Use of aerial survey and aerophotogrammetry methods in monitoring manatee populations

We evaluated the use of strip-transect survey methods for manatees through a series of replicate aerial surveys in the Banana River, Brevard County, Florida, during summer 1993 and summer 1994. Transect methods sample a representative portion of the total study area, thus allowing for statistical extrapolation to the total area. Other advantages of transect methods are less flight time and less cost than total coverage, ease of navigation, and reduced likelihood of double-counting. Our objectives were: (1) to identify visibility biases associated with the transect survey method and to adjust the counts accordingly; (2) to derive a population estimate with known variance for the Banana River during summer; and (3) to evaluate the potential value of this survey method for monitoring trends in manatee population size over time. (51 page document)

Response of St. Augustinegrass to Fluridone in Irrigation Water

Research has shown that aquatic weeds, particularly hydrilla ( Hydrilla verticillata , (L.F.) Royle), can be controlled with exposure of 8 to 12 weeks with concentrations of 10 to 15 ppb of fluridone (1-methyl-3-phenyl-5-[3-trifluoromethyl) phenyl]-4(1 H )- pyridinone) (Haller et al. 1990 and Fox et al. 1994). Fluridone label recommendations restrict the use of the treated waters for irrigation of turf or newly seeded crops and seed beds for 30 days following the last application of the herbicide. The objective of this research was to determine the effects of 10 weeks of irrigation with fluridone containing water on a common Florida residential turfgrass.

Influence of Dilute Acetic Acid Treatments on American Pondweed Winter Buds in the Nevada Irrigation District, California

American pondweed ( Potamogeton nodosus Poir.) is commonly found in northern California irrigation canals. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that exposure of American pondweed winter buds to dilute acetic acid under field conditions would result in reduced subsequent biomass.

Chemical Treatment Methods Pilot (CTMP) System for Treatment of Urban Runoff – Phase I. Feasibility and Design

(pdf contains 418 pages)

Improvements to Data Collection in Commercial Fisheries Using Electronic Reporting Methods: Cost/Efficiency and Implications for Use in Ecosystem Management.

Data have been collected on fisheries catch and effort trends since the latter half of the 1800s. With current trends in declining stocks and stricter management regimes, data need to be collected and analyzed over shorter periods and at finer spatial resolution than in the past. New methods of electronic reporting may reduce the lag time in data collection and provide more accurate spatial resolution. In this study I evaluated the differences between fish dealer and vessel reporting systems for federal fisheries in the US New England and Mid-Atlantic areas. Using data on landing date, report date, gear used, port landed, number of hauls, number of fish sampled and species quotas from available catch and effort records I compared dealer and vessel electronically collected data against paper collected dealer and vessel data to determine if electronically collected data are timelier and more accurate. To determine if vessel or dealer electronic reporting is more useful for management, I determined differences in timeliness and accuracy between vessel and dealer electronic reports. I also compared the cost and efficiency of these new methods with less technology intensive reporting methods using available cost data and surveys of seafood dealers for cost information. Using this information I identified potentially unnecessary duplication of effort and identified applications in ecosystem-based fisheries management. This information can be used to guide the decisions of fisheries managers in the United States and other countries that are attempting to identify appropriate fisheries reporting methods for the management regimes under consideration. (PDF contains 370 pages)

A Comparison of Two Methods for Enhancing the Recovery of Seagrasses into Propellor Scars: Mechanical Injection of a Nutrient and Growth Hormone Solution vs. Defecation by Roosting Seabirds: Final Report.

Based on the recovery rates for Thalassia testudinum measured in this study for scars of these excavation depths and assuming a linear recovery horizon, we estimate that it would take ~ 6.9 years (95% CI. = 5.4 to 9.6 years) for T. testudinum to return to the same density as recorded for the adjacent undisturbed population. The application of water soluble fertilizers and plant growth hormones by mechanical injection into the sediments adjacent to ten propellor scars at Lignumvitae State Botanical Site did not significantly increase the recovery rate of Thalassia testudinum or Halodule wrightii. An alternative method of fertilization and restoration of propellor scars was also tested by a using a method of “compressed succession” where Halodule wrightii is substituted for T. testudinum in the initial stages of restoration. Bird roosting stakes were placed among H.wrightii bare root plantings in prop scars to facilitate the defecation of nitrogen and phosphorus enriched feces. In contrast to the fertilizer injection method, the bird stakes produced extremely high recovery rates of transplanted H. wrightii. We conclude that use of a fertilizer/hormone injection machine in the manner described here is not a feasible means of enhancing T. testudinum recovery in propellor scars on soft bottom carbonate sediments. Existing techniques such as the bird stake approach provide a reliable, and inexpensive alternative method that should be considered for application to restoration of seagrasses in these environments. Document contains 40 pages)

Analysis of Sample Frames and Subsampling Methods for Reef Fish Surveys

Introduction: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Biogeography Branch has conducted surveys of reef fish in the Caribbean since 1999. Surveys were initially undertaken to identify essential fish habitat, but later were used to characterize and monitor reef fish populations and benthic communities over time. The Branch’s goals are to develop knowledge and products on the distribution and ecology of living marine resources and provide resource managers, scientists and the public with an improved ecosystem basis for making decisions. The Biogeography Branch monitors reef fishes and benthic communities in three study areas: (1) St. John, USVI, (2) Buck Island, St. Croix, USVI, and (3) La Parguera, Puerto Rico. In addition, the Branch has characterized the reef fish and benthic communities in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary and around the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Reef fish data are collected using a stratified random sampling design and stringent measurement protocols. Over time, the sampling design has changed in order to meet different management objectives (i.e. identification of essential fish habitat vs. monitoring), but the designs have always remained: • Probabilistic – to allow inferences to a larger targeted population, • Objective – to satisfy management objectives, and • Stratified – to reduce sampling costs and obtain population estimates for strata. There are two aspects of the sampling design which are now under consideration and are the focus of this report: first, the application of a sample frame, identified as a set of points or grid elements from which a sample is selected; and second, the application of subsampling in a two-stage sampling design. To evaluate these considerations, the pros and cons of implementing a sampling frame and subsampling are discussed. Particular attention is paid to the impacts of each design on accuracy (bias), feasibility and sampling cost (precision). Further, this report presents an analysis of data to determine the optimal number of subsamples to collect if subsampling were used. (PDF contains 19 pages)

Organic Contaminant Analytical Methods of the National Status and Trends Program: 2000-2006

This document describes the analytical methods used to quantify core organic chemicals in tissue and sediment collected as part of NOAA’s National Status and Trends Program (NS&T) for the years 2000-2006. Organic contaminat analytical methods used during the early years of the program are described in NOAA Technical Memoranda NOS ORCA 71 and 130 (Lauenstein and Cantillo, 1993; Lauenstein and Cantillo, 1998) for the years 1984-1992 and 1993-1996, respectively. These reports are available from our website (http://www.ccma.nos.gov) The methods detailed in this document were utilized by the Mussel Watch Project and Bioeffects Project, which are both part of the NS&T program. The Mussel Watch Project has been monitoring contaminants in bivalves and sediments since 1986 and is the longest active national contaminant monitoring program operating in U.S. costal waters. Approximately 280 Mussel Watch sites are sampled on a biennial and decadal timescale for bivalve tissue and sediment respectively. Similarly, the Bioeffects Assessment Project began in 1986 to characterize estuaries and near coastal environs. Using the sediment quality triad approach that measures; (1) levels of contaminants in sediments, (2) incidence and severity of toxicity, and (3) benthic macrofaunal conmmunities, the Bioeffects Project describes the spatial extent of sediment toxicity. Contaminant assessment is a core function of both projects. These methods, while discussed here in the context of sediment and bivalve tissue, were also used with other matricies including: fish fillet, fish liver, nepheloid layer, and suspended particulate matter. The methods described herein are for the core organic contaminants monitored in the NS&T Program and include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), butyltins, and organochlorines that have been analyzed consistently over the past 15-20 years. Organic contaminants such as dioxins, perfluoro compounds and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were analyzed periodically in special studies of the NS&T Program and will be described in another document. All of the analytical techniques described in this document were used by B&B Laboratories, Inc, an affiliate of TDI-Brook International, Inc. in College Station, Texas under contract to NOAA. The NS&T Program uses a performance-based system approach to obtain the best possible data quality and comparability, and requires laboratories to demonstrate precision, accuracy, and sensitivity to ensure results-based performance goals and measures. (PDF contains 75 pages)

Sampling and analytical methods of the National Status and Trends Program Mussel Watch Project: 1993-1996 Update

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, butyltins, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and metabolites, other chlorinated pesticides, trace and major elements, and a number of measures of contaminant effects are quantified in bivalves and sediments collected as part of the NOAA National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program. This document contains descriptions of some of the sampling and analytical protocols used by NS&T contract laboratories from 1993 through 1996. (PDF contains 257 pages)

Pilot investigation of remote sensing for intertidal oyster mapping in coastal South Carolina: a methods comparison

South Carolina’s oyster reefs are a major component of the coastal landscape. Eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica are an important economic resource to the state and serve many essential functions in the environment, including water filtration, creek bank stabilization and habitat for other plants and animals. Effective conservation and management of oyster reefs is dependent on an understanding of their abundance, distribution, condition, and change over time. In South Carolina, over 95% of the state’s oyster habitat is intertidal. The current intertidal oyster reef database for South Carolina was developed by field assessment over several years. This database was completed in the early 1980s and is in need of an update to assess resource/habitat status and trends across the state. Anthropogenic factors such as coastal development and associated waterway usage (e.g., boat wakes) are suspected of significantly altering the extent and health of the state’s oyster resources. In 2002 the NOAA Coastal Services Center’s (Center) Coastal Remote Sensing Program (CRS) worked with the Marine Resources Division of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to develop methods for mapping intertidal oyster reefs along the South Carolina coast using remote sensing technology. The objective of this project was to provide SCDNR with potential methodologies and approaches for assessing oyster resources in a more efficiently than could be accomplished through field digitizing. The project focused on the utility of high-resolution aerial imagery and on documenting the effectiveness of various analysis techniques for accomplishing the update. (PDF contains 32 pages)

