Project Reporting ANNUAL REPORT FOR AWARD # 0080381

Karen McGlathery ; University of Virginia
LTER IV: Long-Term Ecological Research on Disturbance, Succession, and Ecosystem State Change at the Virginia Coast Reserve

Participant Individuals:
CoPrincipal Investigator(s) : John H Porter; Karen J McGlathery
Senior personnel(s) : Joseph C Zieman; Linda K Blum; Herman H Shugart; Iris Anderson; Nancy Moncrief; Aaron L Mills; Mark Brinson; Robert Christian; R M Erwin; Frank Day; James N Galloway; Stephen Macko; Donald Young; George Oertel; Patricia Wiberg; David E Smith; John Albertson
Graduate student(s) : Anna C Tyler; David L Richardson; Amanda Knoff; Jennifer Wu
Technician, programmer(s) : Charles R Carlson; James R Spitler; Phillip Smith
Graduate student(s) : Mindi May; Sandra Morrison; Sarah Lawson; Jessica White; Julie Zinnert; Rachel A Rounds; Frank Parker; Bo Dame; Mark Keusenkothen
Technician, programmer(s) : Kathleen M Overman; Jason K Restein
Graduate student(s) : Jordan Barr; Jennifer L Rosinski; Kristina M Russell; Meetan Chauhan; Devon Herod; Steven Turaski; Scott Dusterhoff
Senior personnel(s) : Jose Fuentes
Technician, programmer(s) : Brannon Patrick
Graduate student(s) : Tami Lunsford
Research Experience for Undergraduates(s) : Adriana Veloza; Samuel Diaz
Graduate student(s) : Allison Holinka
Undergraduate student(s) : Elizabeth Skane; Jessica Burton
Pre-college teacher(s) : Thomas Bonniwell; Joseph Mysco
Graduate student(s) : Michael Lowit; Cassondra Thomas; Patricia Willis; James Dame; Brett McMillan; Diane Barnes; Mads Thomsen; Joseph Battistelli; Rima Franklin; Holly Galavotti; Jeffrey Vandever; Nicola McGoff; Rachel Michaels; Thomas Mozdzer
Technician, programmer(s) : Rene Reynolds
High school student(s) : Alison Caison; Michele White; Amy Taylor
Research Experience for Undergraduates(s) : Jaime Robinson; Katherine Quigley; Laurel Woodworth
Undergraduate student(s) : Claudia Jiron-Murphy
Post-doc(s) : Arthur C Schwarzschild
Technician, programmer(s) : Joshua L Mace
Graduate student(s) : Michael O'Connell; Amber Kozak; Amanda L Floyd; Kimberly K Holzer; Samuel A Flewelling; Julie Naumann
Pre-college teacher(s) : Kevin McManus; Sally Richardson
Research Experience for Undergraduates(s) : Schuyler van Montfrans; Patrick Conroy; John Snyder; Jason Turner
Graduate student(s) : Matthew Long
High school student(s) : Raven Bonniwell; Angela Difabio
CoPrincipal Investigator(s) : David E Smith
Graduate student(s) : Steven Brantley; Jaime Fuest; Jeremy Fennell; Gina M Casciano; Luke W Cole; Patrick Conroy; Andrew C Hume; Amber Hardison; Jaclyn Vick; Michael J O'connell

Partner Organizations:
NASA, Kennedy Space Flight Center: Personnel Exchanges

Collaborative comparative studies between the Virginia Coast and the
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

USFWS- US Fish and Wildlife Service: Personnel Exchanges
Merritt Island: Collaborative, comparative project between the
Virginia Coast and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in
Florida.

Eastern Shore: PI Donald Young is working to develop a management plan
to control invaisive populations of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and
Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) in a 100-acre old field.
Invaisive plant species are an increasing threat to wildlife reserves,
especially in coastal environments, and most refuges have no
management plans. We have developed a proposal for a three-year
experimental study with treatments of fire, herbicide, mowing and
shrub plantings. Results from this study will be used to develop a
management plan for the entire 100 acres.

USGS Biological Resources Division: Collaborative Research; Personnel Exchanges
USGS scientist R. Michael Erwin holds a joint faculty appointment at
the University of Virginia and collaborates extensively on faunal
studies on the Virginia Coast.

PI's Blum and Mills have worked on a collaborative, comparative
project between the Virginia Coast and the Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge in Florida that includes USGS as a partner.

Florida St John's Water Management Dist.: Collaborative Research
PI's Blum and Mills have worked on a collaborative, comparative
project between the Virginia Coast and the Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge in Florida that includes the St. John's Water
Management District as a Partner.

University of Buenos Aires: Collaborative Research
PI Mark Brinson has been working with Dr. Patricia Kandus, University
of Buenos Aires, who visited the VCR site. She is part of a wetland
ecology group in UBA biology department working on remote sensing of
the Parana River Delta in Argentina.  The are involved in developing a
management plant for  a MAB site in the delta, and are interested in
ILTER.

Environmental Protection Agency: Collaborative Research
The Atlantic Slope Consortium, a group funded by an EPA STAR grant,
will be working in the connection between watersheds and coastal
estuaries. Primary contacts are through Mark Brinson at East Carolina
University (ECU is a member of the consortium and will be conducting
evaluations of watershed-estuarine coupling and condtions.) The
consortium is coordinated by Penn State (Rob Brooks, PI) and includes
other institutions such as Virginia Institute of Marine Science,
Smithsonian Environemtal Research Center, and the Environmental Law
Institute.

USDA: Financial Support
PI Iris Anderson is working under a USDA -National Research
Initiative, Competitive Grants Program with a grant to study physical
vs. biological process rates in VCR coastal lagoons

Czechoslovak Academy Science: Collaborative Research; Personnel Exchanges
PI Iris Anderson has been working with the Hydrobiological Institute -
Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic on a collaborative 
study in the Shumava International LTER site.

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Wallops Flight Facility: In-kind Support; Collaborative Research
The VCR/LTER has been designated as a MODIS Validation Site, so NASA
has been making available MODIS and other remote sensing data for the
site. An Aeronet Sun Photometer has been hosted at the VCR/LTER. It
uses changes in solar radiation to quantify atmospheric aerosols.

Participation as a EOS Land Validation core site has provided the
VCR/LTER with numerous satellite images (ETM+, IKONOS).

Department of Navy Naval Research Laboratory: Collaborative Research; Personnel Exchanges
PI John Porter has been collaborating with NRL researchers Charles
Bachman and Tim Donoto on remote sensing of land cover on the Virginia
barrier islands. PI Robert Christian has is working with this research
group on identifying areas of marsh die-off.

Nature Conservancy: Facilities; Collaborative Research
Many of our research sites are owned by the Virginia Coast Reserve of
The Nature Conservancy.  We have also collaborated with them on a
variety of projects ranging from landscape ecology of colonial
waterbirds, to predator populations, to restoration of dredge spoil
sites.

US Army Corps of Engineers: Collaborative Research; Personnel Exchanges
Army Corps of Engineers - They have expertise in sensing leaf optical
properties which allows us to identify the presence and
degree of stress in plants and, hopefully, the cause of the stress. We
are evaluating the use of corresponding measurements of leaf
reflectance and fluorescence as indicators of leaf/plant physiological
responses to stress. We hope to refine the remote sensing technologies
to make large-scale generalizations across the landscape. Low
diversity coastal communities (i.e., shrub thickets, Spartina marsh)
are ideal for scaling-up to the landscape level.

Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality: Financial Support
They continue to provide support to PI Donald Young for vegetation
monitoring on the Swash Bay dredge spoils. The longterm goal of the
project is to eradicate or control Phragmites australis at the sites
and return the landscape to native flora and fauna.

As part of a NOAA-funded grant to VA DEQ for a Coastal Management
Program, PI Donald Young is defining the expansion of the invaisive
reed Phragmites australis on the Eastern Shore and on the barrier
islands. In addition to mapping we are evaluating spatial variations
in Phragmites density, height and flowering. Response to fire on
Parramore Island is also included. The results will assist land
managers in determining the invaision potential of Phragmites in other
coastal habitats.

Northampton Co. VA Public Schools: Facilities; Collaborative Research
Through the Schoolyard Long-term Ecological Research supplement we
have been interacting intensively with the Northampton County VA
public schools. Students have been used to collect water quality and
biological data at a number of sites.

Global Terrestrial Observing System: In-kind Support
The VCR/LTER is one of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring Sites
participating in GTOS.

City of Greenville, NC: Personnel Exchanges
VCR/LTER PI Robert Christian serves as chair of the Environmental
Advisory Commission and is a member of the Comprehensive Planning
Committee

Global Ocean Observing System: Personnel Exchanges
PI Robert Christian works with both GOOS and GTOS on remotely-sensed
monitoring of ocean and terrestrial systems, including the Virginia
Coast.

Italian International LTER: Collaborative Research; Personnel Exchanges
PI Robert Christian collaborates with a large number of researchers at
coastal sites of the Italian Long-Term Ecological Research Network.

American Type Culture Collection: Collaborative Research
PI Linda Blum has been collaborating with Dave Emerson of ATCC on
studies of the microbial communities on the Virginia coast.

