Major Investment of Research Funding to Focus on Key Aspects of Long Island Sound Ecosystem

Groton, CT –In the largest award for Long Island Sound research in the history of the collaboration between the Connecticut and New York Sea Grant programs and the EPA’s Long Island Sound Study, 13 projects have been selected that will improve understanding of factors impacting several fish species, shellfish, water quality and restoration of the estuary’s salt marshes.                                                                              

“New York Sea Grant is thrilled to continue this long-standing partnership with the EPA Long Island Sound Study and our sister program across the Sound, Connecticut Sea Grant,“ said Rebecca Shuford, director of New York Sea Grant. “The most recent award cycle represents the largest single investment in the LISS research portfolio to date. With topics ranging from water quality improvement to salt marsh restoration to fish and shellfish population dynamics, all with explicitly defined societal benefit and actionable outcomes, we are certain this body of work will make a tangible impact on the interlinked ecosystems, communities, and economies of the Long Island Sound.” 

The awards will provide scientists at five institutions in Connecticut and New York with $6.7 million in research funding, leveraging an additional $3.5 million in matched dollars. The one- to two-year projects will begin in January. The research initiative is designed to support science-based management of the Sound and its resources, and the implementation of the Long Island Sound Study’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the waterway.

“The diversity of projects reflects the need to care about not only water quality, but also habitats and associated fish and shellfish, to gain information on Long Island Sound as a whole ecosystem,” said Sylvain De Guise, director of Connecticut Sea Grant. “What those projects have in common, though, is that they all aim to inform management practices to continue to improve the health of Long Island Sound as an important resource for economic and recreational activities.”

The Long Island Sound Study distributed the federal funds to Connecticut Sea Grant and New York Sea Grant to manage the research project program. The Long Island Sound Study began the research funding initiative for the Sound in 2000, and the Sea Grant programs took over management of it in 2008.

The Long Island Sound Study, developed under the EPA’s National Estuary Program, is a cooperative effort between the EPA and the states of Connecticut and New York to protect and restore the Sound and its ecosystem. To learn more about the Long Island Sound Study, visit the website.

 “This research award is an investment that demonstrates EPA’s dedication to developing evidence-based solutions to enhance water quality, restore critical habitats, and build resilience against climate change impacts,” said Lisa F. Garcia, administrator for EPA Region 2, which includes New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and eight Indian Nations.

“By deepening our scientific understanding of the Sound’s ecosystem, we’re helping communities better protect this treasured resource for future generations.”

EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash said the funding will pay dividends far into the future.

“This funding will enable the collection and analysis of vital scientific data to inform our management decisions and help ensure a healthier, more resilient Long Island Sound for years to come,” he said. 

One group of projects will explore water quality issues, including hypoxia and excess nutrients entering the estuary:

• “Reducing Non-Point Source Nitrogen Loads from Residential Septic Systems: Identifying Barriers and Opportunities for Large-Scale Water Quality Improvements.” PI: Jamie Vaudrey, CT NERR, University of Connecticut; federal funds: $812,255
  Summary: Households will be surveyed about alternatives to septic systems, and the results will be used to inform management actions that may include incentives and programs to reduce economic barriers to new systems. The project will also address nitrogen loads from coastal communities and fertilizer use under current and future scenarios and assess costs and impacts of a program to promote alternative treatment systems. Outreach materials will be used to communicate ways to engage residents in efforts to reduce nitrogen inputs.
• “Improved Mechanistic Understanding of Hypoxia Drivers in Western Long Island Sound Enabled with Data from a Wire-Following Profiler and Coupled Biogeochemical-Hydrodynamic Modeling.” PI: Cara C.M. Manning, University of Connecticut; federal funds: $499,570
  Summary: Oxygen depletion, wave action, gas exchange and other variables will be measured in the western Sound using an electronic profiler and modeling over a four-month period. The data will be used to improve understanding of the factors that lead to hypoxia, and the duration and severity of hypoxic conditions.
• “Testing Dissolved Oxygen Models in Long Island Sound.” PI: James O’Donnell, University of Connecticut; federal funds: $750,000
  Summary: Three hypothesis about the mechanisms controlling hypoxia in western Long Island Sound will be tested. The testing will be done with new but demonstrated equipment to create a dataset describing oxygen exchanges and mixing. An advisory committee will guide the project and ensure that its outputs are useful to people involved in management of the Sound.
• “Nutrients, Algal Blooms and Hypoxia: Retrospective and Prescient Approaches for the Future Management of Long Island Sound.” PI: Christopher J. Gobler, Stony Brook University; federal funds: $325,658
  Summary: This project will assess effects of excess nutrients on the proliferation of phytoplankton and harmful algal blooms (HABs), hypoxia and carbon sinking under different temperature scenarios expected with climate change. It will also identify levels of nutrient reduction needed to reduce these effects, solicit feedback and communicate findings with CT and NY management agencies.
• “Assessing the Role of Nitrogen Form and Inputs on Long Island Sound Harmful Algal Bloom Development for Actionable Water Quality Management.” PI: Dianne I. Greenfield, City University of New York; federal funds: $597,845
  Summary: Researchers will evaluate water quality, nutrients and phytoplankton at sites directly downstream and away from wastewater treatment plant outfalls during dry and wet periods, assess the relationship between nitrogen inputs and HABs, and identify tipping points that trigger HABs species proliferation. Findings will be shared with shellfish managers, municipal wastewater agencies, advocacy groups and researchers.

Another group will study various aspects of salt marshes dynamics and restoration challenges:

• “Tidal Marsh Mediation of Long Island Sound Embayment Nutrient Dynamics.” PI: Craig Tobias, CT NERR, University of Connecticut; federal funds: $498,074
  Summary: Researchers will quantify the impact of salt marshes on nitrogen levels in Long Island Sound embayments, an important factor in water quality and overall ecosystem health. Isotope tracers and other techniques will be used to model how nitrogen is buried in marshes and then reintroduced to embayment waters via drainage of marsh waters.
• “Quantifying Patterns and Drivers of Marsh Elevation Change Across Long Island Sound: Using an Existing Data Network to Inform Restoration Planning and Implementation.” PI: Giovanna McClenachan, Stony Brook University; federal funds: $332,282
  Summary: At specific salt marshes in CT and NY, rates of elevation gain will be calculated, landscape conditions influencing elevation change will be quantified, and plant decay rates measured. Restoration managers will be provided with data to maximize tidal marsh elevation gain, increasing their resilience to sea level rise.
• “Advancing Coastal Wetland Restoration Outcomes: Examining Temporal Trajectories and Spatial Variation of Past Management Interventions Across the Long Island Sound.” PI: Beth A. Lawrence, University of Connecticut; federal funds: $838,517
  Summary: Researchers will evaluate salt marsh restoration recovery progress and resilience over time, using field date from restoration sites across the Sound. The results will be used to inform diverse audiences about the challenges and opportunities of coastal restoration.
• “Impact of Adaptive Management and Assisted Migration on Salt Marsh Restoration Health and Resilience.” PI: Sarah C. Crosby, The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk; federal funds: $431,535
  Summary: Characteristics of soils and grasses planted at successful and unsuccessful restoration sites in Great Meadows Marsh in Stratford will be assessed to provide guidance to improve restoration outcomes. Salt marsh grass species from local and southern sources will be planted within and outside of structures that mimic warming climate conditions to inform future restoration work.
• “Deciding When, Where and How to Use and Amend Sediment Additions to Increase Salt Marsh Resilience.” PI: Ashley Helton, University of Connecticut; federal funds: $550,000
  Summary: The practice of using soils from dredging projects to raise salt marsh elevation and enhance marsh resilience will be assessed to determine when and where these soils become acidic and inhibit plant growth, decreasing value for wildlife and reducing carbon storage. Researchers will quantify the effects of flooding and amendments to dredged soils to act as a buffer.

Two of the projects will look at important fish species facing declines: river herring and four types of flounder, and a third will study the effects of farmed oysters on wild populations. These are:

• “Bottoming Out? Testing Hypothesis on Why Long Island Sound Flatfishes Are Disappearing.” PI: Eric T. Schultz, UConn; federal funds: $283,128
  Summary: Research will seek to determine the role of increasing competition for food in declines in four flatfish species (summer flounder, windowpane flounder, winter flounder and fourspot flounder). Stomach contents of these flatfish species along with those of recently abundant competitor species (black sea bass, scup and dusky smoothhound) will be analyzed.
• “Forecasting How Future Droughts and Land Development Will Impact River Herring Populations with Hydrologic- and Population-Dynamic Modeling.” PI: James O. Knighton, University of Connecticut; federal funds: $496,219
  Summary: Researchers will create a dataset of the age and size of in-migrating adult river herring and out-migrating juveniles over two seasons and compare with historical samples to determine the impacts of streamflow and diminished connectivity among spawning ponds on population health. Forecasts of how future climate and land cover change will impact river hearing populations will be developed to inform management decisions.
• “Restorative Aquaculture: Measuring the Extent of Ecosystem Services from Aquaculture Farms.” PI: Matthew P. Hare, Cornell University; federal funds: $242,754
  Summary: Research will investigate the contribution of oyster farms to wild oyster populations through migration of larvae from farmed oysters into native populations. Positive and negative consequences of genetic mixing of wild and farmed oyster populations will also be assessed.

“The number of selected research projects is the largest ever for the Long Island Sound Study-NY Sea Grant-Connecticut Sea Grant collaboration,” said Syma Ebbin, research coordinator at Connecticut Sea Grant. “It reflects growing federal investment in and recognition of the benefits of generating better scientific understandings coupled with end-user focused applications aimed at improving the quality and management of Long Island Sound.”

Lane Smith, research coordinator for New York Sea Grant, said this research investment will improve management of Long Island Sound.

“We are excited to make these researchers’ projects a reality, and look forward to their results,” Smith said. “This research will benefit the Sound community and bring us new information on how best to manage and care for the Sound ecosystem.”

More information: Judy Benson, Connecticut Sea Grant: judy.benson@uconn.edu, Paul Focazio, New York Sea Grant: paul.focazio@stonybrook.edu

About New York and Connecticut Sea Grant:
New York Sea Grant, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), and Connecticut Sea Grant, based at the UConn Avery Point campus in Groton, are two of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

This news release was originally distributed by CT Sea Grant on Dec. 11, 2024.