Eastern Shore

By: Kelly Threatt

Wachapreague, VA

General Description

Location: Wachapreague, Virginia (Eastern Shore)

Date: September 14, 2007

2 land sites (Barrier Islands): Paramore Island and Cedar Island

4 water sites: Inlet, Clubhouse Point, Hummocks Channel, and Nikawampus Creek

Goals

• Collecting

• Water depth• Dissolved

oxygen• Temperature• Salinity• pH• Nutrient

*Introduce topics that will be covered in more detail later in the semester *

• Collecting/ Analyzing

• Sea floor sediment grain size

• Sea floor sediment composition

• Describing/ Collecting

• Planktonic life

• Nektonic life

• Benthic life

ToolsTrawl-used to collect nektonic life

Secchi Disk-used to find the depth of the photic zone

Dredge-used to collect benthic life

More Tools

Plankton Net-used to collect plankton from the surface water

Ponar Grab-used to collect sediment off of the sea floor

Niskin Bottle-used to collect water samples below the surface water

YSI-used to measure dissolved oxygen, salinity, depth, and temperature

Field Results

Inlet

Clubhouse Point

Hummocks Channel

Nikawampus Creek

Inlet

• Between two barrier island: Cedar Island and Paramore Island

• GPS Location: N 37º 34.848” W 75º 37.81”

• Total Water Depth: 80ft

• Photic zone depth: 1m 3.5cm

Inlet DataDepth Temperature Salinity DO pH

0.0m (surface) 25.2ºC 31.1 ppt 5.8 mg/l 8.5

2m 25.2ºC 31.6 ppt 5.71 mg/l 8.2

Site 1-Inlet

25.2

31.1

5.8

8.5

25.2

31.6

5.718.2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4

1-Temperature (˚C)

2-Salinity (ppt)

3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)

4-pH

Blue-0.0m

Red-2m

Life in the Inlet

Plankton (drifters) Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers)

Seaweed SnailsDead FishJelly Fish (no tentacles)

Conch Shell (Boosicomb)ClamsOyster shellsGobee (naked)Hermit Crab (Flat Clawed)KnobwelkGardiella (red)Olva (green)

Clubhouse Point

• GPS Location: N 37º 35.35” W 75º 37.80”• Total Water Depth: 12ft• Photic zone depth: 1m

Sea Floor Sediments• Color: gray, black, brown • Texture: shelly bottom• Compaction: hard shells

Clubhouse Point DataDepth Temperature Salinity DO pH

0.0m (surface) 25.8ºC 32.6 ppt 6.69 mg/l 8.4

2m 25.2ºC 32.5 ppt 5.75 mg/l 8.3

3m 25.9ºC 32.5 ppt 5.77 mg/l

Site 2-Clubhouse Point

25.8

32.6

6.698.48.3

25.9

32.5

5.77

32.5

5.75

25.2

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1 2 3 4

Blue-0.0m

Red-2m

Yellow-3m

1-Temperature (˚C)2-Salinity (ppt)3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)4-pH

Life at Clubhouse Point

Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers)

Sea porkComb jellySeaweedBay anchovies

Conidium (dead man’s fingers)CrabOlva GrassilariaSea urchinsMollusks

Hummocks Channel

• GPS Location: N 37º 36.472” W 75º 38.671”• Total Water Depth:15ft• Photic zone depth: 1.5m

Sea Floor Sediments• Color: green, gray, black• Texture: more mud than shells • Compaction: muddy, soupy

Hummocks Channel DataDepth Temperature Salinity DO pH

0.0m (surface) 25.6ºC 32.9 ppt 92.0 mg/l 8.2

2m 25.5ºC 32.9 ppt 92.2 mg/l 7.9

3m 25.6ºC 32.9 ppt 91.8 mg/l

Site 3-Hummocks Channel

25.6

32.9

92

8.2 7.9

25.6

32.9

91.892.2

32.9

25.5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4

Blue-0.0m

Red-2m

Yellow-3m

1-Temperature (˚C)2-Salinity (ppt)3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)4-pH

