Seagrass, Soup of the Sea and Migratory Birds

Soup of the Sea

Plankton are organisms that drift with currents. Plankton can be plant-like phytoplankton or animal-like zooplankton. Most plankton are small, but even larger organisms are considered plankton if they live their lives drifting with currents. Plankton is found in freshwater and saltwater all over the earth, and it is very important to humans. 

Thank your plankton

Imagine your favorite seafood - shrimp - crab, oysters, fish ... thanks to phytoplankton, we can enjoy this mouthwatering cuisine from the sea. Phytoplankton provides two things that are essential for animals  (including us) to live. One is food. Like plants on land, they use sunlight and nutrients to produce food. They're the base of the food chain in the ocean. Many tiny animals eat phytoplankton and, in turn, get eaten by larger animals up the food chain. Without plankton, we would not have seafood. 

Now, take a deep breath. The second essential ingredient produced by phytoplankton is oxygen. Estimates vary, but most scientists agree that phytoplankton makes up a significant portion of the air on Earth. 

There's a zoo out there.

Zooplankton eat. Many eat phytoplankton, and many eat smaller zooplankton. They are an important part of the food chain. A shark may never eat plankton and has no idea it exists, but it depends on plankton for all of its food. 

Many zooplankters go through a metamorphosis. Some of them are plankton for part of their lives and then grow large enough to swim against currents or settle to the bottom. Those are called meroplankton. Holoplankton are plankton their whole lives.

You might recognize the adult forms of many meroplankters. See if you can match the adult forms with their planktonic forms below.

Broth of the Bay

Look up at Mobile Bay. These are some of the planktonic organisms that are common in the bay. 

Plankton is collected with special nets like this one. The nets have tiny holes and are pulled along the water's surface. 

Crabs go through metamorphosis, much like butterflies or frogs. The megalops is one larval stage for crabs. 

Bristle worms get their name from their many bristles that are used for movement. They are related to earthworms. 

Dinoflagellates are phytoplankton. Some of them can glow like fireflies. Some make toxins that can be harmful to humans when there are lots of dinoflagellates in the water.

Diatoms are phytoplankton. They produce glass-like skeletons that are used in a variety of products. The grit in your toothpaste might come from diatoms. 

This is a nauplius, a larval form that is common to many different crustaceans, including barnacles. 

Copepods are thought to be the most abundant animals on earth. 

They are found in salt and fresh water and even in damp soil. 

They are incredibly strong for their size.

Saving and Restoring our Seagrasses

Threats to Seagrass

Nearly 80% of all seagrasses in coastal Alabama have been lost since the 1950s. 

A constant threat to seagrass beds is scarring created by boats' propellers and anchors. When boaters navigate across shallow areas or anchors. In seagrass beds, deep scars are created that can take years to recover, leading to erosion and further loss of seagrass. Poor water quality is also a major factor that poses a serious threat to the health of seagrass. For example, excessive sediments in the water limit the light perpetration necessary for plant survival.

How can we protect our seagrasses?

What are we Doing?

To help propeller scars heal and protect seagrass beds from further scarring, local partners are implementing protection and restoration projects throughout lower Perdido Bay, including Little Lagoon, the island near Perdido Pass and Ole River.

No motor and sensitive seagrass area signs will identify seagrass beds to help boaters navigate through or around shallow water sites containing seagrass. 

The scientist is using bird stakes to attract local waterfowl whose guano deposits will provide natural fertilizer to the propeller scars to promote the growth and expansion of surrounding seagrass.  

What can you do?

Be aware of idle or raised motors and poles when navigating through shallow areas.

Set anchors in sandy areas, avoiding seagrass beds.

Obey No Motor Zone or Sensitive Seagrass areas signs: wade, troll, pole, or kayak when navigating through these areas to your favorite fishing or beach spot. 

Seagrasses Coastal Nursery Habitats

What are seagrasses

Seagrasses are flowering plants that live in the shallow waters of every continent except Antarctica. 

Seagrass beds containing shoal grass and turtle grass are found in Alabama's calm and shallow coastal waters. 

Why are seagrasses important?

