Linda Deegan

Last updated
Linda Deegan
Alma mater Louisiana State University
Scientific career
Thesis The population ecology and nutrient transport of gulf menhaden in Fourleague Bay, Louisiana  (1985)

Linda Ann Deegan is an estuarine and arctic ecologist with expertise in freshwater inputs, food web interactions, eutrophication, estuaries, and coastal processes. Her research combines ecosystem perspectives, energy flows, and community dynamics to tackle issues such as the effects of habitat degradation on fish communities, the importance of fish in exporting nutrients and carbon in estuaries, and the response of upper trophic levels to increased nutrient trends in arctic landscapes. [1] Deegan is the co-editor-in-chief of Estuaries and Coasts.

Contents

Education

Deegan earned her bachelor of science in biology from Northeastern University in 1976, where she worked on mummichog in the Plum Island estuary. [2] She received her master's degree in zoology from the University of New Hampshire in 1979. She earned her Ph.D. in marine sciences from Louisiana State University in 1985. [3] Her Ph.D. dissertation was titled "The population ecology and nutrient cycling of gulf menhaden in Fourleague Bay, Louisiana". [4]

Career

Deegan began her career in 1985 as an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and became an adjunct professor in 1989 in the Department of Environmental Conservation. In 1989, she joined the Ecosystem Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, where she was promoted to senior scientist in 2016. Starting in 2004 she was a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Geology at Brown University. As of 2009 Deegan has served as the director of the Comparative Analysis of Marine Ecosystem Organization (CAMEO), a joint NSF and NOAA program. In 2016, Deegan joined the Woodwell Climate Research Center. [5] [3]

Deegan shares the editor-in-chief position for Estuaries and Coasts with Paul Montagna. [6]

Research

Deegan is known for her work on the effects of nutrient enrichment on salt marsh ecosystems, the impact of climate change on Arctic tundra ecosystems, and the role of wetlands in regulating carbon and nitrogen cycling. Deegan's work at Toolik Lake in Alaska has examined the impact of droughts on fish, [7] the impact of increasing water temperature on Arctic grayling fish, [8] [9] and thermokarst terrains, which are regions where permafrost has collapsed due to melting. [10]

Deegan has served as project director of the TIDE project since 1996. [2] The project is the only coastal ecosystem-scale nutrient addition experiment in the world, as it adds chemical fertilizers to regions of the marsh in order to examine the impact on the ecosystem. [11] [12] Deegan's work has shown that excessive nutrient levels cause changes in the fish and grasses. [13] [14] In 2012, Deegan led the publication in Nature documenting the changes in the estuary that resulted from the addition of nutrients. [15] [16]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coast</span> Area where land meets the sea or ocean

A coast – also called the coastline, shoreline, or seashore – is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape, as well as by water induced erosion, such as waves. The geological composition of rock and soil dictates the type of shore that is created. Earth contains roughly 620,000 km (390,000 mi) of coastline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eutrophication</span> Excessive plant growth in water

Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of microorganisms that may deplete the water of oxygen. Eutrophication may occur naturally or as a result of human actions. Manmade, or cultural, eutrophication occurs when sewage, industrial wastewater, fertilizer runoff, and other nutrient sources are released into the environment. Such nutrient pollution usually causes algal blooms and bacterial growth, resulting in the depletion of dissolved oxygen in water and causing substantial environmental degradation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Estuary</span> Partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water

An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments and are an example of an ecotone. Estuaries are subject both to marine influences such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water, and to fluvial influences such as flows of freshwater and sediment. The mixing of seawater and freshwater provides high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt marsh</span> Coastal ecosystem between land and open saltwater that is regularly flooded

A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated by dense stands of salt-tolerant plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments. Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the delivery of nutrients to coastal waters. They also support terrestrial animals and provide coastal protection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve</span>

Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, also known as Wells Reserve, is a National Estuarine Research Reserve located in Wells, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine ecosystem</span> Ecosystem in saltwater environment

Marine ecosystems are the largest of Earth's aquatic ecosystems and exist in waters that have a high salt content. These systems contrast with freshwater ecosystems, which have a lower salt content. Marine waters cover more than 70% of the surface of the Earth and account for more than 97% of Earth's water supply and 90% of habitable space on Earth. Seawater has an average salinity of 35 parts per thousand of water. Actual salinity varies among different marine ecosystems. Marine ecosystems can be divided into many zones depending upon water depth and shoreline features. The oceanic zone is the vast open part of the ocean where animals such as whales, sharks, and tuna live. The benthic zone consists of substrates below water where many invertebrates live. The intertidal zone is the area between high and low tides. Other near-shore (neritic) zones can include mudflats, seagrass meadows, mangroves, rocky intertidal systems, salt marshes, coral reefs, lagoons. In the deep water, hydrothermal vents may occur where chemosynthetic sulfur bacteria form the base of the food web.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve</span> Nature reserve in New Jersey, US

The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve, located in southeastern New Jersey, encompasses over 116,116 acres of terrestrial, wetland and aquatic habitats within the Mullica River-Great Bay Ecosystem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elkhorn Slough</span> Body of water in Monterey County, California

Elkhorn Slough is a 7-mile-long (11 km) tidal slough and estuary on Monterey Bay in Monterey County, California. It is California's second largest estuary and the United States' first estuarine sanctuary. The community of Moss Landing and the Moss Landing Power Plant are located at the mouth of the slough on the bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation</span> U.S. nonprofit organization

The Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) is a private, nonprofit organization created in 1971. At that time, the members of two regionally based organizations, the Atlantic Estuarine Research Society (AERS) and the New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) recognized the need for a third estuarine organization that would address national estuarine and coastal issues. Today, CERF is a multidisciplinary federation of members and seven regionally-based Affiliate Societies dedicated to the understanding and wise stewardship of estuaries and coasts worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brackish marsh</span> Marsh with brackish level of salinity

Brackish marshes develop from salt marshes where a significant freshwater influx dilutes the seawater to brackish levels of salinity. This commonly happens upstream from salt marshes by estuaries of coastal rivers or near the mouths of coastal rivers with heavy freshwater discharges in the conditions of low tidal ranges.

<i>Estuaries and Coasts</i> Academic journal

Estuaries and Coasts is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Springer Science+Business Media and the official journal of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation. It was established in 1960 as Chesapeake Science by Romeo J. Mansueti, covering research results and management studies on natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay region. In 1977, the journal was acquired by the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation and in 1978 it was renamed Estuaries. It obtained its current name in 2006. Chesapeake Science was published and partially subsidized by the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory during its 18-year history. The co-editors-in-chief are Linda Deegan and Paul Montagna.

The Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve consists of two unique components, one on Blackbird Creek and the other on the St. Jones River. Freshwater wetlands, ponds and forest lands dominate the Blackbird Creek component. The St. Jones component is dominated by salt marsh and open water habitats of the Delaware Bay.

Outwelling is a hypothesized process by which coastal salt marshes and mangroves, “hot spots” of production, produce an excess amount of carbon each year and “outwell” these organic nutrients and detritus into the surrounding coastal embayment or ocean, thus increasing the productivity of local fisheries or other coastal plants. Outwelling also nourishes plankton communities and causes a spike in activity. The majority of outwelling is dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and some particulate organic carbon (POC) Outwelling expels salt, silicate (1.0 mmol/m2), orthophosphate (0.03 mmol/m2), and nitrate (0.04 mmol/m2) during each tidal cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High marsh</span>

High marsh is a tidal marsh zone located above the Mean Highwater Mark (MHW) which, in contrast to the low marsh zone, is inundated infrequently during periods of extreme high tide and storm surge associated with coastal storms. This zone is impacted by spring tides, which is a bi-monthly lunar occurrence where the high marsh experiences higher inundation levels. The high marsh is the intermittent zone between the low marsh and the uplands, an entirely terrestrial area rarely flooded during events of extreme tidal action caused by severe coastal storms. The high marsh is distinguished from the low marsh by its sandy soil and higher elevation. The elevation of the high marsh allows this zone to be covered by the high tide for no more than an hour a day. With the soil exposed to air for long periods of time, evaporation occurs, leading to high salinity levels, up to four times that of sea water. Areas of extremely high salinity prohibit plant growth altogether. These barren sandy areas are known as "salt pans". Some cordgrass plants do survive here, but are stunted and do not reach their full size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Kennish</span>

Michael J. Kennish is an American marine scientist and a research professor in the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He is best known for his work on the effects of human activities on estuarine and marine environments.

