Beach State Park Research Articles

Recreational activity intersects foraging Ciconiiformes at the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park

Wading birds are considered to be ecological indicators for the health of natural habitats of South Florida. This observational study, using a fixed point count survey, focussed on the order Ciconiiformes, which are represented by three families, Ardeidae, Threskiornithidae and Ciconiidae in Florida. Many of the wading birds in South Florida are year round residents, but populations are supplemented with a few additional wintering members of species such as the Great Egret, Snowy Egret and Roseate Spoonbill. We wanted to investigate whether non-breeding or migratory wading birds utilised other local areas for foraging. We chose the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, located in Palm Beach County, Florida, as our study site. This park site was chosen as a result of personal observation of recreational activities directly on the tidal flats, anecdotal evidence of dwindling bird numbers, and a steady increase of human recreational activity. The purpose of this study was to (1) determine if these particular tidal flats provide any habitat significance to non-breeding wading birds, (2) determine if human recreational activities deter foraging and (3) provide information on supplemental foraging grounds exploited by Ciconiiformes. This study concludes that the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park is not currently a significant foraging ground utilised by Ciconiiformes and our data suggest that human recreational activities contribute direct intrusion for foraging wading birds at this intertidal estuary.

Above vs. belowground plant biomass along a barrier island: Implications for dune stabilization

Coastal regions are inherently and increasingly vulnerable and geomorphologically unstable, yet are invaluable economic and residential hubs. Dunes are dynamic buffers to erosion and the most natural, economical, and effective defense for coastal communities. Vegetation is integral to dune structure as it facilitates accretion and stabilization. Differences in the vegetation and root density likely translate to variability in coastal erosion prevention, but this notion has been largely unconsidered. We directly compared stabilizing factors, depth and density, of the root systems of two dominant mid-Atlantic dune plant species, native American beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata) and invasive Asiatic sand sedge (Carex kobomugi). Despite high plant density, C. kobomugi is targeted for removal in restoration efforts as its roots are assumed to provide less effective stabilization than A. breviligulata. We collected 30 cores and hand dug 14 A. breviligulata ramets at Island Beach State Park, New Jersey to examine biomass, root:shoot ratios, and root density. C. kobomugi had a more extensive root system with a root:shoot ratio of 11.36:1 compared to 1.62:1 for A. breviligulata. Similarly, cores 60 cm deep and 7.6 cm wide were sufficient to attain fully intact A. breviligulata roots, which did not extend deeper than 40 cm, but insufficient for C. kobomugi roots which extended beyond the sampling system vertically and horizontally. Scaling these findings to m−2, aboveground biomass is relatively equal, but C. kobomugi had over 700% more root mass m−2 than A. breviligulata. These results have strong implications for dune management. The root system of C. kobomugi may be better adapted to stabilize dunes and thus protect coastal areas during small and large-scale perturbations than previously supposed. This is a unique situation whereby the creation of monocultures will hyperstabilize dunes and make them more resistant to erosion at the cost of reduced biodiversity within the framework of resiliency.

Oregon Sea Stack: Ecological Diversity of a Modern Trypanites Ichnofacies

The paleoecology of rocky substrates in the rock record is commonly interpreted based on ichnology and is frequently associated with a bioeroding community (the Trypanites Ichnofacies) with low ichnological diversity. However, analyses of a modern, siliciclastic, intertidal hardground community at Lion Rock, located at Arcadia Beach State Park, Oregon, reveals a diverse community of boring, encrusting, and squatting/clinging organisms. Through observations and descriptions of organism distribution and abundance, more than 40 species of plants and animals are reported to reside within three littoral zones (upper, middle, and lower littoral zone) on the sea stack. A newly established erosional lower littoral zone is a subdivision of the lower littoral zone, where shifting foreshore sand influences colonization and biotic diversity. Borings are produced by four bivalves, Adula californiensis, Hiatella arctica, Penitella penita, and Zirfaea pilsbryi, and are identified as Gastrochaenolites traces. It is likely that ancient Trypanites Ichnofacies communities had considerably higher diversity and faunal abundance than their ichnological record indicates. It is also likely that Trypanites Ichnofacies are much more dynamic environments, with shifting sediment, wave energy and tidal energy influences. Comparisons with modern assemblages are thus crucial in assessing these environments in ancient successions.

