Georgia Coastal Ecosystems research program renewed for fourth cycle

A long-term ecological research project run by the University of Georgia Marine Institute on Sapelo Island, the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems research program has been renewed by a $7.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

The grant supports research on how ecological disturbances affect marsh health and resilience, comprehensive efforts dedicated to understanding a diversity of habitats and how they respond to changing conditions:

Established in 2000, the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems research program has over 103 participants representing 10 academic institutions, including Georgia Southern University and Georgia Tech. It’s considered the largest research project on the Georgia coast. This is the fourth six-year funding cycle for the project.

The next phase of the program will continue to focus on the impact of ecological disturbances — hurricanes and freezes, for example — on coastal salt marshes and estuaries, said Merryl Alber, director of the marine institute and a professor of marine sciences in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. It will also examine how these extreme fluctuations affect marsh health and resilience.

“We want to know whether changes in variability can actually tell us something about a system’s underlying health, whether it’s resilient or becoming more vulnerable,” she said. “It’s not just about averages anymore. Extremes matter, and we’re learning how those extremes shape the resilience of our marshes.”

Salt marshes protect shorelines, filter water, support fisheries, store carbon and sustain coastal economies. The project will measure drivers such as sea level, salinity, flooding and temperature, and then analyze their effects on estuaries and marshes. Policymakers and coastal communities can use the results of this study to make decisions on how to protect and manage coastal resources.

Continue reading about this ongoing and important work for the wider environment as well as the communities that depend on a healthy Georgia coast.

Image: UGA photo by Peter Frey.