Barrier island and estuarine shorelines are shaped by sea-level rise, storms, and human disturbances. Several geological studies will be presented that examine the implications of these changes for coastal management. Specifically, barrier island and saltmarsh erosion will be placed into context with the coastal carbon cycle and the coupled evolution of oyster reef and saltmarsh shorelines will be explored.

The term “Living Shorelines” represents a new approach to shoreline stabilization, which is of increasing concern to coastal communities. Traditional shoreline hardening approaches, including bulkheads, result in a loss of coastal habitats such as salt marshes, oyster reefs, or mangroves. However, these habitats have the ability to protect shorelines, and can be utilized to improve coastal resilience to storms and sea level rise. Recent research has demonstrated the effectiveness of Living Shorelines in many settings. Widespread implementation of this approach remains a challenge, due to regulatory, business and cultural hurdles.

Three case studies will be presented to consider if and how climate change, oil spills, and long term fishing pressure are changing the nature of fisheries species assemblages along historically productive coastal margins.