The Virginia Coast Reserve LTER
1996-1997 Annual Report 

1 August 1997

VCR LTER Highlights

UNDERGRAUDATES AND LTER RESEARCH -- We have buildt a new database and data and information delivery system for site biodiversity data.  This project was a joint effort between VCR LTER PIs and undergraduate students at the University of Virginia.  The biodiversity data base was designed in the Fall of 1996 by a team of 6 students and three PIs. The system was programmed and filled with  data on all taxa in the spring of 1997.  33 undergraduate students were involved in the filling of this system from published data.  Nearly 6000 species observations were put in the system by the students.   This data base and the system display of data for the user are ON-LINE.

NEW THEORETICAL CONSTRUCT OF MARSH AND LAGOON SYSTEMS -- A new morphometric analysis of coastal watersheds and lagoons provides a detailed  understanding of the extent and complexity of coastal marshes.  The model has special application for the prediction of changes in estuarine marshes resulting from sea level change.  

1969 ATLANTIC COAST WIDE EROSION REVERSAL -- Shoreline change rates at the VCR reversed their direction of change (erosion and accretion) in 1969.  We have established that this reversal of pattern of coastal erosion applies to the Atlantic Coast from Florida to Cape Cod.  This past year we identified a similar reversal in the boundary between the beach and inland vegetation (an ecotone) followed, in time, the change in shoreline erosion.  These changes are due to changes in storm climates.

Other Important findings at the VCR LTER

Nutrient Dynamics

HEDGE ROWS AND GROUNDWATER NUTRIENT FLUXES -- Control on agricultural nutrients flows into tidal creeks by means of groundwater pathways.  We established even a narrow hedgerow of trees was sufficient to shut-down this pathway of nutrients in to tidal creeks.

FRANKIA DISPERSAL PRECEDES SHRUB INVASION -- The nitrogen fixer Frankia (on roots of the coastal shrug Myrica) disperses in fresh new sand deposits within 5 years.  Shrub colonization is this not limited by a lack of the bacterium and may account for the extreme rapidity of expansion of coastal shrublands.

Microbial Communities

IN SITU  MICROBIAL COMMUNITY CLASSIFICATION -- Naturally occurring microbial communities can be classified on the basis of metabolic use patterns of 100 standard carbon sources.  The classes found are stable from place to place and from season to season.  

Marsh Dynamics

LEGACY SUPPORTS NEW MARSHES -- The rate and course of salt marsh initiation and development are a function of the subsurface flow of fresh ground water from adjacent uplands.  We have also established that incipient marshes built on beach sands that use nitrate as a nitrogen source lag by two decades over marshes established on buried mudflats that use ammonia as a nitrogen source.  This will aid in understanding the progress of wetland restoration in coastal areas.  

HYPERSALINE PLUME UNDER ISLANDS -- Hypersaline  (140 ppt) pore water on VCR barrier island salt flats sinks as a plume into the island sands to a depth of at least 9 meters.  The fate of these high saline solutions are not yet established. 

Ecosystems, Storms and Sealevel

SEDIMENTATION AND SEALEVEL RISE -- Marsh sedimentation, essential for marsh growth upward to keep up with sealevel rise, only occurs during a 2 hour window at high tide (>1 m) when there is a wind tide from the Northeast.  As coastal storm produces such wind tides.  Marsh upward growth is subject to long term trends in storm climate.  In addition, we established that the stems of marsh plants lower to tidal flow velocities below 1 cm/s and permit deposition if other conditions are present.

COASTAL STORM CLIMATE CHANGE -- Coastal storm in the VCR region reached a low frequency in the first decade of this century and a high frequency in the 1960s.  The amplitude of this change is 2-fold in number.  This climate change drives coastal erosion patterns and apparently the health and vigor of marshes at the VCR.  

STORMS AND PREDATION -- High storm flooding frequency and increased avian and mammalian predation of colonial gull-billed terns has reduced per nesting survivorship to fewer than one bird per nest.  This is below the population replacement.  While based on the 1994-1997 period, population structure changes could result from a continuation of this circumstance.

KEEPING UP WITH SEALEVEL -- Experiments at the VCR indicate that increased flooding (as in sealevel rise) and storm deposited wrack both have the effect of reducing respiration and thus decomposition.  These adjustments may contribute to the organic matter accumulation in marshes and the capacity to keep up with sealevel rise.

Information Management:

NEW SOFTWARE --Software designed for creation of annual LTER research reports using a WWW-form has had much wider use than originally anticipated. The software makes it possible to rapidly create an automated system for receiving and displaying information over the WWW. Data from the WWW form is pasted into a template document to create a new WWW page. An automatic table of contents for submitted entries is then generated. This VCR software was also used to obtain community input on LTER/LMER consolidation, develop the LTER Network  Regionalization document and even for processing of abstracts for the ERS/SEERS meeting.

