Those are the findings of a team of North Carolina State University scientists and collaborators from various North Carolina universities and government agencies.

Dr. JoAnn Burkholder, NC State professor of botany and director of the Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology, says the research shows that water quality, numbers and health of most of the area's shellfish and finfish, and the overall health of the surveyed water systems though initially acutely affected by storms, especially Hurricane Fran in 1996 have over the long run returned to normal, suggesting the resilience of estuarine systems such as the Neuse and Pamlico Sound. Some harmful organisms that took hold before the storms are now in abeyance, suggesting the storms beneficially flushed the areas studied. The one major estuary dweller that has been slow to recover is the blue crab, the researchers say, although its numbers are now creeping back toward average abundances.

The research is published online this week (June 14) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.).

After the storms, predictions abounded that Pamlico Sound, of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System the largest lagoonal estuary in the United States would be devastated by the cumulative effects of Hurricane Fran in 1996 and Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd and Irene in 1999.

But the longer-term data presented in this study show the remarkable recovery and resilience of the water quality and the finfish and shellfish inhabitants.

The paper shows that although less water volume was delivered by Hurricane Fran, large amounts of fish kills were reported due to oxygen depletion and high conc
'"/>

Contact: Mick Kulikowski
mick_kulikowski@ncsu.edu
919-515-8387
North Carolina State University
14-Jun-2004