An Example of Coastal Community Action and Stewardship *Email: scoopsinc@gulftel

1. An Example of Coastal Community Action and Stewardship*Email: scoopsinc@gulftel.com Little Lagoon Preservation Society and Dauphin Island Sea Lab: A Collaborative Effort to Understand, Preserve, Protect, and Manage One of Alabama’s Crown Jewels D. Hatfield* Little Lagoon Preservation Society J. D. Leifer, L. Novoveská & H.L. MacIntyre Dauphin Island Sea Lab

2. Abstract Little Lagoon Preservation Society (LLPS) in Gulf Shores, Alabama, is a grass roots group that strives to “Preserve and improve the quality of life on and around Little Lagoon”. The 8- mile long, 1/2-mile wide, E-W oriented, shallow, saline lagoon is home to diverse and abundant flora and fauna. Spending “quality” time on Little Lagoon is a preferred activity for many of the 328 member families of LLPS, 6,000 residents of Gulf Shores, and 20,000 tourists who visit Gulf Shores on a peak summer day. As part of our efforts to preserve and protect the Lagoon, LLPS has partnered with Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) to monitor water quality and phytoplankton community composition. 15+ trained (by DISL and SEPMN) LLPS volunteers and DISL researchers sample 4 locations in the Lagoon every two weeks. The team gathers field measurements and samples, prepares and analyzes samples, and enters and maintains observations in the SEPMN national data base and the DISL Water Chemistry and Phytoplankton database. Grant moneys from Alabama Department of Conservation (ADCNR) and Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) support the nutrient analyses and have been used to supplement equipping our lab in Gulf Shores for the monitoring and research efforts, funding the LLPS Guest Speaker Initiative, and funding the LLPS Road and Park Sign Initiative. Trend analysis of pigment and nutrient data suggest that groundwater inputs are a key driver of phytoplankton diversity and abundance. Abundance of phytoplankton is strongly correlated with nutrient concentrations in the lagoon, reflecting relatively slow flushing. Sampling has documented blooms of the diatoms Pseudo-nitzschiaspp. (potentially toxic) and Skeletonema spp. Potentially-toxic dinoflagellatesKareniabrevis and Dinophysiscaudata have also been detected in low numbers. Future hypothesis testing will focus on identifying significant groundwater inputs, quantifying their relative contribution to nutrient loads, and testing the relationships between discharge and the abundance and types of phytoplankton occurring in Little Lagoon. In addition to support from ADCNR and MBNEP, our monitoring effort has been supported by NOAA Southeastern Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (SEPMN), and by Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). These partnerships have facilitated LLPS gaining a reputation as a “cutting edge” water-quality monitoring group with significant findings and credibility gains amongst our peer-groups and with City, County, State and Federal governments. City, County, and State officials/politicians regularly attend our quarterly membership meetings, which have featured subject-matter experts from DISL, University of South Alabama, and University of Alabama to date.

3. The Team (LLPS and DISL)

4. Local outreach: classroom phyto-exuberance LLPS volunteers Rebecca and Liam Nevils are shown teaching students at the Episcol Day School about the phytoplankton in the lagoon.

5. Trainingand sampling Volunteers from LLPS were trained by personnel from DISL and NOAA’s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network

6. Lagoon Residents Chaetoceros sp. Unidentified cyanobacterium Pseudo-nitzschia sp. Skeletonema sp. Analysis of phytoplankton, collected in bi-weekly sampling as part of NOAA’s Phytoplankton Monitoring Network, shows that bloom-forming diatoms (including the potentially-toxic Pseudo-nitzschia sp.) are common in the lagoon.

7. Spatial characterization There are consistent physical, chemical and biological gradient in the lagoon. These are shown above, reduced to the first component in a principal components analysis of data from 50 stations, collected on 7/13/07. The first component explained 70% of the variability in the data. The sites sampled biweekly by LLPS and DISL are also marked.

8. Temporal characterization Four sites in the lagoon are sampled bi-weekly for a suite of physical, chemical and biological parameters. Differences between sites are generally low compared to differences over time. However, inputs of nutrient-rich, fresh water occur at Site 1 are not seen at all sites.

9. Nitrate varies with salinity. Phosphate doesn’t. The appearance of nitrate-rich and relatively fresh water at Site 1 is obvious (left). Nitrate concentrations at the other sites were low and independent of salinity. Phosphate concentrations (right) did not vary with salinity at any of the sites.

10. Phytoplankton biomass varies with nutrient concentration Chlorophyll concentration (an index of phytoplankton biomass) is correlated with total nitrogen (left) and total phosphorus (right). The correlation coefficient (R) is higher for phosphorus.

11. A strong endorsement from the area’s largest newspaper Editorial, Mobile Press Register 2/27/08

12. We couldn’t do it without you! ADCNR DISL SEPMN ADEM MBNEP