Publication: DOCUMENTING SALT MARSH BIODIVERSITY, INCLUDING LOW MARSH DIE-OFF, IN COBSCOOK BAY, MAINE: IMPLICATIONS FOR MAINE’S BLUE CARBON STRATEGY
| dc.contributor.author | Menzmer, Austin | |
| dc.contributor.author | Seeley, Robin Hadlock | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-10-15T16:29:59Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2026-04-16 | |
| dc.description | Oral presentation given in the Gracie Theater for the 2026 Research and Scholarship Day. (11:32 min.) NOTE: The Live YouTube recording of the event started late. As a result, the recording begins midway through the presentation. | |
| dc.description.abstract | The health of Cobscook Bay salt marshes, particularly low marshes, in Washington County, Maine, has declined over the past decade (R. H. Seeley, pers. observation and Seeley and McCullough, unpublished data). Maine’s blue carbon strategy counts on healthy coastal salt marshes to sequester carbon, but there is no published work yet on these marshes in decline. We propose a first-year pilot study to document salt marsh vegetation from the forest edge to the low marsh intertidal zone in two Cobscook Bay marshes, and thereby set the stage for a long-term study describing, quantifying, and analyzing the causes of low marsh die-off. We will establish four vertical transects at each of two marshes: one in Dennysville and one in Edmunds. Along each transect, each month of the year, we will photo-document (and later analyze in the lab) plant species in 0.5 m2 quadrats, spaced regularly along each vertical transect. Plant species samples will be collected and retained as voucher specimens at the University of Maine Herbarium. In addition, we will collect water temperature and salinity data at each marsh through monitoring units fixed in the marsh. Documenting the patterns of microgeographic and seasonal variation in salt marsh vegetation will establish a baseline for testing hypotheses after 2026 about the mechanisms that underlie those patterns. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://dspace.husson.edu/handle/20.500.14298/1537 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.title | DOCUMENTING SALT MARSH BIODIVERSITY, INCLUDING LOW MARSH DIE-OFF, IN COBSCOOK BAY, MAINE: IMPLICATIONS FOR MAINE’S BLUE CARBON STRATEGY | |
| dc.type | Presentation | |
| dc.type | Video | |
| dspace.entity.type | Publication | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication | c7d09f15-34f1-493d-a140-e69f2ea6f46a | |
| relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery | c7d09f15-34f1-493d-a140-e69f2ea6f46a |