Navigation Links
Restoring seagrass beds: Is it for the birds?

Although most people consider bird droppings a nuisance, scientists at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab see them as a rich source of phosphorus, a natural fertilizer for grassbeds which have been destroyed by boat propellers. Over the next couple of months, Sea Lab scientists Dr. Ken Heck and Dr. John Dindo will be setting out bird stakes in an effort to revive scarred grassbeds around the popular recreational spot of Robinson Island in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Robinson Island is a favored spot in the summer, with constant boat traffic in its shallow waters. Its underwater shoal grassbeds, however, have been much impacted by propeller damage; and much of the terrestrial vegetation on the island itself was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Drs. Heck and Dindo received a grant from the Gulf of Mexico Program to restore both the dune habitation and the prop-scarred grassbeds of this popular location.

Dune restoration will begin on Tuesday, April 11, from 10am to 1pm as Dr. Dindo and volunteers from AmeriCorps plant 1,000 sea oats on the beaches of Robinson Island.

Over the next two months, Drs. Heck and Dindo will also plant birdstakes in the damaged grassbeds, hoping to attract seabirds to use the stakes as a resting area where they can "do their business" and fertilize the shoal grass beneath them.

"Birdstakes have proven successful in the Florida Keys," comments Dr. Heck. "We're placing signs in marinas and along the grassbed borders warning boaters against using their motors in the seagrasses. We'll also monitor the effects the bird droppings are having in the propeller scars in the shoalgrass beds.

'We hope a combination of educational signage, replanting sea oats, and a seemingly endless supply of fertilizer will bring the habitats around Robinson Island back to their peak condition," he concluded.


'"/>

Source:Dauphin Island Sea Lab


Page: 1

Related biology news :

1. Restoring silenced suppressor gene kills lung-cancer cells
2. Restoring tamoxifen sensitivity in resistant breast cancer cells
3. Can biological traits predict diversification rates in birds?

Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
TAG: Restoring seagrass beds for the birds

