
Our research approach uses a combination of laboratory and in situ experiments, quantitative field observations and ecological modelling techniques to link changes in seagrass physiology to broader ecosystem frameworks.
current research projects
2024 - PRESENT: Tier 2 monitoring of High Salinity SAV meadows in Albemarle-Pamlico sound
Funded by the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, the overall objective of this study is to provide the datasets and analyses needed to quantify long-term trends in high salinity relative species composition and cover in relation to potential abiotic drivers. We aim to do this by addressing APNEP's two core research questions related to high salinity SAV.
- Q1: How is SAV condition changing in estuarine waters?
- Q2: Are estuarine water quality conditions suitable to sustain the ecosystem services provided by SAV species?
2023 - PRESENT: Detecting adaptive genomic variation in seagrass meadows located within northern protected areas
Funded by the National Parks Service, this project aims to reduce climate vulnerability of seagrass meadows across multiple Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN) parks through the application of innovative assisted gene flow approaches. We aim to leverage recommendations from a recent multi-agency, multi-institutional work-group to move seeds from resilient populations to pilot restoration sites (i.e., "assisted gene flow”), to determine genotypes that are compatible with local conditions and temperatures through well-vetted field techniques to inform future climate resilient eelgrass restoration. Our specific questions are:
Co-PI: S. Kamel UNCW
- Q1: Are there genotypes of eelgrass within NCBN parks that are more resilient to climate change? If so can we detect this at the genomic level?
- Q2: Will "climate adapted" eelgrass perform better (greater survival, greater ability to maintain metabolic homeostasis) than non-adapted plants under stressful water temperatures regardless of location?
Co-PI: S. Kamel UNCW
2022 - PRESENT: Evaluating and enhancing eelgrass resiliency and restoration potential in a changing climate
Funded by the National Estuarine Research Reserve Science Collaborative, The overall objective of this study is to provide the datasets and analyses needed to better enhance the thermal resiliency of Virginia eelgrass populations, with the goal of informing management decisions related to eelgrass management and restoration within the broader mid-Atlantic region. We aim to do this by addressing two core research questions that will be explored during two years of collaborative research between CBNERR-VA, UNCW, and end-user specialists. Our specific questions are
Co-PIs: E. Shields CBNERRVA, S. Kamel UNCW, C. Gonzalez CBNERRVA, B. Shields MDNR
Project Page: National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative
Media Coverage: North Carolina Coastal Federation; WECT News
- Q1: Why are NC eelgrass beds more resilient to temperature stress than VA beds?
- Q2: Will NC eelgrass perform better (greater survival, greater ability to maintain metabolic homeostasis) than VA plants under stressful water temperatures regardless of location?
Co-PIs: E. Shields CBNERRVA, S. Kamel UNCW, C. Gonzalez CBNERRVA, B. Shields MDNR
Project Page: National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative
Media Coverage: North Carolina Coastal Federation; WECT News
2021-Present: Florida bay Fisheries habitat assessment program (FHAP)
Funded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC), the overall goal of FHAP-SF is to provide information for spatial assessment and resolution of inter-annual variability in seagrass and macro-algae communities, and to establish a baseline to monitor responses of seagrass communities to water-management alterations associated with Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) activities. Specifically, our objectives are to:
- intensively sample 22 basins within Florida Bay for benthic cover
- collect data on Thalassia testudinum shoot morphometrics, epiphyte load, and reproductive status
- quantify physical and water-quality parameters are measured at each station, including water and secchi depth, salinity, temperature, pH and the light attenuation for each basin
Previous Research Projects
2020-2023: changing sav communities and impacts on blue crabs: potential ecosystem and fisheries impacts of climate change
Funded by NC Sea Grant, this project aims to investigate the effects of shifts in SAV community structure and function on the recruitment and survival of obligate estuarine commercial and recreational fisheries species. Specifically, our objectives are to:
- use Collaborative Learning methodology to establish and engage a stakeholder advisory workgroup,
- assess the effects of morphological and structural differences between SAV meadow types (Z. marina, H. wrightii, mixed) on the ability of SAV beds to function as habitats and foraging grounds for fisheries species ;
- elucidate the potential impacts of SAV species replacement on the abundance and mortality of juvenile blue crabs across all meadow types;
- develop SAV and blue crab environmental vulnerability indicators in an ecological vulnerability assessment framework to be transferred directly to resource managers for the management of SAV and blue crabs in response to changing weather and climate patterns across NC.