Seagrass beds provide food and protection for juvenile fish and shellfish, including many economically important species such as speckled trout, redfish, blue crabs, and shrimp. 

Many types of waterfowl feed on seagrasses, as do threatened and endangered species, such as manatees and green turtles.

Seagrasses help stabilize bottom sediment, filter runoff, and absorb nutrients from surrounding landscapes. 

Alabama's Coastal Connection

Migratory Birds

In search of food and shelter

Each fall, millions of birds leave North America and cross the Gulf of Mexico to spend the winter in South and Central America and the island of the Caribbean. In the spring, they make the return flight to their Northern American breeding grounds. Alabama's Gulf Coast provides an important rest stop for these travelers. Stopover areas are a key element in maintaining bird populations. 

With increased development along the entire Gulf Coast, tracts of diverse, forested lands such as these are disappearing. 

Migratory species, as well as resident birds, use this diverse landscape for foraging, resting, and evading predators. Birds must find enough food to provide energy for the long-distance flight to nesting sites far north. Migratory butterflies are dependent on food such as paw, paw, and passion flower larval growth. Songbirds feed on insects and berries, while shorebirds hunt for invertebrates in the mudflats. 

The western end of the Fort Morgan peninsula is an important stopover site for migratory birds and has become a nationally known hotspot for birders. When adverse weather forces birds to the ground during a spring "fallout," the birding can be spectacular, although treacherous for the exhausted birds that must find a safe place to recover. 

Bird species commonly seen during migration include vireos, warblers, flycatchers, buntings, and hummingbirds, The Monarch butterfly migration can also be breathtaking during fall when weather conditions are favorable. 

Alabama's Coastal Connection 

Permeable Parking 

A better way to go 

Combined sewer systems are remnants of the country's early infrastructure, and so are typically found in older communities. Combined sewer systems are designed to collect rainwater runoff, domestic sewage, and industrial wastewater in the same pipe. Most of the time, combined sewer systems transport all of their wastewater to a sewage treatment plant, where it is treated and then discharged to a water body. Heavy rainfall adds stormwater so that the wastewater volume in a combined sewer system exceeds the capacity of the system.

Combined sewer systems are designed to overflow occasionally and discharge excess untreated wastewater directly to nearby streams, rivers, or other water bodies. 

These combined sewer overflows also contain untreated human and industrial waste, toxic materials, and debris. 

The expansion of impermeable surfaces associated with urban sprawl and automobiles has so increased the stormwater volumes that the combined systems are being separated at great expense. The result is that stormwater runoff that used to receive treatment at the plants is now being delivered to receiving streams and coastal estuaries like Mobile Bay.

Water running off of roads, bridges, and parking lots has been estimated to be the largest volume of untreated wastewater in this country. Even twenty years ago, the Federal Highway Administration estimated that 25 million tons of rubber wear off the nation's tires every week -50 tons/week in Alabama. Since rubber is biodegradable, the process of biodegradation consumes oxygen when it occurs in streams and estuaries. Also of concern are the heavy metals found in steel-belted radial tires, oil, antifreeze, or even transmission fluid. 

The parking lot at the Estuarium allows all stormwater and associated contaminants to percolate down through the gravel, providing an enormous surface area for microbial treatment of the waste, returning it to the water and carbon dioxide. Any contaminated waste that remains cannot reach the shallow freshwater aquifers that lead either to the Bay or Dauphin Island community wells because an impermeable membrane four feet down traps it and sends it through a filter system that removes the hydrocarbon contaminants. The water and any overflows of the system then flow into a detention pond where the vegetation, including the common cane and other plants, remove any nutrients that contribute to low dissolved oxygen levels in the Bay.

Alabama Coastal Connection, Wetland Birds, Dunes, Barrier Islands & Butterflies

Wetland Birds

The tidal marshes of Alabama feed a rich bird community. The newly created salt marsh is a prime feeding habitat for herons, egrets, pelicans, terns, sandpipers, and blackbirds. As the arch matures, the diversity and abundance of birds will increase. 

At least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) 

The marsh at low tide brings sandpipers moving in unison across the wet sand areas. 