Estuary freshwater inflow is the freshwater that flows into an estuary. Other types of environmental flows include instream flow, the freshwater water flowing in rivers or streams, and estuary outflow, the outflow from an estuary to the ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt marsh die-off</span> Ecological disaster in low-elevation salt marshes

Salt marsh die-off is a term that has been used in the US and UK to describe the death of salt marsh cordgrass leading to subsequent degradation of habitat, specifically in the low marsh zones of salt marshes on the coasts of the Western Atlantic. Cordgrass normally anchors sediment in salt marshes; its loss leads to decreased substrate hardness, increased erosion, and collapse of creek banks into the water, ultimately resulting in decreased marsh health and productivity.

Anne E. Giblin is a marine biologist who researches the cycling of elements nitrogen, sulfur, iron and phosphorus. She is a Senior Scientist and Acting Director of the Ecosystem Center at the Marine Biological Lab.

Candace Ann Oviatt is an ecologist at the University of Rhode Island known for research into coastal marine ecosystems with a particular focus on Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.

Scott W. Nixon was an ecosystem ecologist whose research primarily focused on nitrogen and eutrophication in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. He was the first to clearly define coastal eutrophication. Nixon was a faculty member of the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography from 1969 until his death. Throughout his life, he also served important roles in many organizations and committees, including as the director of Rhode Island Sea Grant, editor-in-chief of Estuaries, and a member of the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board.

References

  1. ↑ "Linda A. Deegan". Woodwell Climate. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  2. 1 2 Goldstein, Meredith (22 May 2003). "Salt marshes studied: Purchase of farm allows Woods Hole project to expand". Boston Globe; Boston, Mass. p. 1 – via Proquest.
  3. 1 2 "Linda Deegan : NE CASC". necasc.umass.edu. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  4. ↑ Deegan, Linda (2023). "Linda A. Deegan's Resume" (PDF). NOAA. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  5. ↑ Deegan, L. (2000). Linda A. Deegan - Sab.noaa.gov. Resume . Retrieved March 21, 2023, from https://sab.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Deegan-CV-Oct-2013.pdf.  
  6. ↑ "Estuaries and Coasts". SpringerLink. Retrieved 2024-09-28.
  7. ↑ Dahlberg, Carrie Peyton (2008-07-18). "Researchers at Arctic outpost hot on trail of global warming". The Sacramento Bee. pp.  , . Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  8. ↑ Lindsey, Kelsey (September 11, 2017). "North Slope 'fish spa' might hold answers to survival in a warming Arctic". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  9. ↑ Burdick, Alan (2017-01-24). Why Time Flies: A Mostly Scientific Investigation. Simon and Schuster. pp. 62–64. ISBN   978-1-4516-7701-0.
  10. ↑ Dell'Amore, Christine (July 2, 2008). "Arctic Dispatch: Thermokarst and Toolik". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  11. ↑ Wacker, Tim (2008-06-01). "Scientists intentionally harm marsh in bid to save it". The Boston Globe. pp.  , . Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  12. ↑ Zeldovich, Lina (2021-11-19). The Other Dark Matter: The Science and Business of Turning Waste Into Wealth and Health. University of Chicago Press. pp. 73–78. ISBN   978-0-226-61557-8.
  13. ↑ Horton, Tom; Dewar, Heather (26 September 2000). "Sea grasses vanish, marine life in peril Scientists see it the world over: Where excess nutrients wash into coastal waters, the undersea landscape changes drastically and marine nurseries are destroyed". The Sun; Baltimore, Md. pp. 1A – via ProQuest.
  14. ↑ Fraser, Doug (April 5, 2017). "Study: Excess nitrogen degrades threatened salt marshes". Cape Cod Times. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  15. ↑ Deegan, Linda A.; Johnson, David Samuel; Warren, R. Scott; Peterson, Bruce J.; Fleeger, John W.; Fagherazzi, Sergio; Wollheim, Wilfred M. (2012). "Coastal eutrophication as a driver of salt marsh loss". Nature. 490 (7420): 388–392. doi:10.1038/nature11533. ISSN   0028-0836.
  16. ↑ Daley, Beth (18 October 2012). "A delicate balance in Plum Island marsh: Fertilizer, sewage damage critical ecosystem, study finds". Boston Globe; Boston, Mass. pp. B.1 – via ProQuest.
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