The PBS Channel 13 documentary entitled "Fragile Waterways" premiered today. At 45minutes the segment begins featuring my father (the oyster farmer) and I. Part of this includes a brief discussion about our eelgrass restoration efforts in Long Island Sound. Not much on detail but there is only so much you can get into on one of these shows.
In one scene through the cabin windshield you can see Steve and in another you can briefly see Kim in the cabin next to me. They also show up in the water in their dive gear, but with all that gear everyone looks the same!
Yesterday, three of us were able to get in the water and check out the status of our eelgrass restoration sites around PlumIsland and GreatGullIslands.
First stop was GreatGullIsland (north side) where we had planted as part of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant for eelgrass work in eastern Long Island Sound.I am happy to report that the plants looked great, small, but great (photos above).It is always a little shocking to see the plants for the first time in the spring when they still have the diminutive winter growth habit.The last time we observed these plants was in the fall when they were still quite long and waving in the current.Also, during this time of year there is so much macroalgae that it tends to hide the shoots.The prognosis is VERY good for this site and we plan to begin additional plantings soon.
Second stop was the south side of Great Gull where we wanted to check on a restoration site first planted 4 years ago.This site is amazing and the patches have really spread over the last couple years.Despite the great vis and perfect conditions, we were not able to get in the water here.Once on station, we were greeted by approximately 30 seals.Most were pups, but there were enough agitated adults around to keep us on the boat.We are all too familiar with their breaching and nostril snorting to know that we were not welcome here.We’ll have to wait a little longer to dive here, but I am sure that this site is thriving given it’s performance in the past.
The third stop was Plum Island South (FortTerry) to look for remains of a test planting we had conducted last fall to see if this site could support grass.Unfortunately, after much searching (storms had removed our buoys) we only found a couple shoots.The wave energy and sand movement are apparently too much for our small patches of plants as those that remained were buried under several inches of sand.This very frustrating given that water quality and light are more than adequate at this site.I am optimistic that we can do some additional work here this summer to measure light levels to see how deep grass might survive here.I’m not holding my breath, but I would like to think that this site could work for us.
On a more positive note, our last dive was on the Plum Island North (RadiatorBeach) which was another planting associated with the NFWF project.The crew had visited this site a couple weeks ago so I already knew it was doing well, but I wanted to see it for myself.Plants looked great here in 18-22’ of water (above).The area where we planted a large number of patches 1m OC looked great and we are on schedule to begin spring plantings soon to greatly enlarge this area.One interesting observation was the fact that the deepest plots (20-22’) were showing signs of erosion from high currents (below).This area is too deep to be affected by waves, but it appears that this far off shore the plants are outside of the shadow of the nearby point and rock piles that otherwise slow the currents.I don’t believe the currents are limiting; this is just something we need to take into consideration when planning out the planting.
Enhancing the "Unobtrusive Charisma" of Long Island's seagrass ecosystems one post at a time...
About seagrassli
What is Seagrass? Seagrassn: "Rooted submerged marine or estuarine macrophytes of several species. Habitats created by seagrass meadows are among the most diverse and productive estuarine environments." (NOAA) On LI eelgrass (Zostera marina) is the dominant species and the focus of our work. -ChrisP
I am currently the Eelgrass Program Manager at CCE in Southold. I began working for Cornell 19 years ago. My original work focused on salt marsh restoration and ecology, but in '94 I began to work with eelgrass. Since that time we have built a considerable restoration and monitoring program. Current work involves refining site selection criteria and developing labor-saving planting methods for use in local waters and throughout the World.
