File:Coast watch (1979) (20667636231).jpg

Title: Coast watch
Identifier: coastwatch00uncs_15 (find matches)
Year: 1979 (1970s)
Authors: UNC Sea Grant College Program
Subjects: Marine resources; Oceanography; Coastal zone management; Coastal ecology
Publisher: (Raleigh, N. C. : UNC Sea Grant College Program)
Contributing Library: State Library of North Carolina
Digitizing Sponsor: North Carolina Digital Heritage Center

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"We have a lot of territory to cover, but federal dollars support research only in the state's four designated research reserves," Ross notes. That's why the reserve staff looks to optimize research efforts through partnerships with programs, such as North Carolina Sea Grant, and university marine studies programs, including UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Wilmington, and NC State and Duke universities. Ross also is collaborating with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to help develop coastal habitat protection plans. For Charles "Pete" Peterson, proximity to the Rachel Carson Estuarine Research Reserve makes it an ideal setting for much of his research. Peterson, professor of marine biology at UNC-Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS), describes the reserve as "a natural laboratory of multiple habitats that are in relatively good shape." The mixture of habitats enables scientists to study how they relate to each other. "The reserve is a place that can be a control to compare with disturbed or developed areas," notes Peterson, a North Carolina Sea Grant researcher. Because the reserve is a well-protected area, elaborate research equipment can be set up knowing it will not be disturbed. "Lots of folks share the estuary. Local fishermen are attuned to the scientific community and respect researchers' right to be there," Peterson says. "The reserve has stimulated research that pays homage to Rachel Carson, a true environmental hero," he says. "She set an example for all of us." The reserve's land, marsh and waters have spawned more than 200 scientific papers and theses. Peterson's own research in the reserve has resulted in numerous published articles through the years. Recently, he published the findings of nearly three decades of his clam recruitment studies. "The same plots showed a 60 percent decline of clam recruitment. The implication, of course, is the need to manage clam for breeding stock," he says. Graduate fellows One research tool Peterson and reserve officials say they would like to expand is the National Estuarine Research Reserve Graduate Fellows Program. "It's hard to imagine another graduate fellows program that does as good a job in connecting researchers with the users and local interests at home in North Carolina," Peterson says. Eileen Vandenburgh, a current fellow, explains that the NOAA-funded program supports research that sustains, enhances or restores estuarine ecosystem. "My research is crucial to management of shellfish populations in all estuaries in North Carolina. I am investigating under what conditions, and on what scale, hard clam larvae recruit from areas closed to harvesting," says Vandenburgh, an IMS graduate student. Her work is relevant to the state's hard clam fishery management plan. Monica Dozier Powers, another graduate fellow from IMS, is conducting research that could help resource managers regulate red drum fisheries stock. Powers is looking at how juvenile red drum use different types of habitat in the Rachel Carson reserve. Powers is finding that, "Catchable fish prefer oyster reef habitat over grass or sand flats. Reef structure provides habitat for many prey items for red drum." She also is finding that the red drum diet is selective according to age. "The diet changes as they grow, so that mature fish don't compete with recruits, or babies," she observes. 20 HOLIDAY 2002

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