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This poster demonstrates an alternative approach to conventional sediment erosion control structures, such as interlocking sheathing, rip-rap and treated timber bulk-heading in an estuarine setting through the use of oyster shell technology.
The multi-partner approach of this project, coupled with the novel engineering design and the benefits of both enhanced habitat creation (intertidal oyster reef) and ecosystem services (essential fisheries habitat, sediment control and the use of native vegetation plantings), make this demonstration project unique.
It is hoped that this type of technology will eventually be embraced by public and private sectors to provide enhanced value and a viable alternative to conventional hardened shoreline armoring.
This poster is a composite information display that demonstrates some of the methods and technology that scientists are using on the Georgia coast in their approach to gathering data on Sea Level Rise (SLR) and climate change effects on the Georgia coast.
This work is coupled in many ways with coastal conservation planning and human adaptation. The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research program (GCE-LTER) has provided a preliminary model of habitat shifts likely to occur within the Altamaha River basin with different inundation model increases.
Likewise, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) efforts at conservation planning in relation to SLR on Georgia's coastline are also highlighted within the poster.
This latest iteration of the Reserves interests in Living Shorelines has been completed on Little Saint Simons Island. This poster presentation demonstrates two new advances in Georgia’s estuarine Living Shorelines. The first includes interspersed vegetation plantings of Spartina alterniflora within the oyster bags. The second is a scientific advancement in which the UGA Marine Extension Service is experimenting with how finfish utilize this created oyster reef shoreline by monitoring essential fish habitat (EFH) and recording the number of individuals and the number of species present as the reef and shoreline build in complexity.
This social science study was co-sponsored by the Georgia Sea Grant Program and the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve. Danyel Addes, a PhD student of the University of Georgia Marine Programs, conducted a listening survey from a county-wide array of long-term McIntosh County residents to better understand the effects of changes in: land cover (habitat), land use, and natural resources, upon the social-economic structure and livelihoods of the county residents. Industrial timber practices and commercial fishing of marine and estuarine resources comprise the larger foundation of the local economy, both today, as it has over the last two centuries. This informative study allows the viewer both an understanding of current and historical resource and economic trends in McIntosh County, while also gaining insights into how the county's population interprets changes in these trends and practices.