Popham Beach, Maine: An example of engineering activity that saved beach property without harming the beach

Beach and property erosion on coasts is a widespread and chronic problem. Historical approaches to this issue, including seawalls and sand replenishment, are often inappropriate or too expensive. In Maine, seawalls were banned in 1983 and replenishment is too costly to employ. Replacement of storm-damaged buildings is also not allowed, and a precedent case on Popham Beach, Maine required that the owner remove an unpermitted building from a site where an earlier structure was damaged. When the most popular park in Maine, Popham Beach State Park, experienced inlet associated erosion that threatened park infrastructure (a bathhouse), temporary measures were all that the law allowed. Because it was clear that the inlet channel causing the erosion would eventually change course, the state opted to erect a temporary seawall with fallen trees at the site. This may or may not have slowed the erosion temporarily, but reassured the public that “something was being done”. Once a storm cut a new tidal inlet channel and closed off the old one, tidal water still entered the former channel and continued to threaten the bathhouse. To ultimately save the property, beach scraping was employed. Sand was scraped from the lower beach to construct a sand berm that deflected the tidal current away from the endangered property. This action created enough time for natural processes to drive the remains of the former spit onto the beach and widen it significantly. Whereas many examples of engineering practices exist that endanger instead of saving beaches, this example is one of an appropriate engineering effort to rescue unwisely located beach-front property.

Biodiversity of submerged aquatic vegetation in Lake Worth Cove, a protected region of Lake Worth Lagoon, Florida

Lake Worth Lagoon is an urban estuary and the primary estuarine water body in Palm Beach County, Florida. It has been estimated that over 87% of the natural shoreline vegetation has been disturbed in some way – in many cases replaced by seawalls, bulkheads, or subject to dredging or development. A portion of northern Lake Worth Lagoon is protected, located within the boundaries of John D. MacArthur Beach State Park, including the nearly 40 ha, semi-enclosed Lake Worth Cove. In an ongoing project conducted by a variety of stakeholders, including university faculty, undergraduate research assistants, park staff, scientists and volunteers, nondestructive field surveys of submerged aquatic vegetation were initiated within the Cove in 2010. All seven of Florida's seagrass species were found in the Cove, including the federally threatened species Halophila johnsonii (Johnson's seagrass) as well as Ruppia maritima (wigeongrass), a species which has never been documented within the Cove and rarely documented within the lagoon remote from freshwater sources. Within a particular 2 ha zone in the southern cove, all seven species were present. Lake Worth Cove has the highest seagrass diversity of any area in Lake Worth Lagoon and, along with the Indian River Lagoon, has the greatest seagrass diversity of any estuary in the Western Hemisphere. This diversity may be due to the semi-enclosed morphology of the estuary, and likely influenced by the variety of sediment types, depths and currents found within the cove. The protected nature of the area and the natural resource management efforts of the Florida Park Service likely enhance the community makeup and integrity of the submerged habitats. In many other natural areas, the biodiversity and value may not yet be documented, nor even known. Under current developmental pressure, the remnant natural areas within Lake Worth Lagoon are threatened. The ecological loss of these patches within urban landscapes would far outweigh the temporary economic benefit.

Naturalized Pine (Pinus nigra) Promotes Growth of Woody Vegetation in Native Sand Prairie: Impacts of Invasion 130 Years After Introduction

ABSTRACT: The successional dynamics of sand dune systems provide an opportunity to examine how non-native plant species affect plant communities over small spatial scales. We investigated the status of non-native pine species introduced as seeds about 130 years ago at Illinois Beach State Park, Illinois (IBSP). Five patchy stands of Pinus nigra (Austrian pine) were found and studied (spatial relations, age by dendrochronology, diameter, nearest neighbor distance) to reconstruct the invasion process. Pinus nigra forms limited age range stands. Recruitment is episodic not only in time but also spatially. Each P. nigra age class stand is associated with significantly different ground layer vegetation categories that are different from each other as well as from the nearby sand prairie areas. Woody plant ground layer vegetation increased progressively as pine stands matured. This progressive temporal change with stand age is also reflected in a significant effect of distance from a tree on ground layer vegeta...

