Living Shoreline and Coastal Ecology Research

Incorporating In Situ Wave Data Into A Living Shoreline Suitability Model For Biloxi Back Bay

About the Project Shoreline erosion is a growing problem on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and other coastal regions. The traditional approach to erosion mitigation is shoreline hardening in the form of bulkheads, seawalls, and groins.…

Native Plant Producer Network

During this project, we will host workshops for producers, students, and community members to attend and learn about our local wetlands. Demonstration sites will be constructed at Coastal Research and Extension Center and other locations…

Plastic degredation and Fragmentation through terrestial and Aquatic Environments

This study aims to expose plastics to different sequences of terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater environments to gain knowledge on rates of degradation as litter travels from land to aquatic habitats. Plastic specimens of three very…

Using Stable Isotope Tracers to Determine Source Contributions in Back Bay, MS

The goal of this project is to use stable isotope tracers to determine which habitat is the primary source contributor within Back Bay. By using Carbon, Nitrogen, and Sulfur stable isotopes to analyze the muscle…

Factors Influencing Quality of Citizen Science-Collected Litter Data and the Retention of Recruited Citizen Scientists

The goal of this project is to further understand how external factors could affect the accuracy of citizen science (such as training level and background knowledge) and potentially influence participation motivations (such as perceptions, background…

Biological and Physical Factors Affecting Southern Oyster Drill Abundance

Half of the sites are characterized by coarse sediment (sand) and the other half have fine sediment (clay/silt). To investigate how concentrations of oysters may impact densities of southern oyster drills, half of the sites…

Trends in Oyster Health, Predation Mitigation Techniques, and Concerns Identified by Oyster Practitioners

Surveys have been a helpful tool for researchers to access knowledge within stakeholder communities surrounding environmental issues. Oyster farming and harvesting in coastal Mississippi and Alabama have experienced issues with oyster loss due to disease,…

Effects of Structural Design on Oyster Survival in Artificial Reefs

As part of DARPA: REEFENSE, this project examines the relationship of oyster and predator responses to design variance in artificial reef structures. Eastern oysters are a valuable ecosystem engineer for the northern Gulf of Mexico…

The Response of Bats and Their Insect Prey to Different Coastal Upland Habitat Management Techniques

Declining bat populations necessitates a need to understand how different land management techniques influence bat activity. This study assessed the influences of different coastal upland habitat management techniques, such as mulching, prescribed fire, and select…

Identifying Fecal Contamination Sources in the Grand NERR

The Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GNDNERR) has chronically elevated fecal coliform counts; however, the source of the contamination is unknown. Images of Enterococcus which is a fecal indicator bacteria. Get in Touch Amanda…

Impacts of Marine Debris on Salt Marsh Habitat

This study aims to assess the impacts of marine debris on a black needlerush (Juncus Roemerianus) salt marsh. Debris items (discarded crab traps and solid pvc sheets) were placed in the marsh and changes in…

Microplastics in MS Bayous

Microplastic samples are taken from Bayou Chico and Bayou Heron over the span of four seasons. These samples, consisting of water and sediment, are taken from the same upstream and downstream coordinates from both bayous.…

Accuracy of Structure-from-Motion derived digital elevation models and species-specific correction methods

Structure-from-Motion technology presents a more accessible alternative to LIDAR. The combination of SfM technology and UASs allows researchers to capture high accuracy data at a reasonable cost. With increased accessibility, these tools have become increasingly…

The impacts of nearshore oyster habitat restoration on salt marsh stabilization, secondary productivity, and oyster recruitment

This study will evaluate the fulfillment of restoration goals by addressing knowledge gaps in post construction monitoring and monitoring scope through a GNDNERR restoration project. Two large-scale oyster reef projects were constructed at the GNDNERR…

