Marine and estuarine ecosystem and habitat classification

The Ecological Society of America and NOAA's Offices of Habitat Conservation and Protected Resources sponsored a workshop to develop a national marine and estuarine ecosystem classification system. Among the 22 people involved were scientists who had developed various regional classification systems and managers from NOAA and other federal agencies who might ultimately use this system for conservation and management. The objectives were to: (1) review existing global and regional classification systems; (2) develop the framework of a national classification system; and (3) propose a plan to expand the framework into a comprehensive classification system. Although there has been progress in the development of marine classifications in recent years, these have been either regionally focused (e.g., Pacific islands) or restricted to specific habitats (e.g., wetlands; deep seafloor). Participants in the workshop looked for commonalties across existing classification systems and tried to link these using broad scale factors important to ecosystem structure and function.

Estuarine use assessment: trial project in Casco Bay, Maine

The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is interested in developing a project to determine the health of estuaries based on the stated or desired uses of society. An estuarine use assessment could complement the National Coastal Assessment, which tracks coastal and estuarine health through a series of environmental indicators. These indicators are used to assign a “score” to each coastal region, with some indicators reflecting the ability of the region to support desired uses such as fishing and swimming. An estuarine use assessment could also provide valuable information to resource managers and other decision-makers as they face decisions about the optimal and most sustainable mix of activities in an estuary. An initial step of an estuarine use assessment would be to define and quantify the desired societal uses of the estuary. Society includes residents living near the estuary or industries relying on the estuary, seasonal residents and tourists that use the estuary on a more limited basis, and the public at-large that may use or value the estuary indirectly. The desired uses may include discrete, visible uses such as swimming, recreational or commercial fishing, and navigation. They also may extend to broader, more intangible uses such as maintaining ecological functions or aesthetic appeal. National legislation such as the Estuary Restoration Act, which promotes and funds the restoration of estuaries in the U.S., reflects the public’s desire for estuaries to retain their ecological structures and functions. This report summarizes a project carried out in 2003 that attempted to quantify the desired human uses of a specific estuary in Maine and to determine current measures of success used by coastal managers in Maine to track the ability of the estuary to support desired uses. Casco Bay was chosen as the spatial embayment for which to delineate uses, and nutrient enrichment was selected as the parameter for confirming assumptions about current measures of outcomes related to uses. The report highlights some of the challenges to completing an estuarine use assessment and offers general recommendations for addressing these challenges.

Atmospheric nutrient input to coastal areas: reducing the uncertainties

A significant fraction of the total nitrogen entering coastal and estuarine ecosystems along the eastern U.S. coast arises from atmospheric deposition; however, the exact role of atmospherically derived nitrogen in the decline of the health of coastal, estuarine, and inland waters is still uncertain. From the perspective of coastal ecosystem eutrophication, nitrogen compounds from the air, along with nitrogen from sewage, industrial effluent, and fertilizers, become a source of nutrients to the receiving ecosystem. Eutrophication, however, is only one of the detrimental impacts of the emission of nitrogen containing compounds to the atmosphere. Other adverse effects include the production of tropospheric ozone, acid deposition, and decreased visibility (photochemical smog). Assessments of the coastal eutrophication problem indicate that the atmospheric deposition loading is most important in the region extending from Albemarle/Parnlico Sounds to the Gulf of Maine; however, these assessments are based on model outputs supported by a meager amount of actual data. The data shortage is severe. The National Research Council specifically mentions the atmospheric role in its recent publication for the Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources, Priorities for Coastal Ecosystem Science (1994). It states that, "Problems associated with changes in the quantity and quality of inputs to coastal environments from runoff and atmospheric deposition are particularly important [to coastal ecosystem integrity]. These include nutrient loading from agriculture and fossil fuel combustion, habitat losses from eutrophication, widespread contamination by toxic materials, changes in riverborne sediment, and alteration of coastal hydrodynamics. "

An assessment of chemical contaminants, toxicity and benthic infauna in sediments from the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER)

