Baruch Marine Field Laboratory
University of South Carolina
P.O. Box 1630
Georgetown, SC 29442 or
Hobcaw Barony, Highway 17 North,
Georgetown, SC 29440
Estuarine Research Federation: President Elect
1999-2001, President 2001-2003,
Past President 2003-2005 and member of the Governing
Board 1999-2005;
Member at Large 1997-99, Awards Chair 2007
Southeastern Estuarine Research Society: President 1990-92,
continuing member
Distinguished Service Award 2003: National Estuarine Research
Reserve Association
Adjunct Faculty, Coastal Carolina University, Marine Science
Department
Graduate Faculty, University of Charleston, Marine Biology
Graduate Program
Graduate Faculty, Clemson University, Department of Forest
Resources
Past Manager, North Inlet - Winyah Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve
Winyah Rivers Foundation, Scientific Advisory Board
South Carolina Environmental Law Project, consultant on coastal
issues
Member: American Fisheries Society, The Crustacean
Society, National Marine Educators
Association, American Institute of Biological
Sciences
Estuarine ecology has been the theme of my
research for more than 30 years. I have been particularly
interested in the temporal and spatial dynamics of zooplankton and
nekton assemblages in salt marshes and the coastal ocean. In the
early 1980’s, the Baruch Institute had an opportunity to establish
long-term time series measurements of variables in the North Inlet
Estuary, SC. Simultaneous (and continuing) measurements of multiple
size fractions and life stages of motile taxa and physical variables
have revealed relationships (and in many cases lack of
relationships) between patterns of occurrence and changes in
environmental conditions on time scales ranging from weeks to
decades. My interests have been focused on behavioral mechanisms
that control distribution, abundance, biomass, growth, and
production at the population and community levels. Larval
recruitment, habitat selection, site fidelity, and resource
partitioning are the primary processes of interest. Questions have
been addressed by integrating information from long-term datasets
and short-term field and mesocosm experiments in which behavioral
responses of fauna to changing abiotic and biotic factors are
quantified. The overarching goal is to fill gaps in our
understanding of the roles of social and trophic interactions in
structuring the use of intertidal and subtidal habitats by a diverse
and abundant motile fauna. Most recently, I have been working with
colleagues to address questions about how the migratory,
bioturbating, and excretory activities of nekton affect habitats and
ecosystem functions. Much of this information is useful for the
development of ecosystem-based resource management plans and policy.
A list of specific areas of interest and products follows.
The continuing survey of salt marsh creek
nekton in Oyster Landing Basin (North Inlet Estuary) appears to be
one of the longest continuous efforts to: (1) document temporal
patterns of occupation of intertidal salt marsh habitat by resident
and transient nekton and (2) investigate factors controlling the use
of this habitat. Since April 1983, we have used a seine to collect
nekton remaining within a large, isolated, intertidal creek bed pool
at low tide every 2 weeks. From 1996 – 2003, the low tide seine
collection was paired with a block net collection of nekton leaving
the flooded marsh surface nearby. Comparison of the catches
demonstrated a significant positive relationship between the high
and low tide catches (total and most individual taxa). Since spring
2003, collections have been made only from the flooded marsh.
Analyses of the 20 year series thus far have revealed: (1) large
biweekly, seasonal, and interannual fluctuations in the
abundance/biomass of individual taxa (especially among the 45 less
common taxa), (2) a mixture of long-term increasing, decreasing, and
stable trends in abundance over the 20 years, (3) few long-term
relationships between abundance/biomass/production and environmental
conditions (salinity, temperature, DO, depth, Spartina
production and others), (4) consistent abundance rankings of 9
dominant transient species (peak March – October, >90% of annual
biomass) from year to year, (5) consistent growth rates of dominants
among years and (6) high stability in the levels of total annual
production (based on the 9 transient species) indicating an
unchanged carrying capacity for the Basin. One general conclusion
is that the magnitude of larval recruitment (year class success) of
some transient species from offshore spawning areas early in the
year is a strong predictor for the annual production of those
species in the basin, regardless of how, when, or how much
environmental conditions change during the period of occupation.
Additional analyses of the dataset are now underway and a manuscript
is in preparation. Data and summaries are available at the
Baruch Institute web site.
The time series was initiated with National
Science Foundation support for the North Inlet Long-Term Ecological
Research Program (NI LTER 1980-1993) and continues with the support
of the North Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
(NI-WB NERR) which is funded by NOAA and the University of SC. The
assistance of hundreds of students, staff, and volunteers over the
years is gratefully acknowledged. Current collaborators among the
technical staff are Ginger Ogburn-Matthews, Paul Kenny, Tracy Buck,
Amy Cook, Beth Thomas, and Jennifer Keesee.