Evaluating the effects of foraging habitat restoration on shorebird reproduction: the importance of performance criteria and comparative design

Coastal development and engineering projects preclude ecosystem processes that provide habitat for beach nesting birds. Management for coastal species may depend on actions that attempt to restore important habitat features and mitigate disturbance effects. However, species response to restoration or other management actions may be difficult to predict or measure. At Jones Beach State Park, on Long Island, New York, a 0.49 ha restoration project provided moist substrate foraging habitat for breeding Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) from 2002 to 2005. We examined whether foraging habitat restoration affected Piping Plover breeding population size, productivity, and fledgling production within 300 m of the restoration site. We found a positive relationship between habitat restoration and the number of fledglings produced per year. However, foraging habitat restoration did not significantly increase the number of Plover pairs breeding at Jones Beach. Our ability to evaluate restoration effects on Plovers depended on: 1) use of multiple performance criteria; 2) a design that allowed comparison of pre- and post-restoration data; and 3) a spatial control that allowed comparison of similar areas that were near and far from the restoration site. Despite the small size of the restoration project, there were measurable benefits to Plovers, indicating that foraging habitat restoration may be an effective tool for species recovery.

Trends in Piping Plover Reproduction at Jones Beach State Park, NY, 1995–2007

Abstract We evaluated thirteen years (1995–2007) of Charadrius melodus (Piping Plover) nesting activity at Jones Beach State Park (JBSP) to examine temporal trends in the number of pairs, productivity, total young produced per year, and nest initiation. The number of plover pairs has decreased over time at JBSP, while productivity (and total number of young produced per year) has increased. Productivity has increased more at JBSP compared to other areas in their range. In addition, nest initiation was significantly later in the nesting season in recent years. Increased productivity indicates that management efforts to increase this population parameter may have had a positive effect on nesting plovers. The decreased numbers of nesting pairs, however, suggests that management techniques to increase numbers of breeding pairs, such as nesting-habitat restoration, may also be necessary to increase local population size. In the absence of suitable nesting habitat for recruitment of locally fledged birds, JBSP ...

Getting Along with a Little Help from My Friends

The successful launching of the Russian satellite Sputnik in October 1957 changed the course of American science and my future. The shock waves reached my high school in Freeport, NY, a complacent suburb on the south shore of Long Island notable for its easy access to New York City and Jones Beach State Park. The school was uninspiring; its heroes were the athletes and cheerleaders, who were objects of admiration and respect especially by those outside their circle.

Evidence for an Alleghanian (Early Carboniferous to Late Permian) tectonothermal event in the New Jersey Coastal Plain basement from 40Ar/39Ar biotite data, geochemistry and gravity modeling

40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of biotite from felsic orthogneiss recovered from the −3890-foot level of the Island Beach State Park (IBSP) well beneath the outer New Jersey Coastal Plain was accomplished using CO 2 laser incremental-heating techniques. Over 75% of the Ar released from the incremental-heating experiment form a well-behaved plateau with a calculated age of 243.98 ± 0.10 Ma. The new 244 Ma biotite age reported here is a cooling age younger than the metamorphic event that crystallized or reheated the biotite. We consider reheating of older biotite to be unlikely because the concordant 40 Ar/ 39 Ar spectrum upon repeated incremental laser heating showed a well-developed plateau. Thus, biotites from the IBSP gneiss are interpreted as having crystallized during a single thermal event, followed by cooling to below 300 °C. The IBSP well falls on a structural and geophysical anomaly trend that is along strike with rocks of the Bronson Hill anticlinorium to the north of the IBSP gneiss. Locally graphitic metasedimentary schists and gneisses recovered from New Jersey wells inboard of the IBSP well gneiss correlate to similar lithologies of the Connecticut Valley synclinorium west of the Hartford basin. Our reinterpretation of the IBSP gneiss as metamorphosed dacite or dacitic tuff is consistent with a correlation to some rocks of the Bronson Hill magmatic arc east of the Hartford basin. If correct, this would imply a Late Ordovician age for the protolith of the IBSP gneiss. Reported 40 Ar/ 39 Ar biotite ages of 235–253 Ma from southwestern Rhode Island, and of 238–247 Ma from southeastern Connecticut, are interpreted as cooling ages following a tectonothermal event associated with the Alleghanian orogeny (Early Carboniferous to Late Permian). Cooling ages of Alleghanian age (Early Carboniferous to Late Permian) are not recognized west of the Bronson Hill volcanic arc in either central Connecticut or in Massachusetts. Therefore, the 244 Ma cooling age presented here, and the geochemical affinity of the IBSP gneiss to some orthogneisses of the Bronson Hill arc, support an interpretation of the IBSP well as representing the southern continuation of the Bronson Hill arc into New Jersey. Moreover, it documents the presence of rocks beneath the outer New Jersey Coastal Plain that experienced a Permian Alleghanian metamorphism.

