News Archives 2004 June  Nov

Nov 2004 Topics     current topics

• 7th International Conference on Shellfish Restoration
• South Carolina Coastal Community Initiative
• S.C. Sea Grant welcomes new staff
• Consortium receives National Sea Grant funding for 2004-2005
• Coastal Heritage as teaching tool
• Coastal Heritage at Trident Tech

7th International Conference on Shellfish Restoration – Announcement and Call for Abstracts

As part of a global commitment to reviving degraded ecosystems, the 7th International Conference on Shellfish Restoration (ICSR ’04) will be held November 17-20, 2004 in Charleston, South Carolina, USA.

The conference will provide an opportunity for local, state and federal government officials, resource managers, users and residents to discuss approaches to restore coastal ecosystems through shellfish habitat quality assessment and restoration; stock enhancement, management and restoration; and habitat remediation through watershed management.

The conference will feature internationally recognized plenary speakers, panel sessions and workshops, as well as oral and poster presentations. Case studies of successful projects will be presented, with opportunities for roundtable discussions.

To participate, contact Elaine Knight at (843) 953-2078 or Elaine.Knight@scseagrant.org. Those with experience in shellfish research, management or restoration are invited to submit an abstract to Rick DeVoe at Rick.DeVoe@scseagrant.org by August 16, 2004. Visit the ICSR ’04 conference Web site at www.scseagrant.org/icsr.htm for abstract submittal guidelines and further information about the conference.

or, continue scrolling

SC Coastal Community Initiative

The South Carolina Coastal Community Initiative (CCI) is a collaborative land-use planning and water quality program for local decision makers to help foster sustainable land use planning and resource management. As part of the CCI, a small grants program was established to assist decision makers in local government in the development and implementation of “quality growth” land management policies and practices. In 2003 the Town of Edisto Beach and the Town of Bluffton were selected as recipients of the award. The Town of Edisto Beach revised its local Comprehensive Land Use Plan, incorporating SC NEMO strategies to address nonpoint source pollution issues. The Town of Bluffton developed a natural resource protection ordinance and a critical resources map to provide protection for resources including wetlands, floodplains, scenic resources, trees, and wildlife habitat. The objective of the CCI program is to provide information that will assist local decision makers in making land-use decisions that enable the wise use of coastal natural resources for the economic benefit of coastal communities, and conserve those resources for the continued use of future generations.

or, continue scrolling

S.C. Sea Grant welcomes new staff

Sandy Bernard joins the S.C. Sea Grant Extension Program as the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observations Regional Association (SECOORA) program coordinator and coastal hazards specialist. Sandy is working with scientists and public/private sector stakeholders to facilitate the development of a regional association for coastal ocean observing systems. Sandy is responsible for outreach activities associated with 113 Calhoun Street: A Center for Sustainable Living. And she participates in outreach and education for the South East Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing System (SEACOOS).

Sandy has a B.S. in political science from Auburn University and a Masters in public administration from Golden Gate University. Prior to her position with S.C. Sea Grant, she was a coastal and environmental planner for the U.S. Navy. In addition, Sandy has served as a coastal hazards specialist with NOAA’s Coastal Services Center and as a hazards planner for the Alabama Emergency Management Agency.

Amber Von Harten is the S.C. Sea Grant Extension Program fishery extension specialist. She serves as a liaison between fisheries scientists, the commercial and recreational fishing industries, and state and federal fishery managers. Amber also is the S.C. Sea Grant Extension representative to the South Carolina commercial shrimp industry assistance initiative and the S.C. Seafood Alliance.

Her position is currently funded by the South Carolina shrimping industry through a federal emergency-assistance grant.

Amber received a B.S. in marine science from the University of South Carolina. Previously, she worked for USC-Beaufort’s Center for Coastal Ecology and Pritchards Island.

Dan Hitchcock is the newest addition to the S.C. Sea Grant Extension Program. As coastal environmental quality specialist, he will continue to develop and implement coastal water programs in conjunction with Clemson Extension and N.C. Sea Grant, including S.C. Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO), S.C. Coast-A-Syst, and Carolina Clear.