Old Colorado City Communications: In-kind Support; Personnel Exchanges
They have provided wireless networking equipment and expertise to the
VCR/LTER, allowing us to link our island research sites with the
Internet at high (2 MBS) rates of speed.

NOAA - Climate Research Network: In-kind Support
NOAA has established and maintains a Climate Reference Network (CRN)
climate monitoring station adjacent to the LTER Meteorlogical Station
in Oyster VA. Data from the NOAA station is used to validate LTER
meteorological data.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission: Collaborative Research


Other collaborators:

We have collaborated extensively with researchers at other LTER sites.
This includes:

-- Meryl Amber at the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER has been
collaborating with PI Robert Christian on the topic of areas of high
vegetation mortality within salt marshes. 

-- James T. Morris and Robert Ulanowicz collaborated with PI Christian
on a book chapter on Network Analysis, an outcome of LTER Network
workshops associated with the 2003 All Scientists Meeting.

-- James Gosz and Scott Collins of the LTER Network Office and
Sevilleta LTER, respectively, have been collaborating with PI Hayden
on the role of hydrocarbon emmissions from vegetation and the impact
of these gases on local climate. This work was supported by an NSF
supplement. This included the deployment of temperature sensors in the
spring of 2004. 

-- Three Taiwanese scientists (Chau Chin Lin, Sheng-Shan Lu and
Meei-ru Jeng) visited the VCR/LTER in January 2004 to collaborate with
PI Porter on the development of ecological information systems for
international LTER work. In addition, during the spring of 2005
Meei-ru Jeng spent 3 months working with the LTER Information Manager
in Charlottesville. 

-- Paul Hanson of the University of Wisconsin collaborated with PI
Porter on organizing Wireless Networking Workshops at the 2003 LTER
All Scientists Meeting and the 2004 Ecological Society of America
meeting. Presentations from the workshops are available at:
http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/~jhp7e/wireless. 

-- Contacts with Scientists from several countries in Southern Africa,
specifically exchanges with LTER sites in southern Africa. Remote
teleconferencing instruction was offered during 2002 with participants
from Mozambique, Botswana and South Africa (Macko)

-- collaborations through workshops. PI Christian organized 2
workshops on network analysis through LTER (one at Snow Bird and one
at ECU) and have received support for another (jointly with Alan
Covich at Colorado State U.). More collaborations resulted from a
biocomplexity workshop on network analysis. The list of collaborators
contacts is extensive. They include individuals from other LTER sites,
social scientists, and ecologists from outside the LTER network from
the USA and abroad. (Christian)

-- Another collaborative effort from a cross-site LTER workshop
focused on preseration of soil organic matter in wetlands. This
alos involved scientists from the LTER netaork and outside.
(Christian)

-- Drs. Jiri Kopacek, Vera Straskrabova, and Jarda Vrba,
Hydrobiological Institute, Czech Academy of Sciences --collaborative
study of nitrogen cycling processes in mountain lakes of the Sumava
ILTER (Anderson, Macko)

-- Dr. Hana Santruckova, University of South Bohemia - collaborative
study of N-cycling processes in watersheds of the Sumava ILTER
(Anderson)

-- Dr. Rudolph Jaffee, Florida International University, Collaborative
study of DOM quality in the VCR coastal lagoons and in PIE estuaries
(Anderson)

-- Dr. Charles Hopkinson, Marine Biological Laboratory, PIE LTER,
intercomparison of dissolved organic nitrogen dynamics in PIE
(Anderson)

-- University of Georgia and Georgia Tech, GCE-LTER, intercomparison
of groundwater/saltmarsh interactions (Anderson)

-- FCE-LTER, Collaborative study of dissolved organic
matter quality (Anderson)

-- James T. Morris (PIE LTER) co-hosted Organic matter workshop held
at Virginia Institute of Marine Science, July 26, 01 (Anderson)

-- Dr. Patricia Kandus, University of Buenos Aires, visited the VCR
site. She is part of a wetland ecology group in UBA biology department
working on remote sensing of the Parana River Delta in Argentina. The
are involved in developing a management plant for a MAB site in the
delta, and are interested in ILTER. (Brinson)

-- PI Blum has been an active participant in cross LTER Organic Matter
Workshops organized by Jim Morris. The goal of these workshops has
been to compare organic matter accumulation in wetland sediments and
the mechanisms controlling OM accumulation and to plan a series of
experiments that include controlled laboratory incubations and
reciprocal transplants of soil cores. Measurements might include CO2
and CH4 flux, O2 consumption, DOC loss, root ingrowth of cores,
molecular characterization of microbial communities, pyrolosis GCMS
and nutrient characterization of organic matter composition (new
production and old SOM). (Blum)

-- Blum is PI on NSF funded cross-site comparison study to examine the
relative importance of local abiotic conditions vs. organic
matter on microbial communities associated with decaying marsh grass
and mangrove litter. Collaborators include: Gary King, Univ. of Maine
Chuck Hopkinson, PIE LTER John Hobbie, PIE LTER Randy Chambers,
College of William and Mary Mike Reiter, Delaware State Univ. Bob
Christian, East Carolina Univ. Jim Morris, Univ. South
Carolina, NIN Steve Newell, GCE LTER Jay Garland, Dynamac Corp, NASA
Mike Roberts, Dynamac Corp, NASA Joy
Boyer, FCE LTER 

-- Collaborative project with NASA Kennedy, USFWS, USGS,and State of
Florida's St. John's Water Management District - working on comparison
of the contribution of primary production and decomposition to organic
matter accumulation and the effect on salt marsh sediment surface
elevation changes between VCR and Merritt Island National Wildlife
Refuge. Collaborators include: Ross Hinkle, Dynamac, Corp. Kelly
Gorman, NASA Ron Brockmeyer, St. John's Water Management District Don
Cahoon, USGS Mark Epstein, USFWS  (Blum, Mills)

-- We have also had active contacts with African researchers
interested in establishing International LTER sites. With an NSF
supplement we hosted a workshop 'SOUTHERN AFRICA VIRGINIA NETWORKS AND
ASSOCIATIONS - SAVANA I' Nov. 6-10, 2000. The purpose of the workshop
was to explore scientific research topics, to share information about
broad institutional collaboration, and to identify demonstration
projects that would lay the foundations for a regional environmental
research and teaching infrastructure. The workshop participants
identified three demonstration projects:  (1) a collaborative distance
learning project initially including WITS, the University of Eduardo
Mondlane, and UVA; (2) an ecology and sustainable resource management
station on the Mozambique coast; and (3) a collaborative ecological
research station in the eastern Lowveld/Limpopo River basin that joins
three existing stations in South Africa and Mozambique.  Co-Convenors
of the workshop were Harold Annegarn, Atmosphere and Energy Research
Group, University of Witswatersrand, South Africa; Robert Swap, PI,
SAFARI 2000 (Southern Africa Regional Science Inititative), Department
of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia; Hank Shugart,
Leader, Global Climate Change Program, Department of Environmental
Sciences, University of Virginia  and participanting scientists were 
Pauline Opha Dube, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of
Botswana; Bane Marjanovic, Director, Sasol Centre for Innovative
Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, University
of Witswatersrand; Peter Omara-Ojungu, Dean, School of Science,
University of Venda; Lars Ramberg, Director, Harry Oppenheimer
Okavango Research Center, University of Botswana, Maun; Francisco
Vieira, Dean, School of Science, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane,
Mozambique; 'Diran Makinde, Dean, School of Agriculture, Rural
Development, and Forestry, University of Venda; Stephen Macko,
Workshop Program Chair, Department of Environmental Sciences, UVA;
Paul Desanker, Coordinator, Miombo Network, UVA; and Mike Garstang,
Bruce Hayden (Director, Virginia Coastal Reserve NSF LTER), Christelle
Hely, Don Clark, Lufafa Abel, and Sam Alleaume, all faculty members in
the Department of Environmental Sciences, UVA, and 13 graduate
students. 

-- In May 2001, African scientists Susan Ringrose, Luisa Santos, Rui
Brito, and Almeida Sitoe visited the VCR/LTER. They toured the
research site and met with VCR/LTER PI's and information specialists
to discuss issues surrounding the creation and operation of LTER
sites. 

-- In July 2002, VCR/LTER PI's Zieman, Macko, Porter and Shugart
participated in a series of meetings in Mozambique, South Africa and
Botswana. These included participation in the Ecological Long-term
Observatories of Southern Africa (ELTOSA) meeting (an International
LTER regional group), Information Management training in Maputo,
Mozambique, presentations on ecological information management to the
staff of Kruger National Park in South Africa and a series of meetings
with university administrators at a variety of South African
universities.  



Non-LTER collaborations include:

-- We have collaborated with Jay Austin (Old Dominion University),
Dave Fugate and Karl Friedrichs (Virginia Institute of Marine
Sciences) on the development and testing (using automated drifters) of
a hydrodynamic model for Hog Island Bay. 

-- We are collaborating with Dr. Donald Stillwell of Virginia Tech on
the use of autonomous underwater vehicles to measure oxygen
concentration in the lagoon. This will give us access to data on
ecosystem metabolism that is otherwise difficult to get. 

