| | Long Island Sound Study Research Program
Project Descriptions l Research Links l 2009 Needs Assessment l 2009 RFP
Scientific research provides a key to better understanding and more effectively managing Long Island Sound. Recognizing the important role that research plays in decision-making, the US Environmental Protection Agency - Long Island Sound Office (EPA-LISO), Connecticut Sea Grant (CTSG), and New York Sea Grant (NYSG) developed a cooperative program to fund research in support of the Long Island Sound Study. Initiated in 1999, the Long Island Sound Research Grant Program awards funds to researchers whose work helps meet the needs of decision-makers to improve the management of Long Island Sound.
| Wesleyan University graduate students using a modified ‘Van Veen grab sampler’ to collect samples from the sediment surface, as well as to videotape and take still photographs of the sea floor. Using sediment cores, Wesleyan University scientists Johan Varekamp, Ellen Thomas, and Kristina Beuning have documented the environmental transition in Long Island Sound from pre-colonial times to the present. See Environmental Change in Long Island Sound in Project Summaries - 2000. | |  |
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LISS also supports research and assessment projects through other funding opportunities. These projects are also described in the Project Descriptions section. | Chris Elphick, a University of Connecticut biologist, is conducting research to develop a method to estimate the numbers of saltmarsh sharptailed sparrows (above) and seaside sparrows living in Long Island Sound salt marshes. By studying their population and favorite habitats, researchers can get a good indication which salt marshes on Long Island Sound are healthy enough to sustain wildlife, and which sites need to be restored and protected. See Saltmarsh-breeding Sparrows in Long Island Sound in Project Summaries - 2002. | |  |
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