Dan has a B.S. in zoology from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in biological and agricultural engineering from the University of Georgia. He was previously employed with the USDA Forest Service’s Center for Forested Wetlands Research.

Alex Batson is a new member of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s administrative staff. Alex has a dual role as the Consortium’s administrative specialist and administrative assistant for the SouthEast Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence.

Alex previously worked for a government contractor in Washington, D.C., and he has 20 years of experience as an administrative specialist for the U.S. Army.

or, continue scrolling

Consortium receives National Sea Grant funding for 2004-2005

The National Sea Grant College Program has awarded $1.4 million to the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium to support its research, extension, communications, and education efforts for 2004-2005. Fifteen research and education projects have received funding to examine a number of marine- and coastal-resource needs.
Coastal ocean processes

In a continuing study, George Voulgaris of the University of South Carolina (USC) and Paul Work of the Georgia Institute of Technology will work on gaining a better understanding of regional sediment dynamics critical for long-term coastal planning and engineering design purposes. The researchers will examine the relationship between an offshore shoal in the Myrtle Beach area and coastal erosion dynamics, characterizing and quantifying the potential for the shoal to be a sustainable borrow site for this economically important resort community.

Ecosystem dynamics

Coastal wetland impoundments have economic importance at the state and local level and are of intense interest to resource management agencies and private stakeholders such as owners of former rice plantations. James T. Morris and Daniel Tufford of USC and Joe Kelley of The Citadel will test a number of hypotheses as well as a mechanistic spatial simulation model of wetland succession along the Cooper River, based on six years of previous research supported by Sea Grant in South Carolina. The researchers will characterize the ecological consequences of management alternatives that are of interest to resource managers and stakeholder groups along the river.

Alan Lewitus of USC and Marianne Burke of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service will investigate the effectiveness of vegetated buffers in reducing nonpoint source pollution in stormwater detention ponds. The proposal will test the use of riparian vegetative zones as a mitigation or prevention strategy to improve pond water quality and consequently extend stormwater detention pond “life.”

Robert Feller of USC will examine the effects of blue crab (Calinectes sapidus) predation of periwinkle snails (Littoraria irrorata) on the health of the salt marsh cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora. Recent drought in the southeastern United States has prompted increased public attention to the ecological role and management of freshwater input to estuaries. This study will examine issues related to the potential relationship between the declines in blue crab populations and cordgrass die-off in southeastern estuarine systems.

Richard Zingmark and Alan Lewitus, both of USC, will study the functional relationships between epiphytic microalgae and foodwebs in a saltmarsh estuarine system. Their research could strengthen the scientific basis behind a current management strategy of protecting Spartina alterniflora marshes. This strategy is based on the hypothesis that the marshes play a key functional role by harboring a productive epiphytic algal community trophically coupled to the production of important fisheries.

David Owens of the College of Charleston will test the hypothesis that the Diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) can prove to be a powerful sentinel species to help track the accumulation and degradation of mercury contaminants in estuarine and coastal environments. Mercury levels will be measured at the National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratory at the Hollings Marine Lab using the isotope dilution cold vapor inductively coupled mass spectrometry method.

Coastal natural hazards

Timothy Reinhold of Clemson University proposes to build on his previous work in coastal hazards by developing an education initiative based on the observation that parents tend to respond well when their children bring home information from school about safety hazards. A recent analysis of windstorm damage for the U.S. East and Gulf coasts suggests that the average annual loss is about $5 billion. Families in hurricane-prone coastal areas need reliable, balanced information on these risks. The target audiences are science teachers and elementary, middle-, and high-school students.

Emerging technologies

In a continuing proposal, Paul Gross and Jonas Almeida of the Medical University of South Carolina will further their efforts on the development of cDNA micro-assays as a tool for analyzing environmental stressors and disease. These assays are a new and relatively untested technology. The proposed research will apply this new technology to local populations of the commercially important species of white shrimp, Litopenaeus setiferus, which is a keystone species in South Carolina estuarine systems.

