Sponsored Research
List of sponsored research conducted at the W.M. Environmental Field Laboratory:
External Sources
Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Dates of Research: 2003-2006
Principal Investigator: R.M. Chambers
Co-PIs: G.S. Hancock, J.T. Roberts, R.L. Hicks
Title: Interdisciplinary Watershed Studies at the College of William and Mary
Each summer a cohort of 10 students selected from colleges around the country works with W&M faculty mentors determine the impacts of changing watershed land use in scientific and socio-economic contexts. Within the 600-ha watershed owned primarily by the college, students complete research projects on the 16-ha campus lake (the oldest man-made impoundment in Virginia), in tributary streams and their associated uplands. Investigations of current hydrogeologic and ecological status in this model watershed are completed by determining stream discharge characteristics and responses to stormflows, spatial variation in water quality, lake-wide budgets for water, sediment and nutrients, and population/community structure in aquatic and terrestrial portions of the watershed. Because the status of the watershed system is the result of historical changes in land use, sociologic and economic surveys of residents' perception of development, environmental protection and water and property rights are used to determine the current direction and strength of population and market forcing functions. Access to a richly detailed history of the Colonial Williamsburg region allows us to develop a timeline of changes in watershed land use as a context for analysis of watershed structure and function. Integrated across disciplines, the science research informs the social science and leads to a more comprehensive understanding and identification of opportunities for successful watershed management.
Research Products:
· Two presentations at the Fall GSA meeting in Seattle, WA
· One presentation at the Verizon Undergraduate Science Symposium at the College of William and Mary
· One presentation at the Undergraduate Ecology and Evolution Meetings in Savannah, GA
· Two presentations to the James City County stormwater task force.Sponsor: Virginia Environmental Endowment
Dates of Research: 2002-2003
Principal Investigator: R.M. Chambers
Co-PIs: J.T. Roberts, G.M. Capelli, G.S. Hancock
Title: Environmental Impacts of Development in Southeastern Virginia
Watersheds: Interdisciplinary Measurement and AnalysisThe objective of this study was to determine the chronology of sediment and nutrient deposition in Lake Matoaka, for comparison with the historical patterns of land use in the surrounding watershed. We used standard analyses of sediment cores to develop vertical profiles of changes in sediment and nutrient deposition from five different sub-watersheds surrounding the lake. Historical changes in trophic status were determined from patterns of deposition of nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and silica). A synoptic survey of nutrients in surface sediments throughout the lake was used to construct lake-wide isopleths of nutrient concentrations and to identify existing regions of nutrient enrichment in surface sediments. Historical data on sediment and nutrient concentrations in cores documented significant depositional events within each sub-watershed drainage system. Historical data on changes in watershed land use also was collected and mapped using GIS. A generalized watersheds loading functions model was used to demonstrate how changing land use has increased nutrient delivery to the lake from the watershed, thereby contributing the current hypereutrophic status of Lake Matoaka.
Research Products:
· Water quality of Lake Matoaka and its tributary streams
· Catchment hydrology in tributary streams of Lake Matoaka
· Distribution of nr. Gammarus pseudolimnaeus in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
· Social and policy aspects of development in Williamsburg-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Jeffress Memorial Trust
Dates of Research: 2002-2003
Principal Investigator: R.M. Chambers
Title: Case Study of Historical Watershed-Lake Interactions on the Virginia
Coastal PlainThe objective of this study is to determine the chronology of sediment and nutrient deposition in Lake Matoaka, for comparison with the historical patterns of land use in the surrounding watershed. We use standard analyses of sediment cores to develop vertical profiles of changes in sediment and nutrient deposition from five different sub-watersheds surrounding the lake. Historical changes in trophic status will be determined from patterns of deposition of nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, and silica). A synoptic survey of nutrients in surface sediments throughout the lake is being used to construct lake-wide isopleths of nutrient concentrations and to identify existing regions of nutrient enrichment in surface sediments. Historical data on sediment and nutrient concentrations in cores will document significant depositional events within each sub-watershed drainage system. Historical data on changes in watershed land use also will be collected and mapped using GIS.
Research Products:
· History of Nutrient Loading in Lake Matoaka
· Pensa M.A. and R.M. Chambers. In Press. Trophic transition in a lake on the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Journal of Environmental Quality.
