Bethany Lake Shoreline Restoration

This week has been very itchy to say the least. A hefty amount of Poison Ivy and chiggers will do that. All for the greater good, though.

I've been working with Eric Buehl, habitat coordinator for the CIB, in Lake Bethany on a shoreline restoration project. Eric told me the 500 foot stretch of shoreline in the quiet Bethany community was selected because it is a natural rookery for about ten herons! The fetch (or distance over which wind blows on water) is great enough to create waves that damage this natural habitat.

Shoreline in danger at Lake Bethany. Notice the trees leaning toward the water. About a foot and a half off the shore the Coir Logs can be seen.

To prevent erosion, Eric ordered a truckload of coconut fiber logs called Coir Logs to place between the shoreline and incoming waves. Not only do the logs act as a barrier, but they also catch eroding sediment behind them, creating a stronger shoreline. Soon we will be planting native marsh grasses within the logs to stabilize the area even further. The logs naturally decay between 3-5 years and by then we hope to have a strong, solid shoreline at Lake Bethany. Thank you to all the volunteers that helped with the preparation and installation! Here are some photos of the work being done:

 Bob and Eric doing some prep work.

 Installing the 12' x 12" diameter logs.

 

 They already like what we've done to the place!

Decked Out, Sunset Park Environment Day

It sure has been a long time since an entry on here. Late July is one busy time for the CIB I've found. E.J and Jenn have kept me busy on multiple projects.

Perhaps the focal point of my internship, I have been preparing for, assisting with, and thanking everyone for our Decked Out event. It truly was a blast, and the silent auction was exciting and suspenseful. I'm truly grateful that I have been a part of this cool fundraiser to improve the quality of our estuary. To all who came out, thanks again! And for those who didn't, make sure to join the party for next year! Here are some pictures of the festivities:

 Me and Caitlin handling the nametags and handing out fishbeads at the entrance.

 The steel drum band.

Enjoying the sunset with some drinks.

A beautiful dessert arrangement. (Donated by Cultured Pearl)

 Everyone loves chocolate covered strawberries. (Donated by Edible Arrangements)

 Two native beach plums up for auction. (Donated by East Coast Garden Center)

A low number print donated by Ellen Rice and a kayak donated by NRG up for auction.

Other than that event, the month of July has been full of construction. Miscellaneous projects at the James farm such as a new kiosk (check it out!), and fencing. Also we've built 30 new oyster pots to facilitate our expanding Oyster Gardening Program. Spat and adolescent oysters have been delivered to 5 new gardeners already. Check out this monster we found a week ago:

Speaking of adolescents, yesterday was the Sunset Park Environment Day. Children from all over, including the Dewey Beach Junior Lifeguards were there having fun while learning the importance of the environment. Children built Wetland Charms with us, played with a touch tank with Envirotech, operated aquatic ROVs (remote operated vehicles) with Sea Grant, and a whole lot more that I didn't get to experience : / Overall a rewarding day. Here are some pictures:

 Kids operating the ROV

Building wetland charms. Each piece has an important meaning.

Well I think that catches us up for now. Back to work!

Citizen's Monitoring Program

Citizen’s Monitoring Program

Once a week, the Center for the Inland Bays aids the University of Delaware’s Citizen Monitoring Program to assess the water quality of our tidal waters. This program specifically targets dissolved oxygen levels, harmful algae blooms, nuisance aquatic vegetation, and bacterial concentrations.

Monitoring sites for the Citizen's Monitoring Program around the bays and Broadkill River.

Each Tuesday morning I have gone to the James Farm Ecological Preserve to take water samples and record physical water characteristics. I’ve learned that it’s important to take these measurements in the morning because the dissolved oxygen values are at the lowest in their daily cycle. Using an electronic instrument called a YSI, dissolved oxygen, temperature, salinity, and pH can be recorded. It is also important to the program to report macro-algae (visible algae as opposed to invisible to the naked eye microalgae). Finally, two water samples are placed in containers and must be kept cool so that true bacterial and algal concentrations are recorded when analyzed in the lab. Overall, it’s pretty simple. However, with the input of many volunteers and study sites around the bays, scientists can assess the safety and quality of our bays.