This report contains a chemical and biological characterization of sediments from the St. Thomas East End Reserves (STEER) in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). The STEER Management Plan (published in 2011) identified chemical contaminants and habitat loss as high or very high threats and called for a characterization of chemical contaminants as well as an assessment of their effects on natural resources. The baseline information contained in this report on chemical contaminants, toxicity and benthic infaunal community composition can be used to assess current conditions, as well as the efficacy of future restoration activities. In this phase of the project, 185 chemical contaminants, including a number of organic (e.g., hydrocarbons and pesticides) and inorganic (e.g., metals) compounds, were analyzed from 24 sites in the STEER. Sediments were also analyzed using a series of toxicity bioassays, including amphipod mortality, sea urchin fertilization impairment, and the cytochrome P450 Human Reporter Gene System (HRGS), along with a characterization of the benthic infaunal community. Higher levels of chemical contaminants were found in Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay in the western portion of the study area than in the eastern area. The concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), chlordane, zinc, copper, lead and mercury were above a NOAA sediment quality guideline at one or more sites, indicating impacts may be present in more sensitive species or life stages in the benthic environment. Copper at one site in Benner Bay, however, was above a NOAA guideline indicating that effects on benthic organisms were likely. The antifoulant boat hull ingredient tributyltin, or TBT, was found at the third highest concentration in the history of NOAA’s National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program, which monitors the Nation’s coastal and estuarine waters for chemical contaminants and bioeffects. Unfortunately, there do not appear to be any established sediment quality guidelines for TBT. Results of the bioassays indicated significant sediment toxicity in Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay using multiple tests. The benthic infaunal communities in Mangrove Lagoon and Benner Bay appeared severely diminished.

Practicing coastal seascape ecology

Landscape ecology concepts developed from terrestrial systems have recently emerged as theoretical and analytical frameworks that are equally useful for evaluating the ecological consequences of spatial patterns and structural changes in the submerged landscapes of coastal ecosystems. The benefits of applying a spatially-explicit perspective to resource management and restoration planning in the coastal zone are rapidly becoming apparent. This Theme Section on the application of landscape ecology to the estuarine and coastal environment emerged from a special symposium at the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) 20th Biennial Conference (Estuaries and Coasts in a Changing World) held in Portland, Oregon, USA, in November 2009. The 7 contributions in this Theme Section collectively provide substantial insights into the current status and application of the landscape approach in shallow marine environments, and identify significant knowledge gaps, as well as potential directions for the future advancement of ‘seascape ecology’.

Coupling ecology and economy: modeling optimal release scenarios for summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) stock enhancement

Increasing interest in the use of stock enhancement as a management tool necessitates a better understanding of the relative costs and benefits of alternative release strategies. We present a relatively simple model coupling ecology and economic costs to make inferences about optimal release scenarios for summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), a subject of stock enhancement interest in North Carolina. The model, parameterized from mark-recapture experiments, predicts optimal release scenarios from both survival and economic standpoints for varyious dates-of-release, sizes-at-release, and numbers of fish released. Although most stock enhancement efforts involve the release of relatively small fish, the model suggests that optimal results (maximum survival and minimum costs) will be obtained when relatively large fish (75–80 mm total length) are released early in the nursery season (April). We investigated the sensitivity of model predictions to violations of the assumption of density-independent mortality by including density-mortality relationships based on weak and strong type-2 and type-3 predator functional responses (resulting in depensatory mortality at elevated densities). Depending on postrelease density, density-mortality relationships included in the model considerably affect predicted postrelease survival and economic costs associated with enhancement efforts, but do not alter the release scenario (i.e. combination of release variables) that produces optimal results. Predicted (from model output) declines in flounder over time most closely match declines observed in replicate field sites when mortality in the model is density-independent or governed by a weak type-3 functional response. The model provides an example of a relatively easy-to-develop predictive tool with which to make inferences about the ecological and economic potential of stock enhancement of summer flounder and provides a template for model creation for additional species that are subjects of stock enhancement interest, but for which limited empirical data exist.

Asserting rights, defining responsibilities: perspectives from small-scale fishing communities on coastal and fisheries management in Cambodia

In preparation for the Workshop and Symposium on “Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Asia”, held in Siem Reap Cambodia, from 3 to 8 May 2007, case studies were undertaken in six countries in Asia—Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. Among other things, the studies aimed to document and explore the understanding that fishing communities have about their rights to fisheries and coastal resources, as well as the obligations and responsibilities associated with these rights, and to document and discuss their initiatives to assert these rights and fulfill their responsibilities. The studies formed the basis for discussions at the Workshop and Symposium. This case study from Cambodia will be found useful by NGOs, regional and national organizations of artisanal fishworkers, and anyone interested in fisheries and fishing communities in Cambodia.

Asserting rights, defining responsibilities: perspectives from small-scale fishing communities on coastal and fisheries management in the Philippines

In preparation for the Workshop and Symposium on “Asserting Rights, Defining Responsibilities: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities on Coastal and Fisheries Management in Asia”, held in Siem Reap Cambodia, from 3 to 8 May 2007, case studies were undertaken in six countries in Asia—Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand. Among other things, the studies aimed to document and explore the understanding that fishing communities have about their rights to fisheries and coastal resources, as well as the obligations and responsibilities associated with these rights, and to document and discuss their initiatives to assert these rights and fulfill their responsibilities. The studies formed the basis for discussions at the Workshop and Symposium. This case study from the Philippines will be found useful by NGOs, regional and national organizations of artisanal fishworkers, and anyone interested in fisheries and fishing communities in the Philippines.

Report of the sub-regional workshop to validate the scoping study of nutrient pollution on the coastal and marine systems of South Asia, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21-22 May, 2014

The workshop agenda included: presentations from collaborative institutions, national governments and resource persons; a draft scoping study on nutrient loading; and an ecosystem approach to pollution management was tested.

An assessment of chemical contaminants in the marine sediments of southwest Puerto Rico

This report summarizes the results of a characterization of chemical contaminants in the sediments in southwest Puerto Rico. The report is part of a project to integrate various analytical specialties to assess linkages between chemical contaminants and the condition of coral reefs. In this phase of the project, over 120 chemical contaminants were analyzed in sediments collected, including a number of organic (e.g., hydrocarbons), inorganic (e.g., metals), and biological (bacterial) compounds/analytes. The report also provides a preliminary analysis of the association between sediment contaminants and coral species richness. Overall, the levels of chemical contaminants in the study area between Guanica Bay and the town of La Parguera were fairly low. At most of the sites sampled, particularly adjacent to the town of La Parguera, concentrations of organic and inorganic contaminants were below the median values from NOAA’s National Status and Trends Program, which monitors the Nation’s coastal and estuarine waters for chemical contaminants. Elevated levels of a number of contaminant classes were seen at the two sites sampled within Guanica Bay. An initial analysis of modeled PAH (hydrocarbon) data and coral species richness (reef building species) indicated a strong negative correlation between the presence of PAHs in the sediments and coral species richness. Additional work is needed to assess possible reasons for this observed pattern. (PDF contains 126 pages).

Characterization of Hypoxia: Topic I Report for the Integrated Assessment on Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico

Nutrient overenrichment from human activities is one of the major stresses affecting coastal ecosystems. There is increasing concern in many areas around the world that an oversupply of nutrients from multiple sources is having pervasive ecological effects on shallow coastal and estuarine areas. These effects include reduced light penetration, loss of aquatic habitat, harmfid algal blooms, a decrease in dissolved oxygen (or hypoxia), and impacts on living resources. The largest zone of oxygen-depleted coastal waters in the United States, and the entire western Atlantic Ocean, is found in the northern Gulf of Mexico on the Louisiana-Texas continental shelf. This zone is influenced by the freshwater discharge and nutrient flux of the Mississippi River system. This report describes the seasonal, interannual, and long-term variability in hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico and its relationship to nutrient loading. It also documents the relative roles of natural and human-induced factors in determining the size and duration of the hypoxic zone.