Influence of Boat Activity on Wave Climate in a Semi-Enclosed Estuary

In this study, site-specific wave measurements are being used to compare wind-protected and open sites in Back Bay, Mississippi. Preliminary results demonstrate that some protected sites experienced similar or greater wave activity when compared to…

The Influence of Wave Energy on Shoreline Type and Vegetation

This project will build upon previous studies by using site-specific (i.e., local) wave energy measurements to evaluate the responses of several shoreline plant species to variations in wave climate. Completion of this work will improve…

DIY Wave Gauges

The subsequent DIY wave gauges utilize a combination of housing components found at home improvement stores and high-performance, yet affordable, electrical components. The DIY wave gauges accomplished acceptable to near perfect agreement when compared to…

Testing the ability of Mississippi marsh plants to grow in recycled glass sand

Ansley Levine has set up an outdoor tidal mesocosm experiment to compare the growth of two common Mississippi marsh plants (saltmeadow hay and black needlerush) in various mixtures of glass sand and traditional marsh restoration…

DARPA REEFENSE

The goal of this project is to design a general mosaic oyster habitat design and incorporate site-specific information to apply this design to Tyndall Air Force Base Panama City, Florida to stabilize the shoreline and…

The Forgotten Forest: Habitat Assessment of Eroded Forest, Marsh, and Beach Shorelines

This study uses paired seine nets to sample the edge and non-edge nekton communities located at these three defined shoreline types. For the study four blocks were established with each block containing one of each…

Back Bay Living Shoreline Construction and Monitoring

This project involves the construction of a 2.5 mile living shoreline using marsh sill, a low-profile structure filled with sand, along with native plants and segmented breakwaters in order to restore habitat and reduce wave…

Sustainability of Current and Future Shoreline Solutions Under Rising Sea Level Scenarios

The goal of this project is to understand the extent of shoreline hardening and its implications on ecosystem services throughout Mobile Bay tributaries and how small scale shoreline conservation and restoration projects can be designed…

Living Shorelines

For this program, we work directly with property owners, contractors, nurseries, and regulatory agencies to help increase the knowledge base and streamline the processes associated with implementing living shoreline projects. Our activities include conducting property…

Conservation Grazing

The overarching goal of this project is to develop a research plan that will inform the ultimate decision of if, when, where, and how to implement conservation grazing into land management programs throughout the U.S.…

Incorporating In Situ Wave Data Into A Living Shoreline Suitability Model For Biloxi Back Bay

Native Plant Producer Network

Plastic degredation and Fragmentation through terrestial and Aquatic Environments

Using Stable Isotope Tracers to Determine Source Contributions in Back Bay, MS

Factors Influencing Quality of Citizen Science-Collected Litter Data and the Retention of Recruited Citizen Scientists

Biological and Physical Factors Affecting Southern Oyster Drill Abundance

Trends in Oyster Health, Predation Mitigation Techniques, and Concerns Identified by Oyster Practitioners

Effects of Structural Design on Oyster Survival in Artificial Reefs

The Response of Bats and Their Insect Prey to Different Coastal Upland Habitat Management Techniques

Identifying Fecal Contamination Sources in the Grand NERR

Impacts of Marine Debris on Salt Marsh Habitat

Microplastics in MS Bayous

Accuracy of Structure-from-Motion derived digital elevation models and species-specific correction methods

The impacts of nearshore oyster habitat restoration on salt marsh stabilization, secondary productivity, and oyster recruitment

Influence of Boat Activity on Wave Climate in a Semi-Enclosed Estuary

The Influence of Wave Energy on Shoreline Type and Vegetation

DIY Wave Gauges

Testing the ability of Mississippi marsh plants to grow in recycled glass sand

DARPA REEFENSE

The Forgotten Forest: Habitat Assessment of Eroded Forest, Marsh, and Beach Shorelines

Back Bay Living Shoreline Construction and Monitoring

Sustainability of Current and Future Shoreline Solutions Under Rising Sea Level Scenarios

Living Shorelines

Conservation Grazing

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