Date of Award

1-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

College/School

College of Science and Mathematics

Department/Program

Biology

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

James J. Campanella

Committee Member

Kirsten Monsen-Collar

Committee Member

Paul A.X. Bologna

Abstract

Hurricane Sandy struck Barnegat Bay, New Jersey in 2012 and obliterated the benthic marine ecosystem with extensive damage to Zostera marina meadows. Previous genetic assessments of Barnegat Bay Z. marina in 2008 revealed low heterozygosity and low connectivity between populations. The great disruption caused by Hurricane Sandy motivated us to investigate the long-term effects of the storm on the genetic condition of the eelgrass populations in the year 2021. The investigation revealed improvements in heterozygosity, inbreeding, and connectivity. These findings drove us to investigate the genetics of Barnegat Bay eelgrass populations in the intervening years of 2013 and 2017 with the use of archived Z. marina samples. The Z. marina populations from 2013 revealed a decrease in inbreeding and heterozygosity near Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium within one year of the storm. In 2013, the populations evinced a reduction in inbreeding with clear outbreeding by 2017. There was no evidence of recent bottlenecks in any population, however historical bottlenecks were detected in the Oyster Creek and Ham Island populations. The Oyster Creek and Ham Island populations possessed an excess of heterozygotes in 2021. This present study describes the trajectory of recovery in Barnegat Bay eelgrass populations following Hurricane Sandy and supports that genetic recovery was underway one year after the storm.

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