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Ongoing and Recent projects
Project Title: Effects of climate change on the ecology and reproductive biology of diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)
Funding sources: CBL/UMCES (partial), Avanti Foundation (partial)
Research center: Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (UMCES)
Synopsis: As global climate continues to change, so too will the physical, ecological, and environmental conditions experienced by many species of turtles. Yet there is limited information on how these changes will affect many turtle species, including the estuarine diamondback terrapin. Ongoing research in this area is underway as part of a long-term collaboration with the Rowe Lab at CBL/UMCES. Current research is focused on the effects of changing thermal regimes on embryonic survival and temperature-dependent sex determination.
Personnel: Project PIs include Drs. Chris Rowe, Dong Liang, and Ryan Woodland (CBL). Previous collaborators include Dr. Paula Henry (USGS) and Sarah Funck (Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).
Recent publications:
Woodland, R.J., et al. 2017. Changes in Habitat Availability for Multiple Life Stages of Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in Chesapeake Bay in Response to Sea Level Rise. Estuaries and Coasts 40, 1502–1515 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-017-0209-2
Rowe, C.L., et al. 2017. Metabolic rates are elevated and influenced by maternal identity during the early, yolk-dependent, post-hatching period in an estuarine turtle, the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology, 204, pp.137-145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2016.11.015
Rowe, C.L., et al. 2020. Effects of constant and fluctuating incubation temperatures on hatching success and hatchling traits in the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) in the context of the warming climate. Journal of Thermal Biology, 88, p.102528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102528
Top: Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) clutch. Bottom: Female diamondback terrapin, PAX Naval Air Station. Photo credits: C. Rowe.
Larval wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) several days post-hatching. Photo credit: R. Woodland.
Project Title: Effects of temperature elevation on the expression of larval life history traits in temperate anurans
Funding sources: Avanti Foundation (partial)
Research centers: Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (UMCES)
Synopsis: Aquatic mesocosms will be used to evaluate how a relatively small change in average temperature throughout the larval period may influence metamorphic traits in several species of temperate anurans, including wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) and southern leopard frog (Lithobates spenocephala). Survival, growth rates, morphology and body size will all be measured to determine the physiological consequences of warming under otherwise identical conditions.
Personnel: Project PIs include Drs. Chris Rowe and Ryan Woodland (CBL).
Publications:
Rowe, C., and R.J. Woodland. In Review. Temperature elevation throughout larval development alters the expression of larval life history traits in a temperate population of the wood frog, Lithobates sylvaticus
Project Title: Preliminary conceptual model for an ecological risk assessment for microplastics on Striped Bass in the Potomac River Estuary
Funding sources: US EPA (2020-2021)
Research centers: TetraTech, Inc, and Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (UMCES)
Synopsis: The purpose of this project is to develop a preliminary conceptual ecological risk assessment model to identify pathways, sources, effects, and unknowns related to environmental plastic debris, specifically microplastics and smaller, for resident age-classes of Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) in the tidal portion of the Potomac River. The Potomac is a major tributary to the Chesapeake Bay, and this conceptual risk assessment will serve as a starting point for understanding the potential ecological effects of microplastics on the aquatic resources in the larger Bay. This initial effort is expected to inform a science strategy for microplastics in the Potomac River and provide insights regarding restoration efforts around the Chesapeake Bay and contributing watersheds.
Personnel: Project personnel include Senior Scientists Robert Murphy and Jennifer Flippin (TetraTech, Inc) and Dr. Ryan Woodland (CBL).
Resident Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) food web in the Potomac River Estuary, Chesapeake Bay. Image credit: R. Woodland.
Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) captured in the Patuxent River Estuary, Chesapeake Bay. Image credit: CBL/UMCES.
Project Title: Fish and Microplastics in the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers
Funding sources: US EPA (2021-2022)
Research centers: TetraTech, Inc, and Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (UMCES)
Synopsis: This investigation will expand the scope of work completed in a recent study that detected microplastics sinks/sources in the Anacostia River mainstem and its tributaries in addition to the Potomac River. These sinks/sources are also important aquatic habitat areas in the Anacostia, such as tidal marshes and submerged aquatic vegetation beds, have been found to accumulate microplastics. This comprehensive study will examine presence of microplastics in various forage and predatory fish species, many of which are recreationally and commercially valuable in the region. The study will take place across multiple seasons and sampling points in the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. Lab analysis will look at presence and abundance of microplastics, as well microplastic type (e.g. fragments, fibers).
