PI: Sarah Corman, Brown University, PhD Candidate.
Funding: NERRS Graduate Research Fellowship at WBNERR (current)
“The goal of my research at WBNERR is to investigate how Spartina alterniflora, the foundation species of salt marshes, will respond to rising temperatures, and to what extent salt marshes can resist drowning under predicted rates of sea level rise. Aboveground growth, in stems and leaves, and belowground growth, in roots and rhizomes, work in concert to maintain elevation and resist marsh drowning, and yet we don’t understand the patterns and processes driving the relationship of above to belowground growth. I am also exploring how the timing of flowering in Spartina influences elevation change and seed production. Understanding these mechanisms in salt marshes is critical to predicting potential loss of these ecosystems in the future.” http://sarahcorman.wordpress.com/
