CREST Center for the Integrated Study of Coastal Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic region

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The goals of the CREST Center for the Integrated Study of Coastal Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics in the Mid-Atlantic Region are to:Understand, model and predict the effects of land use and climate change on the mid-Atlantic coastal ecosystems.Provide research training to high school students and teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, particularly from members of underrepresented groups.Improve infrastructure for research and education in marine and environmental sciences.Increase public awareness of the interdependence of humans and the coastal environment.The research team will focus on five important components of the aquatic ecosystem, all of which have economic and environmental implications for people living in coastal areas:(1) The effects of land use and climate change on water quality, (2) the response of microscopic algae and seaweed, including harmful species, to water quality changes (3) dynamics of zooplankton (microscopic animals floating in water) populations, which serve as food for commercially and ecologically important fish species (4) the effects of the recurring problem of low dissolved oxygen and pollution on fish populations such as Atlantic croaker, and (5) the effects of water quality changes on the infection of blue crab by the parasite Hematodinium and on blue crab distributions in Maryland?s coastal bays. These projects will contribute to our understanding of the coastal environment and the ways organisms respond to changes in their environment. Research results will be made directly available to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service, who are collaborators on the project. The results will also be used to enhance undergraduate and graduate courses offered by the scientists who are involved in the project at UMES, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, and Morgan State University, thereby impacting more students than are directly supported by the Center.Intellectual MeritThe five integrated subprojects will contribute to increased understanding of processes and dynamics in coastal lagoons and estuaries. Changes in water quality associated with climate change and human modifications of boarding land will increase the understanding of how coastal communities respond to such stressors. The Center will contribute significantly to the disciplines of marine and environmental sciences and it would provide a baseline to evaluate environmental change at the ecosystem scale from both human and climatic drivers.Broader ImpactThe Center will establish and strengthen partnerships with several state and federal agencies, as well as with other universities, including one HBCU (Morgan State University). In order to ensure that the next generation of marine scientists is both well trained and reflective of America?s diversity, the CREST Center will also provide training and financial support to eight graduate students, five undergraduates, 10 high school teachers, 5 high school students and one postdoctoral fellow each year. These students will work alongside CREST faculty on all phases of research and will be well positioned for careers in Universities, federal, state and private agencies dedicated to marine research. By working with teachers to infuse marine environmental science into the high school curricula, the Center will have a positive impact on 200 high school students on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.