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), American Egret (Casmerodius albus), Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias)

The Snowy Egret, American Egret, and Great Blue Heron feed on fish and invertebrates from the marsh. 

Least Tern (Sterna antillarum) 

The open sand dune area provides primary nesting sites for the Least Tern, which have been threatened with habitat loss.  

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Old pilings in the water provide a resting site for Southern Brown Pelicans, which once were near extinction in this area. 

Ruddy Turnstone(Arenaria interpres)

Cruising along the rock is the Ruddy Turnstone. This bird turns over oysters and clam shells in search of food. 

Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger)

Gifted with a graceful wing beat and beautiful coloration, the Black Skimmer grazes along the surface of the water in search of fish.

The large (Phragmites) to the East of the marsh are utilized for nesting by Red-Winged Blackbirds and Boat-tailed Grackles. 

Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major) Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Barrier Islands

Shaped by Wind and Water

Sea levels began rising 18-20,000 years ago, moving sandbars toward the mainland. The rate of rise slowed 6,000 years ago, allowing the sandbar to emerge as the present barrier islands. 

The dune land plants stabilize the wind-blown sands, building ridges and mounds called dunes in the highest areas of the beach, dunes are very important because as a storm attacks a beach, water and gravity roll the sand downhill away from the dunes. 

This builds up an offshore sandbar, absorbing energy from the waves of the storm and protecting what is left of the beaches and dune lands. 

After the storm, the offshore bar provides sand for rebuilding the beach. 

Barrier islands perform two functions:

1. Barrier islands protect the mainland from erosion by absorbing much of a storm’s energy. 
2. Barrier islands trap a mixture of fresh and salty Gulf waters, contributing to the formation of estuaries. Coastal seafood species are dependent upon the abundant food and brackish water habitat the estuarine environment provides

Alabama Coastal Connection

Dune Plants survive in a harsh environment.

Adaptation allows plants to survive salt and freshwater flooding, extreme high and low temperatures, and hurricane-force winds. 

These plants reproduce from cuttings created by storms and wave action. They all rebuild the beach and dune system by trapping wind-b town sand. 

Sea Rocket (Cakile constricts)

A common succulent found just above the high tide line, Sea Rocket has thick fleshy leaves to help conserve water.

Large leaf Pennywort (Hydrocotyle bonariensis)

A creeping perennial that spreads by far-reaching underground stems, Pennywort grows to about 6 inches tall and has clusters of tiny white or pale-green flowers on a 3-inch stem. 

Coastal Panicgrass (Panicum amarulum)

A dense, upright perennial bunchgrass, Panicgrass helps anchor the shifting sands with deeply buried root systems.

Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata)

As the most important and widespread grass on southern coastal dunes, the Sea Oats' recovery following storm impact is the first step in dune rebuilding. 

Morning Glory (Ipomoea stolonifera)

This vine, with trumpet-shaped, white flowers, grows low to the ground, escaping the killing effects of salt spray. The stems may extend over the sand surface for 30 to 50 feet. 

Butterflies of Dauphin Island 

Dauphin Island Marsh and Wetlands

Whether the Weather

Look for the weather station seen in the photo below. It is maintained by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, along with several others in and around Mobile Bay.

What does this Station Measure?

Atmospheric measurements:

>air temperature

>relative humidity

> Wind direction and speed

>air pressure

>solar radiation

>precipitation

Underwater measurements:

>water temperature

>water level

>salinity

>dissolved oxygen

>chlorophyll

>turbidity

How is the Data Used?

These data can be used in many different ways. Here are just a few examples: Researchers at Dauphin Island Sea Lab might use them to better understand phenomena such as low-oxygen events that result in fish kills in Mobile Bay. Climate scientists might input the data into a model that will predict sea level rise. It might be used to analyze hurricane strength as the storm passes the station. 

Who is NOAA?

“NOAA” stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The U. S. Government formed this scientific agency in 1970. It has many responsibilities, including research into Earth’s weather, climate, and oceans, issuing daily weather forecasts and severe storm warnings, and providing citizens, planners, emergency managers, and policymakers with reliable information when they need it. Some NOAA offices that you may be familiar with include the National Weather Service, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the National Ocean Service.

