Degree: Ph.D., Ecology & Ecosystem Sciences

Advisor: Serena Moseman-Valtierra

Completion date: September 2015

Research: Algal blooms, stimulated by human-mediated overfertilization in coastal waters, may affect nutrient cycling and coastal vegetation responses. Coupled with projected sea level rise, algal blooms could result in deposition of algal biomass into increasingly higher marsh elevations. We tested effects of 2 future sea level rise scenarios (projections for 50 and 100 years) and algae presence (to simulate effects of human-driven algal blooms) on the growth of salt marsh plants, soil biochemistry, and greenhouse gas fluxes. The two plant communities we tested characterized two different regions of typical New England salt marshes: the low marsh (inundated tidally twice per day) and the high marsh (inundated irregularly, during very high tides). Preliminary results suggest that sea level rise and algal blooms could interact to drive distinct plant responses in the 2 vegetation zones, with implications for future marsh stability in the face of a changing climate.