CICEET Progress Report for the period 9/15/04 Through 3/15/05

Project Title: The Mechanical Seeding of Marine Sediments for the Restoration of Zostera marina L. Habitat
Principal Investigator(s): Scott Nixon, Stephen Granger, and Michael Traber

Accomplishments
Scheduled Tasks
Our stated tasks for this reporting period included the construction of the second volume of our "How-To" pamphlet series. The information contained in the pamphlet is designed to extend methods described in our first pamphlet, which covers the collection and storage of Zostera marina L seeds. In the second volume we have covered techniques for distributing seagrass seeds and the restroration of seagrass habitat.

Progress on Tasks
We have made substaintial progress on the final task of this project, ie the construction of the pamphlet. Presently we are reviewing the text internally and are selecting appropriate photographs to clarify particularly important points covered in the methods. Germination results from our various field tests are included with suggestions on criteria for the selection of field sites and the design of seed application within the field site based on the success we observed under different site conditions. During the past few months we have recieved funding for a comparison of several resotration techniques; whole plants, seed propogated seedlings and seeds in Chesapeake Bay. While the results of this side-by-side comparison will not be available for the publication of this pamphlet we will describe these alternative seed application techniques as well as the mechanical seeding method developed through CICEET funding.

One of our primary concerns was to develop restoration technology that was accessible to citizen volunteer groups and other NGO organizations invloved in seagrass restoration. With this in mind we have included a scale drawing of the seeding machine with a detailed discussion of construction materials and the contact number of Design Machine Inc, a local machining company that helped us refine our origianl design. This information should allow for the seeding machine's duplication by any individual with basic welding capabilities, or for the complete construction by Design Machine Inc. Fortunately we have developed a design that relys on commonly available stock material and few components.

Difficulties
There were no substantial difficulties encountered during this reporting period.

Preliminary Data
There is no preliminary data for this report.

Tasks and Activities for Next Reporting Period

Objectives
I anticipate the completion/publication of the final task of this project within next two months. The printing and circulation of the second volume of our "How-to" series will complete this projects tasks. The Rhode Island SeaGrant Publications Department will handle the layout and final editing before sending a copy to CICEET for their review.

Concerns or Difficulties
None.

Expenditures
All of the work completed during this reporting period was within our projected budget and we do not anticipate any financial difficulty in completing this project.