New field course (EFB 500) (winter break ’02-’03)

1. New field course (EFB 500) (winter break ’02-’03) Aquatic Ecosystems of the Southeastern US K. Limburg & K. Schulz, expedition leaders

2. Course Philosophy • Field study of aquatic ecosystems • Exploration of diverse ecosystems • ‘Pristine’ systems • Human-dominated systems • Independent Projects

3. Course Overview • 3 meetings before the field trip • 26 December – 14 January field trip • Prepare posters from your independent projects (on return) to be displayed in the spring 2003 SUNY ESF poster session

4. Chesapeake Bay/CarolinasDecember 26 - 28 seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS/ IMAGES/cities/S1998029172...

6. Chesapeake Bay/Carolinas • Naturally productive • Oysters, crab, fish • Human population influences • Salt marshes • Mud flats • Trawling http://gis.cdc.gov/atsdr/map-library/chesapeake-npls.jpg

7. http://thechesapeakebay.com/gallery/chesapeake%20fish.jpg

8. Crab pots in a channel on the Chesapeake http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/coastline/line0656.htm

9. Maryland blue crab www.photolib.noaa.gov/coastline/

10. Crabs and menhaden on a fishing boat deck www.photolib.noaa.gov/coastline/

11. www.photolib.noaa.gov/coastline/ Egret fishing in a tidal pool

12. Chesapeake Oyster Oyster Recovery Partnership transplants oyster reefs for recolonization www.photolib.noaa.gov/coastline/ images/line0794.jpg

13. Critters Cow-nosed ray Diamondback terrapin Horseshoe crabs Osprey Fiddler crab www.photolib.noaa.gov/coastline/

14. Problems Abandoned nets Oil boom; industrial/ag pollution Shoreline development

15. Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia29 – 30 December • Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge – largest forested wetland wilderness in the United States • Cypress swamps • Prarie wetlands • Pine uplands

17. “Land of the Trembling Earth”

19. Sapelo Island, Georgia30 December – 2 January • ‘Pristine’ • Salt marsh • Beaches • Trawling trip

20. University of Georgia Marine Institute

23. Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades3 January – 6 January • Massive human engineering projects • High natural diversity • Hydrologic disruption • Exotic species What it was…

24. What we did to it… http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/threats2.htm www.saj.usace.army.mil/h2o/lib/ graphics/structures/s77-1.gi

25. Slight changes in elevation (only inches), water salinity, and soil create entirely different landscapes, each with its own community of plants and animals. http://www.nps.gov/ever/eco/habitats.htm

26. Lake Okeechobee www.pilothouseonline.com/.../ Lake%20Okeechobee.jpg

27. Everglades native slash pine (Pinus elliottii) Prescribed burning in sawgrass (Cladium jamaicensis) to maintain marsh www.uni-freiburg.de/fireglobe/ photos/florida/florida.htm

28. www.americanparknetwork.com/parkinfo/ ev/images/ev-home.jpg

29. Mangroves

30. Florida Bay/Keys 6 January – 12 January • Florida Institute of Oceanography; Keys Marine Laboratory • Tour • Boating Expedition • Independent Projects

31. Keys • Within ½ hour of: • Coral reefs • Florida Bay • Grass flats • Sandy beaches • Mud flats • Mangrove forest • Oceanic waters (Gulf Stream / Florida Straits)

32. Long Key State Park http://thefloridakeys.com/parks/lignum.htm

33. http://thefloridakeys.com/parks/lignum.htm

34. http://thefloridakeys.com/dive/divesites

35. Anne’s Beach, Long Key http://thefloridakeys.com/parks/lignum.htm

36. http://thefloridakeys.com/parks/lignum.htm

37. LIGNUMVITAE KEY STATE BOTANICAL SITE http://thefloridakeys.com/parks/lignum.htm

38. St. Petersburg

39. What you should get from this course • A good overview of southeastern estuarine, freshwater and nearshore marine ecosystems • Some critters & green stuff • Ecology • Ecosystem processes • Human impacts • A chance to do independent research in aquatic systems – either individually or in a small group • Learn how to develop a poster on your research