Marine aquaculture & fisheries

The important recreational red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) fishery in South Carolina is the focus of a project by Theodore Smith of S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and colleagues. This effort takes a multi-disciplinary approach to address an increasingly important research issue—how to restore declining fishery stocks and maintain coastal community health. The project is being conducted in cooperation with a South Carolina coastal community (Murrells Inlet), but will generate information critical in supporting coast-wide restoration efforts on one of the state’s most important recreational fisheries.

Loren Coen and Nancy Hadley of SCDNR and Keith Walters of Coastal Carolina University, building upon previously supported work partially funded by the Consortium, will develop approaches and associated metrics for determining intertidal oyster (Crassostrea virginica) restoration success. This is a unique opportunity to develop and test success criteria for restoration and enhancement using newly completed and ongoing restoration programs.

Michael Childress of Clemson University and Elizabeth Wenner of SCDNR propose to develop a South Carolina blue crab regional abundance biotic simulation. The investigators will create a spatially explicit individual-based population model (IBM). Then they will parameterize and validate the model by analyzing fisheries independent data on the abundance and distribution of blue crab, Calinectes sapidus, postlarvae, juveniles, and adults across a network of sampling sites.

Kim Diana Connolly of the USC School of Law will research and assess how ecosystem-based fisheries management might be realized in a regulatory framework. She will identify and assess ecosystem-based management efforts in other areas of environmental law and regulation. She will also identify and assess current fisheries management methods that employ at least some level of ecosystem-based management, and study the probable impact of a transition to ecosystem-based management on the U.S. South Atlantic region and South Carolina.

Coastal communities and economies

April Turner and Rick DeVoe of the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, through its “Coastal Growth Initiative,” will continue efforts to develop and conduct outreach education programs that offer advice and assistance to coastal communities in developing comprehensive land-use plans consistent with environmental health and resource conservation.

Marine education & training

Building on previous efforts, Leslie Sautter of the College of Charleston will further develop the COASTeam marine education program. In conjunction with the SouthEast Center for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence, Sautter will develop a Southeast marine-science curriculum that addresses standards for grades 5-8; design and pilot a COASTeam Leadership Institute; develop program assessment tools; and offer a COASTeam workshop to educators in South Carolina.

In a new and innovative marine-science education project, Robert Young of Coastal Carolina University will expand the “Rising Tide” marine-science education program to USC and the College of Charleston, and achieve financial and logistical independence and sustainability at each institution by the end of the two-year grant period. This project is an outcome of a pilot education program the investigator implemented in 2002 at Coastal Carolina University through funding from the National Science Foundation’s Geoscience Education Program.

or, continue scrolling

Coastal Heritage as a teaching tool

Coastal Heritage is being used as a central element in the school curriculum of the Midwest World Fest program, which provides arts enrichment and cultural education in 10 communities in nine Midwestern states during 2003-2005.

Midwest World Fest features four musical ensembles—one from Israel, one from Japan, one from Mexico, and one from the Gullah community of the South Carolina Sea Islands. The ensembles offer weeklong cultural education through school workshops, school concerts, and public concerts.

Midwest World Fest, primarily funded by state arts organizations, provides each school with 40 compact discs that include detailed lesson plans and educator resources about the Gullah people.

The lesson plans encourage teachers and students to read “Living Soul of Gullah,” the Spring 2000 issue of Coastal Heritage, described as “an excellent, thoughtful, clear, and detailed overview of Gullah culture and the difficulties it faces.” Coastal Heritage is the source of much of the information for the introductory lesson plan on Gullah history.

or, continue scrolling

Coastal Heritage at Trident Tech

The “Living Soul of Gullah” issue of Coastal Heritage has been reprinted in a custom textbook anthology, World Views: Classic and Contemporary Readings, for the required freshman composition class at Trident Technical College, the community college of the Charleston area with an enrollment of 10,500. English Department faculty compiled the textbook, which is to be used in 2004-05 and 2005-06. Last fall, Trident Technical College received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to have some coursework in various subjects address the influences of West African cultures on the lowcountry. Gullah culture and language reflect a blend of West African and European-American influences.

News Archives 2000

News Archives 2001

News Archives 2002

News Archives 2003

News Archives 2004

News Archives 2005