The Economic Value of Coastal Ecosystems in California

EPA Science Inventory

The status of marine ecosystems affects the well being of human societies. These ecosystems include but are not limited to estuaries, lagoons, reefs, and systems further offshore such as deep ocean vents. The coastal regions that connect terrestrial and marine ecosystems are of p...

Ecosystem Services Linking People to Coastal Habitats ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Background/Question/Methods: There is a growing need to incorporate and prioritize ecosystem services/condition information into land-use decision making. While there are a number of place-based studies looking at how land-use decisions affect the availability and delivery of coastal services, many of these methods require data, funding and/or expertise that may be inaccessible to many coastal communities. Using existing classification standards for beneficiaries and coastal habitats, (i.e., Final Ecosystem Goods and Services Classification System (FEGS-CS) and Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)), a comprehensive literature review was coupled with a “weight of evidence” approach to evaluate linkages between beneficiaries and coastal habitat features most relevant to community needs. An initial search of peer-reviewed journal articles was conducted using JSTOR and ScienceDirect repositories identifying sources that provide evidence for coastal beneficiary:habitat linkages. Potential sources were further refined based on a double-blind review of titles, abstracts, and full-texts, when needed. Articles in the final list were then scored based on habitat/beneficiary specificity and data quality (e.g., indirect evidence from literature reviews was scored lower than direct evidence from case studies with valuation results). Scores were then incorporated into a weight of evidence framework summarizing the support for each benefici

Hierarchical Synthesis of Coastal Ecosystem Health Indicators at Karimunjawa National Marine Park

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Danu Prasetya, Johan; Ambariyanto; Supriharyono; Purwanti, Frida

2018-02-01

The coastal ecosystem of Karimunjawa National Marine Park (KNMP) is facing various pressures, including from human activity. Monitoring the health condition of coastal ecosystems periodically is needed as an evaluation of the ecosystem condition. Systematic and consistent indicators are needed in monitoring of coastal ecosystem health. This paper presents hierarchical synthesis of coastal ecosystem health indicators using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. Hierarchical synthesis is obtained from process of weighting by paired comparison based on expert judgments. The variables of coastal ecosystem health indicators in this synthesis consist of 3 level of variable, i.e. main variable, sub-variable and operational variable. As a result of assessment, coastal ecosystem health indicators consist of 3 main variables, i.e. State of Ecosystem, Pressure and Management. Main variables State of Ecosystem and Management obtain the same value i.e. 0.400, while Pressure value was 0.200. Each main variable consist of several sub-variable, i.e. coral reef, reef fish, mangrove and seagrass for State of Ecosystem; fisheries and marine tourism activity for Pressure; planning and regulation, institutional and also infrastructure and financing for Management. The highest value of sub-variable of main variable State of Ecosystem, Pressure and Management were coral reef (0.186); marine tourism pressure (0.133) and institutional (0.171), respectively. The highest value of operational variable of main variable State of Ecosystem, Pressure and Management were percent of coral cover (0.058), marine tourism pressure (0.133) and presence of zonation plan, regulation also socialization of monitoring program (0.53), respectively. Potential pressure from marine tourism activity is the variable that most affect the health of the ecosystem. The results of this research suggest that there is a need to develop stronger conservation strategies to facing with pressures from marine tourism

Coastal High-resolution Observations and Remote Sensing of Ecosystems (C-HORSE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guild, Liane

2016-01-01

Coastal benthic marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs, seagrass beds, and kelp forests are highly productive as well as ecologically and commercially important resources. These systems are vulnerable to degraded water quality due to coastal development, terrestrial run-off, and harmful algal blooms. Measurements of these features are important for understanding linkages with land-based sources of pollution and impacts to coastal ecosystems. Challenges for accurate remote sensing of coastal benthic (shallow water) ecosystems and water quality are complicated by atmospheric scattering/absorption (approximately 80+% of the signal), sun glint from the sea surface, and water column scattering (e.g., turbidity). Further, sensor challenges related to signal to noise (SNR) over optically dark targets as well as insufficient radiometric calibration thwart the value of coastal remotely-sensed data. Atmospheric correction of satellite and airborne remotely-sensed radiance data is crucial for deriving accurate water-leaving radiance in coastal waters. C-HORSE seeks to optimize coastal remote sensing measurements by using a novel airborne instrument suite that will bridge calibration, validation, and research capabilities of bio-optical measurements from the sea to the high altitude remote sensing platform. The primary goal of C-HORSE is to facilitate enhanced optical observations of coastal ecosystems using state of the art portable microradiometers with 19 targeted spectral channels and flight planning to optimize measurements further supporting current and future remote sensing missions.

Ecosystem engineering and biodiversity in coastal sediments: posing hypotheses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bouma, Tjeerd J.; Olenin, Sergej; Reise, Karsten; Ysebaert, Tom

2009-03-01

Coastal sediments in sheltered temperate locations are strongly modified by ecosystem engineering species such as marsh plants, seagrass, and algae as well as by epibenthic and endobenthic invertebrates. These ecosystem engineers are shaping the coastal sea and landscape, control particulate and dissolved material fluxes between the land and sea, and between the benthos and the passing water or air. Above all, habitat engineering exerts facilitating and inhibiting effects on biodiversity. Despite a strongly growing interest in the functional role of ecosystem engineering over the recent years, compared to food web analyses, the conceptual understanding of engineering-mediated species interactions is still in its infancy. In the present paper, we provide a concise overview on current insights and propose two hypotheses on the general mechanisms by which ecosystem engineering may affect biodiversity in coastal sediments. We hypothesise that autogenic and allogenic ecosystem engineers have inverse effects on epibenthic and endobenthic biodiversity in coastal sediments. The primarily autogenic structures of the epibenthos achieve high diversity at the expense of endobenthos, whilst allogenic sediment reworking by infauna may facilitate other infauna and inhibits epibenthos. On a larger scale, these antagonistic processes generate patchiness and habitat diversity. Due to such interaction, anthropogenic influences can strongly modify the engineering community by removing autogenic ecosystem engineers through coastal engineering or bottom trawling. Another source of anthropogenic influences comes from introducing invasive engineers, from which the impact is often hard to predict. We hypothesise that the local biodiversity effects of invasive ecosystem engineers will depend on the engineering strength of the invasive species, with engineering strength defined as the number of habitats it can invade and the extent of modification. At a larger scale of an entire shore

A meta-analysis of coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Baodi; Cui, Lijuan; Li, Wei; Kang, Xiaoming; Pan, Xu; Lei, Yinru

2018-01-01

Wetlands are impacted by economic and political initiatives, and their ecosystem services are attracting increasing public attention. It is crucial that management decisions for wetland ecosystem services quantify the economic value of the ecosystem services. In this paper, we aimed to estimate a monetary value for coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province, China. We selected 433 observations from 85 previous coastal wetland economic evaluations (mostly in China) including detailed spatial and economic characteristics in each wetland, then used a meta-analysis scale transfer method to calculate the total value of coastal wetland ecosystem services in Liaoning Province. Our results demonstrated that, on average, the ecosystem services provided by seven different coastal wetland types were worth US40,648 per ha per year, and the total value was 28,990,439,041 in 2013. Shallow marine waters accounted for the largest proportion (83.97%). Variables with a significant positive effect on the ecosystem service values included GDP per capita, population density, distance from the wetland to the city center and the year of evaluation, while wetland size and latitude had negative relationships.

Distribution of macroalgae and seaweed in the Azov Sea, Kerch Strait, and Taman Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepanian, O. V.

2009-06-01

The analysis of the macroalgae distribution along the salinity gradient in the Azov Sea, the Kerch strait, and Taman Bay during the summer allowed finding two macroalgae complexes. The first complex (brackish) is formed by algae belonging to the Enteromorpha, Cladophora, Rhizoclonium, and Chaetomorpha genera in the Taganrog Gulf. The second complex (marine) with dominating algae belonging to the Enteromorpha, Chaetomorpha, Ceramium, and Polysiphonia inhabits the littoral part of the Azov Sea itself, the Kerch Strait, and Taman Bay. The saprobe analysis of the flora showed that the majority of macroalgae species inhabiting the Azov Sea are represented by meso- and polysaprobes and a small number of oligosaprobe species inhabit the Kerch Strait. The biggest species diversity of macroalgae was noted in the southwestern part of the sea; the value of Shannon’s index was 0.65 in the Taganrog Gulf, 1.04 in the Azov Sea, 1.38 in Taman Bay. The leading role in the littoral communities of Taganrog Gulf belongs to aquatic flowering plants with Potamogeton perfoliatus being dominant; as the salinity increases, the share of such species as P. pectinatus, Zostera marina, Z. noltii, Ruppia maritime, and Zannichellia major starts to increase.

Petroleum geology of Azov-Black Sea region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lukin, A.; Trofimenko, G.

1995-08-01

The main features of tectonics, stratigraphy, paleogeography, lithology, hydrogeology, geothermics and hydrocarbon-bearingness of Azov-Black Sea Region are characterized on the basis of present-day data. Among the most prospective petroliferous complexes one ought to mention: Paleozoic (S - D - C{sub 1}) of Near-Dobrudga foredeep, Triassic - Jurassic of the Black Sea (shelf and continental slope); Lower Cretaceous of the various parts of the Region; Upper Cretaceous of the Black Sea shelf; Paleocene-Eocene of Azov Sea. In addition certain prospects are connected with Precambrian and Paleozoic basements within conjunction zone between Eastern-Europe platform and Scythian plate. Geodynamic evolution of the Regionmore » is considered with determination of tension and compression stages and characteristic of the main regularities of diapirs, mud volcanos, swells, horsts and grabens distribution. There determined the most interesting types of hydrocarbon traps connected with various tectonic forms, river and deltaic channels, bars, conturites, carbonate reefs, etc. Paleogeothermic and paleogeodynamic reconstructions allow to determine the main phases of oil and gas accumulation. The most prospective oil-gas-bearing zones and areas are mapped.« less

Causes and consequences of ecosystem service regionalization in a coastal suburban watershed

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wollheim, Wilfred M.; Mark B. Green,; Pellerin, Brian A.; Morse, Nathaniel B.; Hopkinson, Charles S.

2015-01-01

The demand for ecosystem services and the ability of natural ecosystems to provide those services evolve over time as population, land use, and management practices change. Regionalization of ecosystem service activity, or the expansion of the area providing ecosystem services to a population, is a common response in densely populated coastal regions, with important consequences for watershed water and nitrogen (N) fluxes to the coastal zone. We link biophysical and historical information to explore the causes and consequences of change in ecosystem service activity—focusing on water provisioning and N regulation—from 1850 to 2010 in a coastal suburban watershed, the Ipswich River watershed in northeastern Massachusetts, USA. Net interbasin water transfers started in the late 1800s due to regionalization of water supply for use by larger populations living outside the Ipswich watershed boundaries, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Over much of the twentieth century, about 20 % of river runoff was diverted from reaching the estuary, with greater proportions during drought years. Ongoing regionalization of water supply has contributed to recent declines in diversions, influenced by socioecological feedbacks resulting from the river drying and fish kills. Similarly, the N budget has been greatly perturbed since the suburban era began in the 1950s due to food and lawn fertilizer imports and human waste release. However, natural ecosystems are able to remove most of this anthropogenic N, mitigating impacts on the coastal zone. We propose a conceptual model whereby the amount and type of ecosystem services provided by coastal watersheds in urban regions expand and contract over time as regional population expands and ecosystem services are regionalized. We hypothesize that suburban watersheds can be hotspots of ecosystem service sources because they retain sufficient ecosystem function to still produce services that meet increasing demand from the local population

Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gabler, Christopher A.; Osland, Michael J.; Grace, James B.; Stagg, Camille L.; Day, Richard H.; Hartley, Stephen B.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; From, Andrew; McCoy, Meagan L.; McLeod, Jennie L.

2017-01-01

Coastal wetlands, existing at the interface between land and sea, are highly vulnerable to climate change. Macroclimate (for example, temperature and precipitation regimes) greatly influences coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. However, research on climate change impacts in coastal wetlands has concentrated primarily on sea-level rise and largely ignored macroclimatic drivers, despite their power to transform plant community structure and modify ecosystem goods and services. Here, we model wetland plant community structure based on macroclimate using field data collected across broad temperature and precipitation gradients along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast. Our analyses quantify strongly nonlinear temperature thresholds regulating the potential for marsh-to-mangrove conversion. We also identify precipitation thresholds for dominance by various functional groups, including succulent plants and unvegetated mudflats. Macroclimate-driven shifts in foundation plant species abundance will have large effects on certain ecosystem goods and services. Based on current and projected climatic conditions, we project that transformative ecological changes are probable throughout the region this century, even under conservative climate scenarios. Coastal wetland ecosystems are functionally similar worldwide, so changes in this region are indicative of potential future changes in climatically similar regions globally.

Monitoring Ground-Water Quality in Coastal Ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colman, John A.; Masterson, John P.

2007-01-01

INTRODUCTION The Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO) extends along more than 70 km of Atlantic Ocean open-beach coastline and includes three large saltwater bays - Wellfleet Harbor, Nauset Marsh, and Pleasant Bay (fig. 1). CACO encompasses about 18,000 ha of uplands, lakes, wetlands, and tidal lands (Godfrey and others, 1999) including most habitats typical of the sandy coast in National seashores and parks extending southward from Massachusetts to Florida. In 1995, CACO was selected by the National Park Service (NPS) as a prototype park typifying the Atlantic and Gulf Coast biogeographic region for long-term coastal ecosystem monitoring. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is currently (2007) assisting the NPS in the development of protocols for a Long-Term Coastal Ecosystem Monitoring Program at the CACO in Massachusetts. The overall purpose of the monitoring program is to characterize both natural and human-induced change in the biological resources of the CACO, over a time scale of decades, in the context of a changing global ecosystem.

Assessment of coastal management options by means of multilayered ecosystem models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nobre, Ana M.; Ferreira, João G.; Nunes, João P.; Yan, Xiaojun; Bricker, Suzanne; Corner, Richard; Groom, Steve; Gu, Haifeng; Hawkins, Anthony J. S.; Hutson, Rory; Lan, Dongzhao; Silva, João D. Lencart e.; Pascoe, Philip; Telfer, Trevor; Zhang, Xuelei; Zhu, Mingyuan

2010-03-01

This paper presents a multilayered ecosystem modelling approach that combines the simulation of the biogeochemistry of a coastal ecosystem with the simulation of the main forcing functions, such as catchment loading and aquaculture activities. This approach was developed as a tool for sustainable management of coastal ecosystems. A key feature is to simulate management scenarios that account for changes in multiple uses and enable assessment of cumulative impacts of coastal activities. The model was applied to a coastal zone in China with large aquaculture production and multiple catchment uses, and where management efforts to improve water quality are under way. Development scenarios designed in conjunction with local managers and aquaculture producers include the reduction of fish cages and treatment of wastewater. Despite the reduction in nutrient loading simulated in three different scenarios, inorganic nutrient concentrations in the bay were predicted to exceed the thresholds for poor quality defined by Chinese seawater quality legislation. For all scenarios there is still a Moderate High to High nutrient loading from the catchment, so further reductions might be enacted, together with additional decreases in fish cage culture. The model predicts that overall, shellfish production decreases by 10%-28% using any of these development scenarios, principally because shellfish growth is being sustained by the substances to be reduced for improvement of water quality. The model outcomes indicate that this may be counteracted by zoning of shellfish aquaculture at the ecosystem level in order to optimize trade-offs between productivity and environmental effects. The present case study exemplifies the value of multilayered ecosystem modelling as a tool for Integrated Coastal Zone Management and for the adoption of ecosystem approaches for marine resource management. This modelling approach can be applied worldwide, and may be particularly useful for the application of

An integrated approach to manage coastal ecosystems and prevent marine pollution effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcelli, Marco; Bonamano, Simone; Carli, Filippo Maria; Giovacchini, Monica; Madonia, Alice; Mancini, Emanuele; Molino, Chiara; Piermattei, Viviana; Manfredi Frattarelli, Francesco

2016-04-01

This work focuses an integrated approach based on Sea-Use-Map (SUM), backed by a permanent monitoring system (C-CEMS-Civitavecchia Coastal Environmental Monitoring System). This tool supports the management of the marine coastal area, contributing substantially to ecosystem benefits evaluation and to minimize pollution impacts. Within the Blue Growth strategy, the protection of marine ecosystems is considered a priority for the sustainable growth of marine and maritime sectors. To face this issue, the European MSP and MSFD directives (2014/89/EU; 2008/56/EC) strongly promote the adoption of an ecosystem-based approach, paying particular attention to the support of monitoring networks that use L-TER (long-term ecological research) observations and integrate multi-disciplinary data sets. Although not largely used in Europe yet, the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI), developed in 1979 by NOAA (and promoted by IMO in 2010), can be considered an excellent example of ecosystem-based approach to reduce the environmental consequences of an oil spill event in a coastal area. SUM is an ecosystem oriented cartographic tool specifically designed to support the sustainable management of the coastal areas, such as the selection of the best sites for the introduction of new uses or the identification of the coastal areas subjected to potential impacts. It also enables a rapid evaluation of the benefits produced by marine areas as well as of their anthropogenic disturbance. SUM integrates C-CEMS dataset, geomorphological and ecological features and knowledge on the coastal and maritime space uses. The SUM appliance allowed to obtain relevant operational results in the Civitavecchia coastal area (Latium, Italy), characterized by high variability of marine and coastal environments, historical heritage and affected by the presence of a big harbour, relevant industrial infrastructures, and touristic features. In particular, the valuation of marine ecosystem services based on

Study on the cumulative impact of reclamation activities on ecosystem health in coastal waters.

PubMed

Shen, Chengcheng; Shi, Honghua; Zheng, Wei; Li, Fen; Peng, Shitao; Ding, Dewen

2016-02-15

The purpose of this study is to develop feasible tools to investigate the cumulative impact of reclamations on coastal ecosystem health, so that the strategies of ecosystem-based management can be applied in the coastal zone. An indicator system and model were proposed to assess the cumulative impact synthetically. Two coastal water bodies, namely Laizhou Bay (LZB) and Tianjin coastal waters (TCW), in the Bohai Sea of China were studied and compared, each in a different phase of reclamations. Case studies showed that the indicator scores of coastal ecosystem health in LZB and TCW were 0.75 and 0.68 out of 1.0, respectively. It can be concluded that coastal reclamations have a historically cumulative effect on benthic environment, whose degree is larger than that on aquatic environment. The ecosystem-based management of coastal reclamations should emphasize the spatially and industrially intensive layout. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sustainability Of Coastal Fringe Ecosystems Against Anthropogenic Chemical Stressors

EPA Science Inventory

Plant-dominated coastal ecosystems provide least 21 ecological services including shoreline protection, contaminant removal and nursery and breeding habitat for biota. The value of these ecological services is as great as $28000/h. These ecosystems which include intertidal wetl...

Connecting the Dots: Responses of Coastal Ecosystems to Changing Nutrient Concentrations

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Empirical relationships between phytoplankton biomass and nutrient concentrations established across a wide range of different ecosystems constitute fundamental quantitative tools for predicting effects of nutrient management plans. Nutrient management plans based on such relationships, mostly established over trends of increasing rather than decreasing nutrient concentrations, assume full reversibility of coastal eutrophication. Monitoring data from 28 ecosystems located in four well-studied regions were analyzed to study the generality of chlorophyll a versus nutrient relationships and their applicability for ecosystem management. We demonstrate significant differences across regions as well as between specific coastal ecosystems within regions in the response of chlorophyll a to changing nitrogen concentrations. We also show that the chlorophyll a versus nitrogen relationships over time constitute convoluted trajectories rather than simple unique relationships. The ratio of chlorophyll a to total nitrogen almost doubled over the last 30–40 years across all regions. The uniformity of these trends, or shifting baselines, suggest they may result from large-scale changes, possibly associated with global climate change and increasing human stress on coastal ecosystems. Ecosystem management must, therefore, develop adaptation strategies to face shifting baselines and maintain ecosystem services at a sustainable level rather than striving to restore an ecosystem state of the past. PMID:21958109

Long-Distance Interactions Regulate the Structure and Resilience of Coastal Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van de Koppel, Johan; van der Heide, Tjisse; Altieri, Andrew H.; Eriksson, Britas Klemens; Bouma, Tjeerd J.; Olff, Han; Silliman, Brian R.

2015-01-01

Mounting evidence indicates that spatial interactions are important in structuring coastal ecosystems. Until recently, however, most of this work has been focused on seemingly exceptional systems that are characterized by regular, self-organized patterns. In this review, we document that interactions that operate at long distances, beyond the direct neighborhood of individual organisms, are more common and have much more far-reaching implications for coastal ecosystems than was previously realized. We review studies from a variety of ecosystem types—including cobble beaches, mussel beds, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests—that reveal a startling interplay of positive and negative interactions between habitats across distances of up to a kilometer. In addition to classical feeding relations, alterations of physical conditions constitute an important part of these long-distance interactions. This entanglement of habitats has crucial implications for how humans manage coastal ecosystems, and evaluations of anthropogenic impact should explicitly address long-distance and system-wide effects before we deem these human activities to be causing little harm.

Icefield-to-ocean linkages across the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

O'Neel, Shad; Hood, Eran; Bidlack, Allison L.; Fleming, Sean W.; Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Arendt, Anthony; Burgess, Evan W.; Sergeant, Christopher J.; Beaudreau, Anne E.; Timm, Kristin; Hayward, Gregory D.; Reynolds, Joel H.; Pyare, Sanjay

2015-01-01

Rates of glacier mass loss in the northern Pacific coastal temperate rainforest (PCTR) are among the highest on Earth, and changes in glacier volume and extent will affect the flow regime and chemistry of coastal rivers, as well as the nearshore marine ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska. Here we synthesize physical, chemical and biological linkages that characterize the northern PCTR ecosystem, with particular emphasis on the potential impacts of glacier change in the coastal mountain ranges on the surface–water hydrology, biogeochemistry, coastal oceanography and aquatic ecology. We also evaluate the relative importance and interplay between interannual variability and long-term trends in key physical drivers and ecological responses. To advance our knowledge of the northern PCTR, we advocate for cross-disciplinary research bridging the icefield-to-ocean ecosystem that can be paired with long-term scientific records and designed to inform decisionmakers.

Estimating global "blue carbon" emissions from conversion and degradation of vegetated coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Pendleton, Linwood; Donato, Daniel C; Murray, Brian C; Crooks, Stephen; Jenkins, W Aaron; Sifleet, Samantha; Craft, Christopher; Fourqurean, James W; Kauffman, J Boone; Marbà, Núria; Megonigal, Patrick; Pidgeon, Emily; Herr, Dorothee; Gordon, David; Baldera, Alexis

2012-01-01

Recent attention has focused on the high rates of annual carbon sequestration in vegetated coastal ecosystems--marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses--that may be lost with habitat destruction ('conversion'). Relatively unappreciated, however, is that conversion of these coastal ecosystems also impacts very large pools of previously-sequestered carbon. Residing mostly in sediments, this 'blue carbon' can be released to the atmosphere when these ecosystems are converted or degraded. Here we provide the first global estimates of this impact and evaluate its economic implications. Combining the best available data on global area, land-use conversion rates, and near-surface carbon stocks in each of the three ecosystems, using an uncertainty-propagation approach, we estimate that 0.15-1.02 Pg (billion tons) of carbon dioxide are being released annually, several times higher than previous estimates that account only for lost sequestration. These emissions are equivalent to 3-19% of those from deforestation globally, and result in economic damages of $US 6-42 billion annually. The largest sources of uncertainty in these estimates stems from limited certitude in global area and rates of land-use conversion, but research is also needed on the fates of ecosystem carbon upon conversion. Currently, carbon emissions from the conversion of vegetated coastal ecosystems are not included in emissions accounting or carbon market protocols, but this analysis suggests they may be disproportionally important to both. Although the relevant science supporting these initial estimates will need to be refined in coming years, it is clear that policies encouraging the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems could significantly reduce carbon emissions from the land-use sector, in addition to sustaining the well-recognized ecosystem services of coastal habitats.

Coastal wetlands: an integrated ecosystem approach

USGS Publications Warehouse

Perillo, G. M. E.; Wolanski, E.; Cahoon, D.R.; Brinson, M.M.

2009-01-01

Coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea level and the intervention of human populations both along the estuary and in the river catchment. Direct impacts include the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures. Indirect impacts derive from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. As sea level rises, coastal wetlands in most areas of the world migrate landward to occupy former uplands. The competition of these lands from human development is intensifying, making the landward migration impossible in many cases. This book provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide, and suggestions for their management. In this book a CD is included containing color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Western Region: Coastal ecosystem responses to influences from land and sea, Coastal and Ocean Science

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bodkin, James L.

2010-01-01

Sea otters and the nearshore ecosystems they inhabit-from highly urbanized California to relatively pristine Alaska-are the focus of a new multidisciplinary study by scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and a suite of international, academic and government collaborators. The Coastal Ecosystem Responses to Influences from Land and Sea project will investigate the many interacting variables that influence the health of coastal ecosystems along the Northeast Pacific shore. These ecosystems face unprecedented challenges, with threats arising from the adjacent oceans and lands. From the ocean, challenges include acidification, sea level rise, and warming. From the land, challenges include elevated biological, geological and chemical pollutants associated with burgeoning human populations along coastlines. The implications of these challenges for biological systems are only beginning to be explored. Comparing sea otter population status indicators from around the northeastern Pacific Rim, will begin the process of defining factors of coastal ecosystem health in this broad region.

Geoscience research databases for coastal Alabama ecosystem management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hummell, Richard L.

1995-01-01

Effective management of complex coastal ecosystems necessitates access to scientific knowledge that can be acquired through a multidisciplinary approach involving Federal and State scientists that take advantage of agency expertise and resources for the benefit of all participants working toward a set of common research and management goals. Cooperative geostatic investigations have led toward building databases of fundamental scientific knowledge that can be utilized to manage coastal Alabama's natural and future development. These databases have been used to assess the occurrence and economic potential of hard mineral resources in the Alabama EFZ, and to support oil spill contingency planning and environmental analysis for coastal Alabama.

Major threats of pollution and climate change to global coastal ecosystems and enhanced management for sustainability.

PubMed

Lu, Yonglong; Yuan, Jingjing; Lu, Xiaotian; Su, Chao; Zhang, Yueqing; Wang, Chenchen; Cao, Xianghui; Li, Qifeng; Su, Jilan; Ittekkot, Venugopalan; Garbutt, Richard Angus; Bush, Simon; Fletcher, Stephen; Wagey, Tonny; Kachur, Anatolii; Sweijd, Neville

2018-08-01

Coastal zone is of great importance in the provision of various valuable ecosystem services. However, it is also sensitive and vulnerable to environmental changes due to high human populations and interactions between the land and ocean. Major threats of pollution from over enrichment of nutrients, increasing metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and climate change have led to severe ecological degradation in the coastal zone, while few studies have focused on the combined impacts of pollution and climate change on the coastal ecosystems at the global level. A global overview of nutrients, metals, POPs, and major environmental changes due to climate change and their impacts on coastal ecosystems was carried out in this study. Coasts of the Eastern Atlantic and Western Pacific were hotspots of concentrations of several pollutants, and mostly affected by warming climate. These hotspots shared the same features of large populations, heavy industry and (semi-) closed sea. Estimation of coastal ocean capital, integrated management of land-ocean interaction in the coastal zone, enhancement of integrated global observation system, and coastal ecosystem-based management can play effective roles in promoting sustainable management of coastal marine ecosystems. Enhanced management from the perspective of mitigating pollution and climate change was proposed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecosystem goods and services from Swedish coastal habitats: identification, valuation, and implications of ecosystem shifts.

PubMed

Rönnbäck, Patrik; Kautsky, Nils; Pihl, Leif; Troell, Max; Söderqvist, Tore; Wennhage, Håkan

2007-11-01

Coastal areas are exposed to a variety of threats due to high population densities and rapid economic development. How will this affect human welfare and our dependence on nature's capacity to provide ecosystem goods and services? This paper is original in evaluating this concern for major habitats (macroalgae, seagrasses, blue mussel beds, and unvegetated soft bottoms) in a temperate coastal setting. More than 40 categories of goods and services are classified into provisional, regulating, and cultural services. A wide variety of Swedish examples is described for each category, including accounts of economic values and the relative importance of different habitats. For example, distinguishing characteristics would be the exceptional importance of blue mussels for mitigation of eutrophication, sandy soft bottoms for recreational uses, and seagrasses and macroalgae for fisheries production and control of wave and current energy. Net changes in the provision of goods and services are evaluated for three cases of observed coastal ecosystem shifts: i) seagrass beds into unvegetated substrate; ii) unvegetated shallow soft bottoms into filamentous algal mat dominance; and iii) macroalgae into mussel beds on hard substrate. The results are discussed in a management context including accounts of biodiversity, interconnectedness of ecosystems, and potential of economic valuation.

Food Web Response to Habitat Restoration in Various Coastal Wetland Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

James, W. R.; Nelson, J. A.

2017-12-01

Coastal wetland habitats provide important ecosystem services, including supporting coastal food webs. These habitats are being lost rapidly. To combat the effects of these losses, millions of dollars have been invested to restore these habitats. However, the relationship between restoring habitat and restoring ecosystem functioning is poorly understood. Analyzing energy flow through food web comparisons between restored and natural habitats can give insights into ecosystem functioning. Using published stable isotope values from organisms in restored and natural habitats, we assessed the food web response of habitat restoration in salt marsh, mangrove, sea grass, and algal bed ecosystems. We ran Bayesian mixing models to quantify resource use by consumers and generated habitat specific niche hypervolumes for each ecosystem to assess food web differences between restored and natural habitats. Salt marsh, mangrove, and sea grass ecosystems displayed functional differences between restored and natural habitats. Salt marsh and mangrove food webs varied in the amount of each resource used, while the sea grass food web displayed more variation between individual organisms. The algal bed food web showed little variation between restored and natural habitats.

DEVELOPING INDICATORS OF NITROGEN SOURCE IN COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

Several studies have linked stable isotope ratios of biota to nitrogen source. In particular, ribbed mussels show promise as sensitive indicators of the origins of nitrogen inputs to coastal ecosystems. Here we expand on previous work which demonstrated that mussel isotope ratios...

Responses of coastal ecosystems to environmental variability in emerging countries from the Americas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Muniz, Pablo; Calliari, Danilo; Giménez, Luis; Defeo, Omar

2015-12-01

Coastal ecosystems supply critical ecological services and benefits to human society (Barbier et al., 2011). Nearly 38% of the global monetary value of annual ecosystem services arises from estuaries, seagrass and algal beds, coral reefs and shelf ecosystems (Costanza et al., 1997). However, these ecosystems are being increasingly affected by multiple drivers acting simultaneously at several spatial and temporal scales (Lotze et al., 2006; Hoegh-Guldberg and Bruno, 2010). Climate change (temperature increase, sea level rise, ocean acidification), human activities (e.g. land use/cover change, pollution, overexploitation, translocation of species), and extreme natural events (storms, floods, droughts) are the most important drivers degrading the resilience of coastal systems. Such factors operate on individual level processes, leading organisms away from their niches (Steinberg, 2013) or modifying rates and phenology (Giménez, 2011; Mackas et al., 2012, Deutsch et al., 2015). All of these influence ecosystem level processes, causing changes in species composition, diversity losses and deterioration of ecosystem functions (Worm et al., 2006; Defeo et al., 2009; Doney et al., 2011; Dornelas et al., 2014). The rate of change in habitats, species distributions and whole ecosystems has accelerated over the past decades as shown, for example, in the increase in the frequency of events of coastal hypoxia (Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008,Vaquer-Sunyer and Duarte, 2008), extensive translocation of species by global shipping (Seebens et al., 2013), and in ecosystem regime shifts (Möllmann et al., 2015 and references therein). Some coastal areas have been transformed into novel ecosystems with physical and biological characteristics outside their natural range of variability (Cloern et al., 2015) while others are likely to become sink areas, limiting the migration of marine species away from warming habitats (Burrows et al., 2014).

Impacts on the deep-sea ecosystem by a severe coastal storm.

PubMed

Sanchez-Vidal, Anna; Canals, Miquel; Calafat, Antoni M; Lastras, Galderic; Pedrosa-Pàmies, Rut; Menéndez, Melisa; Medina, Raúl; Company, Joan B; Hereu, Bernat; Romero, Javier; Alcoverro, Teresa

2012-01-01

Major coastal storms, associated with strong winds, high waves and intensified currents, and occasionally with heavy rains and flash floods, are mostly known because of the serious damage they can cause along the shoreline and the threats they pose to navigation. However, there is a profound lack of knowledge on the deep-sea impacts of severe coastal storms. Concurrent measurements of key parameters along the coast and in the deep-sea are extremely rare. Here we present a unique data set showing how one of the most extreme coastal storms of the last decades lashing the Western Mediterranean Sea rapidly impacted the deep-sea ecosystem. The storm peaked the 26(th) of December 2008 leading to the remobilization of a shallow-water reservoir of marine organic carbon associated with fine particles and resulting in its redistribution across the deep basin. The storm also initiated the movement of large amounts of coarse shelf sediment, which abraded and buried benthic communities. Our findings demonstrate, first, that severe coastal storms are highly efficient in transporting organic carbon from shallow water to deep water, thus contributing to its sequestration and, second, that natural, intermittent atmospheric drivers sensitive to global climate change have the potential to tremendously impact the largest and least known ecosystem on Earth, the deep-sea ecosystem.

Emerging methods for the study of coastal ecosystem landscape structure and change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, John C.; Danielson, Jeffrey J.; Purkis, Sam

2013-01-01

Coastal landscapes are heterogeneous, dynamic, and evolve over a range of time scales due to intertwined climatic, geologic, hydrologic, biologic, and meteorological processes, and are also heavily impacted by human development, commercial activities, and resource extraction. A diversity of complex coastal systems around the globe, spanning glaciated shorelines to tropical atolls, wetlands, and barrier islands are responding to multiple human and natural drivers. Interdisciplinary research based on remote-sensing observations linked to process studies and models is required to understand coastal ecosystem landscape structure and change. Moreover, new techniques for coastal mapping and monitoring are increasingly serving the needs of policy-makers and resource managers across local, regional, and national scales. Emerging remote-sensing methods associated with a diversity of instruments and platforms are a key enabling element of integrated coastal ecosystem studies. These investigations require both targeted and synoptic mapping, and involve the monitoring of formative processes such as hydrodynamics, sediment transport, erosion, accretion, flooding, habitat modification, land-cover change, and biogeochemical fluxes.

Historical overfishing and the recent collapse of coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Jackson, J B; Kirby, M X; Berger, W H; Bjorndal, K A; Botsford, L W; Bourque, B J; Bradbury, R H; Cooke, R; Erlandson, J; Estes, J A; Hughes, T P; Kidwell, S; Lange, C B; Lenihan, H S; Pandolfi, J M; Peterson, C H; Steneck, R S; Tegner, M J; Warner, R R

2001-07-27

Ecological extinction caused by overfishing precedes all other pervasive human disturbance to coastal ecosystems, including pollution, degradation of water quality, and anthropogenic climate change. Historical abundances of large consumer species were fantastically large in comparison with recent observations. Paleoecological, archaeological, and historical data show that time lags of decades to centuries occurred between the onset of overfishing and consequent changes in ecological communities, because unfished species of similar trophic level assumed the ecological roles of overfished species until they too were overfished or died of epidemic diseases related to overcrowding. Retrospective data not only help to clarify underlying causes and rates of ecological change, but they also demonstrate achievable goals for restoration and management of coastal ecosystems that could not even be contemplated based on the limited perspective of recent observations alone.

The roles of large top predators in coastal ecosystems: new insights from long term ecological research

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rosenblatt, Adam E.; Heithaus, Michael R.; Mather, Martha E.; Matich, Philip; Nifong, James C.; Ripple, William J.; Silliman, Brian R.

2013-01-01

During recent human history, human activities such as overhunting and habitat destruction have severely impacted many large top predator populations around the world. Studies from a variety of ecosystems show that loss or diminishment of top predator populations can have serious consequences for population and community dynamics and ecosystem stability. However, there are relatively few studies of the roles of large top predators in coastal ecosystems, so that we do not yet completely understand what could happen to coastal areas if large top predators are extirpated or significantly reduced in number. This lack of knowledge is surprising given that coastal areas around the globe are highly valued and densely populated by humans, and thus coastal large top predator populations frequently come into conflict with coastal human populations. This paper reviews what is known about the ecological roles of large top predators in coastal systems and presents a synthesis of recent work from three coastal eastern US Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites where long-term studies reveal what appear to be common themes relating to the roles of large top predators in coastal systems. We discuss three specific themes: (1) large top predators acting as mobile links between disparate habitats, (2) large top predators potentially affecting nutrient and biogeochemical dynamics through localized behaviors, and (3) individual specialization of large top predator behaviors. We also discuss how research within the LTER network has led to enhanced understanding of the ecological roles of coastal large top predators. Highlighting this work is intended to encourage further investigation of the roles of large top predators across diverse coastal aquatic habitats and to better inform researchers and ecosystem managers about the importance of large top predators for coastal ecosystem health and stability.

A meta-analysis of soil salinization effects on nitrogen pools, cycles and fluxes in coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Zhou, Minghua; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Vereecken, Harry; Brüggemann, Nicolas

2017-03-01

Salinity intrusion caused by land subsidence resulting from increasing groundwater abstraction, decreasing river sediment loads and increasing sea level because of climate change has caused widespread soil salinization in coastal ecosystems. Soil salinization may greatly alter nitrogen (N) cycling in coastal ecosystems. However, a comprehensive understanding of the effects of soil salinization on ecosystem N pools, cycling processes and fluxes is not available for coastal ecosystems. Therefore, we compiled data from 551 observations from 21 peer-reviewed papers and conducted a meta-analysis of experimental soil salinization effects on 19 variables related to N pools, cycling processes and fluxes in coastal ecosystems. Our results showed that the effects of soil salinization varied across different ecosystem types and salinity levels. Soil salinization increased plant N content (18%), soil NH 4 + (12%) and soil total N (210%), although it decreased soil NO 3 - (2%) and soil microbial biomass N (74%). Increasing soil salinity stimulated soil N 2 O fluxes as well as hydrological NH 4 + and NO 2 - fluxes more than threefold, although it decreased the hydrological dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) flux (59%). Soil salinization also increased the net N mineralization by 70%, although salinization effects were not observed on the net nitrification, denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium in this meta-analysis. Overall, this meta-analysis improves our understanding of the responses of ecosystem N cycling to soil salinization, identifies knowledge gaps and highlights the urgent need for studies on the effects of soil salinization on coastal agro-ecosystem and microbial N immobilization. Additional increases in knowledge are critical for designing sustainable adaptation measures to the predicted intrusion of salinity intrusion so that the productivity of coastal agro-ecosystems can be maintained or improved and the N losses and pollution of the natural

First evidence of agro-pastoral farming and anthropogenic impact in the Taman Peninsula, Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaniewski, David; Giaime, Matthieu; Marriner, Nick; Morhange, Christophe; Otto, Thierry; Porotov, Alexey V.; Van Campo, Elise

2015-04-01

Debate on the complex coevolution that has shaped interactions between forested ecosystems and humans through constantly evolving land-use practices over the past millennia has long been centered on the Mediterranean because this area is seen as the cradle for the birth and growth of agricultural activities. Here, we argue that the transition from hunting-gathering by Mesolithic foragers to the food-producing economy of Neolithic farmers was a main trigger of biological changes not only in the Mediterranean but also in the Black Sea and Azov Sea coasts through woodcutting, herding, fire and agriculture. Although the ecological erosion was clearly focused on forested ecosystems, this process seems to have fostered an increased biodiversity. We show, by focusing on the fertile coast of the Azov Sea, that (i) the first evidence of cereal cultivation and human-induced fire occurred in southern Russia 7000 years ago; (ii) the early development of agriculture was a major but discontinuous process; (iii) the coastal ecosystems were rapidly disturbed by anthropogenic activities; and (iv) the Neolithic was a critical threshold for the forested ecosystems of the coastal area. The impact of early anthropogenic pressures seems to have been largely neglected or underestimated for the period encompassing the Neolithic cultural phase.

Estimating the Provision of Ecosystem Services by Gulf of Mexico Coastal Wetlands.

EPA Science Inventory

Gulf of Mexico (GOM) coastal wetlands contribute to human well-being by providing many ecosystem services (e.g., commercial and recreational fishery support, protection of coastal communities from storm surge, water quality improvement, and carbon sequestration). The GOM region c...

Estimating Global “Blue Carbon” Emissions from Conversion and Degradation of Vegetated Coastal Ecosystems

PubMed Central

Murray, Brian C.; Crooks, Stephen; Jenkins, W. Aaron; Sifleet, Samantha; Craft, Christopher; Fourqurean, James W.; Kauffman, J. Boone; Marbà, Núria; Megonigal, Patrick; Pidgeon, Emily; Herr, Dorothee; Gordon, David; Baldera, Alexis

2012-01-01

Recent attention has focused on the high rates of annual carbon sequestration in vegetated coastal ecosystems—marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses—that may be lost with habitat destruction (‘conversion’). Relatively unappreciated, however, is that conversion of these coastal ecosystems also impacts very large pools of previously-sequestered carbon. Residing mostly in sediments, this ‘blue carbon’ can be released to the atmosphere when these ecosystems are converted or degraded. Here we provide the first global estimates of this impact and evaluate its economic implications. Combining the best available data on global area, land-use conversion rates, and near-surface carbon stocks in each of the three ecosystems, using an uncertainty-propagation approach, we estimate that 0.15–1.02 Pg (billion tons) of carbon dioxide are being released annually, several times higher than previous estimates that account only for lost sequestration. These emissions are equivalent to 3–19% of those from deforestation globally, and result in economic damages of $US 6–42 billion annually. The largest sources of uncertainty in these estimates stems from limited certitude in global area and rates of land-use conversion, but research is also needed on the fates of ecosystem carbon upon conversion. Currently, carbon emissions from the conversion of vegetated coastal ecosystems are not included in emissions accounting or carbon market protocols, but this analysis suggests they may be disproportionally important to both. Although the relevant science supporting these initial estimates will need to be refined in coming years, it is clear that policies encouraging the sustainable management of coastal ecosystems could significantly reduce carbon emissions from the land-use sector, in addition to sustaining the well-recognized ecosystem services of coastal habitats. PMID:22962585

Understanding human impacts to tropical coastal ecosystems through integrated hillslope erosion measurements, optical coastal waters characterization, watershed modeling, marine ecosystem assessments, and natural resource valuations in two constrasting watersheds in Puerto Rico.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz-Zayas, J.; Melendez, J.; Barreto, M.; Santiago, L.; Torres-Perez, J. L.; Ramos-Scharron, C. E.; Figueroa, Y.; Setegn, S. G.; Guild, L. S.; Armstrong, R.

2017-12-01

Coastal ecosystems are an asset to many tropical island economies. In Puerto Rico, however, many invaluable coastal ecosystems are at risk due to multiple social and natural environmental stressors. To quantify the role of anthropogenic versus natural stressors, an integrated multidisciplinary approach was applied in two contrasting watersheds in Puerto Rico. The Rio Loco (RL) watershed in Southeastern Puerto Rico is hydrologically modified with interbasin water transfers, hydroelectric generation, and with water extraction for irrigation and water supply. Intensive agricultural production dominates both the lower and upper portions of the basin. In contrast, the Rio Grande de Manatí (RGM) shows a natural flow regime with minor flow regulation and limited agriculture. The Surface Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was applied to each watershed to assess the effects of land use changes on water and sediment fluxes to coastal areas. From 1977 to 2016, forest areas increased in both watersheds due to the abandonment of farms in the mountains. However, in upper and lower RL, agricultural lands have remained active. Coffee plantations in the upper watershed contribute with high sediment loads, particularly in unpaved service roads. We hypothesize that water fluxes will be higher in the larger RGM than in RL. However, suspended sediment fluxes will be higher in the agriculturally active RL basin. A willingness-to-pay approach was applied to assess how residents from each watershed value water and coastal ecosystems revealing a general higher natural resources valuation in the RGM than in RL. Coastal ecosystems at each site revealed structural differences in benthic coral communities due to local currents influenced largely by coastal morphology. The optical properties of coastal waters are also being determined and linked to fluvial sediment fluxes. Stakeholder meetings are being held in each watershed to promote transfer of scientific insights into a sustainable coastal and

Ecosystem-based coastal defence in the face of global change.

PubMed

Temmerman, Stijn; Meire, Patrick; Bouma, Tjeerd J; Herman, Peter M J; Ysebaert, Tom; De Vriend, Huib J

2013-12-05

The risk of flood disasters is increasing for many coastal societies owing to global and regional changes in climate conditions, sea-level rise, land subsidence and sediment supply. At the same time, in many locations, conventional coastal engineering solutions such as sea walls are increasingly challenged by these changes and their maintenance may become unsustainable. We argue that flood protection by ecosystem creation and restoration can provide a more sustainable, cost-effective and ecologically sound alternative to conventional coastal engineering and that, in suitable locations, it should be implemented globally and on a large scale.

Impacts on the Deep-Sea Ecosystem by a Severe Coastal Storm

PubMed Central

Sanchez-Vidal, Anna; Canals, Miquel; Calafat, Antoni M.; Lastras, Galderic; Pedrosa-Pàmies, Rut; Menéndez, Melisa; Medina, Raúl; Company, Joan B.; Hereu, Bernat; Romero, Javier; Alcoverro, Teresa

2012-01-01

Major coastal storms, associated with strong winds, high waves and intensified currents, and occasionally with heavy rains and flash floods, are mostly known because of the serious damage they can cause along the shoreline and the threats they pose to navigation. However, there is a profound lack of knowledge on the deep-sea impacts of severe coastal storms. Concurrent measurements of key parameters along the coast and in the deep-sea are extremely rare. Here we present a unique data set showing how one of the most extreme coastal storms of the last decades lashing the Western Mediterranean Sea rapidly impacted the deep-sea ecosystem. The storm peaked the 26th of December 2008 leading to the remobilization of a shallow-water reservoir of marine organic carbon associated with fine particles and resulting in its redistribution across the deep basin. The storm also initiated the movement of large amounts of coarse shelf sediment, which abraded and buried benthic communities. Our findings demonstrate, first, that severe coastal storms are highly efficient in transporting organic carbon from shallow water to deep water, thus contributing to its sequestration and, second, that natural, intermittent atmospheric drivers sensitive to global climate change have the potential to tremendously impact the largest and least known ecosystem on Earth, the deep-sea ecosystem. PMID:22295084

Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature.

PubMed

Arkema, Katie K; Verutes, Gregory M; Wood, Spencer A; Clarke-Samuels, Chantalle; Rosado, Samir; Canto, Maritza; Rosenthal, Amy; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Guannel, Gregory; Toft, Jodie; Faries, Joe; Silver, Jessica M; Griffin, Robert; Guerry, Anne D

2015-06-16

Recent calls for ocean planning envision informed management of social and ecological systems to sustain delivery of ecosystem services to people. However, until now, no coastal and marine planning process has applied an ecosystem-services framework to understand how human activities affect the flow of benefits, to create scenarios, and to design a management plan. We developed models that quantify services provided by corals, mangroves, and seagrasses. We used these models within an extensive engagement process to design a national spatial plan for Belize's coastal zone. Through iteration of modeling and stakeholder engagement, we developed a preferred plan, currently under formal consideration by the Belizean government. Our results suggest that the preferred plan will lead to greater returns from coastal protection and tourism than outcomes from scenarios oriented toward achieving either conservation or development goals. The plan will also reduce impacts to coastal habitat and increase revenues from lobster fishing relative to current management. By accounting for spatial variation in the impacts of coastal and ocean activities on benefits that ecosystems provide to people, our models allowed stakeholders and policymakers to refine zones of human use. The final version of the preferred plan improved expected coastal protection by >25% and more than doubled the revenue from fishing, compared with earlier versions based on stakeholder preferences alone. Including outcomes in terms of ecosystem-service supply and value allowed for explicit consideration of multiple benefits from oceans and coasts that typically are evaluated separately in management decisions.

