Monitoring Periphyton in Northeast Shark River Slough to Establish CEPP Baseline Conditions

The purpose of this research is to monitor characteristics of periphyton downstream of CEPP, within Northeast Shark River Slough (NESRS) to determine pre-CEPP implementation baseline conditions for periphyton. The project objectives include: Objective 1: Collect quarterly samples at 35-40 sites in the northeast Shark River Slough to provide measures of mean periphyton cover, volume, biomass, chlorophyll a (chl a), and organic, total carbon (TC), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Objective 2: Establish and report the baseline condition of appropriate periphyton community metrics and parameters for future use in a Before, After, Control, Impact (BACI) assessment of CEPP project implementation. Objective 3: Demonstrate progress and present results in the form of quarterly status reports, annual reports, and a final report.