Student Research Award Abstracts

Every year the Society for Wetland Scientists (SWS) conducts a grant competition for students seeking financial assistance for their wetland research projects. The objective of this program is to develop and encourage wetland science as a distinct discipline by providing support in student education, curriculum development and research. To support this goal, SWS offers partial funding of wetland-related research conducted by undergraduate and graduate students from an accredited college or university worldwide. These grants are intended to aid student's costs of travel (including room and board) for field investigations and to help cover costs of expendable materials and supplies required in the execution of the proposed research. Information on the program can be found online at https:// www.sws.org/student-research-grants/. Questions about the program should be directed to David Bailey, Chair of the SWS Student Research Grants Subcommittee at David.E.Bailey2@usace.army.mil.

The program typically receives between 20 and 40 applications per year, with funding offered to 12 students each cycle. Thirteen students applied for SWS Student Research Grants in 2022. In this issue, we provide abstracts for 6 of 12 awardees while abstracts from the others will be published in our next issue (April 2023). We congratulate all awardees and look forward to learning more about their research in the future.

CONTAMINANT ANALYSIS OF COASTAL MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS ACROSS DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN HAWAII AND FLORIDA

Geoff Szafranski, Portland State University, Portland, OR gszaf2@pdx.edu

Mangrove forest is an intercoastal ecosystem that provides many important ecosystems services, such as storage and remediation of pollutants. This ability to sequester pollutants is important as coastlines are subject to a tremendous amount of urbanization and development, and these barriers help prevent contaminants from entering the marine environment. The overall body of research on this topic however, particularly in locations where mangrove forest is considered non-native, is still fairly small. To better understand how mangrove sediment stores pollutants, surveys will be performed in two regions: Hawaii where mangroves are non-native, and South Florida where the native mangrove coastlines have not been extensively surveyed for contaminants. Multiple sites will be surveyed in Hawaii along the southern Molokai coastline at differing points of urbanization and mangrove presence. The goal of the Hawaiian survey will be to determine the impact mangrove presence has on accumulation of contaminants in the coastal compartment. From each of these sites we will take core samples, tissue samples and pore water samples and examine organic pollutant, and microplastic content. The main contaminants to be targeted are chlorpyrifos and atrazine, which are legal in Florida but in the process of being phased of use in Hawaii. We will also determine if mangrove removal causes the contaminants to be flushed from the sediment. The methodology will be replicated at three sites in Florida: a natural setting site located along the southwest coastline, an urban site along the coast of Miami, and an agricultural site located within Biscayne National Park in the more agricultural dominated region south of Miami. We will work closely with local scientists as well as seek council from the native community.

ASSESSING SURVIVORSHIP OF PLANTED AND SEEDED SPECIES WITHIN RESTORED GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLANDS

Rene Belleville, Brockport University, Brockport, NY Rbell3@brockport.edu

Many coastal wetlands within the Great Lakes region have been altered by invasive hybrid cattail, Typha x glauca (Typha). To manage invasive Typha within the Braddock Bay Wildlife Management Area located in Greece, NY, ecological restorations were carried out at Braddock Bay, Buttonwood Creek, Buck Pond, and Cranberry Pond. These large-scale restorations each included excavation creating channels and potholes within dense Typha stands, creation of mound spoils along potholes and channels, and seeding and planting of a variety of emergent and sedge/ grass species on mounds. The goal of my research is to determine survivorship of seeded and planted species following wetland restorations as well as the best method of practice for seeding/planting to ensure highest survivorship rates among seeded and planted species to better create an alternative stable state within these ecosystems. Vegetative data will be collected from mound habitats in previously restored marshes to determine long-term survivorship of seeded and planted species. Calamagrostis canadensis and Carex lacustris were chosen as study organisms due to their significance in sedge-grass meadows in the Great Lakes. Using a randomized plot design, replicated treatment plots (2 x 2m) were set up within mound habitats in the newly restored (2020) marsh at Cranberry Pond. Treatments include plots that were seeded in late fall, seeded and then covered with hay in late fall (they will be planted with plugs in the spring), and control plots that will not be manipulated.

MAPPING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CONSERVATION OF VERNAL POOL CHARACTERISTICS ACROSS NATIONAL PARKS IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION

Samantha Kurkowski, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI srkurkow@mtu.edu

Vernal pools are small, ephemeral wetlands that become inundated each spring and provide many ecosystem services to the surrounding upland forests. They also provide critical habitat to amphibians and invertebrates, as their temporary nature keeps them free of fish and reduces the populations of predators. In collaboration with our partners at the Michigan. Tech Research Institute (MTRI), we are mapping vernal pools throughout Great Lakes National Parks and collecting data on vernal pool characteristics through ground truthing efforts. We aim to collect descriptive baseline data on vernal pools in this largely understudied region of the United States. This information will be used to determine what forest and geomorphological characteristics are associated with vernal pool presence, as well as what pool characteristics provide the highest quality habitat for amphibians. We will then develop a classification system to describe which pools provide the highest quality amphibian habitat to landowners and help them prioritize areas for conservation efforts. Field work began last summer at Pictured Rocks, Sleeping Bear Dunes and Apostle Islands National Lakeshores. We are requesting funding to aid our field investigation this coming spring at Voyagers National Park, and we will be visiting Isle Royale National Park as well. This coming May, we will visit 3050 randomly selected pools from the map created by MTRI through remote sensing efforts. At each pool we will collect a wide variety of data on pool characteristics related to hydrology, soils, vegetation, geomorphology, and indicator species. These data will be analyzed using ANOVA tests and logistic regression to determine if there is variation in vernal pools across the Great Lakes Region and which characteristics contribute high quality amphibian habitat. These results will be used to group characteristics into classes and further test if these classes exhibit significant differences in the probability of indicator species presence. Collecting data from several parks allows us to ensure that our classification system can be used throughout the extent of the Western Great Lakes. Preliminary results reveal that the overstory species composition of the surrounding forest may be the main driving factor in whether vernal pools support amphibian populations.

IMPACTS OF CLIMATE AND LAND USE CHANGES ON THE HYDROPOWER POTENTIALS OF THE BAGRE DAM, BURKINA, FASO

Gnibga Issoufou Yangouliba, University of Abomey Calavi, Benin yangouliba.g@edu.wascal.org

Hydropower is one of the largest renewable electricity sources and plays an essential role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In Africa, hydropower accounts only for 15% of its total electricity and half of Africans do not have access to electricity. In West Africa, the population is expected to reach 1.5 billion inhabitants in 2070 and more than 50 hydropower projects are currently under construction to cope with this situation. In Burkina Faso, more than 80% of the population do not have access to electricity although the country has five hydropower dams. One of the strategies planned to supply the electricity demand and future needs as well as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is based on continuation of hydropower dam building. However, it has been proved that climate change as well as land use/land cover changes impact the availability of water resources - the main driver for hydropower generation. The purpose of this study is to improve hydropower generation at the Bagre Dam in the context of climate and land use changes. Data will comprise satellite and observed historical hydroclimatic variables, Landsat satellite images and CORDEX Regional Climate Models (RCMs) under RCP4.5. On the one hand, statistical and GIS tools will be used to assess the variability in hydro-climatic variables and land use changes, respectively. On the other hand, the SWIM model will be used to assess the impact of past and future climate and land use land cover on the hydropower generation. SWIM will also be used to simulate the reservoir management to propose a scenario which will improve hydropower generation, irrigation supply and flood control.

EXPLORATION OF INNOVATIVE ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION TOOLS TO REDUCE ROAD SALT IMPACTS AND INVASIVE SPECIES DOMINANCE IN GREAT LAKES FRESHWATER WETLANDS

Kristina Tsakos, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL ktsakos@luc.edu

Humans have altered ecosystems across the world through land use change, invasive species transport, pollution, and climate change. Social and environmental justice is connected to healthy ecosystems to provide essential goods and