Virginia Project
Marsh bird conservation on the Atlantic Shore in the face of sea level rise
August 2021 - June 2026
Personnel
- Elizabeth Hunter, Principal Investigator
- Ashley Dayer, Co-Principal Investigator
- Bridget Re, Student / Post Doc
- Justin Beall, Student / Post Doc
Participating Agencies
- NASA
- Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
- Virginia Tech Center for Coastal Studies
Sea level rise will impact marsh birds' habitats through loss and degradation, as well as having direct impacts on population dynamics through impacts to nesting. Conserving species in the face of these threats requires ecological understanding of the impacts as well as multi-disciplinary collaboration to come up with solutions. We are studying species such as Saltmarsh Sparrows, Seaside Sparrows, and Clapper Rails, as well as using remote sensing technology and social science to understand the threats to species' habitats and potential management actions.