ELIZABETH
CITY STATE UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
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SUBMERGED AQUATIC VEGETATION MAPPING AND MONITORING PROJECT
ECSU's Department of Geological, Environmental and Marine Sciences Remote Sensing Lab is presently conducting a three-year NOAA funded project entitled "North Carolina Coastal Habitat Protection Plan Implementation Support through Directed Research and Remote Sensing". The project is a collaborative effort between NOAA, NMFS, ECSU, and the North Carolina divisions of Coastal Management and Marine Fisheries. ECSU is collaborating with these agencies to develop appropriate implementation strategies as part of the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan process. Applications of remotely sensed data (both aerial photography and satellite imagery) are being used to better identify, quantify, protect and enhance critical fish habitats that support marine, estuarine and anadromous fisheries, particularly in the northeastern region of North Carolina and the southeastern portion of Virginia. ECSU will disseminate project data and research results to regulatory commissions and their state agencies, academia, local governments, the general public and NOAA through webpages, workshops, seminars and the scientific literature.
An identified research need by DMF, DCM, USFWS, NCWRC, ECSU and others, SAV mapping and monitoring is a priority research initiative for the GEMS Remote Sensing Lab and is integral to ECSU's overall efforts to establish a viable marine and environmental sciences school. This project addresses the UNC System priority to establish coastal facilities for teaching, research and outreach. An important component of the NOAA grant is to strengthen ECSU's ability to foster student careers in the fields of environmental sciences and fisheries research and management. The SAV mapping and monitoring project actively engages students in fisheries and coastal habitat field study and research, enhancing their educational experience as Marine Science majors at ECSU.
The NOAA-ECSU SAV Mapping and Monitoring Project is focusing first on SAV habitats in the Albemarle Sound Estuary and the Chowan River Basin. These areas include:
- Area 1 - northern shore of Albemarle Sound from Big Flatty Creek west to Edenton Bay.
- Area 2 - Edenton Bay and both shorelines of the Chowan River below Holiday Island.
- Area 3 - the western shorelines of Albemarle Sound including Batchelor Bay and the mouth of the Roanoke River.
Bushy Pondweed or Southern Niad (Najas quadalupensis).
- Present in small fresh water streams. Also tolerates slightly brackish waters. Sand substrates preferred. Can grow in muddy soils. Najas spp. requires less light than other SAV species.
- Primarily a fresh water species occasionally found in moderately brackish waters. Coarse silt to slightly sandy soil. Tolerant of murky waters and high nutrient loading. Can tolerate some wave action and currents compared to more delicately leaved and rooted species. Similar in appearance to eel grass.
- Fresh to moderately brackish. Tolerates waters with high alkalinity. Associated with silt-mud sediments. Long rhizomes and runners provide strong anchorage to the substrate. Capable of enduring stronger currents and greater wave action than most other SAV.
- Found in fresh to moderately brackish and alkaline waters. Grows best on firm muddy soils and in quiet waters with slow-moving currents. Because of its wide leaves more susceptible to being covered with epiphytic growth then the more narrow leaved species. Securely anchored in the substrate by its extensive root and rhizome system.
- Tolerates a wide range of salinity regimes. Slightly brackish to moderately brackish and high salinity. Found growing with eel grass. Widgeon grass more common in shallow areas with eel grass in deeper waters. Rare occurrence reported in fresh water. More common on sandy substrates is found on soft, muddy sediments. High wave action damaging to slender stems and leaves.
Inhabits fresh to moderately brackish waters. Affinity for water with high alkalinity and moderate nutrient loading. Grows on soft mud to sandy mud substrates in slow moving stream or protected waters not tolerant of strong tidal currents and wave action. Over-wintering lower stems provide early spring cover for fish fry before SAV species become established.
