Project Description: Assessing pluvial-coastal flood risk and potential climate inequities in New York City
Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Philip Orton, Stevens Institute of Technology
Partner Institution: Stevens Institute of Technology
Federal Agency: U.S. Geological Survey
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Jon Miller
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2024
Initial Funding Amount: $208,518.00
Federal Grant Number: G22AC00399
Project Description: Habitat Restoration and Enhancement for Roseate and Common Terns on Great Gull
Lead Principal Investigator: Peter Paton, University of Rhode Island
Partner Institution: University of Rhode Island
Federal Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Elin Torell
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2024
Initial Funding Amount: $128,355.97
Federal Grant Number: F22AP01591
Project Description: This project will engage the recipient, University faculty, NPS staff, student interns and park visitors with the collection, evaluation and interpretation of water resource information about current water quality conditions within and adjacent to Assateague Island. This informational is needed so that the NPS can continue to provide high quality recreational opportunities for its more than 2 million annual visitors. Increased population growth, large scale agricultural production and rapid coastal development are known stressors that are impacting the watershed. Increasing outbreaks of harmful algae blooms could also directly impact public health. This project will enhance resource stewardship by engaging partners in shared environmental stewardship and science by providing current water quality information. The project not only serves the NPS, but also many local agencies (EPA, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Worcester County) and partners (Maryland Coastal Bays National Estuary Program, Assateague Coastal Trust) throughout the region concerned about water quality. Project results will be shared with regional resource managers and conservation partners through multiple outlets to raise awareness as well as enact specific policies, guidelines and/or best-management practices aimed at reducing regional nutrient inputs. Resultant data/findings will be incorporated into the annual Coastal Bays Report Card publication and shared directly via agency resource meetings and social media platforms.
Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Judith O’Neil, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Partner Institution: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Bill Hulslander
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2026
Initial Funding Amount: $33,220.00
Federal Grant Number: P22AC02180-00
Amendments
Project Description: As the host university of the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (NOAT CESU), University of Rhode Island
(URI) will facilitate collaborative research, technical assistance, and educational activities in support of interdisciplinary problem-solving, knowledge development, and informed natural and cultural public trust resource stewardship. Investigators from the University of Rhode Island and National Park Service (NPS) staff will collaborate to accomplish the following specific CESU host university responsibilities that the CESU Council has prioritized for support through this task agreement:
. Facilitation of communication among existing and potential partners,
. Coordination of new partner application process actions,
. Coordination of strategic and annual planning with partners, and
. Maintenance of host university-sponsored local CESU website.
Lead Principal Investigator: Elin Torell, University of Rhode Island
Partner Institution: University of Rhode Island
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Tom Fish
Project Type: Technical Assistance
Project Discipline: Other: Non-disciplinary project
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2027
Initial Funding Amount: $16,200.00
Federal Grant Number: P22AC02206
Amendments
Location: University of Rhode Island
State(s): Rhode Island
Rhode Island Counties: Washington
Project Description: The goal of this research project is to address knowledge gaps about Se and Hg as independent and interacting stressors in freshwater systems. These knowledge gaps include: (a) Se biogeochemistry and trophodynamics; (b) the underlying mechanisms of Se, Hg, and Se-Hg toxicity; and (c) the coupling of Se and Hg uptake and trophic transfer along aquatic food webs.
Objectives of the proposed research are to:
1. Elucidate the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on Se uptake at the base of aquatic food webs;
2. Examine mechanisms of selenium toxicity through a combination of field collections and lab-based exposure experiments;
3. Develop biogenic tracers for understanding historic and contemporary exposure patterns;
4. Explore the mediating role of selenium on mercury uptake by food webs, trophic transfer, biomagnification, and speciation in lentic and lotic freshwater systems; and
5. Investigate the mechanisms and manifestations of selenium and mercury co-exposure consequences as they relate to fish health.
Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Jessica Brandt, University of Connecticut
Partner Institution: University of Connecticut
Federal Agency: U.S. Geological Survey
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Faith Graves
Project Type: Research
Project Discipline: Natural Resources
Project Sub-Discipline(s): Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E), Natural Hazards & Environmental Quality (NRDA), Water (FW & Marine)
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2027
Initial Funding Amount: $49,999.00
Federal Grant Number: G22AC00068
Amendments
Project Description: The goal of this research project is to provide Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (JELA) managers with robust process-linked projections of water quality outcomes of canal filling (CB) across the Barataria Preserve landscape, under both current and future conditions.
Objectives include 1) develop an innovative, high spatial resolution, process-driven coupled hydrodynamic and water quality modeling system for JELA’s entire Barataria Preserve; 2) assess and predict outcomes of this federally funded CB restoration project on key JELA water quality attributes; 3) run this modeling system under a suite of well-rounded climate change (especially relative SLR and future storms) scenario conditions.
Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Jim Chen, Northeastern University
Partner Institution: Northeastern University
Federal Agency: U.S. Geological Survey
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Faith Graves
Project Type: Research
Project Discipline: Natural Resources
Project Sub-Discipline(s): Engineering, Design, & Sustainability, Water (FW & Marine)
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2024
Initial Funding Amount: $52,946.00
Federal Grant Number: G22AC00079-00
Location: Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Project Description: This study aims to collect and analyze field data relevant to marine fish habitat and its intersection with the management of extractable sand resources within the New York Bight (NYB), especially in regard to habitat impacts and recovery from dredging.
Lead Principal Investigator: Thomas Grothues, Rutgers University
Partner Institution: Rutgers University
Federal Agency: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Deena Hansen
Project Type: Research
Project Discipline: Natural Resources
Project Sub-Discipline(s): Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E), Water (FW & Marine)
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2026
Initial Funding Amount: $235,000.00
Federal Grant Number: M22AC00003-00
Location: New York Bight
Project Description: The primary objective of this project is to classify wildlife targets from high-resolution aerial imagery collected by AMAPPS to the lowest possible taxonomic level (Family, Genus, Species) and identify attributes for each target, when possible, such as age, sex, and behavior. These classifications and attributes will be conducted using an imagery annotation tool developed at USGS-UMESC (CVAT). Importantly, the results of image classification and annotation will provide the foundational elements for developing machine learning algorithms to automate species identification and enumeration.
Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. David Mizrahi, New Jersey Audubon
Partner Institution: New Jersey Audubon
Federal Agency: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Dr. Timothy White
Project Type: Research
Project Discipline: Natural Resources
Project Sub-Discipline(s): Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E), Water (FW & Marine)
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2025
Initial Funding Amount: $323,237.74
Federal Grant Number: M23AC00001
Project Description: The goal of this project is to evaluate the current conditions of faunal communities (specifically breeding landbird, amphibian, reptile, and fish communities) at the newly acquired Barrett’s Farm Unit of Minute Man National Historical Park. Reference criteria will be the same as those used in the parkwide Natural Resource Condition Assessment conducted in 2009, prior to acquisition of the Barrett’s Farm Unit (NPS 2009). As in the 2009 Natural Resource Condition Assessment, reference criteria will be used to rank the condition of individual faunal communities as “good,” “caution,” or “significant concern.” The project will result in a final report suitable for the NPS Natural Resource Report series as well as a public-facing communication product. The published research, excepting locations of rare species if detected, will be free and publicly available.
Project objectives include (a) documenting amphibian, reptile, bird, and fish occurrences using data from iNaturalist, eBird, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, and other existing data sources; (b) surveying amphibians using anuran calling surveys, egg mass counts, time-constrained searches, coverboards, turtle trap surveys, and minnow trap surveys, mirroring the methodology used to assess wetlands in other portions of park; (c) concurrently surveying reptiles using time-constrained searches, coverboards, and turtle trap surveys; and (d) assessing the condition of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and fish on the Barrett’s Farm Unit.
Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Stevenson, University of Massachusetts Boston
Partner Institution: University of Massachusetts Boston
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Tammy Cook
Project Type: Research
Project Discipline: Natural Resources
Project Sub-Discipline(s): Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E)
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2024
Initial Funding Amount: $30,000.00
Federal Grant Number: P23AC00064
Location: Minute Man National Historical Park–WASO/WRD/NRCA
Project Description: Coastal environments include several habitats of concern for resource managers in coastal parks. Estuaries, beaches and nearshore areas are nursery grounds for many species of recreational and commercial importance, and they contribute significantly to visitor experience (e.g., boating, fishing, wildlife viewing) at coastal parks. Compromised water quality in coastal environments often results from regional population growth and local development. Water quality monitoring data collected by National Park Service (NPS) Inventory & Monitoring network programs and coastal parks allow the NPS to evaluate conditions and track trends within park boundaries. However, effective management of both estuarine and marine resources requires understanding water quality issues beyond park boundaries since most water quality problems originate there. Understanding this larger picture is a critical step in the successful management of coastal waters.
The objectives of this project are to implement the estuarine water quality and seagrass monitoring protocols at alternating parks per year. Measurements of water column condition indicators will occur at Gateway National Recreation Area (GATE) and Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS) in alternate years; and measurements of seagrass indicators at FIIS July-August of
all years as identified in the project scope of work. Monitoring will follow the standard methods described in the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN) Vital Signs protocols for monitoring estuarine nutrient enrichment. Seagrass condition indicators will be measured and the sampling approach is consistent with the global seagrass monitoring protocol described at
http://www.SeagrassNet.org.
This project is part of the NPS long-term Vital Signs Monitoring Program and the protocol being used was developed specifically for the coastal parks by United States Geological Survey (USGS) scientists (Kopp and Neckles 2009) to be implemented by the NPS. Both USGS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) depend on NPS to collect water quality data in the park units. At this time there are no other government or state agencies collecting similar water quality data at this high a resolution that covers all park estuarine waters within park boundaries for Fire Island NS or Gateway NRA. The water quality data is made broadly available to partners and state agencies, filling a vital need for water quality data of estuarine waters along the east coast.
Lead Principal Investigator: Bradley Peterson, SUNY, Stony Brook University
Partner Institution: SUNY, Stony Brook University
Federal Agency: National Park Service
Federal Agency Technical Contact: Dr. Jim Comiskey
Project Type: Research
Project Discipline: Natural Resources
Project Sub-Discipline(s): Water (FW & Marine)
Start Year: 2022
End Year: 2024
Initial Funding Amount: $53,776.00
Federal Grant Number: P22AC00601
Amendments
Location: Gateway NRA and Fire Island NS
National Parks or Protected Areas:
State(s): New York
Student and Other Involvement:
Summary of Student Involvement: The graduate student calibrates all of the field equipment prior to deployment. They also participate in all water quality and seagrass monitoring. The undergraduate assists in both the field and lab sample collection and processing.
Summary of Other Involvement: Field help
