Presenter Information

Ingrid Knowles, Bates College

Event Website

http://www.bates.edu/mt-david-summit.xml

Start Date

1-4-2011 1:45 PM

End Date

1-4-2011 3:00 PM

Description

Many of the marshes in New England currently have a network of small, hand-dug ditches (made by the first European settlers 300+ years ago). In an effort to restore these ditched marshes and to increase the surface area of pool habitat available, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plugged several ditches in the Sprague River Marsh, Phippsburg, ME, in the early 2000s. Since emplacement of the ditchplugs, few efforts have been made to monitor the ditchplug pools. The purpose of this research is to study the biogeochemical cycling of ditchplug and natural pools in the Sprague River Marsh in Phippsburg, ME. In the summer of 2010 mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus), surface sediment, vegetation, biomass cores, and other marine organisms were collected for stable isotope analysis. General water quality parameters and nutrient data (NO3-, PO4, and NH4) were monitored. Initial results suggest enrichment in the δ13C in the muscle tissue from the mummichogs collected in the ditchplug pools. Further analysis is underway to further understand the isotopic and hydrological differences in the ditchplug and natural pools.

 
Apr 1st, 1:45 PM Apr 1st, 3:00 PM

A Biogeochemical Study of Ditchplug and Natural Pools in the Sprague River Marsh, Phippsburg, ME

Many of the marshes in New England currently have a network of small, hand-dug ditches (made by the first European settlers 300+ years ago). In an effort to restore these ditched marshes and to increase the surface area of pool habitat available, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plugged several ditches in the Sprague River Marsh, Phippsburg, ME, in the early 2000s. Since emplacement of the ditchplugs, few efforts have been made to monitor the ditchplug pools. The purpose of this research is to study the biogeochemical cycling of ditchplug and natural pools in the Sprague River Marsh in Phippsburg, ME. In the summer of 2010 mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus), surface sediment, vegetation, biomass cores, and other marine organisms were collected for stable isotope analysis. General water quality parameters and nutrient data (NO3-, PO4, and NH4) were monitored. Initial results suggest enrichment in the δ13C in the muscle tissue from the mummichogs collected in the ditchplug pools. Further analysis is underway to further understand the isotopic and hydrological differences in the ditchplug and natural pools.

http://scarab.bates.edu/mt_david_summit/MDS2011/02Poster/18