Allen, D.M., D. Edwards, R.F. Feller, S.E. Hutchinson, and V. Ogburn-
Matthews. 1997. Detection and analysis of unusual events in long-term
zooplankton and nekton data sets from North Inlet Estuary, SC, USA.
Oceanologica Acta
20:165-175.
Allen, D.M., S.K. Service, and M.V. Ogburn. 1992.
Factors influencing the collection efficiency of estuarine fishes.
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 121:234-244.
Ogburn-Matthews, V. and D.M. Allen. 1993. Interactions among some dominant
estuarine nekton species. Estuaries 16:840-850.
A 4 year study entitled ‘The role of oyster
reefs in the structure and function of tidal creeks’ (1996-2000, R.
Dame (PI), D. Allen, E. Koepfler, and D. Bushek (Co-PIs)), provided
an opportunity to investigate relationships between nekton and the
hydro-geomorphological features of intertidal creeks. Simultaneous
block net catches from 8 creeks once each season for 2 years showed
that rankings for biomass and abundance in the various creeks were
very consistent among seasons and years, with some creeks always
supporting densities up to 30 times greater than others.
Multivariate analyses revealed that nekton occupation was strongly
related to 4 of the 28 measured or derived variables describing the
geomorphology and hydrology of the creeks. Strong relationships
were identified between nekton use of the creeks and the rate at
which the creeks filled and drained, depth, the lateral profile of
the creeks, and proximity to the uplands. Creek size, area of the
surrounding marsh basin and proportion of creek bottom with oysters
were not important factors. Spatial and temporal patterns of nekton
use of the creeks were also used in conjunction with laboratory
experiments on excretion and bioturbation to determine whether
motile macrofauna were important sources of dissolved nitrogen and
phosphorus in the creeks relative to oyster reefs and other biotic
subsystems. The study was supported by National Science Foundation
award DEB-65-0957.
Allen, D.M., S.S.
Haertel-Borer, B.J. Milan, D. Bushek, and R.F. Dame. 2007.
Geomorphological determinants of nekton use in intertidal salt marsh
creeks. Marine Ecology Progress Series.329:57-71.
Dame, R, D. Bushek, D. Allen, D. Edwards,
L. Gregory, A. Lewitus, S. Crawford, E. Koepfler, C. Corbett, B.
Kjerfve, and T. Prins. 2000. The experimental analysis of tidal creeks
dominated by oyster reefs: the premanipulation year. Journal of
Shellfish Research 19:361-369.
Haertel-Borer, S.S., D.M. Allen, and R.F.
Dame. 2004. Fishes and shrimps are significant sources of dissolved
inorganic nutrients in intertidal marsh creeks. Journal of
Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 311:79-99.
Kurt Bretsch’s dissertation research revealed
the structure of nekton migrations in intertidal creeks. We
developed a quantitative approach/device for determining the
composition and abundance of nekton entering intertidal creeks
with the flooding tide. The sweep flume allows for the quick
harvest of all motile animals within a section (15 m long, about
3 m wide ) of a creek. The flume allows unobstructed movement
of nekton through the creek except during short periods when
both ends are closed for sample collection. In Kurt’s study,
samples were taken at 10 cm depth intervals (about every 20
minutes) up to 100 cm (the bankfull level). Comparisons of
catches at the various depths demonstrated peak depths of
movement that differed among taxa. The sequence of entry was
very similar among creeks and over periods of months, although
peak depths increased somewhat within species as a function of
increasing individual size. Kurt also conducted experiments in
a simulated section of creek (flow through concrete tank) to
investigate effects of biological interactions on depth
selection by the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio.
Bretsch, K. and
D.M. Allen. 2006.
Tidal migrations of nekton in salt marsh creeks. Estuaries and Coasts
29:479-491.
Bretsch, K. and D.M. Allen. 2006.
Effects of biotic factors on depth selection by salt marsh nekton. Journal of
Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 334:130-138.
Several projects involving undergraduate and
graduate students have investigated the distributions of fishes and
motile macroinvertebrates in salt marsh creeks. Some of these
studies have focused on the use of subtidal bottoms. Rich Lehnert’s
thesis work demonstrated the importance of shell rubble habitat for
many species some of which do not make regular excursions into
adjacent intertidal areas. Mike Potthoff’s tagging study showed
that juvenile pinfish have high site fidelity for intertidal creeks,
remaining immediately outside of a specific creek for periods up to
several months. In a recent study, marking studies have been
conducted to determine whether Palaemonetes has fidelity for
certain intertidal creeks and/or pools within creeks.