2020-2023: development of seagrass drone mapping methodology
Funded by NC Division of Marine Fisheries CRFL Program, this project aims to provide rapid response methods to quantify changes in on the status and trends of seagrass habitat by establishing seagrass remote sensing protocols in the Barrier Island Shelf and Southern NC coastal meadows.
Our specific objectives are to:
Our specific objectives are to:
- Refine drone-based NC seagrass mapping and ground-truth protocols to quantify seasonal and inter-annual variation in established sentinel sites in southeastern NC.
- Determine if selected high salinity sentinel sites reflect the landscape scale changes in seagrass status .
- Maintain continuous water quality and benthic PAR monitoring stations.
- Link changes in SAV percent cover and areal coverage to water quality conditions.
- Prepare a sentinel site monitoring plan for high salinity regions of NC .
2017-2022: Seagrass Vulnerability to Climate Change in Barnegat Bay
Funded by the EPA National Estuary Program, the overarching goal of this project is to provide regulatory agencies and coastal managers with the information and tools they need to successfully support the bay’s seagrass communities in light of changing climatic conditions. Specifically are goals are:
Publications: Scalpone, C.R., J,C. Jarvis, J.M. Vasslides, J.M. Testa, and Neil K. Ganju. 2020. Simulated Estuary-Wide Response of Seagrass (Zostera marina) to Future Scenarios of Temperature and Sea Level. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.539946
- The development of geographic information system (GIS)-based habitat suitability maps for Zostera marina and Ruppia maritima in Barnegat Bay under future climate scenarios;
- The construction of a webpage with interactive maps and user’s guide to disseminate the information obtained under objective #1 to the community of practice;
- The creation of public-friendly infographics that will discuss the potential impacts that climate change will have on seagrass communities; and
- The facilitation of a workshop with regulatory agencies to promote the use of these climate change sensitive tools as part of a comprehensive approach to the planning and review of seagrass restoration/mitigation activities.
Publications: Scalpone, C.R., J,C. Jarvis, J.M. Vasslides, J.M. Testa, and Neil K. Ganju. 2020. Simulated Estuary-Wide Response of Seagrass (Zostera marina) to Future Scenarios of Temperature and Sea Level. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.539946
2017-2022: NC Seagrass Sentinel Sites
Funded by NC Division of Marine Fisheries CRFL Program, this project aims to provide information on the status and trends of seagrass habitat by establishing seagrass sentinel sites in the Barrier Island Shelf and Southern NC coastal meadows.
Our specific objectives were to:
Publications/Datasets:
Our specific objectives were to:
- Select seagrass sentinel sites in marine habitats in the Barrier Island Shelf and Southern NC regions.
- Quantify baseline conditions for seagrass abundance and distribution using remote sensing methodology.
- Establish continuous water quality and benthic PAR monitoring stations at each seagrass sentinel site.
- Develop transect based sampling protocols to quantify physiological, structural and resilience indicators for seagrass meadows.
- Link changes in seagrass health to water quality conditions.
Publications/Datasets:
- Bartenfelder A, Kenworthy WJ, Puckett B, Deaton C and Jarvis JC (2022) The Abundance and Persistence of Temperate and Tropical Seagrasses at Their Edge-of-Range in the Western Atlantic Ocean. Front. Mar. Sci. 9:917237. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2022.917237
- Jarvis, Jessie, 2022, "Replication Data for: The Abundance and Persistence of Temperate and Tropical Seagrasses at Their Edge-of-Range in the Western Atlantic Ocean", https://doi.org/10.15139/S3/NCXW8L, UNC Dataverse, V1
2019: RAPID COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH - Mechanisms of seagrass community injury and resilience post Hurricane Florence: implications for an increasingly stormy coast
Funded by NSF, this project looked at the impacts of Hurricane Florence on the resilience and function of seagrass meadows in an increasingly stormy coast. Using key seagrass datasets collected by this research team dating back decades across ~40 Florence-impacted meadows, this project will address several fundamental ecological questions related to:
- How sexual v. asexual life histories promote susceptibility or resilience of seagrass to disturbance
- How meadow landscape configuration and plant diversity modulate the effect of storms on seedbank retention
- How meadow disturbance (intense physical v. more chronic physiochemical drivers) affects community dynamics, with special focus on plant productivity and the critical “nursery role” of seagrass habitat
- How seasonality and species traits amplify or attenuate the effects of intense disturbance on seagrasses.