Sapelo Research Application Form
Research Application ID: GCE-130-2023 (submitted: 05/10/2023, status: approved)
Provide a brief title for web display
Allocthonus Inputs: Investigating the use of ephemeral subtidal marine vegetation
Investigator Information
On Island Sponsor: GCE SINERR UGAMI GADNR
| Principal Investigator: | James Byers | ||
| Home Institution: | University of Georgia | ||
| Award Information: | (not specified) | ||
| Mailing Address: | Room 194B, Ecology Bldg. | Phone Number: | (706) 583-0012 |
| Odum School of Ecology | E-mail Address: | jebyers@uga.edu | |
| Athens, Georgia 30602 | |||
| Co-investigators: | Matthew Pierce (University of Georgia), Shelby Ziegler (University of Georgia) | ||
Briefly describe the project goals and methodology
The goal of the project is to understand the fidelity of marsh slump blocks and how marine organisms (amphipods, invertebrates, and fish) are colonizing and utilizing them while they are present in the water column of tidal creeks. I will use 20 grown/collected 0.25m2 , 20 cm thick slump blocks. There will be three treatments: no vegetation, dead vegetation, and live vegetation. Slump blocks will be placed along the South End Creek on Sapelo Island, Georgia. Minnow traps, lift nets, curtain nets, and dip nets will be used to collect information about the organisms using the slump blocks. Stem height and density of Spartina alterniflora on slump blocks will be tracked over time and chlorophyll content of Spartina will be measured. Tea bags will be used to track belowground decomposition rates of plant material. Dimensions of slump blocks and elevation will be taken at time of placement.
Where will the project be located?
I will be working along the creekbank of South End Creek near the UGAMI campus. A Google Earth kml file is attached for the general proposed areas I will be working.
How will you provide GPS coordinates for study sites?
I will provide a GIS file describing my study sites (ArcGIS shapefile, Google Earth KML/KMZ)
What are the expected start and end dates of the project?
Start Date: 06/01/2023 End Date: 12/01/2023
How many people will access the site and at what frequency?
3 people for 3 days weekly for the fist month. 2 people for 2 days bi-weekly for the other 5 months.
Keywords that describe your project
What equipment will be deployed in the field?
Each slump block will have a marking flag placed on it. The flags will be removed at the end of the study.
Will plants or animals be collected as part of this study?
Invertebrate crustaceans and amphipods will be collected to assess community composition on the slump blocks. Fish will be indiscriminately caught in the various traps used for this study. For this reason no specific species are selected. The expected fish species and their native ranges are: Lagodon rhomboides (Pinfish) Western Atlantic: Massachusetts (USA), Bermuda, and northern Gulf of Mexico to Florida Keys, USA and Yucatan, Mexico; Bairdiella chrysoura (Perch, Silver) Western Atlantic: New York to southern Florida in USA, and eastern and northern Gulf of Mexico to northern Mexico; Gerridae (Mojarra spp.) Western Atlantic: Bermuda to Florida, USA and the Bahama; Orthopritis chrysoptera (Pigfish) Western Atlantic: New York, USA and Bermuda to Mexico; Lutjanus griseus (Snapper, Grey/Mangrove) Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA and Bermuda southward to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, including West Indies (Anderson, pers. comm.), Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea; Lutjanus synagris (Snapper, Lane) Western Atlantic: Bermuda (Anderson, pers. comm.) and North Carolina, USA to southeastern Brazil, including Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea; Leiostomus xanthurus (Spot) Western Atlantic: Massachusetts to northern Mexico; absent in southern Florida; Stephanolepis hispidus (Planehead Filefish) Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia (Canada), Bermuda, and northern Gulf of Mexico to Urugua; Sygnathus sp. (Pipefish) Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and Knysna, South Africa to Samoa, north to southern Japan, south to New South Wales; Cynoscion nebulosus (Sea Trout, Speckled) Western Atlantic: New York to southern Florida in USA and the entire Gulf of Mexico; Opsanus tau (Toadfish, Oyster) Western Atlantic: Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Florida in USA, straggling south to Miami in cold years; Archosargus probatocephalus (Sheepshead) Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia, Canada and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil; Paralichthys spp (Flounder spp) Northwest Atlantic: Maine (rarely Nova Scotia, Canada) to northern Florida, USA; Mycteroperca microlepis (Gag Grouper) Western Atlantic: North Carolina, USA (with juveniles occurring as far north as Massachusetts) to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Rare in Bermuda; Blenniidae (Blenny) depending on the species, Blenny's range from Western Central Atlantic: Bahamas and Caribbean, including the Antilles, southeastern Florida in USA and Bahamas to Belize, (including northern Gulf of Mexico) to Central and northern South America, Bermuda, Georgia and northeastern Gulf of Mexico in USA; MexicoGobiidae (Goby) Western Atlantic: southern Florida, USA and the Bahamas to Yucatan, Mexico and Belize, to Panama; Micropogonias undulatus (Croaker, Atlantic) Western Atlantic: Massachusetts, USA (excluding Florida) and northern Gulf of Mexico to northern Mexico. Possibly from southern Brazil to Argentina. Uncertain in southern Gulf of Mexico, Lesser Antilles and southern Caribbean; Sciaenops ocellatus (Drum, Red) Western Atlantic: Massachusetts in USA to northern Mexico, including southern Florida, USA; Centropristis spp (Sea Bass, Black) Western Atlantic: Canada to Maine to northeastern Florida in USA and eastern Gulf of Mexico; reaches extreme southern Florida during cold wintern; Pogonias cromis (Drum, Black) Western Atlantic: Nova Scotia to Florida, Gulf of Mexico, the Antilles (uncommon), and the southern Caribbean coast; also from the Orinoco delta to Argentina; Pomatomus saltatrix (bluefish) Circumglobal: In tropical to subtropical waters; except the eastern Pacific.
What are the likely impacts of the project on the site?
16 0.25m^2 plots of Spartina alterniflora will be used as the slump blocks. The plots will be ~20 cm thick and will be collected from Airport Marsh on Sapelo Island Georgia. 8 of the slump blocks will receive a treatment of the herbicide Round-Up to kill the vegetation before field deployment of the slump blocks. Spartina alterniflora would be expected to recover within a growing season and plant and soil removal will be dispersed so that there are no large areas of bare mud left behind as a result oof collection.
Will the project design include boardwalks? If not, explain why not.
The project design will not include boardwalks since most of the work will be done via boat and interaction with the marsh will be limited as we are working in the creek channel.
How long will impacts persist after the research is concluded?
Spartina alterniflora would be expected to recover within a growing season (~1 year) and plant and soil removal will be dispersed so that there are no large areas of bare mud left behind as a result oof collection. Round-Up application will be limited to a few slump blocks and is not expected to persist. Once slump blocks are deployed in the field there will be no more applications of Round-Up.
Research Permits:
GA DNR Law Enforcement - Collecting Permits: GCE-130-2023_Permit_2023-ByersCollectionPermit_(1) (04/11/2023-03/31/2024)
Study Area Map:
Files attached to this application
GCE-130-2023_Maps_Slump_Block_Experiment.kml (KML file, 4.92 kb, submitted 05/12/2023)
GCE-130-2023_General_2023-ByersCollectionPermit.pdf (PDF file, 204.79 kb, submitted 05/12/2023)
GCE-130-2023_General_Pierce_IACUC2023.pdf (PDF file, 753.01 kb, submitted 06/01/2023)
