Spatial and temporal dynamics of a rapidly transgressing barrier coast, Sandy Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada

High rates of relative sea-level rise along the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, are forcing rapid changes in the physiography of the shoreline. Here, I examine the spatial and temporal dynamics of a portion of this coastline at Sandy Bay (43°54'N; 65°48'W), located midway along the South Shore of Nova Scotia approximately 150km south west of Halifax.; The study site contains an ecosystem mosaic comprised of bogs, fens, swamps, dunes, beaches, headlands, barrens, lakes, and shallow water areas. The objective of this thesis is to ascertain the nature and rate of landscape change occurring along this segment of coast, using a combination of paleoecological and community ecology techniques.; A series of nine radiocarbon-dated cores were extracted from a backbarrier peatland/open-water body complex at Cove Lake, located along the easternmost shores of Sandy Bay. Multi-proxy data from these cores (e.g. stratigraphy, sediment composition, fossil pollen, and plant macrofossils) were used to ascertain the origin and hydroseral development of the backbarrier basin, and to reconstruct the broader vegetation history of southwestern Nova Scotia. Modern vegetation communities at Cove Lake were sampled using a series of 100 releves randomly scattered over the southernmost portion of the backbarrier basin.; Results presented in this thesis demonstrate coastal ecosystems along the shores of Sandy Bay have been, and continue to be, influenced by a number of natural disturbance regimes operating at various spatial and temporal scales. One's perception of the barrier system at Sandy Bay, therefore, is strongly influenced by spatial and temporal depths being considered; factors that must be actively heeded when developing management plans for these types of environments. Protected areas established along transgressive coasts, for instance, should be designed with a substantial inland component, so that coastal ecosystems targeted for protection have plenty of room to move landwards with increases of relative sea-level position, particularly under scenarios of global warming. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...