2022-2024 Research Projects

Every two years, the Consortium asks researchers to submit proposals for the funding provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the National Sea Grant College Program.

Each project undergoes a rigorous peer review. The selected projects support critical research goals for our state and region.

Rain and Tide: Assessing Coastal Stream Flow and Compound Flooding Risk

Principal Investigator: Tim Callahan, College of Charleston
Co-Principal Investigator: Joshua Robinson, Robinson Design Engineers

Flooding is a widely recognized problem throughout coastal South Carolina. The goal of this project is to provide, through the use of a map-based tool, site-specific information on stormwater runoff and tidally-driven inundation to areas in coastal zones where these two processes exhibit (or have the potential for) compound flooding risk (CFR).

Using existing data from previous studies and future sea level rise forecasts, the purpose of this project is to create a user-friendly, map-based tool to estimate CFR for a particular property of interest based on watershed (land use and land cover, soils, antecedent moisture condition) and the receiving water body conditions for storm events of different amounts and intensities. The results will be useful for stakeholders assessing compound flooding hazard, and will also be useful at the regional scale by improving conceptual models of stormwater runoff and tidal flooding.

Coastal and Estuarine Acidification in Long Bay, South Carolina

Principal Investigator: Angelos Hannides, Coastal Carolina University
Co-Principal Investigators: Danielle Viso and Susan Libes, Coastal Carolina University; Janet Reimer, Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network (SOCAN); Emily Hall, SOCAN and Mote Marine Laboratory

This project seeks to provide a first characterization of coastal ocean acidification (COA) using the waters of Long Bay, South Carolina (S.C.) where hypoxia (low oxygen) and acidification (in the form of low pH) have already been documented. Project findings will fill a substantial knowledge gap in the Southeast U.S. regarding spatial and temporal trends in coastal and estuarine acidification – the new knowledge generated will provide researchers and coastal managers with a first clear picture of the degree and extent of the COA problem in S.C. waters, and the main drivers behind it. Data from this local characterization will be used in informal and formal education settings to increase public awareness of COA as a statewide coastal concern. The project will serve as a pilot effort to guide future expansion to the rest of the state’s coastline.

How Does Disturbance Shape Avian Community Composition and Diversity in Ephemeral Wetlands?

Principal Investigator: Daniel McGlinn, College of Charleston
Co-Principal Investigators: Stacey Lance, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory; Lisa Lord, The Longleaf Alliance; Lucy Davis, College of Charleston

Wetlands provide humans with critical ecosystem services and serve as important repositories of biodiversity; however, little is known about the importance of small isolated ephemeral wetlands which are largely ignored by managers and policy makers.

Ephemeral wetlands in the south eastern coastal plain support a host of specialist plant and herpetological species, but it is unknown if they support unique bird communities. The purpose of our study is to examine how disturbances – prescribed fire and tree thinning treatments – will alter ephemeral wetlands and their constituent avifauna. We will collect avian point count, vegetation, and wetland attribute data at two field sites managed for long-leaf pine restoration with prescribed fire. Additionally, wetlands at one of the sites will receive tree thinning treatments in an effort to promote herbaceous plants and prolong the hydroperiod of these wetlands. In contrast, we expect to find that thinning treatments may reduce bird species richness.

Our study will provide critical information on what bird assemblages are supported by ephemeral wetlands and how these communities are influenced by management-based disturbances such as prescribed fire and tree thinning. Throughout our research we will engage directly with multiple land management NGOs and private landowners to develop management strategies that consider avian communities.

Product Update

Evaluating Nitrogen Removal Strategies to Improve Stormwater Management Practices in Coastal South Carolina

Principal Investigator: Annie Bourbonnais, University of South Carolina
Co-Principal Investigator: Erik Smith, University of South Carolina

Nitrogen is the macronutrient limiting primary productivity in coastal waters, such that excess nitrogen can result in coastal eutrophication, harmful algal blooms and dissolved oxygen impairment, both in coastal South Carolina and globally. Nitrogen is also increasingly recognized as the nutrient limiting algal production in freshwater ecosystems, specifically including stormwater ponds. Although ponds are generally effective at retaining and removing most of the phosphorus and other particulate and particle-associated pollutants prior to discharge to receiving waters, they are often much less effective at removing nitrogen and other dissolved pollutants.

Improving nitrogen removal performance in ponds and other SCMs is thus essential for effective water quality management associated with coastal development. In practice, this will depend on the ability to maximize biogeochemical nitrogen removal through improved pond design and retrofits to existing ponds. However, specific mechanisms responsible for net nitrogen removal and the factors that affect their variability within and among various SCMs remains poorly resolved. A comprehensive assessment of nitrogen transformation rates in various types of SCMs represents a critical information need in the application of SCM design recommendations and management practices for promoting effective nitrogen retention for water quality protection in coastal South Carolina.

On Borrowed Time: Age as a Predictor of Phosphorus Mobility in Coastal Stormwater Ponds and Implications for Management

Principal Investigator: Debabrata Sahoo, Clemson University

The overall objective of this study is to assess the influence of age of the residential stormwater pond on internal sediment Phosphorus (P) dynamics. The study will evaluate if internal benthic sediment acts as a source or sink for the water column P. Over time, sediment P sorption capacity decreases due to increased P loading and decreased sediment loading from the watershed, thus reducing the ability of P storage and could gradually become a net source.

The specific objectives of the project are to assess the spatial (e.g., inlet, middle, outlet of the pond) behavior of the benthic sediment in adsorbing or desorbing water column P within the pond; and, evaluate the temporal (e.g., summer and winter) behavior of the benthic sediment in adsorbing or desorbing water column P. The results will assist stormwater managers, extension specialists and agents, residents, state and local decision-makers, and resource managers in making well-informed decisions regarding sediment, associated P, cyanobacteria management and health of downstream receiving water bodies.

