Nutrients Causing Salt Marshes to Disintegrate
A long-term, large-scale study by Ecosystems Center scientists of salt marsh landscapes in an undeveloped coastline section of the Plum Island Estuary in Massachusetts has shown that nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus can cause salt-marsh loss. Center scientists Linda Deegan, David Johnson and Bruce Peterson and four other scientists are authors of an article [...]
2011 Ecosystems Center Annual Report: Read It On-Line
The 2011 Ecosystems Center Annual Report features stories on nutrient pollution, climate warming and fisheries. Ed Rastetter writes about the models of nutrient cycling that he has developed, which he uses to predict the effects of thermokarst scars in the Arctic, as shown in the photo (on left). Thermokarst occurs when permafrost thaws and the [...]
Tales of Young Scientists in the Salt Marsh
Greenheads, Dragonflies, Snails, and Tales of Young Scientists in the Salt Marsh If you pay attention to a New England salt marsh in the summer you can see emergence. The greenhead that emerges from the grass. The dragonfly that emerges from the pond. The snail that emerges from the flooding waters. In Plum Island, if [...]
A Land of Extremes
Land of Extremes Is Colorful Guide to Natural History of the Arctic Tundra John Hobbie and Alex Huryn, long-time principal investigators on the Arctic Long Term Ecological Research project at Toolik Lake, Alaska, have just finished a book about the natural history of the North Slope of Alaska, the only Arctic tundra in the U. [...]