NEW VCR-WWW SYSTEM SOFTWARE -- The VCR/LTER Information Management System was moved to a WWW interface. Although the system has used the WWW for display and access since it came online in 1993, input to the system was via database software that was not WWW accessible. The new system allows investigators at seven institutions  in four states to directly input and edit information about new datasets and to update information on  older datasets without intervention by the site information manager.  Changes in the database immediately show up in queries by data users.  The system uses a forms-based interface to a SQL relational database  (Mini-SQL). The data model for the system is hierarchical. PROJECTS may have one or more DATASETS each of which has one or more VARIABLES which may have zero or more CODES. The database has links to an existing personnel database, so an that investigator's address information is automatically updated. The system has been enthusiastically received by investigators and graduate students. Additional training on using the system is planned for the fall of 1997.

Activities in the next funding year (1997-1998).

In 1997-1998 we will install 30 sediment platforms at the VCR in conjunction with a world-wide effort to measure sediment deposition in marshes.  With this measurement system we will be able to directly record from year-to-year and over decades the rate of rise of marsh elevations.  Indirect evidence indicates a loss of marsh of 11% since 1850.  However we do not know the shortfall in marsh rise that results in such marsh-area loss. 

With the acquisition of a GPS-coordinated, digital fathometer new bathymetric surveys of Hog Island Bay will be initiated next spring.  From these analyses we will, for the first time, be able to estimate tidal volumes and test a new hypsometric theory (Oertel) at several of our marsh study sites.  

With our new motion-stabilized digital video camera will map bottom attached macroalgae in our lagoons and establish a series of permanent plots to record macroalgal standing stock.  It is common lore in the region that the lagoon bottoms of the VCR are seeing a increase in attached macroalgae.  As such changes might give rise to increases and water clarity, it is essential that we measure these changes.

The VCR LTER is buildimg new Field Station at Oyster, VA.  A grant from the University of Virginia (450K) and from a graduate of the University of Virginia ($1M) are being used to purchase and construct phase one of a new field station for research.  PIs of the VCR LTER have worked over the last 3 years to reach this point and we expect construction to begin in the Fall of 1997.

We expect to link our biodiversity database with the Man and Biosphere initiative and data share.  The VCR is a Man and the Biosphere site and we have begun talks to accomplish a data link.

Information about Data Management

Progress an d New Developments

1. We have developed WWW based tools for field data entry directly into our electronic data bases.  Once the PI has established the metadata fields, the process from data input to dynamically generated webpages of data will be automatic to ON-LINE status.

2. We have built a new database and data and information delivery system for site biodiversity data.  This project was a joint effort between VCR LTER PIs and undergraduate students at the University of Virginia.  The biodiversity data base was designed in the Fall of 1996 by a team of 6 students and three PIs. The system was programmed and filled with  data on all taxa in the spring of 1997.  33 undergraduate students were involved in the filling of this system from published data.  Nearly 6000 species observations were put in the system by the students.   This data base and the system display of data for the user are ON-LINE.

VCR Datasets ON-LINE on WWW   (http://www.vcrlter.virginia.edu/data.html)

As of 2 July 1997 the VCR LTER had 66 Science-data Datasets on line and 17 Science VCR Site Management Datasets.   These datasets are listed below 

Physical Data
       Weather data and graphs from VCR weather stations 
       Tides data and graphs from VCR tidal stations 
       Water Quality and Nutrient Data from VCR monitoring sites 
       Description of VCR LTER Climate and long-term data on temperature and 	precipitation from LTERNET climate documents 
       Climate Data (from NOAA) 
       Waves (from NOAA) 
       Tides (from NOAA, for Wachaprerague) 
       Climate Data for Painter VA 
       Overwash disturbance probabilities on Hog Island 
       Storm Frequency 1885-1996
       Barrier Islands, Lagoons and Marshes morphology (Fla. to Cape Cod)
Biological Data
       VCR LTER Biodiversity Database 
	A free standing interactive information system (all taxa included)
	6000 species observations included.
       Small Mammal Survey - 1975/77 
       Small Mammal Photos 
       VCR Bird Database 
       VCR Fish Database 
       Aquatic Invertebrate Species List 
       Vegetation Database 
       Field Key to VCR Plant Species 
       Vegetation Species Codes 
       Island Vegetation Maps - 1974 
       Spartina alterniflora Leaf & NPP Measurements - A 
       Spartina alterniflora Leaf & NPP Measurements - B 
       Decomposition Data for the VCR from the LIDET project. 
       Parramore Island Permanent Vegetation Monitoring Plots: 1992-93 Baseline Data 
Images and Geographical Data
       Atlas of Aerial Photos and Satellite Images (raw images stored offline on optical disk) 
       GIS Maps and Figures 
       Draft ARC/INFO coverages and metadata 
       VCR Global Positioning System Network 
       Ongoing GPS projects from Randy Carlson 
       Atlas of Topographic Surveys 
       Research Site Coordinates
       Interactive UTM & Lat./Long. coordinate Locater 
       Photographic Images of Events, Places, Equipment and more 
       Northampton County, VA GIS 
       NASA MODIS Imagery (July 1993) 
Models
       Animation of model by Shao et. al. 
Project Management Electronic Data and Information Sets
       Personnel Database
       Electronic Copies of Proposals, Annual Reports
       Project Descriptions
       Site Coordinate Database
       Publications Database
       Annual Progress Report Database
       Investigator Annual Report Database