Lignin methoxyl hydrogen isotope ratios in a coastal ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feakins, Sarah J.; Ellsworth, Patricia V.; Sternberg, Leonel da Silveira Lobo

2013-11-01

Stable hydrogen isotope ratios of plant lignin methoxyl groups have recently been shown to record the hydrogen isotopic composition of meteoric water. Here we extend this technique towards tracing water source variations across a saltwater to freshwater gradient in a coastal, subtropical forest ecosystem. We measure the hydrogen isotopic composition of xylem water (δDxw) and methoxyl hydrogen (δDmethoxyl) to calculate fractionations for coastal mangrove, buttonwood and hammock tree species in Sugarloaf Key, as well as buttonwoods from Miami, both in Florida, USA. Prior studies of the isotopic composition of cellulose and plant leaf waxes in coastal ecosystems have yielded only a weak correlation to source waters, attributed to leaf water effects. Here we find δDmethoxyl values range from -230‰ to -130‰, across a 40‰ range in δDxw with a regression equation of δDmethoxyl ‰ = 1.8 * δDxw - 178‰ (R2 = 0.48, p < 0.0001, n = 74). This is comparable within error to the earlier published relationship for terrestrial trees which was defined across a much larger 125‰ isotopic range in precipitation. Analytical precision for measurements of δD values of pure CH3I by gas chromatography-pyrolysis-isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-P-IRMS) is σ = 6‰ (n = 31), which is considerably better than for CH3I liberated through cleavage with HI from lignin with σ = 18‰ (n = 26). Our results establish that δDmethoxyl can record water sources and salinity incursion in coastal ecosystems, where variations sufficiently exceed method uncertainties (i.e., applications with δD excursions >50‰). For the first time, we also report yields of propyl iodide, which may indicate lignin synthesis of propoxyl groups under salt-stress.

Current status and future prospects for the assessment of marine and coastal ecosystem services: a systematic review.

PubMed

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Drakou, Evangelia G; Gurney, Leigh; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Charef, Aymen; Egoh, Benis

2013-01-01

Research on ecosystem services has grown exponentially during the last decade. Most of the studies have focused on assessing and mapping terrestrial ecosystem services highlighting a knowledge gap on marine and coastal ecosystem services (MCES) and an urgent need to assess them. We reviewed and summarized existing scientific literature related to MCES with the aim of extracting and classifying indicators used to assess and map them. We found 145 papers that specifically assessed marine and coastal ecosystem services from which we extracted 476 indicators. Food provision, in particular fisheries, was the most extensively analyzed MCES while water purification and coastal protection were the most frequently studied regulating and maintenance services. Also recreation and tourism under the cultural services was relatively well assessed. We highlight knowledge gaps regarding the availability of indicators that measure the capacity, flow or benefit derived from each ecosystem service. The majority of the case studies was found in mangroves and coastal wetlands and was mainly concentrated in Europe and North America. Our systematic review highlighted the need of an improved ecosystem service classification for marine and coastal systems, which is herein proposed with definitions and links to previous classifications. This review summarizes the state of available information related to ecosystem services associated with marine and coastal ecosystems. The cataloging of MCES indicators and the integrated classification of MCES provided in this paper establish a background that can facilitate the planning and integration of future assessments. The final goal is to establish a consistent structure and populate it with information able to support the implementation of biodiversity conservation policies.

Experimental and numerical analysis of coastal protection provided by natural ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maza, M.; Lara, J. L.; Losada, I. J.; Nepf, H. M.

2016-12-01

The risk of flooding and erosion is increasing for many coastal areas owing to global and regional changes in climate conditions together with increasing exposure and vulnerability. After hurricane Katrina (2005) and Sandy (2012) and the tsunami in Indonesia (2004), coastal managers have become interested in low environmental impact alternatives, or nature-based solutions, to protect the coast. Although capacity for coastal ecosystems to damp flow energy has been widely recognized, they have not been firmly considered in the portfolio of coastal protection options. This is mainly due to the complexity of flow-vegetation interaction and of quantifying the value of coastal protection provided by these ecosystems. This complex problem involves different temporal and spatial scales and disciplines, such as engineering, ecology and economics. This work aims to make a step forward in better understanding the physics involved in flow-vegetation interaction leading to new formulations and parameterizations to address some unsolved questions in literature: the representation of plants and field properties; the influence of wave parameters on the relevant processes; the role of the combined effect of waves and currents and the effect of extreme events on vegetation elements. The three main coastal vegetated ecosystems (seagrasses, saltmarshes and mangroves) are studied with an experimental and numerical approach. Experimental analysis is carried out using mimics and real vegetation, considering different flow and vegetation parameters and characterizing flow energy attenuation for the different scenarios. Numerical simulations are performed using 2-D and 3-D Navier-Stokes models in which the effect of vegetation is implemented and validated. These models are used to extend experimental results by simulating different vegetation distributions and analyzing variables such as high-spatial-resolution free surface and velocity data and forces exerted on vegetation elements.

Bubble Stripping as a Tool to Reduce High Dissolved CO2 in Coastal Marine Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koweek, D.; Mucciarone, D. A.; Dunbar, R. B.

2016-02-01

High dissolved CO2 concentrations in coastal ecosystems are a common occurrence due to a combination of large ecosystem metabolism and long residence times. Many of the socially, commercially, and recreationally important species may have adapted to this natural variability over time. However, eutrophication and ocean acidification may be perturbing the water chemistry beyond the bounds of tolerance for these organisms. We are currently limited in our ability to deal with the geochemical changes unfolding in our coastal ocean. This study helps to address this deficit of solutions by introducing bubble stripping as a novel geochemical engineering approach to reducing high CO2 in coastal marine ecosystems. We use an empirically validated numerical model to find that air/sea gas exchange rates within a bubbled system are 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than within a non-bubbled system. By coupling bubbling-enhanced ventilation to a coastal ecosystem metabolism model, we demonstrate that strategically timed bubble plumes can mitigate exposure to high CO2 under present-day conditions and that exposure mitigation is enhanced in the more acidic conditions predicted by the end of the century. The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasizes the need to both adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change and ocean acidification. We believe shallow water bubble stripping could be one approach for reducing high CO2 conditions in coastal ecosystems and should be added to the growing list of engineering approaches intended to increase coastal resilience in a changing ocean.

Coastal biodiversity and ecosystem services flows at the landscape scale: The CBESS progamme.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paterson, David; Bothwell, John; Bradbury, Richard; Burrows, Michael; Burton, Niall; Emmerson, Mark; Garbutt, Angus; Skov, Martin; Solan, Martin; Spencer, Tom; Underwood, Graham

2015-04-01

The health of the European coastline is inextricably linked to the economy and culture of coastal nations but they are sensitive to climate change. As global temperatures increase, sea levels will rise and the forces experienced where land meets sea will become more destructive. Salt marshes, mudflats, beaches will be affected. These landscapes support a wide range of economically valuable animal and plant species, but also act as sites of carbon storage, nutrient recycling, and pollutant capture and amelioration. Their preservation is of utmost importance. Our programme: "A hierarchical approach to the examination of the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem service flows across coastal margins" (CBESS) is designed to understand the landscape-scale links between the functions that these systems provide (ecosystem service flows) and the organisms that provide these services (biodiversity stocks) and moves beyond most previous studies, conducted at smaller scales. Our consortium of experts ranges from microbial ecologists, through environmental economists, to mathematical modellers, and organisations (RSPB, BTO, CEFAS, EA) with vested interest in the sustainable use of coastal wetlands. CBESS spans the landscape scale, investigating how biodiversity stocks provide ecosystem services (cf. National Ecosystem Assessment: Supporting services; Provisioning services; Regulating services; and Cultural services). CBESS combined a detailed study of two regional landscapes with a broad-scale UK-wide study to allow both specific and general conclusions to be drawn. The regional study compares two areas of great UK national importance: Morecambe Bay on the west coast and the Essex coastline on the east. We carried out biological and physical surveys at more than 600 stations combined with in situ measures of ecosystem funtction to clarify how biodiversity can provide these important ecosystem functions across scales. This information will be shared with those

Current Status and Future Prospects for the Assessment of Marine and Coastal Ecosystem Services: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Liquete, Camino; Piroddi, Chiara; Drakou, Evangelia G.; Gurney, Leigh; Katsanevakis, Stelios; Charef, Aymen; Egoh, Benis

2013-01-01

Background Research on ecosystem services has grown exponentially during the last decade. Most of the studies have focused on assessing and mapping terrestrial ecosystem services highlighting a knowledge gap on marine and coastal ecosystem services (MCES) and an urgent need to assess them. Methodology/Principal Findings We reviewed and summarized existing scientific literature related to MCES with the aim of extracting and classifying indicators used to assess and map them. We found 145 papers that specifically assessed marine and coastal ecosystem services from which we extracted 476 indicators. Food provision, in particular fisheries, was the most extensively analyzed MCES while water purification and coastal protection were the most frequently studied regulating and maintenance services. Also recreation and tourism under the cultural services was relatively well assessed. We highlight knowledge gaps regarding the availability of indicators that measure the capacity, flow or benefit derived from each ecosystem service. The majority of the case studies was found in mangroves and coastal wetlands and was mainly concentrated in Europe and North America. Our systematic review highlighted the need of an improved ecosystem service classification for marine and coastal systems, which is herein proposed with definitions and links to previous classifications. Conclusions/Significance This review summarizes the state of available information related to ecosystem services associated with marine and coastal ecosystems. The cataloging of MCES indicators and the integrated classification of MCES provided in this paper establish a background that can facilitate the planning and integration of future assessments. The final goal is to establish a consistent structure and populate it with information able to support the implementation of biodiversity conservation policies. PMID:23844080

Embedding ecosystem services in coastal planning leads to better outcomes for people and nature

PubMed Central

Arkema, Katie K.; Verutes, Gregory M.; Wood, Spencer A.; Clarke-Samuels, Chantalle; Rosado, Samir; Canto, Maritza; Rosenthal, Amy; Ruckelshaus, Mary; Guannel, Gregory; Toft, Jodie; Faries, Joe; Silver, Jessica M.; Griffin, Robert; Guerry, Anne D.

2015-01-01

Recent calls for ocean planning envision informed management of social and ecological systems to sustain delivery of ecosystem services to people. However, until now, no coastal and marine planning process has applied an ecosystem-services framework to understand how human activities affect the flow of benefits, to create scenarios, and to design a management plan. We developed models that quantify services provided by corals, mangroves, and seagrasses. We used these models within an extensive engagement process to design a national spatial plan for Belize’s coastal zone. Through iteration of modeling and stakeholder engagement, we developed a preferred plan, currently under formal consideration by the Belizean government. Our results suggest that the preferred plan will lead to greater returns from coastal protection and tourism than outcomes from scenarios oriented toward achieving either conservation or development goals. The plan will also reduce impacts to coastal habitat and increase revenues from lobster fishing relative to current management. By accounting for spatial variation in the impacts of coastal and ocean activities on benefits that ecosystems provide to people, our models allowed stakeholders and policymakers to refine zones of human use. The final version of the preferred plan improved expected coastal protection by >25% and more than doubled the revenue from fishing, compared with earlier versions based on stakeholder preferences alone. Including outcomes in terms of ecosystem-service supply and value allowed for explicit consideration of multiple benefits from oceans and coasts that typically are evaluated separately in management decisions. PMID:26082545

The impact of climate change on coastal ecosystems: chapter 6

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burkett, Virginia; Woodroffe, Colin D.; Nicholls, Robert J.; Forbes, Donald L.

2014-01-01

In this chapter we stress two important features of coasts and coastal ecosystems. First, these are dynamic systems which continually undergo adjustments, especially through erosion and re-deposition, in response to a range of processes. Many coastal ecosystems adjust naturally at a range of time scales and their potential for response is examined partly by reconstructing how such systems have coped with natural changes of climate and sea level in the geological past. Second, coasts have changed profoundly through the 20th Century due to the impacts of human development (such as urbanisation, port and industrial expansion, shore protection, and the draining and conversion of coastal wetlands), with these development-related drivers closely linked to a growing global population and economy. It remains a challenge to isolate the impacts of climate change and sea-level rise from either the natural trajectory of shoreline change, or the accelerated pathway resulting from other human-related stressors. There exists a danger of overstating the importance of climate change, or overlooking significant interactions of climate change with other drivers.

A spatial analysis of cultural ecosystem service valuation by regional stakeholders in Florida: a coastal application of the social values for ecosystem services (SolVES) tool

USGS Publications Warehouse

Coffin, Alisa W.; Swett, Robert A.; Cole, Zachary D.

2012-01-01

Livelihoods and lifestyles of people throughout the world depend on essential goods and services provided by marine and coastal ecosystems. However, as societal demand increases and available ocean and coastal space diminish, better methods are needed to spatially and temporally allocate ocean and coastal activities such as shipping, energy production, tourism, and fishing. While economic valuation is an important mechanism for doing so, cultural ecosystem services often do not lend themselves to this method. Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey are working collaboratively with the Florida Sea Grant College Program to map nonmonetary values of cultural ecosystem services for a pilot area (Sarasota Bay) in the Gulf of Mexico. The research seeks to close knowledge gaps about the attitudes and perceptions, or nonmonetary values, held by coastal residents toward cultural ecosystem services, and to adapt related, terrestrial-based research methods to a coastal setting. A critical goal is to integrate research results with coastal and marine spatial planning applications, thus making them relevant to coastal planners and managers in their daily efforts to sustainably manage coastal resources. Using information about the attitudes and preferences of people toward places and uses in the landscape, collected from value and preference surveys, the USGS SolVES 2.0 tool will provide quantitative models to relate social values, or perceived nonmonetary values, assigned to locations by survey respondents with the underlying environmental characteristics of those same locations. Project results will increase scientific and geographic knowledge of how Sarasota Bay residents value their area’s cultural ecosystem services.

Ecosystem Services Transcend Boundaries: Estuaries Provide Resource Subsidies and Influence Functional Diversity in Coastal Benthic Communities

PubMed Central

Savage, Candida; Thrush, Simon F.; Lohrer, Andrew M.; Hewitt, Judi E.

2012-01-01

Background Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems that can export organic matter to coastal seas (the ‘outwelling hypothesis’). However the role of this food resource subsidy on coastal ecosystem functioning has not been examined. Methodology/Principal Findings We investigated the influence of estuarine primary production as a resource subsidy and the influence of estuaries on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in coastal mollusk-dominated sediment communities. Stable isotope values (δ13C, δ15N) demonstrated that estuarine primary production was exported to the adjacent coast and contributed to secondary production up to 4 km from the estuary mouth. Further, isotope signatures of suspension feeding bivalves on the adjacent coast (Dosinia subrosea) closely mirrored the isotope values of the dominant bivalves inside the estuaries (Austrovenus stutchburyi), indicating utilization of similar organic matter sources. However, the food subsidies varied between estuaries; with estuarine suspended particulate organic matter (SPOM) dominant at Tairua estuary, while seagrass and fringing vegetation detritus was proportionately more important at Whangapoua estuary, with lesser contributions of estuarine SPOM. Distance from the estuary mouth and the size and density of large bivalves (Dosinia spp.) had a significant influence on the composition of biological traits in the coastal macrobenthic communities, signaling the potential influence of these spatial subsidies on ecosystem functioning. Conclusions/Significance Our study demonstrated that the locations where ecosystem services like productivity are generated are not necessarily where the services are utilized. Further, we identified indirect positive effects of the nutrient subsidies on biodiversity (the estuarine subsidies influenced the bivalves, which in turn affected the diversity and functional trait composition of the coastal sediment macrofaunal communities). These findings highlight the importance of

Coastal Wetland Ecosystem Responses to Climate Change: the Role of Macroclimatic Drivers along the Northern Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osland, M. J.; Enwright, N.; Day, R. H.; Gabler, C. A.; Stagg, C. L.; From, A. S.

2014-12-01

Across the globe, macroclimatic drivers greatly influence coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. However, changing macroclimatic conditions are rarely incorporated into coastal wetland vulnerability assessments. Here, we quantify the influence of macroclimatic drivers upon coastal wetland ecosystems along the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) coast. From a global perspective, the NGOM coast provides several excellent opportunities to examine the effects of climate change upon coastal wetlands. The abundant coastal wetland ecosystems in the region span two major climatic gradients: (1) a winter temperature gradient that crosses temperate to tropical climatic zones; and (2) a precipitation gradient that crosses humid to semi-arid zones. We present analyses where we used geospatial data (historical climate, hydrology, and coastal wetland coverage) and field data (soil, elevation, and plant community composition and structure) to quantify climate-mediated ecological transitions. We identified winter climate and precipitation-based thresholds that separate mangrove forests from salt marshes and vegetated wetlands from unvegetated wetlands, respectively. We used simple distribution and abundance models to evaluate the potential ecological effects of alternative future climate change scenarios. Our results illustrate and quantify the importance of macroclimatic drivers and indicate that climate change could result in landscape-scale changes in coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. These macroclimate-mediated ecological changes could affect the supply of some ecosystem goods and services as well as the resilience of these ecosystems to stressors, including accelerated sea level rise. Collectively, our findings highlight the importance of incorporating macroclimatic drivers within future-focused coastal wetland vulnerability assessments.

Concepts and theoretical specifications of a Coastal Vulnerability Dynamic Simulator (COVUDS): A multi-agent system for simulating coastal vulnerability towards management of coastal ecosystem services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orencio, P. M.; Endo, A.; Taniguchi, M.

2014-12-01

Disaster-causing natural hazards such as floods, erosions, earthquakes or slope failures were particularly observed to be concentrated in certain geographical regions. In the Asia-pacific region, coastal ecosystems were suffering because of perennial threats driven by chronic fluctuations in climate variability (e.g., typhoons, ENSO), or by dynamically occurring events (e.g., earthquakes, tsunamis). Among the many people that were found prone to such a risky condition were the ones inhabiting near the coastal areas. Characteristically, aside from being located at the forefront of these events, the coastal communities have impacted the resource by the kind of behavioral patterns they exhibited, such as overdependence and overexploitation to achieve their wellbeing. In this paper, we introduce the development of an approach to an assessment of the coupled human- environment using a multi- agent simulation (MAS) model known as Coastal Vulnerability Dynamic Simulator (COVUDS). The COVUDS comprised a human- environmental platform consisting multi- agents with corresponding spatial- based dynamic and static variables. These variables were used to present multiple hypothetical future situations that contribute to the purpose of supporting a more rational management of the coastal ecosystem and their environmental equities. Initially, we present the theoretical and conceptual components that would lead to the development of the COVUDS. These consisted of the human population engaged in behavioral patterns affecting the conditions of coastal ecosystem services; the system of the biophysical environment and changes in patches brought by global environment and local behavioral variations; the policy factors that were important for choosing area- specific interventions; and the decision- making mechanism that integrates the first three components. To guide a future scenario-based application that will be undertaken in a coastal area in the Philippines, the components of the

Informing policy to protect coastal coral reefs: insight from a global review of reducing agricultural pollution to coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Kroon, Frederieke J; Schaffelke, Britta; Bartley, Rebecca

2014-08-15

The continuing degradation of coral reefs has serious consequences for the provision of ecosystem goods and services to local and regional communities. While climate change is considered the most serious risk to coral reefs, agricultural pollution threatens approximately 25% of the total global reef area with further increases in sediment and nutrient fluxes projected over the next 50 years. Here, we aim to inform coral reef management using insights learned from management examples that were successful in reducing agricultural pollution to coastal ecosystems. We identify multiple examples reporting reduced fluxes of sediment and nutrients at end-of-river, and associated declines in nutrient concentrations and algal biomass in receiving coastal waters. Based on the insights obtained, we recommend that future protection of coral reef ecosystems demands policy focused on desired ecosystem outcomes, targeted regulatory approaches, up-scaling of watershed management, and long-term maintenance of scientifically robust monitoring programs linked with adaptive management. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary analysis of the Jimo coastal ecosystem with the ecopath model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Meng

2016-12-01

The Jimo coast encompasses an area of 2157 km2, and the ecosystem is valuable both socially and economically with regional fisheries substantially contributing to the value. A mass-balanced trophic model consisting of 15 functional ecological groups was developed for the coastal ecosystem using the Ecopath model in Ecopath with Ecosim (EwE) software (version 6.4.3). The results of the model simulations indicated that the trophic levels of the functional groups varied between 1.0 and 3.76, and the total production of the system was estimated to be 5112.733 t km-2 yr-1 with a total energy transfer efficiency of 17.6%. The proportion of the total flow originating from detritus was estimated to be 48%, whereas that from primary producers was 52%, indicating that the grazing food chain dominated the energy flow. The ratio of total primary productivity to total respiration in the system was 3.78, and the connectivity index was 0.4. The fin cycling index and the mean path length of the energy flow were 4.92% and 2.57%, respectively, which indicated that the ecosystem exhibits relatively low maturity and stability. The mixed trophic impact (MTI) procedure suggested that the ecological groups at lower trophic levels dominated the feeding dynamics in the Jimo coastal ecosystem. Overfishing is thought to be the primary reason for the degeneration of the Jimo coastal ecosystem, resulting in a decline in the abundance of pelagic and demersal fish species and a subsequent shift to the predominance of lower-trophic-level functional groups. Finally, we offered some recommendations for improving current fishery management practices.

Fusion of High Resolution Multispectral Imagery in Vulnerable Coastal and Land Ecosystems.

PubMed

Ibarrola-Ulzurrun, Edurne; Gonzalo-Martin, Consuelo; Marcello-Ruiz, Javier; Garcia-Pedrero, Angel; Rodriguez-Esparragon, Dionisio

2017-01-25

Ecosystems provide a wide variety of useful resources that enhance human welfare, but these resources are declining due to climate change and anthropogenic pressure. In this work, three vulnerable ecosystems, including shrublands, coastal areas with dunes systems and areas of shallow water, are studied. As far as these resources' reduction is concerned, remote sensing and image processing techniques could contribute to the management of these natural resources in a practical and cost-effective way, although some improvements are needed for obtaining a higher quality of the information available. An important quality improvement is the fusion at the pixel level. Hence, the objective of this work is to assess which pansharpening technique provides the best fused image for the different types of ecosystems. After a preliminary evaluation of twelve classic and novel fusion algorithms, a total of four pansharpening algorithms was analyzed using six quality indices. The quality assessment was implemented not only for the whole set of multispectral bands, but also for the subset of spectral bands covered by the wavelength range of the panchromatic image and outside of it. A better quality result is observed in the fused image using only the bands covered by the panchromatic band range. It is important to highlight the use of these techniques not only in land and urban areas, but a novel analysis in areas of shallow water ecosystems. Although the algorithms do not show a high difference in land and coastal areas, coastal ecosystems require simpler algorithms, such as fast intensity hue saturation, whereas more heterogeneous ecosystems need advanced algorithms, as weighted wavelet ' à trous ' through fractal dimension maps for shrublands and mixed ecosystems. Moreover, quality map analysis was carried out in order to study the fusion result in each band at the local level. Finally, to demonstrate the performance of these pansharpening techniques, advanced Object

Hydrogeomorphic factors and ecosystem responses in coastal wetlands of the Great Lakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Keough, Janet R.; Thompson, Todd A.; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.; Wilcox, Douglas A.

1999-01-01

Gauging the impact of manipulative activities, such as rehabilitation or management, on wetlands requires having a notion of the unmanipulated condition as a reference. And understanding of the reference condition requires knowledge of dominant factors influencing ecosystem processes and biological communities. In this paper, we focus on natural physical factors (conditions and processes) that drive coastal wetland ecosystems of the Laurentian Great Lakes. Great Lakes coastal wetlands develop under conditions of large-lake hydrology and disturbance imposed at a hiearchy of spatial and temporal scales and contain biotic communities adapted to unstable and unpredictable conditions. Coastal wetlands are configured along a continuum of hydrogeomorphic types: open coastal wetlands, drowned river mouth and flooded delta wetlands, and protected wetlands, each developing distinct ecosystem propertics and biotic communities. Hydrogeomorphic factors associated with the lake and watershed operate at a hierarchy of scales: a) local and short-term (seiches and ice action), b) watershed / lakewide / annual (seasonal water-level change), and c) larger or year-to-year and longer (regional and/or greater than one-year). Other physical factors include the unique water quality features of each lake. The aim of this paper is to provide scientists and managers with a framework for considering regional and site-specific geomorphometry and a hierarchy of physical processes in planning management and conservation projects.

Coastal Ecosystems. Project CAPE Teaching Module [with Student Materials].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cowal, Michael; And Others

Intended for grades K-2, this science unit on coastal ecosystems aids teachers in helping students to: (1) identify marine organisms; (2) learn their basic characteristics; and (3) understand the web of interdependence among organisms of the same habitat. The teacher's guide is divided into four sections. The first section gives background…

Global climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico: considerations for integrated coastal management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Day, John W.; Yáñez-Arancibia, Alejandro; Cowan, James H.; Day, Richard H.; Twilley, Robert R.; Rybczyk, John R.

2013-01-01

Global climate change is important in considerations of integrated coastal management in the Gulf of Mexico. This is true for a number of reasons. Climate in the Gulf spans the range from tropical to the lower part of the temperate zone. Thus, as climate warms, the tropical temperate interface, which is currently mostly offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, will increasingly move over the coastal zone of the northern and eastern parts of the Gulf. Currently, this interface is located in South Florida and around the US-Mexico border in the Texas-Tamaulipas region. Maintaining healthy coastal ecosystems is important because they will be more resistant to climate change.

Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping.

PubMed

Sousa, Lisa P; Sousa, Ana I; Alves, Fátima L; Lillebø, Ana I

2016-03-11

A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The results highlight the importance of considering both the connectivity of natural systems and the complexity of the governance framework; the flexibility and robustness, but also the challenges when applying CICES at regional scale; and the challenges regarding ecosystem services mapping.

Ecosystem services provided by a complex coastal region: challenges of classification and mapping

PubMed Central

Sousa, Lisa P.; Sousa, Ana I.; Alves, Fátima L.; Lillebø, Ana I.

2016-01-01

A variety of ecosystem services classification systems and mapping approaches are available in the scientific and technical literature, which needs to be selected and adapted when applied to complex territories (e.g. in the interface between water and land, estuary and sea). This paper provides a framework for addressing ecosystem services in complex coastal regions. The roadmap comprises the definition of the exact geographic boundaries of the study area; the use of CICES (Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services) for ecosystem services identification and classification; and the definition of qualitative indicators that will serve as basis to map the ecosystem services. Due to its complexity, the Ria de Aveiro coastal region was selected as case study, presenting an opportunity to explore the application of such approaches at a regional scale. The main challenges of implementing the proposed roadmap, together with its advantages are discussed in this research. The results highlight the importance of considering both the connectivity of natural systems and the complexity of the governance framework; the flexibility and robustness, but also the challenges when applying CICES at regional scale; and the challenges regarding ecosystem services mapping. PMID:26964892

Presettlement fire regime and vegetation mapping in Southeastern Coastal Plain forest ecosystems

Treesearch

Andrew D. Bailey; Robert Mickler; Cecil Frost

2007-01-01

Fire-adapted forest ecosystems make up 95 percent of the historic Coastal Plain vegetation types in the Southeastern United States. Fire suppression over the last century has altered the species composition of these ecosystems, increased fuel loads, and increased wildfire risk. Prescribed fire is one management tool used to reduce fuel loading and restore fire-adapted...

Fusion of High Resolution Multispectral Imagery in Vulnerable Coastal and Land Ecosystems

PubMed Central

Ibarrola-Ulzurrun, Edurne; Gonzalo-Martin, Consuelo; Marcello-Ruiz, Javier; Garcia-Pedrero, Angel; Rodriguez-Esparragon, Dionisio

2017-01-01

Ecosystems provide a wide variety of useful resources that enhance human welfare, but these resources are declining due to climate change and anthropogenic pressure. In this work, three vulnerable ecosystems, including shrublands, coastal areas with dunes systems and areas of shallow water, are studied. As far as these resources’ reduction is concerned, remote sensing and image processing techniques could contribute to the management of these natural resources in a practical and cost-effective way, although some improvements are needed for obtaining a higher quality of the information available. An important quality improvement is the fusion at the pixel level. Hence, the objective of this work is to assess which pansharpening technique provides the best fused image for the different types of ecosystems. After a preliminary evaluation of twelve classic and novel fusion algorithms, a total of four pansharpening algorithms was analyzed using six quality indices. The quality assessment was implemented not only for the whole set of multispectral bands, but also for the subset of spectral bands covered by the wavelength range of the panchromatic image and outside of it. A better quality result is observed in the fused image using only the bands covered by the panchromatic band range. It is important to highlight the use of these techniques not only in land and urban areas, but a novel analysis in areas of shallow water ecosystems. Although the algorithms do not show a high difference in land and coastal areas, coastal ecosystems require simpler algorithms, such as fast intensity hue saturation, whereas more heterogeneous ecosystems need advanced algorithms, as weighted wavelet ‘à trous’ through fractal dimension maps for shrublands and mixed ecosystems. Moreover, quality map analysis was carried out in order to study the fusion result in each band at the local level. Finally, to demonstrate the performance of these pansharpening techniques, advanced Object

Development of a coastal dune vulnerability index for Mediterranean ecosystems: A useful tool for coastal managers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciccarelli, D.; Pinna, M. S.; Alquini, F.; Cogoni, D.; Ruocco, M.; Bacchetta, G.; Sarti, G.; Fenu, G.

2017-03-01

Coastal dune ecosystems have been severely degraded as a result of excessive natural resource exploitation, urbanisation, industrial growth, and worldwide tourism. Coastal management often requires the use of vulnerability indices to facilitate the decision-making process. The main objective of this study was to develop a Mediterranean dune vulnerability index (MDVI) for sandy coasts, starting from the existing dune vulnerability index (DVI) proposed by Garcia-Mora et al. (2001) related to the oceanic coasts. Given that the Mediterranean sandy coasts are quite different from the Atlantic coasts, several adjustments and integrations were introduced. Our proposed index is based on the following five main group of factors: geomorphological conditions of the dune systems (GCD), marine influence (MI), aeolian effect (AE), vegetation condition (VC), and human effect (HE), for a total of 51 variables derived (and adapted) from the bibliography or proposed for the first time in this study. For each coastal site, a total vulnerability index, ranging from 0 (very low vulnerability) to 1 (very high vulnerability), was calculated as the unweighted average of the five partial vulnerability indices. Index computation was applied to 23 coastal dune systems of two different contexts in Italy, i.e. peninsular and continental island territories representative of the W-Mediterranean Basin, in order to compare the dune systems with different geomorphology, shoreline dynamics, and human pressure. In particular, our research addressed the following two questions: (1) Which variables are the most critical for the Italian coastal systems? (2) How can the coastal dune vulnerability index be used to develop appropriate strategies of conservation and management for these ecosystems? Cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling separated the peninsular from the insular sites, both of which were characterised by low to moderate values of vulnerability (0.32 < MDVI < 0.49). The most

Study on water quality around mangrove ecosystem for coastal rehabilitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guntur, G.; Sambah, A. B.; Arisandi, D. M.; Jauhari, A.; Jaziri, A. A.

2018-01-01

Coastal ecosystems are vulnerable to environmental degradation including the declining water quality in the coastal environment due to the influence of human activities where the river becomes one of the input channels. Some areas in the coastal regions of East Java directly facing the Madura Strait indicate having experienced the environmental degradation, especially regarding the water quality. This research was conducted in the coastal area of Probolinggo Regency, East Java, aiming to analyze the water quality as the basis for coastal rehabilitation planning. This study was carried out using survey and observation methods. Water quality measurement results were analyzed conforming to predetermined quality standards. The coastal area rehabilitation planning as a means to restore the degraded water quality parameters is presumably implemented through mangrove planting. Thus, the mangrove mapping was also devised in this research. Based on 40 sampling points, the results illustrate that according to the quality standard, the water quality in the study area is likely to be deteriorated. On account of the mapping analysis of mangrove distribution in the study area, the rehabilitation of the coastal zone can be done through planning the mangrove forest plantation. The recommended coastal area maintenance is a periodic water quality observation planning in the river region which is divided into three zones to monitor the impact of fluctuating changes in land use or human activities on the coastal water quality.

Mechanisms and risk of cumulative impacts to coastal ecosystem services: An expert elicitation approach.

PubMed

Singh, Gerald G; Sinner, Jim; Ellis, Joanne; Kandlikar, Milind; Halpern, Benjamin S; Satterfield, Terre; Chan, Kai M A

2017-09-01

Coastal environments are some of the most populated on Earth, with greater pressures projected in the future. Managing coastal systems requires the consideration of multiple uses, which both benefit from and threaten multiple ecosystem services. Thus understanding the cumulative impacts of human activities on coastal ecosystem services would seem fundamental to management, yet there is no widely accepted approach for assessing these. This study trials an approach for understanding the cumulative impacts of anthropogenic change, focusing on Tasman and Golden Bays, New Zealand. Using an expert elicitation procedure, we collected information on three aspects of cumulative impacts: the importance and magnitude of impacts by various activities and stressors on ecosystem services, and the causal processes of impact on ecosystem services. We assessed impacts to four ecosystem service benefits - fisheries, shellfish aquaculture, marine recreation and existence value of biodiversity-addressing three main research questions: (1) how severe are cumulative impacts on ecosystem services (correspondingly, what potential is there for restoration)?; (2) are threats evenly distributed across activities and stressors, or do a few threats dominate?; (3) do prominent activities mainly operate through direct stressors, or do they often exacerbate other impacts? We found (1) that despite high uncertainty in the threat posed by individual stressors and impacts, total cumulative impact is consistently severe for all four ecosystem services. (2) A subset of drivers and stressors pose important threats across the ecosystem services explored, including climate change, commercial fishing, sedimentation and pollution. (3) Climate change and commercial fishing contribute to prominent indirect impacts across ecosystem services by exacerbating regional impacts, namely sedimentation and pollution. The prevalence and magnitude of these indirect, networked impacts highlights the need for approaches

Patterns of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Distribution on Mainland and Island Sandy Coastal Plain Ecosystems in Brazil.

PubMed

da Silva, Iolanda Ramalho; de Souza, Francisco Adriano; da Silva, Danielle Karla Alves; Oehl, Fritz; Maia, Leonor Costa

2017-10-01

Although sandy coastal plains are important buffer zones to protect the coast line and maintain biological diversity and ecosystem services, these ecosystems have been endangered by anthropogenic activities. Thus, information on coastal biodiversity and forces shaping coastal biological diversity are extremely important for effective conservation strategies. In this study, we aimed to compare arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities from soil samples collected on the mainland and nearby islands located in Brazilian sandy coastal plain ecosystems (Restingas) to get information about AM fungal biogeography and identify factors shaping these communities. Soil samples were collected in 2013 and 2014 on the beachfront of the tropical sandy coastal plain at six sites (three island and three mainland locations) across the northeast, southeast, and south regions of Brazil. Overall, we recorded 53 AM fungal species from field and trap culture samples. The richness and diversity of AM fungal species did not differ between mainland and island locations, but AM fungal community assemblages were different between mainland and island environments and among most sites sampled. Glomeromycota communities registered from island samples showed higher heterogeneity than communities from mainland samples. Sandy coastal plains harbor diverse AM fungal communities structured by climatic, edaphic, and spatial factors, while the distance from the colonizing source (mainland environments) does not strongly affect the AM fungal communities in Brazilian coastal environments.

Marine ecosystem modeling beyond the box: using GIS to study carbon fluxes in a coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

Wijnbladh, Erik; Jönsson, Bror Fredrik; Kumblad, Linda

2006-12-01

Studies of carbon fluxes in marine ecosystems are often done by using box model approaches with basin size boxes, or highly resolved 3D models, and an emphasis on the pelagic component of the ecosystem. Those approaches work well in the ocean proper, but can give rise to considerable problems when applied to coastal systems, because of the scale of certain ecological niches and the fact that benthic organisms are the dominant functional group of the ecosystem. In addition, 3D models require an extensive modeling effort. In this project, an intermediate approach based on a high resolution (20x20 m) GIS data-grid has been developed for the coastal ecosystem in the Laxemar area (Baltic Sea, Sweden) based on a number of different site investigations. The model has been developed in the context of a safety assessment project for a proposed nuclear waste repository, in which the fate of hypothetically released radionuclides from the planned repository is estimated. The assessment project requires not only a good understanding of the ecosystem dynamics at the site, but also quantification of stocks and flows of matter in the system. The data-grid was then used to set up a carbon budget describing the spatial distribution of biomass, primary production, net ecosystem production and thus where carbon sinks and sources are located in the area. From these results, it was clear that there was a large variation in ecosystem characteristics within the basins and, on a larger scale, that the inner areas are net producing and the outer areas net respiring, even in shallow phytobenthic communities. Benthic processes had a similar or larger influence on carbon fluxes as advective processes in inner areas, whereas the opposite appears to be true in the outer basins. As many radionuclides are expected to follow the pathways of organic matter in the environment, these findings enhance our abilities to realistically describe and predict their fate in the ecosystem.

Geostationary Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics Imager (GEO CEDI) for the GEO Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO CAPE) Mission. Concept Presentation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Janz, Scott; Smith, James C.; Mannino, Antonio

2010-01-01

This slide presentation reviews the concepts of the Geostationary Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics Imager (GEO CEDI) which will be used on the GEO Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO CAPE) Mission. The primary science requirements require scans of the U.S. Coastal waters 3 times per day during the daylight hours. Included in the overview are presentations about the systems, the optics, the detectors, the mechanical systems, the electromechanical systems, the electrical design, the flight software, the thermal systems, and the contamination prevention requirements.

Climate change impacts on U.S. coastal and marine ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Scavia, Donald; Field, John C.; Boesch, Donald F.; Buddemeier, Robert W.; Burkett, Virginia; Cayan, Daniel R.; Fogarty, Michael; Harwell, Mark A.; Howarth, Robert W.; Mason, Curt; Reed, Denise J.; Royer, Thomas C.; Sallenger, Asbury H.; Titus, James G.

2002-01-01

Increases in concentrations of greenhouse gases projected for the 21st century are expected to lead to increased mean global air and ocean temperatures. The National Assessment of Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change (NAST 2001) was based on a series of regional and sector assessments. This paper is a summary of the coastal and marine resources sector review of potential impacts on shorelines, estuaries, coastal wetlands, coral reefs, and ocean margin ecosystems. The assessment considered the impacts of several key drivers of climate change: sea level change; alterations in precipitation patterns and subsequent delivery of freshwater, nutrients, and sediment; increased ocean temperature; alterations in circulation patterns; changes in frequency and intensity of coastal storms; and increased levels of atmospheric CO2. Increasing rates of sea-level rise and intensity and frequency of coastal storms and hurricanes over the next decades will increase threats to shorelines, wetlands, and coastal development. Estuarine productivity will change in response to alteration in the timing and amount of freshwater, nutrients, and sediment delivery. Higher water temperatures and changes in freshwater delivery will alter estuarine stratification, residence time, and eutrophication. Increased ocean temperatures are expected to increase coral bleaching and higher CO2 levels may reduce coral calcification, making it more difficult for corals to recover from other disturbances, and inhibiting poleward shifts. Ocean warming is expected to cause poleward shifts in the ranges of many other organisms, including commercial species, and these shifts may have secondary effects on their predators and prey. Although these potential impacts of climate change and variability will vary from system to system, it is important to recognize that they will be superimposed upon, and in many cases intensify, other ecosystem stresses (pollution, harvesting, habitat destruction

Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems

PubMed Central

Waycott, Michelle; Duarte, Carlos M.; Carruthers, Tim J. B.; Orth, Robert J.; Dennison, William C.; Olyarnik, Suzanne; Calladine, Ainsley; Fourqurean, James W.; Heck, Kenneth L.; Hughes, A. Randall; Kendrick, Gary A.; Kenworthy, W. Judson; Short, Frederick T.; Williams, Susan L.

2009-01-01

Coastal ecosystems and the services they provide are adversely affected by a wide variety of human activities. In particular, seagrass meadows are negatively affected by impacts accruing from the billion or more people who live within 50 km of them. Seagrass meadows provide important ecosystem services, including an estimated $1.9 trillion per year in the form of nutrient cycling; an order of magnitude enhancement of coral reef fish productivity; a habitat for thousands of fish, bird, and invertebrate species; and a major food source for endangered dugong, manatee, and green turtle. Although individual impacts from coastal development, degraded water quality, and climate change have been documented, there has been no quantitative global assessment of seagrass loss until now. Our comprehensive global assessment of 215 studies found that seagrasses have been disappearing at a rate of 110 km2 yr−1 since 1980 and that 29% of the known areal extent has disappeared since seagrass areas were initially recorded in 1879. Furthermore, rates of decline have accelerated from a median of 0.9% yr−1 before 1940 to 7% yr−1 since 1990. Seagrass loss rates are comparable to those reported for mangroves, coral reefs, and tropical rainforests and place seagrass meadows among the most threatened ecosystems on earth. PMID:19587236

Can functional equivalency between seagrasses and other coastal habitats offset loss of ecosystem health with reduced seagrass abundance?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cebrian, J.; Anton, A.; Christiaen, B.; Gamble, R.; Stutes, J.

2016-02-01

Seagrasses provide important ecosystem services, such as habitat for fisheries, shoreline stabilization, pollution filtration, and carbon sequestration. Thus, seagrass loss may seriously compromise coastal ecosystem services worldwide. However, functional equivalency (or redundancy) between seagrasses and other components of coastal ecosystems, such as algae and marshes, can offset the loss of services under declining seagrass abundance. That is, if seagrasses are redundant with algae and marshes in their functionality, then ecosystem services may be preserved in changing coasts with declining seagrass but pervading algal and marsh communities. Here we present several instances of functional redundancy between seagrasses and other coastal components in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. We first examine how net ecosystem production, which sets a limit to carbon accumulation and export to neighbouring communities, changes with eutrophication-induced seagrass decline and concomitant increase in algal abundance. Results from comparative and manipulative field studies are congruent and show no change in net ecosystem production despite drastic shifts from seagrass to algal dominance. We further provide evidence that fringing marshes can counteract the reduction in habitat provision for structure-dependent fisheries due to seagrass loss. Using a large-scale field comparison we show that, as long as fringing marshes are preserved, the abundance and diversity of structure-dependent fisheries are maintained despite large seagrass loss. Functional redundancy for habitat provision also occurs between seagrasses and well-oxygenated macroagal stands, since canopy-dwelling faunal abundance remains unaltered if seagrasses are replaced by normoxic algal stands. In concert the results demonstrate substantial functional equivalency between seagrasses and other coastal components, and indicate seagrass loss does not necessarily result in depressed coastal ecosystem health and services.

Valuing the risk reduction of coastal ecosystems in data poor environments: an application in Quintana Roo, Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reguero, B. G.; Toimil, A.; Escudero, M.; Menendez, P.; Losada, I. J.; Beck, M. W.; Secaira, F.

2016-12-01

Coastal risks are increasing from both economic growth and climate change. Understanding such risks is critical to assessing adaptation needs and finding cost effective solutions for coastal sustainability. Interest is growing in the role that nature-based measures can play in adapting to climate change. Here we apply and advance a framework to value the risk reduction potential of coastal ecosystems, with an application in a large scale domain, the coast of Quintana Roo, México, relevant for coastal policy and management, but with limited data. We build from simple to use open-source tools. We first assess the hazards using stochastic simulation of historical tropical storms and inferring two scenarios of future climate change for the next 20 years, which include the effect of sea level rise and changes in frequency and intensity of storms. For each storm, we obtain wave and surge fields using parametrical models, corrected with pre-computed static wind surge numerical simulations. We then assess losses on capital stock and hotels and calculate total people flooded, after accounting for the effect of coastal ecosystems in reducing coastal hazards. We inferred the location of major barrier reefs and dune systems using available satellite imagery, and sections of bathymetry and elevation data. We also digitalized the surface of beaches and location of coastal structures from satellite imagery. In a poor data environment, where there is not bathymetry data for the whole of the region, we inferred representative coastal profiles of coral reef and dune sections and validated at available sections with measured data. Because we account for the effect of reefs, dunes and mangroves in coastal profiles every 200 m of shoreline, we are able to estimate the value of such ecosystems by comparing with benchmark simulations when we take them out of the propagation and flood model. Although limited in accuracy in comparison to more complex modeling, this approach is able to

Assessing the impact of edaphic factors on coastal ecosystem functions in a tropical island using electromagnetic-induction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lynch, N. E.; Wuddivira, M.; Oatham, M.

2013-12-01

The small islands in the low-lying states of the Caribbean Basin are among the most vulnerable to sea level rise caused by climate change. Bequia, a tropical Grenadine island, is particularly susceptible due to its small land mass, limited natural resources and an economy that is touristic and marine based. Consultation with stakeholders on sustainable livelihoods revealed that degradation of the coastal ecosystem is occurring with progressing time. Consequently, the island is losing its beneficial ecosystem services and its natural attractiveness leading to declining revenue base, increasing food security risk and job losses. We propose that with sea level rise, soil salinity increases further inland leading to degradation of coastal zones and ecosystem functions. Using geophysical techniques and standard sampling procedures we observationally investigated the spatial and temporal impacts of soil salinization due to sea level changes on the ecosystem functions of five coastal areas in the seven square mile island of Bequia. We analyzed soil, tidal, rainfall data and historical aerial imagery to assess the impact of soil salinity on the ecosystem of Bequia. Our results show extreme seasonal salinity variability with increased salinity inland during the dry season months of January to May. This was significantly influenced by the fluctuation of seasonal water content and temperature. A complete time-based analysis ensures the development of adaptation strategies to coastal change for sustainable provisioning of ecosystem services for Bequia and other Caribbean Islands with minimum ecological and economic losses.

Multiple stressors, nonlinear effects and the implications of climate change impacts on marine coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Hewitt, Judi E; Ellis, Joanne I; Thrush, Simon F

2016-08-01

Global climate change will undoubtedly be a pressure on coastal marine ecosystems, affecting not only species distributions and physiology but also ecosystem functioning. In the coastal zone, the environmental variables that may drive ecological responses to climate change include temperature, wave energy, upwelling events and freshwater inputs, and all act and interact at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. To date, we have a poor understanding of how climate-related environmental changes may affect coastal marine ecosystems or which environmental variables are likely to produce priority effects. Here we use time series data (17 years) of coastal benthic macrofauna to investigate responses to a range of climate-influenced variables including sea-surface temperature, southern oscillation indices (SOI, Z4), wind-wave exposure, freshwater inputs and rainfall. We investigate responses from the abundances of individual species to abundances of functional traits and test whether species that are near the edge of their tolerance to another stressor (in this case sedimentation) may exhibit stronger responses. The responses we observed were all nonlinear and some exhibited thresholds. While temperature was most frequently an important predictor, wave exposure and ENSO-related variables were also frequently important and most ecological variables responded to interactions between environmental variables. There were also indications that species sensitive to another stressor responded more strongly to weaker climate-related environmental change at the stressed site than the unstressed site. The observed interactions between climate variables, effects on key species or functional traits, and synergistic effects of additional anthropogenic stressors have important implications for understanding and predicting the ecological consequences of climate change to coastal ecosystems. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A Review of Selected Ecosystem Services Supplied by Coastal Wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes

EPA Science Inventory

Significant ecosystem services derive from the coastal wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes even though they have undergone substantial declines since European settlement. Basin-wide, two-thirds of the original coastal wetlands have been lost, and the remaining 126,000 ha of US...

