The impact of evaporation on marshland sediment salinity

Aleshanee Mooney from MRRI assisted scientists from the Center for Natural Resources from NJIT during a routine salinity sensor maintenance at River Bend. Long-term measurement of the changes in salinity using digital salinity sensors and data loggers at River Bend. This research is funded by the National Science Foundation. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Michel … Read more

The Environmental Summer Scholars Institute (Rutgers University – Newark) visits the Meadowlands

Forty environmental scholars (10th and 11th graders) from public and private schools in Newark visit the Meadowlands to learn about environmental science and coastal wetlands. Environmental Scholars participating in a nature observing exercise.  They identified critical features of wetlands and drew a living organism. Selected examples of the results of the nature observing exercise by … Read more

Imaging Benthic Biofilms in the Meadowlands

Benthic biofilms are matrixes of microbial cells and their secretions and have been shown to stabilize sediment in coastal environments. In the Meadowlands, biofilms may play an important role in limiting the mobility of contaminants associated with creek beds and mudflats.Only a few studies have investigated biofilm growth and how durable and effective their ability … Read more

Sampling for Ticks in the Meadowlands

Bergen County Department of Health Services Staff sampling for ticks in the Meadowlands The Gulf Coast Tick was found recently by the  Bergen County Department of Health Services in the Meadowlands for the first time. The Gulf Coast Tick transmits the spotted fever rickettsiosis in humans Sampling for the Marsh Mosquito (Aedes taeniorhynchus) in the Meadowlands … Read more

Sediment and contaminant movement with the tides in the lower Hackensack River

In Estuaries, sediments and contaminants move around with the tide.  This study measures the suspended sediment and flow direction from the main channel of the river to the marsh platform and the other way around. To determine in which directions contaminants are moving, MRRI scientists installed an Argonaut-ADV instrument that measures water velocity and direction, … Read more

MRRI Co-Hosts Algal Bloom Mitigation Workshop

The NJSEA’s Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI) and the New Jersey Institute of Technology on Oct. 11 hosted a regional workshop to exchange ideas on the best ways to abate harmful algal blooms. The consortium on Algae Bloom Mitigation and Algal Biotechnology for Sustainable New Jersey featured more than a dozen experts, scientists and … Read more

New Jersey Meadowlands Saltmarsh Sparrows: Framework for Recovery

Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammospiza caudacuta) is an endemic species to the Atlantic Coast of the United States and is widely considered one of the most rapidly declining avian species in the Western Hemisphere. Population estimates over time suggest the species declined by about 87% over 15 years at an alarming rate of 9% per year (Hartley … Read more

Operation Osprey Uplift

In an continuing effort to increase the Meadowlands population of Osprey, a state threatened breeding species, MRRI scientists installed two new nesting platforms along the Hackensack River. This brings the total number of platforms installed under ‘Operation Osprey Uplift’ to seven, with more to come before the Osprey begin to return later this month.   

Water Quality Sampling

In February 2022, MRRI staff and interns completed their winter water quality sampling at 14 monitoring sites in the lower Hackensack River estuary, during which time hundreds of birds were observed on the river. MRRI analyzed temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, salinity and pH in the river. The water samples were brought back to the MRRI … Read more

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