A new record of two penaeid species from Goa coast

Adults of Penaeus japonicus (Bate) and juveniles of P. canaliculatus (Olivier) were recorded for the first time from the coastal and estuarine regions of Goa respectively. Their presence in Goa waters suggests that both the species have a wide distribution along the west coast of India. The available data from the neighboring states suggest that both the species are distributed in deeper waters and are caught during or immediately after the southwest monsoon. Hence, it may be possible to tap these valuable resources from Goa waters if the fishing operation is extended to depths beyond those presently fished and fishing is carried out during the SW monsoon season.

A Biogeographic assessment off North/Central California: In support of the National Marine Sanctuaries of Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay. Phase II - Environmental setting and update to marine birds and animals

NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) conducts and supports research, monitoring, assessments, and technical assistance to meet NOAA’s coastal stewardship and management responsibilities. In 2001 the Biogeography Branch of NCCOS partnered with NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) to conduct biogeographic assessments to support the management plan updates for the sanctuaries. The first biogeographic assessment conducted in this partnership focused on three sanctuaries off north/ central California: Cordell Bank, Gulf of the Farallones and Monterey Bay. Phase I of this assessment was conducted from 2001 to 2004, with the primary goal to identify and gather the best available data and information to characterize and identify important biological areas and time periods within the study area. The study area encompasses the three sanctuaries and extends along the coastal ocean off California from Pt. Arena to Pt. Sal (35°-39°N). This partnership project was lead by the NCCOS Biogeography Branch, but included over 90 contributors and 25 collaborating institutions. Phase I results include: 1) a report on the overall assessment that includes hundreds of maps, tables and analyses; 2) an ecological linkage report on the marine and estuarine ecosystems along the coast of north/central California, and 3) related geographic information system (GIS) data and other summary data files, which are available for viewing and download in several formats at the following website: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/canms_cd/welcome.html Phase II (this report) was initiated in the Fall of 2004 to complete the analyses of marine mammals and update the marine bird colony information. Phase II resulted in significant updates to the bird and mammal chapters, as well as adding an environmental settings chapter, which contains new and existing data and maps on the study area. Specifically, the following Phase II topics and items were either revised or developed new for Phase II: •environmental, ecological settings – new maps on marine physiographic features, sea surface temperature and fronts, chlorophyll and productivity •all bird colony or roost maps, including a summary of marine bird colonies •updated at-sea data CDAS data set (1980-2003) •all mammal maps and descriptions •new overall density maps for eight mammal species •new summary pinniped rookery/haulout map •new maps on at-sea richness for cetaceans and pinnipeds •most text in the mammal chapter •new summary tables for mammals on population status and spatial and temporal patterns

Modeling North Pacific temperature and pressure changes from coastal tree-ring chronologies

Climate modeling using coastal tree-ring chronologies has yielded the first summer temperature reconstructions for coastal stations along the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. These land temperature reconstructions are strongly correlated with nearby sea surface temperatures, indicating large-scale ocean-atmospheric influences. Significant progress has also been made in modeling winter land temperatures and sea surface temperatures from coastal and shipboard stations. In addition to temperature, the pressure variability center over the central North Pacific Ocean (PAC), which is related to the strength and location of the Aleutian Low pressure system, could be extended using coastal tree rings.

Inlet stability and case histories, Part II

Inlets which require frequent channel dredging due to gradual shoaling, exhibit migration, or shoal up during storms, are in general unstable and pose a problem to the engineer. This problem of inlet stability is a complex one, because of the rather large number of variables that go into defining stability. The reference here is to inlets on sandy coasts only, because the absence of sand or similar sedimentary material the problem does not arise. Shell is also found in varying proportions with sand. Some of this is. new, whereas in some areas it is ancient reworked material whose size distribution is close to that of the sand with which it is associated. (PDF has 24 pages.)