Water quality assessment in the Mexican Caribbean: Impacts on the coastal ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernández-Terrones, Laura M.; Null, Kimberly A.; Ortega-Camacho, Daniela; Paytan, Adina

2015-07-01

Coastal zones are dominated by economically important ecosystems, and excessive urban, industrial, agricultural, and tourism activities can lead to rapid degradation of those habitats and resources. Groundwater in the Eastern Yucatan Peninsula coastal aquifer discharges directly into the coastal ocean affecting the coral reefs, which are part of the Mesoamerican Coral Reef System. The composition and impacts of groundwater were studied at different coastal environments around Akumal (SE Yucatan Peninsula). Radium isotopes and salinity were used to quantify fresh groundwater and recirculated seawater contributions to the coastal zone. Excess Ra distribution suggests spatially variable discharge rates of submarine groundwater. High NO3- levels and high coliform bacteria densities indicate that groundwater is polluted at some sites. Dissolved phosphorous content is elevated in the winter and during the high tourism season, likely released from untreated sewage discharge and from aquifer sediments under reducing conditions.

Impact of river basin management on coastal water quality and ecosystem services: A southern Baltic estuary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schernewski, Gerald; Hürdler, Jens; Neumann, Thomas; Stybel, Nardine; Venohr, Markus

2010-05-01

Eutrophication management is still a major challenge in the Baltic Sea region. Estuaries or coastal waters linked to large rivers cannot be managed independently. Nutrient loads into these coastal ecosystems depend on processes, utilisation, structure and management in the river basin. In practise this means that we need a large scale approach and integrated models and tools to analyse, assess and evaluate the effects of nutrient loads on coastal water quality as well as the efficiency of river basin management measures on surface waters and especially lagoons and estuaries. The Odra river basin, the Szczecin Lagoon and its coastal waters cover an area of about 150,000 km² and are an eutrophication hot-spot in the Baltic region. To be able to carry out large scale, spatially integrative analyses, we linked the river basin nutrient flux model MONERIS to the coastal 3D-hydrodynamic and ecosystem model ERGOM. Objectives were a) to analyse the eutrophication history in the river basin and the resulting functional changes in the coastal waters between early 1960's and today and b) to analyse the effects of an optimal nitrogen and phosphorus management scenario in the Oder/Odra river basin on coastal water quality. The models show that an optimal river basin management with reduced nutrient loads (e.g. N-load reduction of 35 %) would have positive effects on coastal water quality and algae biomass. The availability of nutrients, N/P ratios and processes like denitrification and nitrogen-fixation would show spatial and temporal changes. It would have positive consequences for ecosystems functions, like the nutrient retention capacity, as well. However, this optimal scenario is by far not sufficient to ensure a good coastal water quality according to the European Water Framework Directive. A "good" water quality in the river will not be sufficient to ensure a "good" water quality in the coastal waters. Further, nitrogen load reductions bear the risk of increased

Panel Discussion: U.S. EPA Using Modeling and Ecosystem Services to Enhance Coastal Decision Making

EPA Science Inventory

This panel will discuss the research being conducted, and the models being used in three current coastal EPA studies being conducted on ecosystem services in Tampa Bay, the Chesapeake Bay and the Coastal Carolinas. These studies are intended to provide a broader and more compreh...

Integrated assessment of socio-economic risks of dangerous hydrological phenomena in Russian coastal zones of the Baltic, the Azov and the Black Seas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zemtsov, Stepan; Baburin, Vyacheslav; Goryachko, Mariya; Krylenko, Inna; Yumina, Natalya

2013-04-01

according to UNU-EHS methodology: 'exposure' and 'vulnerability', consisting of 'susceptibility', 'coping capacity' and 'adaptive capacity'. Relevant indicators for each block were selected and verified by statistical methods. The authors estimated the share of people potentially exposed to flooding with the help of geographic information system. The authors, using the technique of World Risk Index (2011), calculated sub-indices for each block, and made the maps. Areas with the highest socio-economic risks were identified on the Azov and the Black sea coast: Slavyansky, Krymsky, Krasnoarmeysky, Temryuksky and Primorsko-Akhtarsky municipal districts. On the third stage, the main purpose was to integrate and use both approaches in evaluation of socio-economic risks on micro-geographical level for different categories of the population and different industries (agriculture, utilities, etc.), using 'field' data. Field study was conducted in Slavyansky municipal district of Krasnodar region and included opinion polls, special interviews with businessmen and authorities, collection of municipal statistics and data from companies, etc. Vulnerability maps, speed evacuation maps, maps of possible locations of warning systems and maps of high insurance risks were developed. Proposals for improvement of legislation for coastal zones were prepared. The conducted research has shown the importance of both social ('vulnerability'), and economic ('damage') components of risk assessment. Using the previously discussed methods individually does not bring desired results because of deficiencies of Russian statistics. It is essential for accurate risk assessment to use an 'ensemble' of methods (statistical, field observations, etc.) on micro geographic level. The work has a practical importance for improving safety of local communities.

Recreational impacts on the fauna of Australian coastal marine ecosystems.

PubMed

Hardiman, Nigel; Burgin, Shelley

2010-11-01

This paper reviews recent research into the ecological impacts of recreation and tourism on coastal marine fauna in Australia. Despite the high and growing importance of water-based recreation to the Australian economy, and the known fragility of many Australian ecosystems, there has been relatively limited research into the effects of marine tourism and recreation, infrastructure and activities, on aquatic resources. In this paper we have reviewed the ecological impacts on fauna that are caused by outdoor recreation (including tourism) in Australian coastal marine ecosystems. We predict that the single most potentially severe impact of recreation may be the introduction and/or dispersal of non-indigenous species of marine organisms by recreational vessels. Such introductions, together with other impacts due to human activities have the potential to increasingly degrade recreation destinations. In response, governments have introduced a wide range of legislative tools (e.g., impact assessment, protected area reservation) to manage the recreational industry. It would appear, however, that these instruments are not always appropriately applied. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A resilience framework for chronic exposures: water quality and ecosystem services in coastal social-ecological systems

EPA Science Inventory

We outline a tailored resilience framework that applies ecosystem service concepts to coastal social-ecological systems (SES) affected by water quality degradation. Unlike acute coastal disturbances such as hurricanes or oil spills, water quality issues, particularly those relate...

A HYPOTHESIS-DRIVEN FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING CLIMATE INDUCED CHANGES IN COASTAL FINAL ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES

EPA Science Inventory

Understanding how climate change will alter the availability of coastal final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS; such as food provisioning from fisheries, property protection, and recreation) has significant implications for coastal planning and the development of adaptive manag...

Predicting Disturbance-driven Impacts on Ecosystem Services in Coastal Wetlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajan, S.; Crawford, P.; Kleinhuizen, A.; Mortazavi, B.; Sobecky, P.

2017-12-01

Natural and human-induced disturbances pose significant threats to the health and long-term productivity of Alabama coastal wetlands. As wetlands are a vital state resource, decisions on management, restoration, and remediation require actionable data if socio-economic demands are to be balanced with efforts to sustain these habitats. In 2010, the BP oil spill was a large and severe disturbance that threatened coastal Gulf ecosystem services. The largest marine oil spill to date served to highlight fundamental gaps in our knowledge of oil-induced disturbances and the resiliency and restoration of coastal Alabama wetland functions. To address these gaps, a year-long mesocosm study was conducted to investigate oil-induced effects on (i) plant-microbial interactions, (ii) microbial and plant biodiversity, and, (iii) the contributions of microbial genetic biodiversity to ecosystems services. In this study, Avicennia germinans (black mangrove), a C3 plant that grows from the tropics to warm temperate latitudes, were grown with or without mono- and polyculture mixtures of Spartina alterniflora, a C4 plant. At an interval of 3-months, oil was introduced as a pulse disturbance to achieve a concentration of 4000 ppm. Molecular-based analyses of microbial community biodiversity, genetic diversity, and functional metabolic genes were compared to controls (i.e., no oil disturbance). To assess the oil-induced effects on the nitrogen (N) cycle, measurements of denitrification and N fixation processes were conducted. Our results showed that community diversity and phylogenetic diversity significantly changed and that the oil disturbance contributed to the creation of niches for distinct microbial types. The abundance of N-fixing microbial types increased as the abundance of denitrifying microbial types decreased as a result of the oil disturbance. As denitrification is an ecosystem service that directly contributes to removing nitrate (NO3-) loading to coastal zones, impairment

Groundwater-surface water interactions and their effects on ecosystem metabolism in a coastal wetland: example from the Florida Everglades

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, R. M.; Zapata, X.; Koch, G. R.

2013-05-01

Groundwater typically has higher concentrations of salts and nutrients as compared to surface waters in coastal wetlands affected by saltwater intrusion. Discharge of the nutrient-laden brackish groundwater is expected to influence ecosystem function in the overlying surface water. In the coastal Everglades, elevated concentrations of phosphorus have been observed in the underlying groundwater due to water-rock interactions occurring as seawater intrudes into the coastal carbonate aquifer. The objective of this research was to determine the timing and amount of brackish groundwater discharge to the coastal wetlands of the Everglades and to evaluate the effects of the groundwater discharge on the surface water chemistry and ecosystem metabolism. The timing of groundwater discharge was determined by four techniques including a water balance, hydraulic gradient, temperature, and geochemical tracers. Groundwater discharge rates were quantified from well data using Darcy's Law. Ecosystem metabolism was estimated as daily rates of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R) and net ecosystem production (NEP) from free-water, diel changes in dissolved oxygen. Over 2 years, all four groundwater discharge techniques converged as to the timing of groundwater discharge which was greatest between May and July. Surface water chemistry was fresh from September through February, but became brackish to hypersaline between March and July, concurrent with the times of highest brackish groundwater discharge. Phosphorus concentrations as well as GPP and R were observed to spike in the surface water during the times of greatest groundwater discharge. The results of this research support the conclusions that brackish groundwater discharge effects surface water chemistry and ecosystem function in the coastal Everglades.

USGS: Science to understand and forecast change in coastal ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Myers, M.

2007-01-01

The multidisciplinary approach of the US Geological Survey (USGS), a principal science agency of the US Department of the Interior (DOI), to address the complex and cumulative impacts of human activities and natural events on the US coastal ecosystems has been considered remarkable for understanding and forecasting the changes. The USGS helps explain geologic, hydrologic, and biologic systems and their connectivity across landscapes and seascapes along the coastline. The USGS coastal science programs effectively address science and information to other scientists, managers, policy makers, and the public. The USGS provides scientific expertise, capabilities, and services to collaborative federal, regional, and state-led efforts, which are in line with the goals of Ocean Action Plan (OAP) and Ocean Research Priorities Plan (ORPP). The organization is a leader in understanding terrestrial and marine environmental hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, and landslides and assessing and forecasting coastal impacts using various specialized visualization techniques.

Avian influenza virus wild bird surveillance in the Azov and Black Sea regions of Ukraine

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Azov and Black Sea basins are transcontinental migration routes of wild birds from Northern Asia and Europe to the Mediterranean, Africa and Southwest Asia. These regions constitute an area of transit, stops during migration, and nesting of many migratory bird species with a very high level of ...

Coastal Zone Ecosystem Services: from science to values and decision making; a case study.

PubMed

Luisetti, T; Turner, R K; Jickells, T; Andrews, J; Elliott, M; Schaafsma, M; Beaumont, N; Malcolm, S; Burdon, D; Adams, C; Watts, W

2014-09-15

This research is concerned with the following environmental research questions: socio-ecological system complexity, especially when valuing ecosystem services; ecosystems stock and services flow sustainability and valuation; the incorporation of scale issues when valuing ecosystem services; and the integration of knowledge from diverse disciplines for governance and decision making. In this case study, we focused on ecosystem services that can be jointly supplied but independently valued in economic terms: healthy climate (via carbon sequestration and storage), food (via fisheries production in nursery grounds), and nature recreation (nature watching and enjoyment). We also explored the issue of ecosystem stock and services flow, and we provide recommendations on how to value stock and flows of ecosystem services via accounting and economic values respectively. We considered broadly comparable estuarine systems located on the English North Sea coast: the Blackwater estuary and the Humber estuary. In the past, these two estuaries have undergone major land-claim. Managed realignment is a policy through which previously claimed intertidal habitats are recreated allowing the enhancement of the ecosystem services provided by saltmarshes. In this context, we investigated ecosystem service values, through biophysical estimates and welfare value estimates. Using an optimistic (extended conservation of coastal ecosystems) and a pessimistic (loss of coastal ecosystems because of, for example, European policy reversal) scenario, we find that context dependency, and hence value transfer possibilities, vary among ecosystem services and benefits. As a result, careful consideration in the use and application of value transfer, both in biophysical estimates and welfare value estimates, is advocated to supply reliable information for policy making. Crown Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An invasive foundation species enhances multifunctionality in a coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

Ramus, Aaron P; Silliman, Brian R; Thomsen, Mads S; Long, Zachary T

2017-08-08

While invasive species often threaten biodiversity and human well-being, their potential to enhance functioning by offsetting the loss of native habitat has rarely been considered. We manipulated the abundance of the nonnative, habitat-forming seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla in large plots (25 m 2 ) on southeastern US intertidal landscapes to assess impacts on multiple ecosystem functions underlying coastal ecosystem services. We document that in the absence of native habitat formers, this invasion has an overall positive, density-dependent impact across a diverse set of ecosystem processes (e.g., abundance and richness of nursery taxa, flow attenuation). Manipulation of invader abundance revealed both thresholds and saturations in the provisioning of ecosystem functions. Taken together, these findings call into question the focus of traditional invasion research and management that assumes negative effects of nonnatives, and emphasize the need to consider context-dependence and integrative measurements when assessing the impact of an invader, including density dependence, multifunctionality, and the status of native habitat formers. This work supports discussion of the idea that where native foundation species have been lost, invasive habitat formers may be considered as sources of valuable ecosystem functions.

Characterizing Coastal Ecosystem Service Trade-offs with Future Urban Development in a Tropical City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richards, Daniel R.; Friess, Daniel A.

2017-11-01

With rapid urbanization in the coastal zone and increasing habitat losses, it is imperative to understand how urban development affects coastal biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Furthermore, it is important to understand how habitat fragments can best be incorporated into broader land use planning and coastal management, in order to maximize the environmental benefits they provide. In this study, we characterized the trade-offs between (a) urban development and individual mangrove environmental indicators (habitat quality and ecosystem services), and (b) between different environmental indicators in the tropical nation of Singapore. A range of biological, biophysical, and cultural indicators, including carbon, charcoal production, support for offshore fisheries, recreation, and habitat quality for a threatened species were quantified using field-based, remote sensing, and expert survey methods. The shape of the trade-off Pareto frontiers was analyzed to assess the sensitivity of environmental indicators for development. When traded off individually with urban development, four out of five environmental indicators were insensitive to development, meaning that relatively minor degradation of the indicator occurred while development was below a certain threshold, although indicator loss accelerated once this threshold was reached. Most of the pairwise relationships between the five environmental indicators were synergistic; only carbon storage and charcoal production, and charcoal production and recreational accessibility showed trade-offs. Trade-off analysis and land use optimization using Pareto frontiers could be a useful decision-support tool for understanding how changes in land use and coastal management will impact the ability of ecosystems to provide environmental benefits.

Characterizing Coastal Ecosystem Service Trade-offs with Future Urban Development in a Tropical City.

PubMed

Richards, Daniel R; Friess, Daniel A

2017-11-01

With rapid urbanization in the coastal zone and increasing habitat losses, it is imperative to understand how urban development affects coastal biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. Furthermore, it is important to understand how habitat fragments can best be incorporated into broader land use planning and coastal management, in order to maximize the environmental benefits they provide. In this study, we characterized the trade-offs between (a) urban development and individual mangrove environmental indicators (habitat quality and ecosystem services), and (b) between different environmental indicators in the tropical nation of Singapore. A range of biological, biophysical, and cultural indicators, including carbon, charcoal production, support for offshore fisheries, recreation, and habitat quality for a threatened species were quantified using field-based, remote sensing, and expert survey methods. The shape of the trade-off Pareto frontiers was analyzed to assess the sensitivity of environmental indicators for development. When traded off individually with urban development, four out of five environmental indicators were insensitive to development, meaning that relatively minor degradation of the indicator occurred while development was below a certain threshold, although indicator loss accelerated once this threshold was reached. Most of the pairwise relationships between the five environmental indicators were synergistic; only carbon storage and charcoal production, and charcoal production and recreational accessibility showed trade-offs. Trade-off analysis and land use optimization using Pareto frontiers could be a useful decision-support tool for understanding how changes in land use and coastal management will impact the ability of ecosystems to provide environmental benefits.

Future changes in coastal upwelling ecosystems with global warming: The case of the California Current System.

PubMed

Xiu, Peng; Chai, Fei; Curchitser, Enrique N; Castruccio, Frederic S

2018-02-12

Coastal upwelling ecosystems are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, meaning that their response to climate change is of critical importance. Our understanding of climate change impacts on marine ecosystems is largely limited to the open ocean, mainly because coastal upwelling is poorly reproduced by current earth system models. Here, a high-resolution model is used to examine the response of nutrients and plankton dynamics to future climate change in the California Current System (CCS). The results show increased upwelling intensity associated with stronger alongshore winds in the coastal region, and enhanced upper-ocean stratification in both the CCS and open ocean. Warming of the open ocean forces isotherms downwards, where they make contact with water masses with higher nutrient concentrations, thereby enhancing the nutrient flux to the deep source waters of the CCS. Increased winds and eddy activity further facilitate upward nutrient transport to the euphotic zone. However, the plankton community exhibits a complex and nonlinear response to increased nutrient input, as the food web dynamics tend to interact differently. This analysis highlights the difficulty in understanding how the marine ecosystem responds to a future warming climate, given to range of relevant processes operating at different scales.

SCOR Working Group 137: "Global Patterns of Phytoplankton Dynamics in Coastal Ecosystems": An introduction to the special issue of Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paerl, Hans W.; Yin, Kedong; O'Brien, Todd D.

2015-09-01

Phytoplankton form the base of most aquatic food webs and play a central role in assimilation and processing of carbon and nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon, iron and a wide range of trace elements (Reynolds, 2006). In the marine environment, estuarine and coastal ecosystems (jointly termed coastal here) are among the most productive, resourceful and dynamic habitats on Earth (Malone et al., 1999; Day et al., 2012). These ecosystems constitute only ∼10% of the global oceans' surface, but account for over 30% of its primary production (Day et al., 2012). They process vast amounts of nutrients, sediments, carbonaceous, and xenobiotic compounds generated in coastal watersheds, in which approximately 70% of the world's human population resides (Nixon, 1995; Vitousek et al., 1997; NOAA, 2013). Estuarine and coastal ecosystems are also strongly influenced by localized nutrient enrichment from coastal upwelling, with major impacts on the structure and function of phytoplankton communities and the food webs they support (Legendre and Rassoulzadegan, 2012; Paerl and Justić, 2012). In addition, introductions and invasions of exotic plant and animal species have led to significant "top down" mediated changes in phytoplankton community structure and function (Carlton, 1999; Thompson, 2005). Lastly, the coastal zone is the "front line" of climatically-induced environmental change, including warming, altered rainfall patterns, intensities and magnitudes (Trenberth, 2005; IPCC, 2012), which jointly impact phytoplankton community structure and function (Cloern and Jassby, 2012; Hall et al., 2013). The combined effects of these pressures translate into a myriad of changes in phytoplankton production and community structure along geomorphological and geographic gradients (Fig. 1), with cascading quantitative and qualitative impacts on biogeochemical cycling, food web structure and function, water quality and overall resourcefulness and sustainability of these

[Alternative stable states in coastal intertidal wetland ecosystems of Yangtze estuary, China].

PubMed

Li, Hui; Yuan, Lin; Zhang, Li Quan; Li, Wei; Li, Shi Hua; Zhao, Zhi Yuan

2017-01-01

Alternative stable states phenomenon widely exists in a variety of ecosystems and is closely related to ecosystem health and sustainable development. Although alternative stable states research has become the focus and hotspot of the ecology researches, only a few empirical evidences supported its behavior and mechanisms in coastal wetland ecosystems up to now. In our study, ta-king the intertidal wetland ecosystem in Chongming Dongtan Nature Reserve as study area, we aimed to: 1) test the existence of alternative stable states based on judgment conditions (bimodal characteristic and threshold effect) and determine the relative stable state types; 2) explore the formation mechanisms of alternative stable states by monitoring hydrological conditions, sediment accretion dynamics as well as vegetation growth parameters and analyzing the positive feedbacks between saltmarsh vegetation and sedimentary geomorphology. Our results showed that: 1) Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) frequentness distribution revealed obvious bimodality at saltmarsh pioneer zone. Propagule biomass threshold limited the establishment of plant patches representing the "saltmarsh" state. The presence of bimodality and biomass threshold demonstrated there are "mudflat" stable state and "saltmarsh" stable state with distinct structure and function in intertidal wetland ecosystem. 2) Current velocities, turbidities and direction perpendicular to the vegetation zone were the most important factors responsible for the sediments rapid accretion at saltmarsh pioneer zone in spring and summer. Sediments accretion significantly promoted the growth of saltmarsh plant. The positive feedbacks between plant growth and sediments accretion resulted in the formation of alternative stable states. 3) The expansion pattern of saltmarshes in the Chongming Dongtan intertidal wetland ecosystem also suggested that increases of sediments accretion could trigger the formation of "mudflat" stable state and

Pansharpening in coastal ecosystems using Worldview-2 imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ibarrola-Ulzurrun, Edurne; Marcello-Ruiz, Javier; Gonzalo-Martin, Consuelo

2016-10-01

Both climate change and anthropogenic pressure impacts are producing a declining in ecosystem natural resources. In this work, a vulnerable coastal ecosystem, Maspalomas Natural Reserve (Canary Islands, Spain), is analyzed. The development of advanced image processing techniques, applied to new satellites with very high resolution sensors (VHR), are essential to obtain accurate and systematic information about such natural areas. Thus, remote sensing offers a practical and cost-effective means for a good environmental management although some improvements are needed by the application of pansharpening techniques. A preliminary assessment was performed selecting classical and new algorithms that could achieve good performance with WorldView-2 imagery. Moreover, different quality indices were used in order to asses which pansharpening technique gives a better fused image. A total of 7 pansharpening algorithms were analyzed using 6 spectral and spatial quality indices. The quality assessment was implemented for the whole set of multispectral bands and for those bands covered by the wavelength range of the panchromatic image and outside of it. After an extensive evaluation, the most suitable algorithm was the Weighted Wavelet `à trous' through Fractal Dimension Maps technique which provided the best compromise between the spectral and spatial quality for the image. Finally, Quality Map Analysis was performed in order to study the fusion in each band at local level. As conclusion, novel analysis has been conducted covering the evaluation of fusion methods in shallow water areas. Hence, the excellent results provided by this study have been applied to the generation of challenging thematic maps of coastal and dunes protected areas.

Cloud shading and fog drip influence the metabolism of a coastal pine ecosystem.

PubMed

Carbone, Mariah S; Park Williams, A; Ambrose, Anthony R; Boot, Claudia M; Bradley, Eliza S; Dawson, Todd E; Schaeffer, Sean M; Schimel, Joshua P; Still, Christopher J

2013-02-01

Assessing the ecological importance of clouds has substantial implications for our basic understanding of ecosystems and for predicting how they will respond to a changing climate. This study was conducted in a coastal Bishop pine forest ecosystem that experiences regular cycles of stratus cloud cover and inundation in summer. Our objective was to understand how these clouds impact ecosystem metabolism by contrasting two sites along a gradient of summer stratus cover. The site that was under cloud cover ~15% more of the summer daytime hours had lower air temperatures and evaporation rates, higher soil moisture content, and received more frequent fog drip inputs than the site with less cloud cover. These cloud-driven differences in environmental conditions translated into large differences in plant and microbial activity. Pine trees at the site with greater cloud cover exhibited less water stress in summer, larger basal area growth, and greater rates of sap velocity. The difference in basal area growth between the two sites was largely due to summer growth. Microbial metabolism was highly responsive to fog drip, illustrated by an observed ~3-fold increase in microbial biomass C with increasing summer fog drip. In addition, the site with more cloud cover had greater total soil respiration and a larger fractional contribution from heterotrophic sources. We conclude that clouds are important to the ecological functioning of these coastal forests, providing summer shading and cooling that relieve pine and microbial drought stress as well as regular moisture inputs that elevate plant and microbial metabolism. These findings are important for understanding how these and other seasonally dry coastal ecosystems will respond to predicted changes in stratus cover, rainfall, and temperature. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Assessing biomass of diverse coastal marsh ecosystems using statistical and machine learning models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Yu; Kearney, Michael S.; Riter, J. C. Alexis; Zhao, Feng; Tilley, David R.

2018-06-01

The importance and vulnerability of coastal marshes necessitate effective ways to closely monitor them. Optical remote sensing is a powerful tool for this task, yet its application to diverse coastal marsh ecosystems consisting of different marsh types is limited. This study samples spectral and biophysical data from freshwater, intermediate, brackish, and saline marshes in Louisiana, and develops statistical and machine learning models to assess the marshes' biomass with combined ground, airborne, and spaceborne remote sensing data. It is found that linear models derived from NDVI and EVI are most favorable for assessing Leaf Area Index (LAI) using multispectral data (R2 = 0.7 and 0.67, respectively), and the random forest models are most useful in retrieving LAI and Aboveground Green Biomass (AGB) using hyperspectral data (R2 = 0.91 and 0.84, respectively). It is also found that marsh type and plant species significantly impact the linear model development (P < .05 in both cases). Sensors with coarser spatial resolution yield lower LAI values because the fine water networks are not detected and mixed into the vegetation pixels. The Landsat OLI-derived map shows the LAI of coastal mashes in Louisiana mostly ranges from 0 to 5.0, and is highest for freshwater marshes and for marshes in the Atchafalaya Bay delta. The CASI-derived maps show that LAI of saline marshes at Bay Batiste typically ranges from 0.9 to 1.5, and the AGB is mostly less than 900 g/m2. This study provides solutions for assessing the biomass of Louisiana's coastal marshes using various optical remote sensing techniques, and highlights the impacts of the marshes' species composition on the model development and the sensors' spatial resolution on biomass mapping, thereby providing useful tools for monitoring the biomass of coastal marshes in Louisiana and diverse coastal marsh ecosystems elsewhere.

Contrasting ecosystem CO2 fluxes of inland and coastal wetlands: a meta-analysis of eddy covariance data.

PubMed

Lu, Weizhi; Xiao, Jingfeng; Liu, Fang; Zhang, Yue; Liu, Chang'an; Lin, Guanghui

2017-03-01

Wetlands play an important role in regulating the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations and thus affecting the climate. However, there is still lack of quantitative evaluation of such a role across different wetland types, especially at the global scale. Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to compare ecosystem CO 2 fluxes among various types of wetlands using a global database compiled from the literature. This database consists of 143 site-years of eddy covariance data from 22 inland wetland and 21 coastal wetland sites across the globe. Coastal wetlands had higher annual gross primary productivity (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R e ), and net ecosystem productivity (NEP) than inland wetlands. On a per unit area basis, coastal wetlands provided large CO 2 sinks, while inland wetlands provided small CO 2 sinks or were nearly CO 2 neutral. The annual CO 2 sink strength was 93.15 and 208.37 g C m -2 for inland and coastal wetlands, respectively. Annual CO 2 fluxes were mainly regulated by mean annual temperature (MAT) and mean annual precipitation (MAP). For coastal and inland wetlands combined, MAT and MAP explained 71%, 54%, and 57% of the variations in GPP, R e , and NEP, respectively. The CO 2 fluxes of wetlands were also related to leaf area index (LAI). The CO 2 fluxes also varied with water table depth (WTD), although the effects of WTD were not statistically significant. NEP was jointly determined by GPP and R e for both inland and coastal wetlands. However, the NEP/R e and NEP/GPP ratios exhibited little variability for inland wetlands and decreased for coastal wetlands with increasing latitude. The contrasting of CO 2 fluxes between inland and coastal wetlands globally can improve our understanding of the roles of wetlands in the global C cycle. Our results also have implications for informing wetland management and climate change policymaking, for example, the efforts being made by international organizations and enterprises to restore coastal

Avian influenza virus wild bird surveillance in the Azov and Black Sea regions of Ukraine (2010-2011)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Azov and Black Sea basins are part of the transcontinental wild bird migration routes from Northern Asia and Europe to the Mediterranean, Africa and Southwest Asia. These regions constitute an area of transit, stops during migration, and nesting for many different bird species. From September ...

The trophic position of the alien crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii (crustacea decapoda panopeidae) in the Taman Bay, Sea of Azov community

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zalota, A. K.; Kolyuchkina, G. A.; Tiunov, A. V.; Biriukova, S. V.; Spiridonov, V. A.

2017-03-01

This work concerns the trophic web positioning of the alien crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii and other common marine invertebrate species and fishes in the benthic ecosystem of the shallows of Taman Bay, Sea of Azov. The base of the trophic web in this system is composed of phytoplankton, macrophytes (algae and marine grasses), and reeds that use atmospheric carbon for photosynthesis. Analysis of the isotopic composition of nitrogen and carbon has shown that although marine grasses are dominating primary producers in the shallows of the bay, primary consumers (such as Cerastoderma glaucum, Porifera gen. sp., Gammarus aequicauda, Deshayesorchestia deshayesii and Idotea balthica) only partially use this organic source; instead, they use a combination of different sources of primary production. It has been shown that the food source of the alien crab is primarily of animal origin. In Taman Bay, R. harrisii is on the same trophic level as other carnivores/scavengers: benthic fishes Syngnathus nigrolineatus, Gobius spp. and native crab Pilumnus hirtellus and shrimp Palaemon adspersus.

Comparing marine and terrestrial ecosystems: Implications for the design of coastal marine reserves

USGS Publications Warehouse

Carr, M.H.; Neigel, J.E.; Estes, J.A.; Andelman, S.; Warner, R.R.; Largier, J. L.

2003-01-01

Concepts and theory for the design and application of terrestrial reserves is based on our understanding of environmental, ecological, and evolutionary processes responsible for biological diversity and sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems and how humans have influenced these processes. How well this terrestrial-based theory can be applied toward the design and application of reserves in the coastal marine environment depends, in part, on the degree of similarity between these systems. Several marked differences in ecological and evolutionary processes exist between marine and terrestrial ecosystems as ramifications of fundamental differences in their physical environments (i.e., the relative prevalence of air and water) and contemporary patterns of human impacts. Most notably, the great extent and rate of dispersal of nutrients, materials, holoplanktonic organisms, and reproductive propagules of benthic organisms expand scales of connectivity among near-shore communities and ecosystems. Consequently, the "openness" of marine populations, communities, and ecosystems probably has marked influences on their spatial, genetic, and trophic structures and dynamics in ways experienced by only some terrestrial species. Such differences appear to be particularly significant for the kinds of organisms most exploited and targeted for protection in coastal marine ecosystems (fishes and macroinvertebrates). These and other differences imply some unique design criteria and application of reserves in the marine environment. In explaining the implications of these differences for marine reserve design and application, we identify many of the environmental and ecological processes and design criteria necessary for consideration in the development of the analytical approaches developed elsewhere in this Special Issue.

Coastal livelihood transitions under globalization with implications for trans-ecosystem interactions

PubMed Central

Stevens, Kara; Williams, Nicholas E.; Sistla, Seeta A.; Roddy, Adam B.; Urquhart, Gerald R.

2017-01-01

Anthropogenic threats to natural systems can be exacerbated due to connectivity between marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, complicating the already daunting task of governance across the land-sea interface. Globalization, including new access to markets, can change social-ecological, land-sea linkages via livelihood responses and adaptations by local people. As a first step in understanding these trans-ecosystem effects, we examined exit and entry decisions of artisanal fishers and smallholder farmers on the rapidly globalizing Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. We found that exit and entry decisions demonstrated clear temporal and spatial patterns and that these decisions differed by livelihood. In addition to household characteristics, livelihood exit and entry decisions were strongly affected by new access to regional and global markets. The natural resource implications of these livelihood decisions are potentially profound as they provide novel linkages and spatially-explicit feedbacks between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Our findings support the need for more scientific inquiry in understanding trans-ecosystem tradeoffs due to linked-livelihood transitions as well as the need for a trans-ecosystem approach to natural resource management and development policy in rapidly changing coastal regions. PMID:29077748

Coastal livelihood transitions under globalization with implications for trans-ecosystem interactions.

PubMed

Kramer, Daniel B; Stevens, Kara; Williams, Nicholas E; Sistla, Seeta A; Roddy, Adam B; Urquhart, Gerald R

2017-01-01

Anthropogenic threats to natural systems can be exacerbated due to connectivity between marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems, complicating the already daunting task of governance across the land-sea interface. Globalization, including new access to markets, can change social-ecological, land-sea linkages via livelihood responses and adaptations by local people. As a first step in understanding these trans-ecosystem effects, we examined exit and entry decisions of artisanal fishers and smallholder farmers on the rapidly globalizing Caribbean coast of Nicaragua. We found that exit and entry decisions demonstrated clear temporal and spatial patterns and that these decisions differed by livelihood. In addition to household characteristics, livelihood exit and entry decisions were strongly affected by new access to regional and global markets. The natural resource implications of these livelihood decisions are potentially profound as they provide novel linkages and spatially-explicit feedbacks between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Our findings support the need for more scientific inquiry in understanding trans-ecosystem tradeoffs due to linked-livelihood transitions as well as the need for a trans-ecosystem approach to natural resource management and development policy in rapidly changing coastal regions.

Using models in Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of coastal areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solidoro, Cosimo; Bandelj, Vinko; Cossarini, Gianpiero; Melaku Canu, Donata; Libralato, Simone

2014-05-01

Numerical Models can greatly contribute to integrated ecological assessment of coastal and marine systems. Indeed, models can: i) assist in the identification of efficient sampling strategy; ii) provide space interpolation and time extrapolation of experiemtanl data which are based on the knowedge on processes dynamics and causal realtionships which is coded within the model, iii) provide estimates of hardly measurable indicators. Furthermore model can provide indication on potential effects of implementation of alternative management policies. Finally, by providing a synthetic representation of an ideal system, based on its essential dynamic, model return a picture of ideal behaviour of a system in the absence of external perturbation, alteration, noise, which might help in the identification of reference behaivuor. As an important example, model based reanalyses of biogeochemical and ecological properties are an urgent need for the estimate of the environmental status and the assessment of efficacy of conservation and environmental policies, also with reference to the enforcement of the European MSFD. However, the use of numerical models, and particularly of ecological models, in modeling and in environmental management still is far from be the rule, possibly because of a lack in realizing the benefits which a full integration of modeling and montoring systems might provide, possibly because of a lack of trust in modeling results, or because many problems still exists in the development, validation and implementation of models. For istance, assessing the validity of model results is a complex process that requires the definition of appropriate indicators, metrics, methodologies and faces with the scarcity of real-time in-situ biogeochemical data. Furthermore, biogeochemical models typically consider dozens of variables which are heavily undersampled. Here we show how the integration of mathematical model and monitoring data can support integrated ecosystem

Interacting coastal based ecosystem services: recreation and water quality in Puget Sound, WA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kreitler, Jason; Papenfus, Michael; Byrd, Kristin; Labiosa, William

2013-01-01

Coastal recreation and water quality are major contributors to human well-being in coastal regions. They can also interact, creating opportunities for ecosystem based management, ecological restoration, and water quality improvement that can positively affect people and the environment. Yet the effect of environmental quality on human behavior is often poorly quantified, but commonly assumed in coastal ecosystem service studies. To clarify this effect we investigate a water quality dataset for evidence that environmental condition partially explains variation in recreational visitation, our indicator of human behavior. In Puget Sound, WA, we investigate variation in visitation in both visitation rate and fixed effects (FE) models. The visitation rate model relates the differences in annual recreational visitation among parks to environmental conditions, park characteristics, travel cost, and recreational demand. In our FE model we control for all time-invariant unobserved variables and compare monthly variation at the park level to determine how water quality affects visitation during the summer season. The results of our first model illustrate how visitation relates to various amenities and costs. In the FE analysis, monthly visitation was negatively related to water quality while controlling for monthly visitation trends. This indicates people are responding to changes in water quality, and an improvement would yield an increase in the value of recreation. Together, these results could help in prioritizing water quality improvements, could assist the creation of new parks or the modification of existing recreational infrastructure, and provide quantitative estimates for the expected benefits from potential changes in recreational visitation and water quality improvements. Our results also provide an example of how recreational visitation can be quantified and used in ecosystem service assessments.

Interacting Coastal Based Ecosystem Services: Recreation and Water Quality in Puget Sound, WA

PubMed Central

Kreitler, Jason; Papenfus, Michael; Byrd, Kristin; Labiosa, William

2013-01-01

Coastal recreation and water quality are major contributors to human well-being in coastal regions. They can also interact, creating opportunities for ecosystem based management, ecological restoration, and water quality improvement that can positively affect people and the environment. Yet the effect of environmental quality on human behavior is often poorly quantified, but commonly assumed in coastal ecosystem service studies. To clarify this effect we investigate a water quality dataset for evidence that environmental condition partially explains variation in recreational visitation, our indicator of human behavior. In Puget Sound, WA, we investigate variation in visitation in both visitation rate and fixed effects (FE) models. The visitation rate model relates the differences in annual recreational visitation among parks to environmental conditions, park characteristics, travel cost, and recreational demand. In our FE model we control for all time-invariant unobserved variables and compare monthly variation at the park level to determine how water quality affects visitation during the summer season. The results of our first model illustrate how visitation relates to various amenities and costs. In the FE analysis, monthly visitation was negatively related to water quality while controlling for monthly visitation trends. This indicates people are responding to changes in water quality, and an improvement would yield an increase in the value of recreation. Together, these results could help in prioritizing water quality improvements, could assist the creation of new parks or the modification of existing recreational infrastructure, and provide quantitative estimates for the expected benefits from potential changes in recreational visitation and water quality improvements. Our results also provide an example of how recreational visitation can be quantified and used in ecosystem service assessments. PMID:23451067

Impacts of the Nutrient Inputs from Riverine on the Dynamic and Community Structure of Fungal-like Protists in the Coastal Ocean Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Y.; Wang, G.; Xie, N.

2016-02-01

The coastal ocean connects terrestrial (e.g., rivers and estuaries) with oceanic ecosystems and is considered as a major component of global carbon cycles and budgets. The coastal waters are featured with a high biodiversity and high primary production. Because of the excessive primary production, a large fraction of primary organic matter becomes available to consumers as detritus in the coastal waters. Bacterioplankton have long been known to play a key role in the degradation of this detritus, and export and storage of organic matter in the coastal ecosystems. However, the primary and secondary production and the carbon biogeochemical processes in the ecosystems are largely regulated by nutrient inputs from riverine and other anthropogenic activities through heterotrophic microbial communities. Thraustochytrids, commonly known as fungal-like protists, are unicellular heterotrophic protists and are recently acknowledged to play a significant role in ocean carbon cycling. Their abundance exceeds that of bacterioplankton in the most time of the year in the coastal waters of China. Also, their abundance and diversity are largely regulated by nutrients inputs from riverine and other anthropogenic activities. Our findings support that thraustochytrids are a dominant heterotrophic microbial group in the coastal waters. Evidently, thraustochytrids are an import, but neglected, component in microbial carbon biogeochemical processes of the coastal ocean.

Influence of Environmental Factors on Vibrio spp. in Coastal Ecosystems.

PubMed

Johnson, Crystal N

2015-06-01

Various studies have examined the relationships between vibrios and the environmental conditions surrounding them. However, very few reviews have compiled these studies into cohesive points. This may be due to the fact that these studies examine different environmental parameters, use different sampling, detection, and enumeration methodologies, and occur in diverse geographic locations. The current article is one approach to compile these studies into a cohesive work that assesses the importance of environmental determinants on the abundance of vibrios in coastal ecosystems.

Buried paleo-sedimentary basins in the north-eastern Black Sea-Azov Sea area and tectonic implications (DOBRE-2)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starostenko, Vitaly; Stephenson, Randell; Janik, Tomasz; Tolkunov, Anatoly

2014-05-01

A number of independent but inter-related projects carried out under the auspices of various national and international programmes in Ukraine including DARIUS were aimed at imaging the upper lithosphere, crustal and sedimentary basin architecture in the north-eastern Black Sea, southern Crimea and Kerch peninsulas and the Azov Sea. This region marks the transition from relatively undisturbed Precambrian European cratonic crust and lithosphere north of the Azov Sea to areas of significant Phanerozoic tectonics and basin development, in both extensional as well as compressional environments, to the south, including the eastern Black Sea rift, which is the main sedimentary basin of the study area. The wide-angle reflection and refraction (WARR) profile DOBRE-2, a Ukrainian national project with international participation (see below), overlapping some 115 km of the southern end of the DOBREfraction'99 profile (that crosses the intracratonic Donbas Foldbelt) in the north and running to the eastern Black Sea basin in the south, utilised on- and offshore recording and energy sources. It maps crustal velocity structure across the craton margin and documents, among other things, that the Moho deepens from 40 km to ~47 km to the southwest below the Azov Sea and Crimean-Caucasus deformed zone. A regional CDP seismic profile coincident with DOBRE-2, crossing the Azov Sea, Kerch Peninsula and the north-eastern Black Sea southwest to the Ukraine-Turkey border, acquired by Ukrgeofisika (the Ukrainian national geophysical company) reveals in its inferred structural relationships the ages of Cretaceous and younger extensional and subsequent basin inversion tectonic events as well as the 2D geometry of basement displacement associated with post mid-Eocene inversion. A direct comparison of the results of the WARR velocity model and the near-vertical reflection structural image has been made by converting the former into the time domain. The results dramatically demonstrate that

ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES TO POLLUTION ABATEMENT: A FRAMEWORK FOR MEASUREMENT AND ASSESSMENT FOR COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS

EPA Science Inventory

Ecological Responses to Pollution Abatement: A Framework for Measurement and Assessment for Coastal Ecosystems (Abstract). To be presented at the 16th Biennial Conference of the Estuarine Research Foundation, ERF 2001: An Estuarine Odyssey, 4-8 November 2001, St. Pete Beach, FL. ...

Urgent and Compelling Need for Coastal and Inland Aquatic Ecosystem Research Using Space-Based Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Otis, D. B.; Muller-Karger, F. E.; Hestir, E.; Turpie, K. R.; Roberts, D. A.; Frouin, R.; Goodman, J.; Schaeffer, B. A.; Franz, B. A.; Humm, D. C.

2016-12-01

Coastal and inland waters and associated aquatic habitats, including wetlands, mangroves, submerged grasses, and coral reefs, are some of the most productive and diverse ecosystems on the planet. They provide services critical to human health, safety, and prosperity. Yet, they are highly vulnerable to changes in climate and other anthropogenic pressures. With a global population of over seven billion people and climbing, and a warming atmosphere driven by carbon dioxide now in excess of 400 ppb, these services are at risk of rapidly diminishing globally. We know little about how these ecosystems function. We need to characterize short-term changes in the functional biodiversity and biogeochemical cycles of these coastal and wetland ecosystems, from canopy to benthos, and trace these changes to their underlying environmental influences. This requires an observation-based approach that covers coastal and inland aquatic ecosystems in a repeated, synoptic manner. Space-borne sensing systems can provide this capability, supported by coordinated in situ calibration and product validation activities. The design requires high temporal resolution (weekly or better), medium spatial resolution (30 m pixels at nadir to complement Landsat-class sensors), and highly sensitive, ocean-color radiometric quality, high resolution spectroscopy with Visible and Short-Wave IR bands (order of 10 nm or better) to assess both atmospheric correction parameters and land vegetation composition. The strategy needs to include sunglint avoidance schemes, and methods to maximize signal to noise ratios and temporal coverage of aquatic areas. We describe such a system, and urge the U.S. to implement such an observing strategy in the short-term and sustain it for the benefit of humankind.

Drought and coastal ecosystems: an assessment of decision maker needs for information

Treesearch

Kirsten Lackstrom; Amanda Brennan; Kirstin Dow

2016-01-01

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) is in the process of developing drought early warning systems in areas of the U.S. where the development and coordination of drought information is needed. In summer 2012, NIDIS launched a pilot program in North and South Carolina, addressing the uniqueness of drought impacts on coastal ecosystems.

Oceans and Human Health: Linking Ocean, Organism, and Human Health for Sustainable Management of Coastal Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandifer, P. A.; Trtanj, J.; Collier, T. K.

2012-12-01

Scientists and policy-makers are increasingly recognizing that sustainable coastal communities depend on healthy and resilient economies, ecosystems, and people, and that the condition or "health" of the coastal ocean and humans are intimately and inextricably connected. A wealth of ecosystem services provided by ocean and coastal environments are crucial for human survival and well being. Nonetheless, the health of coastal communities, their economies, connected ecosystems and ecosystem services, and people are under increasing threats from health risks associated with environmental degradation, climate change, and unwise land use practices, all of which contribute to growing burdens of naturally-occurring and introduced pathogens, noxious algae, and chemical contaminants. The occurrence, frequency, intensity, geographic range, and number and kinds of ocean health threats are increasing, with concomitant health and economic effects and eroding public confidence in the safety and wholesomeness of coastal environments and resources. Concerns in the research and public health communities, many summarized in the seminal 1999 NRC Report, From Monsoons to Microbes and the 2004 final report of the US Commission on Ocean Policy, resulted in establishment of a new "meta-discipline" known as Oceans and Human Health (OHH). OHH brings together practitioners in oceanography, marine biology, ecology, biomedical science, medicine, economics and other social sciences, epidemiology, environmental management, and public health to focus on water- and food-borne causes of human and animal illnesses associated with ocean and coastal systems and on health benefits of seafood and other marine products. It integrates information across multiple disciplines to increase knowledge of ocean health risks and benefits and communicate such information to enhance public safety. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to ocean health threats and benefits, Congress passed the Oceans and

Biophysical feedbacks mediate carbonate chemistry in coastal ecosystems across spatiotemporal gradients.

PubMed

Silbiger, Nyssa J; Sorte, Cascade J B

2018-01-15

Ocean acidification (OA) projections are primarily based on open ocean environments, despite the ecological importance of coastal systems in which carbonate dynamics are fundamentally different. Using temperate tide pools as a natural laboratory, we quantified the relative contribution of community composition, ecosystem metabolism, and physical attributes to spatiotemporal variability in carbonate chemistry. We found that biological processes were the primary drivers of local pH conditions. Specifically, non-encrusting producer-dominated systems had the highest and most variable pH environments and the highest production rates, patterns that were consistent across sites spanning 11° of latitude and encompassing multiple gradients of natural variability. Furthermore, we demonstrated a biophysical feedback loop in which net community production increased pH, leading to higher net ecosystem calcification. Extreme spatiotemporal variability in pH is, thus, both impacting and driven by biological processes, indicating that shifts in community composition and ecosystem metabolism are poised to locally buffer or intensify the effects of OA.

