At the risk of "tooting my own horn" a book I co-authored with Carol Butler, Salt Marshes: A Natural and Unnatural History, (Rutgers University Press 2009) could be a good introduction to the subject. We do focus on Atlantic coast marshes, have chapters on various ways in which humans have altered marshes, and do write a bit about Jamaica Bay in particular.
> Hello to All, > > First I'd like to say that I have been a silent participant of this list > for > several years. I have found it to be informative, thought provoking and > entertaining. > > I am MS student of geography at Hunter College in NYC. For my thesis I am > looking to identify trends in the historical ecology of Jamaica Bay > through > a temporal series GIS analyses. > > I have been exploring the many books available for the study of wetland > ecology, but I don't have any way to evaluate them. Can someone recommend > material that looks at basic wetland ecosystems (both tidal and > freshwater) > based on region, such as the northeast, more specifically New York or in > lieu of this just a good textbook/book on wetlands. (Wetlands are not > part > of the curriculum at Hunter) > > I am also looking at the condition of spartina alterniforia in Jamaica Bay > as it might be explained/defined/demonstrated by different transition > models > such as parnachy, adaption cycle etc. With Spartina alterniforia, being > both native in New York and severely invasive elsewhere there is > significant > literature, although addition input is always welcome. S. alterniflora is > being cultivated for wetland restoration and I was wondering where I might > find information about its optimal cultivation environment. I'd also be > interested in knowing if anyone else on the east coast has observed severe > decline of saltwater marsh whose predominant species is spartina > alterniforia. > > Thank you, > Joy > > Joy Cytryn > Hunter College > New York, NY > jo...@earthlink.net >
