Changes in the Benthos What the Seafloor Tells Us About the Health of Narragansett Bay

Hosted by Rhode Island Sea Grant. Researchers studying the seafloor of Narragansett Bay share their findings about how this area has changed over time and what that means.

Estuaries are complex ecosystems where freshwater meets saltwater, creating a mosaic of habitats essential for commerce, recreation, and fishing. How these ecosystems respond to changes in activities along the coast, rising seas, and warming temperatures is unknown.

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island and The Nature Conservancy are looking to better understand these changes by studying the benthic ecosystem of the seafloor across Narragansett Bay, which plays a major role in water filtration, nutrient cycling, shoreline buffering, and producing food and habitat for fishes and birds, and seafood for human consumption. It is also a historical archive of ecological changes in the Bay.

Join Professor Jeremy Collie of URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, along with GSO graduate student Shaina Harkins and Heather Kinney, TNC coastal restoration scientist, for a discussion of their research looking into how changes in temperature and water quality have affected benthic biodiversity in the Bay over the last several decades. This includes investigating whether the state’s efforts to reduce nitrogen discharges from wastewater treatment facilities have been effective. These discharges have long been considered the primary cause of nutrient over-enrichment linked to harmful algal blooms and hypoxic events.

This free webinar is part of Rhode Island Sea Grant’s annual Coastal State Discussion Series that is dedicated to highlighting current scientific research, finding solutions, and building partnerships focused on marine issues impacting coastal communities and environments.