The relative importance of light and nutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth: A simple index of coastal ecosystem sensitivity to nutrient enrichment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cloern, J.E.

1999-01-01

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment of the coastal zone is now a well-established fact. However, there is still uncertainty about the mechanisms through which nutrient enrichment can disrupt biological communities and ecosystem processes in the coastal zone. For example, while some estuaries exhibit classic symptoms of acute eutrophication, including enhanced production of algal biomass, other nutrient-rich estuaries maintain low algal biomass and primary production. This implies that large differences exist among coastal ecosystems in the rates and patterns of nutrient assimilation and cycling. Part of this variability comes from differences among ecosystems in the other resource that can limit algal growth and production - the light energy required for photosynthesis. Complete understanding of the eutrophication process requires consideration of the interacting effects of light and nutrients, including the role of light availability as a regulator of the expression of eutrophication. A simple index of the relative strength of light and nutrient limitation of algal growth can be derived from models that describe growth rate as a function of these resources. This index can then be used as one diagnostic to classify the sensitivity of coastal ecosystems to the harmful effects of eutrophication. Here I illustrate the application of this diagnostic with light and nutrient measurements made in three California estuaries and two Dutch estuaries.

Coastal Prairie

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2000-01-01

The coastal prairie, located along the coastal plain of southwestern Louisiana and southcentral Texas, is the southernmost tip of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem so prevalent in the Midwest. The coastal prairie ecosystem once covered as much as 3.8 million ha (9 million acres); today, more than 99% of this land has been lost to agriculture, range improvement, and urbanization. The remainder is highly fragmented and severely threatened by invasions of exotic species and urban sprawl. In Louisiana, the former 1 million ha of coastal prairie have now been reduced to about 100 ha. In Texas, only about 100,000 ha of coastal prairie remain intact.

A Model for Experiential Learning: Coastal Ecosystems of Micronesia in a Changing Climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maloney, A. E.; Ladd, N.; Sachs, J. P.

2013-12-01

An intensive undergraduate course taught in Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia) June 22nd - July 19, 2013 through the University of Washington Study Abroad Program allowed students to intimately explore estuary, mangrove, seagrass, and coral habitat from a systems perspective. The curriculum was developed in 2010 and 2011 during a similar course taught in nearby Kosrae (Federated States of Micronesia). The course was based on field surveys of several sites from each habitat with assistance from local non-profit groups and Pohnpei government partners. Field surveys were supplemented by lectures from these local agencies or the course instructors. Classroom activities explored the connectivity of coastal ecosystems and how each habitat may be impacted by climate change. The instructors' tropical paleoclimate research objectives further supplemented the curriculum. Additionally, cultural activities facilitated an understanding of social interactions with coastal ecosystems. Students wrote field reports for each habitat and communicated the data to local agencies in an oral presentation. The class activities allowed students to engage in data analysis, interpretation, and communication while being immersed in the unique culture and environment of Micronesia.

NASA COAST and OCEANIA Airborne Missions in Support of Ecosystem and Water Quality Research in the Coastal Zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guild, Liane S.; Hooker, Stanford B.; Kudela, Raphael; Morrow, John; Russell, Philip; Myers, Jeffrey; Dunagan, Stephen; Palacios, Sherry; Livingston, John; Negrey, Kendra;

Ecosystem-based management of coastal zones in face of climate change impacts: Challenges and inequalities.

PubMed

Fernandino, Gerson; Elliff, Carla I; Silva, Iracema R

2018-06-01

Climate change effects have the potential of affecting both ocean and atmospheric processes. These changes pose serious threats to the millions of people that live by the coast. Thus, the objective of the present review is to discuss how climate change is altering (and will continue to alter) atmospheric and oceanic processes, what are the main implications of these alterations along the coastline, and which are the ecosystem-based management (EBM) strategies that have been proposed and applied to address these issues. While ocean warming, ocean acidification and increasing sea level have been more extensively studied, investigations on the effects of climate change to wind and wave climates are less frequent. Coastal ecosystems and their respective natural resources will respond differently according to location, environmental drivers and coastal processes. EBM strategies have mostly concentrated on improving ecosystem services, which can be used to assist in mitigating climate change effects. The main challenge for developing nations regards gaps in information and scarcity of resources. Thus, for effective management and adaptive EBM strategies to be developed worldwide, information at a local level is greatly needed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward a conceptual approach for assessing risks from chemical mixtures and other stressors to coastal ecosystem services.

PubMed

Syberg, Kristian; Backhaus, Thomas; Banta, Gary; Bruce, Peter; Gustavsson, Mikael; Munns, Wayne R; Rämö, Robert; Selck, Henriette; Gunnarsson, Jonas S

2017-03-01

Growth of human populations and increased human activity, particularly in coastal areas, increase pressure on coastal ecosystems and the ecosystem services (ES) they provide. As a means toward being able to assess the impact of multiple stressors on ES, in the present study we propose an 8-step conceptual approach for assessing effects of chemical mixtures and other stressors on ES in coastal areas: step A, identify the relevant problems and policy aims; step B, identify temporal and spatial boundaries; step C, identify relevant ES; step D, identify relevant stressors (e.g., chemicals); step E, translate impacts into ES units; step F, assess cumulative risk in ES units; step G, rank stressors based on their contribution to adverse effects on ES; and step H, implement regulation and management as appropriate and necessary. Two illustrative case studies (Swedish coastal waters and a coastal lagoon in Costa Rica) are provided; one focuses on chemicals that affect human food supply and the other addresses pesticide runoff and trade-offs among ES. The 2 cases are used to highlight challenges of such risk assessments, including use of standardized versus ES-relevant test species, data completeness, and trade-offs among ES. Lessons learned from the 2 case studies are discussed in relation to environmental risk assessment and management of chemical mixtures. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:376-386. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Azov-Kuban Basin Province, Ukraine and Russia, 2010

USGS Publications Warehouse

Klett, T.R.

2011-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, using a geology-based assessment methodology, estimated mean volumes of technically recoverable, conventional, undiscovered petroleum resources at 218 million barrels of crude oil, 4.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 94 million barrels of natural gas liquids for the Azov-Kuban Basin Province as part of a program to estimate petroleum resources for priority basins throughout the world.

Phytoplankton primary production in the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cloern, James E.; Foster, S.Q.; Kleckner, A.E.

2014-01-01

Estuaries are biogeochemical hot spots because they receive large inputs of nutrients and organic carbon from land and oceans to support high rates of metabolism and primary production. We synthesize published rates of annual phytoplankton primary production (APPP) in marine ecosystems influenced by connectivity to land – estuaries, bays, lagoons, fjords and inland seas. Review of the scientific literature produced a compilation of 1148 values of APPP derived from monthly incubation assays to measure carbon assimilation or oxygen production. The median value of median APPP measurements in 131 ecosystems is 185 and the mean is 252 g C m−2 yr−1, but the range is large: from −105 (net pelagic production in the Scheldt Estuary) to 1890 g C m−2 yr−1 (net phytoplankton production in Tamagawa Estuary). APPP varies up to 10-fold within ecosystems and 5-fold from year to year (but we only found eight APPP series longer than a decade so our knowledge of decadal-scale variability is limited). We use studies of individual places to build a conceptual model that integrates the mechanisms generating this large variability: nutrient supply, light limitation by turbidity, grazing by consumers, and physical processes (river inflow, ocean exchange, and inputs of heat, light and wind energy). We consider method as another source of variability because the compilation includes values derived from widely differing protocols. A simulation model shows that different methods reported in the literature can yield up to 3-fold variability depending on incubation protocols and methods for integrating measured rates over time and depth. Although attempts have been made to upscale measures of estuarine-coastal APPP, the empirical record is inadequate for yielding reliable global estimates. The record is deficient in three ways. First, it is highly biased by the large number of measurements made in northern Europe (particularly the Baltic region) and North America. Of the 1148

Seal carrion is a predictable resource for coastal ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quaggiotto, Maria-Martina; Barton, Philip S.; Morris, Christopher D.; Moss, Simon E. W.; Pomeroy, Patrick P.; McCafferty, Dominic J.; Bailey, David M.

2018-04-01

The timing, magnitude, and spatial distribution of resource inputs can have large effects on dependent organisms. Few studies have examined the predictability of such resources and no standard ecological measure of predictability exists. We examined the potential predictability of carrion resources provided by one of the UK's largest grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) colonies, on the Isle of May, Scotland. We used aerial (11 years) and ground surveys (3 years) to quantify the variability in time, space, quantity (kg), and quality (MJ) of seal carrion during the seal pupping season. We then compared the potential predictability of seal carrion to other periodic changes in food availability in nature. An average of 6893 kg of carrion •yr-1 corresponding to 110.5 × 103 MJ yr-1 was released for potential scavengers as placentae and dead animals. A fifth of the total biomass from dead seals was consumed by the end of the pupping season, mostly by avian scavengers. The spatial distribution of carcasses was similar across years, and 28% of the area containing >10 carcasses ha-1 was shared among all years. Relative standard errors (RSE) in space, time, quantity, and quality of carrion were all below 34%. This is similar to other allochthonous-dependent ecosystems, such as those affected by migratory salmon, and indicates high predictability of seal carrion as a resource. Our study illustrates how to quantify predictability in carrion, which is of general relevance to ecosystems that are dependent on this resource. We also highlight the importance of carrion to marine coastal ecosystems, where it sustains avian scavengers thus affecting ecosystem structure and function.

NASA COAST and OCEANIA Airborne Missions Support Ecosystem and Water Quality Research in the Coastal Zone

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guild, Liane; Kudela, Raphael; Hooker, Stanford; Morrow, John; Russell, Philip; Palacios, Sherry; Livingston, John M.; Negrey, Kendra; Torres-Perez, Juan; Broughton, Jennifer

2014-01-01

NASA has a continuing requirement to collect high-quality in situ data for the vicarious calibration of current and next generation ocean color satellite sensors and to validate the algorithms that use the remotely sensed observations. Recent NASA airborne missions over Monterey Bay, CA, have demonstrated novel above- and in-water measurement capabilities supporting a combined airborne sensor approach (imaging spectrometer, microradiometers, and a sun photometer). The results characterize coastal atmospheric and aquatic properties through an end-to-end assessment of image acquisition, atmospheric correction, algorithm application, plus sea-truth observations from state-of-the-art instrument systems. The primary goal is to demonstrate the following in support of calibration and validation exercises for satellite coastal ocean color products: 1) the utility of a multi-sensor airborne instrument suite to assess the bio-optical properties of coastal California, including water quality; and 2) the importance of contemporaneous atmospheric measurements to improve atmospheric correction in the coastal zone. The imaging spectrometer (Headwall) is optimized in the blue spectral domain to emphasize remote sensing of marine and freshwater ecosystems. The novel airborne instrument, Coastal Airborne In-situ Radiometers (C-AIR) provides measurements of apparent optical properties with high dynamic range and fidelity for deriving exact water leaving radiances at the land-ocean boundary, including radiometrically shallow aquatic ecosystems. Simultaneous measurements supporting empirical atmospheric correction of image data are accomplished using the Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-14). Flight operations are presented for the instrument payloads using the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter flown over Monterey Bay during the seasonal fall algal bloom in 2011 (COAST) and 2013 (OCEANIA) to support bio-optical measurements of

Coastal Ecosystem Assessment, Development and Creation of a Policy Tool using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for: A Case Study of Western Puerto Rico Coastal Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munoz Barreto, J.; Pillich, J.; Aponte Bermúdez, L. D.; Torres Pagan, G.

2017-12-01

This project utilizes low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) based systems for different applications, such as low-altitude (high resolution) aerial photogrammetry for aerial analysis of vegetation, reconstruction of beach topography and mapping coastal erosion to understand, and estimated ecosystem values. As part of this work, five testbeds coastal sites, designated as the Caribbean Littoral Aerial Surveillance System (CLASS), were established. The sites are distributed along western Puerto Rico coastline where population and industry (tourism) are very much clustered and dense along the coast. Over the past year, rapid post-storm deployment of UAV surveying has been successfully integrated into the CLASS sites, specifically at Rincon (Puerto Rico), where coastal erosion has raised the public and government concern over the past decades. A case study is presented here where we collected aerial photos before and after the swells caused by Hurricane Mathew (October 2016). We merged the point cloud obtained from the UAV photogrammetric assessment with topo-bathymetric data, to get a complete beach topography. Using the rectified and georeferenced UAV orthophotos, we identified the maximum wave runup for the pre-swell and post-swell events. Also, we used numerical modeling (X-Beach) to simulate the rate-of-change dynamics of the coastal zones and compare the model results to observed values (including multiple historic shoreline positions). In summary, our project has accomplished the first milestone which is the Development and Implementation of an Effective Shoreline Monitoring Program using UAVs. The activities of the monitoring program have enabled the collection of crucial data for coastal mapping along Puerto Rico's shorelines with emphasis on coastal erosion hot spots zones and ecosystem values. Our results highlight the potential of the synergy between UAVs, photogrammetry, and Geographic Information Systems to provide faster and low-cost reliable

GEO-CAPE Coastal Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics White Paper ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Clean Water Act protects all navigable waters in the United States (CWA, 1988). The objective of the CWA is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation's waters." This Federal mandate authorizes states, tribes, and U.S. territories, with guidance and oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to develop and implement water quality standards to protect the human and aquatic life uses of the Nation’s waterways. Water quality standards include designated uses, defined as the services that a water body supports such as drinking water, aquatic life, harvestable species, and recreation. These standards under the CWA Section 304(a) are applicable within state waters, defined as less than 3 nautical miles from shore. Therefore, a majority of research by the EPA addresses near-shore coastal waters within 3 nautical miles, estuaries and lakes where applicable water quality regulation could be implemented. Policy makers and environmental managers in EPA’s program and regional offices need tools enabling them to assess the sustainability of watershed ecosystems, and the services they provide, under current and future land use practices. The typical 1km resolution and current Case 1 algorithms of SeaWiFS, MODIS, and VIIRS provide limited assessments of near-shore coastal waters, estuaries and lakes. It has proven difficult to adequately resolve and derive products in smaller estuaries or waters in proxim

Human activities and climate variability drive fast-paced change across the world's estuarine-coastal ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cloern, James E.; Abreu, Paulo C.; Carstensen, Jacob; Chauvaud, Laurent; Elmgren, Ragnar; Grall, Jacques; Greening, Holly; Johansson, John O.R.; Kahru, Mati; Sherwood, Edward T.; Xu, Jie; Yin, Kedong

2016-01-01

Time series of environmental measurements are essential for detecting, measuring and understanding changes in the Earth system and its biological communities. Observational series have accumulated over the past 2–5 decades from measurements across the world's estuaries, bays, lagoons, inland seas and shelf waters influenced by runoff. We synthesize information contained in these time series to develop a global view of changes occurring in marine systems influenced by connectivity to land. Our review is organized around four themes: (i) human activities as drivers of change; (ii) variability of the climate system as a driver of change; (iii) successes, disappointments and challenges of managing change at the sea-land interface; and (iv) discoveries made from observations over time. Multidecadal time series reveal that many of the world's estuarine–coastal ecosystems are in a continuing state of change, and the pace of change is faster than we could have imagined a decade ago. Some have been transformed into novel ecosystems with habitats, biogeochemistry and biological communities outside the natural range of variability. Change takes many forms including linear and nonlinear trends, abrupt state changes and oscillations. The challenge of managing change is daunting in the coastal zone where diverse human pressures are concentrated and intersect with different responses to climate variability over land and over ocean basins. The pace of change in estuarine–coastal ecosystems will likely accelerate as the human population and economies continue to grow and as global climate change accelerates. Wise stewardship of the resources upon which we depend is critically dependent upon a continuing flow of information from observations to measure, understand and anticipate future changes along the world's coastlines.

Ecosystem resilience and threshold response in the Galápagos coastal zone.

PubMed

Seddon, Alistair W R; Froyd, Cynthia A; Leng, Melanie J; Milne, Glenn A; Willis, Katherine J

2011-01-01

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a conservative estimate on rates of sea-level rise of 3.8 mm yr(-1) at the end of the 21(st) century, which may have a detrimental effect on ecologically important mangrove ecosystems. Understanding factors influencing the long-term resilience of these communities is critical but poorly understood. We investigate ecological resilience in a coastal mangrove community from the Galápagos Islands over the last 2700 years using three research questions: What are the 'fast and slow' processes operating in the coastal zone? Is there evidence for a threshold response? How can the past inform us about the resilience of the modern system? Palaeoecological methods (AMS radiocarbon dating, stable carbon isotopes (δ(13)C)) were used to reconstruct sedimentation rates and ecological change over the past 2,700 years at Diablas lagoon, Isabela, Galápagos. Bulk geochemical analysis was also used to determine local environmental changes, and salinity was reconstructed using a diatom transfer function. Changes in relative sea level (RSL) were estimated using a glacio-isostatic adjustment model. Non-linear behaviour was observed in the Diablas mangrove ecosystem as it responded to increased salinities following exposure to tidal inundations. A negative feedback was observed which enabled the mangrove canopy to accrete vertically, but disturbances may have opened up the canopy and contributed to an erosion of resilience over time. A combination of drier climatic conditions and a slight fall in RSL then resulted in a threshold response, from a mangrove community to a microbial mat. Palaeoecological records can provide important information on the nature of non-linear behaviour by identifying thresholds within ecological systems, and in outlining responses to 'fast' and 'slow' environmental change between alternative stable states. This study highlights the need to incorporate a long-term ecological perspective when

DETERMINING THE CAUSES OF ADVERSE EFFECTS IN NEAR COASTAL ECOSYSTEMS: FROM TOXICITY IDENTIFICATION EVALUATIONS TO WATERSHED DIAGNOTICS

EPA Science Inventory

Several approaches are available for evaluating adverse effects in near coastal ecosystems. These range from performing toxicity tests with individual organisms on water column and sediment samples to conducting macrofaunal compositional analyses on pelagic and benthic communiti...

North American coastal carbon stocks and exchanges among the coupled ecosystems of tidal wetlands and estuaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Windham-Myers, L.; Cai, W. J.

2017-12-01

The development of the 2nd State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR-2) has recognized a significant role of aquatic ecosystems, including coastal zones, in reconciling some of the gaps associated with the North American carbon (C) budget. Along with a large community of coauthors, we report major C stocks and fluxes for tidal wetlands and estuaries of Canada, Mexico and the United States. We find divergent patterns between these coupled ecosystems, with tidal wetlands largely serving as CO2 sinks (net autotrophic), and open-water estuaries largely serving as CO2 sources (net heterotrophic). We summarized measurements across 4 continental regions - East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, West Coast, and High Latitudes - to assess spatial variability and datagaps in our understanding of coastal C cycling. Subtracting estuarine outgassing of 10 ± 10 Tg C yr-1 from the tidal wetland uptake of 23 ± 10 Tg C yr-1 leaves a net uptake of the combined system of 13 ± 14 Tg C yr-1. High uncertainty for net atmospheric C exchange in this combined coastal system is further complicated by spatially and temporally dynamic boundaries, as well as terrestrial C sources. Tidal wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on earth and are capable of continuously accumulating organic C in their sediments as a result of environmental conditions that inhibit organic matter decomposition. Estuaries have more interannual variability in C dynamics than those of tidal wetlands, reflecting the estuarine balance of exchanges with terrestrial watersheds, tidal wetlands, and the continental shelf. Whereas tidal, subtidal and estuarine maps are of limited accuracy at larger scales, North America likely represents less than 1/10 of global distributions of coastal wetland habitats. Coupled land-ocean C flux models are increasingly robust but lacking much of the data needed for parameterization and validation. Accurate boundary maps and synoptic monitoring data on air-water CO2 exchange may be developed

Information Needs Assessment for Coastal and Marine Management and Policy: Ecosystem Services Under Changing Climatic, Land Use, and Demographic Conditions.

PubMed

Goldsmith, Kaitlin A; Granek, Elise F; Lubitow, Amy

2015-12-01

Changing climatic, demographic, and land use conditions are projected to alter the provisioning of ecosystem services in estuarine, coastal, and nearshore marine ecosystems, necessitating mitigation and adaptation policies and management. The current paradigm of research efforts occurring in parallel to, rather than in collaboration with, decision makers will be insufficient for the rapid responses required to adapt to and mitigate for projected changing conditions. Here, we suggest a different paradigm: one where research begins by engaging decision makers in the identification of priority data needs (biophysical, economic, and social). This paper uses synthesized interview data to provide insight into the varied demands for scientific research as described by decision makers working on coastal issues in Oregon, USA. The findings highlight the need to recognize (1) the differing framing of ecosystem services by decision makers versus scientists; and (2) the differing data priorities relevant to inland versus coastal decision makers. The findings further serve to highlight the need for decision makers, scientists, and funders to engage in increased communication. This research is an important first step in advancing efforts toward evidence-based decision making in Oregon and provides a template for further research across the US.

Coastal sand dune ecosystem services in metropolitan suburbs: effects on the sake brewery environment induced by changing social conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaneko, Korehisa; Matsushima, Hajime

2017-12-01

Chiba Prefecture, Japan, lies very near Tokyo, the capital city of Japan. It borders the sea on three sides and is banded by coastal dunes. Several sake breweries are located near these dunes. Although there are records of sake brewing along the coast of Tokyo Bay since 1925, sake breweries have completely disappeared in several areas. We believe that sake brewing in these areas benefited from the ecosystem services afforded them by their proximity to the coastal ecosystem. We investigated potential environmental factors (e.g., landscape, soil, and groundwater), as well as conditions that could have driven sake brewers away from the coastal area. Many of the sake breweries that no longer exist were located on coastal dunes (i.e., sand, sandbanks, and natural levees) and obtained their water from a freshwater layer located 3-10 m below the surface. We speculate that these sake breweries benefited from using natural ingredients found in the coastal zone. We also investigated the following factors that may have negatively impacted the breweries, driving them out of business: (1) bankruptcies and reconstruction difficulties that followed the destructive 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, (2) industrial wartime adjustments during World War II (1939-1945), (3) development of coastal industries during the period from 1960 to 1975, and (4) increasing choices for other alcoholic drinks (e.g., beer, wine, and whiskey) from the 1960s to the present.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Ecosystem modeling of coastal acidification and hypoxia and structural uncertainties in the representation of sediment-water exchanges

EPA Science Inventory

Numerical ecosystem models of coastal acidification (CA) and hypoxia have been developed to synthesize current scientific understanding and provide predictions for nutrient management and policy. However, there is not a scientific consensus about the structure of these models an...

Megacities and large urban agglomerations in the coastal zone: interactions between atmosphere, land, and marine ecosystems.

PubMed

von Glasow, Roland; Jickells, Tim D; Baklanov, Alexander; Carmichael, Gregory R; Church, Tom M; Gallardo, Laura; Hughes, Claire; Kanakidou, Maria; Liss, Peter S; Mee, Laurence; Raine, Robin; Ramachandran, Purvaja; Ramesh, R; Sundseth, Kyrre; Tsunogai, Urumu; Uematsu, Mitsuo; Zhu, Tong

2013-02-01

Megacities are not only important drivers for socio-economic development but also sources of environmental challenges. Many megacities and large urban agglomerations are located in the coastal zone where land, atmosphere, and ocean meet, posing multiple environmental challenges which we consider here. The atmospheric flow around megacities is complicated by urban heat island effects and topographic flows and sea breezes and influences air pollution and human health. The outflow of polluted air over the ocean perturbs biogeochemical processes. Contaminant inputs can damage downstream coastal zone ecosystem function and resources including fisheries, induce harmful algal blooms and feedback to the atmosphere via marine emissions. The scale of influence of megacities in the coastal zone is hundreds to thousands of kilometers in the atmosphere and tens to hundreds of kilometers in the ocean. We list research needs to further our understanding of coastal megacities with the ultimate aim to improve their environmental management.

Land-margin ecosystem hydrologic data for the coastal Everglades, Florida, water years 1996-2012

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderson, Gordon H.; Smith, Thomas J.; Balentine, Karen M.

2014-01-01

Mangrove forests and salt marshes dominate the landscape of the coastal Everglades (Odum and McIvor, 1990). However, the ecological effects from potential sea-level rise and increased water flows from planned freshwater Everglades restoration on these coastal systems are poorly understood. The National Park Service (NPS) proposed the South Florida Global Climate Change Project (SOFL-GCC) in 1990 to evaluate climate change and the effect from rising sea levels on the coastal Everglades, particularly at the marsh/mangrove interface or ecotone (Soukup and others, 1990). A primary objective of SOFL-GCC project was to monitor and synthesize the hydrodynamics of the coastal Everglades from the upstream freshwater marsh to the downstream estuary mangrove. Two related hypotheses were set forward (Nuttle and Cosby, 1993): 1. There exists hydrologic conditions (tide, local rainfall, and upstream water deliveries), which characterize the location of the marsh/mangrove ecotone along the marine and terrestrial hydrologic gradient; and 2. The marsh/mangrove ecotone is sensitive to fluctuations in sea level and freshwater inflow from inland areas. Hydrologic monitoring of the SOFL-GCC network began in 1995 after startup delays from Hurricane Andrew (August 1992) and organizational transfers from the NPS to the National Biological Survey (October 1993) and the merger with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Biological Research Division in 1996 (Smith, 2004). As the SOFL-GCC project progressed, concern by environmental scientists and land managers over how the diversion of water from Everglades National Park would affect the restoration of the greater Everglades ecosystem. Everglades restoration scenarios were based on hydrodynamic models, none of which included the coastal zone (Fennema and others, 1994). Modeling efforts were expanded to include the Everglades coastal zone (Schaffranek and others, 2001) with SOFL-GCC hydrologic data assisting the ecological modeling needs. In 2002

Is economic valuation of ecosystem services useful to decision-makers? Lessons learned from Australian coastal and marine management.

PubMed

Marre, Jean-Baptiste; Thébaud, Olivier; Pascoe, Sean; Jennings, Sarah; Boncoeur, Jean; Coglan, Louisa

2016-08-01

Economic valuation of ecosystem services is widely advocated as being useful to support ecosystem management decision-making. However, the extent to which it is actually used or considered useful in decision-making is poorly documented. This literature blindspot is explored with an application to coastal and marine ecosystems management in Australia. Based on a nation-wide survey of eighty-eight decision-makers representing a diversity of management organizations, the perceived usefulness and level of use of economic valuation of ecosystem services, in support of coastal and marine management, are examined. A large majority of decision-makers are found to be familiar with economic valuation and consider it useful - even necessary - in decision-making, although this varies across groups of decision-makers. However, most decision-makers never or rarely use economic valuation. The perceived level of importance and trust in estimated dollar values differ across ecosystem services, and are especially high for values that relate to commercial activities. A number of factors are also found to influence respondent's use of economic valuation. Such findings concur with conclusions from other studies on the usefulness and use of ESV in environmental management decision-making. They also demonstrate the strength of the survey-based approach developed in this application to examine this issue in a variety of contexts. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Primary production of coral ecosystems in the Vietnamese coastal and adjacent marine waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tac-An, Nguyen; Minh-Thu, Phan; Cherbadji, I. I.; Propp, M. V.; Odintsov, V. S.; Propp, L. H.

2013-11-01

Coral reef ecosystems in coastal waters and islands of Vietnam have high primary production. Average gross primary production (GPP) in coral reef waters was 0.39 g C m-2 day-1. GPP of corals ranged from 3.12 to 4.37 g C m-2 day-1. GPP of benthic microalgae in coral reefs ranged from 2 to 10 g C m-2 day-1. GPP of macro-algae was 2.34 g C m-2 day-1. Therefore, the total of GPP of whole coral reef ecosystems could reach 7.85 to 17.10 g C m-2 day-1. Almost all values of the ratio of photosynthesis to respiration in the water bodies are higher than 1, which means these regions are autotrophic systems. Wire variation of GPP in coral reefs was contributed by species abundance of coral and organisms, nutrient supports and environmental characteristics of coral ecosystems. Coral reefs play an important ecological role of biogeochemical cycling of nutrients in waters around the reefs. These results contribute valuable information for the protection, conservation and sustainable exploitation of the natural resources in coral reef ecosystems in Vietnam.

Capturing Ecosystem Services, Stakeholders' Preferences and Trade-Offs in Coastal Aquaculture Decisions: A Bayesian Belief Network Application

PubMed Central

Schmitt, Laetitia Helene Marie; Brugere, Cecile

2013-01-01

Aquaculture activities are embedded in complex social-ecological systems. However, aquaculture development decisions have tended to be driven by revenue generation, failing to account for interactions with the environment and the full value of the benefits derived from services provided by local ecosystems. Trade-offs resulting from changes in ecosystem services provision and associated impacts on livelihoods are also often overlooked. This paper proposes an innovative application of Bayesian belief networks - influence diagrams - as a decision support system for mediating trade-offs arising from the development of shrimp aquaculture in Thailand. Senior experts were consulted (n = 12) and primary farm data on the economics of shrimp farming (n = 20) were collected alongside secondary information on ecosystem services, in order to construct and populate the network. Trade-offs were quantitatively assessed through the generation of a probabilistic impact matrix. This matrix captures nonlinearity and uncertainty and describes the relative performance and impacts of shrimp farming management scenarios on local livelihoods. It also incorporates export revenues and provision and value of ecosystem services such as coastal protection and biodiversity. This research shows that Bayesian belief modeling can support complex decision-making on pathways for sustainable coastal aquaculture development and thus contributes to the debate on the role of aquaculture in social-ecological resilience and economic development. PMID:24155876

TNT Degradation by Natural Microbial Assemblages at Frontal Boundaries Between Water Masses in Coastal Ecosystems (ER-2124 Interim Report)

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-26

general features that can be used to bound these variables for a given ecosystem type ( biome ). Navy underwater coastal UXO sites can be categorized for...potentially mitigate the ecological risk associated with exposure of marine biota to these compounds. In addition, as part of these surveys, the most rapid RDX...biogeochemical parameters and aromatic contaminant biodegradation amongst various ecosystem ( biome ) types may allow the determination of attenuation

Spatial variability of heavy metals in estuarine, mangrove and coastal ecosystems along Parangipettai, Southeast coast of India.

PubMed

Sundaramanickam, Arumugam; Shanmugam, Nadanasabesan; Cholan, Shanmugam; Kumaresan, Saravanan; Madeswaran, Perumal; Balasubramanian, Thangavel

2016-11-01

An elaborate survey on the contamination of heavy metals was carried out in surface sediments of different ecosystems such as Vellar-Coleroon estuarine, Pichavaram mangrove and coastal region of Parangipettai, Southeast coast of India. The study was intended since, the coal based thermal power plant and oil refinery plant are proposed to set up along this coast and aquaculture industries and dredging activities are developing. The parameters such as soil texture, pH, total organic carbon (TOC) and heavy metal (Fe, Mn, Cu, Cd, Zn and Ni) concentrations were analyzed for the surface sediments during pre and postmonsoon seasons. Among the metals analyzed, Fe and Mn were found to have dominant as the levels were recorded as 11,804 μg g - 1 and 845.2 μg g - 1 respectively. A significant correlation was observed between total organic carbon (TOC) and heavy metals. In the mangrove ecosystem, the levels of heavy metals found to be maximum indicating that the rich organic matter acts as an efficient binding agent for metals. The overall finding of the present study indicated that the sediments from the entire Vellar-Coleroon estuarine and Pichavaram mangrove ecosystems were found moderately polluted with cadmium metal. The result of cluster analysis indicated disparity in accumulation of heavy metals in sediments of different ecosystems due to the variations in organic matter. The heavy metals were transported from land to coastal through flood during monsoon season reflecting the variations in their levels in different ecosystems at postmonsoon season. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exposure of coastal ecosystems to river plume spreading across a near-equatorial continental shelf

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tarya, A.; Hoitink, A. J. F.; Vegt, M. Van der; van Katwijk, M. M.; Hoeksema, B. W.; Bouma, T. J.; Lamers, L. P. M.; Christianen, M. J. A.

2018-02-01

The Berau Continental Shelf (BCS) in East Kalimantan, Indonesia, harbours various tropical marine ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. These ecosystem are located partly within reach of the Berau River plume, which may affect ecosystem health through exposure to land-derived sediments, nutrients and pollutants carried by the plume. This study aims (1) to assess the exposure risk of the BCS coastal ecosystems to river plume water, measured as exposure time to three different salinity levels, (2) to identify the relationships between these salinity levels and the abundance and diversity of coral and seagrass ecosystems, and (3) to determine a suitable indicator for the impacts of salinity on coral reef and seagrass health. We analysed hydrodynamic models, classified salinity levels, and quantified the correlations between the salinity model parameters and ecological metrics for the BCS systems. An Empirical Orthogonal Functions (EOF) analysis revealed three modes of river plume dispersal patterns, which strongly reflect monsoon seasonality. The first mode, explaining 39% of the variability, was associated with the southward movement of the plume due to northerly winds, while the second and third modes (explaining 29% and 26% of the variability, respectively) were associated with the northeastward migration of the plume related to southwesterly and southerly winds. Exposure to low salinity showed higher correlations with biological indicators than mean salinity, indicating that low salinity is a more suitable indicator for coastal ecosystem health. Significant correlations (R2) were found between exposure time to low salinity (days with salinity values below 25 PSU) with coral cover, coral species richness, seagrass cover, the number of seagrass species, seagrass leaf phosphorus, nitrogen, C:N ratio and iron content. By comparing the correlation coefficients and the slopes of the regression lines, our study suggests that coral reefs are

Tidal effects on aquifer thermal regime: An analytical solution for coastal ecosystem management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niroshana Gunawardhana, Luminda; Kazama, So

2009-10-01

SummaryAn analytical model was developed to estimate the groundwater temperature change in the transition zone (intermediate zone between seawater and fresh groundwater) due to seawater and fresh groundwater temperature change in coastal aquifers. A set of type curves was developed in such a way that the curves account for the advection effect of groundwater flow and can be applied under different aquifer and tidal conditions to estimate the resulting temperature distribution. The proposed method will be important in evaluating the long-term effects of urbanization and climate change on coastal ecosystems where limited observation wells are available. The practical applicability of the composed methodology was tested in the Sendai plain. Continuous 1-h water level (from April, 2005 to July, 2007) and temperature (from May, 2007 to February, 2008) observations were made at three aquifer depths in each observation well at four locations to examine the temporal and spatial variations. Time series analysis was performed to find the correlations of the tidal and groundwater level fluctuations. Results of the preliminary analysis and the time series analysis indicated that the groundwater level within 20 m depth from the ground surface is more sensitive to the recharge from precipitation, while the depths below 20 m are greatly influenced by the tidal fluctuations. Reasonably high cross correlation (0.74) was found in tides with water level fluctuations, and it was also noted that the tidal effect on groundwater level fluctuation and temperature distribution significantly decays as the distance from the coast increases. The simulated temperature distribution from the proposed analytical solution shows good agreement with the observed temperature records. Among the hydrogeologic parameters, hydraulic conductivity has a robust influence in determining the pattern of temperature distribution within the sea water and fresh groundwater boundaries. Verified results in the

Airborne Mission Concept for Coastal Ocean Color and Ecosystems Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guild, Liane S.; Hooker, Stanford B.; Morrow, John H.; Kudela, Raphael M.; Palacios, Sherry L.; Torres Perez, Juan L.; Hayashi, Kendra; Dunagan, Stephen E.

2016-01-01

NASA airborne missions in 2011 and 2013 over Monterey Bay, CA, demonstrated novel above- and in-water calibration and validation measurements supporting a combined airborne sensor approach (imaging spectrometer, microradiometers, and a sun photometer). The resultant airborne data characterize contemporaneous coastal atmospheric and aquatic properties plus sea-truth observations from state-of-the-art instrument systems spanning a next-generation spectral domain (320-875 nm). This airborne instrument suite for calibration, validation, and research flew at the lowest safe altitude (ca. 100 ft or 30 m) as well as higher altitudes (e.g., 6,000 ft or 1,800 m) above the sea surface covering a larger area in a single synoptic sortie than ship-based measurements at a few stations during the same sampling period. Data collection of coincident atmospheric and aquatic properties near the sea surface and at altitude allows the input of relevant variables into atmospheric correction schemes to improve the output of corrected imaging spectrometer data. Specific channels support legacy and next-generation satellite capabilities, and flights are planned to within 30 min of satellite overpass. This concept supports calibration and validation activities of ocean color phenomena (e.g., river plumes, algal blooms) and studies of water quality and coastal ecosystems. The 2011 COAST mission flew at 100 and 6,000 ft on a Twin Otter platform with flight plans accommodating the competing requirements of the sensor suite, which included the Coastal-Airborne In-situ Radiometers (C-AIR) for the first time. C-AIR (Biospherical Instruments Inc.) also flew in the 2013 OCEANIA mission at 100 and 1,000 ft on the Twin Otter below the California airborne simulation of the proposed NASA HyspIRI satellite system comprised of an imaging spectrometer and thermal infrared multispectral imager on the ER-2 at 65,000 ft (20,000 m). For both missions, the Compact-Optical Profiling System (Biospherical

Modeled Sea Level Rise Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems at Six Major Estuaries on Florida's Gulf Coast: Implications for Adaptation Planning.

PubMed

Geselbracht, Laura L; Freeman, Kathleen; Birch, Anne P; Brenner, Jorge; Gordon, Doria R

2015-01-01

The Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) was applied at six major estuaries along Florida's Gulf Coast (Pensacola Bay, St. Andrews/Choctawhatchee Bays, Apalachicola Bay, Southern Big Bend, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor) to provide quantitative and spatial information on how coastal ecosystems may change with sea level rise (SLR) and to identify how this information can be used to inform adaption planning. High resolution LiDAR-derived elevation data was utilized under three SLR scenarios: 0.7 m, 1 m and 2 m through the year 2100 and uncertainty analyses were conducted on selected input parameters at three sites. Results indicate that the extent, spatial orientation and relative composition of coastal ecosystems at the study areas may substantially change with SLR. Under the 1 m SLR scenario, total predicted impacts for all study areas indicate that coastal forest (-69,308 ha; -18%), undeveloped dry land (-28,444 ha; -2%) and tidal flat (-25,556 ha; -47%) will likely face the greatest loss in cover by the year 2100. The largest potential gains in cover were predicted for saltmarsh (+32,922 ha; +88%), transitional saltmarsh (+23,645 ha; na) and mangrove forest (+12,583 ha; +40%). The Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay study areas were predicted to experience the greatest net loss in coastal wetlands The uncertainty analyses revealed low to moderate changes in results when some numerical SLAMM input parameters were varied highlighting the value of collecting long-term sedimentation, accretion and erosion data to improve SLAMM precision. The changes predicted by SLAMM will affect exposure of adjacent human communities to coastal hazards and ecosystem functions potentially resulting in impacts to property values, infrastructure investment and insurance rates. The results and process presented here can be used as a guide for communities vulnerable to SLR to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies that slow and/or accommodate the changes underway.

Ecosystem Resilience and Threshold Response in the Galápagos Coastal Zone

PubMed Central

Seddon, Alistair W. R.; Froyd, Cynthia A.; Leng, Melanie J.; Milne, Glenn A.; Willis, Katherine J.

2011-01-01

Background The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a conservative estimate on rates of sea-level rise of 3.8 mm yr−1 at the end of the 21st century, which may have a detrimental effect on ecologically important mangrove ecosystems. Understanding factors influencing the long-term resilience of these communities is critical but poorly understood. We investigate ecological resilience in a coastal mangrove community from the Galápagos Islands over the last 2700 years using three research questions: What are the ‘fast and slow’ processes operating in the coastal zone? Is there evidence for a threshold response? How can the past inform us about the resilience of the modern system? Methodology/Principal Findings Palaeoecological methods (AMS radiocarbon dating, stable carbon isotopes (δ13C)) were used to reconstruct sedimentation rates and ecological change over the past 2,700 years at Diablas lagoon, Isabela, Galápagos. Bulk geochemical analysis was also used to determine local environmental changes, and salinity was reconstructed using a diatom transfer function. Changes in relative sea level (RSL) were estimated using a glacio-isostatic adjustment model. Non-linear behaviour was observed in the Diablas mangrove ecosystem as it responded to increased salinities following exposure to tidal inundations. A negative feedback was observed which enabled the mangrove canopy to accrete vertically, but disturbances may have opened up the canopy and contributed to an erosion of resilience over time. A combination of drier climatic conditions and a slight fall in RSL then resulted in a threshold response, from a mangrove community to a microbial mat. Conclusions/Significance Palaeoecological records can provide important information on the nature of non-linear behaviour by identifying thresholds within ecological systems, and in outlining responses to ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ environmental change between alternative stable states. This study

Nutrient dynamics in tropical rivers, lagoons, and coastal ecosystems of eastern Hainan Island, South China Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, R. H.; Liu, S. M.; Li, Y. W.; Zhang, G. L.; Ren, J. L.; Zhang, J.

2014-01-01

Nutrient dynamics based on field observations made along the eastern Hainan Island during the period 2006-2009 were investigated to understand nutrient biogeochemical processes, and to provide an overview of human perturbations of coastal ecosystems in this tropical region. The rivers showed seasonal variations in nutrient concentrations, with enrichment of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and dissolved silicate, and depletion of PO43-. High riverine concentrations of nitrate mainly originated from agricultural fertilizer inputs. The DIN : PO43- ratios ranged from 37 to 1063, suggesting preferential depletion of PO43- relative to nitrogen in rivers. Chemical weathering in the drainage area might explain the high levels of dissolved silicate. Aquaculture ponds contained high concentrations of NH4+ and dissolved organic nitrogen. The particulate phosphorus concentrations in the study area were lower than those reported for estuaries worldwide. The particulate silicate levels in rivers and lagoons were lower than the global average level. Nutrient biogeochemistry in coastal areas was affected by human activities (e.g., aquaculture, agriculture), and by natural phenomena including typhoons. The nutrient concentrations in coastal waters were low because of dispersion of land-derived nutrients in the sea. Nutrient budgets were built based on a steady-state box model, which showed that riverine fluxes are magnified by estuarine processes (e.g., regeneration, desorption) in estuaries and Laoyehai Lagoon, but not in Xiaohai Lagoon. Riverine and groundwater inputs were the major sources of nutrients to Xiaohai and Laoyehai lagoons, respectively, and riverine inputs and aquaculture effluents were the major sources for the eastern coast of Hainan Island. Nutrient inputs to the coastal ecosystem increased with typhoon-induced runoff of rainwater, elucidating the important influence of typhoons on small tropical rivers.

Isolation and genetic characterization of avian influenza viruses isolated from wild birds in the Azov-Black Sea Region of Ukraine (2001–2012)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Wild bird surveillance for avian influenza virus (AIV) was conducted from 2001 to 2012 in the Azov - Black Sea region of the Ukraine, considered part of the transcontinental wild bird migration routes from northern Asia and Europe to the Mediterranean, Africa, and southwest Asia. A total of 6281 sam...

Introduction to the special issue on “Understanding and predicting change in the coastal ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico”

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, John C.; Barras, John A.; Williams, S. Jeffress

2013-01-01

The coastal region of the northern Gulf of Mexico owes its current landscape structure to an array of tectonic, erosional and depositional, climatic, geochemical, hydrological, ecological, and human processes that have resulted in some of the world's most complex, dynamic, productive, and threatened ecosystems. Catastrophic hurricane landfalls, ongoing subsidence and erosion exacerbated by sea-level rise, disintegration of barrier island chains, and high rates of wetland loss have called attention to the vulnerability of northern Gulf coast ecosystems, habitats, built infrastructure, and economy to natural and anthropogenic threats. The devastating hurricanes of 2005 (Katrina and Rita) motivated the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program and partnering researchers to pursue studies aimed at understanding and predicting landscape change and the associated storm hazard vulnerability of northern Gulf coast region ecosystems and human communities. Attaining this science goal requires increased knowledge of landscape evolution on geologic, historical, and human time scales, and analysis of the implications of such changes in the natural and built components of the landscape for hurricane impact susceptibility. This Special Issue of the Journal of Coastal Research communicates northern Gulf of Mexico research results that (1) improve knowledge of prior climates and depositional environments, (2) assess broad regional ecosystem structure and change over Holocene to human time scales, (3) undertake process studies and change analyses of dynamic landscape components, and (4) integrate framework, climate, variable time and spatial scale mapping, monitoring, and discipline-specific process investigations within interdisciplinary studies.

Primary producers may ameliorate impacts of daytime CO2 addition in a coastal marine ecosystem

PubMed Central

Silbiger, Nyssa J.; Bernatchez, Genevieve; Sorte, Cascade J.B.

2018-01-01

Predicting the impacts of ocean acidification in coastal habitats is complicated by bio-physical feedbacks between organisms and carbonate chemistry. Daily changes in pH and other carbonate parameters in coastal ecosystems, associated with processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, often greatly exceed global mean predicted changes over the next century. We assessed the strength of these feedbacks under projected elevated CO2 levels by conducting a field experiment in 10 macrophyte-dominated tide pools on the coast of California, USA. We evaluated changes in carbonate parameters over time and found that under ambient conditions, daytime changes in pH, pCO2, net ecosystem calcification (NEC), and O2 concentrations were strongly related to rates of net community production (NCP). CO2 was added to pools during daytime low tides, which should have reduced pH and enhanced pCO2. However, photosynthesis rapidly reduced pCO2 and increased pH, so effects of CO2 addition were not apparent unless we accounted for seaweed and surfgrass abundances. In the absence of macrophytes, CO2 addition caused pH to decline by ∼0.6 units and pCO2 to increase by ∼487 µatm over 6 hr during the daytime low tide. As macrophyte abundances increased, the impacts of CO2 addition declined because more CO2 was absorbed due to photosynthesis. Effects of CO2addition were, therefore, modified by feedbacks between NCP, pH, pCO2, and NEC. Our results underscore the potential importance of coastal macrophytes in ameliorating impacts of ocean acidification. PMID:29761055

Primary producers may ameliorate impacts of daytime CO2 addition in a coastal marine ecosystem.

PubMed

Bracken, Matthew E S; Silbiger, Nyssa J; Bernatchez, Genevieve; Sorte, Cascade J B

2018-01-01

Predicting the impacts of ocean acidification in coastal habitats is complicated by bio-physical feedbacks between organisms and carbonate chemistry. Daily changes in pH and other carbonate parameters in coastal ecosystems, associated with processes such as photosynthesis and respiration, often greatly exceed global mean predicted changes over the next century. We assessed the strength of these feedbacks under projected elevated CO 2 levels by conducting a field experiment in 10 macrophyte-dominated tide pools on the coast of California, USA. We evaluated changes in carbonate parameters over time and found that under ambient conditions, daytime changes in pH, p CO 2 , net ecosystem calcification ( NEC ), and O 2 concentrations were strongly related to rates of net community production ( NCP ). CO 2 was added to pools during daytime low tides, which should have reduced pH and enhanced p CO 2 . However, photosynthesis rapidly reduced p CO 2 and increased pH, so effects of CO 2 addition were not apparent unless we accounted for seaweed and surfgrass abundances. In the absence of macrophytes, CO 2 addition caused pH to decline by ∼0.6 units and p CO 2 to increase by ∼487 µatm over 6 hr during the daytime low tide. As macrophyte abundances increased, the impacts of CO 2 addition declined because more CO 2 was absorbed due to photosynthesis. Effects of CO 2 addition were, therefore, modified by feedbacks between NCP , pH, p CO 2 , and NEC . Our results underscore the potential importance of coastal macrophytes in ameliorating impacts of ocean acidification.

The effects of spilled oil on coastal ecosystems: Lessons from the Exxon Valdez spill: Chapter 11

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bodkin, James L.; Esler, Daniel N.; Rice, Stanley D.; Matkin, Craig O.; Ballachey, Brenda E.; Maslo, Brooke; Lockwood, Julie L.

2014-01-01

Oil spilled from ships or other sources into the marine environment often occurs in close proximity to coastlines, and oil frequently accumulates in coastal habitats. As a consequence, a rich, albeit occasionally controversial, body of literature describes a broad range of effects of spilled oil across several habitats, communities, and species in coastal environments. This statement is not to imply that spilled oil has less of an effect in pelagic marine ecosystems, but rather that marine spills occurring offshore may be less likely to be detected, and associated effects are more difficult to monitor, evaluate, and quantify (Peterson et al., 2012). As a result, we have a much greater awareness of coastal pollution, which speaks to our need to improve our capacities in understanding the ecology of the open oceans. Conservation of coastal ecosystems and assessment of risks associated with oil spills can be facilitated through a better understanding of processes leading to direct and indirect responses of species and systems to oil exposure.It is also important to recognize that oil spilled from ships represents only ~9% of the nearly 700 000 barrels of petroleum that enter waters of North America annually from anthropogenic sources (NRC, 2003). The immediate effects of large spills can be defined as acute, due to the obvious and dramatic effects that are observed. In contrast, the remaining 625 000 barrels that are released each year can be thought of as chronic non-point pollution, resulting from oil entering the coastal ocean as runoff in a more consistent but much less conspicuous rate. In this chapter, we primarily address the effects of large oil spills that occur near coastlines and consider their potential for both acute and chronic effects on coastal communities. As described below, in some instances, the effects from chronic exposure may meet or exceed the more evident acute effects from large spills. Consequently, although quantifying chronic effects

Contribution of Cultural Ecosystem Services to Natural Capital in the coastal area of Civitavecchia (Latium, Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcelli, Marco; Madonia, Alice; Tofani, Anna; Molino, Chiara; Manfredi Frattarelli, Francesco

2017-04-01

Natural Capital evaluation is emerging as a fundamental tool to support the management of natural resources. Indeed, the achievement of the compatibility among their multiple uses, often in conflict in coastal areas, is a priority to avoid the increasing undesirable effects which threat both ecosystems and human health and well-being. It represents the scientific basis for actions needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of those systems and their contribution to human well-being. Furthermore the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (called by Kofi Annan in 2000), assessed the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being, and in particular, the analysis method has been centered on the linkages between "ecosystem services" and human well-being. This "Ecosystem Approach" allows to evaluate the consequences of ecosystems changes on human well-being through the assessment of the Ecosystem Services (ES), which are defined as "the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems". These include provisioning services (food, water, timber, etc.), regulating services (climate, floods, disease, etc.); cultural services (recreational, aesthetic and spiritual benefits) and supporting services (soil formation, photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, etc.) Also the reference guidelines for European Environmental Policy (Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56 / EC - MSFD; Maritime Spatial Planning Directive 2014/89 / EC - MSP) are based on the principle of the Ecosystem Approach to define the monitoring criteria of marine and maritime space management ecosystems. The assessment of ES provided by Natural Capital cannot overlook the integration of ecological data with economic and socio-cultural ones, since they are considered as the direct and indirect contributions to human well-being provided by ecosystems. Cultural Ecosystem Services (CES), often omitted in the cost-benefit impact studies, has been receiving increasing interest from the scientific community in order

Changes of Ecosystem Service Value in a Coastal Zone of Zhejiang Province, China, during Rapid Urbanization.

PubMed

Cao, Luodan; Li, Jialin; Ye, Mengyao; Pu, Ruiliang; Liu, Yongchao; Guo, Qiandong; Feng, Baixiang; Song, Xiayun

2018-06-21

Gains and losses in ecosystem service values (ESV) in coastal zones in Zhejiang Province during rapid urbanization were analyzed in terms of land-use changes. Decision-making on coastal development based on ESV estimation is significant for the sustainable utilization of coastal resource. In this study, coastal land-use changes in Zhejiang Province during rapid urbanization were discussed based on remote-sensing derived land-use maps created in the years 1990, 2000 and 2010. The ESV changes in coastal zones in Zhejiang Province from 1990 to 2010 were estimated by using the established ESV estimation model. The analysis results demonstrate the following: (1) with the continuous acceleration of urbanization, land-use types in coastal zones in Zhejiang Province changed significantly from 1990 to 2010, demonstrated by considerable growth of urban construction land and reduction of forest land and farmland; (2) in the study period, the total ESV in coastal zones in Zhejiang Province continuously decreased in value from RMB 35.278 billion to 29.964 billion, a reduction of 15.06%; (3) in terms of the spatial distribution of ESV, the ESVs in coastal zones in Zhejiang Province were generally converted from a higher ESV to a lower ESV; (4) estimates of ESV for the three years 1990, 2000 and 2010 appear to be relatively stable; and (5) land-use intensity in coastal zones in Zhejiang Province continuously increased during the 20 years. The spatial distribution of land-use intensity was consistent with that of the ESV change rate. Disordered land-use changes from forestland and farmland to urban construction land was a major cause of ESV loss.

Stable Isotope Evidence of Variation in Nitrogen Fixation by Cyanobacteria in Coastal Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paul, V.; Clementz, M.

2006-12-01

Increased nutrient loading via both natural and anthropogenic factors has been reported as one possible mechanism for the recent increase in the occurrence and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HAB) in coastal ecosystems. Influx of iron, phosphorous, and organic carbon have proven to be significant stimulating factors for HAB, since the benthic cyanobacteria that often make up these blooms are capable of nitrogen-fixation and require these nutrients for this process as well as photosynthesis. These cyanobacteria can switch to direct uptake of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), however, when concentrations are high enough to energetically favor this source, suggesting that high nitrogen input may also stimulate HAB. Given the distinct isotope differences between atmospheric N2 (0‰) and anthropogenic sources of DIN (>6‰), measurement of the δ15N composition of cyanobacteria can provide a means of gauging the relative significance of anthropogenic versus atmospheric nitrogen to the growth of these blooms. Likewise, the δ13C composition of these primary producers is controlled by the δ13C composition of the DIC, and can be a second tracer of anthropogenic influx into marine ecosystems. A combined approach using both isotope tracers was employed to determine the significance of anthropogenic nitrogen on HAB in subtropical/tropical coastal marine ecosystems. Samples of cyanobacteria and associated macroalgae were collected from three coastal sites in Guam (Facpi Point, Tanguisson, and Ypao Beach), one locality in Hawaii, and three sites in southern Florida (Pepper Park, Fort Lauderdale, Florida Keys). Following removal of marine carbonates via an acid rinse, the δ13C and δ15N values were determined for each species. Cyanobacterial δ15N values ranged from -2.3‰ to 7.7‰ with the highest values reported from sites in Guam. Only cyanobacteria sampled from Hawaii showed no isotope evidence of an anthropogenic source for nitrogen. A strong negative correlation

Marine Phytophthora species can hamper conservation and restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Govers, Laura L; Man In 't Veld, Willem A; Meffert, Johan P; Bouma, Tjeerd J; van Rijswick, Patricia C J; Heusinkveld, Jannes H T; Orth, Robert J; van Katwijk, Marieke M; van der Heide, Tjisse

2016-08-31

Phytophthora species are potent pathogens that can devastate terrestrial plants, causing billions of dollars of damage yearly to agricultural crops and harming fragile ecosystems worldwide. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the distribution and pathogenicity of their marine relatives. This is surprising, as marine plants form vital habitats in coastal zones worldwide (i.e. mangrove forests, salt marshes, seagrass beds), and disease may be an important bottleneck for the conservation and restoration of these rapidly declining ecosystems. We are the first to report on widespread infection of Phytophthora and Halophytophthora species on a common seagrass species, Zostera marina (eelgrass), across the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean. In addition, we tested the effects of Halophytophthora sp. Zostera and Phytophthora gemini on Z. marina seed germination in a full-factorial laboratory experiment under various environmental conditions. Results suggest that Phytophthora species are widespread as we found these oomycetes in eelgrass beds in six countries across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Infection by Halophytophthora sp. Zostera, P. gemini, or both, strongly affected sexual reproduction by reducing seed germination sixfold. Our findings have important implications for seagrass ecology, because these putative pathogens probably negatively affect ecosystem functioning, as well as current restoration and conservation efforts. © 2016 The Author(s).

Marine Phytophthora species can hamper conservation and restoration of vegetated coastal ecosystems

PubMed Central

Man in ‘t Veld, Willem A.; Meffert, Johan P.; Bouma, Tjeerd J.; van Rijswick, Patricia C. J.; Heusinkveld, Jannes H. T.; Orth, Robert J.; van Katwijk, Marieke M.; van der Heide, Tjisse

2016-01-01

Phytophthora species are potent pathogens that can devastate terrestrial plants, causing billions of dollars of damage yearly to agricultural crops and harming fragile ecosystems worldwide. Yet, virtually nothing is known about the distribution and pathogenicity of their marine relatives. This is surprising, as marine plants form vital habitats in coastal zones worldwide (i.e. mangrove forests, salt marshes, seagrass beds), and disease may be an important bottleneck for the conservation and restoration of these rapidly declining ecosystems. We are the first to report on widespread infection of Phytophthora and Halophytophthora species on a common seagrass species, Zostera marina (eelgrass), across the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean. In addition, we tested the effects of Halophytophthora sp. Zostera and Phytophthora gemini on Z. marina seed germination in a full-factorial laboratory experiment under various environmental conditions. Results suggest that Phytophthora species are widespread as we found these oomycetes in eelgrass beds in six countries across the North Atlantic and Mediterranean. Infection by Halophytophthora sp. Zostera, P. gemini, or both, strongly affected sexual reproduction by reducing seed germination sixfold. Our findings have important implications for seagrass ecology, because these putative pathogens probably negatively affect ecosystem functioning, as well as current restoration and conservation efforts. PMID:27559058

Effects of olive oil wastes on river basins and an oligotrophic coastal marine ecosystem: a case study in Greece.

PubMed

Pavlidou, A; Anastasopoulou, E; Dassenakis, Μ; Hatzianestis, I; Paraskevopoulou, V; Simboura, N; Rousselaki, E; Drakopoulou, P

2014-11-01

This work aims to contribute to the knowledge of the impacts of olive oil waste discharge to freshwater and oligotrophic marine environments, since the ecological impact of olive oil wastes in riverine and coastal marine ecosystems, which are the final repositories of the pollutants, is a great environmental problem on a global scale, mostly concerning all the Mediterranean countries with olive oil production. Messinia, in southwestern Greece, is one of the greatest olive oil production areas in Europe. During the last decade around 1.4×10(6)tons of olive oil mill wastewater has been disposed in the rivers of Messinia and finally entered the marine ecosystem of Messiniakos gulf. The pollution from olive oil mill wastewater in the main rivers of Messinia and the oligotrophic coastal zone of Messiniakos gulf and its effects on marine organisms were evaluated, before, during and after the olive oil production period. Elevated amounts of phenols (36.2-178 mg L(-1)) and high concentrations of ammonium (7.29-18.9 mmol L(-1)) and inorganic phosphorus (0.5-7.48 mmol L(-1)) were measured in small streams where the liquid disposals from several olive oil industries were gathered before their discharge in the major rivers of Messinia. The large number of olive oil units has downgraded the riverine and marine ecosystems during the productive period and a period more than five months is needed for the recovery of the ecosystem. Statistical analysis showed that the enrichment of freshwater and the coastal zone of Messiniakos gulf in ammonia, nitrite, phenols, total organic carbon, copper, manganese and nickel was directly correlated with the wastes from olive oil. Toxicity tests using 24h LC50 Palaemonidae shrimp confirm that olive mill wastewater possesses very high toxicity in the aquatic environment. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Numerical Analysis of Surge Phenomena, Currents, and Pollution Transport in the Sea of Azov

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ivanov, V. A.; Shul'ga, T. Ya.

2018-04-01

Dynamic processes and features of transformation of pollution in the Sea of Azov, caused by the action of a real wind and atmospheric pressure in the presence of stationary currents, are studied using a three-dimensional nonlinear hydrodynamic model. On the basis of numerical calculations, conclusions are reached about the influence of the velocities of stationary background currents on maximal deviations and the velocities of nonstationary currents generated by wind fields in the SKIRON model. It is shown that the combined effect of the constant wind and wind in the SKIRON atmospheric model leads to a significant expansion of the polluted area and to a longer dispersion time compared to the effects of solely stationary currents.

New insights into impacts of anthropogenic nutrients on urban ecosystem processes on the Southern California coastal shelf: Introduction and synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, Meredith D. A.; Kudela, Raphael M.; McLaughlin, Karen

2017-02-01

Anthropogenic nutrient inputs are one of the most important factors contributing to eutrophication of coastal waters. Coastal upwelling regions are naturally highly variable, exhibiting faster flushing and lower retention times than estuarine systems. As such, these regions are considered more resilient to anthropogenic influences than other coastal waters. Recent studies have shown our perception of the sustainability of these systems may be flawed and that anthropogenic nutrients can have an impact at local and regional spatial scales within these larger upwelling ecosystems. Maintenance of an outfall pipe discharging wastewater effluent to the Southern California Bight (SCB) provided an opportunity to study effects of anthropogenic nutrient inputs on a near-shore coastal ecosystem. The diversion of wastewater effluent from a primary, offshore outfall to a secondary, near-shore outfall set up a large-scale, in situ experiment allowing researchers to track the fate of wastewater plumes as they were "turned off" in one area and "turned on" in another. In this introduction to a special issue, we synthesize results of one such wastewater diversion conducted by the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) during fall 2012. Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) from point-source discharges altered biogeochemical cycling and the community composition of bacteria and phytoplankton. Nitrification of ammonium to nitrate in wastewater effluent close to outfalls constituted a significant source of N utilized by the biological community that should be considered in quantifying "new" production. The microbial-loop component of the plankton community played a significant role, exemplified by a large response of heterotrophic bacteria to wastewater effluent that resulted in nutrient immobilization within the bacterial food web. This response, combined with the photosynthetic inhibition of phytoplankton due to disinfection byproducts, suppressed phytoplankton responses. Our findings have

Shifting paradigms in coastal restoration: Six decades' lessons from China.

PubMed

Liu, Zezheng; Cui, Baoshan; He, Qiang

2016-10-01

With accelerating degradation of coastal environment worldwide, restoration has been elevated as a global strategy to enhance the functioning and social services of coastal ecosystems. While many developing countries suffer from intense coastal degradation, current understanding of the science and practice of their coastal restorations is extremely limited. Based on analysis of >1000 restoration projects, we provide the first synthesis of China's coastal restorations. We show that China's coastal restoration has recently entered a rapidly developing stage, with an increasing number of restoration projects carried out in multiple types of coastal ecosystems. While long-term, national-level restorations enforced by the government appear promising for some coastal ecosystems, especially mangroves, restorations of many other coastal ecosystems, such as salt marshes, seagrasses and coral reefs, have been much less implemented, likely due to under-appreciation of their ecosystem services values. Furthermore, the planning, techniques, research/assessment, and participation models underlying current restorations remain largely inadequate for restoration to effectively halt rapid coastal degradation. To promote success, we propose a framework where paradigms in current restorations from planning to implementation and assessment are transformed in multiple ways. Our study has broad implications for coastal environmental management policies and practices, and should inform sustainable development of coupled human-ocean systems in many countries. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nutrient dynamics in tropical rivers, estuarine-lagoons, and coastal ecosystems along the eastern Hainan Island

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, R. H.; Liu, S. M.; Li, Y. W.; Zhang, G. L.; Ren, J. L.; Zhang, J.

2013-06-01

Nutrient dynamics were studied along the eastern Hainan Island based on field observations during 2006-2009, to understand nutrient biogeochemical processes and to have an overview of human perturbations on coastal ecosystems in this tropical region. The concentrations of nutrients in the rivers had seasonal variations enriched with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN). High riverine concentrations of nitrate were mainly originated from agricultural fertilizer input. The ratios of DIN : PO43- ranged from 37 to 1063, suggesting preferential PO43- relative to nitrogen in the rivers. The areal yields of dissolved silicate (DSi) varied from 76 to 448 × 103 mol km-2 yr-1 due to erosion over the drainage area, inducing high levels of DSi among worldwide tropical systems. Aquaculture ponds contained high concentrations of NH4+ (up to 157 μM) and DON (up to 130 μM). Particulate phosphorus concentrations (0.5 ∼1.4 μM) were in lower level comparied with estuaries around the world. Particulate silicate levels in rivers and lagoons were lower than global average level. Nutrient biogeochemistry in coastal areas were affected by human activities (e.g. aquaculture, agriculture), as well as natural events such as typhoon. Nutrient concentrations were low because open sea water dispersed land-derived nutrients. Nutrient budgets were built based on a steady-state box model, which showed that riverine fluxes would be magnified by estuarine processes (e.g. regeneration, desorption) in the Wenchanghe/Wenjiaohe Estuary, Wanquan River estuary, and the Laoyehai Lagoon except in the Xiaohai Lagoon. Riverine and groundwater input were the major sources of nutrients to the Xiaohai Lagoon and the Laiyehai Lagoon, respectively. Riverine input and aquaculture effluent were the major sources of nutrients to the eastern coastal of Hainan Island. Nutrient inputs to the coastal ecosystem can be increased by typhoon-induced runoff of rainwater, and phytoplankton bloom in the sea would be

Evaluating Satellite and Supercomputing Technologies for Improved Coastal Ecosystem Assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCarthy, Matthew James

Water quality and wetlands represent two vital elements of a healthy coastal ecosystem. Both experienced substantial declines in the U.S. during the 20th century. Overall coastal wetland cover decreased over 50% in the 20th century due to coastal development and water pollution. Management and legislative efforts have successfully addressed some of the problems and threats, but recent research indicates that the diffuse impacts of climate change and non-point source pollution may be the primary drivers of current and future water-quality and wetland stress. In order to respond to these pervasive threats, traditional management approaches need to adopt modern technological tools for more synoptic, frequent and fine-scale monitoring and assessment. In this dissertation, I explored some of the applications possible with new, commercial satellite imagery to better assess the status of coastal ecosystems. Large-scale land-cover change influences the quality of adjacent coastal water. Satellite imagery has been used to derive land-cover maps since the 1960's. It provides multiple data points with which to evaluate the effects of land-cover change on water quality. The objective of the first chapter of this research was to determine how 40 years of land-cover change in the Tampa Bay watershed (6,500 km2) may have affected turbidity and chlorophyll concentration - two proxies for coastal water quality. Land cover classes were evaluated along with precipitation and wind stress as explanatory variables. Results varied between analyses for the entire estuary and those of segments within the bay. Changes in developed land percent cover best explained the turbidity and chlorophyll-concentration time series for the entire bay (R2 > 0.75, p < 0.02). The paucity of official land-cover maps (i.e. five maps) restricted the temporal resolution of the assessments. Furthermore, most estuaries along the Gulf of Mexico do not have forty years of water-quality time series with which to

Coastal eutrophication as a driver of salt marsh loss.

PubMed

Deegan, Linda A; Johnson, David Samuel; Warren, R Scott; Peterson, Bruce J; Fleeger, John W; Fagherazzi, Sergio; Wollheim, Wilfred M

2012-10-18

Salt marshes are highly productive coastal wetlands that provide important ecosystem services such as storm protection for coastal cities, nutrient removal and carbon sequestration. Despite protective measures, however, worldwide losses of these ecosystems have accelerated in recent decades. Here we present data from a nine-year whole-ecosystem nutrient-enrichment experiment. Our study demonstrates that nutrient enrichment, a global problem for coastal ecosystems, can be a driver of salt marsh loss. We show that nutrient levels commonly associated with coastal eutrophication increased above-ground leaf biomass, decreased the dense, below-ground biomass of bank-stabilizing roots, and increased microbial decomposition of organic matter. Alterations in these key ecosystem properties reduced geomorphic stability, resulting in creek-bank collapse with significant areas of creek-bank marsh converted to unvegetated mud. This pattern of marsh loss parallels observations for anthropogenically nutrient-enriched marshes worldwide, with creek-edge and bay-edge marsh evolving into mudflats and wider creeks. Our work suggests that current nutrient loading rates to many coastal ecosystems have overwhelmed the capacity of marshes to remove nitrogen without deleterious effects. Projected increases in nitrogen flux to the coast, related to increased fertilizer use required to feed an expanding human population, may rapidly result in a coastal landscape with less marsh, which would reduce the capacity of coastal regions to provide important ecological and economic services.

ROBUST: The ROle of BUffering capacities in STabilising coastal lagoon ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Wit, Rutger; Stal, Lucas J.; Lomstein, Bente Aa.; Herbert, Rodney A.; van Gemerden, Hans; Viaroli, Pierluigi; Cecherelli, Victor-Ugo; Rodríguez-Valera, Francisco; Bartoli, Marco; Giordani, Gianmarco; Azzoni, Roberta; Schaub, Bart; Welsh, David T.; Donnelly, Andrew; Cifuentes, Ana; Antón, Josefa; Finster, Kai; Nielsen, Lise B.; Pedersen, Anne-Grethe Underlien; Neubauer, Anne Turi; Colangelo, Marina A.; Heijs, Sander K.

2001-12-01

"Buffer capacities" has been defined in ecology as a holistic concept (e.g., Integration of Ecosystem Theories: A Pattern, second ed. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 1997, 388pp), but we show that it can also be worked out in mechanistic studies. Our mechanistic approach highlights that "buffering capacities" can be depleted progressively, and, therefore, we make a distinction between current and potential "buffering capacities". We have applied this concept to understand the limited "local stability" in seagrass ecosystems and their vulnerability towards structural changes into macro-algal dominated communities. We explored the following processes and studied how they confer buffering capacities to the seagrass ecosystem: (i) net autotrophy is persistent in Zostera noltii meadows where plant assimilation acts as a sink for nutrients, this contrasted with the Ulva system that shifted back and forth between net autotrophy and net heterotrophy; (ii) the Z. noltii ecosystem possesses a certain albeit rather limited capacity to modify the balance between nitrogen fixation and denitrification, i.e., it was found that in situ nitrogen fixation always exceeded denitrification; (iii) the nitrogen demand of organoheterotrophic bacteria in the sediment results in nitrogen retention of N in the sediment and hence a buffer against release of nitrogen compounds from sediments, (iv) habitat diversification in seagrass meadows provides shelter for meiofauna and hence buffering against adverse conditions, (v) sedimentary iron provides a buffer against noxious sulfide (note: bacterial sulfide production is enhanced in anoxic sediment niches by increased organic matter loading). On the other hand, in the coastal system we studied, sedimentary iron appears less important as a redox-coupled buffer system against phosphate loading. This is because most inorganic phosphate is bound to calcium rather than to iron. In addition, our studies have highlighted the importance of plant-microbe interactions

Longleaf Pine Ecosystem Restoration: The Role of Fire

Treesearch

James P. Barnett

1999-01-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus pulustris Mill.) ecosystems once occupied over 36 million hectares in the southeastern United States lower coastal plain. These fire-dependent ecosystems dominated a wide range of coastal plain sites, including dry uplands and low, wet flatlands. Today, less than 1.3 million hectares remain, but these ecosystems represent...

Modeled Sea Level Rise Impacts on Coastal Ecosystems at Six Major Estuaries on Florida’s Gulf Coast: Implications for Adaptation Planning

PubMed Central

Birch, Anne P.; Brenner, Jorge; Gordon, Doria R.

2015-01-01

The Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model (SLAMM) was applied at six major estuaries along Florida’s Gulf Coast (Pensacola Bay, St. Andrews/Choctawhatchee Bays, Apalachicola Bay, Southern Big Bend, Tampa Bay and Charlotte Harbor) to provide quantitative and spatial information on how coastal ecosystems may change with sea level rise (SLR) and to identify how this information can be used to inform adaption planning. High resolution LiDAR-derived elevation data was utilized under three SLR scenarios: 0.7 m, 1 m and 2 m through the year 2100 and uncertainty analyses were conducted on selected input parameters at three sites. Results indicate that the extent, spatial orientation and relative composition of coastal ecosystems at the study areas may substantially change with SLR. Under the 1 m SLR scenario, total predicted impacts for all study areas indicate that coastal forest (-69,308 ha; -18%), undeveloped dry land (-28,444 ha; -2%) and tidal flat (-25,556 ha; -47%) will likely face the greatest loss in cover by the year 2100. The largest potential gains in cover were predicted for saltmarsh (+32,922 ha; +88%), transitional saltmarsh (+23,645 ha; na) and mangrove forest (+12,583 ha; +40%). The Charlotte Harbor and Tampa Bay study areas were predicted to experience the greatest net loss in coastal wetlands The uncertainty analyses revealed low to moderate changes in results when some numerical SLAMM input parameters were varied highlighting the value of collecting long-term sedimentation, accretion and erosion data to improve SLAMM precision. The changes predicted by SLAMM will affect exposure of adjacent human communities to coastal hazards and ecosystem functions potentially resulting in impacts to property values, infrastructure investment and insurance rates. The results and process presented here can be used as a guide for communities vulnerable to SLR to identify and prioritize adaptation strategies that slow and/or accommodate the changes underway. PMID:26207914

Light-stress avoidance mechanisms in a Sphagnum-dominated wet coastal Arctic tundra ecosystem in Alaska.

PubMed

Zona, D; Oechel, Walter C; Richards, James H; Hastings, Steven; Kopetz, Irene; Ikawa, Hiroki; Oberbauer, Steven

2011-03-01

The Arctic experiences a high-radiation environment in the summer with 24-hour daylight for more than two months. Damage to plants and ecosystem metabolism can be muted by overcast conditions common in much of the Arctic. However, with climate change, extreme dry years and clearer skies could lead to the risk of increased photoxidation and photoinhibition in Arctic primary producers. Mosses, which often exceed the NPP of vascular plants in Arctic areas, are often understudied. As a result, the effect of specific environmental factors, including light, on these growth forms is poorly understood. Here, we investigated net ecosystem exchange (NEE) at the ecosystem scale, net Sphagnum CO2 exchange (NSE), and photoinhibition to better understand the impact of light on carbon exchange from a moss-dominated coastal tundra ecosystem during the summer season 2006. Sphagnum photosynthesis showed photoinhibition early in the season coupled with low ecosystem NEE. However, later in the season, Sphagnum maintained a significant CO2 uptake, probably for the development of subsurface moss layers protected from strong radiation. We suggest that the compact canopy structure of Sphagnum reduces light penetration to the subsurface layers of the moss mat and thereby protects the active photosynthetic tissues from damage. This stress avoidance mechanism allowed Sphagnum to constitute a significant percentage (up to 60%) of the ecosystem net daytime CO2 uptake at the end of the growing season despite the high levels of radiation experienced.

Coral Reef and Coastal Ecosystems Decision Support Workshop April 27-29, 2010 Caribbean Coral Reef Institute, La Parguera, Puerto Rico

EPA Science Inventory

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Caribbean Coral Reef Institute (CCRI) hosted a Coral Reef and Coastal Ecosystems Decision Support Workshop on April 27-28, 2010 at the Caribbean Coral Reef Institute in La Parguera, Puerto Rico. Forty-three participants, includin...

Belowground dynamics in mangrove ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKee, Karen L.

2004-01-01

Mangrove ecosystems are tropical/subtropical communities of primarily tree species that grow in the intertidal zone. These tidal communities are important coastal ecosystems that are valued for a variety of ecological and societal goods and services (fig. 1). Mangrove wetlands are important filters of materials moving between the land and sea, trapping sediment, nutrients, and pollutants in runoff from uplands and preventing their direct introduction into sensitive marine ecosystems such as seagrass beds and coral reefs. Mangroves serve as nursery grounds and refuge for a variety of organisms and are consequently vital to the biological productivity of coastal waters. Furthermore, because mangroves are highly resilient to disturbances such as hurricanes, they represent a self-sustaining, protective barrier for human populations living in the coastal zone. Mangrove ecosystems also contribute to shoreline stabilization through consolidation of unstable mineral sediments and peat formation. In order to help conserve mangrove ecoystems, scientists with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) at the National Wetlands Research Center are working to more fully understand the dynamics that impact these vital ecosystems.

Ecomarkets for conservation and sustainable development in the coastal zone.

PubMed

Fujita, Rod; Lynham, John; Micheli, Fiorenza; Feinberg, Pasha G; Bourillón, Luis; Sáenz-Arroyo, Andrea; Markham, Alexander C

2013-05-01

Because conventional markets value only certain goods or services in the ocean (e.g. fish), other services provided by coastal and marine ecosystems that are not priced, paid for, or stewarded tend to become degraded. In fact, the very capacity of an ecosystem to produce a valued good or service is often reduced because conventional markets value only certain goods and services, rather than the productive capacity. Coastal socio-ecosystems are particularly susceptible to these market failures due to the lack of clear property rights, strong dependence on resource extraction, and other factors. Conservation strategies aimed at protecting unvalued coastal ecosystem services through regulation or spatial management (e.g. Marine Protected Areas) can be effective but often result in lost revenue and adverse social impacts, which, in turn, create conflict and opposition. Here, we describe 'ecomarkets' - markets and financial tools - that could, under the right conditions, generate value for broad portfolios of coastal ecosystem services while maintaining ecosystem structure and function by addressing the unique problems of the coastal zone, including the lack of clear management and exclusion rights. Just as coastal tenure and catch-share systems generate meaningful conservation and economic outcomes, it is possible to imagine other market mechanisms that do the same with respect to a variety of other coastal ecosystem goods and services. Rather than solely relying on extracting goods, these approaches could allow communities to diversify ecosystem uses and focus on long-term stewardship and conservation, while meeting development, food security, and human welfare goals. The creation of ecomarkets will be difficult in many cases, because rights and responsibilities must be devolved, new social contracts will be required, accountability systems must be created and enforced, and long-term patterns of behaviour must change. We argue that efforts to overcome these obstacles

Restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem: The role of fire

Treesearch

James P. Barnett

2002-01-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystems once occupied 90 million acres in the southern United States coastal plain. These firedependent ecosystems dominated a wide range of coastal plain sites, including dry uplands and low, wet flatlands. Today, less than 4 million acres remain, but these ecosystems represent significant components of the...

Oxygen: A Fundamental Property Regulating Pelagic Ecosystem Structure in the Coastal Southeastern Tropical Pacific

PubMed Central

Bertrand, Arnaud; Chaigneau, Alexis; Peraltilla, Salvador; Ledesma, Jesus; Graco, Michelle; Monetti, Florian; Chavez, Francisco P.

2011-01-01

Background In the southeastern tropical Pacific anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and sardine (Sardinops sagax) abundance have recently fluctuated on multidecadal scales and food and temperature have been proposed as the key parameters explaining these changes. However, ecological and paleoecological studies, and the fact that anchovies and sardines are favored differently in other regions, raise questions about the role of temperature. Here we investigate the role of oxygen in structuring fish populations in the Peruvian upwelling ecosystem that has evolved over anoxic conditions and is one of the world's most productive ecosystems in terms of forage fish. This study is particularly relevant given that the distribution of oxygen in the ocean is changing with uncertain consequences. Methodology/Principal Findings A comprehensive data set is used to show how oxygen concentration and oxycline depth affect the abundance and distribution of pelagic fish. We show that the effects of oxygen on anchovy and sardine are opposite. Anchovy flourishes under relatively low oxygen conditions while sardine avoid periods/areas with low oxygen concentration and restricted habitat. Oxygen consumption, trophic structure and habitat compression play a fundamental role in fish dynamics in this important ecosystem. Conclusions/Significance For the ocean off Peru we suggest that a key process, the need to breathe, has been neglected previously. Inclusion of this missing piece allows the development of a comprehensive conceptual model of pelagic fish populations and change in an ocean ecosystem impacted by low oxygen. Should current trends in oxygen in the ocean continue similar effects may be evident in other coastal upwelling ecosystems. PMID:22216315

Oxygen: a fundamental property regulating pelagic ecosystem structure in the coastal southeastern tropical Pacific.

PubMed

Bertrand, Arnaud; Chaigneau, Alexis; Peraltilla, Salvador; Ledesma, Jesus; Graco, Michelle; Monetti, Florian; Chavez, Francisco P

2011-01-01

In the southeastern tropical Pacific anchovy (Engraulis ringens) and sardine (Sardinops sagax) abundance have recently fluctuated on multidecadal scales and food and temperature have been proposed as the key parameters explaining these changes. However, ecological and paleoecological studies, and the fact that anchovies and sardines are favored differently in other regions, raise questions about the role of temperature. Here we investigate the role of oxygen in structuring fish populations in the Peruvian upwelling ecosystem that has evolved over anoxic conditions and is one of the world's most productive ecosystems in terms of forage fish. This study is particularly relevant given that the distribution of oxygen in the ocean is changing with uncertain consequences. A comprehensive data set is used to show how oxygen concentration and oxycline depth affect the abundance and distribution of pelagic fish. We show that the effects of oxygen on anchovy and sardine are opposite. Anchovy flourishes under relatively low oxygen conditions while sardine avoid periods/areas with low oxygen concentration and restricted habitat. Oxygen consumption, trophic structure and habitat compression play a fundamental role in fish dynamics in this important ecosystem. For the ocean off Peru we suggest that a key process, the need to breathe, has been neglected previously. Inclusion of this missing piece allows the development of a comprehensive conceptual model of pelagic fish populations and change in an ocean ecosystem impacted by low oxygen. Should current trends in oxygen in the ocean continue similar effects may be evident in other coastal upwelling ecosystems. © 2011 Bertrand et al.

Effects of near-future ocean acidification, fishing, and marine protection on a temperate coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

Cornwall, Christopher E; Eddy, Tyler D

2015-02-01

Understanding ecosystem responses to global and local anthropogenic impacts is paramount to predicting future ecosystem states. We used an ecosystem modeling approach to investigate the independent and cumulative effects of fishing, marine protection, and ocean acidification on a coastal ecosystem. To quantify the effects of ocean acidification at the ecosystem level, we used information from the peer-reviewed literature on the effects of ocean acidification. Using an Ecopath with Ecosim ecosystem model for the Wellington south coast, including the Taputeranga Marine Reserve (MR), New Zealand, we predicted ecosystem responses under 4 scenarios: ocean acidification + fishing; ocean acidification + MR (no fishing); no ocean acidification + fishing; no ocean acidification + MR for the year 2050. Fishing had a larger effect on trophic group biomasses and trophic structure than ocean acidification, whereas the effects of ocean acidification were only large in the absence of fishing. Mortality by fishing had large, negative effects on trophic group biomasses. These effects were similar regardless of the presence of ocean acidification. Ocean acidification was predicted to indirectly benefit certain species in the MR scenario. This was because lobster (Jasus edwardsii) only recovered to 58% of the MR biomass in the ocean acidification + MR scenario, a situation that benefited the trophic groups lobsters prey on. Most trophic groups responded antagonistically to the interactive effects of ocean acidification and marine protection (46%; reduced response); however, many groups responded synergistically (33%; amplified response). Conservation and fisheries management strategies need to account for the reduced recovery potential of some exploited species under ocean acidification, nonadditive interactions of multiple factors, and indirect responses of species to ocean acidification caused by declines in calcareous predators. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

Technogenic and natural radionuclides in the bottom sediments of the Sea of Azov: regularities of distribution and application to the study of pollutants accumulation chronology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, A. N.; Fedorov, Yu A.; Yaroslavtsev, V. M.

2018-01-01

The study of pollutants vertical distribution in seabed sediments is of high interest as they conserve the information on the chronology of pollution level in the past. In the present paper, the results of layer by layer study of Cs-137, Am-241, Pb-210 specific activities as well as concentrations of petroleum components, lead and mercury in 48 sediment cores of the Sea of Azov, the Don River and the Kuban River are examined. In most sediment cores, two peaks of Cs-137 and Am-241 are detected. The upper of them was formed due to the Chernobyl accident in 1986 and the other is related to the global nuclear fallout of 1960s. The specific activity of naturally occurring atmospheric Lead-210 decreases exponentially with the sediment core depth. However, it is influenced by fluvial run-off, coastal erosion, Radium-226 and Radon-222 decay. The data on the radionuclides distribution in the seabed sediments is used to date them. According to the results of dating, most of petroleum components, lead and mercury quantities are concentrated in the upper sediment layer formed in the last 50 to 70 years i.e. in the period of the most important anthropogenic pressure.

Interaction between Coastal and Oceanic Ecosystems of the Western and Central Pacific Ocean through Predator-Prey Relationship Studies

PubMed Central

Allain, Valerie; Fernandez, Emilie; Hoyle, Simon D.; Caillot, Sylvain; Jurado-Molina, Jesus; Andréfouët, Serge; Nicol, Simon J.

2012-01-01

The Western and Central Pacific Ocean sustains the highest tuna production in the world. This province is also characterized by many islands and a complex bathymetry that induces specific current circulation patterns with the potential to create a high degree of interaction between coastal and oceanic ecosystems. Based on a large dataset of oceanic predator stomach contents, our study used generalized linear models to explore the coastal-oceanic system interaction by analyzing predator-prey relationship. We show that reef organisms are a frequent prey of oceanic predators. Predator species such as albacore (Thunnus alalunga) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) frequently consume reef prey with higher probability of consumption closer to land and in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. For surface-caught-predators consuming reef prey, this prey type represents about one third of the diet of predators smaller than 50 cm. The proportion decreases with increasing fish size. For predators caught at depth and consuming reef prey, the proportion varies with predator species but generally represents less than 10%. The annual consumption of reef prey by the yellowfin tuna population was estimated at 0.8±0.40CV million tonnes or 2.17×1012±0.40CV individuals. This represents 6.1%±0.17CV in weight of their diet. Our analyses identify some of the patterns of coastal-oceanic ecosystem interactions at a large scale and provides an estimate of annual consumption of reef prey by oceanic predators. PMID:22615796

Our evolving conceptual model of the coastal eutrophication problem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cloern, James E.

2001-01-01

A primary focus of coastal science during the past 3 decades has been the question: How does anthropogenic nutrient enrichment cause change in the structure or function of nearshore coastal ecosystems? This theme of environmental science is recent, so our conceptual model of the coastal eutrophication problem continues to change rapidly. In this review, I suggest that the early (Phase I) conceptual model was strongly influenced by limnologists, who began intense study of lake eutrophication by the 1960s. The Phase I model emphasized changing nutrient input as a signal, and responses to that signal as increased phytoplankton biomass and primary production, decomposition of phytoplankton-derived organic matter, and enhanced depletion of oxygen from bottom waters. Coastal research in recent decades has identified key differences in the responses of lakes and coastal-estuarine ecosystems to nutrient enrichment. The contemporary (Phase II) conceptual model reflects those differences and includes explicit recognition of (1) system-specific attributes that act as a filter to modulate the responses to enrichment (leading to large differences among estuarine-coastal systems in their sensitivity to nutrient enrichment); and (2) a complex suite of direct and indirect responses including linked changes in: water transparency, distribution of vascular plants and biomass of macroalgae, sediment biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling, nutrient ratios and their regulation of phytoplankton community composition, frequency of toxic/harmful algal blooms, habitat quality for metazoans, reproduction/growth/survival of pelagic and benthic invertebrates, and subtle changes such as shifts in the seasonality of ecosystem functions. Each aspect of the Phase II model is illustrated here with examples from coastal ecosystems around the world. In the last section of this review I present one vision of the next (Phase III) stage in the evolution of our conceptual model, organized around 5

Satellite Observations of Coastal Processes from a Geostationary Orbit: Application to estuarine, coastal, and ocean resource management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tzortziou, M.; Mannino, A.; Schaeffer, B. A.

2016-02-01

Coastal areas are among the most vulnerable yet economically valuable ecosystems on Earth. Estuaries and coastal oceans are critically important as essential habitat for marine life, as highly productive ecosystems and a rich source of food for human consumption, as a strong economic driver for coastal communities, and as a highly dynamic interface between land and ocean carbon and nutrient cycles. Still, our present capabilities to remotely observe coastal ocean processes from space are limited in their temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution. These limitations, in turn, constrain our ability to observe and understand biogeochemical processes in highly dynamic coastal ecosystems, or predict their response and resilience to current and future pressures including sea level rise, coastal urbanization, and anthropogenic pollution.On a geostationary orbit, and with high spatial resolution and hyper-spectral capabilities, NASA's Decadal Survey mission GEO-CAPE (GEO-stationary for Coastal and Air Pollution Events) will provide, for the first time, a satellite view of the short-term changes and evolution of processes along the economically invaluable but, simultaneously, particularly vulnerable near-shore waters of the United States. GEO-CAPE will observe U.S. lakes, estuaries, and coastal regions at sufficient temporal and spatial scales to resolve near-shore processes, tides, coastal fronts, and eddies, track sediments and pollutants, capture diurnal biogeochemical processes and rates of transformation, monitor harmful algal blooms and large oil spills, observe episodic events and coastal hazards. Here we discuss the GEO-CAPE applications program and the new capabilities afforded by this future satellite mission, to identify potential user communities, incorporate end-user needs into future mission planning, and allow integration of science and management at the coastal interface.

Satellite Observations of Coastal Processes from a Geostationary Orbit: Application to estuarine, coastal, and ocean resource management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tzortziou, M.; Mannino, A.; Schaeffer, B. A.

2016-12-01

Coastal areas are among the most vulnerable yet economically valuable ecosystems on Earth. Estuaries and coastal oceans are critically important as essential habitat for marine life, as highly productive ecosystems and a rich source of food for human consumption, as a strong economic driver for coastal communities, and as a highly dynamic interface between land and ocean carbon and nutrient cycles. Still, our present capabilities to remotely observe coastal ocean processes from space are limited in their temporal, spatial, and spectral resolution. These limitations, in turn, constrain our ability to observe and understand biogeochemical processes in highly dynamic coastal ecosystems, or predict their response and resilience to current and future pressures including sea level rise, coastal urbanization, and anthropogenic pollution.On a geostationary orbit, and with high spatial resolution and hyper-spectral capabilities, NASA's Decadal Survey mission GEO-CAPE (GEO-stationary for Coastal and Air Pollution Events) will provide, for the first time, a satellite view of the short-term changes and evolution of processes along the economically invaluable but, simultaneously, particularly vulnerable near-shore waters of the United States. GEO-CAPE will observe U.S. lakes, estuaries, and coastal regions at sufficient temporal and spatial scales to resolve near-shore processes, tides, coastal fronts, and eddies, track sediments and pollutants, capture diurnal biogeochemical processes and rates of transformation, monitor harmful algal blooms and large oil spills, observe episodic events and coastal hazards. Here we discuss the GEO-CAPE applications program and the new capabilities afforded by this future satellite mission, to identify potential user communities, incorporate end-user needs into future mission planning, and allow integration of science and management at the coastal interface.

Monitoring and modeling for investigating driver/pressure-state/impact relationships in coastal ecosystems: Examples from the Lagoon of Venice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pastres, Roberto; Solidoro, Cosimo

2012-01-01

In this paper, we show how the integration of monitoring data and mathematical model can generate valuable information by using a few examples taken from a well studied but complex ecosystem, namely the Lagoon of Venice. We will focus on three key issues, which are of concern also for many other coastal ecosystems, namely: (1) Nitrogen and Phosphorus annual budgets; (2) estimation of Net Ecosystem Metabolism and early warnings for anoxic events; (3) assessment of ecosystem status. The results highlight the importance of framing monitoring activities within the "DPSIR" conceptual model, thus going far beyond the monitoring of major biogeochemical variables and including: (1) the estimation of the fluxes of the main constituents at the boundaries; (2) the use of appropriate mathematical models. These tools can provide quantitative links among Pressures and State/Impacts, thus enabling decision makers and stakeholders to evaluate the effects of alternative management scenarios.

Contrasting Impact of Floodwaters on Coastal Biogeochemistry in the Great Barrier Reef Ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crosswell, J.; Carlin, G.; Steven, A. D.; Franklin, H.

2017-12-01

Delivery of terrestrial nutrients and organic material to Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystem is dominated by episodic floods, and the biogeochemical impact of these events is expected to change under future climatic and man-made stressors. Here we compare the biogeochemical response of coastal waters to floods from two of the largest catchment in northeast Australia, the Fitzroy and Normanby River basins. The Fitzroy catchment is dominated by agriculture, principally grazing, whereas the Normanby is regarded as relatively pristine. High-resolution spatial surveys showed that flood plumes in both regions extended 30-100 km seaward and along the coast, reaching interior reefs and islands of the GBR. Floodwaters from both catchments were characterized by elevated nutrients and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), but the fate of flood-borne material in coastal waters showed significant differences between the two systems. In the Normanby, nutrients were rapidly removed near the estuary mouth and chlorophyll a was low throughout the adjacent Princess Charlotte Bay. Elevated DOC levels persisted in the Normanby flood plume, but high dissolved oxygen and low CO2 throughout a stratified water column suggested that the flood-borne organic matter was recalcitrant. By contrast, there was a clear source of DOC and nutrients in the hypoxic bottom waters of the Fitzroy flood plume, suggesting that the flood-borne particulate organic matter was highly labile. Decoupling of autotrophic surface waters from heterotrophic bottom waters in the Fitzroy plume supported a large phytoplankton bloom that extended >100 km and led to low pH and low light availability at nearby reefs. The contrasting impact of major floods in these two coastal systems appeared to be primarily driven by the quality of flood-borne organic matter, as well as differences in coastal morphology.

Metric Selection for Ecosystem Restoration

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-01

focus on wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, oyster reefs, riparian forest, and wet prairie (Miner 2005). The objective of these Corps...of coastal habitats, Volume Two: Tools for monitoring coastal habitats. NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Decision Analysis Series No. 23. Silver Spring, MD...NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. Thom, R. M., and K. F. Wellman. 1996. Planning aquatic ecosystem restoration monitoring programs

A conceptual framework for Lake Michigan coastal/nearshore ecosystems, with application to Lake Michigan Lakewide Management Plan (LaMP) objectives

USGS Publications Warehouse

Seelbach, Paul W.; Fogarty, Lisa R.; Bunnell, David Bo; Haack, Sheridan K.; Rogers, Mark W.

2013-01-01

The Lakewide Management Plans (LaMPs) within the Great Lakes region are examples of broad-scale, collaborative resource-management efforts that require a sound ecosystems approach. Yet, the LaMP process is lacking a holistic framework that allows these individual actions to be planned and understood within the broader context of the Great Lakes ecosystem. In this paper we (1) introduce a conceptual framework that unifies ideas and language among Great Lakes managers and scientists, whose focus areas range from tributary watersheds to open-lake waters, and (2) illustrate how the framework can be used to outline the geomorphic, hydrologic biological, and societal processes that underlie several goals of the Lake Michigan LaMP, thus providing a holistic and fairly comprehensive roadmap for tackling these challenges. For each selected goal, we developed a matrix that identifies the key ecosystem processes within the cell for each lake zone and each discipline; we then provide one example where a process is poorly understood and a second where a process is understood, but its impact or importance is unclear. Implicit in these objectives was our intention to highlight the importance of the Great Lakes coastal/nearshore zone. Although the coastal/nearshore zone is the important linkage zone between the watershed and open-lake zones—and is the zone where most LaMP issues are focused--scientists and managers have a relatively poor understanding of how the coastal/nearshore zone functions. We envision follow-up steps including (1) collaborative development of a more detailed and more complete conceptual model of how (and where) identified processes are thought to function, and (2) a subsequent gap analysis of science and monitoring priorities.

Effects of land use changes on the ecosystem service values of coastal wetlands.

PubMed

Camacho-Valdez, Vera; Ruiz-Luna, Arturo; Ghermandi, Andrea; Berlanga-Robles, César A; Nunes, Paulo A L D

2014-10-01

Changes in the coastal landscape of Southern Sinaloa (Mexico), between 2000 and 2010, were analyzed to relate spatial variations in wetlands extent with the provision and economic value of the ecosystem services (ES). Remote sensing techniques applied to Landsat TM imagery were used to evaluate land use/land cover changes while the value transfer method was used to assess the value of ES by land cover category. Five wetland types and other four land covers were found as representative of the coastal landscape. Findings reveal a 14 % decrease in the saltmarsh/forested mangrove area and a 12 % increase in the area of shrimp pond aquaculture (artificial wetland) during the study period. ES valuation shows that the total value flow increased by 9 % from $215 to $233 million (2007 USD) during the 10-year period. This increase is explained as result of the high value worldwide assigned to saltmarsh. We recognize limitations in the transfer-based approach in quantifying and mapping ES values in the region, but this method provides with value estimates spatially defined, and also provides some guidance in the preliminary screening of policies and projected development in the context of data-scarce regions.

High-resolution chemical and hydrologic records identify environmental factors that control coastal anchialine cave ecosystem function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brankovits, D.; Pohlman, J.; Lapham, L.; Casso, M.; Roth, E.; Lowell, N. S.; Iliffe, T. M.

2015-12-01

Anchialine caves host a coastal aquifer ecosystem occupied by cave-adapted crustaceans that reside within distinct fresh, brackish and marine waters. Our initial investigation of this subsurface ecotone in the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico) provides stable isotope-based evidence that methane and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) are the primary sources of energy and carbon for the food web. However, the frequency of observations is sparse, leaving us 'in the dark' with respect to the temporal dynamics of the ecosystem function. In this study, we obtained undisturbed vertical profiles of methane, DOC and DIC concentration and isotopic composition with the 'Octopipi' water sampler from an anchialine cave located ~8 km from the coastline. To document the temporal variability of methane availability in the cave, we deployed an osmotically-driven pump (OsmoSampler). Data loggers recorded dissolved oxygen (DO), salinity, temperature and current velocities, and a rain gauge recorded precipitation. A high-methane water mass near the ceiling (up to 7795 nM) contained elevated concentration (900 µM), 13C-depleted (-27.8 to -28.2 ‰) DOC, suggesting terrestrial organic matter input from the overlying soils. Low-methane saline water (36 to 84 nM) had lower concentration DOC (15 to 97 µM) with a similar δ13C (-25.9 to -27.2 ‰), suggesting significant terrestrial organic matter consumption or removal with increasing depth, from fresh to saline water, within the water column. Our 6-month water chemistry record reveals high concentrations of methane in the wet season, especially following rainfall events, and relatively lower methane concentrations in the dry season. These observations suggest rain flushes methane generated in overlying anoxic soils into the cave. DO, water level, and groundwater flow patterns were also linked to the precipitation record. These data provide novel insight into the interconnections between external climate forcing and subterranean anchialine

Five critical questions of scale for the coastal zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Swaney, D. P.; Humborg, C.; Emeis, K.; Kannen, A.; Silvert, W.; Tett, P.; Pastres, R.; Solidoro, C.; Yamamuro, M.; Hénocque, Y.; Nicholls, R.

2012-01-01

Social and ecological systems around the world are becoming increasingly globalized. From the standpoint of understanding coastal ecosystem behavior, system boundaries are not sufficient to define causes of change. A flutter in the stock market in Tokyo or Hong Kong can affect salmon producers in Norway or farmers in Togo. The globalization of opportunistic species and the disempowerment of people trying to manage their own affairs on a local scale seem to coincide with the globalization of trade. Human-accelerated environmental change, including climate change, can exacerbate this sense of disenfranchisement. The structure and functioning of coastal ecosystems have been developed over thousands of years subject to environmental forces and constraints imposed mainly on local scales. However, phenomena that transcend these conventional scales have emerged with the explosion of human population, and especially with the rise of modern global culture. Here, we examine five broad questions of scale in the coastal zone: How big are coastal ecosystems and why should we care? Temporal scales of change in coastal waters and watersheds: Can we detect shifting baselines due to economic development and other drivers? Are footprints more important than boundaries? What makes a decision big? The tyranny of small decisions in coastal regions. Scales of complexity in coastal waters: the simple, the complicated or the complex? These questions do not have straightforward answers. There is no single "scale" for coastal ecosystems; their multiscale nature complicates our understanding and management of them. Coastal ecosystems depend on their watersheds as well as spatially-diffuse "footprints" associated with modern trade and material flows. Change occurs both rapidly and slowly on human time scales, and observing and responding to changes in coastal environments is a fundamental challenge. Apparently small human decisions collectively have potentially enormous consequences for

Isolation and Genetic Characterization of Avian Influenza Viruses Isolated from Wild Birds in the Azov-Black Sea Region of Ukraine (2001-2012).

PubMed

Muzyka, Denys; Pantin-Jackwood, Mary; Spackman, Erica; Smith, Diane; Rula, Oleksandr; Muzyka, Nataliia; Stegniy, Borys

2016-05-01

Wild bird surveillance for avian influenza virus (AIV) was conducted from 2001 to 2012 in the Azov - Black Sea region of the Ukraine, considered part of the transcontinental wild bird migration routes from northern Asia and Europe to the Mediterranean, Africa, and southwest Asia. A total of 6281 samples were collected from wild birds representing 27 families and eight orders for virus isolation. From these samples, 69 AIVs belonging to 15 of the 16 known hemagglutinin (HA) subtypes and seven of nine known neuraminidase (NA) subtypes were isolated. No H14, N5, or N9 subtypes were identified. In total, nine H6, eight H1, nine H5, seven H7, six H11, six H4, five H3, five H10, four H8, three H2, three H9, one H12, one H13, one H15, and one H16 HA subtypes were isolated. As for the NA subtypes, twelve N2, nine N6, eight N8, seven N7, six N3, four N4, and one undetermined were isolated. There were 27 HA and NA antigen combinations. All isolates were low pathogenic AIV except for eight highly pathogenic (HP) AIVs that were isolated during the H5N1 HPAI outbreaks of 2006-08. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the HA genes revealed epidemiological connections between the Azov-Black Sea regions and Europe, Russia, Mongolia, and Southeast Asia. H1, H2, H3, H7, H8, H6, H9, and H13 AIV subtypes were closely related to European, Russian, Mongolian, and Georgian AIV isolates. H10, H11, and H12 AIV subtypes were epidemiologically linked to viruses from Europe and Southeast Asia. Serology conducted on serum and egg yolk samples also demonstrated previous exposure of many wild bird species to different AIVs. Our results demonstrate the great genetic diversity of AIVs in wild birds in the Azov-Black Sea region as well as the importance of this region for monitoring and studying the ecology of influenza viruses. This information furthers our understanding of the ecology of avian influenza viruses in wild bird species.

Across Hydrological Interfaces from Coastal Watersheds to the Open Lake: Finding Landscape Signals in the Great Lakes Coastal Zone

EPA Science Inventory

Over the past decade, our group has been working to bring coastal ecosystems into integrated basin-lakewide monitoring and assessment strategies for the Great Lakes. We have conducted a wide range of research on coastal tributaries, coastal wetlands, semi-enclosed embayments an...

Importance of particle-associated bacterial heterotrophy in a coastal Arctic ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garneau, Marie-Ève; Vincent, Warwick F.; Terrado, Ramon; Lovejoy, Connie

2009-01-01

estuarine stations with highest POM content. Particle-associated bacteria are an important functional component of this Arctic ecosystem. Under a warmer climate, they are likely to play an increasing role in coastal biogeochemistry and carbon fluxes as a result of permafrost melting and increased particle transport from the tundra to coastal waters.

Carbon Cycling Studies in Forest and Rangeland Ecosystems of Northern and Central Coastal California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potter, C.; Klooster, S.; Gross, P.; Hiatt, S.; Genovese, V.

2008-12-01

The varied topography and micro-climates of northern and central coastal California result in high biodiversity and many different levels of primary production driving regional carbon cycles. Coastal mountains trap moisture from low clouds and fog in summer to supplement rainfall in winter. This creates a favorable micro-environment for coniferous forests, including the southernmost habitat of the coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), which grows mainly on lower north-facing slopes in Big Sur. In rain shadows, forests transition to open oak woodland, and then into the more fire-tolerant chaparral and coast scrub. Field sites for our on-going climate change studies on the California northern and central coasts currently include the University of California Santa Cruz Campus Natural Reserve, the US Forest Service Brazil Ranch, and the University of California Big Creek Reserve. We are conducting research at each of these sites to better understand possible impacts of climate change, including: (1) biological and physical capacity of soils to capture carbon and retain plant-essential nutrients; (2) rates of plant-soil water and carbon cycling and energy flow; and (3) recovery mechanisms for disturbances such as invasive weed species, grazing, and wildfire. The NASA-CASA simulation model based on satellite observations of monthly vegetation cover from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was used to estimate carbon cycling for much of the central coast as far north as Mendocino County. Net primary production (NPP) of all vegetation cover was mapped at 30-meter resolution for selected years by combining MODIS and Landsat images across the region. Results show annual NPP predictions of between 200-400 grams C per square meter for coastal scrub and 800-1200 grams C per square meter for coastal evergreen forests, Net ecosystem fluxes of carbon will be presented for the region based on NASA-CASA modeling and field measurements of soil respiration fluxes.

Integrated strategy urged to address coastal contamination issues

USGS Publications Warehouse

Swarzenski, Peter W.; Kvenvolden, Keith A.; Horowitz, Arthur J.; Buchholtz ten Brink, Marilyn R.

2001-01-01

Coastal bays and estuaries are well known for their intrinsic recreational and economic value, yet these ecosystems are also among our most troubled natural environments. Urban development, agriculture, and shipping are just a few examples of human activities that can cause a wide range of deleterious changes within the coastal environment. These alterations, however, occur simultaneously with cycles of natural variability such as climate change. To effectively manage coastal ecosystems, we need to be able to carefully distinguish between anthropogenic and natural causes of change.

BEACH GRASS INVASIONS AND COASTAL FLOOD PROTECTION: FORECASTING THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON COASTAL VULNERABILITY

EPA Science Inventory

Our work will yield an increased general understanding of interactions among the alteration of coastal ecosystem, species invasions, climate change, and human risk in coastal environments. In addition, we will conduct a quantitative vulnerability assessment of a specific coast...

Modeling of the nearshore marine ecosystem with the AQUATOX model

EPA Science Inventory

Process-based models can be used to forecast the responses of coastal ecosystems to changes under future scenarios. However, most models applied to coastal systems do not include higher trophic levels, which are important providers of ecosystem services. AQUATOX is a mechanistic...

Centuries of human-driven change in salt marsh ecosystems.

PubMed

Gedan, K Bromberg; Silliman, B R; Bertness, M D

2009-01-01

Salt marshes are among the most abundant, fertile, and accessible coastal habitats on earth, and they provide more ecosystem services to coastal populations than any other environment. Since the Middle Ages, humans have manipulated salt marshes at a grand scale, altering species composition, distribution, and ecosystem function. Here, we review historic and contemporary human activities in marsh ecosystems--exploitation of plant products; conversion to farmland, salt works, and urban land; introduction of non-native species; alteration of coastal hydrology; and metal and nutrient pollution. Unexpectedly, diverse types of impacts can have a similar consequence, turning salt marsh food webs upside down, dramatically increasing top down control. Of the various impacts, invasive species, runaway consumer effects, and sea level rise represent the greatest threats to salt marsh ecosystems. We conclude that the best way to protect salt marshes and the services they provide is through the integrated approach of ecosystem-based management.

DNA metabarcoding reveals diverse diet of the three-spined stickleback in a coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

Jakubavičiūtė, Eglė; Bergström, Ulf; Eklöf, Johan S; Haenel, Quiterie; Bourlat, Sarah J

2017-01-01

The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L., hereafter 'stickleback') is a common mesopredatory fish in marine, coastal and freshwater areas. In large parts of the Baltic Sea, stickleback densities have increased >10-fold during the last decades, and it is now one of the dominating fish species both in terms of biomass and effects on lower trophic levels. Still, relatively little is known about its diet-knowledge which is essential to understand the increasing role sticklebacks play in the ecosystem. Fish diet analyses typically rely on visual identification of stomach contents, a labour-intensive method that is made difficult by prey digestion and requires expert taxonomic knowledge. However, advances in DNA-based metabarcoding methods promise a simultaneous identification of most prey items, even from semi-digested tissue. Here, we studied the diet of stickleback from the western Baltic Sea coast using both DNA metabarcoding and visual analysis of stomach contents. Using the cytochrome oxidase (CO1) marker we identified 120 prey taxa in the diet, belonging to 15 phyla, 83 genera and 84 species. Compared to previous studies, this is an unusually high prey diversity. Chironomids, cladocerans and harpacticoids were dominating prey items. Large sticklebacks were found to feed more on benthic prey, such as amphipods, gastropods and isopods. DNA metabarcoding gave much higher taxonomic resolution (median rank genus) than visual analysis (median rank order), and many taxa identified using barcoding could not have been identified visually. However, a few taxa identified by visual inspection were not revealed by barcoding. In summary, our results suggest that the three-spined stickleback feeds on a wide variety of both pelagic and benthic organisms, indicating that the strong increase in stickleback populations may affect many parts of the Baltic Sea coastal ecosystem.

Use of fish parasite species richness indices in analyzing anthropogenically impacted coastal marine ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dzikowski, R.; Paperna, I.; Diamant, A.

2003-10-01

The diversity of fish parasite life history strategies makes these species sensitive bioindicators of aquatic ecosystem health. While monoxenous (single-host) species may persist in highly perturbed, extreme environments, this is not necessarily true for heteroxenous (multiple-host) species. As many parasites possess complex life cycles and are transmitted through a chain of host species, their dependency on the latter to complete their life cycles renders them sensitive to perturbed environments. In the present study, parasite communities of grey mullet Liza aurata and Liza ramada (Mugilidae) were investigated at two Mediterranean coastal sites in northern Israel: the highly polluted Kishon Harbor (KH) and the relatively unspoiled reference site, Ma'agan Michael (MM). Both are estuarine sites in which grey mullet are one of the most common fish species. The results indicate that fish at the polluted site had significantly less trematode metacercariae than fish at the reference site. Heteroxenous gut helminths were completely absent at the polluted sampling site. Consequently, KH fish displayed lower mean parasite species richness. At the same time, KH fish mean monoxenous parasite richness was higher, although the prevalence of different monoxenous taxa was variable. Copepods had an increased prevalence while monogenean prevalence was significantly reduced at the polluted site. This variability may be attributed to the differential susceptibility of the parasites to the toxicity of different pollutants, their concentration, the exposure time and possible synergistic effects. In this study, we used the cumulative species curve model that extrapolates "true" species richness of a given habitat as a function of increasing sample size. We considered the heteroxenous and monoxenous species separately for each site, and comparison of curves yielded significant results. It is proposed to employ this approach, originally developed for estimating the "true" parasite

Coastal Marsh Monitoring for Persistent Saltwater Intrusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Callie M.

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews NASA's work on the project that supports the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) Governors Action Plan to monitor the coastal wetlands for saltwater intrusion. The action items that relate to the task are: (1) Obtain information on projected relative sea level rise, subsidence, and storm vulnerability to help prioritize conservation projects, including restoration, enhancement, and acquisition, and (2) Develop and apply ecosystem models to forecast the habitat structure and succession following hurricane disturbance and changes in ecological functions and services that impact vital socio-economic aspects of coastal systems. The objectives of the program are to provide resource managers with remote sensing products that support ecosystem forecasting models requiring salinity and inundation data. Specifically, the proposed work supports the habitat-switching modules in the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration (CLEAR) model, which provides scientific evaluation for restoration management.

Biological mechanisms supporting adaptation to ocean acidification in coastal ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hendriks, Iris E.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Olsen, Ylva S.; Steckbauer, Alexandra; Ramajo, Laura; Moore, Tommy S.; Trotter, Julie A.; McCulloch, Malcolm

2015-01-01

The direct influence of anthropogenic CO2 might play a limited role in pH regulation in coastal ecosystems as pH regulation in these areas can be complex. They experience large variability across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales, with complex external and internal drivers. Organisms influence pH at a patch scale, where community metabolic effects and hydrodynamic processes interact to produce broad ranges in pH, (˜0.3-0.5 pH units) over daily cycles and spatial scales (mm to m) particularly in shallow vegetated habitats and coral reefs where both respiration and photosynthetic activity are intense. Biological interactions at the ecosystem scale, linked to patchiness in habitat landscapes and seasonal changes in metabolic processes and temperature lead to changes of about 0.3-0.5 pH units throughout a year. Furthermore, on the scale of individual organisms, small-scale processes including changes at the Diffusive Boundary Layer (DBL), interactions with symbionts, and changes to the specific calcification environment, induce additional changes in excess of 0.5 pH units. In these highly variable pH environments calcifying organisms have developed the capacity to alter the pH of their calcifying environment, or specifically within critical tissues where calcification occurs, thus achieving a homeostasis. This capacity to control the conditions for calcification at the organism scale may therefore buffer the full impacts of ocean acidification on an organism scale, although this might be at a cost to the individual. Furthermore, in some areas, calcifiers may potentially benefit from changes to ambient seawater pH, where photosynthetic organisms drawdown CO2.

The coastal use structure within the coastal system. A sustainable development-consistent approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vallega, A.

1996-01-01

To contribute to the development of methodological approaches to coastal area management consistent with the sustainable development concept and guidelines provided by UNCED Agenda 21, Chapter 17, first the classifications of coastal uses provided by literature and those adopted by coastal management programmes are presented and discussed. Moving from this basis and reasoning in terms of general system-sustained approach the following concepts and methodological issues are considered: a goal-oriented concept of coastal use; the sustainable development-grounded coastal use framework and the role of discriminants through which it is conceived and described; the relationships between coastal uses; in particular, conflicting relationships focusing attention on conflicts between decision-making centres, as well as users, motivations and tractability of uses; the relationships between coastal uses and the ecosystem; the basic options for sustainability-consistent coastal use development.

Beyond just sea-level rise: Considering macroclimatic drivers within coastal wetland vulnerability assessments to climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Osland, Michael J.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; Day, Richard H.; Gabler, Christopher A.; Stagg, Camille L.; Grace, James B.

2016-01-01

Due to their position at the land-sea interface, coastal wetlands are vulnerable to many aspects of climate change. However, climate change vulnerability assessments for coastal wetlands generally focus solely on sea-level rise without considering the effects of other facets of climate change. Across the globe and in all ecosystems, macroclimatic drivers (e.g., temperature and rainfall regimes) greatly influence ecosystem structure and function. Macroclimatic drivers have been the focus of climate-change related threat evaluations for terrestrial ecosystems, but largely ignored for coastal wetlands. In some coastal wetlands, changing macroclimatic conditions are expected to result in foundation plant species replacement, which would affect the supply of certain ecosystem goods and services and could affect ecosystem resilience. As examples, we highlight several ecological transition zones where small changes in macroclimatic conditions would result in comparatively large changes in coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. Our intent in this communication is not to minimize the importance of sea-level rise. Rather, our overarching aim is to illustrate the need to also consider macroclimatic drivers within vulnerability assessments for coastal wetlands.

Velocity model of the crust and upper mantle at the southern margin of the East European Craton (Azov Sea-Crimea-Black Sea area), DOBRE-2 & DOBRE'99 transect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Starostenko, Vitaly; Janik, Tomasz; Stephenson, Randell; Gryn, Dmytro; Tolkunov, Anatoliy; Czuba, Wojciech; Środa, Piotr; Sydorenko, Grigoriy; Lysynchuk, Dmytro; Omelchenko, Victor; Grad, Marek; Guterch, Aleksander; Kolomiyets, Katerina; Thybo, Hans; Dannowski, Anke; Flűh, Ernst R.; Legostaeva, Olga

2013-04-01

The southern part of the eastern European continental landmass consists mainly of a thick platform of Vendian and younger sediments overlying Precambrian basement, part of the East European Craton (EEC). The Scythian Platform (SP) lies between the EEC and the (mainly Alpine) deformed belt running from Dobrudja (Romania) to Crimea (Ukraine) and the Greater Caucasus (Russia), along the northern margin of the Black Sea. Hard constraints on the Palaeozoic history on the SP are very sparse and little is known of its crustal structure in this area. The poster presents the seismic results of a multidisciplinary project that fills some of this gap. The project is called DOBRE-2 (as it forms a prolongation of the successful DOBRE project executed in 1999-2001). The main objectives of DOBRE-2 were to elucidate the deep-seated structure of the lithosphere and geodynamic setting of the shelf zones of the Azov and Black seas and the Crimean peninsula and to study the deep controls on the structure of basement and sedimentary cover. DOBRE-2 traverses a number of major faults and suture zones separating the EEC from the SP, the Crimean Mountains, and the Black Sea depression. Significant hydrocarbon reserves occur in the basins traversed by DOBRE-2. Deep seismic reflection profiling (30 second, Vibroseis) has been completed on a 100-km segment of the profile on the Azov massif (part of the Ukrainian Shield) as well as a 47-km segment in Crimea. These are complemented by refraction profiling on the shelf zones of the Azov (~53 km) and Black (~160 km) seas and coincident near-vertical (CDP) in the Black Sea, using a combination of onshore seismograph stations, ocean-bottom seismometers, onshore explosive energy sources (6 shot points), as well as ship-borne seismic acquisition. We present a 2-D seismic velocity model (Vp in the crust, depth to the Moho and depth to the intracrustal reflectors) along (~780 km) the DOBRE-2 & DOBRE'99 transect. Our model extends the model published

Information preferences for the evaluation of coastal development impacts on ecosystem services: A multi-criteria assessment in the Australian context.

PubMed

Marre, Jean-Baptiste; Pascoe, Sean; Thébaud, Olivier; Jennings, Sarah; Boncoeur, Jean; Coglan, Louisa

2016-05-15

Ecosystem based management requires the integration of various types of assessment indicators. Understanding stakeholders' information preferences is important, in selecting those indicators that best support management and policy. Both the preferences of decision-makers and the general public may matter, in democratic participatory management institutions. This paper presents a multi-criteria analysis aimed at quantifying the relative importance to these groups of economic, ecological and socio-economic indicators usually considered when managing ecosystem services in a coastal development context. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is applied within two nationwide surveys in Australia, and preferences of both the general public and decision-makers for these indicators are elicited and compared. Results show that, on average across both groups, the priority in assessing a generic coastal development project is for the ecological assessment of its impacts on marine biodiversity. Ecological assessment indicators are globally preferred to both economic and socio-economic indicators regardless of the nature of the impacts studied. These results are observed for a significantly larger proportion of decision-maker than general public respondents, questioning the extent to which the general public's preferences are well reflected in decision-making processes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated conceptual ecological model and habitat indices for the southwest Florida coastal wetlands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wingard, G. Lynn; Lorenz, J. L.

2014-01-01

The coastal wetlands of southwest Florida that extend from Charlotte Harbor south to Cape Sable, contain more than 60,000 ha of mangroves and 22,177 ha of salt marsh. These coastal wetlands form a transition zone between the freshwater and marine environments of the South Florida Coastal Marine Ecosystem (SFCME). The coastal wetlands provide diverse ecosystem services that are valued by society and thus are important to the economy of the state. Species from throughout the region spend part of their life cycle in the coastal wetlands, including many marine and coastal-dependent species, making this zone critical to the ecosystem health of the Everglades and the SFCME. However, the coastal wetlands are increasingly vulnerable due to rising sea level, changes in storm intensity and frequency, land use, and water management practices. They are at the boundary of the region covered by the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), and thus are impacted by both CERP and marine resource management decisions. An integrated conceptual ecological model (ICEM) for the southwest coastal wetlands of Florida was developed that illustrates the linkages between drivers, pressures, ecological process, and ecosystem services. Five ecological indicators are presented: (1) mangrove community structure and spatial extent; (2) waterbirds; (3) prey-base fish and macroinvertebrates; (4) crocodilians; and (5) periphyton. Most of these indicators are already used in other areas of south Florida and the SFCME, and therefore will allow metrics from the coastal wetlands to be used in system-wide assessments that incorporate the entire Greater Everglades Ecosystem.

Introducing mixotrophy into a biogeochemical model describing an eutrophied coastal ecosystem: The Southern North Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghyoot, Caroline; Lancelot, Christiane; Flynn, Kevin J.; Mitra, Aditee; Gypens, Nathalie

2017-04-01

Most biogeochemical/ecological models divide planktonic protists between phototrophs (phytoplankton) and heterotrophs (zooplankton). However, a large number of planktonic protists are able to combine several mechanisms of carbon and nutrient acquisition. Not representing these multiple mechanisms in biogeochemical/ecological models describing eutrophied coastal ecosystems can potentially lead to different conclusions regarding ecosystem functioning, especially regarding the success of harmful algae, which are often reported as mixotrophic. This modelling study investigates, for the first time, the implications for trophic dynamics of including 3 contrasting forms of mixotrophy, namely osmotrophy (using alkaline phosphatase activity, APA), non-constitutive mixotrophy (acquired phototrophy by microzooplankton) and also constitutive mixotrophy. The application is in the Southern North Sea, an ecosystem that faced, between 1985 and 2005, a significant increase in the nutrient supply N:P ratio (from 31 to 81 mole N:P). The comparison with a traditional model shows that, when the winter N:P ratio in the Southern North Sea is above 22 molN molP-1 (as occurred from mid-1990s), APA allows a 3 to 32% increase of annual gross primary production (GPP). In result of the higher GPP, the annual sedimentation increases as well as the bacterial production. By contrast, APA does not affect the export of matter to higher trophic levels because the increased GPP is mainly due to Phaeocystis colonies, which are not grazed by copepods. The effect of non-constitutive mixotrophy depends on light and affects the ecosystem functioning in terms of annual GPP, transfer to higher trophic levels, sedimentation, and nutrient remineralisation. Constitutive mixotrophy in nanoflagellates appears to have little influence on this ecosystem functioning. An important conclusion from this work is that different forms of mixotrophy have different impacts on system dynamics and it is thus important to

Tidal dynamics in the inter-connected Mediterranean, Marmara, Black and Azov seas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrarin, Christian; Bellafiore, Debora; Sannino, Gianmaria; Bajo, Marco; Umgiesser, Georg

2018-02-01

In this study we investigated the tidal dynamics in a system of inter-connected land-locked basins formed by the Mediterranean, the Marmara, the Black and the Azov seas (MMBA system). Through the application of an unstructured grid hydrodynamic model to a unique domain representing the whole MMBA system, we simulated the tidal propagation and transformation inside each basin and in the straits connecting them. The model performance was evaluated against amplitudes and phases of major tidal constituents from 77 tidal gauges. The numerical results provided a description of the characteristics of the principal semi-diurnal, diurnal and long-term tides over the entire system. Even if the narrow straits act as a barrier for the tidal sea surface oscillations, our numerical results demonstrated that the along-strait interface slope produces water fluxes between the adjacent basins of the same order of magnitude of the climatological transports estimated by several authors. The long-term tidal modulations of the water exchange between the Mediterranean and the Black seas resulted to be non negligible and may partially explain the monthly and fortnightly flow variability observed in the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits.

Introducing mixotrophy into a biogeochemical model describing an eutrophied coastal ecosystem: The Southern North Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghyoot, Caroline; Lancelot, Christiane; Flynn, Kevin J.; Mitra, Aditee; Gypens, Nathalie

2017-09-01

Most biogeochemical/ecological models divide planktonic protists between phototrophs (phytoplankton) and heterotrophs (zooplankton). However, a large number of planktonic protists are able to combine several mechanisms of carbon and nutrient acquisition. Not representing these multiple mechanisms in biogeochemical/ecological models describing eutrophied coastal ecosystems can potentially lead to different conclusions regarding ecosystem functioning, especially regarding the success of harmful algae, which are often reported as mixotrophic. This modelling study investigates the implications for trophic dynamics of including 3 contrasting forms of mixotrophy, namely osmotrophy (using alkaline phosphatase activity, APA), non-constitutive mixotrophy (acquired phototrophy by microzooplankton) and also constitutive mixotrophy. The application is in the Southern North Sea, an ecosystem that faced, between 1985 and 2005, a significant increase in the nutrient supply N:P ratio (from 31 to 81 mol N:P). The comparison with a traditional model shows that, when the winter N:P ratio in the Southern North Sea is above 22 molN molP-1 (as occurred from mid-1990s), APA allows a 3-32% increase of annual gross primary production (GPP). In result of the higher GPP, the annual sedimentation increases as well as the bacterial production. By contrast, APA does not affect the export of matter to higher trophic levels because the increased GPP is mainly due to Phaeocystis colonies, which are not grazed by copepods. Under high irradiance, non-constitutive mixotrophy appreciably increases annual GPP, transfer to higher trophic levels, sedimentation, and nutrient remineralisation. In this ecosystem, non-constitutive mixotrophy is also observed to have an indirect stimulating effect on diatoms. Constitutive mixotrophy in nanoflagellates appears to have little influence on this ecosystem functioning. An important conclusion from this work is that contrasting forms of mixotrophy have different

Satellite Sensor Requirements for Monitoring Essential Biodiversity Variables of Coastal Ecosystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muller-Karger, Frank E.; Hestir, Erin; Ade, Christiana; Turpie, Kevin; Roberts, Dar A.; Siegel, David; Miller, Robert J.; Humm, David; Izenberg, Noam; Keller, Mary;

Seagrasses and the Coastal Marine Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Phillips, Ronald C.

1978-01-01

Coastal ecosystems are the most highly productive in the world. This article discusses seagrasses, major coastal producers, and provides information on their ecology, productivity, position in food chains, and role in sediment stabilization. Recent attempts to restore seagrasses in areas of massive kills are described. (MA)

Beyond just sea-level rise: considering macroclimatic drivers within coastal wetland vulnerability assessments to climate change.

PubMed

Osland, Michael J; Enwright, Nicholas M; Day, Richard H; Gabler, Christopher A; Stagg, Camille L; Grace, James B

2016-01-01

Due to their position at the land-sea interface, coastal wetlands are vulnerable to many aspects of climate change. However, climate change vulnerability assessments for coastal wetlands generally focus solely on sea-level rise without considering the effects of other facets of climate change. Across the globe and in all ecosystems, macroclimatic drivers (e.g., temperature and rainfall regimes) greatly influence ecosystem structure and function. Macroclimatic drivers have been the focus of climate change-related threat evaluations for terrestrial ecosystems, but largely ignored for coastal wetlands. In some coastal wetlands, changing macroclimatic conditions are expected to result in foundation plant species replacement, which would affect the supply of certain ecosystem goods and services and could affect ecosystem resilience. As examples, we highlight several ecological transition zones where small changes in macroclimatic conditions would result in comparatively large changes in coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. Our intent in this communication is not to minimize the importance of sea-level rise. Rather, our overarching aim is to illustrate the need to also consider macroclimatic drivers within vulnerability assessments for coastal wetlands. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Coastal wetland adaptation to sea level rise: Quantifying potential for landward migration and coastal squeeze

USGS Publications Warehouse

Borchert, Sinéad M.; Osland, Michael J.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; Griffith, Kereen

2018-01-01

Coastal wetland ecosystems are expected to migrate landwards in response to rising seas. However, due to differences in topography and coastal urbanization, estuaries vary in their ability to accommodate migration. Low‐lying urban areas can constrain migration and lead to wetland loss (i.e. coastal squeeze), especially where existing wetlands cannot keep pace with rising seas via vertical adjustments. In many estuaries, there is a pressing need to identify landward migration corridors and better quantify the potential for landward migration and coastal squeeze.We quantified and compared the area available for landward migration of tidal saline wetlands and the area where urban development is expected to prevent migration for 39 estuaries along the wetland‐rich USA Gulf of Mexico coast. We did so under three sea level rise scenarios (0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 m by 2100).Within the region, the potential for wetland migration is highest within certain estuaries in Louisiana and southern Florida (e.g. Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bays, Mermentau River, Barataria Bay, and the North and South Ten Thousand Islands estuaries).The potential for coastal squeeze is highest in estuaries containing major metropolitan areas that extend into low‐lying lands. The Charlotte Harbor, Tampa Bay, and Crystal‐Pithlachascotee estuaries (Florida) have the highest amounts of urban land expected to constrain wetland migration. Urban barriers to migration are also high in the Galveston Bay (Texas) and Atchafalaya/Vermilion Bays (Louisiana) estuaries.Synthesis and applications. Coastal wetlands provide many ecosystem services that benefit human health and well‐being, including shoreline protection and fish and wildlife habitat. As the rate of sea level rise accelerates in response to climate change, coastal wetland resources could be lost in areas that lack space for landward migration. Migration corridors are particularly important in highly urbanized estuaries where, due to low‐lying coastal

Seagrass ecosystem services - What's next?

PubMed

Nordlund, Lina Mtwana; Jackson, Emma L; Nakaoka, Masahiro; Samper-Villarreal, Jimena; Beca-Carretero, Pedro; Creed, Joel C

2017-09-20

Seagrasses, marine flowering plants, provide a wide range of ecosystem services, defined here as natural processes and components that directly or indirectly benefit human needs. Recent research has shown that there are still many gaps in our comprehension of seagrass ecosystem service provision. Furthermore, there seems to be little public knowledge of seagrasses in general and the benefits they provide. This begs the questions: how do we move forward with the information we have? What other information do we need and what actions do we need to take in order to improve the situation and appreciation for seagrass? Based on the outcomes from an international expert knowledge eliciting workshop, three key areas to advance seagrass ecosystem service research were identified: 1) Variability of ecosystem services within seagrass meadows and among different meadows; 2) Seagrass ecosystem services in relation to, and their connection with, other coastal habitats; and 3) Improvement in the communication of seagrass ecosystem services to the public. Here we present ways forward to advance seagrass ecosystem service research in order to raise the profile of seagrass globally, as a means to establish more effective conservation and restoration of these important coastal habitats around the world. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Towards a more complete SOCCR: Establishing a Coastal Carbon Data Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pidgeon, E.; Howard, J.; Tang, J.; Kroeger, K. D.; Windham-Myers, L.

2015-12-01

The 2007 State of the Carbon Cycle Report (SOCCR) was highly influential in ensuring components of the carbon cycle were accounted for in national policy and related management. However, while SOCCR detailed the significance of North American coastal wetlands, it was not until recently that leading governments began to fully recognized these ecosystems for their carbon sequestration and storage capacity and hence the significant role coastal ecosystems can play in GHG emission reductions strategies, offset mechanisms, coastal management strategies and climate mitigation policy. The new attention on coastal carbon systems has exposed limitations in terms of data availability and data quality, as well as insufficient knowledge of coastal carbon distributions, characteristics and coastal carbon cycle processes. In addition to restricting scientific progress, lack of comprehensive, comparable, and quality-controlled coastal carbon data is hindering progress towards carbon based conservation and coastal management. To directly address those limitations, we are developing a Global Science and Data Network for Coastal "Blue" Carbon, with support from the Carbon Cycle Interagency Working Group. Goals include: • Improving basic and applied science on carbon and GHG cycling in vegetated coastal ecosystems; • Supporting a coastal carbon and associated GHG data archive for use by the science community, coastal and climate practitioners and other data users; • Building the capacity of coastal carbon stakeholders globally to collect and interpret high quality coastal carbon science and data; • Providing a forum and mechanism to promote exchange and collaboration between scientists and coastal carbon data users globally; and • Outreach activities to ensure the best available data are globally accessible and that science is responsive to the needs of coastal managers and policy-makers.

Tracking the Fate of Explosive-Trinitrotriazine (RDX) in Coastal Marine Ecosystems Using Stable Isotopic Tracer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ariyarathna, T. S.; Ballentine, M.; Vlahos, P.; Smith, R. W.; Bohlke, J. K.; Tobias, C. R.; Fallis, S.; Groshens, T.; Cooper, C.

2017-12-01

It has been estimated that there are hundreds of explosive-contaminated sites all over the world and managing these contaminated sites is an international challenge. As coastal zones and estuaries are commonly impacted zones, it is vital to understand the fate and transport of munition compounds in these environments. The demand for data on sorption, biodegradation and mineralization of trinitrotriazine (RDX) in coastal ecosystems is the impetus for this study using stable nitrogen isotopes to track its metabolic pathways. Mesocosm experiments representing subtidal vegetated, subtidal unvegetated and intertidal marsh ecocosms were conducted. Steady state concentrations of RDX were maintained in the systems throughout two-week time duration of experiments. Sediment, pore-water and overlying water samples were analyzed for RDX and degradation products. Isotope analysis of the bulk sediments revealed an initial rising inventory of 15N followed by a decay illustrating the role of sediments on sorption and degradation of RDX in anaerobic sediments respectively. Both pore-water and overlying water samples were analyzed for 15N inventories of different inorganic nitrogen pools including ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, nitrous oxide and nitrogen gases. RDX is mineralized to nitrogen gas through a series of intermediates leaving nitrous oxide as the prominent metabolite of RDX. Significant differences in RDX metabolism were observed in the three different ecosystems based on sediment characteristics and redox conditions in the systems. Fine grained organic carbon rich sediments show notably higher mineralization rates of RDX in terms of production of its metabolites. Quantification of degradation and transformation rates leads to mass balances of RDX in the systems. Further analysis of results provides insights for mineralization pathways of RDX into both organic and inorganic nitrogen pools entering the marine nitrogen cycle.

Temporal distribution of genetically homogenous ‘free-living’ Hematodinium sp. in a Delmarva coastal ecosystem

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Significant damage to crustacean fisheries worldwide has been associated with Hematodinium sp. It has been postulated that Hematodinium sp. requires passage through the water column and/or intermediate hosts to complete its life cycle. Thus, an understanding of the prevalence and seasonality of Hematodinium sp. within environmentally-derived samples should yield insight into potential modes of disease transmission, and how these relate to infection cycles in hosts. Results We conducted a two year survey, from 2010–2011, in which 48 of 546 (8.8%) of environmental samples from the Maryland and Virginia coastal bays were positive for Hematodinium sp. between April and November, as based upon endpoint PCR analysis specific to blue crab isolates. Detection in both water and sediment was roughly equivalent, and there were no obvious seasonal patterns. However, there was a high detection in April water samples, which was unanticipated owing to the fact that crabs infected with Hematodinium sp. have not been observed in this early month of the seasonal disease cycle. Focusing on three sites of high prevalence (Sinnickson, VA; Tom’s Cove, VA; and Newport Bay, MD) Hematodinium sp. population diversity was analyzed using standard cloning methods. Of 131 clones, 109 (83.2%) were identical, 19 displayed a single nucleotide substitution, and 4 contain two nucleotide substitutions. Conclusions Our data suggests a continuous presence of Hematodinium sp. in both water and sediment of a combined Maryland and Virginia coastal bay ecosystem. The detection of Hematodinium sp. in the water column in April is an earlier manifestation of the parasite than predicted, pointing to an as yet unknown stage in its development prior to infection. That the population is relatively homogenous ranging from April to November, at three distinct sites, supports a hypothesis that one species of Hematodinium is responsible for infections within the ecosystem. PMID:22828185

Satellite infrared imagery for thermal plume contamination monitoring in coastal ecosystem of Cernavoda NPP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoran, M. A.; Zoran, Liviu Florin V.; Dida, Adrian I.

2017-10-01

Satellite remote sensing is an important tool for spatio-temporal analysis and surveillance of NPP environment, thermal heat waste of waters being a major concern in many coastal ecosystems involving nuclear power plants. As a test case the adopted methodology was applied for 700x2 MW Cernavoda nuclear power plant (NPP) located in the South-Eastern part of Romania, which discharges warm water affecting coastal ecology. The thermal plume signatures in the NPP hydrological system have been investigated based on TIR (Thermal Infrared) spectral bands of NOAA AVHRR, Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI, and MODIS Terra/Aqua time series satellite data during 1990-2016 period. If NOAA AVHRR data proved the general pattern and extension of the thermal plume signature in Danube river and Black Sea coastal areas, Landsat TM/ETM and MODIS data used for WST (Water Surface Temperature) change detection, mapping and monitoring provided enhanced information about the plume shape, dimension and direction of dispersion in these waters. Thermal discharge from two nuclear reactors cooling is dissipated as waste heat in Danube-Black -Sea Channel and Danube River. From time-series analysis of satellite data during period 1990-2016 was found that during the winter season thermal plume was localized to an area of a few km of NPP, and the mean temperature difference between the plume and non-plume areas was about 1.7 oC. During summer and fall, derived mean temperature difference between the plume and non-plume areas was of about 1.3°C and thermal plume area was extended up to 5- 10 km far along Danube Black Sea Channel.

Modeling Coastal Vulnerability through Space and Time.

PubMed

Hopper, Thomas; Meixler, Marcia S

2016-01-01

Coastal ecosystems experience a wide range of stressors including wave forces, storm surge, sea-level rise, and anthropogenic modification and are thus vulnerable to erosion. Urban coastal ecosystems are especially important due to the large populations these limited ecosystems serve. However, few studies have addressed the issue of urban coastal vulnerability at the landscape scale with spatial data that are finely resolved. The purpose of this study was to model and map coastal vulnerability and the role of natural habitats in reducing vulnerability in Jamaica Bay, New York, in terms of nine coastal vulnerability metrics (relief, wave exposure, geomorphology, natural habitats, exposure, exposure with no habitat, habitat role, erodible shoreline, and surge) under past (1609), current (2015), and future (2080) scenarios using InVEST 3.2.0. We analyzed vulnerability results both spatially and across all time periods, by stakeholder (ownership) and by distance to damage from Hurricane Sandy. We found significant differences in vulnerability metrics between past, current and future scenarios for all nine metrics except relief and wave exposure. The marsh islands in the center of the bay are currently vulnerable. In the future, these islands will likely be inundated, placing additional areas of the shoreline increasingly at risk. Significant differences in vulnerability exist between stakeholders; the Breezy Point Cooperative and Gateway National Recreation Area had the largest erodible shoreline segments. Significant correlations exist for all vulnerability (exposure/surge) and storm damage combinations except for exposure and distance to artificial debris. Coastal protective features, ranging from storm surge barriers and levees to natural features (e.g. wetlands), have been promoted to decrease future flood risk to communities in coastal areas around the world. Our methods of combining coastal vulnerability results with additional data and across multiple time

Occurrence of amphibians in northern California coastal dune drainages

USGS Publications Warehouse

Halstead, Brian J.; Kleeman, Patrick M.

2017-01-01

Many coastal dune ecosystems have been degraded by non-native dune vegetation, but these systems might still provide valuable habitat for some taxa, including amphibians. Because restoration of degraded dune systems is occurring and likely to continue, we examined the occurrence of amphibians in drainages associated with a coastal dune ecosystem degraded by invasive plants (European Beachgrass, Ammophila arenaria, and Iceplant, Carpobrotus edulis). We found that occupancy of 3 amphibian species (California Red-legged Frog, Rana draytonii; Sierran Treefrog, Hyliola sierra; and Rough-skinned Newt, Taricha granulosa) among 21 coastal-dune drainages was high, with most coastal-dune drainages occupied by all 3 species. Furthermore, reproduction of Sierran Treefrogs and California Red-legged Frogs was estimated to occur in approximately ½ and ⅓ of the drainages, respectively. The probability of occurrence of Rough-skinned Newts and pre-metamorphic life stages of both anurans decreased during the study, perhaps because of ongoing drought in California or precipitation-induced changes in phenology during the final year of the study. Maintaining structural cover and moist features during dune restoration will likely benefit native amphibian populations inhabiting coastal-dune ecosystems.

Evaluating the Ability of Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) to Mitigate Coastal Nitrogen Over-Enrichment

EPA Science Inventory

Human actions have resulted in a doubling of the rate of bio-available nitrogen production in the biosphere, leading to over-fertilization of coastal ecosystems worldwide. Such over-fertilization has numerous negative consequences for coastal ecosystems, such as excessive algal g...

The potential of Tillandsia dune ecosystems for revealing past and present variations in advective fog along the coastal Atacama Desert, northern Chile

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latorre Hidalgo, C.; García, J. L.; Gonzalez, A. L.; Marquet, P. A.

2015-12-01

The coastal Atacama Desert is home to a complex geo-ecosystem supported by fog with multiple atmospheric and oceanic drivers. Fog collectors in place for the last 17 years reveal that monthly fog intensity and amount are significantly linked to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO 1+2) with cold (warm) anomalies correlated to increased (decreased) fog (R2 = 0.41). Rainfall, however, can occur during extreme positive ENSO anomalies. Tillandsia landbeckii is an epiarenitic plant common to the coastal Atacama where fog is intercepted by the coastal escarpment between 950-1250 m.a.s.l. These plants possess multiple adaptations to survive exclusively on fog, including the construction of "dune" ecosystems known as "tillandsiales". Buried T. landbeckii layers in such dunes contain a record of past variations of fog over time (dunes can top 3 m in height) and alternating plant and sand layers are readily visible in dune stratigraphy. Stable N isotopes on modern plants and fog indicate that these plants reflect δ15N values of total N dissolved in fog. We measured δ15N values from buried T. landbeckii layers from five different tillandsiales found across c. 50 km the coastal escarpment. The isotope values in these buried plants indicate a prominent c. 8.0 ‰ shift towards more negative δ15N values on average over the last 3,200 years. Based on differences in δ15N between modern and more extensive "paleo" tillandsiales at one of our lowest elevation study sites, we interpret this shift as an increase in available moisture due to increased fog input during the late Holocene. Increased variability in ENSO as well as increased upwelling and southerly winds along the coastal Atacama would explain in part this increase. Clearly, the Atacama tillandsiales have considerable potential for monitoring past and present change of these large-scale ocean-atmosphere systems.

The Smartfin: How Citizen Scientist Surfers Could Help Inform Coastal Ocean Science and Conservation.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stern, A.

2016-12-01

Coastal marine ecosystems only represent a small percentage of the global ocean's surface area. However, these ecosystems are highly productive, rich in biodiversity, and are where the vast majority of human activity occurs. The complex interaction between seawater, land, and atmosphere makes coastal ecosystems some of the most dynamic in terms of seawater chemistry. In order to capture these dynamic changes in seawater chemistry across appropriate spatial and temporal scales requires a large amount of measurements. Unfortunately, it is often challenging to maintain an array of oceanographic sensors in coastal ecosystems, especially in high energy areas like the surf zone. Citizen science has the potential to increase the collection of oceanographic data from coastal systems where traditional methods are more difficult or expensive to implement. This talk will highlight the Smartfin, a surfboard mounted fin that measures seawater chemical parameters, physical wave characteristics, and GPS location during an ordinary surf session. Created by environmental non-profit Lost Bird, the Smartfin is a partnership between non-profits (Lost Bird and Surfrider Foundation), researchers (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), engineers (Board Formula), and the citizen science community. With an estimated 23 million surfers worldwide the Smartfin could greatly enhance vital data collection in coastal regions as well as raise awareness about our changing coastal and ocean ecosystems.

Loss of an ecological baseline through the eradication of oyster reefs from coastal ecosystems and human memory.