Guiding Successful Applications of Floating Treatment Wetlands in Brackish Coastal Ponds

Principal Investigator: Bill Strosnider, University of South Carolina
Co-Principal Investigators: Sarah White and Amy Scaroni, Clemson University; Matthew Kimball, University of South Carolina

The overall goal of this research project is to guide the development of floating treatment wetlands as viable treatment technologies for brackish systems.

The project team will 1) screen plant species to determine which will survive in floating treatment wetlands deployed in oligohaline to mesohaline (0.5 – 18 ppt) waters and 2) quantify the relative contribution of select plant and volunteer species to habitat provision and nutrient removal in these systems. The project team will develop guidance to enable successful floating treatment wetland installations using three scales of experimental complexity: greenhouse, mesocosm, and field.

Greenhouse trials will reveal plant species suitability and nutrient removal capacity. Mesocosm trials will further evaluate plant species suitability while adding habitat provision quantification for above- and below-mat fauna as well as plant colonization. Full-scale field trials guided by greenhouse and mesocosm findings, and coupled with an extension workshop, will illuminate plant community dynamics, nutrient removal capacity, and above- and below-mat habitat provisioning.

Charleston Regional Flood Warning M-App

Principle Investigators: Norman S. Levine and Emma Paz, College of Charleston

Chronic flooding has become a component of life in coastal South Carolina. Business and community leaders, as well as residents, need real-time information on flooding throughout the region not only to schedule their day-to-day lives but also to plan for the future.

Researchers will develop a database of modeled tidal flooding severity for every road in Charleston County, as well as a countywide rainfall flood mapping product based on one-inch intervals. Estimated flood impacts of tidal and precipitation data then will be combined in a real-time application, called M-App, to communicate the short-term vulnerability in a specific location. M-App will be designed to pair with Chucktown Floods, a data and mapping portal built to consolidate information on flood resources.

Refining Assessments of Reproductive Activity in White Shrimp (Penaeus setiferus) to Improve Management Decisions

Principal Investigator: Michael Kendrick, S.C. Department of Natural Resources
Co-Principal Investigators: Peter Kingsley-Smith, Jeff Brunson, Chris McDonough, Graham Wagner, S.C. Department of Natural Resources

The main goals of this project are to refine reproductive assessments of white shrimp and to improve our understanding of the sensitivity of reproductive phenology to environmental variability.

Specific project objectives include strengthening our understanding of the relationship between macroscopic characteristics and histologically-based metrics of reproductive condition (especially the identification of individuals that have previously spawned) for female white shrimp, developing a visual guide to standardize field-based macroscopic assessments of reproductive status in female white shrimp, investigating existing datasets to determine temporal trends in the timing of reproductive development and its relationship with environmental conditions and climate indices, field-testing standardized reproductive status assessment methods for female white shrimp in South Carolina and Georgia, and documenting spatial variability in the onset of reproductive activity in female white shrimp across South Carolina and Georgia.

This project will provide fishery managers with access to more detailed biological data, supporting a more informed decision-making process regarding the opening of the spring commercial shrimp season.

Project Update

Physiological Effects of Age and Temperature on Blood Chemistry, Metabolism, and Mortality Of Harvested Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus Polyphemus

Principal Investigator: Daniel Sasson, S.C. Department of Natural Resources
Co-Principal Investigators: Jody Beers, College of Charleston; Fabio Casu and Brad Floyd, S.C. Department of Natural Resources

The American horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus is vitally important for its role in the biomedical industry. Amoebocytes in the hemolymph, or blood, of horseshoe crabs isolate foreign bacteria by detecting and quickly clotting around endotoxins. Because of their remarkable clotting abilities, these amoebocytes are extracted from the blood to create Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL), which is used to test for the presence of toxins in medical devices and injectables.

Understanding the factors that influence amoebocyte density, metabolic stress, and mortality in horseshoe crabs has important management implications. Selective harvesting of horseshoe crabs with the highest amoebocyte levels may allow biomedical bleeding facilities to generate similar levels of LAL while using fewer crabs. This would be more efficient and cost effective for those facilities while reducing the number of horseshoe crabs that die due to harvesting. The main goal of the proposal is to determine factors (e.g. age, holding pond water temperature) that influence blood chemistry (e.g., amoebocyte density), metabolic stress, and mortality in horseshoe crabs harvested for the biomedical industry.

Navigating Coastal Conservation Careers

Principal Investigator: Julie Binz, S.C. Department of Natural Resources
Co-Principal Investigators: Jessica Kinsella and Larry Bowman, Jr., S.C. Department of Natural Resources

Establishing a career in a science-related field is long and strenuous, and many promising students get lost along the way. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields lack racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, ability, and gender diversity. Underrepresented communities have limited scientific literacy, preventing students from pursuing scientific and other coastal conservation careers, such as ecotourism, fisheries, or environmental communications. The ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and other coastal conservation organizations are missing opportunities for innovative ideas without diverse representation. Introducing scientific concepts to young students in stimulating ways sparks understanding and interest. Students then need a STEM identity, or ability to “see themselves as scientists,” to consider it professionally. Subsequently, students must have hands-on experiences to maintain interest and build skills needed for a sustaining coastal career.

The ACE Basin NERR staff proposes to build effective relationships with local students and teachers to expand scientific literacy throughout Charleston, Beaufort, and Colleton counties and create a more inclusive and diverse conservation workforce. This project will strengthen the conservation pipeline by developing programs for Title I middle and high schools, empowering more teachers to bring scientific concepts into their classrooms, and creating guiding resources for late high school, college students, and early career individuals. The students of the ACE Basin community can feel a sense of locality while gaining multi-dimensional, hands-on experiences in the coastal field.