Outreach Activities (media, training, REU, etc.)

Undergraduate Student Outreach -- The VCR LTER has 3 to 5 NSF REU students each summer and out of project funds we augment these REUs with 2 to 3 undergraduate students.  In the Fall of 1996 we offered instruction to 6 students on building a biodiversity information system for the Delmarva Peninsula (Porter and Hayden).  In the Spring semester (1997) 33 students were added to the biodiversity information system project and nearly 6000 species observations were entered into the system (Porter and Hayden).  The class will be offered in the Fall of 1997 (Porter and Smith).

State and local community outreach of VCR PIs are 1) Shared GIS layers with - Northampton County and with Cape Charles USF&W Station (Porter and Hayden), 2) Public School Field Trips at the LTER Site (Carlson), 3) Participated in Economic Impacts of Research Study for Northampton County (Hayden, Oertel, Blum and Mills), 4) Natural Resource Values and Vulnerabilities. The second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium. (Hayden, Oertel, Blum and Mills), 5) Participant in the Eastern Shore Birding Festival (Hayden), 6) Virginia Professional Wetlands Delineation Workshop (Hayden and Oertel), and 7) Eastern Shore Water Quality Monitoring Program (Blum) 

The VCR LTER program extends beyond the University of Virginia and includes scientists from East Carolina University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Old Dominion University , Utah State University, Bucknell University, William and Mary (VIMS), Virginia Tech.  In addition we have affiliations with The Nature Conservancy, Virginia Museum of Natural History, and The Man & Biosphere Program 

National Outreach activities of the VCR include the White House National FRAMEWORK Workshops (Hayden), will lead the ESA / GSA Penrose Conference Field Trip in 1998, leadership in ESA Long-term Studies Section (Porter), Statistical Ecology Studies Section (Porter), and SBI Programs (Hayden) 

International Outreach (in addition to ILTER programs) include 1994 Intecol Data Management Demonstration (Porter), 1998 Intecol Organizing Committee (Christian and Hayden), and IGBP participation -- GCTE and BAHC: (Shugart and Hayden) 

Non-NSF LTER-Connected Grants Currently in Force
(unless specified the funds apply only to the 1996-1997 Academic Year)

Linda K. Blum -- Comparison of the importance of microbially-based food chains in autotrophic  and heterotrophic estuaries.  Virginia Graduate Marine Sciences Consortium    $59,590.

Frank P. Day -- Belowground plant responses to carbon  dioxide enrichment..  Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (DOE)         $46,000

Mark M. Brinson -- Donald R. Cahoon.  Southern Science Center, National Biological Service, USGS Associated. Installation of 30 Sediment Tables at the VCR.  $15,000

Robert R. Christian -- via Pierluigi Viaroli, University of Parma, Parma, Italy Associated. Research and Travel Grant   $8,000.

Robert R. Christian -- vai Daniel Baird, University of Port Elizabeth, Port Elizabeth, Republic of South Africa Travel Grant  $11,000.

Donald R. Young -- Interacting biotic mechanisms that control shrub establishment on Atlantic Coast barrier islands.  Jeffress Memorial Trust         $9,410

Donald R. Young -- Revegetation of coastal spoils in Swash Bay Virginia Department of Environmental Quality    $27,000

R. Michael Erwin -- Experimental augmentation of nesting habitat for terns in coastal Virginia U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  $8000

R. Michael Erwin -- NBS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) appointment to the University of Virginia and the VCR LTER program.     $140,000

J. Zieman -- Field Station Development Gift by Private Giver (P.T. Jones)      $1,000,000 (1996-2001).

Bruce P. Hayden & David Smith -- Field Station Land Purchase Grant Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia   $450,000

Bruce P. Hayden & David Smith -- Gift of the Vessel Nema a 32 ft. Trawler
Mr. George Seward       $170,000

Bruce P. Hayden & David Smith -- Bannon Student Support Grant
Mr. Bannon      $2500 per year.