Life in Hummocks Channel

Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers)

FishComb JellySea Lettuce

Sea PorkBaby Crab

Nikawampus Creek

• Mud flat• GPS Location: N 37º 37.648” W 75º 40.813”• Total Water Depth: 5.2ft• Photic zone depth: 25cm

Sea Floor Sediments• Color: black• Texture: mud• Compaction: soft and soupy

Nikawampus Creek DataDepth Temperature Salinity DO pH

0.0m (surface) 25.7ºC 33.4 ppt 4.75 mg/l 8.0

.5m 25.6ºC 33.3 ppt 4.56 mg/l 7.9

Site 4-Nikawampus Creek

25.7

33.4

4.75

8

25.6

33.3

4.56

7.9

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

1 2 3 4

Blue-0.0m

Red-.5m

1-Temperature (˚C)2-Salinity (ppt)3-Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L)4-pH

Life in Nikawampus Creek

Neckton (swimmers) Benthos (bottom-dwellers)

White perchBlue crabSpotBrief squidBlack sea bassShrimpPompano

Clams

Comparing Surface Water Data

Temperature

Salinity

Dissolved Oxygen

pH

Temperature

Temperature Differences

24.9

25

25.1

25.2

25.3

25.4

25.5

25.6

25.7

25.8

25.9

1 2 3 4

Site Number

Deg

ree

s C

els

ius

Site:

1-Inlet

2-Clubhouse Point

3-Hummocks Channel

4-Nikawampus Creek

Salinity

Salinity Differences

29.5

30

30.5

31

31.5

32

32.5

33

33.5

34

1 2 3 4

Site

Measu

re o

f S

ali

nit

y (p

pt)

Site:

1-Inlet

2-Clubhouse Point

3-Hummocks Channel

4-Nikawampus Creek

Dissolved Oxygen

Dissolved Oxygen Differences

5.8 6.69

92

4.75

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

1 2 3 4

Site

Dis

solv

ed

Oxy

gen

(m

g/L

)

Site:

1-Inlet

2-Clubhouse Point

3-Hummocks Channel

4-Nikawampus Creek

pH

pH Differences

7.7

7.8

7.9

8

8.1

8.2

8.3

8.4

8.5

8.6

1 2 3 4

Site

pH

Site:

1-Inlet

2-Clubhouse Point

3-Hummocks Channel

4-Nikawampus Creek

Paramore Island

• Observations• Tree were burned• Dry

Lake on Island-Dried up (cracks in lake bed)-A week prior it had more water-Salinity was 44 or 45 and the DO

was .1 which is to low for the fish to live. The fish were at the different levels around the pond indicting that the water level had dropped recently.

• It’s eroding on the ocean side and depositing on the bay side

• the Italian Ridge (one ancient dune)

• Shaped like a drum stick

• Different from Cedar Island• Maritime Forest-more

vegatation• More life-insects, animals

(raccoon and deer dropping seen)

• Muddy ground and sand• Marsh side and shore side• Only one dune• Paramore had a very short

shoreline that was not very flat

Cedar Island

• Observations• Fish and crabs in

surrounding waters • Atlantic side had more

waves than bay side • Bay side was calmer and

had a really strong current• Was thought to have been

marsh land because of all of the oyster shells that were ancient

• A lot dead horseshoe crabs from babies to full grown on the ocean side

• Different from Paramore Island• Less vegetation• More shells, “a graveyard of

shell” • Smaller• More dunes• Wide and round.• Birds such as seagulls and

pelicans• At the ocean the shoreline

was a flat beach.• Dune grass and sea grass

with prickly barbs found more in the center of the island

Deep Sea Location

Atlantic Ocean-Gulf Stream

Salinity

-Around 36.5 ppt

-Higher than the highest site (Nikawampus Creek with 33.4 ppt)

Temperature

-Between 22-24°C

-Our sites were between 25.2°C and 25.8°C

pH

-Around 8.10

-Our sites were between 8 and 8.5

THANKS FOR A GREAT

SEMESTER!!!!

HAVE A GOOD HOLIDAY!!!!