Recent Scientific Studies

The following links connect you to recent and ongoing scientific studies in the Great Marsh ecosystem:

The Marine Biological Laboratory's Plum Island Estuary Microbial Observatory (PIMO), located at the Plum Island Estuary LTER site in coastal Massachusetts, identifies prokaryotes in salt marsh sediments and plankton and determines their role in controlling major ecosystem processes.

The research programs at Jackson Estuarine Laboratory (JEL) can be broadly grouped into Coastal Geology, Seafloor Ecology, Seagrass Ecology, Tidal Marsh Ecology, Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, Aquaculture and Seaweed Ecology. Several of the resident faculty and staff of JEL, as well as outside scientists, are usually involved in each of these programs. In addition, a number of graduate and undergraduate students from the University of New Hampshire pursue their thesis work, or gain experience as participants in the research.

Mass Audubon Science Program. Since 1996, students in grades 5 through 12 on the North Shore have been working with Mass Audubon scientists to learn about salt marshes and common reed (Phragmites australis), an invasive plant that grows in salt marshes.The information collected helps scientists advise local, state, and federal agencies on how to protect and restore these habitats.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge conducts ongoing studies, which can be found at their site.

Great Marsh Revitalization Task Force: The Great Marsh Revitalization Task Force (GMRTF) is an assemblage of stakeholders consisting of federal, state, local, and nonprofit and academic groups working together on short term and long term actions to manage and control invasive Phragmites which is threatening the habitat of the 25,000 acre Great Marsh. For more on their work and recent accomplishments, click HERE.

Great Marsh Restoration COmmittee.