Victoria Morales

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Contact Info
5K followers 500+ connections

Join to view profile

Activity

Join now to see all activity

Experience & Education

  • Randstad Life Sciences US

View Victoria’s full experience

By clicking Continue to join or sign in, you agree to LinkedIn’s User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Policy.

Publications

  • Spartina Alterniflora (smooth cordgrass): what is gained when a foundation species is restored?

    Northeast National History Conference

    Long Island Sound, an urban estuary, has lost the majority of the area once covered by foundation species that supported the ecological health of the Sound. Human activity, for example, shoreline armoring, nitrogenous waste and other pollution, has degraded and led to the loss of coastal habitats. The installation of living shorelines, restoring functional ecological communities, is imperative! Spartina alterniflora (Saltmarsh Grass) is one foundation species that supplies numerous ecosystem…

    Long Island Sound, an urban estuary, has lost the majority of the area once covered by foundation species that supported the ecological health of the Sound. Human activity, for example, shoreline armoring, nitrogenous waste and other pollution, has degraded and led to the loss of coastal habitats. The installation of living shorelines, restoring functional ecological communities, is imperative! Spartina alterniflora (Saltmarsh Grass) is one foundation species that supplies numerous ecosystem services if allowed to grow in abundance. Its fibrous root system holds sediments, prevents erosion, improves water quality and promotes biodiversity. Recently, 2014 and 2017, a living shoreline was installed along the western shore of the Housatonic River estuary in Stratford, Connecticut. Shoreward of each 45m long section of artificial reef constructed of Reef Balls®, thousands of Spartina plugs were planted in the barren cobble substrate. Over the course of 6 years, undergraduate research assistants at Sacred Heart University helped measure the growth and recovery of this fringing marsh habitat. By July, 2020, average stem height reached 78.8cm. The average stem density increased significantly from 32.26m2 to 307.06m2 in 2020. The biodiversity and biomass of fish and wildlife has increased dramatically in the area since the restoration was completed in 2018. The following list is an example of some of the shorebirds and waders that have been observed feeding at the site: Haematopus palliatus (American Oystercatcher), Pluvialis squatarola (Black-bellied Plover), Charadrius semipalmatus (Semipalmated plover), Actitis macularius (Spotted sandpiper), Tringa semipalmata (Willet), Ardea herodias (Great Blue Heron), Egretta thula (Snowy Egret), Nycticorax nycticorax (Black-crowned Night Heron), Butorides virescens (Green Heron). An adaptive management plan has been developed for the site that includes expanding the living shoreline.

Courses

  • Ecology

    BI 350

  • GIS For Environmental Science

    BI 303

  • Microbiology

    BI 230

  • Organic Chemistry

    CH 222

  • Supervised Research

    BI 390

Languages

  • Spanish

    Native or bilingual proficiency

Recommendations received

11 people have recommended Victoria

Join now to view

More activity by Victoria

View Victoria’s full profile

  • See who you know in common
  • Get introduced
  • Contact Victoria directly
Join to view full profile

Other similar profiles

Explore collaborative articles

We’re unlocking community knowledge in a new way. Experts add insights directly into each article, started with the help of AI.

Explore More

Others named Victoria Morales in United States

Add new skills with these courses