What is a Computer Model?

You might be familiar with weather or storm prediction models that are used by the forecasters on your local news stations. Computer models are algorithms that use the measured data to make simulations of systems. The simulations might make predictions or illustrate predictions that have already happened. 

The speed at which computers can process numbers has made the use of models possible on a practical level. Accuracy depends on the quality of understanding of natural processes in different systems, and algorithms of simulating systems are all improved. The more data that goes into a model, the more precise it can be. 

The image below left shows a computer model’s prediction of storm surge from Hurricane Ivan. 

This kind of prediction is used to issue warnings to residents of areas that are expected to flood. 

The image below the middle shows the measured track of Hurricane Ivan. Its landfall was 30 miles east of what was predicted. One major limitation forecasters have to work with is incomplete data coverage, especially over the oceans. Much of the needed data is only collected by data boys at a few points on the surface of the ocean. 

The image below right was created with measured data, not to make a prediction but to illustrate the actual storm flooding from Hurricane Ivan.

Invertebrate Trail 

The invertebrate trail is an action based on the award-winning Public Broadcasting system series  “The Shape of Life.”

These plaques represent 8 different Phyla, or groups of invertebrate animals with specific body plans, from simple to complex. Each phylum appeared in the oceans during the Cambrian Period, about 530 million years ago. These plaques are designed so that students can make a rubbing of each one to study in the classroom.

The Living Marsh 

Dedicated to the Memory of Beth Ladner; 1974-1991

“ A Teacher’s Friend” Discovery Hall Student 1985, 1989, 1990

Research on March Restoration at Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems on earth.

They provide food, refuge, and user habitats for many animals, filter runoff that drains into our coastal waters, and buffer our coastlines from damaging storm surges. Salt marshes are declining at an alarming rate due to coastal development and erosion brought on by environmental stress.

The devices installed in the Living Marsh are called flume traps. They are part of a study designed to determine how closely the ecology of this created marsh mirrors that of a natural marsh also located on Dauphin Island (above). The flume traps sample animals that enter the vegetation to forage and hide from predators. 

Flume traps allow the animals to enter the marsh vegetation as the tide rises (A, Above center). The trap is closed at high tide (B), and as the tide goes out, fish, crabs, shrimp, and other animals are collected in the net. 

We then identify and count the animals we catch in the created marsh and compare them to the animals caught in the reference marsh.

We also compare the animals that live in the mud and among the roots of the marsh grass by taking cores from the marsh bottom (below). These small animals, many of which require a microscope to see, including worms and small shrimp, burrow into the sediment. 

We also compare how the animals interact with each other in the retired and natural marshes. We are particularly interested in how intensely blue crabs feed on marsh periwinkles (see below) We teeter snails to the bases if marsh-grass shoots at each marsh and allow crabs to attack and eat the bait during a set period. We also compare the number of repaired shell cracks (signs of failed attacks by crabs) in the snail populations at each site. This allows us to compare how intensively crabs are using resources in the marsh. 

We hope this research will help us understand how new marshes develop over time and what we can do to help newly created marshes provide all of the benefits of natural salt marsh habitats. 

Above: Periwinkles climbing on marsh grass

Upper Right: Blue crab

Right: Snail tethered to marsh grass and (inset) shell scar inflicted by the blue crab. Marked by the arrow. 

Dauphin Island Environment Marine

Energy from the Sands of Time

The platform that you can see east of Dauphin Island is operated by ExxonMobil, one of many oil companies operating in Alabama waters. These platforms are extracting natural gas (methane), a clean-burning petroleum product. The platform itself lies in 11 feet of water, with dripping operations to depths of over 20,000 feet. Once natural gas is found and brought to the surface, it is transferred via an underwater pipeline to processing plants on the mainland. 

These photographs demonstrate the porous quality of sandstone, which is millions of years old. Ten percent of the sandstone volume is natural gas, compressed within these. 

Pores to a pressure between 10,000 and 20,000 pounds per square inch. 

The natural gas field found within Mobile Bay and the Alabama Water is the largest field discovered in the continental United States. Concerned citizens, scientists, and state regulators worked with the oil companies to implement an environmentally safe, clean operation with a zero-discharge policy. This policy prohibits the discharge of drilling fluids, petroleum products, and treated sewage from the platform into state waters. Instead, these materials are offloaded and taken to the mainland for proper disposal. 

Mr. Sand and his friends Part II

The grains collect and grow into dunes. Even as they grow, they move as the wind blows them. 

Shifting and growing, the dunes stabilize once dune grasses, like sea oats, start sprouting on them. The plant's roots help anchor them, encouraging further dune growth. And the more due growth, the more plant growth —- a friendly relationship.

These stabilized dunes attract even more plants, like wax myrtle, yucca, and, eventually, the majestic live oak. 

These rooting plants add moisture and shelter and promote even more plant colonization. 

More and more animals are attracted to plant growth, from plant-eating insects to insect-eating beach mice to owls. Hawks and raccoons.

Thriving with plant life, a dune will continue to grow. 

But the bigger it gets, the more exposed it becomes to aeolian (wind) and marine (water) forces, like erosion. 

Mr. Sand and his friends, Park III

During the autumn and winter storms, the sand will be blown offshore. Someday, they’ll be carried back onshore to build new dunes. 

So, as the seasons change, do the dunes. In the spring, with gentle wind and waves, sand heaps onshore, forming new dunes. In the summer, sea oats and plants help them grow. In the stormy winter, the dunes erode (wear down).

Susceptible to strong onshore winds, Mr. Sand and his friends have a tendency to move inland, covering everything in their path. 

We need to help Mr. Sand and his friends by not walking or driving on the dunes. Many places have boardwalks built over the dunes and plants to protect them. 

Along with boardwalks, sand fences are another way of protecting dunes, serving as obstructions so the grains can collect and form new dunes. Planting grasses like sea oats can also help in exposed areas and along pathways. 

These conservation practices can only help if we cooperate. Mr. Sand and his friends, along with the forces of nature, form dunes and beaches for you to enjoy. 

Let’s take care of them in the future. 

Mr. Sand and his friends Part I

Come let Mr. Sand guide you through the life of a dune. Learn how to protect the sand dunes, Mr. Sand, and his friends who live with him. 

Once upon a time, about 250 million years ago, bedrock was formed. The hot molten rock formed granite and emerged as the Appalachian Mountains. As the granite and other rocks eroded from the mountains, they formed grains of sand. This sand washed down to the Gulf of Mexico and was deposited onto beaches and dunes, which are now underwater. 

Waves and currents washed Mr. Sand away from these old deposits. Mr. Sand and his friends moved up onto the beaches we see now. 

The more Mr. Sand and his friends wash along the beach, the more they wear down. They become rounder and more uniform in size and texture. 

Away from the mainland, underwater mountains of sand grow grain by grain, becoming “offshore bars.” Some can grow so much they emerge above sea level and become “barrier islands.” 

Dry grains of sand are susceptible to wind, drifting until the wind speed drops.

Once Mr. Sand and his friends land, they collect on the “lee,” or sheltered side of obstacles along their flight path.

Marine Debris: A Silent Killer

Marine debris Timeline

What is marine debris?

.Marine debris is the name given to trash that liters our coasts and oceans.

It includes all the objects found in the marine and coastal environments that do not naturally occur there. Marine debris is not only a hazard to ships, divers, and beach-goers, but it also creates a serious threat to our precious marine life. 

.Marine debris consists of articles that have been made by people and deliberately discarded or accidentally lost. In most cases, it is the result of careless handling or disposal of items of solid waste, including containers of liquid waste. However, it can also be materials lost at sea in bad weather, like fishing gear and cargo.

.Marine debris consists mostly of snowy degradable waste items made of persistent materials such as plastic, polystyrene, metals, and glass from a large number of different sources.

(thrown or lost into the sea): brought indirectly to the sea with rivers, sewage, stormwater, or winds: left by people on beaches and shores. 

Where is marine debris found:

. Marine debris is found everywhere around the world, in marine and coastal environments.