Lessons from the breeding program on common carp in Hungary

Common carp is one of the most important cultured freshwater fish species in the world. Its production in freshwater areas is the second largest in Europe after rainbow trout. Common carp production in Europe was 146,845 t in 2004 (FAO Fishstat Plus 2006). Common carp production is concentrated mainly in Central and Eastern Europe. In Hungary, common carp has been traditionally cultured in earthen ponds since the late 19th century, following the sharp drop in catches from natural waters, due to the regulation of main river systems. Different production technologies and unintentional selection methods resulted in a wide variety of this species. Just before the intensification of rearing technology and the exchange of stocking materials among fish farms (early sixties), “landraces” of carp were collected from practically all Hungarian fish farms into a live gene bank at the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI) at Szarvas (Bakos and Gorda 1995; Bakos and Gorda 2001). In order to provide highly productive hybrids for production purposes starting from 1964, different strains and crosses between Hungarian landraces were created and tested. During the last 40 years, approximately 150 two-, three-, and four-line hybrids were produced. While developing parental lines, methods of individual selection, inbreeding, backcrossing of lines, gynogenesis and sex reversal were used. This breeding program resulted in three outstanding hybrids: “Szarvas 215 mirror” and “Szarvas P31 scaly” for pond production, and “Szarvas P34 scaly” for angling waters. Besides satisfying the needs of industry, the live gene bank helped to conserve the biological diversity of Hungarian carp landraces. Fifteen Hungarian carp landraces are still maintained today in the gene bank. Through exchange programs fifteen foreign carp strains were added to the collection from Central and Eastern Europe, as well as Southeast Asia (Bakos and Gorda 2001). Besides developing the methodology to maintain live specimens in the gene bank, the National Carp Breeding Program has been initiated in cooperation with all the key stakeholders in Hungary, namely the National Association of Fish Producers (HOSZ), the National Institute for Agricultural Quality Control (OMMI), and the Research Institute for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Irrigation (HAKI). In addition, methodologies or technologies for broodstock management and carp performance testing have been developed. This National Carp Breeding Program is being implemented successfully since the mid-1990s.

Age determination methods for northwest Atlantic species

The successful application of techniques to enhance detection of age marks in biological specimens is of vital importance in fisheries research. This manual documents age determination techniques used by staff at the Woods Hole Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service. General information on procedures for preparing anatomical structures is described, together with criteria used to interpret growth patterns and assign ages. Annotated photographs of age structures are provided to illustrate criteria. Detailed procedures are given for the following species: Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), pollock (Pollachius virens), silver hake (Merluccius bilinearis), red hake (Urophycis chuss), black sea bass (Centropristis striata), weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus), redfish (Sebastes fasciatus), summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus), witch flounder (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides), yellowtail flounder (Limanda ferruginea), surf clam (Spisula solidissima), and ocean quahog (Arctica islandica). (PDF file contains 142 pages.)

The lowland dry zone of Sri Lanka: site for study of aquaculture development within farmer-managed irrigation systems and methodology for participatory situation appraisal

The aims of this paper are twofold. Firstly to characterise rural poverty and to give a broad overview of the agro-ecological, climatic and socio-economic conditions in Sri Lanka which shape poverty. Secondly to present the methodology employed to screen suitable field research areas and the techniques subsequently used to carry out Rapid Rural Appraisal in two upper-watersheds villages. Also presented are details of a concurrent stakeholder analysis that aimed to investigate the capacity of secondary stakeholders to promote sustainable aquatic resource development and to invite their participation in the formulation of a participatory research agenda.[PDF contains 58 pages]

The nature of small-scale farmer managed irrigation systems in North West Province, Sri Lanka and potential for aquaculture

RRAs were carried out in two Small Tank Cascade systems (STCs) of North West Province, Sri Lanka (less than 1000 ha total watershed area). A total of 21 tanks and 7 villages were investigated with primary emphasis on two upper watershed communities. The two systems differ primarily in their resource base; namely rainfall, natural forests and proximity to large scale perennial irrigation resources. [PDF contains 86 pages]

Potential for poverty focused integration of aquaculture into irrigation systems in Batticaloa District

The visit highlighted the vital contribution of the inland fisheries sector to provision of basic food security within the uncleared area (farmers report very low consumption frequencies for all other fish or meat protein substitutes). A 30-mile system of Brackish water lagoons which demarcates the cleared and uncleared areas is the main source of retailed fish in the uncleared area. Second in importance is the inland tank fishery, where the bulk of production emanates from 17 major irrigation reservoirs. [PDF contains 29 pages]