Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Assessing the benthic community in a partially restored lagoon to improve management decision-making

Project Description: East Harbor is a back barrier marsh system/lagoon with an artificial tidal restriction that led to water quality degradation, algal blooms, insect outbreaks, and fish kills. To improve conditions, tidal flow was partially restored in 2002. Since that time, salinity increased, water quality improved, and the system was re-colonized by a variety of estuarine flora and fauna, in particular shellfish (e.g. quahog, soft shell clam, and oyster) and horseshoe crabs. Managers need scientific information to make sound decisions for East Harbor about further tidal restoration, culvert maintenance, and the initiation of shell fishing activities. This project will: 1) survey benthic invertebrates, including shellfish and other macro infauna, 2) assess population dynamics of selected shellfish including larval flux out of the lagoon into adjacent, unprotected waters, 3) identify significant fisheries habitat and 4) use surveys and mesocosms to evaluate impacts of a non-indigenous predator on shellfish. The baseline water quality and habitat data developed through these studies are critical for design and monitoring of the adaptive management approach to implementing restoration projects.

Data developed through this study plan will be integrated into and will be used to assess the suitability of habitats in East Harbor for different management scenarios. This data collection will provide the management team with an enhanced tool to aid science-based decision-making, thereby optimizing the public’s understanding of the response of the East Harbor system to tidal restoration and increased salinity for recolonization by salt marsh halophytes and fauna.

The primary purpose of this study is not the acquisition of property or services for the direct benefit or use by the Federal Government, but rather to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation.

Lead Principal Investigator: Owen Nichols, Center for Coastal Studies

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Mark Borelli, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Geoffrey Sanders

Federal Involvement: – Assign Dr. Sophia Fox (Aquatic Ecologist, CACO) as technical expert to collaborate on
all aspects of this project, including sample design, methodologies, and field and lab
work.

– Assign CACO staff or interns to support the project.

– Share lab equipment and supplies, as necessary to maintain efficiency and cost
effectiveness.

-Contribute to developing protocols for work related to invertebrate and sediment sample
collection and processing.

-Dr. Sophia Fox will collaborate with Dr. Mark Borrelli and Owen Nichols of Center for
Coastal Studies to share and interpret biological, chemical, and physical data from East
Harbor waters.

-Dr. Sophia Fox will collaborate with Dr. Mark Borrelli and Owen Nichols of Center for
Coastal Studies and other CACO staff and cooperators to develop publications from the
work laid out herein.

-Dr. Sophia Fox will collaborate with Dr. Mark Borrelli and Owen Nichols of Center for
Coastal Studies and other CACO staff and cooperators to develop outreach products from
the work laid out herein.

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Natural Hazards & Environmental Quality (NRDA)

Start Year: 2017

End Year: 2023

Initial Funding Amount: $96,195.00

Federal Grant Number: P17AC01525

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2018, Amount: $14,040.75
  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2020, Amount: $0.00

Location: East Harbor, Truro

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

Massachusetts Counties: Barnstable

Student and Other Involvement:

  • Staff: 4

Summary of Other Involvement: AmeriCorps Cape Cod service members assisted with sample collection and processing

Identifying factors preventing recovery of eelgrass from large declines in Cape Cod Bay of Cape Cod National Seashore to inform management actions

Project Description: This project will involve close collaboration among CCS researchers and NPS scientists and managers at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) and the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network (NCBN). The collaborative scientific analysis will enhance our understanding of seagrass resources throughout Cape Cod National Seashore and provide up-to-date scientific insights to inform coastal resource management decisions across the region.

The Recipient will collect and analyze new and existing data in
support of assessing seagrass resources in and around Cape Cod National Seashore. The results will be provided by Recipient to NPS. Through scientific collaboration among various project partners, including the Recipient and NPS, the seagrass and ancillary data will be integrated to assess the condition and integrity of Cape Cod National Seashore seagrass resources, and to understand and evaluate opportunities for seagrass restoration.

Lead Principal Investigator: Cathrine Macort, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Sophia Fox

Start Year: 2024

End Year: 2025

Initial Funding Amount: $192,617.00

Federal Grant Number: P24AC00906

Quantifying patterns of change and erosion/accretion linkages of erosional hotspots onshore and offshore in the Cape Cod National Seashore

Project Description: Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) is among the most visited parks in the nation. The park manages over 44 miles of coastline which include some of the most pristine and undisturbed beaches in the northeast. and water resources are integral to the park’s visitor experience, providing a wide range of recreation opportunities.