.Marine debris can be blown around and is found floating on the water's surface. Almost 90% of floating marine debris is plastic. 

. Marine debris is found mixed in the water column, from the surface to the bottom of the ocean.

.Marine debris is found on the seabed. It could be that as much as 70% of all marine debris sinks to the bottom of the seabed, both in shallow coastal areas and deeper parts of the ocean. 

.Marine debris is found lying on beaches and shores. 

How does marine debris harm wildlife?

. Entanglement 

Common items like fishing lines, strapping bands, and six-pack rings can hamper the movement of marine animals. Once entangled, animals have trouble eating, breathing, or swimming, all of which can have fatal results. Plastics take hundreds of years to break down and may continue to trap and kill animals year after year. Smaller marine creatures get stuck inside plastic and glass containers to die a slow death. 

Ingestion

Birds, fish, and mammals often mistake plastic for food. Some birds even feed it to their young. With plastic filling their stomachs, animals have a false feeling of being full and may die of starvation. Sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, one of their favorite foods. Due to its durability, buoyancy, and ability to absorb and concentrate toxins present in the ocean, plastic is especially harmful to marine life. 

Other threats to wildlife 

The smothering of the seabed, accumulation, and dispersion of toxic substances, environmental changes due to invasive species, and habitat disturbances due to mechanical cleaning of marine debris. 

How does marine debris harm people?

.Contamination of the beaches and harbors creates health hazards to people

.Marine debris also endangers the safety and livelihood of fishermen and recreational boaters. Nets and monofilament fishing lines can obstruct propellers, and plastic sheeting and bags can block cooling intakes. 

Where am I?

Dauphin Island is at the junction of Mobile Bay, Mississippi Sound, and the Gulf of Mexico. Dauphin Island is the easternmost in a series of changing barrier islands, which form the southern boundary of Mississippi Sound. 

Mobile Bay is 53 kilometers (35 mi) long, 16 kilometers (10 mi) wide, and averages 3 meters  (10ft) deep. The bay is a drowned river valley, which at one time was deeper and extended farther north. About 6,000 years ago, the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta formed as Mobile Bay became wider and shallower. Mobile Bay has the seventh-largest river discharge in North America (219 to 13,977 cubic meters per second or 5 to 322 billion gallons per day) and is the third-largest in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Most of the ocean waters that enter the Gulf of Mexico come through the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba. 

These waters form circling currents that move across the continental shelf and mix with the freshwater from the land. The water exits the Gulf of Mexico through the Straits of Florida between Florida and Cuba. 

Life in a Salt Marsh

A real partnership 

The important grasslike plants of Coastal Alabama salt marshes are Black Needle rush and Smooth Cordgrass. They provide oxygen to organisms that live below the salt marsh surface and refuge for many animals. 

Decomposing plant matter in an environment without oxygen produces the “rotten egg” odor familiar to marshes. However, Cordgrass and Needlerush root systems are very spongy and porous, allowing oxygen into the waterlogged soil. This allows the survival of organisms below the surface of the marsh. 

Fiddler Crab (Uca  spp) 

Fiddler Crabs and other small mud crabs burrow into the marsh surface, feeding on the plant matter. Their aquatic larval stages contribute significantly to the food chain.

Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)

Smooth Cordgrass forms a border along the edge of the open water, below the average high tide line. Cordgrass has flattened leaves and a light green color. 

Black Needlerush (Juncus roemerianus)

The Black Needlerush comprises the largest vegetated zone of Alabama’s salt marshes and is found near and above the average high tide line. 

Needlerush leaves are round with pointed tips. 

Marsh Periwinkle (Littorina irrorata)

The Marsh Periwinkle is a small snail inhabiting shallow bays, ponds, and tidal marshes. It is often seen climbing and Spartina stalks to feed on algae and avoid predators. 

Ribbed Mussel (Geukensia demissa)

The Ribbed Mussel attaches to mature plants at the mud surface and hardens the marsh. This helps resist erosion. These mussels filter a gallon of seawater an hour for food, fertilize the marsh with their waste, and are food for crabs, birds, and mammals.