Gregg E. Moore

University of New Hampshire | UNH · Department of Biological Sciences

Although microplastics (MP) have been documented in estuarine habitats, limited published data exist for New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts hampering meaningful, regional comparison with other geographies. Here we synthesize previously unpublished data from several independent baseline studies spanning three estuarine systems including Great...

New England salt marshes provide many services to humans and the environment, but these landscapes are threatened by drivers such as sea level rise. Mapping the distribution of salt marsh plant species can help resource managers better monitor these ecosystems. Because salt marsh species often have spatial distributions that change over horizontal...

Over the past 6 years, the New Hampshire (NH) Department of Environmental Services has shifted its preference for shoreline stabilization from traditional engineered shorelines (e.g., seawalls, concrete armoring) to nature-based living shoreline (LS) solutions. To improve the expectations and outcomes of future projects, we monitored three LS pilot...

One of the main mechanisms for salt marsh decline across the United States is the inability of the marsh surface to keep pace with sea level rise. The interior platform is especially vulnerable, leading to the encroachment of short form Spartina alternifora pannes, pool formation, and ultimately runaway pool expansion if recovery is not possible. C...

Thin-layer sediment placement (TLP) is a promising management tool for enhancing tidal marsh resilience to rising seas. We conducted a 3-year experiment at eight US National Estuarine Research Reserves using a standardized implementation protocol and subsequent monitoring to evaluate effects of sediment placement on vegetation in low and high marsh...

Seabirds introduce aquatically‐derived nutrients into their terrestrial nesting environments, often leading to vegetative overgrowth that degrades nesting habitat suitability over time. In this study we capitalized upon the process of salt suppression that naturally occurs in salt‐spray plant communities in order to reintroduce habitat heterogeneit...

One of the main mechanisms for salt marsh decline across the United States is the inability of the marsh surface to keep pace with sea level rise. The interior platform is especially vulnerable, leading to the encroachment of short form Spartina alterniflora pannes, pool formation, and ultimately runaway pool expansion if recovery is not possible....

The long-term ecological success of compensatory freshwater wetland projects has come into question based on follow-up monitoring studies over the past few decades. Given that wetland restoration may require many years to decades to converge to desired outcomes, long-term monitoring of successional patterns may increase our ability to fully evaluat...

Salt marshes are highly dynamic and important ecosystems that dampen impacts of coastal storms and are an integral part of tidal wetland systems, which sequester half of all global marine carbon. They are now being threatened due to sea-level rise, decreased sediment influx, and human encroachment. This book provides a comprehensive review of the l...

In response to the devastation of this fragile coastal habitat, a series of rapid mangrove assessments were conducted in the British Virgin Islands with logistical support from the Jost Van Dykes (BVI) Preservation Society and sponsored by regional wildlife organization, BirdsCaribbean in April 2018. The purpose of these assessments was to characte...

Salt marshes can build in elevation with sea level rise through accumulation of inorganic sediment and organic matter, but marshes worldwide are under threat of drowning due to rapid rates of sea level rise that outpace natural marsh building rates. The application of a thin layer of sediment to the marsh surface (thin-layer placement, TLP) is a to...

In mid-winter 2018, an unprecedented sediment deposition event occurred throughout portions of the Great Marsh in Massachusetts. Evaluation of this event in distinct marsh areas spanning three towns (Essex, Ipswich, and Newbury) revealed deposition covering 29.2 hectares with an average thickness of 30.1±2.1 mm measured shortly after deposition. Wh...

The legacy effects of mosquito ditching have made salt marshes more vulnerable to flooding impacts from climate change, presenting management challenges in New England where the majority of salt marshes have been ditched and greater rates of sea level rise and storm events are being observed. One legacy effect of mosquito ditching appears to be sub...

Coastal dunes are valued for habitat provision and flood protection. The dominant dune plant in New England, American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) stabilizes dunes by trapping sand and slowing erosion. The system’s natural mechanism to stabilize sediment and protect coasts from erosion may be threatened by die-off, a rapidly spreading bligh...

Salt marsh survival in the face of sea-level rise (SLR) depends largely on a marsh’s ability to compensate for increased flooding by building in elevation, but the rate of elevation gain depends on processes that are not well-understood (i.e., belowground productivity, sediment accretion, and subsidence). An array of planted and unplanted pots was...

