Faculty advisor: Dr. Peter Berg
Research topic: Eelgrass (Zostera marina) metabolism and resilience measured by aquatic eddy covariance at the Virginia Coast Reserve
Committee: Drs. Karen McGlathery, Matt Reidenbach, Mike Pace, John Goodall
Presentations: ASLO Aquatic Sciences meeting 2021; ASLO Ocean Sciences meeting 2020; Ocean Carbon and Biochemistry meeting 2019; Ocean Sciences meeting 2018; LTER All Scientists Meeting 2018; CERF meeting 2017
Research topic: Eelgrass (Zostera marina) metabolism and resilience measured by aquatic eddy covariance at the Virginia Coast Reserve
Committee: Drs. Karen McGlathery, Matt Reidenbach, Mike Pace, John Goodall
Presentations: ASLO Aquatic Sciences meeting 2021; ASLO Ocean Sciences meeting 2020; Ocean Carbon and Biochemistry meeting 2019; Ocean Sciences meeting 2018; LTER All Scientists Meeting 2018; CERF meeting 2017
Study site: My research took place in a previously restored eelgrass (Zostera marina) meadow the the Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research (VCR LTER) site. This meadow was restored by seeding in 2001, and has been monitored since 2007.
Method: The aquatic eddy covariance (EC) technique was developed by Dr. Peter Berg (University of Virginia) and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Germany). It is a novel, non-invasive, whole-ecosystem method that integrates metabolism over 10-100 m2. The high temporal sampling resolution (15 min) of this technique allows us to quantify in situ the immediate response of the seagrass meadow to changes in environmental variables (temperature, flow velocity, light). Research themes: My dissertation research focused on seagrass ecosystem metabolism at the VCR LTER and its response to extreme heat. My research spanned 11 years of seasonal aquatic eddy covariance measurements, which captured a heat-related seagrass loss and recovery event (die-off in 2015, recovery 2016 to present). This die-off provided a unique opportunity to study seagrass resilience under ocean-warming conditions. You can download my full dissertation here, or scroll down to read the abstract. |
Dissertation Abstract
Publications and Presentations
Peer-reviewed publications
Oral presentations
Poster presentations
- Berger A. C., Berg P., McGlathery K. “Eelgrass Thermal Stress Threshold Derived from In Situ Ecosystem Metabolism Measurements,” in prep for Limnology and Oceanography Letters.
- Berger A. C., Berg P., McGlathery K., Aoki L., Kerns K. “Quantifying Thermal Stress in a Vulnerable Eelgrass Meadow,” in prep for Global Change Biology.
- Aoki L., McGlathery K., Wiberg P., Oreska M. P. J., Berger A. C., Berg P., Orth R. J. “Seagrass Recovery Following Marine Heat Wave Influences Sediment Carbon Stocks,” accepted in Frontiers in Marine Science (2021).
- Berger A. C., Berg P., McGlathery K., Delgard M. L. “Long-Term Trends and Resilience of Seagrass Metabolism: a Decadal Aquatic Eddy Covariance Study,” Limnology and Oceanography (2020).
- Berg P., Delgard M. L., Polsenaere P., McGlathery K., Doney S. C., Berger A. C. “Dynamics of benthic metabolism, O2, and pCO2 in a temperate seagrass meadow,” Limnology and Oceanography (2019).
Oral presentations
- Berger A. C., Berg P., McGlathery K. “Quantifying thermal stress in seagrass ecosystems based on in situ aquatic eddy covariance measurements” ASLO Aquatic Sciences Meeting, virtual (2021).
- Berger A. C., Berg P., McGlathery K. “Temperature effects on temperate seagrass metabolism and resilience” ASLO Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Diego, CA (2020).
- Berger A. C., Berg P., McGlathery K., Aoki, L., Oreska, M., Delgard M. L. “Temperate seagrass bed metabolism and carbon sequestration,” invited speaker at the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Meeting, Woods Hole, MA (2019).
- Berger, A. C., Berg, P., McGlathery, K., Delgard, ML. “Seagrass Metabolism and Resilience Measured by Eddy Covariance,” Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation Biennial Conference, Providence, RI (2017).
Poster presentations
- Berger, A., Berg, P., McGlathery, K., Delgard, ML. “Seagrass Ecosystem Metabolism and Resilience Measured by Eddy Covariance,” presented at the LTER All Scientists Meeting, Monterey, CA (2018).
- Berger, A., Berg, P., McGlathery, K., Delgard, ML. “Seagrass Ecosystem Metabolism and Resilience Measured by Eddy Covariance,” presented at the Ocean Sciences Meeting, Portland, OR and EnviroDay poster session at the University of Virginia (2018).
- Berger, A., Berg, P., McGlathery, K. “Temperature Effects on Seagrass Density in a Virginia Coastal Bay” presented at the EnviroDay poster session at the University of Virginia (2017).