Professor, University of Virginia
Virginia Coast Reserve, located in Oyster, Virginia

Matthew Reidenbach is a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. His primary area of research is coastal oceanography, with an emphasis on how fluid flow impacts marine organisms and their ecosystems. Current studies include the effects of flow and turbulence on nutrient exchange in coral reefs, larval transport in estuaries, chemical dispersion in the ocean, and wave dynamics. His research also investigates coastal resilience and nature-based solutions for coastal protection. He explores how coral reefs, seagrass meadows and oyster beds respond to a changing climate and how these ecosystems can be used as natural infrastructure to mitigate coastal erosion and buffer local communities from storm impacts.

Long-term Impacts of Seagrass and Oyster Restoration on Ecosystem Services Along Coastal Virginia

Global declines in coastal foundation species have reduced both their ecosystem function and the ecosystem services they provide. Restoration of these foundation species has the potential to reverse these declines, but quantifying the long-term impact of restoration on key ecosystem services has to date been poorly quantified. Through our collaborative work with The Nature Conservancy at the Virginia Coast Reserve, we have over 20 years of data addressing how large-scale seagrass and oyster restoration has impacted ecosystem function and services within coastal bays of the Atlantic Ocean. In this talk, I will focus on how these restored ecosystems have modified their local habitat, and more specifically the impacts restoration has on coastal protection in terms of altering sediment transport and reducing wave impact along coastlines.