Personnel: Project personnel include Senior Scientist Robert Murphy (TetraTech, Inc) and Dr. Ryan Woodland (CBL). This project will provide partial support for a masters student, Meagan Criscuoli. (CBL/UMCES).
Project Title: Vertebrate Community Response to Regenerative Stream Conveyance (RSC) Restoration as a Resource Trade-Off
Funding sources: Chesapeake Bay Trust (2020-2021)
Research centers: TetraTech, Inc, and Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (UMCES),
Synopsis: This study will provide a critical baseline for assessing the trade-offs inherent in stream restorations using the Regenerative Stream Conveyance (RSC) or restored stream-wetland technique. Specifically, it will quantify the aquatic vertebrate community changes that should be expected and valued as part of the ecological change resulting from RSC restorations implemented in lowland Coastal Plain streams with nutrient-rich waters. In Step 1, we will define the reference conditions (minimally or least disturbed) for Coastal Plain aquatic vertebrate communities in both streams and stream-wetland complexes, using a literature review, existing Maryland Biological Stream Survey (MBSS), and other data. In Step 2, we will sample and analyze the aquatic vertebrate communities in streams that have been converted to RSCs, along with comparable references. The results of this study will help practitioners and regulators more appropriately quantify the biotic resource changes that occur when defined-channel stream systems with riparian canopy cover are transformed into less-defined stream-wetland complexes, and ultimately quantify those changes along with nutrient reduction benefits.
Personnel: Project PIs include Drs. Mark Sutherland, James Stribling, and Senior Scientists Nancy Roth and Robert Murphy at TetraTech, Inc, and Drs. Solange Filoso and Ryan Woodland at CBL. Alexandra Carroll participated in much of the field effort.
Dr. Solange Filoso at a RSC study site, Annapolis, MD. Photo credit: R. Woodland.
Top: Belize Research Team 2018 aboard the R/V Goliath, TREC. Bottom: Turtle grass (Thalassia testudinum) bed with quadrat, Ambergris Caye Lagoon. Photo credits: D. Quill.
Project Title: Building an ecological baseline in Ambergris Caye Lagoon, Belize
Funding sources: CBL/UMCES (partial), College of Southern Maryland (partial)
Research centers: Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (UMCES)
Synopsis: Human activities can have a detrimental effect on the health and functioning of coastal ecosystems, particularly when these activities simultaneously alter multiple trophic levels. Bottom-up forcing can result when human development alters the total concentration and stoichiometry of nutrient pools available to primary producers such as seagrass, macroalgae, coral zoozanthellae and epiphytic biofilms. These changes can propagate through food webs to upper trophic level consumers, with consequences such as reduced foraging opportunities, linearized trophic pathways, and niche collapse. In this study, we conducted a spatial study of nutrient sources supporting seagrasses in the coastal lagoon of Ambergris Caye to provide a biogeochemical baseline of the extent of human influences on the Ambergris Caye lagoon ecosystem. We used basic measurements of epiphyte load, seagrass density, and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to continue to trace the signature of anthropogenic nutrients into the primary producers and ecological consequences of the nutrients.
Personnel: This project was a collaboration between CBL/UMCES, College of Southern Maryland (CSM) and the Belize Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC). Project PIs include Dr. Ryan Woodland at CBL, Prof. Paul Billeter (CSM), and Dr. Kenneth Mattes (TREC). This project provided international research experience for community college students through the E2C3 Program.
Publications:
Theresa Murphy, Joseph T. Molina, Danielle M. Quill, Paul A. Billeter, Kenneth Mattes, Ryan J. Woodland. In Review. Seagrass stable isotope composition provides seascape-scale tracking of anthropogenic nitrogen inputs in a tropical marine lagoon
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