Southeast Coast Network News June 2022

Abigail "Abby" Gonzalez is the 2022 Scientists in Parks Ecology Intern at the Southeast Coast Network.

Photo courtesy of Abigail Gonzalez

Network's New SIP Intern

Abigail "Abby" Gonzalez is the 2022 Scientists in Parks (SIP) Ecology Intern at the Southeast Coast Network. Abigail grew up in Puebla, Mexico, where her childhood dream to work in the beautiful outdoors was born. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science at the University of Houston. She worked as a Land Steward at Hermann Park Conservancy in Houston for the last couple of years conducting several projects in habitat restoration and conservation. As the SIP Ecology Intern, Abigail is assisting with vegetation monitoring this summer including work at the current park, Cape Lookout National Seashore. In her free time, Abigail loves to dance, roller skate, thrift shop, and go on scuba diving trips. Welcome to the Network, Abigail!

William "Ches" Vervaeke recently conducted Surface Elevation Table monitoring on a marsh at Fort Frederica National Monument. Left, Ches prepares to take surface elevation measurements. Middle, he cores a marker horizon. Right, the marker horizon core showing sediment deposition.

NPS photos / Daniel McCay

SECN Aquatic Ecologist Eric Starkey carefully surveys the channel of McKenzie Creek at Congaree National Park. The crew kept careful watch for snakes resting under or on large woody debris. The inset photo shows a closeup of a resident cottonmouth snake (Agksitrodon piscivorus).

Daniel McCay / SECN staff

FY2022 Field Work Update

The FY2022 field work season is in full swing for the Southeast Coast Network. In addition, data collected for each SECN monitoring program last season is being processed with reports coming out soon.

Coastal Wetlands

Surface Elevation Table (SET) were surveyed at Canaveral National Seashore, Fort Matanzas National Monument, Cumberland Island National Seashore, and Fort Frederica National Monument. 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 like 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 in 2022.

Shorelines

Shoreline position data are collected with a GPS mounted on a UTV driven along the high tide swash line. Since the April 2022 newsletter, shoreline position data were collected at Canaveral National Seashore, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and Fort Matanzas National Monument. The data collected are being processed.

Vegetation Communities

Vegetation monitoring was completed at Canaveral National Seashore in April. Monitoring at Cape Lookout National Seashore and Moores Creek National Battlefield was conducted in May. Horseshoe Bend National Military Park is scheduled for later this month. 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

Wadeable stream monitoring surveys were conducted last month at three sites on Cedar Creek and one site on McKenzie Creek in Congaree National Park. Data collected are being processed. A summary report from last year's data collection at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area will be out later this year.

Water Quality

Hydrologic technician Daniel McCay 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.

Landbird and Anuran Communities

Automated recording devices (ARDs) are deployed at Canaveral National Seashore (9), Fort Frederica National Monument (11), Moores Creek National Battlefield (11), Congaree National Park (19), and Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park (22). This will result in approximately 1,500 hours of audio captured this season across all sampling locations. Data summary briefs for 2017 landbird monitoring at those same five parks were published earlier this year. Field work was not conducted in 2018 and 2019 due to a position vacancy. Reports for 2020 landbird and vocal anuran communities for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Fort Matanzas National Monument, Fort Pulaski National Monument, and Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve are in the final editing process, and expected to be published this summer. Analysis of 2021 landbird and vocal anuran monitoring data at Cape Lookout National Seashore, Cumberland Island National Seashore, Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, and Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park are underway and with reports expected around the end of 2022. A scientific review of both landbird and anuran monitoring efforts is currently underway as well.

The SECN Vegetation Monitoring Crew was at Cape Lookout National Seashore in May. Left, Botanist Forbes Boyle works on a vegetation count before one of the shore's wild horses eats it up. Right, (from left), Scott Ward with the University of North Carolina's Botanical Gardens, SIP Intern Abby Gonzalez; SECN Biological Technician Elizabeth Rico and Forbes.

Photos courtesy of Elizabeth Rico

The Bridge B water quality sonde at Congaree National Park was recently swapped out and a water sample taken as well. Clockwise from left, Aquatic Ecologist Eric Starkey and Hydrologic Technician Daniel McCay set a newly calibrated sonde into Cedar Creek to collect quality control readings. Daniel takes readings on his laptop from the sonde.  Eric retrieves the Van Dorn horizontal water sampler from the creek, and Eric and Daniel pour the water sample into a container to be sent to the lab.

NPS photos / Mark Hynds

Physical Scientist Stephen Cooper checks out a width taken during wadeable stream monitoring on Cedar Creek at Congaree National Park. Holding the tape near the bank is Editor Mark Hynds with help from Southeast Coast Invasive Plant Management Team Intern, Shalynn Klunder.

NPS photo / Daniel McCay

SECN Coastal Ecologist William "Ches" Vervaeke, gives a presentation on mangrove expansion during Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve's annual Science and History Symposium.

SECN staff

Ches Presents at the TIMU Symposium

The Southeast Coast Network's William "Ches" Vervaeke participated in the Timucuan Science and History Symposium, held April 28 at the Ribault Club in Jacksonville, Florida. Ches, the network's coastal ecologist, presented Marching Mangroves: The Hunt for the Northernmost Mangrove, along with Timucuan's Fiona Southwell and former SECN staff member, Claire Schmidt. The annual event is sponsored by Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

Paper Published

Ches co-authored a research paper examining the effects of CO₂ and sedimentation on a transitional marsh, recently published on Plants, a semi-monthly online platform from the Multidisciplinary Digitial Publishing Institute (MDPI). The paper highlighted work at USGS's Wetlands and Aquatic Research Center in elevated CO₂ greenhouses. Ches used a modified Surface Elevation Table (SET) to measure elevation change in experimental units. Findings included that positive elevation change slows after sediment is added (presumably due to ongoing compaction).

SECN Aquatic Ecologist Eric Starkey stands with his son, after a Careers on Wheels presentation at Colham Ferry Elementary School in Watkinsville.

Photo courtesy of Eric Starkey

Career Day for Eric

Eric Starkey, the SECN Aquatic Ecologist and Acting Network Program Manager, participated in Colham Ferry Elementary School’s “Careers on Wheels” day. The event was a great opportunity to visit with students about a career in natural resources and how the NPS Inventory and Monitoring Division helps to preserve and protect our National Parks. Students checked out the SECN boat, saw a water quality sonde recording data and took a water sample with a horizontal sampler.

Fire Training at First Coast Technical College in St. Augustine, Florida.

Daniel McCay / SECN staff

Daniel Attends Fire Training

Daniel McCay, SECN Hydrologic Technician, recently completed a Fire Training Course at First Coast Technical College's Public Safety Campus in St. Augustine, Florida. The five-day course covered basic wildland firefighter training as well as basic fire behavior and was taught by Chance Hines, a firefighter with the city of St. Augustine. Daniel was the only member of the National Park Service to attend. Most of the students were Florida Department of Environmental Protection employees or volunteers. They burned a block size area of forest behind the campus on the last day. Interestingly, the brush still lit up easily even though the area had received approximately three inches of rain the day before. One cause could be that many plants in that area have oils or resins that are flammable.