(Date:12/2/2009)...ers from the University of Georgia College of Vete...covery that could open new avenues for treating Ic...g single-celled protozoan parasite that commonly a...genome sequencing, researchers found that Ich harb...a: Bacteroides, which are usually found free-livi...
(Date:12/2/2009)...ts who are fit have a higher IQ and are more likel...y carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlg...ublished today in the prestigious Proceedings of ...udy involved 1.2 million Swedish men doing militar... research group analysed the results of both physi...
(Date:12/2/2009)...udy on the smokeless tobacco product called moist ...sts in Minnesota to urge the tobacco industry to c...ntent of carcinogens. Their study is published onl...Toxicology . It reports that this category of toba...certain toxic and cancer-causing substances. Calle...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):UGA researchers lead team in discovery involving devastating freshwater fish parasite, 'Ich' 2UGA researchers lead team in discovery involving devastating freshwater fish parasite, 'Ich' 3Young adults who exercise get higher IQ 2Watching stem cells repair the human brain 54909 1Watching stem cells repair the human brain 54909 2Study reveals new metabolic safeguards against tumor cells 54905 1Study reveals new metabolic safeguards against tumor cells 54905 2Study reveals new metabolic safeguards against tumor cells 54905 3Ben Gurion University of the Negev technology being developed for use in Jordan desalination plant 9627 1
...with a rare disease in which patients develop mult...yer in cancers found throughout the body, accordin...ease familial cylindromatosis results from the los...ylindromas to develop in hair-follicle cells. Earl...ion, but the mechanism behind the gene,s control o...
...ornia, San Diego and three other institutions have...ed responses that cells use to avoid becoming dise...l chemical mutagen. The group led by UCSD bioengi...19 issue of Science an elaborate system of gene co... , "This research sheds light on the complexity of...
...e mussels are hard to beat. They can adhere to vir...ing their tenacious bonds in saltwater, including ...ever, about exactly how the bivalves achieve this ... the week of Aug. 14 by the Proceedings of the Nat...ty research team sheds new light on the adhesive s...
Other Biology News:Gene first linked to rare disease may trigger skin cancer, other tumors 2Gene first linked to rare disease may trigger skin cancer, other tumors 3Heal thyself: Systems biology model reveals how cells avoid becoming cancerous 2Heal thyself: Systems biology model reveals how cells avoid becoming cancerous 3Study reveals details of mussels' tenacious bonds 2
(Date:12/3/2009)...wswire-FirstCall/ -- Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, In...elease its financial results for the second quarte... a.m. EST and will host a conference call and webc...e same day. ,, Peregrine,s senior management wi...r ended October 31, 2009 and will review recent op...
(Date:12/2/2009)...wswire/ -- Spectrum Blue Steel is emerging as one ...he planet. Through the efforts of True Green Energ...cling Specialist Leroy Johnston, who has been in t...at Spectrum Blue Steel is light years ahead of eve...nings because of the bi products recovered by usin...
(Date:12/2/2009)... -- The world,s first concept demonstration tire... alternative to replace a petrochemically produced... with renewable biomass, made their debut in Copen...play at a lounge in the common departure area at t...ember 21, while the other tire will make appearanc...
(Date:12/2/2009)...PRNewswire/ -- TechConnect World, an event bringin...nd product integration in cleantech, nanotech, bio...e for technology abstracts and business presentati..., in association with the Nano Science and Technol... Sustainable Industries Organization (CTSI), will ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Peregrine Pharmaceuticals to Report Second Quarter FY 2010 Financial Results 2Spectrum Blue Steel partners with Famous Chemists for Procuring Profitable Applications from Garbage Using the Biosphere MKV and Electrostatic Precipitators 2Spectrum Blue Steel partners with Famous Chemists for Procuring Profitable Applications from Garbage Using the Biosphere MKV and Electrostatic Precipitators 3The World's First Goodyear Concept Tires Made with BioIsoprene(TM) Technology Arrive in Copenhagen in time for United Nations Climate Change Conference 2The World's First Goodyear Concept Tires Made with BioIsoprene(TM) Technology Arrive in Copenhagen in time for United Nations Climate Change Conference 3Deadline Approaching for Largest Commercialization Event for Nanotech & Clean Technologies 2Deadline Approaching for Largest Commercialization Event for Nanotech & Clean Technologies 3
... J. Chartier , DNA Genotek Inc., O...cted with Oragene is successfully amplified using ... has the potential to generate near-unlimited , ...s. , , Introduction , ...isms (SNPs) becomes more , automated and ...
... , Contributed by Jeff Wilson, and Andrew... MA, , Introduction , The G...ius victoria has , recently become a popu..., for example, to study promoter function a... and function of proteins to which it has been r...
... , Clive R. Pullinger, Arghavan K. Shahid...* , Cardiovascular Research Institute, *...f Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Calif... , Introduction , In a nu...ing candidate , genes for mutations that ...
Other Biology Technology:Oragene and Whole Genome Amplification with GenomiPhi 2Oragene and Whole Genome Amplification with GenomiPhi 3Oragene and Whole Genome Amplification with GenomiPhi 4Measuring Intracellular Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein With the VersaFluor Fluorometer 2Measuring Intracellular Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein With the VersaFluor Fluorometer 3Measuring Intracellular Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein With the VersaFluor Fluorometer 4Detection of Apolipoprotein Gene Variants by DGGE Using the DCode System 2Detection of Apolipoprotein Gene Variants by DGGE Using the DCode System 3Detection of Apolipoprotein Gene Variants by DGGE Using the DCode System 4
RNase Buffer from BD Biosciences Pharmingen
Rabbit Anti-Human Ephrin B1 Polyclonal Antibody, Unconjugated from AnaSpec
Chicken Anti-Guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(k), alpha subunit Polyclonal Antibody, Unconjugated from GenWay Biotech, Inc.
Rabbit Anti-ICAD Polyclonal Antibody, Unconjugated from BD Biosciences Pharmingen
Biology Products: