DV-05-007 Ecosystem Modeling of a Macrotidal Estuary

Robert Vadas
Department of Biological Sciences and School of Marine Sciences
209 Deering Hall
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469 207.581.2974
vadas@maine.edu

Peter Larsen
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
PO Box 475
West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575
207.633.9600
plarsen@bigelow.org

Project funds will be used to produce the publication, "Ecosystem Modeling of a Macrotidal Estuary," which will summarize research on Cobscook Bay featured in a special issue of Northeastern Naturalist. Results include documentation of an unusual pathway of nutrient supply to eastern Maine estuaries; biomass and productivity of eelgrass, kelp, rockweed, red and green algae; and basic data on the health of the bay that will help establish a baseline for conditions before the acceleration of global climate change. Information on the Cobscook Bay ecosystem is pertinent to macrotidal estuaries throughout the world, and is likely to influence management of the bay’s resources.

1-year project: $3,000