Southeast Coast Network News April 2022

SECN Coastal Ecologist William "Ches" Vervaeke talks about mangrove populations at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve to River City Live's Eden Kendall.

News4Jax

SECN Coast Ecologist Ches Vervake talks to CBS 47 Meterologist Mike Buresh about the mangrove populations at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

CBS 47 Jacksonville

Talking Mangroves for TV

Network Coastal Ecologist Ches Vervaeke is getting the word out about mangrove populations increasing in Northeast Florida and more specifically, in Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Ches recently talked with News4Jax's River City Live host Eden Kendall on a segment of In Your Backyard, sharing details about how mangroves get started with a little "show and tell" featuring a couple of mangrove propagules. In a CBS 47 report from meteorogist Mike Buresh, Ches explained why the mangroves have taken root at the preserve, a result of fewer hard freezes in the area. He presented the benefits including storm surge protection and greater carbon storage, but also outlined the concerns if the inevitable freeze kills off the mangroves, leaving the depleted marsh exposed to sea level rise. Along with his role of leading the network's coastal program, Ches is studying elevation dynamics of black mangroves as they expand their northern range in the University of Louisiana at Lafeyette's Environmental and Evolutionary Biology PhD program. Check out the segments here:
https://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/more-mangroves-growing-northeast-florida/0403dccf-0cf8-4a0e-92cb-76193c9b91f4/
https://www.news4jax.com/river-city-live/2022/02/11/why-mangroves-are-so-important-for-the-jax-ecosystem/

Christina Valdes, Biological Science Technician at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, and Amorita Brackett, Field Crew Leader with Southeast Coast Invasive Plant Management Team, assisted the Southeast Coast Network with deploying automated recording devices like this one at Congaree NP.

Photo courtesy of Michael Parrish

Field Work Update

The FY2022 field work season is underway for the Southeast Coast Network. Data collected for each SECN monitoring program last season is being processed with reports coming out soon.

Landbird and Anuran Communities

Automated recording device (ARD) have been deployed at five parks with the assistance of a detail by Amorita Brackett, a field crew leader with the Southeast Coast Invasive Plant Management Team. Amorita deployed nine ARDs at Canaveral National Seashore, 11 at Fort Frederica National Monument, 11 at Moores Creek National Battlefield, and 19 at Congaree National Park. Lily Martin, UGA Intern, deployed 22 at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. This should result in 1,224 hours of audio captured this season across all the points. A scientific review of both landbird and anuran monitoring efforts is also scheduled for FY22.

Coastal Wetlands

In March, 18 Surface Elevation Table (SET) sites were read at Cape Lookout National Seashore, Fort Pulaski National Monument, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve during the first half of March. SET data was also collected at Cape Hatteras National Seashore later in the month. Surface Elevation Table (SET) sites will also be surveyed at Canaveral National Seashore, Fort Matanzas National Monument, Cumberland Island National Seashore, and Fort Frederica National Monument in FY22. The new sites, installed last year, are more accessible from both a safety and operations perspective and allow for two readings per year and after any events such as hurricanes or floods. Two additional SET sites are planned to be installed at Cape Lookout National Seashore and Cape Hatteras National Seashore later this year and a revised protocol is currently in review with publication expected later this year as well.

Shorelines

Shoreline position data was collected at Cape Lookout National Seashore March 5-7. UTVs and ATVs are driven along the high tide swash line and a GPS is used to capture the shoreline. Chelsey Stephenson (CALO Biotech) assisted with the effort and was an invaluable addition to the team. Shoreline position data was also collected at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in March and will be collected by SECN staff at Canaveral National Seashore, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and Fort Matanzas National Monument later this spring.

Vegetation Communities

Vegetation plots at Canaveral National Seashore were scouted recently in preparation for vegetation monitoring which is set for this month. Monitoring is also scheduled this spring and summer for Cape Lookout National Seashore, Moores Creek National Battlefield, and Horseshoe Bend National Military Park. Data continues to be processed from last summer's field work at Congaree National Park, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.

Wadeable Streams

Preparations for wadeable stream monitoring surveys at Congaree National Park in May continue. The team will be at the park later this month to install permanent secondary benchmarks and conduct field crew training. Monitoring surveys of the four sites will be conducted between May 2 and May 13, depending on the weather. A summary report from last year's data collection at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is almost complete.

Water Quality

Hydrologic technician Daniel McCay assisted with Bacteria-Alert Monitoring at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area to help train a new intern at the park. Daniel also completed a water-quality data collection trip last month for Congaree National Park, Fort Pulaski National Monument , Cumberland Island National Seashore. Canaveral National Seashore, Fort Matanzas National Monument, and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. Monthly visits will continue throughout FY2022. Fixed-station time-series data collection continues with assistance from park staff and partners at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and Cape Lookout National Seashore. Park-wide water-quality assessments will be conducted at Cumberland Island National Seashore and Fort Matanzas National Monument in July 2022.