Lehnert, R.L. and D.M. Allen. 2002. Nekton use of subtidal oyster shell habitat in a
southeastern U.S. estuary. Estuaries 25:1015-1024.
Potthoff, M. T. and D.M. Allen. 2003.
Site fidelity, home range, and tidal migrations of juvenile pinfish,
Lagodon rhomboides, in salt marsh creeks. Environmental
Biology of Fishes 67: 231-240.
Two intensive field studies in which zooplanktivorous fishes (anchovies and
silversides) and zooplankton were collected at the same time and place
demonstrated tidal, diel, and seasonal patterns in the selectivity of certain
prey. Additionally, vertical and lateral separation of species in large
creeks suggested a partitioning of resources.
Johnson, W.S., D.M. Allen, M.V. Ogburn-Matthews, and S. E.
Stancyk. 1990. Short-term predation responses of adult bay anchovy Anchoa
mitchilli to estuarine zooplankton availability. Marine Ecology Progress
Series 64:55-68.
Allen, D.M., W.S. Johnson, and V. Ogburn-Matthews. 1995.
Trophic relationships and seasonal utilization of salt marsh creeks by
zooplanktivorous fishes.
Environmental Biology of Fishes 42:37-50.
Of the more than 45 species of larval fishes collected in the
epibenthic zone of a major tidal creek over a four year period, gobies (Gobiosoma
spp.) dominated the spring and summer collections and accounted for about
84% of the total annual catch. Dates of first and last occurrence and size
distributions of the various summer and winter larvae were very similar among
years, but variations in abundance among taxa and fluctuations between years
were large. Similarities in catches at an inner creek and an inlet
location indicated that factors operating at the system wide level controlled
the occurrence of larval fishes in major waterways. The time series for
larval fishes has continued through the epibenthic sled collection program
described below.
Allen, D.M. and D.L. Barker. 1990. Interannual
variability in larval fish recruitment to estuarine epibenthic habitats.
Marine Ecology Progress Series
63:113-125.
Using
an epibenthic sled fitted with a 365 micron mesh net, replicated collections
have been made in a major subtidal creek (Town Creek, North Inlet Estuary, SC)
about every two weeks since January 1981. The time series continues in
2007. Sequential tows are made along the axis of the channel about 2 hours
before midday low tide.
This long-term study of large
mesozooplankton (1-15 mm) has revealed high stability in the
taxonomic composition of the assemblage. Winter and spring collections have
been sorted through 2003, and these data have been analyzed. Mysid shrimps,
gammarid amphipods, chaetognaths, and larval fishes (spot, pinfish,
clupeids, flounders, eels) consistently accounted for large portions of the
winter-spring catches. A slight long-term decline in abundance was
determined for chaetognaths and hydromedusae. Abundance trend lines for
other dominant resident taxa over the first 18 years were fairly flat.
Lowest abundances for resident and coastal ocean taxa were correlated with
periods of lowest salinities in this ocean-dominated estuary. These periods
usually coincided with El Nino events that bring increased rainfall to the
Southeast region. Larval fishes and penaeid shrimps which recruit from
offshore waters were not influenced by salinity levels in the estuary. All
collections have been archived and are available for investigating taxonomy,
reproduction, growth, parasitism, chemical content, diets and other
interests. Coincidental integrated water column collections of small
mesozooplankton made with 153 micron mesh nets are also available. Several
short-term studies that have examined tidal, diel, and spatial dynamics of
small and large mesozooplankton assemblages (see other entries here) at this
site have provided a framework for the interpretation of the results from
the long-term series.
The time series was initiated with National
Science Foundation support for the North Inlet Long-Term Ecological Research
Program (NI LTER 1980-1993) and continues with the support of the North
Inlet-Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NI-WB NERR) which is
funded by NOAA and the University of SC. Many dozens of technical staff,
students, and volunteers have assisted with field collections and sample
processing over the years. Current staff collaborators include Tracy Buck,
Amy Cook, Sarah Foose, Jennifer Keesee, Paul Kenny, and Ginger
Ogburn-Matthews.
Allen, D.M.,
V. Ogburn-Matthews, T. Buck, and E.M. Smith.
Long-term dynamics of large mesozooplankton in a high salinity southeastern
U.S. estuary (1981 – 2003): responses to climate change? Submitted March
2007.
