November 2005 Initial observations and mapping of existing eelgrass beds began in November. Eelgrass observation locations included "East" and "West" Points, Tiana Bay, north of Warner Island, and west of Gull Island. Later in the month, a small amount of eelgrass was harvested from Gull Island for grow out in the greenhouse.

21Nov2005- The grass at East Pt was small and patchy.

May 2006 Work in May included the placement of temperature loggers as well as phase 1 of the scallop planting.

9May2006- Gregg Rivara, Aquaculture specialist, scatters scallops into Shinnecock Bay.283

June 2006 Further eelgrass characterization was conducted in June throughout Shinnecock Bay. This included shoot densities, canopy heights, and sediment sampling at several meadows as well as the identification of additional meadows throughout the bay using aerial photographs for reference. Site characteristics including plant phenology, algal cover (macro and epiphytic), and other metrics varied significantly depending on the water depth and proximity to ocean influx of that particular site.

30June2006- Steve conducting his density counts at a site east of Shinnecock Inlet.

30June2006- Note the amount of epiphytes and the poor water clarity at this site off of the Coast Guard Station.

November 2006 Test plantings occured in November at two potential restoration sites in Shinnecock Bay. Both test plots occured in areas with neighboring natural eelgrass meadows, from which the transplants were collected. Our first test plot location is east of Shinnecock Inlet in the southern part of the bay. The second test plot location is located west of the Ponquogue Bridge, just west of Gull Island. Each transplant location included 5 plots of a higher density (100 planting units per square meter) and 5 plots of a lower density (12 planting units per square meter). "Planting units" were used instead of individual shoots because of the large number of lateral shoots present and the extremely small size of the plants. Each unit was composed of approximately 2 shoots. Observations of epiphyte load, number of lateral shoots, and the presence of scallops were made at each of the natural meadows as well. Sample shoots from each location were taken back to the lab for analysis.

December 2006 We conducted clearance plots and checked on our November plantings. Three 1m² plots were cleared of all eelgrass (which we saved for counting and analysis). These plots will be observed over time to determine the rate of natural recruitment.

22Dec2006- Diver Kim Petersen clearing plot.

June 2007 Clearance plots conducted in December '06 and plantings conducted in November '06 were revisited. There was some recruitment back into the cleared plots, though not substancial. November plantings were located and analysed as well, with the majority of plantings still remained and looked healthy. In late June, observations of patchy meadows in the shallows were conducted for a patch dynamics study. Small patches were counted and GPS coordinates were taken for relocation later. Also, flower shoots were collected for potential future seeding efforts in restoration areas.

7June07- November planting 244 remained and was healthy as with other plantings.

Sept 2007 Clearance plots conducted in December '06 and plantings conducted in November '06 east of the inlet were revisited once again. There was more recruitment into the cleared plots since June, in some areas the eelgrass grew over 1 foot into the cleared plot. November plantings were located, photographed, and observed as well, with the majority of plantings looking healthy and many had put on significant growth and had expanded.

25Sept07- Natural recruitment into a clearance plot since December '06. Note the 12 inch ruler for size reference.

25Sept07-Planting 244 (see above) grew significantly since June.

October 2007 Test plantings west of the inlet were revisited and observed. These plantings didn't take as well to the transplant as did those east of the inlet, but those transplants that were present were healthy. A new transplant was conducted in the northeast corner of Shinnecock Bay, near the mouth of Far Pond. Five circle plots (1 square meter in size each) were planted, each with densities of 100 shoots. Two tiny bay scallops were found on the eelgrass that was collected for transplant to the new planting site (see photo: note cm on top, inches on bottom for size ref.). The water clarity was poor throughout most of the bay.

3Oct07- Juvenile bay scallops found in natural meadow.

June and July 2008 Transplants and clearance plots east of the inlet were revisited and observed. Two of the clearance plots had filled in nearly 100%, and one was about 50% filled in, but a large colony of tube-dwelling worms may have prevented further recruitment into that plot. The transplants had expanded dramatically since our last visit, to the point we had a hard time telling the difference between the nearby natural grass patches and our transplants until our transplant markers were located. The center photo below shows planting #244 which is also shown in June and Sept. '07, and clearly has expanded considerably. We also found a fair amount of floating eelgrass, especially in the Northeast portion of the bay, probably uprooted due to "easing" or "churning" activity because the rhizomes were still completely intact. We looked for our plantings near Far Pond, but unfortunately we believe these were lost to shellfishing activities as well because the bottom had large, deep scars throughout the area where we had planted. Eelgrass flower shoot collection for seeds occurred on June 30 and July 1.

17June08- November plantings remained and were healthy and expanded considerably. This is plot #244 also seen in June and Sept '07 photos.