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Acadia National Park - Mount Desert Island's Natural Outdoor Scientific Laboratory; Presentations About Past and Current Research.

Moderated by David Manski, Chief Biologist, National Park

ABSTRACTS

1. Science Mission, Program, and Needs

Mary Foley, Chief Scientist, National Park Service, Northeast Region, Boston Support Office, 15 State Street, Boston, MA 02109

The National Park Service recognizes two distinct and essential research missions. The first and probably most critical is the ecological studies needed over the short-term that addresses key natural resources issues of the present and future and in turn serves the future needs of the Park Managers. The second is the role of the National Park Service in participating and encouraging the IIgreater ecological research agenda. II This presentation will include a discussion of the agency science missions, present some examples of the kinds of research undertaken by the National Park Service, and discuss some of the broad issues facing the national parks.

2. Fire in the coastal spruce-fir forests of

William A. Patterson III, Professor, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management 214 Holdsworth Natural Resources Center, Box 34210, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-4210.

In 1947 a catastrophic wildfire swept across the eastern portion of Mt. Desert Island consuming nearly 7,000 ha of forest land, destroying more than 200 structures and resulting in three deaths. Historic accounts suggest that fires of similar intensity occurred on several occasions during the 19th century. Modern vegetation on the island clearly reflects this past history of wildfires. In this presentation, I will discuss results of our efforts to document post-1947 fire vegetation changes, and place this in the context of what we know of fire occurrence on the Island during the historic and prehistoric periods.

3. Nutrient enrichment of Mt. Desert Island estuaries: Should we be concerned?

Charles T. Roman, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, University of Rhode Island Field Station Narragansett, RI 02882 As coastal populations grow, shallow coastal estuarine systems worldwide are becoming eutrophied in response to anthropogenic nutrient loading. Under regimes of excess nutrient supply, the primary productivity of estuaries can increase, there are often shifts in dominant primary producers from seagrass­ based to macroalgae or phytoplankton dominated, and in turn, the habitat function of estuaries is altered. Studies throughout have demonstrated that nitrogen loading from residential development leads to blooms of green macroalgae and subsequent loss of eelgrass habitat. At the Bass Harbor Marsh estuary (Mount Desert Island, ), our research indicates that high levels of nitrogen are introduced to the estuary from Marshall Brook, a drainage basin that contains a landfill and residential/commercial development. When compared to other New England shallow estuarine systems, nutrient loading and macroalgal biomass are relatively low; however, the strong dominance of opportunistic green macroalgae and concurrent shading of submerged aquatic vegetation (Widgeon Grass) suggests that this estuary may be responding to increased nutrient loading. Our studies in the fjord-like Somes Sound, the largest estuary on Mount Desert Island, suggest a relatively pristine estuary with low nutrient inputs from surrounding watersheds, primary productivity rates are low, and the water column is well-oxygenated. With increased population growth and development on Mount Desert Island there is a corresponding threat of increased nutrient loading and significant estuarine habitat alterations as demonstrated along the more developed northeastern US coastal zone. Long-term monitoring can provide early warning of increased nutrient loading and habitat responses, thereby allowing proactive management initiatives to be considered.

4. Use of the Procter survey as a baseline to assess faunal change on Mount Desert Island

Howard S. Ginsberg, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Woodward Hall- PLS, University pf Rhode island, Kingston, RI 02881

William Procter published a survey in 1946, based on over three decades of sampling, of the terrestrial arthropods of Mount Desert Island (MOl). A total of 6,578 species was recorded with date/locality information, and the voucher collection is still available. Disturbance to the natural systems of MOl resulting from the 1947 fire, spread of invasive species, and human use patterns have produced habitat changes distributed unevenly on the island. Preliminary results from recent samples of the MOl bee fauna suggest that these environmental changes can cause long-lasting changes in the invertebrate fauna of the region. MOl can thus serve as a natural laboratory to study the effects of disturbance on natural systems, and to evaluate the use of invertebrates as indicators of ecosystem health. 5. Acadia National Park's wildlife resources: insularity, isolation, and the future

Allan O'Connell, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resources Division, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Cooperative Park Studies Unit, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469

Fragmentation and alteration have become endemic characters of the world's natural systems. Close examination of impacts to natural resources is needed to minimize current and future degradation. On Mount Desert Island (MOl), Maine the combination of insularity and human influence impacts natural resources irrespective of artificial boundaries. Over the past two decades, research and monitoring of local wildlife populations have substantiated these impacts. Biomagnification of toxic materials, recovery of endangered species, variation in sociality and feeding ecology, adaptive genetics and reproduction, and limits on viability suggest a need to focus management on the integrity of local wildlife species. Examples of populations that can no longer function within system limits, and others that have modified their niche in the dynamic environment of MOl will be provided, including implications for the 21 st century.

6. Mercury and nitrogen biogeochemistry in gauged watersheds at Acadia National Park

Steve Kahl, Director, Water Research Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469

This recently established project is part of long-term ecological research using two gauged-watersheds to assess atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and mercury and their ecological consequences at Acadia National Park. Our objectives are to address nitrogen cycling and saturation, and mercury input and bioavailability, in paired watersheds with different forest types. We will use the natural landscape contrasts provided by fire to compare patterns and processes in nitrogen and mercury sequestration and mobility. Nitrogen loading to estuaries will be addressed by periodic sampling of estuary tributaries as 'satellite' locations. Our approach will involve using input/output measurements at the watershed scale to define the unknowns of mercury inputs to landscapes, determine locations and processes of mercury speciation, resolve the status of nitrogen retention, and estimate nitrogen loading to selected estuaries that have prior background data. We will determine the relative input of mercury and methyl-mercury from wet deposition, throughfall and litterfall. The expected results will provide new information for Acadia National Park and for the New England region on the ecological consequences of high nitrogen deposition at the park, and the loading of nitrogen to estuaries in the region.