PubMed

Alleway, Heidi K; Connell, Sean D

2015-06-01

Oyster reefs form over extensive areas and the diversity and productivity of sheltered coasts depend on them. Due to the relatively recent population growth of coastal settlements in Australia, we were able to evaluate the collapse and extirpation of native oyster reefs (Ostrea angasi) over the course of a commercial fishery. We used historical records to quantify commercial catch of O. angasi in southern Australia from early colonization, around 1836, to some of the last recorded catches in 1944 and used our estimates of catch and effort to map their past distribution and assess oyster abundance over 180 years. Significant declines in catch and effort occurred from 1886 to 1946 and no native oyster reefs occur today, but historically oyster reefs extended across more than 1,500 km of coastline. That oyster reefs were characteristic of much of the coastline of South Australia from 1836 to 1910 appears not to be known because there is no contemporary consideration of their ecological and economic value. Based on the concept of a shifted baseline, we consider this contemporary state to reflect a collective, intergenerational amnesia. Our model of generational amnesia accounts for differences in intergenerational expectations of food, economic value, and ecosystem services of nearshore areas. An ecological system that once surrounded much of the coast and possibly the past presence of oyster reefs altogether may be forgotten and could not only undermine progress towards their recovery, but also reduce our expectations of these coastal ecosystems. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

Impact of Sea Level Rise on Mangrove Ecosystem and its Dependent Fishing Communities in the Coastal Regions of Cauvery Delta: A Message for Policy Planners to Frame Suitable Antcipatory Adaptation Strategies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amsad Ibrahim Khan, S. K.; Ramachandran, A.; Kandasamy, P.; Selvam, V.; Shanmugam, P.

2014-12-01

Coastal adaptation to sea-level rise (SLR) in the deltaic region is a multidimensional and complex process requiring informed decisions based on predicted impact and vulnerability assessment of SLR. Elevation plays a key role in determining the impact and vulnerability of coastal land areas to inundation from SLR. Highly accurate mapping of the elevation of the landscape is essential to identify low-lying coastal deltaic regions with valuable ecosystem like mangroves and its dependent human communities that are potentially at risk of inundation. It is difficult for policy planners and decision makers to identify suitable adaptation strategies without having information on the predicted impact and degree of vulnerability of coastal systems to SLR. Importantly, modeling and mapping will provide valuable input to climate change adaptation planning (NOAA 2010). Unfortunately, the comprehensive range of information that is typically required is seldom available and rarely in the possession of decision makers responsible for management of the deltaic and coastal zone (O'Regan, 1996). The present study seeks to provide insights on predicted impact of climate change induced SLR on mangrove ecosystem and its dependent human communities of Pichavaram mangroves, located at the Vellar-Coleroon estuarine region on the banks of Cauvery delta, Tamil Nadu, India. Based on real-time on-ground elevation measurement by DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) survey and by using GIS portals, the study has identified about 597 ha of mangroves (one third of total mangrove regions) and about 9 fishing hamlets with 12,000 and more of human population that directly depends on this mangrove ecosystem for their livelihood are under threat of inundation to the predicted impact of 0.5m SLR. The present study is intended to showcase a method by providing reliable scientific information on predicted impact of SLR on mangroves and its dependent human communities to policy planner for

Net uptake of atmospheric CO2 by coastal submerged aquatic vegetation

PubMed Central

Tokoro, Tatsuki; Hosokawa, Shinya; Miyoshi, Eiichi; Tada, Kazufumi; Watanabe, Kenta; Montani, Shigeru; Kayanne, Hajime; Kuwae, Tomohiro

2014-01-01

‘Blue Carbon’, which is carbon captured by marine living organisms, has recently been highlighted as a new option for climate change mitigation initiatives. In particular, coastal ecosystems have been recognized as significant carbon stocks because of their high burial rates and long-term sequestration of carbon. However, the direct contribution of Blue Carbon to the uptake of atmospheric CO2 through air-sea gas exchange remains unclear. We performed in situ measurements of carbon flows, including air-sea CO2 fluxes, dissolved inorganic carbon changes, net ecosystem production, and carbon burial rates in the boreal (Furen), temperate (Kurihama), and subtropical (Fukido) seagrass meadows of Japan from 2010 to 2013. In particular, the air-sea CO2 flux was measured using three methods: the bulk formula method, the floating chamber method, and the eddy covariance method. Our empirical results show that submerged autotrophic vegetation in shallow coastal waters can be functionally a sink for atmospheric CO2. This finding is contrary to the conventional perception that most near-shore ecosystems are sources of atmospheric CO2. The key factor determining whether or not coastal ecosystems directly decrease the concentration of atmospheric CO2 may be net ecosystem production. This study thus identifies a new ecosystem function of coastal vegetated systems; they are direct sinks of atmospheric CO2. PMID:24623530

Controls of Carbon Preservation in Coastal Wetlands of Texas: Mangrove vs. Saltmarsh Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sterne, A. M. E.; Louchouarn, P.; Norwood, M. J.; Kaiser, K.

2014-12-01

The estimated magnitude of the carbon (C) stocks contained in the first meter of US coastal wetland soils represents ~10% of the entire C stock in US soils (4 vs. 52 Pg, respectively). Because this stock extends to several meters below the surface for many coastal wetlands, it becomes paramount to understand the fate of C under ecosystem shifts, varying natural environmental constraints, and changing land use. In this project we analyze total hydrolysable carbohydrates, amino acids, phenols and stable isotopic data (δ13C) at two study sites located on the Texas coastline to investigate chemical compositions and the stage of decomposition in mangrove and marsh grass dominated wetlands. Carbohydrates are used as specific decomposition indicators of the polysaccharide component of wetland plants, whereas amino acids are used to identify the contribution of microbial biomass, and acid/aldehyde ratios of syringyl (S) and vanillyl (V) phenols (Ac/AlS,V) follow the decomposition of lignin. Preliminary results show carbohydrates account for 30-50 % of organic carbon in plant litter and surface sediments at both sites. Sharp declines of carbohydrate yields with depth occur parallel to increasing Ac/AlS,V ratios indicating substantial decomposition of both the polysaccharide and lignin components of litter detritus. Ecological differences (between marsh grass and mangrove dominated wetlands) are discussed to better constrain the role of litter biochemistry and ecological shifts on C preservation in these anoxic environments.

Effects of Sewage Discharge on Trophic State and Water Quality in a Coastal Ecosystem of the Gulf of California

PubMed Central

Vargas-González, Héctor Hugo; Arreola-Lizárraga, José Alfredo; Mendoza-Salgado, Renato Arturo; Méndez-Rodríguez, Lía Celina; Lechuga-Deveze, Carlos Hernando; Padilla-Arredondo, Gustavo; Cordoba-Matson, Miguel

2014-01-01

This paper provides evidence of the effects of urban wastewater discharges on the trophic state and environmental quality of a coastal water body in a semiarid subtropical region in the Gulf of California. The concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients and organic matter from urban wastewater primary treatment were estimated. La Salada Cove was the receiving water body and parameters measured during an annual cycle were temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, nitrite, nitrate, ammonia, orthophosphate, and chlorophyll a. The effects of sewage inputs were determined by using Trophic State Index (TRIX) and the Arid Zone Coastal Water Quality Index (AZCI). It was observed that urban wastewater of the city of Guaymas provided 1,237 ton N yr−1 and 811 ton P yr−1 and TRIX indicated that the receiving water body showed symptoms of eutrophication from an oligotrophic state to a mesotrophic state; AZCI also indicated that the environmental quality of the water body was poor. The effects of urban wastewater supply with insufficient treatment resulted in symptoms of eutrophication and loss of ecological functions and services of the coastal ecosystem in La Salada Cove. PMID:24711731

Decision-making in Coastal Management and a Collaborative Governance Framework

EPA Science Inventory

Over half of the US population lives in coastal watersheds, creating a regional pressure for coastal ecosystems to provide a broad spectrum of services while continuing to support healthy communities and economies. The National Ocean Policy, issued in 2010, and Coastal and Marin...

Editorial: Eutrophication and hypoxia and their impacts on the ecosystem of the Changjiang Estuary and adjacent coastal environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jing; Xiao, Tian; Huang, Daji; Liu, Su Mei; Fang, Jianguang

2016-02-01

The Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary plays an important role in the land-ocean interactions of East Asia, particularly in regard to the fate of land-derived materials and their impact on marine ecosystems in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. The 12 papers included in this special issue describe results from the MEcoPAM Study, an IMBER-China project, which occurred in 2011-2015. This project used a multi-disciplinary approach to understand ecosystem function of the Changjiang Estuary in response to multiple stressors (i.e. combined external forcings). The results presented here show that human activities in the watersheds have greatly changed the flux and variation of dissolved and particulate materials from the river. Further interactions between the Changjiang Watersheds and the East China Sea can dramatically modify the pathways of biogeochemistry and food web dynamics of the estuary and adjacent coastal environment at seasonal and inter-annual scales.

UNCERTAINTIES IN NITROGEN MASS LOADINGS IN COASTAL WATERSHEDS

EPA Science Inventory

With the increasing reduction of nutrients for coastal eutrophication control, the importance of well defined nitrogen mass balance becomes paramount. imited number of attempts have been made to quantify inputs and outputs within major coastal ecosystems including its watersheds....

The emerging role of lidar remote sensing in coastal research and resource management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, J.C.; Purkis, S.J.

2009-01-01

Knowledge of coastal elevation is an essential requirement for resource management and scientific research. Recognizing the vast potential of lidar remote sensing in coastal studies, this Special Issue includes a collection of articles intended to represent the state-of-the-art for lidar investigations of nearshore submerged and emergent ecosystems, coastal morphodynamics, and hazards due to sea-level rise and severe storms. Some current applications for lidar remote sensing described in this Special Issue include bluegreen wavelength lidar used for submarine coastal benthic environments such as coral reef ecosystems, airborne lidar used for shoreline mapping and coastal change detection, and temporal waveform-resolving lidar used for vegetation mapping. ?? 2009 Coastal Education and Research Foundation.

A complex-systems approach to predicting effects of sea level rise and nitrogen loading on nitrogen cycling in coastal wetland ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Larsen, Laurel G.; Moseman, Serena; Santoro, Alyson; Hopfensperger, Kristine; Burgin, Amy

2010-01-01

To effectively manage coastal ecosystems, we need an improvedunderstanding of how tidal marsh ecosystem services will respond to sea-level rise and increased nitrogen (N) loading to coastal areas. Here we review existing literature to better understand how these interacting perturbations s will likely impact N removal by tidal marshes. We propose that the keyy factors controlling long-term changes in N removal are plant-community changes, soil accretion rates, surface-subsurface flow paths, marsh geomorphology microbial communities, and substrates for microbial reactions. Feedbacks affecting relative elevations and sediment accretion ratess will serve as dominant controls on future N removal throughout the marsh. Given marsh persistence, we hypothesize that the processes dominating N removal will vary laterally across the marsh and longitudinallyalong the estuarine gradient. In salt marsh interiors, where nitrate reduction rates are often limited by delivery of nitrate to bacterial communities, reductions in groundwater discharge due to sea level rise may trigger a net reduction in N removal. In freshwater marshes, we expect a decreasee in N removal efficiency due to increased sulfide concentrations. Sulfide encroachment will increase the relative importance of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium and lead to greater bacterial nitrogen immobilization, ultimately resulting in an ecosystem that retains more N and is less effective at permanent N removal from the watershed. In contrast, we predict that sealevel–driven expansion of the tidal creek network and the degree of surface-subsurface exchange flux through tidal creek banks will result in greater N-removal efficiency from these locations.

Supply-side invasion ecology: characterizing propagule pressure in coastal ecosystems

PubMed Central

Verling, Emma; Ruiz, Gregory M; Smith, L. David; Galil, Bella; Miller, A. Whitman; Murphy, Kathleen R

2005-01-01

The observed rates and deleterious impacts of biological invasions have caused significant alarm in recent years, driving efforts to reduce the risk (establishment) of new introductions. Characterizing the supply of propagules is key to understanding invasion risk and developing effective management strategies. In coastal ecosystems, ships' ballast water is an important transfer mechanism (vector) for marine and freshwater species. Commercial ships exhibit a high degree of variation in ballast water operations that affect both the quantity and quality of propagule supply, and thereby invasion risk. The per-ship inoculation size from ballast water depends upon both the volume discharged and the organism density. Moreover, propagule quality will vary among source regions (ports) and voyage routes, due to differences in species composition and transport conditions, respectively. We show that significant differences exist in (i) the frequency and volume of ballast water discharge among vessel types, (ii) the frequency of vessel types and routes (source regions) among recipient ports, and (iii) the transit success (survivorship) of zooplankton in ballast tanks among voyage routes. Thus, propagule supply is not a simple function of total ship arrivals. For ships, as well as other vectors, variation in propagule quantity and quality must be explicitly considered to estimate invasion risk and advance predictive ability. PMID:16024389

Macro and micro plastics sorb and desorb metals and act as a point source of trace metals to coastal ecosystems

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

. Plastic debris will affect metals within coastal ecosystems by; 1) providing a sorption site (copper and lead), notably for PVC 2) desorption from the plastic i.e., the “inherent” load (cadmium and zinc) and 3) serving as a point source of acute trace metal exposure to coastal ecosystems. All three mechanisms will put coastal ecosystems at risk to the toxic effects of these metals. PMID:29444103

Macro and micro plastics sorb and desorb metals and act as a point source of trace metals to coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Munier, B; Bendell, L I

2018-01-01

. Plastic debris will affect metals within coastal ecosystems by; 1) providing a sorption site (copper and lead), notably for PVC 2) desorption from the plastic i.e., the "inherent" load (cadmium and zinc) and 3) serving as a point source of acute trace metal exposure to coastal ecosystems. All three mechanisms will put coastal ecosystems at risk to the toxic effects of these metals.

Nutrient supply and mercury dynamics in marine ecosystems: a conceptual model.

PubMed

Driscoll, Charles T; Chen, Celia Y; Hammerschmidt, Chad R; Mason, Robert P; Gilmour, Cynthia C; Sunderland, Elsie M; Greenfield, Ben K; Buckman, Kate L; Lamborg, Carl H

2012-11-01

There is increasing interest and concern over the impacts of mercury (Hg) inputs to marine ecosystems. One of the challenges in assessing these effects is that the cycling and trophic transfer of Hg are strongly linked to other contaminants and disturbances. In addition to Hg, a major problem facing coastal waters is the impacts of elevated nutrient, particularly nitrogen (N), inputs. Increases in nutrient loading alter coastal ecosystems in ways that should change the transport, transformations and fate of Hg, including increases in fixation of organic carbon and deposition to sediments, decreases in the redox status of sediments and changes in fish habitat. In this paper we present a conceptual model which suggests that increases in loading of reactive N to marine ecosystems might alter Hg dynamics, decreasing bioavailabilty and trophic transfer. This conceptual model is most applicable to coastal waters, but may also be relevant to the pelagic ocean. We present information from case studies that both support and challenge this conceptual model, including marine observations across a nutrient gradient; results of a nutrient-trophic transfer Hg model for pelagic and coastal ecosystems; observations of Hg species, and nutrients from coastal sediments in the northeastern U.S.; and an analysis of fish Hg concentrations in estuaries under different nutrient loadings. These case studies suggest that changes in nutrient loading can impact Hg dynamics in coastal and open ocean ecosystems. Unfortunately none of the case studies is comprehensive; each only addresses a portion of the conceptual model and has limitations. Nevertheless, our conceptual model has important management implications. Many estuaries near developed areas are impaired due to elevated nutrient inputs. Widespread efforts are underway to control N loading and restore coastal ecosystem function. An unintended consequence of nutrient control measures could be to exacerbate problems associated with Hg

Nutrient supply and mercury dynamics in marine ecosystems: A conceptual model

PubMed Central

Chen, Celia Y.; Hammerschmidt, Chad R.; Mason, Robert P.; Gilmour, Cynthia C.; Sunderland, Elsie M.; Greenfield, Ben K.; Buckman, Kate L.; Lamborg, Carl H.

2013-01-01

There is increasing interest and concern over the impacts of mercury (Hg) inputs to marine ecosystems. One of the challenges in assessing these effects is that the cycling and trophic transfer of Hg are strongly linked to other contaminants and disturbances. In addition to Hg, a major problem facing coastal waters is the impacts of elevated nutrient, particularly nitrogen (N), inputs. Increases in nutrient loading alter coastal ecosystems in ways that should change the transport, transformations and fate of Hg, including increases in fixation of organic carbon and deposition to sediments, decreases in the redox status of sediments and changes in fish habitat. In this paper we present a conceptual model which suggests that increases in loading of reactive N to marine ecosystems might alter Hg dynamics, decreasing bioavailabilty and trophic transfer. This conceptual model is most applicable to coastal waters, but may also be relevant to the pelagic ocean. We present information from case studies that both support and challenge this conceptual model, including marine observations across a nutrient gradient; results of a nutrient-trophic transfer Hg model for pelagic and coastal ecosystems; observations of Hg species, and nutrients from coastal sediments in the northeastern U.S.; and an analysis of fish Hg concentrations in estuaries under different nutrient loadings. These case studies suggest that changes in nutrient loading can impact Hg dynamics in coastal and open ocean ecosystems. Unfortunately none of the case studies is comprehensive; each only addresses a portion of the conceptual model and has limitations. Nevertheless, our conceptual model has important management implications. Many estuaries near developed areas are impaired due to elevated nutrient inputs. Widespread efforts are underway to control N loading and restore coastal ecosystem function. An unintended consequence of nutrient control measures could be to exacerbate problems associated with Hg

Coastal Residents Ocean Literacy about Seawater Desalination and its Impacts on Marine Ecosystems in the Monterey Bay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faraola, S.; Heck, N.; Mirza Ordshahi, B.; Paytan, A.; Petersen, K. L.; Haddad, B.; Potts, D. C.

2016-12-01

The current lack of available freshwater in California has brought about the consideration of utilizing seawater desalination to provide a consistent drinking water source for local residents of coastal areas. Public literacy about this technology and its impacts on the ocean is vital to making informed policy decisions about marine resources and ecosystems, which may empower local communities to become more involved stewards of the ocean. Our study evaluates public literacy about seawater desalination and its impacts on the ocean. Data was collected using a questionnaire-based survey from a randomly selected sample of residents and marine stakeholders in coastal communities around Monterey Bay. The study explored (1) self-assessed and accurate knowledge about marine impacts from seawater desalination and (2) what shapes public literacy concerning pertinent ocean issues in communities near a National Marine Sanctuary. Our findings show to what extent the public is prepared to engage in meaningful discussions about marine issues and seawater desalination and if an understanding of the ocean shapes perceptions on saltwater desalination.

Satellite sensor requirements for monitoring essential biodiversity variables of coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Muller-Karger, Frank E; Hestir, Erin; Ade, Christiana; Turpie, Kevin; Roberts, Dar A; Siegel, David; Miller, Robert J; Humm, David; Izenberg, Noam; Keller, Mary; Morgan, Frank; Frouin, Robert; Dekker, Arnold G; Gardner, Royal; Goodman, James; Schaeffer, Blake; Franz, Bryan A; Pahlevan, Nima; Mannino, Antonio G; Concha, Javier A; Ackleson, Steven G; Cavanaugh, Kyle C; Romanou, Anastasia; Tzortziou, Maria; Boss, Emmanuel S; Pavlick, Ryan; Freeman, Anthony; Rousseaux, Cecile S; Dunne, John; Long, Matthew C; Klein, Eduardo; McKinley, Galen A; Goes, Joachim; Letelier, Ricardo; Kavanaugh, Maria; Roffer, Mitchell; Bracher, Astrid; Arrigo, Kevin R; Dierssen, Heidi; Zhang, Xiaodong; Davis, Frank W; Best, Ben; Guralnick, Robert; Moisan, John; Sosik, Heidi M; Kudela, Raphael; Mouw, Colleen B; Barnard, Andrew H; Palacios, Sherry; Roesler, Collin; Drakou, Evangelia G; Appeltans, Ward; Jetz, Walter

2018-04-01

combined specifications as H4 imaging. Enabling H4 imaging is vital for the conservation and management of global biodiversity and ecosystem services, including food provisioning and water security. An agile satellite in a 3-d repeat low-Earth orbit could sample 30-km swath images of several hundred coastal habitats daily. Nine H4 satellites would provide weekly coverage of global coastal zones. Such satellite constellations are now feasible and are used in various applications. © 2018 The Authors Ecological Applications published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Ecological Society of America.

Hurricane frequency and landfall distribution for coastal wetlands of the Gulf coast, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Doyle, T.W.

2009-01-01

The regularity and severity of tropical storms are major determinants controlling ecosystem structure and succession for coastal ecosystems. Hurricane landfall rates vary greatly with high and low frequency for given coastal stretches of the southeastern United States. Site-specific meteorological data of hurricane wind speeds and direction, however, are only available for select populated cities of relatively sparse distribution and inland from the coast. A spatial simulation model of hurricane circulation, HURASIM, was applied to reconstruct chronologies of hurricane wind speeds and vectors for northern Gulf coast locations derived from historical tracking data of North Atlantic tropical storms dating back to 1851. Contrasts of storm frequencies showed that tropical storm incidence is nearly double for Florida coastal ecosystems than the westernmost stretches of Texas coastline. Finer-scale spatial simulations for the north-central Gulf coast exhibited sub-regional differences in storm strength and frequency with coastal position and latitude. The overall pattern of storm incidence in the Gulf basin indicates that the disturbance regime of coastal areas varies greatly along the coast, inland from the coast, and temporally over the period of record. Field and modeling studies of coastal ecosystems will benefit from this retrospective analysis of hurricane incidence and intensity both on a local or regional basis. ?? 2009 The Society of Wetland Scientists.

Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme: Coastal Expert Workshop meeting summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thomson, L.; McLennan, Donald; Anderson, Rebecca D.; Wegeberg, S.; Pettersvik Arvnes, Maria; Sergienko, Liudmila; Behe, Carolina; Moss-Davies, Pitseolak; Fritz, S.; Christensen, T.; Price, C.

2016-01-01

The Coastal Expert Workshop brought together a diverse group of coastal experts with the common goal of developing a biodiversity monitoring program for coastal ecosystems across the circumpolar Arctic. Meeting participants, including northern residents, industry and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) representatives, scientists, and government regulators from across the circumpolar Arctic, gathered at the Lord Elgin Hotel in Ottawa from March 1 to 3, 2016, to discuss current biodiversity monitoring efforts, understand key issues facing biodiversity in the Arctic coastal areas and suggest monitoring indicators, or Focal Ecosystem Components, for the program. A Traditional Knowledge Holders meeting was held on February 29, 2016 in conjunction with the workshop. The following document provides a summary of the workshop activities and outcomes, and will be followed by a more complete Workshop Report.

Monitoring the Productivity of Coastal Systems Using PH ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The impact of nutrient inputs to the eutrophication of coastal ecosystems has been one of the great themes of coastal ecology. There have been countless studies devoted to quantifying how human sources of nutrients, in particular nitrogen (N), effect coastal water bodies. These studies, which often measure in situ concentrations of nutrients, chlorophyll, and dissolved oxygen, are often spatially and/or temporally intensive and expensive. We provide evidence from experimental mesocosms, coupled with data from the water column of a well-mixed estuary, that pH can be a quick, inexpensive, and integrative measure of net ecosystem metabolism. In some cases, this approach is a more sensitive tracer of production than direct measurements of chlorophyll and carbon-14. Taken together, our data suggest that pH is a sensitive, but often overlooked, tool for monitoring estuarine production. This presentation will explore the potential utility of pH as an indicator of ecosystem productivity. Our data suggest that pH is a sensitive and potentially integrator of net ecosystem production. It should not be overlooked, that measuring pH is quick, easy, and inexpensive, further increasing its value as an analytical tool.

The emerging role of lidar remote sensing in coastal research and resource management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, John C.; Purkis, Samuel J.

2009-01-01

Knowledge of coastal elevation is an essential requirement for resource management and scientific research. Recognizing the vast potential of lidar remote sensing in coastal studies, this Special Issue includes a collection of articles intended to represent the state-of-the-art for lidar investigations of nearshore submerged and emergent ecosystems, coastal morphodynamics, and hazards due to sea-level rise and severe storms. Some current applications for lidar remote sensing described in this Special Issue include bluegreen wavelength lidar used for submarine coastal benthic environments such as coral reef ecosystems, airborne lidar used for shoreline mapping and coastal change detection, and temporal waveform-resolving lidar used for vegetation mapping.

Degradation State and Sequestration Potential of Carbon in Coastal Wetlands of Texas: Mangrove Vs. Saltmarsh Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sterne, A. M. E.; Kaiser, K.; Louchouarn, P.; Norwood, M. J.

2015-12-01

The estimated magnitude of the organic carbon (OC) stocks contained in the first meter of US coastal wetland soils represents ~10% of the entire OC stock in US soils (4 vs. 52 Pg, respectively). Because this stock extends to several meters below the surface for many coastal wetlands, it becomes paramount to understand the fate of OC under ecosystem shifts, varying natural environmental constraints, and changing land use. In this project we analyze the major classes of biochemicals including total hydrolysable neutral carbohydrates, enantiomeric amino acids, phenols, and cutins/suberins at two study sites located on the Texas coastline to investigate chemical composition and its controls on organic carbon preservation in mangrove (Avicennia germinans) and saltmarsh grass (Spartina alterniflora) dominated wetlands. Results show neutral carbohydrates and lignin contribute 30-70% and 10-40% of total OC, respectively, in plant litter and surface sediments at both sites. Sharp declines of carbohydrate yields with depth occur parallel to increasing Ac/AlS,V ratios indicating substantial decomposition of both the polysaccharide and lignin components of litter detritus. Contrasts in the compositions and relative abundances of all previously mentioned compound classes are further discussed to examine the role of litter biochemistry in OC preservation. For example, the selective preservation of cellulose over hemicellulose in sediments indicates macromolecular structure plays a key role in preservation between plant types. It is concluded that the chemical composition of litter material controls the composition and magnitude of OC stored in sediments. Ultimately, as these ecosystems transition from one dominant plant type to another, as is currently observed along the Texas coastline, there is the potential for OC sequestration efficiency to shift due to the changing composition of OC input to sediments.

Plastic particles in coastal pelagic ecosystems of the Northeast Pacific ocean.

PubMed

Doyle, Miriam J; Watson, William; Bowlin, Noelle M; Sheavly, Seba B

2011-02-01

, 1-2.5 mm, >2.5-5 mm, >5-10 mm, and >10 mm. Product fragments accounted for the majority of the particles, and most were less than 2.5 mm in size. The ubiquity of such particles in the survey areas and predominance of sizes <2.5 mm implies persistence in these pelagic ecosystems as a result of continuous breakdown from larger plastic debris fragments, and widespread distribution by ocean currents. Detailed investigations of the trophic ecology of individual zooplankton species, and their encounter rates with various size ranges of plastic particles in the marine pelagic environment, are required in order to understand the potential for ingestion of such debris particles by these organisms. Ongoing plankton sampling programs by marine research institutes in large marine ecosystems are good potential sources of data for continued assessment of the abundance, distribution and potential impact of small plastic debris in productive coastal pelagic zones. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Integrated Design Plan for the Coastal Module of GOOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malone, T.; Knap, T.

2003-04-01

Changes in the ocean-climate system and land-use in coastal drainage basins are major drivers of change in coastal waters of the U.S. EEZ. Consequent changes in physical, biological, chemical and geological processes affect public health and well being, the health of coastal marine ecosystems, and the sustainability of living marine resources. Such changes are related through a hierarchy of interactions that can be represented by robust models of ecosystems dynamics. These observations make a compelling case for an ecosystem-based approach to the management of living marine resources, environmental protection, coastal zone management, and coastal engineering, especially in coastal systems where erosion, flooding, habitat alterations, over-fishing, water pollution, fish kills, invasions of non-indigenous species, and harmful algal blooms are collectively most severe. Implementing an ecosystem-based strategy requires the capability to engage in adaptive management, a decision-making activity that depends on the ability to (1) routinely and rapidly detect changes in the environment and living resources and to (2) provide timely predictions of changes in or the occurrence of the phenomena that affect the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services (from surface currents and coastal flooding to habitat modification and the loss of biodiversity). We do not have this capability today. Effective management and sustainable use also depend on efficient and timely coupling of the processes by which new scientific knowledge is gained and the fruits of this knowledge are used for the public good. Today, there is an unacceptable disconnect between these processes. A new approach to detecting and predicting environmental changes is needed that enables adaptive management through routine, continuous and rapid provision of data and information. The Coastal Module of the Global Ocean Observing System is being developed as part of the Integrated Global Observing Strategy to

Historical and projected coastal Louisiana land changes: 1978-2050

USGS Publications Warehouse

Barras, John; Beville, Shelly; Britsch, Del; Hartley, Stephen; Hawes, Suzanne; Johnston, James; Kemp, Paul; Kinler, Quin; Martucci, Antonio; Porthouse, Jon; Reed, Denise; Roy, Kevin; Sapkota, Sijan; Suhayda, Joseph

2003-01-01

An important component of the Louisiana Coastal Area (LCA) Comprehensive Coastwide Ecosystem Restoration Study is the projection of a “future condition” for the Louisiana coast if no further restoration measures were adopted. Such a projection gives an idea of what the future might hold without implementation of the LCA plan and provides a reference against which various ecosystem restoration proposals can be assessed as part of the planning process. One of the most fundamental measures of ecosystem degradation in coastal Louisiana has been the conversion of land (mostly emergent vegetated habitat) to open water. Thus, the projection of the future condition of the ecosystem must be based upon the determination of future patterns of land and water. To conduct these projections, a multidisciplinary LCA Land Change Study Group was formed that included individuals from agencies and academia with expertise in remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), ecosystem processes, and coastal land loss. Methods were based upon those used in prior studies for Coast 2050 (Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Task Force [LCWCRTF] and the Wetlands Conservation and Restoration Authority 1998, 1999) and modified as described here to incorporate an improved understanding of coastal land loss and land gain processes with more advanced technical capabilities. The basic approach is to use historical data to assess recent trends in land loss and land gain and to project those changes into the future, taking into account spatial variations in the patterns and rates of land loss and land gain. This approach is accomplished by developing a base map, assessing and delineating areas of similar land change (polygons), and projecting changes into the future. This report describes the methodology and compares the current land change projection to previous projections.

Heterogeneous distribution in sediments and dispersal in waters of Alexandrium minutum in a semi-enclosed coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

Klouch, Z K; Caradec, F; Plus, M; Hernández-Fariñas, T; Pineau-Guillou, L; Chapelle, A; Schmitt, S; Quéré, J; Guillou, L; Siano, R

2016-12-01

Within the framework of research aimed at using genetic methods to evaluate harmful species distribution and their impact on coastal ecosystems, a portion of the ITS1rDNA of Alexandrium minutum was amplified by real-time PCR from DNA extracts of superficial (1-3cm) sediments of 30 subtidal and intertidal stations of the Bay of Brest (Brittany, France), during the winters of 2013 and 2015. Cell germinations and rDNA amplifications of A. minutum were obtained for sediments of all sampled stations, demonstrating that the whole bay is currently contaminated by this toxic species. Coherent estimations of ITS1rDNA copy numbers were obtained for the two sampling cruises, supporting the hypothesis of regular accumulation of A. minutum resting stages in the south-eastern, more confined embayments of the study area, where fine-muddy sediments are also more abundant. Higher ITS1rDNA copy numbers were detected in sediments of areas where blooms have been seasonally detected since 2012. This result suggests that specific genetic material estimations in superficial sediments of the bay may be a proxy of the cyst banks of A. minutum. The simulation of particle trajectory analyses by a Lagrangian physical model showed that blooms occurring in the south-eastern part of the bay are disconnected from those of the north-eastern zone. The heterogeneous distribution of A. minutum inferred from both water and sediment suggests the existence of potential barriers for the dispersal of this species in the Bay of Brest and encourages finer analyses at the population level for this species within semi-enclosed coastal ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Topography and flooding of coastal ecosystems on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska: Implications for sea level rise

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jorgenson, Torre; Ely, Craig R.

2001-01-01

We measured surface elevations, stage of annual peak flooding, and sedimentation along 10 toposequences across coastal ecosystems on the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta in western Alaska during 1994-1998 to assess some of the physical processes affecting ecosystem distribution. An ecotype was assigned to each of 566 points, and differences in elevations among 24 ecotypes were analyzed within individual toposequences and across the 40 x 40-km study area. Elevations of vegetated ecotypes along the longest toposequence rose only ~1 m over a distance of 7.5 km, and mean elevations of most ecotype across the study area were within 0.5 m of mean higher-high water (1.47 m). During 1994 to 1998, monitoring of annual peak stage using crest gauges revealed flooding from the highest fall storm surge reached 2.58 m (1.11 m above mean higher-high tide). In each year, only the highest surface was unaffected by flooding. Mean annual sedimentation rates for the various ecotypes were 8.0 ram/y on tidal flats, 1.4 to 3.8 mm/y on the active floodplain, 0.1-0.2 mm/y on the inactive floodplain, and 0 mm/ on the abandoned floodplain. If sea levels in the Bering Sea rise ~0.5 m by 2100, as predicted by some on a global basis, large portions of the coastal margin of the delta could be regularly inundated by water during high tides, and even the highest ecotypes could be affected by storm surges. Predicting the extent of future inundation is difficult, however, because of the changes in the ground-surface elevation through sedimentation, organic matter accumulation, and permafrost development.

Modeling Coastal Vulnerability through Space and Time

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Coastal ecosystems experience a wide range of stressors including wave forces, storm surge, sea-level rise, and anthropogenic modification and are thus vulnerable to erosion. Urban coastal ecosystems are especially important due to the large populations these limited ecosystems serve. However, few studies have addressed the issue of urban coastal vulnerability at the landscape scale with spatial data that are finely resolved. The purpose of this study was to model and map coastal vulnerability and the role of natural habitats in reducing vulnerability in Jamaica Bay, New York, in terms of nine coastal vulnerability metrics (relief, wave exposure, geomorphology, natural habitats, exposure, exposure with no habitat, habitat role, erodible shoreline, and surge) under past (1609), current (2015), and future (2080) scenarios using InVEST 3.2.0. We analyzed vulnerability results both spatially and across all time periods, by stakeholder (ownership) and by distance to damage from Hurricane Sandy. We found significant differences in vulnerability metrics between past, current and future scenarios for all nine metrics except relief and wave exposure. The marsh islands in the center of the bay are currently vulnerable. In the future, these islands will likely be inundated, placing additional areas of the shoreline increasingly at risk. Significant differences in vulnerability exist between stakeholders; the Breezy Point Cooperative and Gateway National Recreation Area had the largest erodible shoreline segments. Significant correlations exist for all vulnerability (exposure/surge) and storm damage combinations except for exposure and distance to artificial debris. Coastal protective features, ranging from storm surge barriers and levees to natural features (e.g. wetlands), have been promoted to decrease future flood risk to communities in coastal areas around the world. Our methods of combining coastal vulnerability results with additional data and across multiple time

Natural and human-induced hypoxia and consequences for coastal areas: synthesis and future development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Gilbert, D.; Gooday, A. J.; Levin, L.; Naqvi, S. W. A.; Middelburg, J. J.; Scranton, M.; Ekau, W.; Peña, A.; Dewitte, B.; Oguz, T.; Monteiro, P. M. S.; Urban, E.; Rabalais, N. N.; Ittekkot, V.; Kemp, W. M.; Ulloa, O.; Elmgren, R.; Escobar-Briones, E.; van der Plas, A. K.

2010-05-01

Hypoxia has become a world-wide phenomenon in the global coastal ocean and causes a deterioration of the structure and function of ecosystems. Based on the collective contributions of members of SCOR Working Group #128, the present study provides an overview of the major aspects of coastal hypoxia in different biogeochemical provinces, including estuaries, coastal waters, upwelling areas, fjords and semi-enclosed basins, with various external forcings, ecosystem responses, feedbacks and potential impact on the sustainability of the fishery and economics. The obvious external forcings include freshwater runoff and other factors contributing to stratification, organic matter and nutrient loadings, as well as exchange between coastal and open ocean water masses. Their different interactions set up mechanisms that drive the system towards hypoxia. Coastal systems also vary in their relative susceptibility to hypoxia depending on their physical and geographic settings. It is understood that coastal hypoxia has a profound impact on the sustainability of ecosystems, which can be seen, for example, by the change in the food-web structure and system function; other influences include compression and loss of habitat, as well as changes in organism life cycles and reproduction. In most cases, the ecosystem responds to the low dissolved oxygen in non-linear ways with pronounced feedbacks to other compartments of the Earth System, including those that affect human society. Our knowledge and previous experiences illustrate that there is a need to develop new observational tools and models to support integrated research of biogeochemical dynamics and ecosystem behavior that will improve confidence in remediation management strategies for coastal hypoxia.

Emergy evaluation of benthic ecosystems influenced by upwelling in northern Chile: Contributions of the ecosystems to the regional economy

EPA Science Inventory

Emergy evaluations of three benthic ecosystem networks found in Mejillones, Antofagasta and Tongoy Bays, located on the coast of northern Chile, were carried out with the intent of documenting the contributions of these coastal ecosystems to the economy. The productivity of these...

Rationale for a New Generation of Indicators for Coastal Waters

PubMed Central

Niemi, Gerald; Wardrop, Denice; Brooks, Robert; Anderson, Susan; Brady, Valerie; Paerl, Hans; Rakocinski, Chet; Brouwer, Marius; Levinson, Barbara; McDonald, Michael

2004-01-01

More than half the world’s human population lives within 100 km of the coast, and that number is expected to increase by 25% over the next two decades. Consequently, coastal ecosystems are at serious risk. Larger coastal populations and increasing development have led to increased loading of toxic substances, nutrients and pathogens with subsequent algal blooms, hypoxia, beach closures, and damage to coastal fisheries. Recent climate change has led to the rise in sea level with loss of coastal wetlands and saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers. Coastal resources have traditionally been monitored on a stressor-by-stressor basis such as for nutrient loading or dissolved oxygen. To fully measure the complexities of coastal systems, we must develop a new set of ecologic indicators that span the realm of biological organization from genetic markers to entire ecosystems and are broadly applicable across geographic regions while integrating stressor types. We briefly review recent developments in ecologic indicators and emphasize the need for improvements in understanding of stress–response relationships, contributions of multiple stressors, assessments over different spatial and temporal scales, and reference conditions. We provide two examples of ecologic indicators that can improve our understanding of these inherent problems: a) the use of photopigments as indicators of the interactive effects of nutrients and hydrology, and b) biological community approaches that use multiple taxa to detect effects on ecosystem structure and function. These indicators are essential to measure the condition of coastal resources, to diagnose stressors, to communicate change to the public, and ultimately to protect human health and the quality of the coastal environment. PMID:15198917

Carbon Stable Isotopes as Indicators of Coastal Eutrophication

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal ecologists and managers have frequently used nitrogen stable isotopes (δ15N) to trace and monitor anthropogenic nitrogen (N) in coastal ecosystems. However, the interpretation of δ15N data can often be challenging, if not confounding, as the isotope values fractionate su...

Comparative analysis of different survey methods for monitoring fish assemblages in coastal habitats.

PubMed

Baker, Duncan G L; Eddy, Tyler D; McIver, Reba; Schmidt, Allison L; Thériault, Marie-Hélène; Boudreau, Monica; Courtenay, Simon C; Lotze, Heike K

2016-01-01

Coastal ecosystems are among the most productive yet increasingly threatened marine ecosystems worldwide. Particularly vegetated habitats, such as eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds, play important roles in providing key spawning, nursery and foraging habitats for a wide range of fauna. To properly assess changes in coastal ecosystems and manage these critical habitats, it is essential to develop sound monitoring programs for foundation species and associated assemblages. Several survey methods exist, thus understanding how different methods perform is important for survey selection. We compared two common methods for surveying macrofaunal assemblages: beach seine netting and underwater visual census (UVC). We also tested whether assemblages in shallow nearshore habitats commonly sampled by beach seines are similar to those of nearby eelgrass beds often sampled by UVC. Among five estuaries along the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, our results suggest that the two survey methods yield comparable results for species richness, diversity and evenness, yet beach seines yield significantly higher abundance and different species composition. However, sampling nearshore assemblages does not represent those in eelgrass beds despite considerable overlap and close proximity. These results have important implications for how and where macrofaunal assemblages are monitored in coastal ecosystems. Ideally, multiple survey methods and locations should be combined to complement each other in assessing the entire assemblage and full range of changes in coastal ecosystems, thereby better informing coastal zone management.

Resolving variability of phytoplankton species composition and blooms in coastal ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klais, Riina; Cloern, James E.; Harrison, Paul J.

2015-09-01

The contributions to this special volume focus on phytoplankton dynamics in coastal ecosystems, where perturbations from terrestrial, atmospheric, oceanic sources and human activities converge to cause changes in phytoplankton communities. Analyses of phytoplankton time series across the range of coastal sites, either as meta-analyses or single site based studies, complete our general understanding of the ecology of coastal phytoplankton dynamics. The role of short-term variability of the phytoplankton community appears to be more important for the annual primary production than previously thought, especially during the high biomass spring bloom period (Gallegos and Neale, 2015). Diel vertical migration of motile species is commonplace even in shallow and presumably well-mixed estuaries (Hall et al., 2015). Comparing phytoplankton patterns in various sites reveals contrasting long-term trends in the last two decades, reflecting the recent history of economic growth in related coastal areas. In Chesapeake Bay Estuary (US east coast) and Thau Lagoon (southern France), oligotrophication has been achieved by different nutrient reduction measures (Gowen et al., 2015; Harding et al., 2015), while in the Patos Lagoon Estuary (Brazil) and SE coast of Arabian Sea, the last two decades showed signs of eutrophication, following the more recent period of economic growth in the area (Haraguchi et al., 2015; Godhe et al., 2015). The global meta-analyses in this volume exposed the great challenges involved when working with this type of data, due to the diversity of idiosyncrasies characteristic to most phytoplankton time series, for example, the taxonomic practices, cell volume calculations (Harrison et al., 2015), volume to carbon conversions (Carstensen et al., 2015; Olli et al., 2015). But also the diversity of the patterns themselves makes analyses challenging (Carstensen et al., 2015; Thompson et al., 2015). To begin to move towards more similar practices in plankton

AN OVERVIEW OF COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS

EPA Science Inventory

Discussions of the coastal environment and its health can be improved by more precise use of terms and clarification of the relationship, if any, between the health of ecosystems and the risks to human health. Ecosystem health is seldom defined and, in any case, has to be regarde...

Species richness accelerates marine ecosystem restoration in the Coral Triangle.

PubMed

Williams, Susan L; Ambo-Rappe, Rohani; Sur, Christine; Abbott, Jessica M; Limbong, Steven R

2017-11-07

Ecosystem restoration aims to restore biodiversity and valuable functions that have been degraded or lost. The Coral Triangle is a hotspot for marine biodiversity held in its coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests, all of which are in global decline. These coastal ecosystems support valuable fisheries and endangered species, protect shorelines, and are significant carbon stores, functions that have been degraded by coastal development, destructive fishing practices, and climate change. Ecosystem restoration is required to mitigate these damages and losses, but its practice is in its infancy in the region. Here we demonstrate that species diversity can set the trajectory of restoration. In a seagrass restoration experiment in the heart of the Coral Triangle (Sulawesi, Indonesia), plant survival and coverage increased with the number of species transplanted. Our results highlight the positive role biodiversity can play in ecosystem restoration and call for revision of the common restoration practice of establishing a single target species, particularly in regions having high biodiversity. Coastal ecosystems affect human well-being in many important ways, and restoration will become ever more important as conservation efforts cannot keep up with their loss. Published under the PNAS license.

Natural and human-induced hypoxia and consequences for coastal areas: synthesis and future development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Gilbert, D.; Gooday, A.; Levin, L.; Naqvi, W.; Middelburg, J.; Scranton, M.; Ekau, W.; Pena, A.; Dewitte, B.; Oguz, T.; Monteiro, P. M. S.; Urban, E.; Rabalais, N.; Ittekkot, V.; Kemp, W. M.; Ulloa, O.; Elmgren, R.; Escobar-Briones, E.; van der Plas, A.

2009-11-01

Hypoxia has become a world-wide phenomenon in the global coastal ocean and causes deterioration of structure and function of ecosystems. Based on the collective contributions of members of SCOR Working Group #128, the present study provides an overview of the major aspects of coastal hypoxia in different biogeochemical provinces, including estuaries, upwelling areas, fjords and semi-enclosed basins, with various external forcings, ecosystem responses, feedbacks and potential impact on the sustainability of the fishery and economics. The obvious external forcings include fresh water runoff and other factors contributing to stratification, organic matter and nutrient loadings, as well as exchange between coastal and open ocean water masses; their different interactions set up mechanisms that drive the system towards hypoxia. However, whether the coastal environment becomes hypoxic or not, under the combination of external forcings, depends also on the nature of the ecosystem, e.g. physical and geographic settings. It is understood that coastal hypoxia has a profound impact on the sustainability of ecosystems, which can be seen, for example, by the change in the food-web structure and system function; other influences can be compression and loss of habitat, as well as change in life cycle and reproduction. In most cases, the ecosystem responds to the low dissolved oxygen in a non-linear way and has pronounced feedbacks to other compartments of the Earth System, hence affecting human society. Our knowledge and previous experiences illustrate that there is a need to develop new observational tools and models to support integrated research of biogeochemical dynamics and ecosystem behaviour that will improve confidence in remediation management strategies for coastal hypoxia.

Nutrient dynamics and primary production in a pristine coastal mangrove ecosystem: Andaman Islands, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenkins, E. N.; Nickodem, K.; Siemann, A. L.; Hoeher, A.; Sundareshwar, P. V.; Ramesh, R.; Purvaja, R.; Banerjee, K.; Manickam, S.; Haran, H.

2012-12-01

Mangrove ecosystems play a key role in supporting coastal food webs and nutrient cycles in the coastal zone. Their strategic position between the land and the sea make them important sites for land-ocean interaction. As part of an Indo-US summer field course we investigated changes in the water chemistry in a pristine mangrove creek located at Wright Myo in the Andaman Islands, India. This study was conducted during the wet season (June 2012) to evaluate the influence of the coastal mangrove wetlands on the water quality and productivity in adjoining pelagic waters. Over a full tidal cycle spanning approximately 24 hrs, we measured nutrient concentrations and other ancillary parameters (e.g. dissolved oxygen, turbidity, salinity, etc.) hourly to evaluate water quality changes in incoming and ebbing tides. Nutrient analyses had the following concentration ranges (μM): nitrite 0.2-0.9, nitrate 2.0-11.5, ammonium 1.3-7.5, dissolved inorganic phosphate 0.7-2.8. The dissolved inorganic nitrogen to dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIN/DIP) ratio was very low relative to an optimal ratio, suggesting growth is nitrogen limited. In addition, we conducted primary production assays to investigate the factors that controlled primary production in this pristine creek. The experiment was carried out in situ using the Winkler method at low and high tide. Four-hour incubation of light and dark bottles representing a fixed control, non-fertilized, fertilized with nitrate, and fertilized with phosphate enabled the measurement of both net oxygen production and dark respiration. The low tide experiment suggests the ecosystem is heterotrophic because the oxygen measured in the light bottles was consistently less than that of the dark bottles. This result may be an experimental artifact of placing the glass bottles in the sun for too long prior to incubation, potentially leading to photolysis of large organic molecules in the light bottles. The high tide experiment also displayed

Evolving demand for ecosystem services and their impact in a coastal New England watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wollheim, W. M.; Green, M. B.; Pellerin, B. A.; Duncan, J. M.; Gettel, G. M.; Hopkinson, C.; Polsky, C.; Pontius, R.

