New field course (EFB 500) (winter break ’02-’03) Aquatic Ecosystems of the Southeastern US K. Limburg & K. Schulz, expedition leaders
Course Philosophy Field study of aquatic ecosystems Exploration of diverse ecosystems –‘Pristine’ systems –Human-dominated systems Independent Projects
Course Overview 3 meetings before the field trip 26 December – 14 January field trip Prepare posters from your independent projects (on return) to be displayed in the spring 2003 SUNY ESF poster session
Chesapeake Bay/Carolinas December seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS/ IMAGES/cities/S
Chesapeake Bay/Carolinas Naturally productive Oysters, crab, fish Human population influences Salt marshes Mud flats Trawling
Crab pots in a channel on the Chesapeake
Maryland blue crab
Crabs and menhaden on a fishing boat deck
Egret fishing in a tidal pool
Chesapeake Oyster images/line0794.jpg Oyster Recovery Partnership transplants oyster reefs for recolonization
Diamondback terrapin Horseshoe crabs Osprey Cow-nosed ray Fiddler crab Critters
Problems Oil boom; industrial/ag pollution Abandoned nets Shoreline development
Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia 29 – 30 December Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge – largest forested wetland wilderness in the United States Cypress swamps Prarie wetlands Pine uplands
“Land of the Trembling Earth”
Sapelo Island, Georgia 30 December – 2 January ‘Pristine’ Salt marsh Beaches Trawling trip
University of Georgia Marine Institute
Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades 3 January – 6 January Massive human engineering projects High natural diversity Hydrologic disruption Exotic species What it was…
graphics/structures/s77-1.gi What we did to it…
Slight changes in elevation (only inches), water salinity, and soil create entirely different landscapes, each with its own community of plants and animals.
Lake Okeechobee Lake%20Okeechobee.jpg
Everglades native slash pine (Pinus elliottii) Prescribed burning in sawgrass (Cladium jamaicensis) to maintain marsh photos/florida/florida.htm
ev/images/ev-home.jpg
Mangroves
Florida Bay/Keys 6 January – 12 January Florida Institute of Oceanography; Keys Marine Laboratory Tour Boating Expedition Independent Projects
Keys Within ½ hour of: –Coral reefs –Florida Bay –Grass flats –Sandy beaches –Mud flats –Mangrove forest –Oceanic waters (Gulf Stream / Florida Straits)
Long Key State Park
Anne’s Beach, Long Key
LIGNUMVITAE KEY STATE BOTANICAL SITE
St. Petersburg
What you should get from this course A good overview of southeastern estuarine, freshwater and nearshore marine ecosystems –Some critters & green stuff –Ecology –Ecosystem processes –Human impacts A chance to do independent research in aquatic systems – either individually or in a small group Learn how to develop a poster on your research