Evaluations of tidal wetland restoration efforts suffer from a lack of appropriate reference sites and standardized methods among projects. To help address these issues, the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) and the NOAA Restoration Center engaged in a partnership to monitor ecological responses and evaluate 17 tidal wetland restor...

Submerged and emergent wetland plant communities are evaluated for their response to global climate change (GCC), focusing on seagrasses, submerged freshwater plants, tidal marsh plants, freshwater marsh plants and mangroves. Similarities and differences are assessed in plant community responses to temperature increase, CO2 increase, greater UV-B e...

Mangroves are the dominant coastal vegetation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), occupying one of the driest mangrove habitats in the world. However, published estimates of mangroves do not represent current conditions for the country as a whole. This study provides an up-to-date estimate of UAE’s mangroves, summarizing their habitat characteristic...

Mangroves of Grenada and the Grenadines represent significant habitat within the regional context of the Eastern Caribbean. Losses of mangroves through storms, development, and climate change have negative impacts on critical ecosystem services. Estimates of mangrove area exist in the literature but do not fully reflect current conditions, effects...

Mangroves are the dominant coastal vegetation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), occupying one of the driest mangrove habitats in the world. However, published estimates of mangroves do not represent current conditions for the country as a whole. This study provides an up-to-date estimate of UAE's mangroves, summarizing their habitat characteristic...

ISSN 0749-0208. Mangroves of Grenada and the Grenadines represent significant habitat within the regional context of the Eastern Caribbean. Losses of mangroves through storms, development, and climate change have negative impacts on critical ecosystem services. Estimates of mangrove area exist in the literature but do not fully reflect current cond...

Vegetation patterns in the coastal salt pond marsh system at Odiorne Point State Park in Rye, New Hampshire, the state’s only viable example, are described based on recent surveys and historical data. Four natural communities occur within the system: coastal salt pond flat, coastal salt pond emergent marsh, coastal salt pond meadow marsh, and highb...

The distribution of belowground biomass within monotypic stands of invasive Phragmites australis (Common Reed) was documented from a series of oligo-, meso-, and polyhaline coastal marshes in New Hampshire. Soil profiles were described, and live biomass was documented growing to a maximum depth of 95 cm for roots and 85 cm for rhizomes. Our data sh...

Some would maintain that conservation and restoration activities are justified on ethical grounds alone (see review by Brennan and Lo 2008). However, demonstration of the economic benefit of ecosystems can help drive social and governmental support for conservation; and restoration and economic limitations could force choices among restoration acti...

Electromagnetic induction was used to measure apparent conductivity of soil pore water within 15 oligohaline to polyhaline tidal marshes of the Great Bay Estuary in New Hampshire, USA. The instrument was linked to a differential global positioning system via a hand-held field computer to geo-reference data. Apparent conductivity was converted to sa...

The seaweed flora from James Bay, Canada is compared with three contiguous northeastern Canadian Arctic areas (Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and the Ellesmere-Baffin Islands area extending northward to the Arctic Ocean). A conspicuous reduction pattern was evident with 131 taxa recorded for the Ellesmere-Baffin Islands area, 106 for Hudson Strait, 81...

A species of seagrass in the genus Halophila was found growing in a shallow lagoon on the west shore of Antigua in the Caribbean West Indies. Genetic analysis showed the plants were Halophila ovalis. In addition, the samples had no genetic deviation (using nrDNA sequences) from Halophila johnsonii, considered to be an endemic and endangered species...

Mangrove species are uniquely adapted to tropical and subtropical coasts, and although relatively low in number of species, mangrove forests provide at least US $1.6 billion each year in ecosystem services and support coastal livelihoods worldwide. Globally, mangrove areas are declining rapidly as they are cleared for coastal development and aquacu...

A survey of oligohaline and mesohaline tidal marshes along the upper reaches of eight tidal rivers in the Great Bay Estuary of New Hampshire was conducted to document the occurrence of eastern grasswort, Lilaeopsis chinensis, a state-listed, rare species. Historical sites were visited to assess the presence, absence, or significant population chang...

An assessment of wetland mangrove and estuary systems in Grenada was conducted between August 30 and September 5, 2006 to evaluate the current status and identify sites suitable for follow-up restoration action. A total of 25 wetland systems were visited and data collected from 40 waypoint locations. At each site, the information was collected on w...

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Boston University, 2003. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-162).