The Real Rosebud: The Triumph of a Lakota Woman (review)

Reviewed by: The Real Rosebud: The Triumph of a Lakota Woman Susan Gardner Marjorie Weinberg. The Real Rosebud: The Triumph of a Lakota Woman. Foreword by Luke Yellow Robe. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004. 101pp. Cloth, $19.95. Some years ago, following the paper trail of Ella Deloria’s correspondence in collections scattered over the Midwest and the northeastern coast, I located a one-page letter to “Rosebud” (whoever she was) suggesting that they might work together. From the context, educational outreach pertaining to American Indians was somehow involved, and Deloria promised that her materials were authentic. What came of that suggestion I don’t know, but with the publication [End Page 367]of Marjorie Weinberg’s The Real Rosebud: The Triumph of a Lakota Woman, now I know that Deloria was addressing a colleague based in New York City, Rosebud Yellow Robe. The granddaughter of a Brule Sioux who had fought against Custer and daughter of one of the Carlisle Indian School’s most celebrated graduates, Yellow Robe (1907–92) was one of a number of Indian women who succeeded with careers in performance widely defined: nightclub acts, hotel stages, public speaking, radio (and eventually television) programs, storytelling, theater, and movies. Rosebud starred in all but the latter: Cecil B. DeMille wanted her for Ramona(a part eventually played by Dolores Del Rio), but Rosebud’s father, Chauncey Yellow Robe, a member of the Society of American Indians, was vehemently opposed to Wild West Shows and Hollywood’s portrayals of Indians. Ironically enough, he is remembered, among his many distinguished achievements, as the writer and speaker for the prologue to the movie The Silent Enemy(1930). He also played the role of the chief Chetoga who dies from that enemy (starvation), and the privations he practiced to prepare for that role may well have killed him. Rosebud continued her father’s efforts to educate the mainstream culture about North America’s Indigenous peoples, in her case Lakotas and eastern woodland peoples, but in a successful format and venue of her own. There are undoubtedly more analytical and theoretical possibilities for telling Rosebud’s story, but Weinberg eschews placing her in broader political and historical contexts (although her narrative is enriched by findings from both, over decades of research) or in the history of American Indian women, particularly in New York City, in performance. For her, Rosebud was “teacher, friend, and second mother”; this biography fulfills a promise to continue Rosebud’s own research about her family (which, for Weinberg, is ongoing). They first met when Weinberg, a lonely thirteen year old whose mother was ill, talked her father into letting her and her sister attend Rosebud’s “Indian Village” summer culture camps at Jones Beach State Park on Long Island: this biography, in effect, started on a beach, continued in public libraries, and led Weinberg to graduate study in anthropology. It is the account of a friendship that lasted forty-five years, until Rosebud’s death, with Weinberg as well as Rosebud’s daughter and granddaughter at her side. Thinking how to situate this eloquent and moving tribute, I think of another “testament” of friendship written by Vera Brittain after the death of her friend Winifred Holtby, a novelist and social activist, in 1940. In both books each woman’s life is reciprocally transformed by the other. If we seek a more “Indian” context in which to locate Rosebud’s life, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn’s (Crow Creek Sioux) essay “The American Indian Woman in the Ivory Tower” (in Why I Can’t Read Wallace Stegner and Other Essays: [End Page 368] A Tribal Voice) presents some of the quandaries and restricted opportunities available for educated Indian women, some of mixed heritage, in the early decades of the twentieth century: For the women who, after schooling, did not return to the reservations, for the women who ignored traditional marriage patterns by marrying nontribal men, for the women whose children no longer represented the bloodlines of the tribes, the matter of claiming intellectual, spiritual, or social leadership roles was complicated and difficult. They often became useful only as they served to further and support assimilationist views and were often...

The Vascular Flora of Huggins Island, Onslow County, North Carolina

Huggins Island, a Significant Natural Heritage Area in Onslow County, North Carolina, was incorporated into Hammocks Beach State Park in 1999. The 60 ha island has a long history of human activity, exemplified by shell middens, a Civil War earthen fortification, and farm clearings. An inventory of the flora from 2001–2005 found 192 species of vascular plants in 148 genera and 75 families. Thirteen species were new county records, and five species were Significantly Rare in North Carolina. Thirteen species of exotics occurred, 10 of which are invasive in the Southeast. Eleven major plant communities were recognized, including previously recognized, globally rare, maritime swamp forest. The largest community was maritime evergreen forest, and the most species rich was shell midden community. Few signs of human habitation and farming were visible, but most of the upland had storm damage, likely resulting from a series of hurricanes from the mid-1990s.

Geophysical Monitoring Through a Tidal Cycle at Crescent Beach State Park, Maine

This paper presents results of an experiment in which data from a combination of geophysical methods (resistivity, induced polarization, electromagnetic profiling, and magnetic profiling) were used to identify shallow geologic and hydrogeologic structure, and to enhance understanding of groundwater flow in a dynamic beach environment. Based on this study, well sorted beach sand is underlain by laterally variable glacial till, which overlies bedrock. An extensive patch of glacial till was mapped toward the ocean side of the beach. Bedrock has lithologic variability, as evidenced by a non-uniform magnetic response. In particular, a northeast-southwest trending magnetic body, believed to be a basalt dyke, was detected by its magnetic signature. During the transgressive phase of the tidal cycle, saline groundwater flow appeared to be quite rapid, extending ahead of the surfical water by at least [Formula: see text], as evidenced by the electromagnetic response. During the regressive phase, a slug of saline water remained up beach from the high tide mark for several hours prior to draining. Also during this regression, electromagnetic evidence for preferential groundwater flow pathways, probably bedrock fracture zones, was observed. These fracture zones appear to contain a relatively constant concentration of saltwater, while surficial sediments above and to the side are flushed with fresh groundwater during tidal regression.

INLAND FALL MIGRATION OF RED-THROATED LOONS

Lake Ontario is the only Great Lake where a significant number of Red-throated Loons are seen during fall migration. Observations from Hamlin Beach State Park, New York during fall months, 1993–1997, were used to analyze their movements. Annually, an average of 7750 Red-throated Loons were counted moving mostly west on the south shore of Lake Ontario. Their median date of occurrence was 22 November with the peak period of migration from 17 November to 1 December. The earliest migrants appeared in mid-October and became extremely rare after December. The seasonal timing on Lake Ontario corresponds to that observed on the Atlantic Ocean at Avalon, New Jersey. Their occurrence on Lake Ontario was analyzed with respect to local and mid-arctic weather conditions. The variable which best correlates with their appearance is mid-arctic temperature. On average, large flights (>200 loons per day) began on Lake Ontario 3 d after the invasion of a cold air mass is centered approximately 1100 km to the north. After this event, the period of sustained flight was maintained for 7–16 d when 80% of migration takes place. The fall arrival pattern of Red-throated Loons on Lake Ontario implies that migration takes place under any type of weather conditions, but local temperature, wind direction, and the movement of cold fronts are all weakly correlated to their migration. Inland fall sight records of Red-throated Loons from American Birds suggest that the main inland migration route is through western Pennsylvania. This is consistent with observations of Red-throated Loons leaving the western end of Lake Ontario. A smaller part of the inland migration is east of Lake Ontario based on these records.

High Resolution Seismic Reflection Images of New Jersey Coastal Aquifers

A high‐resolution seismic reflection experiment was conducted on the barrier islands of New Jersey to study the stratigraphy and physical properties of four regionally important aquifers. Five multichannel profiles, totaling 5.4 km in length, were collected from Island Beach State Park to Shipbottom. Careful selection of acquisition and processing parameters produced very high resolution profiles with penetration depths to 186 m. The average wavelet frequency of 225 Hz provided average quarter‐wavelength resolution of 1.9 m; in some places, recorded frequencies of up to 400–425 Hz allowed individual sand and clay layers less than a meter thick to be resolved. Synthetic seismograms were generated from geophysical logs from nearby wells for comparison with the seismic data and to confirm interpretations.All aquifers and confining units of interest are resolved in detail on the profiles. Typical aquifer responses include strong, continuous reflection peaks at the tops of sand bodies and a less distinguishabl...

From Definition, To Geography, To Action, To Reaction: The Case of Protein-Energy Malnutrition

Abstract The formation and development of three foredune blowouts at Island Beach State Park, New Jersey during the period 1981 to 1991 demonstrate the cyclic evolution of these landforms. The evolution is documented with: 1) a long-term study of topographic changes in blowout form documented with systematic surveys carried out at three- to five-year intervals; and 2) a four-week field study involving the collection of wind-speed profiles and wind direction at several locations in two of the blowouts and the measurement of elevation changes resulting from significant wind events. Results show that blowouts on leeward coasts favor onshore sand movement from the beach despite the dominance of offshore winds because vegetation on the landward side of the blowouts traps sand moved onshore and stabilizes the surface against deflation by offshore winds. Feedback between dune morphology, wind flow, and vegetation produces a sequence of landform changes that are conceptualized in a model of foredune blowout devel...