Bruce P. Hayden & David Smith  -- William E. Odum Research Grant from
Odum Endowment  $2500

Bruce P. Hayden & David Smith  -- The Moore Research Award from the Moore Endowment     $5000

Bruce P. Hayden & David Smith  -- Three Faculty Gifts to the LTER Program
Anon.   $11,600

Aaron Mills -- Factors Affecting the Transport of Bacterial Cells (DOE years 2 and 3 only)*.  $307,884

VCR LTER PIs -- Student support from the University of Virginia in the form of teaching assistantships, fellowships and tuition differential  $36,100

R. Craig Kochel -- Grant to Nicole Bailey (Bucknell Summer Research Fellowship)  $3000

John Albertson and Pat Wiberg -- Source areas considerations of soil moisture dynamics.  USGS  $46,980 1997-1999. 

John Albertson and Pat Wiberg -- Source areas considerations of soil moisture dynamics.  State of Virginia companion funding $10,000. 1997-1999. 

John Porter -- Local validation of Global Estimates of Biosphere Properties NASA $40,000

Macko, S. -- The Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Nitrogen Cycling Dynamics in Forest Systems: Stable isotopes.(USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service, International $14,000

Iris Anderson -- The Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Nitrogen Cycling Dynamics in Forest Systems.(USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service, International
Cooperation and Development, Research and Scientific Exchanges, Div. $20,000.

Total                                                                                                       $2,427,080  

______________________________________________________________________
*DOE has invested about $3,000,000 in the LTER Site of which about 1/3 has come to VCR PIs and their students.  The remaining $2,000,000 is not included in the Total above.

Publications

Journal Articles

Anderson, I. C., C. R. Tobias, B. B. Neikirk, R. L. Wetzel. in review. 1997. Development of a process-based nitrogen mass balance model for a Virginia Spartina alterniflora saltmarsh: implications for net DIN flux. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Brinson, M.M. and R.Rheinhardt. 1996. The role of reference wetlands in functional assessment and mitigation. Ecological Applications 6:69-76.

Christian, R. R., E. Fores, F. Comin, P. Viaroli, M. Naldi and I. Ferrari. 1996. Nitrogen cycling networks of coastal ecosystems: influence of trophic status and primary producer form. Ecological Modelling 87:111-129. 

Christian, R. R., and B. P. Hayden. 1995. Long-term ecological research in the United States, an international initiative and implications for Italy. Bollettino della Societa italiana di Ecologia 16:60-63. 

Conn, C.E. and F.P. Day. 1996. Response of root and cotton strip decay to nitrogen amendment along a barrier island dune chronosequence. Canadian Journal of Botany 74:276-284.

Conn, C.E. and F.P. Day. in review 1997. Root decomposition across a barrier island chronosequence: litter quality and environmental controls. Plant and Soil.

Crawford, E.R. and D.R. Young. in press. 1997.. Comparison of gaps and intact shrub thickets on an Atlantic Coast barrier island. American Midland Naturalist 

Crawford, E.R. and D.R. Young. in review.1997. Spatial/temporal variations in shrub thicket soil seed banks on a Virginia coastal barrier island. American Journal of Botany 

Culver, S.J., Woo, H.J., Oertel, G.F., and Buzas, M.A. 1996. Foraminifera of coastal depositional environments, Virginia, USA: Distribution and Taphonomy. Palios 11:459-486.

Davis, R. E., B. P. Hayden, D.A. Gay, W. L. Phillips and G.V. Jones. 1997. The North Atlantic Subtropical Anticyclone.  J. of Climate. 10(4): 728-744.

Day, F.P. 1996. Effects of nitrogen availability on plant biomass along a barrier island dune chronosequence. Castanea 61:369-381.

Dilustro, J.J. and F.P. Day. 1997. Aboveground biomass and net primary production along a Virginia barrier island chronosequence. American Midland Naturalist 137:27-38. 

Erickson, D.L. and D.R. Young.  1995. Salinity response, distribution, and possible dispersal of a barrier island strand glycophyte, Strophostyles umbellata (Fabaceae).  Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 122: 95-100.

Erwin, R.M. 1996. Dependence of waterbirds and shorebirds on shallow-water habitats in the mid-Atlantic coastal region: an ecological profile and management recommendations. Estuaries 19:213-219. 

Erwin, R.M., J. Haig, D. Stotts, J.S. Hatfield. 1996. Dispersal and habitat use by post-fledging juvenile Snowy Egrets and Black-crowned Night-Herons. Wilson Bulletin 108:342-356. 