2009-12-01

Human demands for ecosystem services (e.g. provision of food and water; regulation of waste) change over space and time as society, economy, and environment evolve. The distribution of population relative to watershed boundaries determines supply and demand of ecosystem services, which in turn affects watershed water and nutrient budgets. A watershed perspective is helpful to assess whether such services are sustainable with respect to freshwater and coastal ecosystems. We determined how demand for three ecosystem services (ES): food production, clean water supply, and removal of excess nutrients has changed over the last two hundred years (1800-present) in the watersheds draining to Plum Island Sound (drainage area = ~600 km2), located in Essex County MA., part of the Boston Metropolitan Area. The watersheds have gone through three distinct phases of ES demand over this period: 1) provision of food and fiber during the agricultural period (1600-1800’s), 2) increasing provision of water during the period of forest regrowth and agricultural abandonment (1880 - 1950), and 3) regulation of nitrogen pollution and provision of water during the suburban period (1950-present). As a result of changing ES, net interbasin nitrogen transfers out of the basin peaked in the mid 1800’s, water exports peaked 1960-1980 (averaging 27% of annual runoff), and net nitrogen transfers into the basin peaked in the 1960’s and stabilized thereafter (averaging 2.5x atmospheric deposition rates). ES provided by the Plum Island basins disproportionately benefited people living outside the basin prior to 1950 (e.g. internal water use was < 10% of total water extracted for domestic consumption), but were increasingly used by people living within the basin in the late 20th century (e.g. internal water use about 25-30% of total withdrawal). However, demands for ES from the Plum Island watersheds have not been accelerating in the recent suburban period despite continued population growth

The Contribution of Mosses to the Complex Pattern of Diurnal and Seasonal Metabolism the wet Coastal Tundra Ecosystems Near Barrow Alaska.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zona, D.; Oechel, W.; Hastings, S.; Oberbauer, S.; Kopetz, I.; Ikawa, H.

2006-12-01

Despite the abundance and importance bryophytes in the Alaskan Arctic tundra there is relatively little information on the role of these plants in determining the CO2 fluxes of Arctic tundra and, in particular, the environmental controls and climate change sensitivities of current and future photosynthesis in Arctic mosses. Studies in the tundra biome during the IBP program implicated high light together with high temperature as causes of decreases in photosynthesis in arctic mosses. Several authors have reported midday depression of moss photosynthesis due to high irradiance, even under optimum temperature and fully hydrated conditions. The focus of this study is to understand the role of Sphagnum ssp. mosses of various species, the dominant moss in the Alaska coastal wet Tundra on the total ecosystem carbon exchange throughout the season and in particular soon after snowmelt when the ecosystem is a carbon source. Our hypothesis is that the ecosystem carbon source activity during this critical period may be a result of sensitivity of mosses to light and photoinhibition in the absence of the protective canopy layer of vascular plants. In this study we measured daily courses of photosynthesis and fluorescence in the moss layer and we compare it to the total ecosystem carbon fluxes determined by the eddy covariance technique. The measurements were conducted in wet coastal tundra from June 2006, right after the snow melt, to August 2006 in the Biological Experimental Observatory (BEO) in Barrow, Alaska. The photosynthesis in the moss layer was found to be strongly inhibited when the radiation exceeded 800 ìmol m-2 s-1. Mosses remained fully hydrated throughout the season, precluding drying as a cause of decreased photosynthesis. Dark-adapted fluorescence measurements (Fv/Fm) showed a relatively low value (0.6) right after the snow melt, and remained fairly stable throughout the season. This low value was previously reported as characteristic of photoinhibited

Abiotic control of phytoplankton blooms in temperate coastal marine ecosystems: A case study in the South Atlantic Ocean.

PubMed

Bermejo, Paula; Helbling, E Walter; Durán-Romero, Cristina; Cabrerizo, Marco J; Villafañe, Virginia E

2018-01-15

Coastal waters of the South Atlantic Ocean (SAO) sustain one of the highest levels of production of the World's ocean, maintained by dense phytoplankton winter blooms that are dominated by large diatoms. These blooms have been associated to calm weather conditions that allow the formation of a shallow and well illuminated upper mixed layer. In Bahía Engaño, a coastal site in Patagonia, Argentina (chosen as a model coastal ecosystem) winter blooms recurrently peaked on June and they were dominated almost entirely by the microplanktonic diatom Odontella aurita. However, during the year 2015, a new wind pattern was observed - with many days of northerly high-speed winds, deviating from the calm winter days observed during a reference period (2001-2014) used for comparison. We determined that this new wind pattern was the most important factor that affected the phytoplankton dynamics, precluding the initiation of a June bloom during 2015 that instead occurred during late winter (August). Furthermore, the 2015 bloom had a higher proportion of nanoplanktonic cells (as compared to the reference period) and it was co-dominated by O. aurita and Thalassiossira spp. Other variables such as nutrient supply and incident solar radiation did not have an important role in limiting and/or initiating the June 2015 bloom, but temperature might have benefited the growth of small cells during August 2015. If these changes in the timing and/or the taxonomic composition of the bloom persist, they may have important consequences for the secondary production and economic services of the coastal SAO. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The New Seafloor Observatory (OBSEA) for Remote and Long-Term Coastal Ecosystem Monitoring

PubMed Central

Aguzzi, Jacopo; Mànuel, Antoni; Condal, Fernando; Guillén, Jorge; Nogueras, Marc; del Rio, Joaquin; Costa, Corrado; Menesatti, Paolo; Puig, Pere; Sardà, Francesc; Toma, Daniel; Palanques, Albert

2011-01-01

A suitable sampling technology to identify species and to estimate population dynamics based on individual counts at different temporal levels in relation to habitat variations is increasingly important for fishery management and biodiversity studies. In the past two decades, as interest in exploring the oceans for valuable resources and in protecting these resources from overexploitation have grown, the number of cabled (permanent) submarine multiparametric platforms with video stations has increased. Prior to the development of seafloor observatories, the majority of autonomous stations were battery powered and stored data locally. The recently installed low-cost, multiparametric, expandable, cabled coastal Seafloor Observatory (OBSEA), located 4 km off of Vilanova i la Gertrú, Barcelona, at a depth of 20 m, is directly connected to a ground station by a telecommunication cable; thus, it is not affected by the limitations associated with previous observation technologies. OBSEA is part of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observatory (EMSO) infrastructure, and its activities are included among the Network of Excellence of the European Seas Observatory NETwork (ESONET). OBSEA enables remote, long-term, and continuous surveys of the local ecosystem by acquiring synchronous multiparametric habitat data and bio-data with the following sensors: Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) sensors for salinity, temperature, and pressure; Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) for current speed and direction, including a turbidity meter and a fluorometer (for the determination of chlorophyll concentration); a hydrophone; a seismometer; and finally, a video camera for automated image analysis in relation to species classification and tracking. Images can be monitored in real time, and all data can be stored for future studies. In this article, the various components of OBSEA are described, including its hardware (the sensors and the network of marine and land nodes

The new Seafloor Observatory (OBSEA) for remote and long-term coastal ecosystem monitoring.

PubMed

Aguzzi, Jacopo; Mànuel, Antoni; Condal, Fernando; Guillén, Jorge; Nogueras, Marc; del Rio, Joaquin; Costa, Corrado; Menesatti, Paolo; Puig, Pere; Sardà, Francesc; Toma, Daniel; Palanques, Albert

2011-01-01

A suitable sampling technology to identify species and to estimate population dynamics based on individual counts at different temporal levels in relation to habitat variations is increasingly important for fishery management and biodiversity studies. In the past two decades, as interest in exploring the oceans for valuable resources and in protecting these resources from overexploitation have grown, the number of cabled (permanent) submarine multiparametric platforms with video stations has increased. Prior to the development of seafloor observatories, the majority of autonomous stations were battery powered and stored data locally. The recently installed low-cost, multiparametric, expandable, cabled coastal Seafloor Observatory (OBSEA), located 4 km off of Vilanova i la Gertrú, Barcelona, at a depth of 20 m, is directly connected to a ground station by a telecommunication cable; thus, it is not affected by the limitations associated with previous observation technologies. OBSEA is part of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observatory (EMSO) infrastructure, and its activities are included among the Network of Excellence of the European Seas Observatory NETwork (ESONET). OBSEA enables remote, long-term, and continuous surveys of the local ecosystem by acquiring synchronous multiparametric habitat data and bio-data with the following sensors: Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) sensors for salinity, temperature, and pressure; Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) for current speed and direction, including a turbidity meter and a fluorometer (for the determination of chlorophyll concentration); a hydrophone; a seismometer; and finally, a video camera for automated image analysis in relation to species classification and tracking. Images can be monitored in real time, and all data can be stored for future studies. In this article, the various components of OBSEA are described, including its hardware (the sensors and the network of marine and land nodes

Coastal wetlands and global change: overview

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guntenspergen, G.R.; Vairin, B.; Burkett, V.R.

1997-01-01

The potential impacts of climate change are of great practical concern to those interested in coastal wetland resources. Among the areas of greatest risk in the United States are low-lying coastal habitats with easily eroded substrates which occur along the northern Gulf of Mexico and southeast Atlantic coasts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have identified coastal wetlands as ecosystems most vulnerable to direct, large-scale impacts of climate change, primarily because of their sensitivity to increases in sea-level rise.

Monitoring Phenology of Coastal Marshes in Louisiana using the Landsat Archive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Y.; Kearney, M.

2016-12-01

Coastal marshes are important sinks for blue carbon—carbon sequestered by coastal and marine ecosystems. Remote sensing phenology of the marshes is a good indicator for their ability to sequester carbon, which, however, is seldom addressed in the literature. This study aims to better understand phenology of coastal marshes in Louisiana using NDVI derived from a compilation the Landsat TM, ETM+, and OLI archive (30 m resolution) since 1984 to present. The environmental variables (i.e. annual temperature, sea level, and atmospheric CO2 concentration) of the study area all increased significantly overtime, showing that the study area is subject to climate change. However, marsh phenological parameters, including its peak NDVI, show no significant trend over time. This finding contrasts with the reported increase in summer photosynthetic activity of vegetation in the Northern Hemisphere, which is attributed to the increase in global temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration. Such differences might be due to marsh physiological characteristics and the local environmental alterations. Coastal marshes in Louisiana contain many C4 species. The C4 photosynthesis pathway is less responsive to atmospheric CO2 concentration compared to the C3 photosynthesis. Coastal marshes thus respond to the elevated atmospheric CO2 differently compared to other ecosystems at middle to higher latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Another possible reason is that, while benefiting from the increased atmospheric CO2, coastal marshes are also undergoing significant stresses caused by sea level rise (e.g. submergence, and storm-induced floods and surges), which can offset the positive effects resulted from the increased temperature and atmospheric CO2 on photosynthesis. Our results suggest that coastal marshes might respond to climate change much differently from other ecosystems, but further investigation is required in order to better protect the ecosystem and its carbon storage under the

Linking social, ecological, and physical science to advance natural and nature-based protection for coastal communities.

PubMed

Arkema, Katie K; Griffin, Robert; Maldonado, Sergio; Silver, Jessica; Suckale, Jenny; Guerry, Anne D

2017-07-01

Interest in the role that ecosystems play in reducing the impacts of coastal hazards has grown dramatically. Yet the magnitude and nature of their effects are highly context dependent, making it difficult to know under what conditions coastal habitats, such as saltmarshes, reefs, and forests, are likely to be effective for saving lives and protecting property. We operationalize the concept of natural and nature-based solutions for coastal protection by adopting an ecosystem services framework that propagates the outcome of a management action through ecosystems to societal benefits. We review the literature on the basis of the steps in this framework, considering not only the supply of coastal protection provided by ecosystems but also the demand for protective services from beneficiaries. We recommend further attention to (1) biophysical processes beyond wave attenuation, (2) the combined effects of multiple habitat types (e.g., reefs, vegetation), (3) marginal values and expected damage functions, and, in particular, (4) community dependence on ecosystems for coastal protection and co-benefits. We apply our approach to two case studies to illustrate how estimates of multiple benefits and losses can inform restoration and development decisions. Finally, we discuss frontiers for linking social, ecological, and physical science to advance natural and nature-based solutions to coastal protection. © 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (EMAP): NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT, GULF OF MEXICO, AND INDICATOR DEVELOPMENT

EPA Science Inventory

The estuaries and coastal waters of the U.S. represent a complex set of ecosystems along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific Ocean. These ecosystems are affected by effluents and nutrients entering the coastal waters, as well as global stressors and anthr...

Final Scientific/Technical Report: National Institute for Climatic Change Research Coastal Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tornqvist, Torbjorn; Chambers, Jeffrey

It is widely recognized that coastal environments are under particular threat due to changes associated with climate change. Accelerated sea-level rise, in some regions augmented by land subsidence, plus the possibility of a changing storm climate, renders low-lying coastal landscapes and their ecosystems vulnerable to future change. This is a pressing problem, because these ecosystems commonly rank as some of the most valuable on the planet. The objective of the NICCR Coastal Center was to support basic research that aims at reducing uncertainty about ecosystem changes during the next century, carried out along the U.S. coastlines. The NICCR Coastal Centermore » has funded 20 projects nationwide (carried out at 27 institutions) that addressed numerous aspects of the problems outlined above. The research has led to a variety of new insights, a significant number of which published in elite scientific journals. It is anticipated that the dissemination of this work in the scientific literature will continue for several more years, given that a number of projects have only recently reached their end date. In addition, NICCR funds have been used to support research at Tulane University. The lion’s share of these funds has been invested in the development of unique facilities for experimental research in coastal ecosystems. This aspect of the work could have a lasting impact in the future.« less

Sources, impacts and trends of pharmaceuticals in the marine and coastal environment

PubMed Central

Gaw, Sally; Thomas, Kevin V.; Hutchinson, Thomas H.

2014-01-01

There has been a significant investment in research to define exposures and potential hazards of pharmaceuticals in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. A substantial number of integrated environmental risk assessments have been developed in Europe, North America and many other regions for these situations. In contrast, comparatively few empirical studies have been conducted for human and veterinary pharmaceuticals that are likely to enter coastal and marine ecosystems. This is a critical knowledge gap given the significant increase in coastal human populations around the globe and the growth of coastal megacities, together with the increasing importance of coastal aquaculture around the world. There is increasing evidence that pharmaceuticals are present and are impacting on marine and coastal environments. This paper reviews the sources, impacts and concentrations of pharmaceuticals in marine and coastal environments to identify knowledge gaps and suggests focused case studies as a priority for future research. PMID:25405962

The value of carbon sequestration and storage in coastal habitats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beaumont, N. J.; Jones, L.; Garbutt, A.; Hansom, J. D.; Toberman, M.

2014-01-01

Coastal margin habitats are globally significant in terms of their capacity to sequester and store carbon, but their continuing decline, due to environmental change and human land use decisions, is reducing their capacity to provide this ecosystem service. In this paper the UK is used as a case study area to develop methodologies to quantify and value the ecosystem service of blue carbon sequestration and storage in coastal margin habitats. Changes in UK coastal habitat area between 1900 and 2060 are documented, the long term stocks of carbon stored by these habitats are calculated, and the capacity of these habitats to sequester CO2 is detailed. Changes in value of the carbon sequestration service of coastal habitats are then projected for 2000-2060 under two scenarios, the maintenance of the current state of the habitat and the continuation of current trends of habitat loss. If coastal habitats are maintained at their current extent, their sequestration capacity over the period 2000-2060 is valued to be in the region of £1 billion UK sterling (3.5% discount rate). However, if current trends of habitat loss continue, the capacity of the coastal habitats both to sequester and store CO2 will be significantly reduced, with a reduction in value of around £0.25 billion UK sterling (2000-2060; 3.5% discount rate). If loss-trends due to sea level rise or land reclamation worsen, this loss in value will be greater. This case study provides valuable site specific information, but also highlights global issues regarding the quantification and valuation of carbon sequestration and storage. Whilst our ability to value ecosystem services is improving, considerable uncertainty remains. If such ecosystem valuations are to be incorporated with confidence into national and global policy and legislative frameworks, it is necessary to address this uncertainty. Recommendations to achieve this are outlined.

Numerical Analysis of the Effect of Active Wind Speed and Direction on Circulation of Sea of Azov Water with and without Allowance for the Water Exchange through the Kerch Strait

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherkesov, L. V.; Shul'ga, T. Ya.

2018-01-01

The effect of seawater movement through the Kerch Strait for extreme deviations in the level and speed of currents in the Sea of Azov caused by the action of climate wind fields has been studied using the Princeton ocean model (POM), a general three-dimensional nonlinear model of ocean circulation. Formation of the water flow through the strait is caused by the long-term action of the same type of atmospheric processes. The features of the water dynamics under conditions of changing intensity and active wind direction have been studied. Numerical experiments were carried out for two versions of model Sea of Azov basins: closed (without the Kerch Strait) and with a fluid boundary located in the Black Sea. The simulation results have shown that allowance for the strait leads to a significant change in the velocities of steady currents and level deviations at wind speeds greater than 5 m/s. The most significant effect on the parameters of steady-state movements is exerted by the speed of the wind that generates them; allowance for water exchange through the strait is less important. Analysis of the directions of atmospheric circulation has revealed that the response generated by the movement of water through the strait is most pronounced when a southeast wind is acting.

Monitoring the Productivity of Coastal Systems Using PH: When Simpler is Better

EPA Science Inventory

The impact of nutrient inputs to the eutrophication of coastal ecosystems has been one of the great themes of coastal ecology. There have been countless studies devoted to quantifying how human sources of nutrients, in particular nitrogen (N), effect coastal water bodies. These s...

Monitoring the Productivity of Coastal Systems Using PH: When Simpler is Better.

EPA Science Inventory

The impact of nutrient inputs to the eutrophication of coastal ecosystems has been one of the great themes of coastal ecology. There have been countless studies devoted to quantifying how human sources of nutrients, in particular nitrogen (N), effect coastal water bodies. These s...

High-efficient Unmanned Aircraft System Operations for Ecosystem Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, H.; Zhang, H.

2016-02-01

Diverse national and international agencies support the idea that incorporating Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into ecosystem assessment will improve the operations efficiency and accuracy. In this paper, a UAS will be designed to monitor the Gulf of Mexico's coastal area ecosystems intelligently and routinely. UAS onboard sensors will capture information that can be utilized to detect and geo-locate areas affected by invasive grasses. Moreover, practical ecosystem will be better assessed by analyzing the collected information. Compared with human-based/satellite-based surveillance, the proposed strategy is more efficient and accurate, and eliminates limitations and risks associated with human factors. State of the art UAS onboard sensors (e.g. high-resolution electro optical camera, night vision camera, thermal sensor etc.) will be used for monitoring coastal ecosystems. Once detected the potential risk in ecosystem, the onboard GPS data will be used to geo-locate and to store the exact coordinates of the affected area. Moreover, the UAS sensors will be used to observe and to record the daily evolution of coastal ecosystems. Further, benefitting from the data collected by the UAS, an intelligent big data processing scheme will be created to assess the ecosystem evolution effectively. Meanwhile, a cost-efficient intelligent autonomous navigation strategy will be implemented into the UAS, in order to guarantee that the UAS can fly over designated areas, and collect significant data in a safe and effective way. Furthermore, the proposed UAS-based ecosystem surveillance and assessment methodologies can be utilized for natural resources conservation. Flying UAS with multiple state of the art sensors will monitor and report the actual state of high importance natural resources frequently. Using the collected data, the ecosystem conservation strategy can be performed effectively and intelligently.

Environmental drivers of heterogeneity in the trophic-functional structure of protozoan communities during an annual cycle in a coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

Xu, Guangjian; Yang, Eun Jin; Xu, Henglong

2017-08-15

Trophic-functional groupings are an important biological trait to summarize community structure in functional space. The heterogeneity of the tropic-functional pattern of protozoan communities and its environmental drivers were studied in coastal waters of the Yellow Sea during a 1-year cycle. Samples were collected using the glass slide method at four stations within a water pollution gradient. A second-stage matrix-based analysis was used to summarize spatial variation in the annual pattern of the functional structure. A clustering analysis revealed significant variability in the trophic-functional pattern among the four stations during the 1-year cycle. The heterogeneity in the trophic-functional pattern of the communities was significantly related to changes in environmental variables, particularly ammonium-nitrogen and nitrates, alone or in combination with dissolved oxygen. These results suggest that the heterogeneity in annual patterns of protozoan trophic-functional structure may reflect water quality status in coastal ecosystems. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Effects of Land Use Change on Tropical Coastal Systems are Exacerbated by the Decline of Marine Mega-Herbivores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamers, L. P.; Christianen, M. J.; Govers, L. L.; Kiswara, W.; Bouma, T.; Roelofs, J. G.; Van Katwijk, M. M.

2011-12-01

Land use changes in tropical regions such as deforestation, mining activities, and shrimp farming, not only affect freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems, but also have a strong impact on coastal marine ecosystems. The increased influx of sediments and nutrients affects these ecosystems in multiple ways. Seagrass meadows that line coastal marine ecosystems provide important ecosystem services, e.g. sediment trapping, coastal protection and fisheries. Based on studies in East Kalimantan (Indonesia) we have shown that seagrass meadow parameters may provide more reliable indicators of land use change than the sampling of either marine sediments or water quality chemical parameters. Observations of changes in ecosystem functioning are particularly valuable for those areas where flux values are lacking and rapid surveys are needed. Time series of estuarine seagrass transects can show not only the intensity, but also the radius of action of land use change on coastal marine systems. Marine mega-herbivores pose a strong top-down control in seagrass ecosystems. We will provide a conceptual model, based on experimental evidence, to show that the global decline of marine mega-herbivore populations (as a result of large-scale poaching) may decrease the resilience of seagrass systems to increased anthropogenic forcing including land use changes. These outcomes not only urge the need for better regulation of land use change, but also for the establishment of marine protected areas (MPA's) in tropical coastal regions.

Ecosystem services provided by pacific NW Estuaries: State of knowledge

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal regions in the United States are rapidly developing areas, with increasing urbanization and growing populations. Estuarine and nearshore coastal marine waters provide valuable ecosystem services to resident and transient human communities. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW)...

Incorporating Ecosystem Services into Community-level ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

EPA’s Office of Research and Development’s Sustainable and Healthy Communities Research Program is developing tools and approaches to incorporate ecosystem goods and services concepts into community-level decision-making. The San Juan Community Study is one of a series of coordinated community studies, which also include Mobile Bay, AL, Great Lakes Areas of Concern, and the Pacific Northwest. Common elements across the community studies include a focus on watershed management and national estuary programs (National Estuary Program, National Estuarine Research Reserve System). San Juan, Puerto Rico, is unique from the other community studies in that it is located in a highly urbanized watershed integrated with a number of freshwater and coastal ecosystems. The San Juan Community Study will explore linkages between watershed management decisions (e.g., dredging canals, restoration of mangrove buffers, sewage discharge interventions, climate adaptive strategies) targeting priority stressors (e.g., nutrients, contaminants, and pathogens; aquatic debris; habitat loss; modified hydrology and water circulation; sea level rise; storm intensity and frequency) effecting the condition of ecosystems (e.g., estuarine habitats and fish, as well as the connected terrestrial and coastal ecosystems), associated ecosystem goods and services (e.g., tourism and recreation, fishing, nutrient & sediment retention, contaminant processing, carbon sequestration, flood protection),

St. Louis River fish migrations: Gains and losses of ecosystem ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Twin Ports fishery has undergone change from a migratory fish-based fishery to a Lake Superior-based fishery, and is now returning to a diverse fishery that includes fish of both life histories. These changes reflect past disturbances to the Great Lakes ecosystem as well as recent water quality improvement and efforts to restore habitat in the St. Louis River. Migratory fishes are an important ecosystem service for the St. Louis River, and improvements to the ecosystem quality within the St. Louis River Area of Concern has benefited migratory fishes. The coastal wetlands within the lower river provide direct support to a variety of high-value, recreationally-important fish species, including walleye, northern pike, and bass. Moreover, these wetlands serve as nursery habitat for a broader suite of high-value, commercially-important species. Restoration has likely improved the value of these coastal wetlands because low-value rough species tend to be more prevalent in degraded coastal wetlands, whereas high-value commercial and game fishes are more prevalent in high-quality coastal wetlands. There have been losses in ecosystem services, as well. Owing to legacy contamination of mercury and PCBs, migratory fishes in the St. Louis River have sufficiently high contaminant burdens to warrant consumption advisories, and recent movement research demonstrates that there is a positive relationship between increased use of St. Louis River habitat (versus Lake Superior)

Sources, impacts and trends of pharmaceuticals in the marine and coastal environment.

PubMed

Gaw, Sally; Thomas, Kevin V; Hutchinson, Thomas H

2014-11-19

There has been a significant investment in research to define exposures and potential hazards of pharmaceuticals in freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. A substantial number of integrated environmental risk assessments have been developed in Europe, North America and many other regions for these situations. In contrast, comparatively few empirical studies have been conducted for human and veterinary pharmaceuticals that are likely to enter coastal and marine ecosystems. This is a critical knowledge gap given the significant increase in coastal human populations around the globe and the growth of coastal megacities, together with the increasing importance of coastal aquaculture around the world. There is increasing evidence that pharmaceuticals are present and are impacting on marine and coastal environments. This paper reviews the sources, impacts and concentrations of pharmaceuticals in marine and coastal environments to identify knowledge gaps and suggests focused case studies as a priority for future research. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

CLASSIFYING COASTAL WATERS: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND CURRENT FOCUS ON AQUATIC STRESSORS

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal ecosystems are ecologically and commercially productive habitats that are experiencing significant impacts associated with accelerated population growth in coastal zones. The Clean Water Act requires identification of impaired water bodies and determination of the causes ...

Ecosystem model of the entire Beaufort Sea marine ecosystem: a tool for assessing food-web structure and ecosystem changes from 1970 to 2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suprenand, P. M.; Hoover, C.

2016-02-01

The Beaufort Sea coastal-marine ecosystem is approximately a 476,000 km2 area in the Arctic Ocean, which extends from -112.5 to -158° longitude to 67.5 to 75° latitude. Within this Arctic Ocean area the United States (Alaskan) indigenous communities of Barrow, Kaktovik, and Nuiqsut, and the Canadian (Northwest Territories) indigenous communities of Aklavik, Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Paulatuk, Ulukhaktok, and Sachs Harbour, subsist by harvesting marine mammals, fish, and invertebrates from the Beaufort Sea to provide the majority of their community foods annually. The ecosystem in which the indigenous communities harvest is considered a polar habitat that includes many specialized species, such as polar bears that rely on sea-ice for foraging activities and denning, or ice algae that are attached to the cryosphere. However, the polar habitat has been experiencing a diminishing sea-ice extent, age, and seasonal duration, with concomitant increases in sea surface temperatures (SSTs), since the 1970s. Changes in sea-ice and SST have consequences to the Beaufort Sea coastal-marine ecosystem, which includes animal habitat losses, alterations to trophodynamics, and impacts to subsistence community harvesting. The present study was aimed at capturing trophodynamic changes in the Beaufort Sea coastal-marine ecosystem from 1970 to 2014 using a fitted spatial-temporal model (Ecopath with Ecosim and Ecospace) that utilizes forcing and mediation functions to describe animal/trophodynamic relationships with sea-ice and sea surface temperature, as well as individual community harvesting efforts. Model outputs reveals similar trends in animals population changes (e.g., increasing bowhead whale stock), changes in apex predator diets (e.g., polar bears eating less ringed seal), and changes in animal distributions (e.g., polar bears remaining closer to land over time). The Beaufort Sea model is a dynamic tool for Arctic Ocean natural resource management in the years to come.

Practitioners' views of science needs for the Great Lakes coastal ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pebbles, Victoria; Lillard, Elizabath C.; Seelbach, Paul W.; Fogarty, Lisa Reynolds

2015-01-01

In 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lake Science Center (USGS-GLSC) and the USGS-Michigan Water Science Center partnered with the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) to conduct a series of four workshops with coastal practitioners and managers across the Great Lakes basin to highlight the need for, and get input on, a Great Lakes regional coastal science strategy. To this end, this report is intended to help guide USGS coastal and nearshore science priorities, but may also help guide other science agencies. The USGS-GLSC partnership on this effort was part of a broader five-year Memorandum of Understanding between the USGS-GLSC and the GLC to enhance communications between coastal science and management communities within the Great Lakes region. This report presents a summary and analysis of participant feedback from the four workshops held in 2014. Participant feedback included participant worksheets as well as interactive drawing sessions, individual notes and group flip chart notes from each workshop. The results are presented as a series of findings that can be used to guide USGS coastal/nearshore science priorities in support of management needs at local, state and regional scales.

Responses of biological and chemical components in North East Atlantic coastal water to experimental nitrogen and phosphorus addition--a full scale ecosystem study and its relevance for management.

PubMed

Olsen, Yngvar; Reinertsen, Helge; Sommer, Ulrich; Vadstein, Olav

2014-03-01

The objective of this study was to quantify chemical and biological responses to an experimentally increased nutrient input to an open coastal planktonic ecosystem and to contribute to a scientific concept and credible indicators for managing nutrient supply to coastal waters. Data were derived in a 5 year fertilisation experiment of a tidal driven coastal lagoon at the outer coast off Central Norway (63°36' N, 9°33' E), with a surface area of 275.000 m(2), volume of 5.5 mill m(3), mean depth of 22 m and a water exchange rate of 0.19 day(-1). The lagoon was fertilised in the summer season 1998 and 1999, while summer seasons 1996-97 and 2000 and inflowing water were used as unfertilised references. Most measured chemical and biological variables showed linear responses with an increasing loading rate of inorganic N and P (LN and LP, respectively). PON, POP and POC (< 200 μm) responded significantly (P<0.05) as did chlorophyll a and phytoplankton C. DIN and DIP remained, however, constant and independent of LN and LP, respectively (P>0.05) as did heterotrophic biomass (P>0.05). We evaluate the response variables assuming a stepwise incorporation process of nutrients in the planktonic ecosystem and how that will interact with biological response times and water dilution rates. We suggest that PON is a credible indicator of both chemical and ecological states of the planktonic ecosystem and that natural background and upper critical concentrations are 46 and 88 mg PON m(-3), respectively. The study was supported by data from mesocosms. We discuss the scientific relevance of our suggestions, how results can be extrapolated to a broader geographical scale, and we propose a science-based concept for the management of nutrient emission to open coastal waters. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

FEGS at the inflection point: How linking Ecosystem Services to Human Benefit improves management of coastal ecosystems.

EPA Science Inventory

Final ecosystem goods and services (FEGS) are the connection between the ecosystem resources and human stakeholders that benefit from natural capital. The FEGS concept is an extension of the ecosystem services (ES) concept (e.g., Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) and results from...

Monitoring the Productivity of Coastal Systems Using PH: When Simpler is Better (NEERS)

EPA Science Inventory

The impact of nutrient inputs to the eutrophication of coastal ecosystems has been one of the great themes of coastal ecology. There have been countless studies devoted to quantifying how human sources of nutrients, in particular nitrogen (N), effect coastal water bodies. These s...

Evaluating the distribution of terrestrial dissolved organic matter in a complex coastal ecosystem using fluorescence spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamashita, Youhei; Boyer, Joseph N.; Jaffé, Rudolf

2013-09-01

The coastal zone of the Florida Keys features the only living coral reef in the continental United States and as such represents a unique regional environmental resource. Anthropogenic pressures combined with climate disturbances such as hurricanes can affect the biogeochemistry of the region and threaten the health of this unique ecosystem. As such, water quality monitoring has historically been implemented in the Florida Keys, and six spatially distinct zones have been identified. In these studies however, dissolved organic matter (DOM) has only been studied as a quantitative parameter, and DOM composition can be a valuable biogeochemical parameter in assessing environmental change in coastal regions. Here we report the first data of its kind on the application of optical properties of DOM, in particular excitation emission matrix fluorescence with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC), throughout these six Florida Keys regions in an attempt to assess spatial differences in DOM sources. Our data suggests that while DOM in the Florida Keys can be influenced by distant terrestrial environments such as the Everglades, spatial differences in DOM distribution were also controlled in part by local surface runoff/fringe mangroves, contributions from seasgrass communities, as well as the reefs and waters from the Florida Current. Application of principal component analysis (PCA) of the relative abundance of EEM-PARAFAC components allowed for a clear distinction between the sources of DOM (allochthonous vs. autochthonous), between different autochthonous sources and/or the diagenetic status of DOM, and further clarified contribution of terrestrial DOM in zones where levels of DOM were low in abundance. The combination between EEM-PARAFAC and PCA proved to be ideally suited to discern DOM composition and source differences in coastal zones with complex hydrology and multiple DOM sources.

Barriers to and opportunities for landward migration of coastal wetlands with sea-level rise

USGS Publications Warehouse

Enwright, Nicholas M.; Griffith, Kereen T.; Osland, Michael J.

2016-01-01

In the 21st century, accelerated sea-level rise and continued coastal development are expected to greatly alter coastal landscapes across the globe. Historically, many coastal ecosystems have responded to sea-level fluctuations via horizontal and vertical movement on the landscape. However, anthropogenic activities, including urbanization and the construction of flood-prevention infrastructure, can produce barriers that impede ecosystem migration. Here we show where tidal saline wetlands have the potential to migrate landward along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast, one of the most sea-level rise sensitive and wetland-rich regions of the world. Our findings can be used to identify migration corridors and develop sea-level rise adaptation strategies to help ensure the continued availability of wetland-associated ecosystem goods and services.

A whole plant approach to evaluate the water use of mediterranean maquis species in a coastal dune ecosystem

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mereu, S.; Salvatori, E.; Fusaro, L.; Gerosa, G.; Muys, B.; Manes, F.

2009-02-01

An integrated approach has been used to analyse the water relations of three Mediterranean species, A. unedo L., Q. ilex L. and P. latifolia L. co-occurring in a coastal dune ecosystem. The approach considered leaf level gas exchange, sap flow measurements and structural adaptations between 15 May and 31 July 2007, and was necessary to capture the different response of the three species to the same environment. The complexity of the response was proportional to the complexity of the system, characterized by a sandy soil with a low water retention capacity and the presence of a water table. The latter did not completely prevent the development of a drought response, and species differences in this responses have been partially attributed to a different root distribution. Sap flow of A. unedo decreased rapidly in response to the decline of Soil Water Content, while that of Q. ilex decreased only moderately. Midday leaf water potential of P. latifolia and A. unedo was between 2.2 and 2.7 MPa through the measuring period, while in Q. ilex it reached a value of 3.4 MPa at the end of the season. A. unedo was the only species to decrease the leaf area to sapwood area ratio from 23.9±1.2 (May) to 15.2±1.5 (July), as a response to drought. A. unedo also underwent an almost stepwise loss on hydraulic conductivity, such a loss didn't occur for Q. ilex, while P. latifolia was able to slightly increase hydraulic conductivity, showing how different plant compartments coordinate differently between species as a response to drought. Such different coordination affects the gas exchange between vegetation and the atmosphere, and has implications for the response of the Mediterranean coastal dune ecosystems to climate change.

Avian influenza virus wild bird surveillance in the Azov and Black Sea regions of Ukraine (2010-2011).

PubMed

Muzyka, Denys; Pantin-Jackwood, Mary; Spackman, Erica; Stegniy, Borys; Rula, Oleksandr; Shutchenko, Pavlo

2012-12-01

The Azov and Black Sea basins are part of the transcontinental wild bird migration routes from Northern Asia and Europe to the Mediterranean, Africa, and Southwest Asia. These regions constitute an area of transit, stops during migration, and nesting for many different bird species. From September 2010 to September 2011, a wild bird surveillance study was conducted in these regions to identify avian influenza viruses. Biological samples consisting of cloacal and tracheal swabs and fecal samples were collected from wild birds of different ecological groups, including waterfowl and sea- and land-based birds, in places of mass bird accumulations in Sivash Bay and the Utlyuksky and Molochniy estuaries. The sampling covered the following wild bird biological cycles: autumn migration, wintering, spring migration, nesting, and postnesting seasons. A total of 3634 samples were collected from 66 different species of birds. During the autumn migration, 19 hemagglutinating viruses were isolated, 14 of which were identified as low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) virus subtypes H1N?, H3N8, H5N2, H7N?, H8N4, H10N7, and H11N8. From the wintering samples, 45 hemagglutinating viruses were isolated, 36 of which were identified as LPAI virus subtypes H1N1, H1N? H1N2, H4N?, H6N1, H7N3, H7N6, H7N7, H8N2, H9N2, H10N7, H10N4, H11N2, H12N2, and H15N7. Only three viruses were isolated during the spring migration, nesting, and postnesting seasons (serotypes H6, H13, and H16). The HA and NA genes were sequenced from the isolated H5 and N1 viruses, and the phylogenetic analysis revealed possible ecological connections between the Azov and Black Sea regions and Europe. The LPAI viruses were isolated mostly from mallard ducks, but also from shellducks, shovelers, teals, and white-fronted geese. The rest of the 14 hemagglutinating viruses isolated were identified as different serotypes of avian paramyxoviruses (APMV-1, APMV-4, APMV-6, and APMV-7). This information furthers our understanding

Climate change impacts on rural poverty in low-elevation coastal zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbier, Edward B.

2015-11-01

This paper identifies the low-elevation coastal zone (LECZ) populations and developing regions most vulnerable to sea-level rise and other coastal hazards, such as storm surges, coastal erosion and salt-water intrusion. The focus is on the rural poor in the LECZ, as their economic livelihoods are especially endangered both directly by coastal hazards and indirectly through the impacts of climate change on key coastal and near-shore ecosystems. Using geo-spatially referenced malnutrition and infant mortality data for 2000 as a proxy for poverty, this study finds that just 15 developing countries contain over 90% of the world's LECZ rural poor. Low-income countries as a group have the highest incidence of poverty, which declines somewhat for lower middle-income countries, and then is much lower for upper middle-income economies. South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa account for most of the world's LECZ rural poor, and have a high incidence of poverty among their rural LECZ populations. Although fostering growth, especially in coastal areas, may reduce rural poverty in the LECZ, additional policy actions will be required to protect vulnerable communities from disasters, to conserve and restore key coastal and near-shore ecosystems, and to promote key infrastructure investments and coastal community response capability.

The cost and feasibility of marine coastal restoration.

PubMed

Bayraktarov, Elisa; Saunders, Megan I; Abdullah, Sabah; Mills, Morena; Beher, Jutta; Possingham, Hugh P; Mumby, Peter J; Lovelock, Catherine E

2016-06-01

Land-use change in the coastal zone has led to worldwide degradation of marine coastal ecosystems and a loss of the goods and services they provide. Restoration is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed and is critical for habitats where natural recovery is hindered. Uncertainties about restoration cost and feasibility can impede decisions on whether, what, how, where, and how much to restore. Here, we perform a synthesis of 235 studies with 954 observations from restoration or rehabilitation projects of coral reefs, seagrass, mangroves, salt-marshes, and oyster reefs worldwide, and evaluate cost, survival of restored organisms, project duration, area, and techniques applied. Findings showed that while the median and average reported costs for restoration of one hectare of marine coastal habitat were around US$80000 (2010) and US$1600000 (2010), respectively, the real total costs (median) are likely to be two to four times higher. Coral reefs and seagrass were among the most expensive ecosystems to restore. Mangrove restoration projects were typically the largest and the least expensive per hectare. Most marine coastal restoration projects were conducted in Australia, Europe, and USA, while total restoration costs were significantly (up to 30 times) cheaper in countries with developing economies. Community- or volunteer-based marine restoration projects usually have lower costs. Median survival of restored marine and coastal organisms, often assessed only within the first one to two years after restoration, was highest for saltmarshes (64.8%) and coral reefs (64.5%) and lowest for seagrass (38.0%). However, success rates reported in the scientific literature could be biased towards publishing successes rather than failures. The majority of restoration projects were short-lived and seldom reported monitoring costs. Restoration success depended primarily on the ecosystem, site selection, and techniques

DYNAMICS OF NUTRIENTS AND HYDROLOGY IN A LAKE SUPERIOR COASTAL WETLAND

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal wetlands are hydrologically complex ecosystems situated at the interface of upland catchments and oligotrophic Lake Superior. Little is known about nutrient dynamics within coastal wetlands or their role in modifying or contributing to nutrient fluxes from watersheds to ...

Ecotoxicology of tropical marine ecosystems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peters, E.C.; Gassman, N.J.; Firman, J.C.

1997-01-01

The negative effects of chemical contaminants on tropical marine ecosystems are of increasing concern as human populations expand adjacent to these communities. Watershed streams and ground water carry a variety of chemicals from agricultural, industrial, and domestic activities, while winds and currents transport pollutants from atmospheric and oceanic sources to these coastal ecosystems. The implications of the limited information available on impacts of chemical stressors on mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs are discussed in the context of ecosystem management and ecological risk assessment. Three classes of pollutants have received attention: heavy metals, petroleum, and synthetic organics. Heavy metalsmore » have been detected in all three ecosystems, causing physiological stress, reduced reproductive success, and outright mortality in associated invertebrates and fishes. Oil spills have been responsible for the destruction of entire coastal shallow-water communities, with recovery requiring years. Herbicides are particularly detrimental to mangroves and seagrasses and adversely affect the animal-algal symbioses in corals. Pesticides interfere with chemical cues responsible for key biological processes, including reproduction and recruitment of a variety of organisms. Information is lacking with regard to long-term recovery, indicator species, and biomarkers for tropical communities. Critical areas that are beginning to be addressed include the development of appropriate benchmarks for risk assessment, baseline monitoring criteria, and effective management strategies to protect tropical marine ecosystems in the face of mounting anthropogenic disturbance.« less

Ecological consequences of changing hydrological conditions in wetland forests of coastal Louisiana

Treesearch

Richard F. Keim; Jim L. Chambers; Melinda S. Hughes; J. Andrew Nyman; Craig A. Miller; Blake J. Amos; William H. Conner; John W. Day; Stephen P. Faulkner; Emile S. Gardiner; Sammy L. King; Kenneth W. McLeod; Gary P. Shaffer

2006-01-01

Large-scale and localized alterations of processes affecting deltaic coastal wetlands have caused the complete loss of some coastal wetland forests and reduced the productivity and vigor of many areas in coastal Louisiana. This loss and degradation threatens ecosystem functions and the services they provide. This paper summarizes ecological relationships controlled by...

Fringe benefit: Value of restoring coastal wetlands for Great Lakes fisheries

EPA Science Inventory

Fishery support is recognized as a valuable ecosystem service provided by Great Lakes coastal wetlands, but it is challenging to quantify because multiple species and habitats are involved. Recent studies indicate that coastal wetland area is proportional to fishery harvest among...

Mapping tsunami impacts on land cover and related ecosystem service supply in Phang Nga, Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaiser, G.; Burkhard, B.; Römer, H.; Sangkaew, S.; Graterol, R.; Haitook, T.; Sterr, H.; Sakuna-Schwartz, D.

2013-12-01

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami caused damages to coastal ecosystems and thus affected the livelihoods of the coastal communities who depend on services provided by these ecosystems. The paper presents a case study on evaluating and mapping the spatial and temporal impacts of the tsunami on land use and land cover (LULC) and related ecosystem service supply in the Phang Nga province, Thailand. The method includes local stakeholder interviews, field investigations, remote-sensing techniques, and GIS. Results provide an ecosystem services matrix with capacity scores for 18 LULC classes and 17 ecosystem functions and services as well as pre-/post-tsunami and recovery maps indicating changes in the ecosystem service supply capacities in the study area. Local stakeholder interviews revealed that mangroves, casuarina forest, mixed beach forest, coral reefs, tidal inlets, as well as wetlands (peat swamp forest) have the highest capacity to supply ecosystem services, while e.g. plantations have a lower capacity. The remote-sensing based damage and recovery analysis showed a loss of the ecosystem service supply capacities in almost all LULC classes for most of the services due to the tsunami. A fast recovery of LULC and related ecosystem service supply capacities within one year could be observed for e.g. beaches, while mangroves or casuarina forest needed several years to recover. Applying multi-temporal mapping the spatial variations of recovery could be visualised. While some patches of coastal forest were fully recovered after 3 yr, other patches were still affected and thus had a reduced capacity to supply ecosystem services. The ecosystem services maps can be used to quantify ecological values and their spatial distribution in the framework of a tsunami risk assessment. Beyond that they are considered to be a useful tool for spatial analysis in coastal risk management in Phang Nga.

An integrated modelling methodology to study the impacts of nutrients on coastal aquatic ecosystems in the context of climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pesce, Marco; Critto, Andrea; Torresan, Silvia; Santini, Monia; Giubilato, Elisa; Pizzol, Lisa; Mercogliano, Paola; Zirino, Alberto; Wei, Ouyang; Marcomini, Antonio

2017-04-01

It has been recognized that the increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases (GHG) due to anthropogenic activities is causing changes in Earth's climate. Global mean temperatures are expected to rise by 0.3 to 4.8 °C by the end of the 21st century, and the water cycle to alter because of changes in global atmospheric moisture. Coastal waterbodies such as estuaries, bays and lagoons together with the ecological and socio-economic services they provide, could be among those most affected by the ongoing changes on climate. Because of their position at the land-sea interface, they are subjected to the combined changes in the physico-chemical processes of atmosphere, upstream land and coastal waters. Particularly, climate change is expected to alter phytoplankton communities by changing their climate and environmental drivers, such as temperature, precipitation, wind, solar radiation and nutrient loadings, and to exacerbate the symptoms of eutrophication events, such as hypoxia, harmful algal blooms (HAB) and loss of habitat. A better understanding of the links between climate-related drivers and phytoplankton is therefore necessary for predicting climate change impacts on aquatic ecosystems. In this context, the integration of climate scenarios and environmental models can become a valuable tool for the investigation and prediction of phytoplankton ecosystem dynamics under climate change conditions. In the last decade, the effects of climate change on the environmental distribution of nutrients and the resulting effects on aquatic ecosystems encouraged the conduction of modeling studies at a catchment scale, even though mainly are related to lake ecosystem. The further development of integrated modeling approaches and their application to other types of waterbodies such as coastal waters can be a useful contribution to increase the availability of management tools for ecological conservation and adaptation policies. Here we present the case study of the Zero river basin

Multidsciplinary Approaches to Coastal Adaptation - Aplying Machine Learning Techniques to assess coastal risk in Latin America and The Caribbean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calil, J.

2016-12-01

The global population, currently at 7.3 billion, is increasing by nearly 230,000 people every day. As the world's population grows to an estimated 11.2 billion by 2100, the number of people living in low elevation areas, exposed to coastal hazards, is continuing to increase. In 2013, 22 million people were displaced by extreme weather events, with 37 events displacing at least 100,000 people each. Losses from natural disasters and disaster risk are determined by a complex interaction between physical hazards and the vulnerability of a society or social-ecological system, and its exposure to such hazards. Impacts from coastal hazards depend on the number of people, value of assets, and presence of critical resources in harm's way. Moreover, coastal risks are amplified by challenging socioeconomic dynamics, including ill-advised urban development, income inequality, and poverty level. Our results demonstrate that in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), more than half a million people live in areas where coastal hazards, exposure (of people, assets and ecosystems), and poverty converge, creating the ideal conditions for a perfect storm. In order to identify the population at greatest risk to coastal hazards in LAC, and in response to a growing demand for multidisciplinary coastal adaptation approaches, this study employs a combination of machine learning clustering techniques (K-Means and Self Organizing Maps), and a spatial index, to assess coastal risks on a comparative scale. Data for more than 13,000 coastal locations in LAC were collected and allocated into three categories: (1) