Eight projects for the Sound

“Can Watershed Land Use Legacies Inform Nitrogen Management?” which was awarded $487,391 and will examine the impact of historical land use practices in managing nitrogen.

“Evaluating Thin Layer Placement in Long Island Sound Marshes Using a MultiScale Approach,” which was awarded $470,969 and will assess different types of sediment for effective marsh rebuilding.

“Can They Get Out? Assessing the Effects of Low Streamflow on Juvenile River Herring,” which was awarded $231,013 and will identify barriers to the outmigration of juvenile alewife, a keystone species in the Sound’s food chain.

“Establishing Robust Bioindicators of Microplastics in Long Island Sound: Implications

for Reliable Estimates of Concentration, Distribution and Impacts,” which was awarded $301,150 and will examine how different types of marine life can contribute to efforts to quantify and remove pollutants. This research will examine the use of slipper snails, tunicates and oysters as bioindicators of the concentrations and impacts of microplastics.

1 “Quantifying the Ability of Seaweed Aquaculture in Long Island Sound to Remove Nitrogen, Combat Ocean Acidification, Improve Water Quality and Benefit Bivalves,” which was awarded $238,933 and will measure the ability of cultured seaweed and shellfish to remove nitrogen, combat ocean acidification, improve water quality and benefit aquaculture. 1 “Constraining Models of Metabolism and Ventilation of Bottom Water in Long Island Sound Using Oxygen Isotopes,” which was awarded $694,386 and will examine factors that influence recovery from hypoxia (low oxygen).

1 “Improving Eelgrass Restoration Success by Manipulating the Sediment Iron Cycle,” which was awarded $323,404 and will evaluate methods to overcome sediment conditions that may impede eelgrass recovery.

1 “Alkalinity of Long Island Sound Embayments,” which was awarded $131,088 and will evaluate the vulnerability of embayments to changes in acidity that can be harmful to shellfish and other marine life.