Erosional hotspots are stretches of shoreline where anomalously high rates of erosion exceed well-studied historical rates. Hotspots are ubiquitous, yet ephemeral; their short life cycles (years) can dramatically impact natural resources and visitor access. New survey methods (nearshore seafloor mapping and remote sensing options, (near-range lidar, wave cameras, aerial imagery) allow a comprehensive picture of the linked terrestrial-submerged coastal systems. The Seashore’s 25-km ocean coast erodes episodically, resulting in a trend of cumulative habitat loss (coastal ponds, upland grasslands, shorebird nesting sites) and lost infrastructure (12 beach stairway replacements in a decade). Habitat changes include saltwater inundation of coastal ponds and bogs with effects on wetland plants, amphibian breeding, water quality and aquifer changes, shorebird nesting habitat loss as high tides eliminate supra-tidal buffer zones at the toe of glacial bluffs. Steadily retreating upland bluff margins host declining heathland/grassland habitats critical to remnant avian communities – including game birds such as quail, important to phase out stocked exotic game.

Lead Principal Investigator: Mark Borrelli, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Geoffrey Sanders

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Physical and Earth Sciences

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2024

Initial Funding Amount: $101,225.00

Federal Grant Number: P23AC00525

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $100,251.00

Location: Cape Cod National Seashore

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

Coastal Ecosystem Evolution along Cape Cod National Seashore at Duck Harbor and the Herring River: Multi-tiered, science-based management of natural resources and infrastructure

Project Description: A transdisciplinary study at Duck Harbor, a subbasin of the Herring River floodplain in Wellfleet and Truro, Massachusetts is proposed that will help managers better understand the short, medium, and long term impacts of recurring beach overwash events and reintroduction of tidal flow into a tidally-restricted former estuary. This study will initiate management actions to facilitate the recovery of native salt marsh habitats and integrate coastal oceanographic measurements with ecological habitat data that will provide the foundation for detailed analysis with regards to possible future conditions within both Duck Harbor (120 acres) and the broader Herring River project area (770 acres).

Data to be collected would include a systematic series of sediment cores, as well as aerial, surface, and non-invasive stratigraphic surveying (e.g., Ground Penetrating Radar), used to develop a robust sequence of stratigraphic maps to 1) determine historic (and prehistoric) ecosystem evolution throughout the Duck Harbor area; 2) understand vegetation composition throughout that evolution, particularly how it relates to belowground biomass; and 3) determine likely future ecosystem evolution based on projected natural inundation scenarios. This study is particularly timely as clearing of salt-killed vegetation at Duck Harbor is slated to begin in early 2023. Clearing of salt-killed vegetation will also take place in the adjacent Herring River Restoration Project. As such, the results of this study will directly inform management actions related to the Herring River Restoration Project.

This study has been designed as a two-year project, however, if funding for additional years were to become available, data collection (pre- and post-event elevation transects, surface and subbottom surveying, and selected additional coring) would continue and analysis would include robust multi-year trends, imperative to understanding how the Herring River continues to evolve as the restoration begins. Given the potential for a well-documented, quantitative analysis of a natural restoration of tidal flow this project provides a unique opportunity to forward the science of understanding the conversion of freshwater ecosystems to salt water due to increased storminess, sea-level rise, and other natural or anthropogenic drivers.

Lead Principal Investigator: Katie Castagno, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Geoffrey Sanders

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Physical and Earth Sciences

Start Year: 2023

End Year: 2027

Initial Funding Amount: $230,002.00

Federal Grant Number: P23AC00266

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2024, Amount: $250,000.00

Location: Duck Harbor and Herring River within Cape Cod National Seashore

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

CACO estuarine and freshwater water quality analysis

Project Description: In association with research and monitoring efforts of aquatic ecosystems at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO), CACO and the Center for Coastal Studies (CCS) will collaborate on water quality monitoring and assessment, including evaluation of water quality for the Herring River tidal restoration project, East Harbor restoration project, and kettle pond monitoring. Under the joint study plan described below, water samples will be collected in the field from estuarine and freshwater sites and delivered to the CCS lab for analysis. Samples will be analyzed for nutrients (e.g. Nitrogen, Phosphorus) and elemental constituents and anions (e.g. Iron, Chloride, Sulfate).

Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Amy Costa, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Sophia Fox

Start Year: 2022

End Year: 2025

Initial Funding Amount: $45,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P22AC01798-00

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2023, Amount: $30,000.00
  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2024, Amount: $45,000.00

Water quality analysis of estuarine and freshwater water samples

Project Description: CCS will analyze water samples collected by Cape Cod National Seashore natural resource management staff for nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus) and elemental constituents and anions. This project will be conducted through close collaboration among the CCS investigators and National Park Service scientists and managers at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO). CACO kettle ponds and estuaries are not only outstanding natural resources, but also popular recreational resources for park visitors. Monitoring water quality and changes to the physical, chemical, and biological features of these systems of a primary function of the Cape Cod Ecosystem Monitoring Program. In addition, several estuaries, including Herring River and East Harbor, have artificial tidal restrictions that have led to water quality and habitat degradation. The water quality monitoring programs provide critical information about the condition of CACOs water resources and aquatic habitats.

Lead Principal Investigator: Amy Costa, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Sophia Fox

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Natural Hazards & Environmental Quality (NRDA)

Start Year: 2017

End Year: 2022

Initial Funding Amount: $20,000.00

Federal Grant Number: P17AC00670

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2018, Amount: $51,538.00
  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2019, Amount: $22,512.00
  • Amendment Number: 03, Year: 2020, Amount: $40,550.00
  • Amendment Number: 04, Year: 2021, Amount: $6,000.00

Location: Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO)

Coastal Ecosystem Evolution along Cape Cod National Seashore from Long Point to Race Point: Multi-tiered, Science-based Management of Natural Resources and Infrastructure

Project Description: Coastal erosion and accretion in the form of changes in beach width and elevation are directly related to sediment transport in the nearshore. This sediment transport is driven primarily by tidal currents and waves and this study will directly measure those processes while monitoring beach formations. Sediment transport coupled with tidal currents and waves directly affect physical, biological and chemical processes on the seafloor, which in turn can create positive (or negative) feedback that can further impact sediment transport. This feedback cycle can be started, altered, stopped and restarted based on numerous variables. This study will seek to document the links between nearshore sediment transport and coastal evolution.

The main priority addressed with this study is the quantitative and rigorous documentation of sediment transport processes to illustrate the relationship between coastal oceanographic processes and the onshore manifestation of those processes in the form of erosion and accretion throughout the study area in general, and Herring Cove Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Provincetown, Massachusetts, in particular. This beach is one of the most highly visited beaches in the park and has undergone significant erosion in recent years. Due to the clear erosion impacts to this area, the seashore has already begun implementing climate change adaptation strategies.

A transdisciplinary study from Long Point to Race Point in Provincetown Massachusetts is proposed that will help managers better understand the short-, medium- and long-term evolution of this area in general, and Herring Cove Beach in particular. This study will integrate coastal oceanographic measurements with ecological habitat data that will provide the foundation for detailed analysis with regards to possible future conditions along the 8 miles of shoreline.

Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Mark Borrelli, Center for Coastal Studies

Co-Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham Giese,

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Geoffrey Sanders

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Start Year: 2016

End Year: 2021

Initial Funding Amount: $122,134.00

Federal Grant Number: P16AC01502

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2017, Amount: $89,230.00
  • Amendment Number: 0002, Year: 2019, Amount: $112,141.00
  • Amendment Number: 0003, Year: 2020, Amount: $62,423.00

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

Collaborative Planning and Implementation Support for Cape Cod National Seashore Science Priorities, 2015-2017

Project Description: This project will support collaborative implementation of several science priorities at Cape Cod National Seashore including creating an outer cape research bibliography, development and hosting of a science visioning workshop, and completing a tidal. dynamics study in several park marshes. These science priorities will support CACO natural resource and science programs in areas of management, education, outreach, and implementation of a model protocol.

Lead Principal Investigator: Mark Borrelli, Center for Coastal Studies

Co-Principal Investigator: Graham Giese,

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Sophia Fox

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Cultural and Historic

Start Year: 2015

End Year: 2020

Initial Funding Amount: $65,994.00

Federal Grant Number: P15AC01146

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2018, Amount: $0.00
  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2019, Amount: $0.00

Location: Cape Cod National Seashore

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts

Quantifying shark behavior and habitat along Cape Cod National Seashore to develop safety recommendations and outreach materials

Project Description: This project will develop a site-specific, adaptive probability index for white shark (WS) within Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS). This study will further the understanding of white shark behavior to easily communicate information to improve visitor experience and safety, enhance lifeguard effectiveness, and improve park staff’s knowledge.

This study will directly measure: 1) WS residency, site fidelity and habitat use along individual beaches 2) The presence and behavior of seals 3) Oceanographic and atmospheric conditions 4) Bathymetric and habitat maps via acoustic surveys 5) Provide an index and guidelines for daily conditions and probability of WS presence.

Lead Principal Investigator: Mr. Bryan Legare, Center for Coastal Studies

Partner Institution: Center for Coastal Studies

Federal Agency: National Park Service

Federal Agency Technical Contact: Geoffrey Sanders

Project Type: Research

Project Discipline: Natural Resources

Project Sub-Discipline(s): Biological (Ecology, Fish, Wildlife, Vegetation, T&E)

Start Year: 2021

End Year: 2025

Initial Funding Amount: $189,538.00

Federal Grant Number: P21AC10859

Amendments

  • Amendment Number: 01, Year: 2022, Amount: $114,813.00
  • Amendment Number: 02, Year: 2023, Amount: $85,305.00
  • Amendment Number: , Year: , Amount: $

Location: Cape Cod National Seashore

National Park or Protected Area: Cape Cod (NPS)

State(s): Massachusetts