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NSF Award(s)
DEB-0080381
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DEB-9211772
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DEB-0621014
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all sites)
Research activities of the VCR/LTER focus on the mosaic of transitions and steady-state systems that comprise the barrier-island/lagoon/mainland landscape of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Primary study sites are located on Hog Island, Parramore Island and mainland marshes near Nassawadox VA. The VCR/LTER uses field laboratory and housing facilities at the Anheuser-Busch Coastal Research Center in Oyster, VA.
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| Contact Information |
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| Address: |
University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences
291 McCormick Road
P.O. Box 400123
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4123 |
| Phone: 434-924-0558 |
| Fax: 434-982-2137 |
| Email: JPorter@lternet.edu |
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| View contact info
for all sites |
| Site History |
The Virginia Coast Reserve/Long-Term Ecological Research Program began operation in 1987. In VCR/LTER I (1997-1992) we focused on geophysical controls (e.g., storms) on coastal ecosystems. In VCR/LTER II (1992-1994) we introduced the concept of ecological state change, which was linked in VCR/LTER III (1994-2000) to relationships between free surfaces (land, sea, freshwater table). Under the VCR/LTER IV grant (2000-2006), we have added a hypsometric perspective, which provides an alternate way of examining ecological patterns on the coastal landscape. LTER V (2006-2012) adds a focus on how fluxes of organisms and materials across the landscape influence ecosystem dynamics and state change.
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| Research Topics |
Holocene barrier island geology; salt marsh ecology, geology, and hydrology; ecology/evolution of insular vertebrates; primary/secondary succession; life-form modeling of succession.
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| Institutional Affiliations
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Research Sites |
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| Climate Info. |
| Annual |
High |
Mean |
Low |
| Temperature |
19.5 c |
14.5c |
8.9c |
| Precipitation |
1496 mm/year |
1065 mm/year |
815 mm/year |
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