Erwin, R.M., J. Haig, D. Stotts, and J.S. Hatfield. 1996. Nest success, growth, and survival of young Snowy Egrets and Black-crowned Night-Herons in coastal Virginia. Auk 113:119-130. 

Fenster, M. and R. Dolan 1996. Large-scale reversals in shoreline trends along the U.S. mid-Atlantic Coast. Geology. 

Fenster, M.S. and B.P. Hayden. in press. 1997. Ecotone displacement trends on a highly dynamic barrier island: Hog Island, Virginia. Ecological Applications .

Foyle, A.M. and G.F. Oertel 1996. Seismic stratigraphy and coastal drainage in the Quaternary section of the southern Delmarva Peninsula, VA, USA. Sedimentary Geology. 

Foyle, A.M. and Oertel, G.F. 1997. Transgressive systems tract development and incised valley fills within a Quaterbary Estuary-Shelf System: Virginia Inner Shelf, USA. Journal of Marine Geology 137:227-249.

Hayden, B. P. in press.1997. Ecosystem feedbacks on climate at the landscape scale. Philosophical Transactions, Series B.  Also to published as a chapter in a book by the Royal Society.

Joy, D.A. and D.R. Young. in review.1997. The promotion of mid-successional seedling recruitment and establishment by Juniperus virginiana on an Atlantic Coast barrier island.

Kastler, J.A. and P.L. Wiberg, 1996. Sedimentation and boundary changes of Virginia salt marshes, Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science, 42, 683-700.

Loxterman. J.L., N.D. Moncrief, R.D. Dueser, C.R. Carlson \& J.F. Pagels. in press. 1997. Allozymic variation in sympatric, insular and mainland populations of Oryzomys palustris and Peromyscus leucopus: the effects of dispersal abilities on genetic population structure. Journal of Mammalogy 

Martin, D.W. and D.R. Young. 1997. Small-scale distribution and salinity response of Juniperus virginiana on an Atlantic Coast barrier island. Canadian Journal of Botany 75:77-85. 

Michener, W.K. and E.R. Blood, K. L. Bildstein, M.M. Brinson and L.R. Gardner. In Press. 1997. Climate change and modified disturbance regimes in coastal wetlands: projected ecological impacts and research challenges. Ecological Applications.

Moncrief, N.D., N.E. Crockett, A.D. Neff, W.L. Thomas & R.D. Dueser. 1997. Polymorphic microsatellites in the meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus:conservation of loci across species of rodents. Molecular Ecology 6:299-301. 

Semones, S.W. and D.R. Young. 1996. Possible VAM association in the actinorhizal shrub Myrica cerifera on a Virginia, USA barrier island. Mycorrhiza and the citation is 5: 423-429.
 
Shao, G., D.R. Young, J.H. Porter and B.P. Hayden. In Press 1997. An integration of remote sensing and GIS to examine the response of shrub thicket distributions to shoreline changes on Virginia barrier islands. Journal of Coastal Research  

Stevenson, M.J. and F.P. Day. 1996. Fine root biomass distribution and production along a barrier island chronosequence. American Midland Naturalist 135:205-217. 

Tolliver, K.S., D.M. Colley and D.R. Young. 1995. Potential inhibitory effects of Myrica cerifera on Pinus taeda. American Midland Naturalist, 133: 256-263.

Tolliver, K.S., D.M. Martin and D.R. Young. 1997. Freshwater and saltwater flooding response for woody species common to barrier islands swales. Wetlands 17:10-18. 

Weber, E.P. and F.P. Day. 1996. The effect of nitrogen fertilization on the phenology of roots in a barrier island sand dune community. Plant and Soil 182:139-148. 

Woo, H.J., Culver, S.J. and Oertel, G.F. In Press. 1997. Benthic foraminiferal communities of a barrier lagoon system, Virginia, USA. Journal of Coastal Research.

Woo, H.J., Oertel, G.F. and Kearny, M.S. In Review. 1997. Distribution of pollen in a coastal lagoon of the southern Delmarva Peninsula. Palaeo-3 

Wu, K. W. and L. K. Blum. In Review. 1997. Estuarine bacteria: important links to higher trophic levels. Estuaries 

Book Chapters

Bledsoe, C.S., T.J. Fahey, R. Ruess, and F.P. Day. in review. 1997. Measurement of static root parameters - biomass, length, distribution. In Robertson, G.P., C.S. Bledsoe, D.C. Coleman, and P. Sollins. Standard Soil Methods for Long-Term Ecological Research. Oxford University Press, New York.

Christian, R. R. and D. G. Capone. 1996. Overview of issues in aquatic microbial ecology. Pages 245-251.  in C.J. Hurst, G. R. Knudsen, M. J. McInerney, L. D. Stetzenbach, M. V. Walter. Manual of Environmental Microbiology. ASM Press, Washington, DC.