Wave Climate and Nearshore Lakebed Response, Illinois Beach State Park, Lake Michigan

The Lake Michigan outer nearshore zone (water depths ≈5 to 25 m) off Illinois Beach State Park is subjected to a spectrum of wave conditions, including those generated by major storms. Only under these major storm conditions is there a realistic potential for wave-lakebed interaction (and associated wind-driven currents) to cause a significant net modification to the outer nearshore lakebed, which, in turn, may promulgate change in the inner nearshore (surf) zone. Analysis of bathymetric and sediment grain-size data, used in conjunction with published wave hindcast data, wave propagation modeling, and previous studies in the area, indicates that this potential occurs, most likely, on a scale of years. Although such storms can generate bottom currents well in excess of what is required to mobilize the fine to very fine sands that are present, little compelling evidence was found, on the basis of gross comparisons with previous studies (1946, 1973, 1978), that there have been rapid or pronounced changes in the outer nearshore lakebed. Nonetheless, grain-size data suggest that sands are episodically transported in a net southerly direction. At least over the time period represented by this and previous studies, any modification of the outer nearshore zone lakebed would seem to be modest and gradual. If so, whereas the outer nearshore zone may be a factor in the long-term adjustment of the shoreline, any rapid change in shoreline position, or any conspicuous change in the rate of shoreline adjustment, is more likely controlled by factors other than those linked to the outer nearshore zone.

Topographic changes associated with coastal dune blowouts at island beach state park, New Jersey

AbstractTopographic changes in two blowouts located in Island Beach State Park, New Jersey, USA were monitored over the winter of 1981‐1982. Elevation changes were measured with erosion pins, and sediment traps placed at comparable locations in each blowout monitored the amount of sand moved by the wind. Discrete wind events were identified from regional data, and morphological data for the intervals with the highest onshore and offshore wind speeds are examined in detail.Vegetation is the primary influence on the development of the two blowouts. Blowout A is characterized by eroding sidewalls, a stable base, and an accreting blowout rim. High rates of sediment transport occur through the blowout throat which results in accretion on the vegetated rim. This blowout is an active sediment transfer system. Vegetation causes a large amount of deposition in the throat of blowout B. As vegetation was buried over the winter, the area of deposition migrated inland. Sidewall erosion also occurred in blowout B. Little change was recorded on the blowout rim. Blowout B is a recovering system where sediment is delivered to the blowout floor from the beach by onshore winds and from the blowout rim by offshore winds where it is stabilized by vegetation.The development of foredune blowouts is governed largely by vegetation cover on the dune crest and by sidewall erosion during offshore and onshore winds. Blowout recovery depends on vegetation growth and sediment deposition in the throat, and on the role of the sidewalls as sources of sediment which is deposited elsewhere within the system. Foredune blowouts are dynamic systems in which positive feedbacks in sediment availability and vegetation growth lead to a cycle of development and closure.

The Vascular Flora of Orient Beach State Park, Long Island, New York

The Vascular Flora of Orient Beach State Park, Long Island, New York

Production, Biomass, and Trophic Interactions of Mysis Relicta in Lake Ontario

Mysis relicta was sampled in Lake Ontario biweekly with vertical tows from May through November 1984. Two sites were studied off Hamlin Beach State Park, one station at 35 m and the other at 100 m. At the 35-m station, total abundance ranged from near zero in late September to 207 m −2 in mid-August, with a mean abundance of 48 organisms m −2 for the study period. Average biomass and production values at the 35-m station were 0.08 g dry weight m −2 and 0.13 g dry weight m −2 per 7 months, respectively. At the 100-m station, total abundance ranged from 110 m −2in late September to 860 m −2 in mid-July, with a mean abundance of 378 m −2 for the study period. Average biomass and total production at the 100-m station was 0.68 g dry weight m −2 and 1.23 g dry weight m −2 per 7 months, respectively. Mysis relicta abundance increased from 1971 to 1984 in the offshore and nearshore of Lake Ontario. This increase in abundance may be related to the stocking of salmonines in Lake Ontario and/or to the significant die-off of adult alewives in the winter of 1983–984.