Name: Ronita Sequeira
Date: 07/16/2026
Time (EST/EDT): 10:30 am
Location: Institute of Marine Environmental Technology - Multipurpose Room 2038
Remote Access: email: mees@umd.edu

Committee Chair: Dr. Eric Schott
Committee Members: Dr. Tsvetan Bachvaroff Dr. Ryan Woodland

Title: Monitoring fish ecology near constructed wetlands in an urban estuary

Abstract: Harbors and post-industrial shorelines are often sites of wetland construction for the provision of ecosystem services such as recreation, water quality improvement, and shoreline protection. There are also potential benefits to fish ecology, but this is not often measured. In the highly modified spaces of urban estuaries, the typical methods used in more pristine areas, such as seines and trawls, can be impractical. This is especially true in the vicinity of recently constructed wetlands in two regions of Baltimore Harbor with very different geomorphology. To evaluate fish abundance and diversity in these two areas, both trapping and environmental DNA methods were used to provide a census of fish at different locations relative to constructed wetlands. The results are discussed in terms of ongoing initiatives to uplift harbor ecology and to understand the impact of interventions.