SHIFTING COASTAL WETLAND COMMUNITIES IN NORTH CAROLINA: AN HISTORICAL SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF ALLIGATOR RIVER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

I would like to thank Dr. Patrick Halpin, my advisor, for his help and guidance this past year, and Dr. Benjamin Poulter for providing me with valuable insight and important data necessary to complete this project. I also want to thank Aaron McCall and Brian Boutin at The Nature Conservancy for giving me the opportunity to work on an exciting project that combines conservation and climate change adaptation in novel ways. And most of all, I thank my friends and family, especially my parents, for their unwavering love and support over the years. ii Coastal wetlands are dynamic landscapes shaped by many factors. However, there is growing concern that sea level rise brought on by climate change, and its associated physical pressures (e.g. saltwater intrusion, increased flooding, accelerated erosion, and increased storm frequency and severity), will amount to significant habitat change and loss for these systems. The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has initiated their Climate Change Adaptation Project in an effort to study and help mitigate for the effects of climate change on the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, situated in North Carolina‟s Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system. As