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Research & Monitoring
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Great Bay NERR research activities

One focus area for the GBNERR research program is anadromous fish in Great Bay. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, which administers the Reserve program, is investigating downward trends evident in monitoring data collected during spring spawning events.  The Reserve is actively pursing interested partners to develop future projects examining anadromous fish issues in Great Bay and its tributaries.

Click poster to enlarge

The Reserve is currently collaborating on two projects with David Berlinsky at UNH involving anadromous fish in Great Bay tributaries.  The first is in the final report stage and examined emigration of juvenile American Shad from the Exeter River . Results from this project were presented in a poster at the Restore America’s Estuaries 2nd annual conference in Seattle WA this past September.  A second project investigating rainbow smelt egg development and hatching success is just beginning.  Water quality issues associated with reduced spawning effort in two Great Bay tributaries will be examined with both lab and field investigations.

Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The Reserve has funded 9 GRF positions since 1997 with two fellowships slots annually.  Currently the GBNERR fellows are Aaron Freeman and Mark Capone.  Aaron’s work over the past three years has focused on phenotypic plasticity in blue mussels.   Mark Capone is studying the effects of oyster reefs on water quality.  Please visit the national NERRS website for more information and application materials for the GRF program (http://nerrs.noaa.gov/Fellowship/welcome.html).

Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technologies (CICEET)

The Great Bay NERR benefits from having the CICEET offices located in New Hampshire at UNH.   Many of the projects CICEET funds have at least a portion of the work conducted within the Reserve boundary.  The co-directors of CICEET, Richard Langan and Dwight Trueblood also serve on the GBNERR research advisory panel.  Visit their website for detailed information on research projects made possible through CICEET funds.