Plum Island Ecosystems

We have designed and implemented a comprehensive study of a major, land-estuarine system in the Acadian biogeographic province in eastern New England (Fig 1). Our goal is to develop a predictive understanding of the long-term response of watershed and estuarine ecosystems at the land-sea interface to changes in climate, land use and sea level and to apply this knowledge to the wise management and development of policy to protect the natural resources of the coastal zone. The principal study site is the Plum Island Sound estuary, its coupled Parker and Ipswich River basins and the coastal ocean, the Gulf of Maine. Our interests are not just local; we extend our understandings to other coastal systems through comparative studies and modeling.