We recently gathered the submerged aquatic vegetation synthesis team (SAV SYN) at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Annapolis office. This fourth and final working group meeting was convened to make progress on our two remaining publications, using Structural Equation Modeling (led by Jon Lefcheck) and seagrass trait analysis (led by Chris Patrick). The other major effort was to develop a segment analysis of SAV trends, drivers and factors affecting projections. We also developed a communication strategy for our upcoming Bioscience paper using communication efforts that target both scientists and non-scientists.

Our core SAV SYN team gathered: Bob Orth, Ken Moore, Dave Wilcox and Jon Lefcheck (Virginia Institute of Marine Science), Jeremy Testa (Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, UMCES), Rebecca Murphy (UMCES at the Chesapeake Bay Program), Jeni Keisman (US Geological Survey), Brooke Landry (Maryland Department of Natural Resources), Don Weller (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center), Chris Patrick (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and Cassie Gurbisz (National Socio-Environmental Research Center). In addition, Mike Hannah, formerly at SERC joined in via phone from his new job with the National Park Service in Alaska and Tom Barnum from SERC participated in the last two workshops. In addition to our core team, Rich Batiuk and Emily Trentacoste from the Chesapeake Bay Program joined us.

We continued our tradition of finding different Annapolis establishments to feed us, choosing the Vida Taco Bar, the Rams Head and the Leeward Market. All three were excellent. We also enjoyed walking around Annapolis in the summer weather.

When we started SAV SYN in July 2016, three of our team members were postdoctoral researchers: Mike Hannah, Jon Lefcheck and Cassie Gurbisz. I wrote the following about them as a way of wishing them great success in their new ventures:

Mike Hanna felt the call of the north
Off to Alaska he went henceforth.
Jon Lefcheck decided to head off to Maine
To start a postdoc, which is not at all insane.
Cassie prepared for a tenure track job interview
Without a whole lot of hullabaloo.

Chris Patrick and I provided the following limericks and song:

SAV SYN Limericks
19 May 2017
Chris Patrick

Limerick 1:
Some scientists met in Annapolis
To rescue the Bay’s seagrass in totalis
They modeled a bit
And drank when they quit
And concluded that they’d best return to their ivory palace.

Limerick 2:
Some scientists left the ivory tower
To save seagrass with their brain power
They modeled a bit
And drank when they quit
And concluded that things aren’t so dour.

Limerick 3:
Dennison and Orth lead a team
United under one common theme
To save Bay SAV
With an SEM Devotee
They learned that TN and Richness reign supreme!

 SAV SYN one last time
19 May 2017
William C. Dennison

We called together the SAV SYN crew
One last time before saying adieu,
Our Bioscience page proofs were in hand
But we had data analyses still to understand,

Including Jon's structural equation modeling
Which appears to be quite promising,
We also pursued analysis of Chris's seagrass traits
Connecting seagrasses with drivers, loads and rates,

Then Rich asked us to think about each segment
To which we stupidly gave our assent,
But we pooled our knowledge and Jon's shiny app
And figured out what was happening across the Chesapeake map,

We enjoyed working with each other once again
As we focused on products we could obtain,
We also enjoyed trying out different Annapolis spots
Relaxing our brains which helped us connect all the dots,
The Bay Program felt that our SAV SYN efforts were constructive
But best of all, we had fun times while being productive.