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Aquatic Ecology Research Projects

The Lower Cape Fear River Program

   Since 1995 our laboratory has regularly collected data on numerous physical, chemical and biological parameters at 35 locations (see map) throughout the Cape Fear River watershed (Lower Cape Fear River Program). Our data is sent to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality where it is entered into the EPA STORET national water quality database. Comprehensive reports are issued to interested parties annually. Current and recent research projects in this watershed include analysis of animal waste lagoon spills, effects of hurricanes and storms on water quality, factors controlling phytoplankton production in the estuary and tributary rivers, factors contributing to BOD loads in the Cape Fear watershed, and the effect of nutrient loading on the biota and metabolism of blackwater streams. In conjunction with the water quality sampling, benthos is analyzed by the UNCW Benthic Ecology Lab (Benthic Ecology Laboratory) and finfish research is carried out by UNCW researcher Dr. Tom Lankford.

The Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Project

    In January 2000, several researchers from UNCW began a broad scale analysis of the coastal ocean adjacent to southeastern North Carolina, the South Atlantic Bight.  The South Atlantic Bight supports a variety of important resources and uses including hydrocarbons, hard minerals, fisheries, protected species, recreation, navigation and cultural resources.  Two major areas in the South Atlantic Bight are being studied including Onslow Bay and the Cape Fear River Plume.  Research involves water quality (Dr. Michael Mallin and Dr. Larry Cahoon), the benthos (Dr. Martin Posey), ichthyological assemblages (Dr. Tom Lankford), zooplankton and phytoplankton assemblages (Dr. Michael Mallin and Dr. Larry Cahoon), sediment analysis (Dr. Lynn Leonard and Dr. Nancy Grindlay), physical oceanography (Dr. Fred Bingham), water spectral characteristics (Dr. Mike Durako), and dissolved organic matter (Dr. Bill Cooper).  The project has since grown into a multi-university effort.

The City of Wilmington Watersheds Project

    In autumn 1997 we began a project assessing water quality in each of the City of Wilmington’s watersheds. Environmental Reports are published with the New Hanover Tidal Creeks Project. This includes collecting baseline data on pollutants such as nutrients, fecal coliform bacteria, turbidity, and other parameters, analyzing effectiveness of large stormwater detention ponds, runoff from golf courses, and effect of loadings on adjacent waterways. Current efforts also include detection of illicit sewer discharges to the stormwater system, and a comprehensive study of nutrients, BOD and algal blooms in Greenfield Lake.  This project is funded by and designed in cooperation with the City of Wilmington Engineering Department and its Stormwater Services Program.

Bald Head Creek Environmental Analysis

    The Village of Bald Head has applied for a permit to dredge the mouth of Bald Head Creek in order to improve shellfishing water quality.  The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory has initiated a program to collect pre-dredging and post-dredging water quality data to analyze the success of this estuarine manipulation project.  Data being collected includes fecal coliform bacteria, nitrate, phosphate, ammonium, chlorophyll a, total suspended solids, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, and salinity.  Physical parameters are collected both on site during water sample collection and on a high-frequency basis through diel studies with in-situ instruments.  Because Bald Head Creek has a low level of human development surrounding it, the project location makes an excellent contrast to the highly developed tidal creeks we study under the New Hanover County Tidal Creeks Program.  

Ecology of the New River Estuary

    Our laboratory has an ongoing research project studying water quality, algal bloom formation, and nutrient limitation in the New River Estuary, North Carolina. We have published results of damage caused by a major swine waste spill to the New River and its estuary, and have also published results of nutrient limitation experiments in the estuary.Research on the New River Estuary has also been the subject of several presentations and posters at national water quality conferences. View Reports/Postings/News.

Field Conditions for Pfiesteria Growth

    We are working in coordination with the North Carolina State University Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology (NCSU Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology) to characterize field conditions supporting the growth of the toxic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida  in the New River Estuary, the New Hanover County Tidal Creeks system, and the Cape Fear River Estuary.

The Assessment of the Coastal National Parks in the Southeastern U.S.

  The UNC Wilmington Aquatic Ecology Laboratory, in conjunction with Dr. Merryl Alber and associates at the University of Georgia Department of Marine Sciences, has been funded by the National Park Service, Water Resources Division, to synthesize what is known about the water resources of National Parks along the Southeast coast.  These water resources are diverse, and include open marine and estuarine waters, marine, oligohaline, and freshwater wetlands, tidal creeks, perennial and temporary pools, and groundwater.  These parks are generally free of point source pollution and agricultural runoff, but nearby marine waters can be affected by pollution from major nearby river systems (Cumberland Island, GA), or by local septic system contamination (Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout National Seashores).  UNCW has completed a report on Cape Lookout National Seashore and this report has been published by the Park Service and can be downloaded from their website (link to publication)  A report on Cumberland Island completed by the UGA researchers will shortly be available as well.  A report on Cape Hatteras should be completed in early summer 2005.

The Assessment of the Relationship Between Phosphorus and Fecal Microbes in Blackwater Stream Sediments

    We are collaborating with Dr. Larry Cahoon of the UNCW Biological Sciences Department in a study of the sediments of blackwater streams in the Cape Fear River basin.  In this project our primary goal is to assess the ability of these stream sediments to serve as a reserve and potential incubator for fecal pathogen indicator organisms, particularly in terms of sediment nutrient content.  These streams receive nutrient loading and potentially fecal pathogens from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), yet are utilized for recreation by the public.  This research is being funded by the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina.  

New Hanover County Tidal Creeks Project

    Between 1993 and 2007 we conducted research on bacterial pollution, algal blooms, effect of tides on water quality parameters, nutrient limitation of phytoplankton productivity, and nutrient loading in five tidal creeks in New Hanover County, with annual reports regularly published. A major accomplishment of this project has been publication of a set of management recommendations for environmentally-sound coastal development practices. We have been funded by and work cooperatively with a citizen’s group (the Northeast New Hanover Conservancy) and the New Hanover County Planning Department (New Hanover County), and the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund.