Research Activities
The LowCountry Institute has developed partnerships with regional universities and state and federal organizations to create an exciting research program to address local issues. Spring Island (office location of LCI) has been used as an outdoor laboratory for a wide variety projects. Other research projects have focused on the greater Port Royal Sound watershed.
To date, LCI has provided $87,000 and the university partners have provided over $350,000 in support for these programs (1999-2008). Much of this research was also supported by a partnership between LCI and the Spring Island Trust, which has almost 20 years of experience of experimenting with the best ways to manage local habitats effectively, especially those that are in close proximity to residential areas.
research: example projects
Citizen Science Osprey Survey
An osprey perched with its catch. Photo by John Fisk.
In summer 2009, the LowCountry Institute partnered with the Sea Island Fly Fishers Club of Beaufort, Parris Island, and the Fripp Island Audubon Society to survey nesting osprey populations in the Port Royal Sound area.
Jack Baggette served as volunteer coordinator for this project. Ospreys can serve as an environmental indicator because they require a healthy fishery to survive. The distribution of nests and the reproductive output (i.e. the number of chicks) likely are correlated with the quality of the habitat. For example, ospreys in a high quality ecosystem with a healthy fishery should have a higher nesting success rate than in a degraded ecosystem. When coupled with other monitoring programs, such as oyster testing coordinated by DHEC, the osprey nesting project provides another indicator to track the quality of our environment.
A total of 125 platforms were observed in 2009. Of these, 78 (62%) had active nests. 11 platforms had old nests that were not being used, and 36 had no nests at all. Chicks were observed at 30 of the active nests, and 34 nests had a least one fledgling present.
These data will help establish a baseline understanding of osprey populations in our county, and allow us to track trends in the population over time. We will continue to survey in summer 2010 and thank our volunteers for their support!