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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Environmental Sciences

William & Mary

VIMS Articles

2020

Biological Sciences Peer-Reviewed Articles

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Restoration Of Seagrass Habitat Leads To Rapid Recovery Of Coastal Ecosystem Services, Robert J. Orth, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Karen S. Mcglathery, Lillian Aoki, Mark Luckenbach, Kenneth A. Moore, Matthew P.J. Oreska, Richard A. Snyder, David J. Wilcox, Bo Lusk Oct 2020

Restoration Of Seagrass Habitat Leads To Rapid Recovery Of Coastal Ecosystem Services, Robert J. Orth, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Karen S. Mcglathery, Lillian Aoki, Mark Luckenbach, Kenneth A. Moore, Matthew P.J. Oreska, Richard A. Snyder, David J. Wilcox, Bo Lusk

VIMS Articles

There have been increasing attempts to reverse habitat degradation through active restoration, but few largescale successes are reported to guide these efforts. Here, we report outcomes from a unique and very successful seagrass restoration project: Since 1999, over 70 million seeds of a marine angiosperm, eelgrass (Zostera marina), have been broadcast into mid-western Atlantic coastal lagoons, leading to recovery of 3612 ha of seagrass. Well-developed meadows now foster productive and diverse animal communities, sequester substantial stocks of carbon and nitrogen, and have prompted a parallel restoration for bay scallops (Argopecten irradians). Restored ecosystem services are approaching historic levels, but we …


Trace Metal Availability Affects Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Microbial Functional Group Abundance In Freshwater Wetland Sediments, George Giannopoulos, Katherine R. Hartop, Bonnie L. Brown, Bongkeun Song, Lars Elsgaard, Rima B. Franklin Sep 2020

Trace Metal Availability Affects Greenhouse Gas Emissions And Microbial Functional Group Abundance In Freshwater Wetland Sediments, George Giannopoulos, Katherine R. Hartop, Bonnie L. Brown, Bongkeun Song, Lars Elsgaard, Rima B. Franklin

VIMS Articles

We investigated the effects of trace metal additions on microbial nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) cycling using freshwater wetland sediment microcosms amended with micromolar concentrations of copper (Cu), molybdenum (Mo), iron (Fe), and all combinations thereof. In addition to monitoring inorganic N transformations (NO3, NO2, N2O, NH4+) and carbon mineralization (CO2, CH4), we tracked changes in functional gene abundance associated with denitrification (nirS, nirK, nosZ), dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA; nrfA), and methanogenesis (mcrA). With regards to …


Single-Use Plastics And Covid-19: Scientific Evidence And Environmental Regulations, Robert C. Hale, Bk Song Jun 2020

Single-Use Plastics And Covid-19: Scientific Evidence And Environmental Regulations, Robert C. Hale, Bk Song

VIMS Articles

Waste plastics are a serious and growing environmental problem. Less than 10% of plastics are recycled, with most discarded in landfills, incinerated, or simply abandoned.1 Single-use plastics constitute about half of plastic waste. While most plastics are used and initially disposed of on land, much eventually enters aquatic ecosystems.2 Wildlife mortalities result from encounters (e.g., ingestion and entanglement) with large debris, including plastic bags. Such bags are excluded from many recycling programs, as they can entangle machinery. Most plastics do not readily biodegrade in the environment. However, they can be embrittled by UV exposure and fragment into microplastics (mm) and …