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1. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture with sugar kelp and oysters in a shallow coastal salt pond and open estuary site

   https://doi.org/10.3389/faquc.2023.1147524  

   Green-Gavrielidis, Lindsay A. ; Thornber, Carol S. ; Oczkowski, Autumn ( May 2023 , Frontiers in Aquaculture)

   Sustainable aquaculture includes the aquaculture of non-fed crops that provide ecosystem services including nutrient extraction and water quality improvement. While shellfish are the most farmed sustainable aquaculture crops in the USA, shellfish farmers in the northeastern US have an interest in diversifying their crops and incorporating seaweeds into their farms. In this study, we worked with oyster farmers to investigate the potential for farming sugar kelp, Saccharina latissima , across different environmental regimes in coastal Rhode Island USA. Kelp seed spools were outplanted at two time points in the fall/winter of 2017 and 2018 at four sites and cultivated until harvest the following spring. Kelp performance (length, width, yield), tissue content, and nutrient extraction were determined for each line in each year; oyster growth was also measured monthly for one year at each site. We found that kelp could successfully grow in both shallow coastal lagoons and estuarine sites, although the timing of planting and placement of sites was important. Lines that were planted earlier (as soon as water temperatures<15°C) grew longer and yielded more biomass at harvest; overall, kelp blade yield ranged from 0.36 ± 0.01 to 11.26 ± 2.18 kg/m long line. We report little variation in the tissue quality (C:N) of kelp among sites, but differences in biomass production led to differences in nutrient extraction, which ranged from 0.28 ± 0.04 to 16.35 ± 4.26 g nitrogen/m long line and 8.93 ± 0.35 to 286.30 ± 74.66 g carbon/m long line. We found extensive variability in kelp growth within and between lines and between years, suggesting that crop consistency is a challenge for kelp farmers in the region. Our results suggest that, as there is a lower barrier in terms of permitting (versus starting a new aquaculture farm), it may be a worthwhile investment to add sugar kelp to existing oyster farms, provided they have suitable conditions. At current market rates of US$0.88-$3.30 per kg, farmers in southern New England have the potential to earn US$2,229 per 60 m longline. While seaweed aquaculture is growing, considerable barriers still exist that prevent wide-scale kelp aquaculture adoption by existing aquafarmers. 

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2. LAGOS-NE Shallow Lakes: a dataset of lake variables and multi-scaled ecological context variables used to predict and compare trophic status and TP:CHLa relationships between shallow and non-shallow lakes in the Upper Midwest and Northeastern United States.

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/be49507b941815d7a6807a273ee02d1e  

   Cheruvelil, Kendra S. ; Webster, Katherine E. ; King, Katelyn B. ; Poisson, Autumn C. ; Wagner, Tyler ( January 2022 , Environmental Data Initiative)

   We conducted a macroscale study of 2,210 shallow lakes (mean depth ≤ 3m or a maximum depth ≤ 5m) in the Upper Midwestern and Northeastern U.S. We asked: What are the patterns and drivers of shallow lake total phosphorus (TP), chlorophyll a (CHLa), and TP–CHLa relationships at the macroscale, how do these differ from those for 4,360 non-shallow lakes, and do results differ by hydrologic connectivity class? To answer this question, we assembled the LAGOS-NE Shallow Lakes dataset described herein, a dataset derived from existing LAGOS-NE, LAGOS-DEPTH, and LAGOS-CLIMATE datasets. Response data variables were the median of available summer (e.g., 15 June to 15 September) values of total phosphorus (TP) and chlorophyll a (CHLa). Predictor variables were assembled at two spatial scales for incorporation into hierarchical models. At the local or lake-specific scale (including the individual lake, its inter-lake watershed [iws] or corresponding HU12 watershed), variables included those representing land use/cover, hydrology, climate, morphometry, and acid deposition. At the regional scale (e.g., HU4 watershed), variables included a smaller set of predictor variables for hydrology and land use/cover. The dataset also includes the unique identifier assigned by LAGOS-NE(lagoslakeid); the latitude and longitude of the study lakes; their maximum and mean depths along with a depth classification of Shallow or non-Shallow; connectivity class (i.e., whether a lake was classified as connected (with inlets and outlets) or unconnected (lacking inlets); and the zone id for the HU4 to which each lake belongs. Along with the database, we provide the R scripts for the hierarchical models predicting TP or CHLa (TPorCHL_predictive_model.R), and the TP—CHLa relationship (TP_CHL_CSI_Model.R) for depth and connectivity subsets of the study lakes. 

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3. RNA-based analyses reveal fungal communities structured by a senescence gradient in the moss Dicranum scoparium and the presence of putative multi-trophic fungi

   https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15092  

   Chen, Ko-Hsuan ; Liao, Hui-Ling ; Arnold, A. Elizabeth ; Bonito, Gregory ; Lutzoni, François ( June 2018 , New Phytologist)
4. Fishes in a seasonally pulsed wetland show spatiotemporal shifts in diet and trophic niche but not shifts in trophic position

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2022.e00265  

   Flood, Peter J. ; Loftus, William F. ; Trexler, Joel C. ( March 2023 , Food Webs)
5. Spatial and temporal trophic transfer dynamics of mercury and methylmercury into zooplankton and phytoplankton of Long Island Sound: Spatial and temporal trophic transfer dynamics of Hg and MeHg

   https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10490  

   Gosnell, Kathleen J. ; Balcom, Prentiss H. ; Tobias, Craig R. ; Gilhooly, III, William P. ; Mason, Robert P. ( May 2017 , Limnology and Oceanography)