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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

2021 Oyster Coverage Gis Layer For Mosquito Lagoon, Fl, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Gabriel Benson, Paul E. Sacks Jul 2023

2021 Oyster Coverage Gis Layer For Mosquito Lagoon, Fl, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Gabriel Benson, Paul E. Sacks

CEELAB Research Data

Intertidal reefs of Crassostrea virginica (eastern oyster) provide ecologically valuable habitat in estuaries along the Atlantic coast of North America. In Mosquito Lagoon, a shallow-water estuary on the east coast of central Florida, USA, historical aerial imagery was used to document a 24% decline in the live C. virginica reef area between 1943 and 2009. Using 2021 imagery, every living and dead reef in the same region was manually digitized to identify changes during the intervening 12 years. Positive impacts of C. virginica reef restoration that took place between 2007 and 2021 were also digitized to quantify long-term restoration impact. …


Microplastics: Water And Oyster Data For The Indian River Lagoon, Linda Walters, Casey Craig Aug 2022

Microplastics: Water And Oyster Data For The Indian River Lagoon, Linda Walters, Casey Craig

CEELAB Research Data

Microplastic (MP) abundances in surface waters and tissues of the oyster Crassostrea virginica were examined for one year in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), a 251-km long estuary on the east coast of central FL, USA to better understand spatial and temporal variability. A total of 3755 MP were found in 44% of lagoon-wide water samples. Mean density (± CI) was 1.47 ± 0.09 MP/L. Central IRL sites had the lowest MP abundance, while the south had the most, likely associated with proximity to urbanization, inlets (MP sinks) and tributaries (MP sources). More MP were found in water …


Rebecca Fillyaw Ms Thesis Data For Publication In The Journal Sustainability, Rebecca Fillyaw, Melinda Donnelly, Linda Walters Oct 2021

Rebecca Fillyaw Ms Thesis Data For Publication In The Journal Sustainability, Rebecca Fillyaw, Melinda Donnelly, Linda Walters

CEELAB Research Data

By combatting erosion and increasing habitat, mangrove living shorelines are an effective alternative to hard-armoring in tropical and subtropical areas. An experimental red mangrove living shoreline was deployed within Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, using a factorial design to test the impact of mangrove age, breakwater presence, and mangrove placement on mangrove survival within the first year of deployment. Mixed mangrove age treatments were included to identify if seedling (11-month-old) survival could be enhanced by the presence of transitional (23-month-old) and adult (35 to 47-month-old) mangroves. Environmental factors were monitored to detect possible causes of mangrove mortalities. Approximately half (50.6%) of mangroves …


Microplastics, Oysters, And The Indian River Lagoon – Final Report To Irl Nep, March 2021, Linda Walters, Casey Craig Mar 2021

Microplastics, Oysters, And The Indian River Lagoon – Final Report To Irl Nep, March 2021, Linda Walters, Casey Craig

CEELAB Research Data

UCF and partners initiated microplastics (MP) sampling in the Indian River Lagoon in March 2019, with monthly sampling of water samples at 35 locations, and quarterly sampling of oysters through February 2020. Additionally, the ability of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica to excrete microplastics was examined. Forty-four percent of water samples contained MP and there was an overall mean (± S.E.) of 1.47 (± 0.05) MP per liter of lagoon water (range: 0 – 25 MP). Fibers were the dominant MP type of MP (95.6%) and no nurdles or microbeads were collected. The dominant color of MP in water was …


Living Shoreline Stabilization To Increase Resiliency At De Soto National Memorial, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Christian Pilato, Suzanne Connor Dec 2018

Living Shoreline Stabilization To Increase Resiliency At De Soto National Memorial, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Christian Pilato, Suzanne Connor

CEELAB Research Data

De Soto National Memorial (Bradenton, FL) is an important location where both Native Americans and De Soto's army of soldiers once lived. We have been working closely with the National Park Service and the University of Central Florida to understand how to best stabilize this shoreline using living shoreline techniques combined with long-term natural recruitment. Stabilizing De Soto's shoreline is essential to decrease erosion and shoreline loss to protect the Park's cultural and natural resources, especially the numerous historically significant shell middens. Through pre-restoration monitoring, we determined that high-energy boat wakes were limiting natural mangrove recruitment. Lack of retention of …


Shoreline Characterization In The Northern Indian River Lagoon, Melinda Donnelly, Michelle Shaffer, Suzanne Connor, Linda Walters Nov 2018

Shoreline Characterization In The Northern Indian River Lagoon, Melinda Donnelly, Michelle Shaffer, Suzanne Connor, Linda Walters

CEELAB Research Data

The purpose of this project was to evaluate current conditions of estuarine shorelines in the northern section of the Indian River Lagoon system, including Mosquito Lagoon, north Indian River, and Banana River. From January 2016 through June 2018, we evaluated structural and functional characteristics of 374 miles of shoreline, from Ponce Inlet in Volusia County to Sebastian Inlet in Brevard County (11,000+ data points). Hard-armoring accounted for approximately 50% of total shoreline, evenly divided between shoreline with bulkheads (25%) and hardened slopes (25%). Forty-five percent of shoreline without hard-armoring had anthropogenic alterations (i.e. mosquito impoundments, railroads and roadways, residential and …


Shoreline Characterization For Northern Indian River Lagoon And Mosquito Lagoon, Melinda J. Donnelly, Linda Walters, Michelle Shaffer Jan 2018

Shoreline Characterization For Northern Indian River Lagoon And Mosquito Lagoon, Melinda J. Donnelly, Linda Walters, Michelle Shaffer

CEELAB Research Data

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the current conditions of estuarine shorelines in Mosquito Lagoon and northern Indian River. The shoreline assessment is the first phase in the development of a shoreline restoration suitability model for the northernmost section of the Indian River Lagoon system, in order to better conserve and restore shorelines and promote sustainable use of natural resources. The shoreline survey methodology was developed by St. Johns River Water Management for northeastern Florida and was adapted for applications in Brevard and Volusia Counties. Between November 2017 through June 2018, shoreline evaluations were completed at transects located …