Allen, D.M.,
D. Edwards, R.F. Feller, S.E. Hutchinson, and V. Ogburn- Matthews. 1997.
Detection and analysis of unusual events in long-term zooplankton and nekton
data sets from North Inlet Estuary, SC, USA. Oceanologica Acta
20:165-175.
Kenny, P.D., W.K. Michener, and D.M. Allen. 1990. Spatial and temporal
patterns of oyster settlement in a high salinity estuary. Journal of
Shellfish Research
9:329-339.
Heard, R.W., W.W. Price, D.M.
Knott, R.A. King and D.M. Allen. 2006.
A taxonomic guide to the mysids of the South Atlantic Bight. NOAA Professional
Paper Series NMFS 4:1-37.
Burreson,
E.M. and D.M. Allen. 1978. Morphology and biology of
Mysidobdella borealis (Johansson) comb. N. (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae),
from mysids in the western North Atlantic. Journal of Parasitology
64:1082-1091.
Allen, D.M. and W.B. Allen 1981. Seasonal dynamics of a
leech-mysid shrimp interaction in a temperate salt marsh. Biological Bulletin
160:1-10.
Allen, D.M. 1982. Autecology of the cryptic mysid crustacean,
Heteromysis formosa S.I. Smith 1873, in a temperate estuary.
Hydrobiologia 93:1-7.
Schultz, G.A. and D.M. Allen. 1982. Prodajus bigelowiensis, new
species (Isopoda: Dajidae) parasite of Mysidopsis bigelowi (Mysidacea)
from coastal New Jersey, with observations on infestation. Journal of
Crustacean Biology 2:296-302.
Allen, D.M. 1984. Population dynamics of the mysid shrimp, Mysidopsis
bigelowi
W.M. Tattersall in a temperate estuary. Journal of Crustacean Biology.
4:25-34.
Johnson, W.S. and D.M. Allen. 2005. Zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts:
a guide to their identification and ecology. Johns Hopkins University
Press. Baltimore. (379 pp.) . ISBN 0-8018-8168-4
This is the first comprehensive guide to the
zooplankton of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the US. High quality line
drawings by Marni Fylling have been coupled with bulleted features and
information on the occurrences of more than 300 commonly encountered taxa to
facilitate the positive identification. The area covered is from Cape Cod
to central Florida on the east coast and Tampa Bay to the Rio Grande on the
Gulf of Mexico coast. Information and references are provided for each
taxon. With an introductory chapter that treats basic zooplankton ecology
and biology and appendices that present methods for collection and analysis,
this book can be used as a text at the high school, college, and graduate
level.
Dame, R.F. and D.M. Allen. 1996. Between estuaries and the sea.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 200:169-185.
Dame, R., M. Alber, D. Allen, M. Mallin, C. Montague, A. Lewitus, A. Chalmers,
R. Gardner, C. Gilman, B. Kjerfve, J. Pinckney, and N. Smith. 2000.
Estuaries of the South Atlantic Coast of North America: their geographical
signatures.
Estuaries 23:793-819.
Busbee, W.S., W.H. Conner, D.M.
Allen, and J.D. Lanham. 2003. Composition and aboveground productivity of
three seasonally flooded depressional forested wetlands in coastal South
Carolina. Southeastern Naturalist 2: 335-346.
Dame, R., D. Bushek, D. Allen, A. Lewitus, D. Edwards, E. Koepfler, and L.
Gregory. 2002. Ecosystem response to bivalve density reduction: management
implications. Aquatic Ecology 36:51-65.
Bushek, D. and D.M. Allen. 2005.
Motile suspension feeders in estuarine and marine ecosystems.
in Dame, R.F. and S. Olenin,
eds. The comparative role of suspension feeders in aquatic ecosystems. NATO
Science Series. 47: 53-71. Springer, Dordecht
‘Mobile link organisms as processors and
transporters of materials within a marsh estuarine ecosystem’ has been
funded by the National Science Foundation Ecosystem Studies Program.