The YSI model we have at the Center for the Inland Bays. Used to calculate dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity.

This water quality monitoring program has helped Delaware beaches receive a 5 star national by the National Resources Defense Council. Find out how you can join the effort to protect Delaware's water quality at http://www.citizen-monitoring.udel.edu/

Inland Bays Clean up

They’ve kept me busy here at the CIB lately, but I’ve finally gotten a chance to update you all on what has been going on in the past week. The subject I’ll be highlighting on in this entry is one of the most rewarding projects I’ve experienced as an intern here—The Inland Bays Clean up.

The Center for the Inland Bays organizes an annual clean up of the bays in cooperation with state and local employees such as the Division of Fish and Wildlife and Delmarva Paddlesports. Community organizations like the Dewey Beach Lion's Club and Delaware Surf Fishing were also there. This event not only improves the quality of the bays, but brings people of all types in the community together. Help with the project ranged from teenagers to seniors, fishermen to scientists, locals to tourists.

Some of the 2012 Clean Up Crew

The day started with gathering at Massey’s landing in Long Neck, DE, a crowded boat launching/pier fishing spot. I dragged my girlfriend along with me at 9 a.m to set up with CIB staff. The event needed a “refueling station” stocked with hotdogs, chips, redbull, and water. Once everyone was there, boats began zipping off in all directions on a mission to gather garbage.

(Left) Refuse from the bays after the first trip. (Right) Most of my crew with the industrial size chain found.

The boat I was on visited and Island on the north side of Indian River Bay. We came back with a boat load (literally speaking) of treated wood, cans, trash, metal, and crab pots. We also had some odd finds such as a golf bag and a giant version of a rusty bicycle chain. By the day’s end we almost had a full dumpster full of refuse on its way to a healthier disposal.

A trapped terrapin in an abandoned crab pot. Volunteer for future events so things like this don't happen!

The Center for the Inland Bays will be conducting another bay clean up of the Little Assawoman Bay later in the season. Frequent http://www.inlandbays.org/ to be updated on our events. Also, I will put something on here when a date, time, and place is set.

Banding Baby Ospreys

This guy's feathers are getting ruffled in the wind

The crew- CIB's Dennis Bartow, the interns, and volunteers

Three chicks surprised to see us

Caitlin holding a six-week-old Osprey

Two curious Ospreys on the lookout

This baby osprey is holding down the fort

A beautiful Opsrey landing on his nest

Two week-old siblings look hungry

Marine Eelgrass

What eelgrass typically looks
like when found in nature.

Down in the Sinepuxent Bay, a little north of Assateague Island, Maryland, a crew from the Center for Inland Bays traveled north to pick eelgrass seeds. For four days straight, in very chilly water, we boated over to an area of the bay where the bottom was densely covered in eelgrass. In our wetsuits we would jump in the water and blindly grab for strands that felt more bumpy than the rest. This indicated that these strands had eelgrass seeds embedded into them, similar to a peapod.

A seemingly slow process ended up surprising me in the end. We had filled up close to a large cooler each day, so after our four day harvest, a lot had accumulated.

This strand of eelgrass is filled with seeds.

At the end of the week, we had driven all of what we had collected up to Lewes to place it in a tank with flowing water. The eelgrass has been there for over a month now. The strands of grass decompose and the seeds inside sink to the bottom.

Every few weeks, Nick and I will travel up to Lewes to weed out the strands with no seeds in them to keep the tank clean and so we can have as much pure eelgrass seeds as possible. By the end of the season, all of our hard work, collecting, cleaning and maintaining the seeds all summer will be scattered in the Inland Bays, where they will hopefully start to grow.

Background On Eelgrass:

Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called marine eelgrass. This is different from the freshwater plant genus Vallisneria which is also called "eelgrass".

This is the Center's eelgrass tank up in Lewes, DE.
The tank is much bigger looking in person!

Zostera can be found in a variety of marine coasts, including brackish bays. They can withstand a wide tidal range. Zostera beds are important for sediment deposition, substrate stabilization, and as nursery grounds for many species of economically important fish and shellfish. Eelgrass houses an extremely biodiverse range of marine life. Zostera often forms beds in bay mud in the estuarine setting. It is an important food for Brant Geese and Wigeons, and even (occasionally) caterpillars of the grass moth Dolicharthria punctalis.

The Inland Bays Volunteer Fish Monitoring Program

Twice a month the Inland Bays Volunteer Fish Monitoring Program visits four study site locations around the bays to examine the biodiversity of aquatic fauna in the Rehoboth Bay. Last week, I was able to tag along and assist with the fish survey.

I met with CIB Policy Coordinator Roy Miller, a fellow citizen friend of the bays, and the leader of the program, Ron Kernehan at the CIB office. Our first study site was near the Indian River Inlet Marina. Roy and I seined about 40 feet of the shoreline at the location. The amount of fish in the net was astonishing ! Right away I could tell some species were way more prevalent than others. Striped fish, spotted fish, shiny fish, and some funny looking fish flopped around on the beach. I had no idea what most of these fish were called, and I’ve lived right alongside of the Inland Bays most of my life.

 

 Some of the more rare species found that day:
(Top-Left) Northern Pipefish
(Right) Striped Blenny
(Bottom-Left) Northern Puffer

 

Ron told me that it was important to get some fish into buckets faster than others because each species has a different tolerance out of the water. The four of us quickly picked through what must’ve been over a thousand fish, all while trying not to get our fingers pinched by small crabs hiding beneath them. We measured 50 fish of each species at random, then counted and released the rest. Although for some species we only had one or two fish. Some of the fish species found included: Summer Flounder, Striped Killifish, Northern Puffer, Bluntnose Ray, Striped Blenny, Atlantic Silverside, Mummichog, Northern Pipefish, and Spot. I gained a new understanding for the aquatic diversity of the Inland Bays that day, a truly rewarding experience.

More can be found about the Inland Bays Fish Monitoring program and our swimming friends that inhabit the bays at http://www.inlandbays.org/3159-2/

The Eastern Oyster

Last week I was given the opportunity to aid Delaware State University graduate student, Brian Reckenbiel, with one of the hottest environmental topics in the Delaware Inland Bays community right now, oyster gardening.

Crassostrea virginica or the Eastern Oyster is a native shellfish of the Inland Bays of Delaware. They’re of particular interest right now because they have good environmental and economical implications. This bivalve will assist in stopping Eutrophication by consuming phytoplankton (therefore improving dissolved oxygen for other species), and it could provide another income source to fisheries.

Our task that day was to thin out mature oysters from the Taylor Floats of citizen oyster gardeners in the Fenwick Island area. A Taylor Float is a sort-of floating basket full of shell that promotes growth (because oysters need a hard substrate). Thinning the floats allows the gardeners to maintain the oysters easier and creates more room for the younger oysters (spat) to grow. While moving the oysters I found crabs, baitfish, sea sponges, anemones, and even a terrapin!The oysters we collected will eventually be placed on structures around the Inland Bays to help mitigate marine pollution.

That day we also visited a study site in Bethany Beach to help quantify oyster growth in the Indian River Bay by measuring shell length, height, and thickness. This was important because it will help determine where oyster aquaculture is feasible. Overall a great day's work!

Spat on shell (bottom); Juvenille oyster (top)

If you would like to get involved/have questions about the Oyster Gardening Program you can contact:

EJ Chalabala
Delaware Center for the Inland Bays
39375 Inlet Road
Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971
Phone: (302) 226-8105
Fax: (302) 226-8109
Email: wildlife@inlandbays.org

James Farm Ecological Preserve



The James Farm Ecological Preserve created in 1998, owned by Sussex County and managed by the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, hosts 7th and 8th graders for field trips, where they are toured around the preserve and are taught all about the environment and ecology. I was lucky enough to tag along on a few of the field trips where we helped out the teachers.

The observatory facing one of the marshes

Dennis, the Center's Schoolyard Habitat Coordinator, runs the program and knows just about everything there is to know about James Farm. As he led me and half the group through the woods, he taught the kids about the history of the farm, all about wetlands, watersheds, and soil quality. Alice and Karen, two other teachers, lead the second half of the kids out to the beach where they learned about the abiotic water quality factors and learned how to seine. Seeing the kids all dressed up in their overall waders was adorable. They surprisingly caught over 8 different species, where Alice and Karen then helped identify them.


The beach at James Farm

As the technology era continues to grow, I was worried that younger kids would not be interested in what the 150-acre farm had to offer. I was joyed to see how much the kids loved it and wanted to come back with their friends and family. The teachers truly love being outdoor educators and the James Farm has so much to offer educationally.
This park features two miles of marked hiking trails, three observation platforms, a beachfront boardwalk and much more. Open all year round, it is definitely a beautiful place that I will be returning to even when I'm not working!

--Caitlin

Eastern Diamondback Terrapin

The Diamondback Terrapin

Last month, James Farm Property manager Bob Collins, fellow intern Eddy Meade, and I set out on Route 1 between Dewey Beach and Fenwick Island to set up terrapin crossing awareness signs for travelers.

The Diamondback Terrapin is native to eastern and southern United States and can be found in brackish waters near the coasts. These terrapins are plentiful in our inland bays but are in danger of being killed during their nesting season. The female Diamondback Terrapin lays her eggs from mid-May to mid-July in the soft sands of the dunes, across the highway from their normal habitat. During this time, drivers must use extra caution traveling along Route 1.

As the three of us traveled along the highway we too often saw the sight of a lifeless cracked shell. In three other instances we saw little black dots scurrying across the road ahead of us. We quickly hopped out of the truck, hoping that we could get to the terrapin before the traffic. Sometimes, we could only stand there, knowing that we could do nothing until the traffic was clear. One time, I watched as a dump truck came within inches of the terrapin as it hid inside its shell. Luckily we escorted all of them safely each time. CIB staff and interns saved six terrapins that day alone. While six may not seem like a lot, each female terrapin can reproduce for up to two decades. Therefore, each one killed is also a loss of all of the future offspring.

The Center for the Inland Bays would like to stress that you can help the Diamondback Terrapin! Follow these guidelines and you can help preserve the ecosystem:

http://www.inlandbays.org/diamondback-terrapin/


-- Nick

The American Oystercatcher

Last Wednesday, I went out on our Center for the Inland Bays pontoon boat with Eric, CIB's habitat coordinator, and Matt, an extremely knowledgeable bird expert from DNREC's Fish and Wildlife Department, When I first heard that I would be bird watching, I was a little worried because I had never been before and I heard it could get a little slow at times.

To my surprise, I had a really great tiem out on the boat. I learned a lot more about the Inland Bays, along with the species that inhabit them. That day, out particular interest was the American Oystercatcher, a funny looking bird, that can be immediately spotted with its bright orange beak. We were on the look out for babies (to see if the partners successfully hatched their eggs) and once we found one, at least six more babies were discovered on the island. They were cute little fluff balls running rapidly around their parents, so once you knew what you were looking for, they were easy to find.

Matt informed me that although the Oystercatcher population is low, they are not yet protected by the Endangered Species Act. So far, they look to be successfully repopulating in some of the marsh islands in the Indian River Bay. So remember-- don't pollute! Keep our bays clean so our Oystercatcher can survive! :)

--Caitlin