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GCE-LTER Data Set Summary

Accession: GEL-GCET-1216 Research Theme: Geology (Graduate Thesis Study)
Contributors: Alyssa Gehman, Natalie McLenaghan, Merryl Alber, Jeb Byers, Clark Alexander, Steve Pennings, Morgan Mahaffey, Stephanie Shaw, Katie Shaw, Gabriel Mills, Kaitlyn McPherran
Title: Effects of Small-scale Armoring and Residential Development on the Salt Marsh/Upland Ecotone in Coastal Georgia, USA
Abstract: Use of small-scale armoring placed near the marsh-upland interface to protect single-family homes from flooding is a widespread coastal development practice, but its effect on the environment is under studied. We compared the biota and environmental characteristics of 60 marshes on the coast of Georgia, USA, that were adjacent to either a bulkhead, a residential backyard with no armoring, or an intact forest during June-July 2013 using a nested, spatially blocked sampling design. For each plot in each sampling site, we used real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS to measure the location and elevation of the upper marsh. We collected cores to determine porewater salinity and nutrient concentrations as well as grain size distribution of marsh sediments. We quantified flora (vegetation composition) and fauna (snail, bivalve, and crab abundance) in the upper marsh ecotone. For sites with bulkheads, we recorded the height, thickness and condition of the bulkhead, as well as surveyed the animals living on and around the bulkheads.
DOI: 10.6073/pasta/c70d736e0750ef09566bff40c3730fd9
Key Words: buildings, bulkhead, community composition, crabs, disturbance, disturbance patterns, elevation, floodplain, geographic information systems, global positioning system, human disturbance, land use, landscape change, marshes, microalgae, mollusks, plant communities, residential development, shoreline armoring
LTER Core Area: Disturbance Patterns
Research Themes: GCE3 Area1 - Drivers of Change, Geology, Aquatic Invertebrate Ecology, Geospatial Analysis, Plant Ecology
Study Period: 01-Jun-2013 to 15-Jul-2013
Study Sites:
GA_Coast -- Georgia Coast, Southeast Georgia
» Download Geographic Coverage: Google Earth
Species References: Armases cinereum, Geukensia demissa, Iva frutescens, Melampus bidentatus
Project References: Shoreline Survey
Publications:

Gehman, A., McLenaghan, N.A., Byers, J., Alexander, C.R. Jr., Pennings, S.C. and Alber, M. 2018. Effects of small-scale armoring and residential development on the salt marsh-upland ecotone. Estuaries and Coasts. 41(1):54-67. (DOI: 10.1007/s12237-017-0300-8)

Downloads: Information

Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_Armases (Armases count of the upland-marsh border, 124 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [13.70kb],  Text File [12.32kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [171.74kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [143.91kb],  Text Report [33.20kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_Bulkhead (Bulkhead measurements and condition, 21 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [3.18kb],  Text File [2.45kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [136.85kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [109.94kb],  Text Report [24.17kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_BulkheadAnimals (Animals using the bulkhead as habitat, 239 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [13.76kb],  Text File [10.54kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [216.96kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [187.75kb],  Text Report [32.10kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_Invertebrates (Number of invertebrates counted at each sample location, 2443 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [136.25kb],  Text File [113.39kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [968.76kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [938.84kb],  Text Report [145.74kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_Parasite (Minuca pugnax parasite surveys, 263 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [11.12kb],  Text File [9.10kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [29.07kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [28.62kb],  Text Report [36.35kb]

Column List:(display)


Zip archive (ancillary data): GEL-GCET-1216_ParasiteCode (R code and data spreadsheets formatted for parasite analysis)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Zip archive [101565kb]


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_PercentCover (Percent cover of species in sampling plot, 2531 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [83.03kb],  Text File [57.89kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [869.24kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [840.13kb],  Text Report [90.00kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_PlantHeights (Species and plant height of plants in corners of sampling site, 396 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [42.35kb],  Text File [34.89kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [396.20kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [369.00kb],  Text Report [59.64kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_RTKelevation (RTK elevations for each sampling location, 554 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [18.77kb],  Text File [12.95kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [287.65kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [257.27kb],  Text Report [36.49kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_SiteInfo (General information about the sampling sites, 61 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [7.68kb],  Text File [6.78kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [156.63kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [125.71kb],  Text Report [28.30kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_Soils (Porewater, Nutrient and Sediment analysis, 390 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [21.04kb],  Text File [19.97kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [247.55kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [220.97kb],  Text Report [44.75kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_SpartinaLine (Distances to Spartina Line along each transect, 61 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [2.50kb],  Text File [1.62kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [136.53kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [NaNkb],  Text Report [22.66kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_Upland (Characteristics of the first 2 meters of upland area, 61 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [11.44kb],  Text File [8.64kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [213.41kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [190.77kb],  Text Report [32.36kb]

Column List:(display)


Data Table: GEL-GCET-1216_Wrack (Wrack precent coverage and location at sites, 63 records)

Access: Public (released 12-Aug-2017)

Metadata: Text (ESA FLED), XML (Ecological Metadata Language)

Data Formats: Spreadsheet (CSV) [3.13kb],  Text File [2.35kb],  MATLAB (GCE Toolbox) [138.77kb],  MATLAB (Variables) [109.63kb],  Text Report [24.03kb]

Column List:(display)

Statistics: Generate script code to retrieve data tables for analysis in: MATLAB, R, SAS, SPSS
Citation: Gehman, Alyssa. 2016. Effects of Small-scale Armoring and Residential Development on the Salt Marsh/Upland Ecotone in Coastal Georgia, USA. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project, University of Georgia, Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/c70d736e0750ef09566bff40c3730fd9

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LTER
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This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grants OCE-9982133, OCE-0620959, OCE-1237140 and OCE-1832178. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in the material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.