· Historical patterns of land use and trophic status of Lake Matoaka-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Florida International University
Dates of Research: 2000-2005
Principal Investigator: R.M. Chambers
Title: Soils Analysis on FCE-LTER (Sub-Contract on NSF LTER: Coastal Oligotrophic Ecosystems Research, the Coastal Everglades)Soils and sediment analysis from all 17 Coastal Everglades research sites is being completed including: measurements of porosity, dry bulk density and organic density using standard methods; extraction and analysis of reactive and non-reactive forms of iron and phosphorus; extraction and analysis of reduced sulfur compounds. The results of these analyses in freshwater, mangrove and coastal ocean sites will provide important baseline information on the characteristics of the soils from each of the SRS and TS/Ph transects. Different partitioning of potential limiting nutrients is expected based on soil type (e.g., peaty versus marly soils), seasonal flooding characteristics (e.g., permanently flooded versus seasonal drawdowns), and/or proximity to the shallow subtidal estuary (e.g. adjacent to coastal shelf versus Florida Bay). The effects of restoration initiatives and/or long-term changes in climate and disturbance can also be tracked by observed changes in soil nutrients over the course of the study.
Research Products:
· R.M. Chambers., J.W. Fourqurean, S.A. Macko and R. Hoppenot. 2001. Biogeochemical effects of iron availability on primary producers in a shallow marine carbonate environment. Limnology and Oceanography 46:1278-1286.___________________________________________________________________________
INTERNAL SOURCES
Sponsor: Mellon Foundation
Dates of Research: Summer 2003
Title: The Movements of Musk Turtles in Lake Matoaka
Research Student: Katie Andre '05
Research Products:
· Poster: Verizon Undergraduate Science Symposium at the College of William and Mary 2003
· Andre, K.M. Abstract and PowerPoint Presentation Web Site-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Mellon Foundation
Dates of Research: Summer 2003
Title: Methods and Data Analysis in Determining the Effects of Development on First-Order Streams
Research Student: Diana Gibson '04
Research Products:
· Poster: Geological Society of America, Seattle Wa, 2003
· Poster: Verizon Undergraduate Science Symposium at the College of William and Mary 2001
· Gibson, D.G and J.T. Murray Abstract and PowerPoint Presentation Web Site-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Charles Center
Dates of Research: Summer 2002
Title: Homing Behavior in Musk Turtles
Research Student: Christina Smar '04
Research Products:
· Poster: Verizon Undergraduate Science Symposium at the College of William and Mary 2002
· Smar, C.M. and R.M. Chambers. Submitted. Homing behavior in musk turtles. Southeastern Naturalist.
· Smar, C.M. Abstract and PowerPoint Presentation Web Site-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Environmental Science and Policy Cluster
Dates of Research: Summer 2001
Title: Population Ecology of Musk Turtles in Lake Matoaka
Research Student: Radhika Dave '02
Research Products:
· Holinka, A.M., R. Dave and R.M. Chambers. In Press. Population ecology of stinkpot turtles in a lake on the mid-Atlantic coastal plain. Chelonian Conservation and Biology.
· Holinka, A.M. and R. Dave Abstract and PowerPoint Presentation Web Site-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Environmental Science and Policy Cluster
Dates of Research: Summer 2001
Title: Impacts of upland development on salamander abundance in downstream forested wetlands
Research Student: Kristin Murphy '02
Research Products:
· Poster: Verizon Undergraduate Science Symposium at the College of William and Mary 2001
· Murphy, K.J., M.A. Turns and R.M. Chambers. In Revision. Salamander abundance as an indicator of environmental disturbance on the Virginia coastal plain.
· Murphy, K.J. and M.A. Turns Abstract and PowerPoint Presentation Web Site-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Charles Center/NCUR-Lancy Foundation
Dates of Research: Summer 2001
Title: Salamander Abundance at the Crossroads: The New Town Project
Research Student: Michael Turns '02
Research Products:
· Poster: Verizon Undergraduate Science Symposium at the College of William and Mary 2001
· Murphy, K.J., M.A. Turns and R.M. Chambers. In Revision. Salamander abundance as an indicator of environmental disturbance on the Virginia coastal plain.
· Murphy, K.J. and M.A. Turns Abstract and PowerPoint Presentation Web Site-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsor: Charles Center/Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Dates of Research: Summer 2001
Title: A Population Study of Diamondback Terrapins in Queens Creek
Research Student: Adam Spiller '02
Research Products:
· Poster: Vertebrates of Tidal Marshes Symposium at Patuxent MD 2002
· Poster: Verizon Undergraduate Science Symposium at the College of William and Mary 2001
· Spiller, A. Abstract and PowerPoint Presentation Web Site