Fahey, T.J., C.S. Bledsoe, F.P. Day, and R. Ruess. in Press.1997. Root production and demography. In Robertson, G.P., C.S. Bledsoe, D.C. Coleman, and P. Sollins. Standard Soil Methods for Long-Term Ecological Research. Oxford University Press, New York. 

Hayden, B. P. in press.1997. Ecosystem feedbacks on climate at the landscape scale. Philosophical Transactions, Series B.  Also to published as a chapter in a book by the Royal Society.

Hayden, B.P. in press. 1997. Climate, Climate Change and the Prairie. In Grassland Dynamics: Long-term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie.(A.K. Knapp, J.M. Briggs, D.C. Hartnett and S.L. Collins eds.), Oxford University Press, New York.

Ray, G.C., B.P. Hayden, M.G. McCormick-Ray and T.M. Smith. 1996. Land-seascape diversity of the USA east-coast coastal zone with particular reference to estuaries. Pages 337-37. Ch. 15. in . Marine Biodiversity. pp. 337-371,  Cambridge University Press.

Santos, M.C.F.V., J.C. Zieman and R.R.H. Cohen. In Review. 1997. Interpreting the upper min-littoral zonation patterns of Maranahao State mangals, Northern Brazil, as a response to microtopography and local hydrology. In B.J. Kjerfve. Mangroves of Brazil. 

Seastedt, T.R., B.P Hayden, C.E. Owensby and A.K. Knapp. in press. 1997. Climate Change, Elevated CO2 and Predictive Modeling: Past and Future Climate Change Scenarios for the Tallgrass Prairie. In A.K. Knapp, J.M. Briggs, D.C. Hartnett and S.L. Collins eds. In Grassland Dynamics: Long-term Ecological Research in Tallgrass Prairie. 

Other Publications (Non-Reviewed)

Anderson, I.C. 1996. effects of wrack deposition and increased inundation on community primary productivity and respiration in a Spartina patens/Distichlis spicata saltmarsh community.  p. 78-81 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Blum L.K. 1996. comparison of the role of bacteria in bayside and seaside tidal creeks. p. 75-77 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Christiansen, T. 1996. Sediment deposition on a salt marsh surface.  p. 58-63.  in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Erwin, R.M. 1996. Landscape changes in colony site dynamics: how gull-billed terns cope at the edge of the sea.  pp. 51-53 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Hagan, L., 1996, The nucleation and evolution of coastal dunes on southern Parramore Island, Virginia. Geological Society of America, Abs. w. Prog. v. 28, n.3, p. 61.

Farleigh, K.L., 1996, The influence of overwash events on the hydrology and vegetation of a pimple on Parramore Island, Virginia Coast Reserve. Geological Society of America Abs. w. Prog. v. 28, n.3, p. 53.

Geyer, M. J.  abd S. A. Macko. 1996. Tracing early diagenesis of plant matter through compound specific isotope analysis.  p. 74 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Hayden, B.P. Coastal storms. 1996. p. 54 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. Natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Mills, A.L. 1996. Biological Removal of Nitrate from Coastal Groundwater. p. 12 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Oertel, G.F., Culver, S.J., and Woo, H.J. 1996. Benthic Foraminiferal communities of a barrier-lagoon system, Virginia. Pages 98-100. in Flint, R.W. Natural Resource Values and Vulnerabilities\; Proceedings the second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium. The Eastern Shore Institute, Exmore, VA.

Oertel, G.F., Porter, J.H. and Richardson, D.L. 1996. The effects of hypsometry on lagoon dynamics and ecosystems. Natural Resource Values and Vulnerabilities. Proceedings Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium. The Eastern Shore Institute, Exmore, VA pp. 55-57. 

Porter, J.H., B.P. Hayden and D.L. Richardson. 1996. Data and information management at the Virginia Coast Reserve Long-term Ecological Research Site. Global networks for environmental information: Proceedings of Eco-Informa \'96. 

Porter, J.H.. 1996. p. 43. in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Porter, J.H., R.W. Nottrott, K. Baker. 1996. Tools for managing ecological data. Pages 87-92 in . Global networks for environmental information: Proceedings of Eco-Informa \'96. 1996 November 4-7\; Buena Vista, FL. Ann Arbor, MI, Environmental Research Institute of Michigan (ERIM). 

Waller, D.A. 1996. Nitrogen Fixation by Termites in a Coastal Forest.  p. 48 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Young, D.R. 1996. Ecology of Myrica thickets on Atlantic coast barrier islands. p. 64-68 in Flint, R.W. (ed.) 1997. natural Resources Values and Vulnerabilities: The Second Virginia Eastern Shore Natural Resources Symposium.  The Eastern Shut,. Exmore, VA.

Other Publications  (Theses and Dissertations -- 1996-1997)

Aiosa, Jennifer. 1996. Dissolved Organic Carbon Quality Controls on the contribution of the Microbial Food Web to Higher Trophic Levels. M.S. thesis. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 

Cannon, T. A. 1997. Relative importance of bacteria and photosynthesis to water column grazers.  M.S. thesis. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 

Farleigh, K.L., 1996, The Influence of overwash events on the hydrology and
vegetation of a pimple on Parramore Island, Virginia Coast Reserve.  Senior
Thesis, Dept. Geology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 61 pp.

Geyer, J. M. 1996. Tracing early diagenesis of plant organic matter through compound specific isotope anlayis.  M.S. thesis. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 

Hagan, L., 1996, Nucleation and evolution of coastal dunes on a low profile
barrier, southern Parramore Island, Virginia.  Senior Thesis, Dept. Geology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 71 pp.

Heitz, R.C. 1997. Suspended sediment transport in Phillips Creek Marsh: Brownsville, Virginia. Distinguished Major Thesis, University of Virginia, 1997 pp. 33. 

Joy, D.A. 1996. Juniperus virginiana: nurse plant for woody seedlings on a Virginia barrier island. Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA pp. 

Neikirk, B. B. 1996. Exchanges of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and dissolved organic carbon between salt marsh sediments and overlying tidal water. Masters Thesis. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary .

Osgood,  DT. 1996. Vegetation patterns and nutrient dynamics in naturally developing barrier island marshes.  PhD Dissertation.  University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 

Santos, M. C. F. V. 1997.  Intertidal salinity buildup and salt flat development in temperate salt marshes: A case study of the salt flats at the Virginia Barrier Islands. PhD Dissertation.  University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 

Stewart, J. 1996. A stable isotope study of precipitation at the Virginia Coast Reserve.  Distinguished Majors Thesis,  University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA

Tolley, Patricia M.  1996. Effects of increased inundation and wrack deposition on a saltmarsh plant community. MS thesis. East Carolina University, Greenville, NC pp. 200.

Tolliver, Kathryn S.  1997.  Biotic interactions influencing shrub
establishment on an Atlantic Coast barrier island.  Virginia Commonwealth
University, Richmond, VA.

Tarnowski, Rebecca M. 1997. Effects of dissolved oxygen concentrations on nitrification in coastal waters. MS thesis. East Carolina University, Greenville, NC pp. 134.

Taylor, James  H.  1996. The effects of altered inundation and wrack deposition ofication, denitrification, and the standing stocks of NO3 and NO2.  MS Thesis.  East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C.  

Tirrell R.  1996. Microbial response of Spartina alterniflora roots.  M.S. thesis. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 

Tyler, A. C. 1997. Geomorphological and Hydrological Controls on Pattern and Process in a Developing Barrier Island Salt Marsh.  Major Thesis, University of Virginia. Charlottesville, VA 

Wijhnolds, Annamarie E.  1997.  Relationship between the distribution of the
actinomycete, Frankia, and the distribution of the host plant, Myrica
cerifera, on a Virginia barrier island.  Virginia Commonwealth University,
Richmond, VA.

Network, Cross-site and International Activities (1994-1997) by PI

Iris Anderson -- 1) Eastern US LTER delegation member, 2) A nitrogen cycling study in forested watersheds impacted by high atmospheric N deposition. at ILTER site in the Shumava Mountains of southern Czech Republic(supported by USDA), 3) US LTER Host for visit by scientists of the Czech Republic to the Coweeta LTER site, 4) VCR Tragnet contributing member, and 5) Ecosystem metabolism study in Brazilian Cerrado following a burn event. (with Universidade of Brasilia). 

Linda K. Blum -- 1) Long Term Ecological Research Network Workshop on Biodiversity. National Center for Ecological Research Synthesis, September, 2) 1996, Santa Barbara, CA. , 3) Hungarian - USA LTER workshop: May 1994, 4) Hungarian - USA LTER workshop: December 1994, 5) Hungarian - USA LTER workshop: March 1995. , 6) US/Hungarian grant proposal - Biodiversity of open water trophic levels: inter-lake comparisons with J. Magnuson (NTL) to NSF, 7) International Programs by June 30, 1995, 8) Long Term Ecological Research Network Workshop on Litter Decomposition. March 1996. Sevilleta LTER, NM. 

Frank P. Day -- 1) Intersite graduate student (Rett Weber) dissertation project at VCR and Konza, 2) LTER Workshop on Soil Methods - March 1996 at Sevilleta; developed book on standard soil methods to be published by Oxford University Press.. 

Robert R. Christian -- 1) Initiated an LTER program in Italy, 2) coauthored a paper in the bulletin of the Italian Society of Ecology on starting an Italian LTER program, 3)  LTER Workshop on Soil Methods - March 1996 at Sevilleta., 3) with Jim Gosz and Bruce Hayden, organized a session at the upcoming INTECOL meeting (Florence, Italy, summer 1998), Member of the LTER Portugal/Spain ILTER delegation (Spring 1996). 

Bruce P. Hayden -- 1) LTER Coordinating Committee (1990 - 1997), 2) LTER Executive Committee (1994-1997), 3) LTER Publicatiions Committee Chair (1995-1997), 4) LTER Climate Committee (1988-1997), 5) LTER Regionalization Committee (1993-1997), 6) LTER Network Office Renewal Proposal Committee (1995-1997), 7) Luquillo LTER Site Advisory Committee (1995-1997), 8) LTER White House Framework Representative, 9) ILTER Hungary Delegation, 10) ILTER Spain & Portugal Delegation, 11) ILTER 1998 INTECOL Organizing Committee, 12) Contributor to the Konza LTER Synthesis Volume (2 Chapters), 13) CED [Climate-Ecosystem Dynamics] is a monthly network e-mail publication produced by Bruce Hayden and distributed to more than, 14) 200 scientists across the LTER Network. The publication addresses research on the interactions between climate and vegetation and on related topics like climate change. 
15) Tornadoes as dispersal agents of fish with J. Magnuson NTL. Joint work with UW graduate student., 16) Ran workshop on LTER publication needs at the 1995 ESA meeting., 17) Negotiated LTER book contracted with Oxford Press., 18) Submitted proposal to hold LMER/LTER workshop in program merger which funded and held July 18,19 & 20, 1996), 19) LTER contributing member to the ESA-ASA planning group for the SBI workshop on detecting long term trends in ecological data, 20) Established an LTER regionalization WEB page for the July 96, 21) LTER representative to the Mid-Atlantic FRAMEWORK workshop initiated by the White House Science Office, and 22) US LTER Host for visit by scientist the Portugal ILTER site. 

Stephen Macko -- 1) Member of the LTER Eastern Europe ILTER delegation (Spring 1996).  2) A nitrogen cycling study in forested watersheds impacted by high N deposition at ILTER site in the Shumava Mountains of Czech Republic.  3) Host  to CZECH scientists on a visit to the Hubbard Brook LTER.

John H. Porter -- 1) Training Workshop for Information Managers from Czech Republic and Hungary at Sevilleta LTER. September 1996, 2) Collaboration on developing databases for tropical field stations with Jorge A. Jimenez from Costa Rica. Hosted informal 2-day training session on metadata for Ted Hope information manager from the Organization of Tropical Studies, 3) Maintain home page for MODLERS group which involves representatives from 14 LTER sites., 4)  Developed WWW-page for MODLERS activities. Spring 1996., 5) Developed automatic Personal Web Page in use at several sites. Data committee member, 6) Advisory Panel for the Luquillo LTER site., 7) Developed regionalization web page., 8) Developed WWW-page for MODLERS activities. Spring 1996, 9) Developed automatic Personal Web Page in use at several sites. Data committee member, 10) Data Bits is written by John Porter as a network service in conjunction with the data management committee, 11) Developed prototype tools for LTER Network Information System catalog with James Brunt from SEV LTER, 12) Two presentations (poster and talk) in LTER sessions at the Eco-Informa 96 meeting on site and national LTER information management, 13) Poster at Ecological Society of America 1996 meeting on software tools and data availability in the LTER Network., 14) Host Personnel Database for Konza LTER., 15) Provided on-site assistance for WWW development for LUQ LTER site., 16) ILTER: Visit to Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, 17) Data Management Training at Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS) in Costa Rica, 18) LTER Information Managers Workshop: Participant. Summer 1995, 19) LTER DataTask: Member 1995-1996., 20) NSF Site Visits: ARC and BNZ site reviews. Summer 1995., 21) NASA: Participated in MODLERS workshop, 22) X-Roots Workshop: Participated in a workshop aimed at integrating., 23) LTER Climate Data into advanced relational databases, and, 24) Developed automatic Personal Web Page in use at several sites. Data committee member. 

Guofan Shao -- 1) Presentation: Plant functional types for global ecosystem modelling, Oct. 25-30, 1994, Potsdam, Germany, 2) Presentation: The application of patch models of vegetation dynamics to global change issues, March 28-April 1, 1994, Netherlands, 3) Joint Project: Evaluation of forest cover types in Changbai Biosphere Reserve using TM data, cooperated with Prof. S. Zhao of CERN, China. IES