Browsing by Subject "Pamlico Sound"

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Open Access
Decision rules of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) movement in wind-driven systems
(2015-04-24) Chen, Julia
Blue crabs (Callinectes sapidus) are the most economically valuable fishery in North Carolina, and the commercial harvest is mainly from the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System (APES). Because of small inlets which restrict ocean tidal forcing in addition to large expanses of shallow water, circulation in the APES is primarily wind-driven. While much is known about how crabs move in tidally-dominated systems where movements are based upon selective tidal-stream transport, crab movements in wind-driven systems, and their response to environmental factors, remain poorly understood. This study aims to increase understanding of environmental controls on blue crab movements in order to inform management of crab resources in wind-driven systems. We studied crab movements in Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, a 40,000-acre shallow, wind-driven system within the APES. During October 2014, free ranging crabs were tracked using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and an antenna array deployed along the Central Canal connecting the lake to Pamlico Sound. Colocated and simultaneous meteorological and physical oceanographic data were collected to understand environmental drivers that may affect crab movements. Analyses of these data indicate: 1) a significant net export of blue crabs from the lake to the sound; the drivers of that export remain unclear; 2) crab movements coincided with the direction of water flow in the canal, and 3) at small-scales, crabs were able to move against the water flow. These results suggest that there is a fall migration, during which crabs move from the lake to the sound, and at a relatively constant rate that is slower than the mean water flow. If crabs are to move out of the lake at this time it is essential to open water control structures in order to facilitate migration. This is particularly important for the females, who because of their large size may contribute disproportionately large amounts of larvae to the Pamlico Sound broodstock. Crabs in the larger fishery may also move toward higher salinity water if they behave similarly to those studied here.
Open Access
Use of Remote Sensing on the Pamlico Sound with Implications for North Carolina Water Quality Management
(2002) Nojek, Larissa
The Pamlico Sound serves a vital role in North Carolina's ecology and economy, but declining water quality threatens the health of this system. Currently, the state of North Carolina does no regular water quality monitoring of the Pamlico Sound so the true condition of the Sound remains unknown. Long-term monitoring is needed to track changes considering the nutrients that enter the Sound as a consequence of land-use change in the watershed. Use of remote sensing in the Pamlico Sound is an ideal way to track phytoplankton changes that occur over a broad range of time and space domains. Remotely sensed data would provide researchers with regular and long-term information that can be used to evaluate the impacts of existing land use and nutrient management programs. Improved information on the Pamlico Sound can help managers create standards aimed at altering human behavior and improving the condition of the Sound. This Masters Project investigates the feasibility of using remote sensing to track water quality in the Pamlico Sound. I conducted interviews with remote sensing experts and North Carolina water quality managers to determine whether remote sensing of the Pamlico Sound will be useful in future water quality monitoring programs. I determined that while water quality managers do not currently have the resources to incorporate remote sensing into existing programs, it is a tool that will be useful and cost effective in future monitoring plans.