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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Evolution Of Tidal Marsh Distribution Under Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Julie Herman, Carl Hershner
Evolution Of Tidal Marsh Distribution Under Accelerating Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Julie Herman, Carl Hershner
VIMS Articles
Tidal marshes are important ecological systems that are responding to sea level rise-driven changes in tidal regimes. Human development along the coastline creates barriers to marsh migration, moderating tidal marsh distributions. This study shows that in the Chesapeake Bay, USA an estuarine system with geographic and development variability, overall estuarine tidal marshes are projected to decline by approximately half over the next century. Tidal freshwater and oligohaline habitats, which are found in the upper reaches of the estuary and are typically backed by high elevation shorelines are particularly vulnerable. Due to their geological setting, losses of large extents of tidal …
Large Projected Population Loss Of A Salt Marsh Bivalve (Geukensia Demissa) From Sea Level Rise, Robert Isdell, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carlton Hershner
Large Projected Population Loss Of A Salt Marsh Bivalve (Geukensia Demissa) From Sea Level Rise, Robert Isdell, Donna M. Bilkovic, Carlton Hershner
VIMS Articles
Salt marshes and their inhabitants are being displaced by climate change and human development along the coastline. One inhabitant, the ribbed mussel (Geukensia demissa), forms a mutualistic relationship with smooth cordgrass, Sporobolus alterniflorus, along the US Atlantic Coast. Ribbed mussels stabilize the marsh, remove particulate matter from the water column, and promote denitrification, thereby improving local water quality. To quantify the potential effects of SLR on ribbed mussel abundance and resulting impacts on water quality functions, we compared the current and projected future (2050) spatial distributions of ribbed mussels in Chesapeake Bay assuming an intermediate SLR for …