Coastal ecologist William "Ches" Vervaeke completed mapping 61 miles of shoreline at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. In March, with park staff help, more than 115 miles of Outer banks shoreline were surveyed. Above left, Buxton between ramps 43 and 4. Right, houses at Rodanthe south of Pea Island.

NPS photos / William "Ches" Vervaeke

Wrapping an injured leg. Stephen Cooper applies a makeshift splint to Daniel McCay while Michael Parrish assists. This was an exercise in the Wilderness First Aid Certification Class held last month at the SECN Athens Office.

NPS photo / Eric Starkey

Safety First!

The Southeast Coast Network recently concluded two safety-related training courses over three days in March. Staff members across the network completed the National Safety Council's Adult CPR and AED Course, taught by Sandy Broyles from Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center. The course covered instructions for performing CPR as well as techniques for using an AED (Automated External Defibrillator). The team then completed Wilderness and Remote First Aid Certification conducted by Lance Haynie from the University of Georgia's Recreational Sports. The class covered a wide-range of topics from initial patient assessment techniques to splinting bone and joint injuries. Along with classroom instruction, staff members got the opportunity to role play in real-life emergency scenarios staged in UGA's Whitehall Forest.

Wayne Ryan is the new CESU Intern from the University of Georgia.

Photo courtesy of Wayne Ryan

Welcome Wayne

Wayne Ryan joined the Southeast Coast Network recently as a Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Intern from the University of Georgia. He will be assisting with anuran (and possibly landbird) vocalization classification, field season preparations, ARD deployment and retrieval field work, and data entry as well. Wayne is working on his masters this semester at the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources under Dr. Jeff Hepinstall-Cymerman. Wayne works in the Spatial Ecology Laboratory and will be conducting field research at the USDA Forest Service Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in western North Carolina this summer involving bird banding, mist-netting, and point count surveys. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology at Western Carolina University in 2015. After graduation, Wayne hopes to work as a wildlife biologist through an agency like the NPS. He wants to help species conservation and map out where species occur in an effort to help them. Originally from Emerald Isle, North Carolina, his hobbies include going out hiking, birding, traveling to new areas, roller coaster parks, and board game nights.

Shoreline Change Data Now Available

Shoreline change geodatabases are now available to the public for all parks in the Southeast Coast Network where shoreline change monitoring is implemented. Files have been uploaded for Canaveral National Seashore, Cape Hatteras National Seashore (including special post-Hurricane Dorian coverage), Cape Lookout National Seashore, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Fort Matanzas National Monument, and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Park. The geodatabases are available on IRMA at https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2287235. For more information, contact Wendy Wright, SECN Data Manager at e-mail us.

Having fun helping with vegetation monitoring. From left, Claire Schmidt, SECN Biological Technician Elizabeth Rico and SECN Botanist Forbes Boyle.

NPS photo / Claire Schmidt

Goodbye Claire!!!

Coastal technician Claire Schmidt is leave the Southeast Coast Network this month to pursue other opportunities. She joined the network in December 2020. Among her many accomplishments, Claire transitioned the shoreline protocol from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro (mostly, aside from DSAS), revamped the shoreline metadata system so that it is compatible with ArcGIS Pro, and created new ArcGIS online dashboards for shoreline data. One of her biggest accomplishments was leading the shoreline program during a transition period between coastal ecologists which included coordinating and conducting the 2021 spring and fall shoreline surveys. Claire helped out beyond the shoreline, providing assistance with surface elevation table installations, and conducting salt marsh and vegetation field work. Originally from Little Rock, Arkansas, Claire earned a B.S. degree in Biology with a minor in Earth Science from Knox College (Galesburg, Illinois). Prior to her time with the Southeast Coast Network, she worked as a Geoscientist-in-the-Park at the Alaska Regional Office of the National Park Service for a year and a half, helping to develop their Structure-from-Motion remote sensing program. Good luck Claire. We will miss you!

Recent Publications

The Southeast Coast Network recently published the following reports:

• Landbird Monitoring in Southeast Coast Network parks: 2017 Summary Briefs for the following parks: Canaveral National Seashore, Congaree National Park, Fort Frederica National Monument, Moores Creek National Battlefield and Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. Available at: DataStore - Resource Brief - (Code: 2288412) (nps.gov). Species Detection Maps for each park are available at: DataStore - Map - (Code: 2288416) (nps.gov)
• Terrestrial Vegetation Monitoring at Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve: 2019 Data Summary—Version 2.0. Available at: DataStore - Published Report - (Code: 2290196) (nps.gov)