Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration

This poster was presented at the 2024 UCSB EEMB Research symposium.

This project investigates how water quality metrics correlate with seasonal changes in algal and aquatic vegetation abundance via close-range and satellite imagery analysis at the Devereux Slough. The Devereux Slough, part of UCSB’s North Campus Open Space (NCOS), is a temporary open/closed estuary undergoing restoration efforts following its previous use as a golf course. The Devereux Slough provides buffer area for storm surges and sea level rise, and it functions as a wildlife corridor linking protected lands. The Aquatic Invertebrate Lab at the NCOS evaluates wetland function in terms of nutrient filtering and support for wildlife. We analyze the effects of restoration on the ecosystem, abiotic factors on aquatic food webs, and the relationship between nutrient pulses and algal blooms. We deployed camera stands at bridges across NCOS to research algal growth through photography where Coastsnap is used to catalog images taken by citizen scientists. We then use ENVI and Adobe Photoshop to divide photographs into quadrats and analyze the algal cover based on pixel cover. We have Solinst leveloggers deployed near each site which collect water level, temperature, and in some cases, conductivity. We also investigate how aquatic vegetation density shifts spatially and temporally at the Devereux Slough from 2022-2024. We isolate spectral bands from monthly PlanetLabs satellite imagery and apply the normalized difference aquatic vegetation index function in R. We are interested in how plant health varies between longer- and shorter-term restoration sites and with water quality metrics taken by Solinst leveloggers.