Digital Commons Network^™

Marine History For The Environment's Future: The Archives Of The Virginia Institute Of Marine Science, Kathleen Mccallister, Carol Coughlin

Presentations

The collective body of marine information and historical knowledge is critical both for developing future studies and for evaluating changes in and threats to marine environments. Originally established in 1940, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science initially began gathering works related to the coastal and estuarine environments.

The current-day William J. Hargis, Jr. Library serves the Institute and the broader scientific community by providing access to such knowledge. Its print and expanding digital collections, and particularly its archives, furnish its patrons and scholars throughout the world with decades of information and research in the marine sciences.

The archival material not …

Detecting And Understanding Threats To Eelgrass In The Gulf Of Maine: The Times, They Are A-Changin’, Hillary A. Neckles

Presentations

Eelgrass forms extensive meadows in coastal and estuarine waters throughout northern New England and Atlantic Canada. Threats to ecosystem stability include indirect impacts of watershed development and direct physical alterations associated with coastal construction, boating operations, and commercial fishing. Effects of human activities are exacerbated by natural disturbances such as severe weather events and biotic, geomorphic, and climatic processes. Spatial simulation models have shown even small scale disturbances in eelgrass meadows to require decades for full recovery. However, lack of consistent trend data of sufficient duration, spatial extent, and resolution often impedes anticipating threats before management solutions become cost prohibitive. …