Eastern Shore By: Kelly Threatt

Wachapreague, VA

General Description Location: Wachapreague, Virginia (Eastern Shore) Date: September 14, 2007 2 land sites (Barrier Islands): Paramore Island and Cedar Island 4 water sites: Inlet, Clubhouse Point, Hummocks Channel, and Nikawampus Creek

Goals Collecting Describing/ Collecting Collecting/ Analyzing Water depth Dissolved oxygen Temperature Salinity pH Nutrient Describing/ Collecting Planktonic life Nektonic life Benthic life Collecting/ Analyzing Sea floor sediment grain size Sea floor sediment composition *Introduce topics that will be covered in more detail later in the semester *

Tools Trawl-used to collect nektonic life Dredge-used to collect benthic life Secchi Disk-used to find the depth of the photic zone

More Tools Plankton Net-used to collect plankton from the surface water YSI-used to measure dissolved oxygen, salinity, depth, and temperature Ponar Grab-used to collect sediment off of the sea floor Niskin Bottle-used to collect water samples below the surface water

Field Results Inlet Clubhouse Point Hummocks Channel Nikawampus Creek

Inlet Between two barrier island: Cedar Island and Paramore Island GPS Location: N 37º 34.848” W 75º 37.81” Total Water Depth: 80ft Photic zone depth: 1m 3.5cm

Inlet Data 1-Temperature (˚C) 2-Salinity (ppt) Blue-0.0m Depth Temperature Salinity DO pH 0.0m (surface) 25.2ºC 31.1 ppt 5.8 mg/l 8.5 2m 31.6 ppt 5.71 mg/l 8.2 1-Temperature (˚C) 2-Salinity (ppt) 3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 4-pH Blue-0.0m Red-2m

Life in the Inlet Plankton (drifters) Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers) Seaweed Snails Dead Fish Jelly Fish (no tentacles) Conch Shell (Boosicomb) Clams Oyster shells Gobee (naked) Hermit Crab (Flat Clawed) Knobwelk Gardiella (red) Olva (green)

Clubhouse Point GPS Location: N 37º 35.35” W 75º 37.80” Total Water Depth: 12ft Photic zone depth: 1m Sea Floor Sediments Color: gray, black, brown Texture: shelly bottom Compaction: hard shells

Clubhouse Point Data Blue-0.0m Red-2m Yellow-3m 1-Temperature (˚C) Depth Temperature Salinity DO pH 0.0m (surface) 25.8ºC 32.6 ppt 6.69 mg/l 8.4 2m 25.2ºC 32.5 ppt 5.75 mg/l 8.3 3m 25.9ºC 5.77 mg/l Blue-0.0m Red-2m Yellow-3m 1-Temperature (˚C) 2-Salinity (ppt) 3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 4-pH

Life at Clubhouse Point Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers) Sea pork Comb jelly Seaweed Bay anchovies Conidium (dead man’s fingers) Crab Olva Grassilaria Sea urchins Mollusks

Hummocks Channel GPS Location: N 37º 36.472” W 75º 38.671” Total Water Depth:15ft Photic zone depth: 1.5m Sea Floor Sediments Color: green, gray, black Texture: more mud than shells Compaction: muddy, soupy

Hummocks Channel Data Blue-0.0m Red-2m 1-Temperature (˚C) Yellow-3m Depth Temperature Salinity DO pH 0.0m (surface) 25.6ºC 32.9 ppt 92.0 mg/l 8.2 2m 25.5ºC 92.2 mg/l 7.9 3m 91.8 mg/l Blue-0.0m Red-2m Yellow-3m 1-Temperature (˚C) 2-Salinity (ppt) 3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 4-pH

Life in Hummocks Channel Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers) Fish Comb Jelly Sea Lettuce Sea Pork Baby Crab

Nikawampus Creek Mud flat GPS Location: N 37º 37.648” W 75º 40.813” Total Water Depth: 5.2ft Photic zone depth: 25cm Sea Floor Sediments Color: black Texture: mud Compaction: soft and soupy

Nikawampus Creek Data Blue-0.0m 1-Temperature (˚C) Red-.5m Depth Temperature Salinity DO pH 0.0m (surface) 25.7ºC 33.4 ppt 4.75 mg/l 8.0 .5m 25.6ºC 33.3 ppt 4.56 mg/l 7.9 Blue-0.0m Red-.5m 1-Temperature (˚C) 2-Salinity (ppt) 3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L) 4-pH

Life in Nikawampus Creek Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers) White perch Blue crab Spot Brief squid Black sea bass Shrimp Pompano Clams

Comparing Surface Water Data Temperature Salinity Dissolved Oxygen pH

Temperature Site: 1-Inlet 2-Clubhouse Point 3-Hummocks Channel 4-Nikawampus Creek

Salinity Site: 1-Inlet 2-Clubhouse Point 3-Hummocks Channel 4-Nikawampus Creek

Dissolved Oxygen Site: 1-Inlet 2-Clubhouse Point 3-Hummocks Channel 4-Nikawampus Creek

pH Site: 1-Inlet 2-Clubhouse Point 3-Hummocks Channel 4-Nikawampus Creek

Paramore Island Observations Different from Cedar Island Tree were burned Dry Lake on Island -Dried up (cracks in lake bed) -A week prior it had more water -Salinity was 44 or 45 and the DO was .1 which is to low for the fish to live. The fish were at the different levels around the pond indicting that the water level had dropped recently. It’s eroding on the ocean side and depositing on the bay side the Italian Ridge (one ancient dune) Shaped like a drum stick Different from Cedar Island Maritime Forest-more vegatation More life-insects, animals (raccoon and deer dropping seen) Muddy ground and sand Marsh side and shore side Only one dune Paramore had a very short shoreline that was not very flat

Cedar Island Observations Different from Paramore Island Fish and crabs in surrounding waters Atlantic side had more waves than bay side Bay side was calmer and had a really strong current Was thought to have been marsh land because of all of the oyster shells that were ancient A lot dead horseshoe crabs from babies to full grown on the ocean side Different from Paramore Island Less vegetation More shells, “a graveyard of shell” Smaller More dunes Wide and round. Birds such as seagulls and pelicans At the ocean the shoreline was a flat beach. Dune grass and sea grass with prickly barbs found more in the center of the island

Deep Sea Location Atlantic Ocean-Gulf Stream

Salinity -Around 36.5 ppt -Higher than the highest site (Nikawampus Creek with 33.4 ppt)

Temperature -Between 22-24°C -Our sites were between 25.2°C and 25.8°C

pH -Around 8.10 -Our sites were between 8 and 8.5

THANKS FOR A GREAT SEMESTER!!!! HAVE A GOOD HOLIDAY!!!!