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Abstract Coastal foredunes provide the first line of defense against rising sea levels and storm surge and for this reason there is increasing interest in understanding and modeling foredune formation and post‐storm recovery. However, there is limited observational data available to provide empirical guidance for the development of model parameterizations. To provide guidance for improved representation of dune grass growth in models, we conducted a two‐year multi‐species transplant experiment on Hog Island, VA, U.S.A. and measured the dependence of plant growth on elevation and distance from the shoreline, as well as the relationship between plant growth and sand accumulation. We tracked total leaf growth (length) and aboveground leaf length and found thatAmmophila breviligulata(American beachgrass) andUniola paniculata(sea oats) grew more thanSpartina patens(saltmeadow cordgrass) by a factor of 15% (though not statistically significant) and 45%, respectively. Our results also suggest a range of basal/frontal area ratios (an important model parameter) from 0.5‐1 and a strong correlation between transplant growth and total sand deposition for all species at the scale of two years, but not over shorter temporal scales. Distance from the shoreline and elevation had no effect on transplant growth rate but did have an effect on survival. Based on transplant survival, the seaward limit of vegetation at the end of the experiment was approximately 30 m from the MHWL and at an elevation of 1.43 m, corresponding to inundation less than 7.5% of the time according to total water level calculations. Results from this experiment provide evidence for the dune‐building capacity of all three species, suggestingS. patensis not a maintainer species, as previously thought, but rather a moderate dune builder even though its growth is less stimulated by sand deposition thanA. breviligulataandU. paniculata. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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This content will become publicly available on January 4, 2026
Deep Fjords Are Excellent Natural Infrastructure for Climate Impact Studies
ABSTRACT Fjords provide valuable research opportunities for marine scientists. They are excellent natural infrastructure for climate impact studies associated with hypoxic episodes and consequences for mesopelagic and deep‐sea ecosystems involving oceanographic circulation processes and basin water renewals. Repeated sampling from the same populations is possible, making fjords excellent systems for developing time series of data for climate impact studies. We provide an overview of the 14 years of data from Norwegian West Coast fjords, focusing on Masfjorden, and report major findings from Oslofjorden in Eastern Norway, exhibiting recurrent hypoxia in the basin waters. We document that the oxygen levels in Masfjorden decreased rapidly by over 60% at 450 m depth in < 8 years, which is much faster than the average rate of deoxygenation in the global ocean. We also discuss the increase in the deep‐sea and low‐light‐adapted coronate jellyfishPeriphylla periphyllain view of altered optical conditions of the basin water potentially related to deoxygenation. We argue that fjords like Masfjorden and Oslofjorden are not only macrocosms for ecological processes but also are likely an accelerated version of deep oceans with respect to climate impacts.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1923965
- PAR ID:
- 10576098
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Fish and Fisheries
- ISSN:
- 1467-2960
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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