Research
Projects 2006-2008
Rhode Island Sea Grant awards grants biennially
to researchers whose projects meet the goals outlined in the
Rhode Island Sea Grant Strategic and Organizational Development
Plan. For information on Rhode Island Sea Grant's programming
commitments, download the implementation
plan. For the fiscal years 2006–2008, Rhode Island
Sea Grant–funded research projects are:
Rhode Island Sea Grant Research Projects 2006-08
Laboratory testbedding of transferable allowance
policies and institutions: Tradable output and input allowances
Principal Investigator: Christopher Anderson, URI natural
resources science assistant professor
Co-Principal Investigator: Jon Sutinen, URI natural resources
science professor
This project will continue to examine tradable
fishing allowance management in the Rhode Island lobster fishery
using experimental economics tools. Using a simulation environment,
researchers will seek to develop a better understanding of
how transferability of input allowances affects outcomes for
the market, the industry, and the stocks.
Shoreline development and the functioning
of Narragansett Bay salt marsh ecosystems
Principal Investigator: Mark Bertness, Brown University
biology professor
Co-Principal Investigator: Caitlin Mullan Crain, Brown University
This project is designed first to determine
whether insects feeding on salt marsh plants degrades the
salt marsh. Secondly, the project examines whether increased
salt marsh production due to eutrophication in turn attracts
more insects to feed on salt marsh plants, thereby furthering
degradation. This work is intended to improve the conservation
of salt marshes.
Multispecies fisheries models for ecosystem
decision support
Principal Investigator: Jeremy Collie, URI oceanography
professor
This joint project of the Rhode Island and Alaska
Sea Grant College Programs will create a model that will help
fishery decision makers incorporate multispecies considerations
into management choices. The researchers will develop a graphical
interface to help users visualize trade-offs in harvesting
predator and prey populations. The Rhode Island component
will focus on 10 fish species on Georges Bank.
Narragansett BayScape: An examination of
human interactions with the marine environment
Principal Investigator: Tracey Dalton, URI marine affairs
assistant professor
Co-Principal Investigator: Rob Thompson, URI marine affairs
assistant professor
This project will examine the locations, composition,
density, and behavior of the users of Narragansett Bay. Researchers
will work with Rhode Island Sea Grant outreach to develop
a strategy for incorporating the results into decision-making
processes that address management issues, such as conflicts
between commercial and recreational activities, perceptions
of quality of the recreational experience, and the potential
consequences of policy and use changes.
Characterizing the dynamics of phytoplankton
change in Narragansett Bay
Principal Investigator: Paul Hargraves, URI oceanography
professor
The types of phytoplankton that comprise the
winter-spring phytoplankton bloom in Narragansett Bay have
changed over time. This project is designed to determine the
extent of biodiversity changes in the phytoplankton of the
Bay and whether perceived changes are more likely attributed
to changes in water temperature (winter warming) or modifications
to the nitrogen to silicate ratio over time. (Silicate is
often a limiting nutrient for diatoms, which previously dominated
winter-spring blooms in Narragansett Bay.)
Modeling and observations of circulation
and biochemical processes in Narragansett Bay: The relationship
between the Upper Bay and its impacted sub-systems
Principal Investigator: Christopher Kincaid, URI oceanography
professor
Co-Principal Investigators: Deanna Bergondo, URI oceanography
post-doctoral fellow; Changsheng Chen, University of Massachusetts,
Dartmouth marine science and technology professor; Candace
Oviatt, URI oceanography professor
This project will focus on the Providence River,
Greenwich Bay, and upper Narragansett Bay, developing three-dimensional,
prognostic models, in conjunction with detailed physical,
biological, and chemical data to aid understanding of this
complex ecosystem. Researchers will ultimately provide this
scientific tool to assist decision makers.
BayMap: A proposal to image the seafloor,
map and groundtruth the habitats, and document the cultural
landscape of Narragansett Bay
Principal Investigator: John King
Co-Principal Investigators: Jon Boothroyd, URI geosciences
professor and state geologist; Carol Thornber, URI biological
sciences assistant professor; Kathryn Ford, URI; Rod Mather,
URI history associate professor; Kathryn Moran, URI ocean
engineering associate professor; Christopher Deacutis, Narragansett
Bay Estuary Program science director; Sheldon Pratt, URI marine
research associate; Christopher Damon, URI natural resource
science
This six-year project, continuing from 2004-06,
will produce a comprehensive series of high-resolution seafloor
maps and images of Narragansett Bay and adjacent Rhode Island
and Connecticut coastal environments to create a complete
picture of their geology, habitats, biological communities,
and archaeology.
Integrated numerical modeling and field observations
of groundwater flow in southern Rhode Island and implications
for nutrient loading in coastal lagoons: Phase II
Principal Investigator: S. Bradley Moran, URI oceanography
professor
Co-Principal Investigators: John Masterson and John Colman,
U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science Center
This project will develop a detailed flow model
of groundwater transport for a site-specific case-Ninigret
and Green Hill ponds-coupled with geophysical sediment coring
and groundwater flux measurements required to calibrate the
model. Ultimately, the model will delineate contributing areas,
estimate time-of-travel from recharge to discharge points,
and calculate groundwater discharge patterns and fluxes. This
research is directly relevant to establishing policy and guidelines
for Rhode Island groundwater quality and usage and assessing
risk-based environmental strategies for nutrients and bacteria
within these coastal lagoons.
Experimental studies of benthic-pelagic coupling
in a changing Narragansett Bay
Principal Investigator: Scott Nixon, URI oceanography professor
Co-Principal Investigators: Stephen Granger and Betty Buckley,
URI marine research associates
Researchers will measure the impact of changes
in the timing and magnitude of phytoplankton blooms on the
bottom community in Narragansett Bay. They will assess the
potential impact of nitrogen reduction in sewage effluent
during summer on the growth rates and condition of important
benthic animals and will provide measurements to improve numerical
ecosystem models that predict responses of the Bay to climate
change and nutrient reductions, such as those anticipated
with upgrades to sewage treatment plants in Narragansett Bay.
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University of Rhode Island