-- Boise State University - Dr. Steve Novak along with Dr. Greg
Plunkett (VCU) and PI Don Young are collaborating on an integrated
project (genetics, populaton biology, and physiological ecology) to
assess the invasion potential of Phragmites australis on the
Eastern Shore of Virgina. (Young) 

-- Dr. Randy Chambers, Director Keck Laboratory, College of William
and Mary - study of nutrient cycling processes in mudflats of the VCR
 (Anderson)

Dr. Carl Friedrich, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences. 
Collaboration with Anderson on modeling studies of particle transport
and residence times in Hog Island Bay (Anderson)

-- Dr. Mandy Joye, University of Georgia and Dr. Carolyn Ruppel,
Georgia Tech, Groundwater flow at the salt marsh interface (Anderson)

-- Matt Jones, National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.
Collaboration on testing of Ecological Metadata Language. (Porter)

-- Dr. Raymond Dueser, Utah State University, Barry Truitt, The Nature
Conservancy. Mammalian predators often have severe negative effects on
colonial-nesting waterbirds such as gulls, terns and shorebirds. These
effects may vary with predator and prey species and with habitat, but
often are extreme for introduced predators on islands. The raccoon
(Procyon lotor) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes) are frequently implicated
on islands. Based on both long-term anecdotal accounts and 20 years of
breeding bird counts, most beach- and dune-nesting colonial waterbird
populations have declined in recent decades on the Virginia barrier
islands. It has been proposed that much of this decline is
attributable to expanding distributions and increasing abundances of
raccoons and red foxes. Direct effects such as nest depredation have
been observed repeatedly but relatively infrequently over the past 20
years. We have been working to determine more directly the effects of
mammalian predators on nesting waterbirds. There appeared to be a real
effect of mammalian predators on nesting colonial waterbirds (in the
form of reduced bird abundance) even in the absence of apparent
effects (in the form of signs of depredation) in a given year. These
results support the contention that mammalian predators have had  a
significant long-term effect on colonial-nesting waterbirds on the
Virginia barrier islands despite the infrequency of observed direct
effects.  This study represents a highly effective partnership among
The Nature Conservancy, the Virginia Museum of Natural History, the
Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the VCR-LTER
Program.(Moncrief, Porter)

We collaborated in 2002 with Dr. Ronald A. VanDenBussche, Department
of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, in an (mtDNA)analysis of the
phylogeography of raccoons on the Virginia barrier islands and the
adjacent the Delmarva Peninsula (Moncrief). 

-- Peter Arzberger of the University of California, San Diego
collaborated in 2004 and 2005 with PI Porter on publications  and
workshops related to wireless networking of ecological research
sites.

-- Bob Orth and Elizabeth Canuel(Virginia Institute of Marine
Sciences), and Sergio Fahgarazzi (Florida State University have been
collaborating on research related to the ecological status of bays,
seagrass reintroduction and bay circulation during 2004 and 2005. 



Activities and findings:

Research and Education Activities: 
See attached file

Findings:
See attached file

Training and Development:
We have engaged in training at all levels of education. At the graduate level we have a large number of students who participate in the research conducted at the VCR/LTER. A smaller number of undergraduate student REUs participate in research, while a larger number of undergraduates experience the LTER site through class field trips. In the K-12 area we are engaged in taking hands on science into the classroom in the area of field measurements using state-of-the-art equipment. This involves classroom teaching on the part of VCR scientists, field demonstartions and WWW-based communications. The VCR/LTER continues its efforts in the area of graduate education. During 2004-2005 three Ph.D and six M.S. students completed their thesis work at the VCR/LTER. Some specific training and development activities were: With additional funding from the Virginia Environmental Endowment we have been developing K-12 class activities using island-based webcams. The web site is at http://ecocam.evsc.virginia.edu. Our investigations of sea-level rise and its wetland impacts provide many opportunities for visiting scientists all over the world to come and consult on the long-term project and to learn how to install and monitor the SETs. PI Erwin and his USGS colleagues Don Cahoon and J. Lynch have a network of SETs in many US states, and in many other countries at present that have been used for such training. The VCR/LTER hosted for three months in the spring of 2005 an information manager-in-training from the Taiwan Ecological Research Network. During her stay she was taught to use content management systems, PHP and PERL CGI programming, Internet mapping (Mapserver)and relational databases (MySQL). The VCR/LTER Information Manager spent an additional week in Taiwan working with the TERN information management group on defining a strategy for future development and participated in an international workshop for the East Asia Pacific region, providing talks on LTER Site Information Management and Ecological Metadata Language.

Outreach Activities:
The Schoolyard LTER program continues to be a meaningful way of increasing future public understanding, now serving elementary, middle and high schools in Northampton County, VA. During the past year we have worked with The Nature Conservancy on issues of landscape dynamics, surveys of bird populations and on the extent of invasive species. From 2003-2008, PI Erwin will serve on a seven-member National Science Panel that oversees a large, long-term San Francisco Bay Salt Pond Restoration program. The role is one of oversight over the development of a Science and Monitoring plan, and its implementation. PI Robert Christian continues to be active with the Italian International LTER program. Christian has served as the Chair of the Expert Panel for development of the Coastal Module of UN's Global Terrestrial Observing System. Relatedly, he has served on the team to write the report for the Coastal Theme of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy. Additionally, he is program co-chair for the 2005 Estuarine Research Federation meeting and President-elect of the Estuarine Research Federation. He also serves on the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of the Albemarle Pamlico National Estuaries Program. While PI Stephen Macko continues to be active in African ILTER efforts. He, Porter, Shugart and student A. Knopf participated in the southern African ELTOSA workshop in Mozambique in July 2002. Nancy Moncrief used distributional data collected from the multi-island surveys in a Teacher Re-Certification class that she teaches through the University of Virginia at the Roanoke Higher Education Center. She reviewed processes such as extinction and colonization and concepts such as succession, habitat complexity, and carrying capacity. Typically, there are 20-30 K-12 teachers in this course each year. Her work at VCR/LTER was featured in an article about me that appeared in VMNH's popular publication The Virginia Explorer, published in May 2002. Don Young was appointed to the Governor's Advisory Board of Soil Scientists and Wetlands Professionals. We will be developing guidelines for certifying professionals as wetlands ecologists. Images from the VCR/LTER WWW site have appeared in a number of publications for the general public. These include Chesapeake Life Magazine, UVA Insights and the Eastern Shore Post. The VCR/LTER WWW site (http://www.VCRLTER.virginia.edu)is widely used. We average over 8,500 requests for information resulting in over 290 MB of downloads each day. Educational users accounted for 17% of all requests, while commercial users or educational users using a commercial network provider accounted for 49%. A complete web statistics report is available at: http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/analog/.

Journal Publications:
McGlathery, K. J., "Macroalgal blooms contribute to the decline of seagrass in nutrient-enriched coastal waters", Journal of Phycology, vol. 35, (2001), p. 1. Published
Anderson, I. C., K. J. McGlathery, and A. C. Tyler, "Microbial processing of reactive nitrogen in a temperate coastal lagoon", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 246, (2003), p. 73. Published
Baker, K.B. B.J. Benson, D.L. Henshaw, D. Blodgett, J.H. Porter, and S.G. Stafford, "Evolution of a Multisite Network Information System: The LTER Information Management Paradigm", BioScience, vol. 50, (2000), p. 963. Published
Barimo, J.F. and D.R. Young, "Grasshopper(Orthoptera:Acrididae)-plant-environmental interactions in relation to zonation on an Atlantic Coast barrier island", Environmental Entomologist, vol. 31, (2002), p. 1158. Published
Berg, P. and K. J. McGlathery, "A high-resolution pore water sampler for sandy sediments", Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 46, (2001), p. 203. Published
Brinson, M. M., and R. R. Christian, "Assessing functions of wetlands and the need for reference", Biologia Ambientale, vol. , (), p. . Accepted
Brinson, M.M., "Fluvial forms and processes: A new perspective (book review)", Ecological Engineering, vol. 14, (2000), p. 307. Published
Christiansen, T., P.L. Wiberg and T.G. Milligan, "Flow and sediment transport on a salt marsh surface", Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 50, (2000), p. 315. Published
Day, F.P., C. Conn, E. Crawford, and M. Stevenson, "Long-term effects of nitrogen fertilization on plant community structure on a coastal barrier island dune chronosequence", Coastal Research, vol. 20, (2004), p. 722. Published
Day, F.P., E. Crawford, and J.J. Dilustro, "Aboveground plant biomass change along a coastal barrier island dune chronosequence over a six-year period", J. Torrey Bot. Soc., vol. 128, (2001), p. 197. Published
Erwin, R.M., B.R. Truitt and J. Jimenez, "Ground-nesting waterbirds and mammalian carnivores in the Virginia barrier island region: running out of options", Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 17, (2001), p. 292. Published
Franklin, R.B., D.R. Taylor, and A.L. Mills, "The influence of chemical environment and spatial separation on the distribution of microbial communities in anaerobic and aerobic zones of a shallow coastal plain aquifer", Microb. Ecol., vol. , (), p. . Submitted
Giannotti, A. L. and K. J. McGlathery, "Consumption of Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta) by the omnivorous mud snail Ilyanassa obsoleta", Journal of Phycology, vol. 37, (2001), p. 1. Published
Havens, K. E., A. C. Tyler, J. Hauxwell, S. Thomas, K. J. McGlathery , I. Valiela, J. Cebrian, A. D. Steinman, and S. J. Hwang, "Complex interactions between primary producers in shallow marine and freshwater ecosystems: Implications for community responses to nutrient stress.", Environmental Pollution, vol. , (2001), p. 113. Published
Howarth, R., D. Anderson, J. Cloern, C. Elfring, C. Hopkinson, B. Lapointe, T. Malone, N. Marcus, K. McGlathery, A. Sharpley, and D. Walker., "Nutrient Pollution of Coastal Rivers, Bays and Seas", Ecological Issues, vol. 7, (2000), p. 1. Published
Joy, D.A. and D.R. Young, "Promotion of mid-successional seedling recruitment and establishment by Juniperus virginia in a coastal environment", Plant Ecology, vol. 160, (2002), p. 125. Published
Knoff, A.J., S.A. Macko and R.M. Erwin, "Diets of nesting Laughing Gulls (Larus atricilla) at the Virginia Coast Reserve: Observations from stable isotope analysis", Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, vol. 37, (2001), p. 67. Published
Kopacek, J., E. Stuchlik, J. Vesely, J. Schaumburg, I.C. Anderson, J. Fott, J. Hejzlar, and J. Vrba, "Hysteresis in reversal of Central European mountain lakes from atmospheric acidification", Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, vol. 2, (2002), p. 91. Published
Layman, C.A. and D.E. Smith, "Sampling Bias of Minnow Traps in Shallow Aquatic Habitats on the Eastern Shore of Virginia", Wetlands, vol. 24, (2000), p. 145. Published
Lowit, M.B., L. K. Blum, and A. L. Mills, "Determining replication for discrimination among microbial communities in environmental samples using community-level physiological profiles", FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 32, (2000), p. 97. Published
McGlathery, K. J., "Macroalgal blooms contribute to the decline of seagrass in nutrient-enriched coastal waters", Journal of Phycology, vol. 35, (2001), p. 1. Published
McGlathery, K. J., Anderson, I. C., and Tyler, A. C., "Magnitude and Variability of Benthic and Pelagic Metabolism in a Temperate Coastal Lagoon", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 216, (2001), p. 1. Published
Miller, W.D., S.C. Neubauer and I.C. Anderson, "Effects of sea level induced disturbances on high salt marsh metabolism", Estuaries, vol. 24, (2001), p. 357. Published
Moncrief, N.D. and R.D. Dueser, "Allozymic variation in the endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus): Genetics of a translocated population", American Midland Naturalist, vol. 146, (2001), p. 37. Published
Neubauer, S. C., I.C. Anderson, J.A. Constantine, and S.A. Kuehl, "Sediment deposition and accretion in a mid-Atlantic (U.S.A) tidal freshwater marsh", Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 54, (2002), p. 713. Published
Neubauer, S.C., W.D. Miller and I.C. Anderson, "Carbon cycling in a tidal freshwater marsh ecosystem: a carbon gas flux study", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 199, (2000), p. 13. Published
Newell, S.Y., L.K. Blum, R. E. Crawford, T.Dai, M. Dionne, "Autumnal biomass and potential productivity of salt marsh fungi from 29 to 43 north latitude along the United States Atlantic Coast", Applied and Environmental Microbiology, vol. 66, (2000), p. 180. Published
Rheinhardt, R., D.F. Whigham, H. Kahn, and M. Brinson, "Vegetation of headwater wetlands in the inner coastal plain of Virginia and Maryland", Castanea, vol. 65, (2000), p. 21. Published
Rheinhardt, R.R., M.C. Rheinhardt, M.M. Brinson, and K.E. Faser, Jr., "Application of reference data for assessing and restoring headwater ecosystems", Restoration Ecology, vol. 7, (1999), p. 241. Published
Tobias, C.R., I.C. Anderson, E.A. Canuel and S.A. Macko, "Nitrogen cycling through a fringing marsh-aquifer ecotone", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 210, (2001), p. 25. Published
Tobias, C.R., J.W. Harvey, and I.C. Anderson, "Quantifying groundwater discharge through fringing wetlands to estuaries: Seasonal variability, methods comparison, and implications for wetland-estuary exchange", Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 46, (2001), p. 604. Published
Tobias, C.R., S.A. Macko, I.C. Anderson, E.A. Canuel, and J.W. Harvey., "Tracking the fate of a high concentration groundwater nitrate plume through a fringing marsh: A combined groundwater tracer and in situ isotope enrichment study.", Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 46, (2001), p. 1977. Published
Tyler, A. C., K. J. McGlathery, and I. C. Anderson, "Macroalgal mediation of dissolved organic nitrogen fluxes in a temperate coastal lagoon", Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 53, (2001), p. 155. Published
Walsh, J.P., and J.C. Zieman, "Development of an epifaunal community along a back-barrier salt marsh chronosequence", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. , (), p. . Submitted
Wijnholds, A.E. and D.R. Young, "Interdependence of the host plant, Myrica cerifera, and the actinomycete, Frankia, in a coastal environment", Journal of Coastal Research, vol. 16, (2000), p. 139. Published
Wu, K. W. and L. K. Blum, "Estuarine bacteria: important links to higher trophic levels", Estuaries, vol. , (), p. . Submitted
Layman, C. A., "Fish Assemblage Structure of the Shallow Ocean Surf-Zone on the Eastern Shore of Virginia Barrier Islands", Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 51, (2000), p. 51. Published
Layman, C.A., D.E. Smith and J.D. Herod, "Seasonally Varying Importance of Abiotic and Biotic Factors in Marsh-Pond Fish Communities", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 207, (2000), p. 155. Published
Brannon, M.P. Moncrief, N.D. Dueser, R.D., "New records of reptiles from the Virginia barrier islands", Banisteria, vol. 18, (2001), p. 42. Published
Greenland, D., B. P. Hayden, J. J. Magnuson, S. V. Ollinger, R. A. Pielke Sr., and R. C. Smith, "Long-term Research on Biosphere-Atmosphere Interactions", Bioscience, vol. 53, (2003), p. 33. Published
Erwin, R. M., Allen, D.H., and D. Jenkins, "Created versus natural coastal islands: Atlantic waterbird populations, habitat choices, and management implications", Estuaries, vol. 26, (2003), p. 949. Published
Franklin, R. B., L. K. Blum, A. McCombe, and A. L. Mills, "A geostatistical analysis of small-scale spatial variability in bacterial abundance and community structure in salt-marsh creek bank sediments", FEMS, vol. 34, (2002), p. 1. Published
Fuentes, J. D., B. P. Hayden, M. Garstang, M. Lerdau, D. Fitzjarrald, D. D. Baldocchi, R. Monson, R. Lamb, and C. Geron, "New directions: VOCs and biosphere-atmosphere feedbacks", Atmospheric Environment, vol. 35, (2001), p. 189. Published
Knoff, A. J., Macko, S.A., Erwin, R.M., and K. M. Brown, "Stable isotope analysis of temporal variation in the diets of pre-fledged Laughing Gulls", Waterbirds, vol. 25, (2002), p. 142. Published
Layman, C. A., D. E. Smith, and J. D. Herod, "Seasonally Varying Importance of Abiotic and Biotic Factors in Marsh-Pond Fish Communities", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 207, (2000), p. 155. Published
Russell, K. M., J. N. Galloway, W. C. Keene, and K. J. McGlathery, "Characterization of particulate atmospheric nitrogen and implications for coastal deposition", EOS Trans. AGU, vol. 81, (2000), p. 51. Published
Russell, K. M., W. C. Keene, J. R. Maben, and J. N. Galloway, "Phase-partitioning and dry deposition of nitrogen at the mid-Atlantic U.S. coast", Eos Trans. AGU, vol. 82, (2001), p. F51. Published
Thomas, C. R., and R. R. Christian, "Comparison of nitrogen cycling in salt marsh zones related to sea-level rise", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 221, (2001), p. 1. Published
Bachmann, C. M., T. F. Donato, G. M. Lamela, W. J. Rhea, M. H. Bettenhausen, R. A. Fusina, K. R. Du Bois, J. H. Porter, and B. R. Truitt, "Automatic classification of land cover on Smith Island, VA, using HyMAP imagery", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 40, (2002), p. 2313. Published
Brinson, M. M., and A. I. Malvarez, "Temperate freshwater wetlands: types, status, and threats", Environmental Conservation, vol. 29, (2002), p. 115. Published
Buffam, I., and K. J. McGlathery, "Effect of ultraviolet light on dissolved nitrogen transformations in coastal lagoon water", Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 48, (2003), p. 723. Published
Christian, R. R., "Coastal initiative of the Global Terrestrial Observing System", Ocean & Coastal Management, vol. 46, (2003), p. 313. Published
Christian, R. R., and C. R. Thomas, "Network analysis of nitrogen inputs and cycling in the Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, USA", Estuaries, vol. 26, (2003), p. 815. Published
Porter, J. H., G. Shao, and B. P. Hayden, "Our Changing Shorelines: Researchers try to keep pace with a high-speed island landscape", Imaging Notes, vol. 18, (2003), p. 24. Published
Sharp, J.H., K.R. Rinker, K.B. Savidge, J. Abell, J.Y. Benaim, D. Bronk, D.J. Burdige, G.Cauwet, W.Chen, M.D. Doval, D. Hansell, C. Hopkinson, G. Kattner, N. Kaumeyer, K.J. McGlathery, J. Merriam, N. Morley et al., "Preliminary methods comparison for measurement of dissolved organic nitrogen in seawater", Marine Chemistry 78:171-184., vol. 78, (2002), p. 171. Published
Silliman, B. R., and J. C. Zieman, "Top-down control of Spartina alterniflora production by periwinkle grazing in a Virginia salt marsh.", Ecology, vol. 82, (2001), p. 2830. Published
Swift, D. J. P., B. S. Parsons, A. Foyle, and G. F. Oertel, "Between beds and sequences: stratigraphic organization at intermediate scales in the Quaternary of the Virginia coast, USA", Sedimentology, vol. 50, (2003), p. 81. Published
Erickson, D. L., and J. L. Hamrick, "Genetic and clonal diversity for Myrica cerifera along a spatiotemporal island chronosequence", Heredity 90:25-32., vol. 90, (2003), p. 25. Published
Erwin, R. M., "Integrated management of waterbirds: Beyond the conventional", Waterbirds, vol. 25, (2002), p. 5. Published
Franklin, R. B., and A. L. Mills, "Multi-scale variation in spatial heterogeneity for microbial community structure in an eastern Virginia agricultural field", FEMS Microbiology Ecology, vol. 44, (2003), p. 335. Published
Oertel, G. F., "Hypsographic, hydro-hypsographic and hydrological analysis of coastal bay environments, Great Machipongo Bay, Virginia", Journal of Coastal Research 17:775-783., vol. 17, (2001), p. 775. Published
Aranibar, J. A., I. C. Anderson, S. Ringrose, and S. A. Macko, "The importance of cyanobacterial crusts as a source of nitrogen to Southern Aftrican arid ecosystems - indicated by acetylene reduction and stable isotopes.", J. Arid Environments 54:345-358., vol. 54, (2003), p. 345. Published
Aranibar, J. N., S. A. Macko, I. C. Anderson, A. L. F. Potgieter, R. Sowry, and H. H. Shugart, "Nutrient cycling responses to fire frequency in the Kruger National Park (South Africa) as indicated by stable isotope analysis", Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies, vol. 39, (2003), p. 141. Published
Bachmann, C. M., M. H. Bettenhausen, R. A. Fusina, T. F. Donato, A. L. Russ, J. W. Burke, G. M. Lamela, J. W. Rhea, B. R. Truitt, and J. H. Porter, "A credit assignment approach to fusing classifiers of multiseason hyperspectral imagery", IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, vol. 41, (2003), p. 2488. Published
Baird, D., R. R. Christian, C. H. Peterson, and G. A. Johnson, "Consequences of hypoxia on estuarine ecosystem function: Energy diversion from consumers to microbes", Ecological Applications, vol. 14, (2004), p. 805. Published
Barr, J. G., J. D. Fuentes, D. Wang, Y. Edmonds, J. C. Zieman, B. P. Hayden, and D. Childers, "Red mangroves emit hydrocarbons", Southeastern Naturalist, vol. 2, (2003), p. 499. Published
Kroes, D., and M. M. Brinson, "Occurrence of riverine wetlands on floodplains along a climatic gradient", Wetlands, vol. 24, (2004), p. 167. Published
Oertel, G. F., and K. Overman, "Sequence morphodynamics at an emergent barrier island, middle Atlantic coast of North America", Geomorphology, vol. 58, (2004), p. 67. Published
Peierls, B. L., R. R. Christian, and H. W. Paerl, "Water quality and phytoplankton as indicators of hurricane impacts on a large estuarine ecosystem", Estuaries, vol. 26, (2003), p. 1329. Published
Russell, K. M., W. C. Keene, J. R. Maben, J. N. Galloway, and J. L. Moody, "Phase partitioning and dry deposition of atmospheric nitrogen at the mid-Atlantic US coast.", Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, vol. 108, (2003), p. 4656. Published
Silliman, B. R., C. A. Layman, K. Geyer, and J. C. Zieman, "Predation by the black-clawed mud crab, Panopeus herbstii, in Mid-Atlantic salt marshes: Further evidence for top-down control of marsh grass production", Estuaries, vol. 27, (2004), p. 188. Published
Tyler, A. C., T. A. Mastronicola, and K. J. McGlathery, "Nitrogen fixation and nitrogen limitation of primary production along a natural marsh chronosequence", Oecologia, vol. 136, (2003), p. 431. Published
Tyler, A. C., I. C. McGlathery, and I. C. Anderson, "Benthic algae control sediment-water column fluxes of organic and inorganic nitrogen compounds in a temperate lagoon", Limnology and Oceanography, vol. 48, (2003), p. 2125. Published
Viaroli, P., and R. R. Christian, "Description of trophic status, hyperautotrophy and dystrophy of a coastal lagoon through a potential oxygen production and consumption index", Ecological Indicators, vol. 3, (2003), p. 237. Published
Barimo, J. F., and D. R. Young, "Grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae) - plant - environmental interactions in relation to zonation on an Atlantic Coast barrier island", Environmental Entomology, vol. 31, (2002), p. 1158. Published
Christian, R. R., J. Gosz, "Long-term ecological research in concept and practice", Congresso Nazionale della Societ? Italiana di Ecologia ATTI, vol. 25, (2001), p. 25. Published
Blum, L. K., M. S. Roberts, J. L. Garland, and A. L. Mills, "Microbial communities among the dominant high marsh plants and associated sediments of the United States East Coast", Microbial Ecology, vol. 48, (2004), p. 375. Published
Erwin, R. M., G. M. Sanders, and D. J. Prosser, "Changes in lagoonal marsh morphology at selected northeastern Atlantic coast sites of significance to migratory waterbirds", Wetlands, vol. 24, (2004), p. 891. Published
Rounds, R., R. M. Erwin, and J. H. Porter, "Nest-site selection and hatching success of waterbirds in coastal Virginia: Some results of habitat manipulation", Journal of Field Ornithology, vol. 75, (2004), p. 317. Published
Porter, J. H., P. Arzberger, H.-W. Braun, P. Bryant, S. Gage, T. Hansen, P. Hanson, F. P. Lin, C. C. Lin, T. Kratz, W. Michener, S. Shapiro, and T. Williams, "Wireless Sensor Networks for Ecology", Bioscience, vol. 55, (2005), p. 561. Published
Thomsen, M. S., and K. J. McGlathery, "Facilitation of macroalgae by the sedimentary tube-forming polychaete Diopatra cuprea", Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, vol. 62, (2005), p. 63. Published
Tyler, A. C., K. J. McGlathery, and S. Macko, "Uptake of urea and amino acids by the macroalgae Ulva lactuca (Chlorophyta) and Gracilaria verrucosa (Rhodophyta)", Marine Ecology Progress Series, vol. 294, (2005), p. 161. Published

