Iceland: Siltanews – News Desk
University of Rhode Island professor of natural resources science Laura Meyerson, who studies invasion science and restoration ecology, is heading to Iceland this fall to study the Stokkseyri-Eyrarbakki coastline as part of a Fulbright Fellowship. An ecologically and culturally important region along southern Iceland, the coastline includes fresh water, brackish pools, salt marshes, and an adjacent extensive area of beaches and intertidal flats.
In collaboration with the Icelandic Institute of Nature Research and an independent Icelandic researcher who studies the socioecology of the region, Meyerson will develop a baseline ecological data set to monitor biodiversity with readily repeatable protocols for a unique coastal lava beach region.
The team will also update existing data and contribute to a conservation management plan to identify and quantify ecoservices to local inhabitants and the region. This project will be an opportunity for me to work in an Arctic region for the first time doing field work in a lava beach system that is an important migratory bird stopover site and that has never been inventoried for fauna and flora other than a winter bird count,” she says. “
This lava beach is really interesting in that it has a lot in common with a salt marsh on the upland side and somewhat mimics a coral reef in terms of its heterogeneous structure. Of course, there are also a lot of differences, but it would be very interesting to draw comparisons and think about how this site might change as the oceans and the planet warms