Richard Dame is PI with Dennis Allen and Rob Young as Co-PIs in this Coastal
Carolina University – University of South Carolina collaborative RUI
program. The $600,000 award began September 1, 2004 and will continue
through August 2008. Postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Stacy Luthy, and senior
technician, Jason Garwood, have been working with the PI’s on the field and
laboratory research components and coordinating the participation of 3 or 4
undergraduate interns at a time. The official NSF ‘Public Abstract” for the
project follows:
The goal of this project is to quantify the
roles of mobile animals, mainly fish and decapod crustaceans (collectively
called nekton), in processing and transporting materials within and between
marsh-estuarine systems and subsystems. At short time scales, previous work
indicates that mobile organisms are probably a major source of dissolved
nutrients, ammonium and phosphate. On longer time scales, they accumulate
organic biomass. Simultaneous observations of the fluxes of materials and
organisms in multiple intertidal creek-marsh basins and between their major
subsystems (salt marshes, mud flats, tidal channels and oyster reefs)
provide estimates of the relative importance of each of these components in
processing and transporting materials within and across boundaries. A
replicated Before-After Control-Impact (BACI) approach will determine the
statistical significance of these fluxes. Hypothesized decreases in
inorganic fluxes following the exclusion of mobile link animals from flooded
intertidal creek basins, particularly under dark conditions, will provide an
empirical measure of the role of these animals in material processing. Many
of the mobile animals are also economically important components of coastal
fisheries. The project will take place in North Inlet Estuary, SC, which is
a near pristine ecosystem and part of the National Estuarine Research
Reserve System. These studies will provide an attractive mechanism and
opportunity for educating students, teachers and laypersons in marine and
wetland science.
As of winter 2007, we have completed a series
of experiments in natural intertidal creek pools and fiberglass pool
mesocosms which have provided quantitative measures of the relative
ammonium, nitrate/nitrite, and phosphorous contributions of nekton to the
water column during their post feeding isolation in pools at low tide.
Replicated units with different treatment with and without nekton have
enabled us to separate the effects (nutrient sinks and sources) of the water
column and the bottom from the nekton. Nekton contributions are significant
during both day and night. Scaled up experiments with moving water are
planned for large mesocosms serviced by our running seawater system.
The contribution of nutrients that are
sequestered by nekton during the summer growing season is being addressed in
a series of studies in 7 intertidal creek basins. Growth, condition, and
abundance are being studied to test the hypothesis that different intertidal
creek basins contribute different amounts of nutrients to the estuary.
Movements, site fidelity, and diets vs food availability are being
investigated in an attempt to understand mechanisms responsible for the
observed spatial variability and patterns.
PhD
committee chair, Univ. of South Carolina 2000-2005
migrations of fishes and shrimps in intertidal creeks
Beseres,
Jennifer
PhD
committee member Univ. of South Carolina 2002-2006
impact of penaeid shrimp on subtidal infauna
MS committee member Univ. of South Carolina 2000-2002
penaeid shrimp nutrition
Garwood, Jason
MS committee
member, Coastal Carolina Univ., 2003-2005
Nekton use of artificial reefs
Maxwell, Katie
MS committee
member, Coastal Carolina Univ. 2006-
Atlantic sharpnose shark use of estuarine creeks
Marshalonis, Dino
PhD
committee member, Univ. of South Carolina, Biol. Sci. 2005-
Hydromedusae control on phytoplankton production
Williams, Simone
MEERM
committee member, Univ. of South Carolina, 2004-2006
Spatial modeling of fiddler crabs and habitat
Long,
Michael
MS committee
member, Univ. of South Carolina, Biol. Sci. 2004-2006
Blue crab control on marsh periwinkle populations
Yednock,
Bree
MS committee
member, Coastal Carolina Univ. 2003-2005
elasmobranch use of salt marsh creeks
Haertel,
Susanne
Post
doctoral advisee, Univ. of South Carolina 2000-2003
Excretion and bioturbation effects of nekton on nutrients
Driggers,
Trey
PhD
committee member, Univ. of South Carolina 1997-2002
biology of the blacknose shark
Blair, Anne
MS committee
member, College of Charleston, 2000-2004
soft coral biology
Busbee,
Steven
MS committee
member, Clemson Univ. 1999-2001
forested wetland ecology
Clark,
Orinna
MS committee
member, Univ. of South Carolina 1998-2000
postlarval shrimp feeding
Edwards,
Deidre
MS committee
member, Univ. of South Carolina 1998-2001
polychaete ecology
Lehnert,
Richard
MS committee
chair, Univ. of South Carolina 1998-2000
shell habitat for subtidal fishes
Lynch, Mark
MS committee
member, Univ. of South Carolina 2001-2004
polychaete population dynamics
Stephen,
Jessica
MS committee
member, Univ. of South Carolina, 1999 -2001
penaeid shrimp feeding
2.
Burreson,
E.M. and D.M. Allen. 1978. Morphology and biology of
Mysidobdella borealis (Johansson) comb. N. (Hirudinea: Piscicolidae),
from mysids in the western North Atlantic. Journal of Parasitology
64:1082-1091.