Book(s) of other one-time publications(s):
Appolone, E., "Organic matter distribution and turnover along a gradient from forest to tidal creek" , bibl. MS thesis, Biology Department, East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C., (2000). Thesis Published
Buck, T., "High marsh plant community response to sea-level rise induced high marsh subsidence and ecosystem state change" , bibl. East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, (2001). Thesis Published
Christian, R. R., and C. Thomas, "Neuse River Modeling and Monitoring Project stage I: Network analysis for evaluating the consequences of nitrogen" , bibl. UNC-WRRI Report No. 325F. Raleigh, NC. 44 pp., (2000). Book Published
Christian, R. R., and D. G. Capone, "Overview of issues in aquatic microbial ecology" , bibl. ASM Press, Washington, DC., (2001). Book Published
of Collection: C.J. Hurst, G. R. Knudsen, M. J. McInerney, L. D. Stetzenbach, and M. V. Walter, "Manual of Environmental Microbiology, 2nd edition"
Christian, R. R., and R. E. Ulanowicz, "Network Ecology" , bibl. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, (2001). Book Published
of Collection: A. El-Shaarawi and W. W. Pierogorsch, "Encyclopedia of Environmetrics"
Christian, R.R., L.E. Stasavich, C.R. Thomas, and M.M. Brinson, "Reference is a moving target in sea-level controlled wetlands." , bibl. Pages 805-825. Kluwer, Dordeht,The Netherlands, (2000). Book Published
of Collection: M.P. Weinstein and D.A. Kreeger, "Concepts and Controversies in Tidal Marsh Ecology"
Craig, C.L., "Physiological responses of Phragmites australis to flooding at different salinity levels" , bibl. MS thesis. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, (2001). Thesis Published
Dusterhoff. S., "Controls on Near-Surface Soil Moisture Dynamics within a Tidal Marsh-Forested Upland Costal Environment" , bibl. MS Thesis. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, (2001). Thesis Published
Erwin, R.M. and T.W. Custer, "Herons as indicators" , bibl. pages 311-330. Academic Press,London UK, (2000). Book Published
of Collection: J.A. Kushlan and H. Hafner, "Heron Conservation"
Hutton, John, "The effect of nitrogen fertilization on short-term fine root dynamics in a barrier island dune community" , bibl. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, (2001). Thesis Published
Neubauer, S.C., "Carbon dynamics in a tidal freshwater marsh" , bibl. Ph.D dissertation, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA, (2000). Thesis Published
Porter, J.H., "Scientific databases" , bibl. Blackwell Science Ltd., London, (2000). Book Published
of Collection: W.K. Michener and J. Brunt, "Ecological Data: Design, Processing and Management"
Richardson, J.L. and M.M. Brinson, "Wetland soils and the hydrogeomorphic classification of wetlands" , bibl. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, USA., (2000). Book Published
of Collection: J.L. Richardson and M.J. Vepraskas, "Wetland Soils: Genesis, Hydrology, Landscapes, and Classification"
Roberts, S.W., "Primary production of Distichlis spicata and Spartina patens and effects of increased inundation on a salt marsh" , bibl. East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, (2000). Thesis Published
Weber, Rett, "An analysis of the energetic budgets of grasses to assess the effectiveness of different competitive strategies" , bibl. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, (2001). Thesis Published
Keiss, O., "Mammalian Predator Distribution and Abundance on the Virginia Barrier Islands in Relation to Breeding Habitats of Colonial Birds" , bibl. M.S. Thesis, Department of Fisheries & Wildlife, Utah State University, Logan, UT., (2000). Thesis Published
Callaos, N., J. H. Porter, and N. Rishe, "Proceedings of the 6th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: Volume VII Information Systems Development II, July 14-18, 2002." , bibl. International Institute of Informatics and Systemics, Orlando, Florida, USA., (2002). Book Published
Christian, R. R., and R. E. Ulanowicz, "Network Ecology" , bibl. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., London., (2001). Book Published
of Collection: A. El-Shaarawi and W. W. Pierogorsch, "Encyclopedia of Environmetrics"
Christian, R. R., and D. G. Capone, "Overview of issues in aquatic microbial ecology" , bibl. ASM Press, Washington, DC., (2001). Book Published
of Collection: C. J. Hurst, R. L. Crawford, M. J. McInerney, L. D. Stetzenbach, and M. V. Walter, "Manual of Environmental Microbiology, 2nd Edition"
Christian, R. R., "Coastal resources" , bibl. FAO, Rome, Italy., (2002). Report Published
of Collection: , "Global Terrestrial Observing System Biennial Report 2000-2001"
Hayden, B. P., and N. R. Hayden, "Decadal and Century-long Storminess changes at Long-Term Ecological Research Sites" , bibl. Oxford Univ. Press, (2003). Book Published
of Collection: D. Greenland, D.G. Goodin and R.C. Smith, "Climate Variability and Ecosystem Climate Variability and Response at Long-Term Ecological Research Sites"
Heyel, S., "Long-term residual effects of a nutrient addition on a barrier island dune ecosystem" , bibl. MS Thesis. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA., (2002). Thesis Published
Keiss, O., "Mammalian predator distribution and abundance on the Virginia barrier islands in relation to breeding habitats of colonial birds" , bibl. MS Thesis, Utah State University, Logan, UT., (2001). Thesis Published
Parsons, K., S. Brown, R. M. Erwin, and H. Czech, "Introduction: Managing wetlands for waterbirds - Integrated approaches" , bibl. Waterbirds 25, Special Issue Number 2., (2002). Book Published
of Collection: K. Parsons, S. Brown, R. M. Erwin, and H. Czech, ""
Porter, J. H., and K. W. Ramsey, "Integrating ecological data: tools and techniques" , bibl. International Institute of Informatics and Systemics, Orlando, Florida, USA., (2002). Book Published
of Collection: N. Callaos, J. H. Porter, and N. Rishe, "Proceedings of the 6th World Multiconference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: Volume VII Information Systems Development II, July 14-18, 2002."
Russell, K. M., J. N. Galloway, W. C. Keene, K. J. McGlathery, and J. L. Moody, "Characterization of particulate atmospheric nitrogen and implications for coastal deposition" , bibl. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, (2000). Book Published
of Collection: , "Meeting of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Copenhagen."
Russell, K. M., J. R. Maben, W. C. Keene, and J. N. Galloway, "Controlling the Phase Partitioning of Gaseous and Particulate NH3/NH4+ at the mid-Atlantic U.S. Coast: Preliminary Results, The Significance of Ammonia to Coastal and Estuarine Areas, Airsheds and Watersheds" , bibl. Chesapeake Bay Program, Great Waters Program, and Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Management Association, Dewey Beach, Delaware., (2000). Book Published
of Collection: , "Third Shared Resources Workshop,"
Russell, K. M., "Characterization and Deposition of Atmospheric Nitrogen at the Mid-Atlantic U.S. Coast" , bibl. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA., (2002). Thesis Published
Sanders, G., D. J. Prosser, and R. M. Erwin, "Sea-level rise and salt marsh dynamics: Changes in Atlantic coastal waterbird habitats" , bibl. NOAA/CSC 20114-CD (CD-ROM). NOAA Coastal Sciences Center, Charleston SC, (2001). Book Published
of Collection: , "2nd biennial Coastal GeoTools Conference"
Turaski, S. J., "Spatial and temporal controls on saturated overland flow in a regularly flooded salt marsh" , bibl. MS Thesis. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, (2002). Thesis Published
Poff, N. L., M. M. Brinson, and J. W. Day Jr., "Potential Impacts on Inland Freshwater and Coastal Wetland Ecosystems in the United States" , bibl. Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Arlington, VA., (2002). Book Published
Thomas, C. R., "Biogeochemistry and Sediment Organic Matter Accumulation" , bibl. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA., (2004). Thesis Published
Lawson, S., "Sediment suspension as a control on light availability in a temperate coastal lagoon" , bibl. Univeristy of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA., (2004). Thesis Published
Naumann, J. C., "Quantifying successional dynamics within the context of a restoration plan for a maritime forest." , bibl. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA., (2004). Thesis Published
Reynolds, L. K., "Interactions between endosymbiont-bearing infaunal bivalves and the biogeochemistry of Thalassia testudinum sediments" , bibl. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA USA., (2004). Thesis Published
McGoff, N. M., "The influence of the marsh grasshopper, Orchelium fidicinium, on nutrient cycling and productivity of Spartina alterniflora in a salt marsh environment" , bibl. M.S. Thesis. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA USA., (2004). Thesis Published
Blum, L. K., and R. R. Christian, "Belowground Production And Decomposition Along A Tidal Gradient In A Virginia Salt Marsh" , bibl. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC., (2004). Book Published
of Collection: S. Fagherazzi, M. Marani, and L. K. Blum, "Ecogeomorphology of Tidal Marshes"
Rosinski, J. L., "Controls on benthic biodiversity and trophic interactions in a temperate coastal lagoon" , bibl. Ph.D Dissertation. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA., (2004). Thesis Published
Thomas, C. R., "Salt Marsh Biogeochemistry and Sediment Organic Matter Accumulation" , bibl. Ph.D. Dissertation. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA., (2004). Thesis Published
Thomsen, M. S., "Macroalgal distribution patterns and ecological performances in a tidal coastal lagoon, with emphasis on the non-indigenous Codium fragile ssp. tomentosoides" , bibl. Ph.D Dissertation. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA., (2004). Thesis Published
Mark A. Keusenkothen, "Responses of salt marshes to disturbance in an ecomorphological context, with a case study of trampling by deer" , bibl. American Geophysical Union, Coastal and Estuarine Monograph Series Vol. 59., (2004). Book Published
of Collection: S. Fagherazzi, M. Marani, and L. K. Blum, "Ecomorphology of Tidal Marshes"
Christian, R. R., "Role of network analysis in comparative ecosystem ecology of estuaries" , bibl. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK., (2005). Book Published
of Collection: A. Belgrano, U. M. Scharler, J. Dunne, and R. E. Ulanowicz, "Complexity in Aquatic Food Webs: an Ecosystem Approach"
Morris, J. T., R. R. Christian, and R. E. Ulanowicz, "Analysis of Size and Complexity of Randomly Constructed Food Webs by Information Theoretic Metrics" , bibl. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK., (2005). Book Published
of Collection: A. Belgrano, U. M. Scharler, J. Dunne, and R. E. Ulanowicz, "Complexity in Aquatic Food Webs: an Ecosystem Approach"
Christian, R. R., "GTOS coastal programme" , bibl. Pages 12-13 in Global Terrestrial Observing System Biennial Report 2002-2003. FAO of the UN, Rome, Italy., (2004). FAO Report Published
of Collection: , "Global Terrestrial Observing System Biennial Report 2002-2003"
Brantley, S. T., "Seasonal and spatial variation in leaf area index, litter production and light levels in Myrica cerifera shrub thickets across a barrier island chronosequence" , bibl. Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA, (2005). Thesis Published
Fuest, J., "Spatial and temporal variations in dune vegetation, Orthopteran abundance, and herbivory damage on a Virginia barrier island" , bibl. MS Thesis Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, VA, (2005). Thesis Published
McGlathery, K. J., K. Sundback, and I. Anderson, "The importance of pimary producers for benthic N and P cycling" , bibl. Klluwer Academic Publishers, (2004). Book Published
of Collection: S. L. Nielsen, "The Influence of Primary Producers on Estuarine Nutrient Cycling"
Sunback, K., and K. J. McGlathery, "Interactions beetween benthic macro- and microalgae in the marine environment" , bibl. American Geophysical Union, (2005). Book Published
of Collection: E. J. Kristensen, E. Kostka, and R. H. Haese, "Interactions between macro- and microorganisms in marine sediments"
Oertel, G. F., "Coastal Lakes and Lagoons" , bibl. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht., (2005). Book Published
of Collection: M. Schwartz, "Encyclopedia of Coastal Science"

Other Specific Products:

Data or databases
The VCR/LTER provides access to more than 100 formally documented data
sets. They are listed on the WWW at:
http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/data.html. They include  physical,
biological, geographical and model data sets. Some data sets also
support sophisticated queries, such as our biodiverisity database, or
extensive graphical output, such as our meterlogical and tide data
sets. In addition to the formal data sets we provide a wealth of
textual and graphical material resulting from research at the
VCR/LTER.
Data is made available via the WWW in conformance with LTER-wide data
policies. The data is widely used for research and education, with
over half of the data requests coming from researchers, educators and
students not associated with the VCR/LTER both within the US and
internationally.
Physical collection (samples, etc.)
In collaboration with the Virginia Museum of Natural History, we have
established a sample archive for the VCR/LTER. This includes mammalian
tissue samples, as well as soil, and water.  To date, collections at
the Virginia Museum of Natural History include more than one thousand
traditional skin and skeletal preparations of 18 species of mammals
from more than 40 locations on the Virginia barrier islands and
southern Delmarva Peninsula. Ninety-nine percent of these specimens
are accompanied by frozen tissue samples (heart, liver, kidney, and
skeletal muscle). Also, intensive long-term live-trapping data were
collected for 3 island sites and 3 sites on the adjacent mainland for
a five-year period. In conjunction with that study, non-invasive
tissue samples (earclips) were collected from more than two thousand
individuals of three species of rodent.
These samples are available through standard loan procedures of the
Virginia Museum of Natural History.
Audio or video products
We provide online access to over 350,000 images of ecological research
activities and sites at http://www.VCRLTER.virginia.edu/images,
http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/gallery and an large number of
database-accessible webcam images at: http://ecocam.evsc.virginia.edu.

This includes several compressed videos of our site and research
procedures on the WWW at http://www.vcrlter.virgina.edu/video. These
are not 'production quality' videos, but aid in the orientation
researchers who may be interested in conducting research at the
VCR/LTER.
Images are available in standard Internet formats (.jpg and .gif) at
http://www.VCRLTER.virginia.edu/images/ ,
http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/gallery and
http://ecocam.evsc.virginia.edu. 
They are available in RealPlayer or Windows Media Player formats on
the WWW site: http://www.vcrlter.virgina.edu/video
Teaching aids
We provide live Webcams viewing research sites of the Virginia Coast
Reserve LTER. These are used by K-12 students to view these remote
islands.
Cameras and time series of images can be viewed at:
http://www.VCRLTER.virginia.edu/wwwcam/ and at
http://ecocam.evsc.virginia.edu/

Internet Dissemination:

http://www.VCRLTER.virginia.edu

This WWW site serves as the "file cabinet" for the VCR/LTER Project -
both for researchers within the project and external scientists. It
provides access to a wide array of information products derived from
the grant including data, searchable bibliographies, full text of
proposals and theses and dissertations. The site is heavily used with
over 8,500 requests served on the average day.

Contributions:

Contributions within Discipline:

 We have continued to contribute to the understanding of coastal
systems through our efforts in studying the effects of sea level rise
(which involves developing detailed understandings of the processes
that effect accretion in marshes - both physical and biotic, and
encroachment into uplands), coastal eutrophication, controls on plant
production, and determinants of faunal biogeography in an island
system. 


LAGOON

Coastal eutrophication has been recognized as an increasing problem in
areas such as the East and Gulf coasts of the U.S.  Symptoms of
eutrophication include blooms of phytoplankton, which when they
decompose may reduce available oxygen in the water; blooms of harmful
algae that are toxic to fish, shellfish, and occasionally humans;
blooms of macroalgae that cause die-backs of sea grasses which are
vital to maintaining populations of many fish and crabs.
Eutrophication generally results from export of excess nutrients from
land, in particular nitrogen.  Sources of nitrogen include
agriculture, septic tanks, waste water treatment plants, industry, and
atmospheric deposition of nitrogen derived from automobiles, power
plants, and other industrial sources.   Nitrogen from these sources is
most often transported to coastal waters in shallow groundwater and in
surface water runoff. 

Coastal lagoons are common features of the land margin, especially
along the East and Gulf coasts.  We have hypothesized that these
lagoons play an important role in retarding and transforming nitrogen
during transport from land to the sea.  Our study of the Virginia
Coast Reserve lagoonal system has been designed to: (1) measure
groundwater sources of nutrients to the lagoon; (2) measure rates of
biological processes that remove or transform nitrogen in the waters
and sediments of the lagoon; (3) compare rates of nitrogen cycling
processes to physical transport across and out of the lagoon in order
to determine whether the nitrogen remains in the lagoon for a
sufficient length of time to allow biological processing to occur. 
The biological studies described in this report are being performed
jointly by Iris Anderson, VIMS, and Karen McGlathery, University of
Virginia. 

Our preliminary results support our hypotheses that: (1) nitrogen
entering the lagoon is rapidly removed by both benthic macro- and
microalgae.  The bloom of macroalgae that results in early summer
crashes during mid-summer, releasing much of the nitrogen as dissolved
inorganic and organic nitrogen.  The sediments act to rapidly remove
the nitrogen released to the water column by a combination of
mechanisms including immobilization by benthic microalgae and coupled
nitrification - denitrification.  We are currently attempting to
determine how the nitrogen released during decomposition of the
macroalgal bloom is partitioned between the various potential
consumptive mechanisms. 

Our conclusions regarding the importance of macroalgae in influencing
the dynamics of nutrient movements within the lagoon helps to explain
the role of the lagoon as an active mediator between mainland nutrient
sources (e.g., agricultural fields) and the coastal ocean. The recent
discovery that the dominant macroalga in the lagoon is an exotic
(rather than its native congener), will be important to understanding
long-term changes in the lagoon's characteristics. 

MARSH

Surface Elevation Tables (SETs) are used at numerous VCR/LTER research
sites to quantify subtle changes in sedimentation that ultimately will
determine the fate of marshes in the face of sea level rise. These
baseline measurements at different marshes are then used in
association with process-based studies focusing on the processes such
as transport of material through tidal flooding, burial of organic
matter and its decomposition, marsh plant production (both above and
below ground), bioturbation by crabs and even herbivory by insects to
develop models aimed at predicting changes in marshes over the coming
decades. Our preliminary results indicate that the rate of acretion
are position dependent, with the upper marsh receiving less input. 

Recent work on microbial communities in the marshes and tidal creeks
at the VCR (as well as 9 other coastal systems as part of a cross-site
comparison study) contribute to our understanding of what abiotic and
biotic factors determine microbial community structure and the scales
over which microbial communities vary. Linking information about
variation in microbial community structure and microbially controlled
processes (e.g., nitrogen-fixation), will allow prediction of how
critical ecosystem processes will be affected by disturbance. (Blum)

We have continued to work with a small group to compare the ways in
which salt marshes, mangroves and coral reefs respond to sea-level
change and are perceived to respond to sea-level change.  This
synthesis promises to be valuable. (Christian)

The work culminating in the masters theses of Scott Dusterhoff (under
supervision of Albertson and Wiberg) and Steven Turaski (supervised by
PI Wiberg) has applied instrumentation and models most commonly used
in studies of fields and forests to marshlands.  Measurements of soil
moisture (using TDR), water table elevation, soil texture and
topography were used to characterize near surface soil moisture
dynamics and runoff potential across a marsh-upland transect at 
Phillips Creek Marsh, VCR-LTER.  Models of soil moisture (Richards
equation) and evapotranspiration were successfully used to investigate
controls on soil moisture and water table level, including soil
texture, elevation, root density in addition to precipitation, tidal
inundation and etc. 

One of PI Robert Christian's major commitments for the last couple of
years has been to encourage and promote the use of network analysis
within ecology. Network analysis is a modeling tool (really an
accounting tool for data. These data must be organized in a network
form of interactions aomong system compartments) These efforts have
come to some fruition via publications and workshops sponsored by NSF
biocomplexity and the LTER network. Now several groups within and
beyond the LTER network have begun using the tools. Jim Morris at U.
South Carolina and PI Christian have collaborated on large number
(>1,000) compartment networks, randomly generated but following
perscribed rules. We have found some distribution dependent and
independent attributes of food webs. This work will be continued at a
workshop on Network Analysis at the LTER All Scientists Meeting in
Sept. 2003.

UPLAND

The results of this work to date have increased our understanding of
dynamic vegetation changes and their causes in coastal barrier island
ecosystems. New cross site and cross species analyses are linking
meteorological and climatological drivers to plant production. This
analysis is revealing complex patterns showing that all species and
sites do not respond similarly to meteorological drivers. 

To date, one of our most significant contributions has been to
demonstrate that biotic interactions are very important in the coastal
environment of the VCR, which we often define as being dominated by
physical parameters.  Most importantly PI Donald Young, demonstrated
the importance of the presence for a soil actinomycete, Frankia, for
the successful establishment of Myrica cerifera.  Myrica usually is
usually the first woody species to establish in these environments. 
Once established, Myrica rapidly forms extensive thickets in coastal
environments. These thickets are excellent indicators of island
stability and may be precursors to the establishment of maritme
forest. 

Fourteen years of research in shrub thicket ecology has provided
excellent background and experience for studying the potential for
invasive species in coastal environments.  This is especially true for
the weedy grass, Phragmites australis. Populations of Phragmites are
establishing and rapidly expanding throughout the VCR as well as in
coastal environments of the mid-Atlantic region. Phragmites often
establishes in habitats similar to those of shrub thickets. The
detailed understanding of the ecology of P. australis with respect to
nutrient uptake and competitive relationships provide a basis for
predictions regarding its ultimate distribution. 

Studies of island-dwelling organisms, such as those underway at VCR,
have long played an important role in testing ecological and
evolutionary theory about patterns and processes related to
distribution and abundance of species and genetic variation within and
among natural populations. The Virginia coast is a highly dynamic,
frequently disturbed landscape, and the Virginia barrier islands are
the only undeveloped barrier system on the Eastern seaboard. As such,
this system affords a unique opportunity to study phenomena associated
with island systems, including fragmentation of habitats and
populations, local extinction, dispersal, and colonization, which are
also important issues in conservation biology. The relative isolation
of the islands also provides an excellent opportunity for assessing
the roles of paracitism and disease in overall vertebrate population
dynamics. 

At the global scale, PI's Hayden and Fuentes have continued work, in
collaboration with the Sevilleta LTER site, on the gaseous and
particulate emissions from vegetation and its role in the dynamics of
the lower atmosphere. Information about these non-CO2 emissions has
increased the awareness of the ecological community as to the
diversity of feedbacks from the biosphere to the atmosphere. Our
topographically stratified measurements of annual temperature show a
coincidence of vegetation zonation with abrupt temperature gradients.

Contributions to Other Disciplines:
 The studies conducted by the VCR/LTER are inherently interdisciplinary
or multidisciplinary. Our studies are being performed by an
interdisciplinary team of ecologists, hydrologists, biologists, and
physical oceanographers. When such collaborations take place, it is
not unusual that each each group of scientists will gain greater
insight into problems that may not be recognized within their own
discipline. 

Additionally, our workshops on network analysis have exposed a broad
group of scientists to the field or network ecology. Social scientists
have also used network analysis, and one of our accomplishements has
been to bring awareness of the different approaches to the broader
group. (Christian)

Research on ecological information management has included computer
scientists. The challenges posed by ecological data provide
opportunities for innovation in computer science. Our work with
development of wireless sensor networks, and processing of the massive
data flows they can generate, contributes to better defining the
cyberinfrastructure challenges that will confront us in coming
decades. (Porter)

In association with educators (and with additional support from the
Virginia Environmental Endowment) we have been exploring the use of
wireless web cameras for use in K-12 science education. (Smith,
Porter)

Connections between storminess at the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER and
variations at the El Nino frequency have proved negative. In addition,
General Circulation Models (The Hadley Model) indicate no changes in
storminess at the VCR out as far as 2085 (Hayden).

Contributions to Education and Human Resources:
 As can be seen from the number of graduate and undergraduate students
listed on our participant list, this project provides abundant
opportunities for training. Moreover, the inter- and
multi-disciplinary nature of the research teaches the students how to
operate in a collaborative environment. 

We have, in our Schoolyard LTER program provided instruction and
assistance to local teachers as well as graduate courses in assistance
of their recertification. During 2005, we have brought LTER research
activities into the classroom had extensive contact with more than 200
students in grades 9-12. 

From Jan 1, 2003 through July 2005, the LTER laboratory has been used
by four college classes totaling more than 60 undergraduate students.


PI Nancy Moncrief continues to use distributional data collected from
the multi-island surveys in a Teacher Re-Certification class that she
teaches through the University of Virginia at the Roanoke Higher
Education Center. She reviews processes such as extinction and
colonization and concepts such as succession, habitat complexity, and
carrying capacity. Typically, there are 20-30 K-12 teachers in this
course each year. Additionally, she has developed a K-12-level
activity that illustrates various island biogeography principles. She
distribute it through Teacher Recertification courses and workshops.

PI John Porter continues to contribute to training efforts in the area
of Ecoinformatics. He participates annually in the training efforts of
the Resource Development Initiative for Field Stations (RDIFS), which
trains information managers at biological field stations. He co-taught
a one week short course on ecological databases for participants from
the Organization of Biological Field Stations in October 2002.
Internationally, he co-taught a two day course on ecological
information management in Maputo Mozambique in July 2002. He taught a
session on site information management and Ecological Metadata
Language (EML) at the East Asia Pacific LTER meeting in Beijing in
July 2005.

Contributions to Resources for Research and Education:
 Our WWW site (http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu) provides access to a
wide variety of information in text, graphical and video forms. Data
are frequently downloaded for use by classes and researchers at
institutions not associated with the VCR/LTER. Since January 2002, our
web site has distributed 375 gigabytes of information to over 370,000
different client computers. The site averages over 8,500 'hits' per
day throughout that period. A detailed summary can be found at:
http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/analog/index.html

Through the web server, we have provided data for 659 formal requests,
since 10/1/2000, with 151 requests in the last year. 21% were by
VCR/LTER associated researchers, but 79% were from individuals not
associated with the VCR/LTER. 66% of the total requests were for
research use and an additional 44% were for classroom use. Many
requests were from outside the US including the United Kingdom, China,
Indonesia, Chile, Australia, Germany, India and the Netherlands, among
others. 

Through our Schoolyard LTER supplement, we have been able to provide
equipment such as global positioning system, taxonomic guides and
water chemistry analysis kits and equipment to the Northampton Co. VA
Public Schools. This program now extends from grades K-12 through the
Northampton Co. elementary, middle and high schools. 

Work that we are currently doing at the VCR is of much interest to the
Department of Environmental Quality of the State of Virginia, and in
particular to the Water Conservation Districts located on the Eastern
Shore. The major source of nitrogen to VCR coastal lagoons is
agriculture. Proper management of agricultural activities and
fertilization practices requires an improved understanding of nitrogen
losses to the coastal lagoons via groundwater and surface water
runoff. 

During 2004-2005 high school students monitored water quality at 21
sites on a bi-weekly basis. They also did quarterly testing of soil
characteristics at the same sites. Through the SLTER supplement, this
year we were able to upgrade water quality and soil testing kits,
provide up-to-date global positioning system units (incorporating WAAS
technology).

Contributions Beyond Science and Engineering:
 We have engaged in studies designed aid the conservation of avian
fauna and better understanding of the extent and change in
exotic plant species in the coastal zone in conjunction with The
Nature Conservancy. (Erwin, Moncrief, Porter, Hayden, Blum, Young)

Knowledge of the relationship between land use, nutrient contamination
of groundwater, groundwater export of nutrients to coastal lagoons,
and the fate of nutrients within lagoons will be of benefit to state
and federal agencies charged with managing coastal resources. This
knowledge will be especially important given the probable return of
seagrasses to large areas of the coastal bays, from which they have
been absent for over 70 years.(Anderson, McGlathery)

Linking information about variation in microbial and fungal community
structure and fungal and microbially controlled processes (e.g.,
nitrogen-fixation, decomposition), will allow prediction of how
critical ecosystem processes will be affected by disturbances due to
human activities in the coastal zone. (Blum)

Activities with the UN programs on observing global change along
coastal ecosystems have significance for broad aspects of public
welfare and environmental protection. One of the greatest potential
contributions from PI Christian's work at the VCR LTER are to the
global observing systems and the ability to detect and assess global
change in coastal ecosystems. The Coastal Module of GTOS is being
developed to complement the Coastal GOOS program and highlights
terrestrial, wetland, freshwater, and transitional ecosystems. Further
and importantly it explicitly includes socio-economic components of
global change in the coastal zone. This is the first significant
introduction of the human dimension into the global observing systems.
(Christian)

Special Requirements for Annual Project Report:

Unobligated funds: less than 20 percent of current funds
Categories for which nothing is reported:
Special Reporting Requirements
Animal, Human Subjects, Biohazards