{"id":11,"date":"2023-08-18T11:35:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-18T15:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/sustainability\/?page_id=11"},"modified":"2023-08-18T11:36:09","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T15:36:09","slug":"ecology-research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/sustainability\/ecology-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecology Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-ecology-research-important-to-coastal-sustainability\">Ecology research important to coastal sustainability.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What happens to smooth cordgrass when there\u2019s an explosion in numbers of salt marsh periwinkle snails?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">And why is the abundance of cordgrass important to communities along the East Coast?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe well being of our salt marshes is vital to the sustainability of our local estuary ecosystem and our quality of life,\u201d said Biology Professor Danny Gustafson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora) is the lifeblood of the salt marsh.\u00a0 And salt marshes play a vital role in the sustainability of coastal communities, acting as buffers during heavy storms, filtering pollutants in runoff water and providing a nursery for marine animals like shrimp, sea trout, flounder and red drum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/web.citadel.edu\/root\/images\/Physical_Plant\/saltmarshsnails.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The research conducted by Gustafson and fellow Biology Professor Joel Gramling along with several students is important to estuary management.\u00a0 Diamondback terrapin and blue crabs, which feed on the snails, are a popular catch for commercial fisherman and recreational enthusiasts.\u00a0 When they\u2019re overfished or their populations are reduced, the salt marsh periwinkle snail population spirals out of control and negatively affects the grass.\u00a0Exclusion snail cages that keep snails from the grass were set up by Gustafson and his team to conduct the research in several different areas of marsh, including right here at The Citadel.\u00a0 Cadets Alex Anderson and Steven Urgelles conducted much of the field work during this six-month experiment by checking the sites every two weeks and recording data.\u00a0The research concluded in November 2010 and the findings were analyzed.\u00a0 The results were clear\u2014smooth cordgrass is negatively impacted by an over abundance of salt marsh periwinkle snails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gustafson uses this ecological research as a teaching tool in his classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe go out and survey snails and plants to measure snail damage in our marshes on campus, linking research with education,\u201d said Gustafson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ecology research important to coastal sustainability. What happens to smooth cordgrass when there\u2019s an explosion in numbers of salt marsh periwinkle snails? And why is the abundance of cordgrass important to communities along the East Coast? \u201cThe well being of our salt marshes is vital to the sustainability of our local estuary ecosystem and our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.8 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ecology Research - Sustainability and Recycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.citadel.edu\/sustainability\/ecology-research\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ecology Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ecology research important to coastal sustainability. 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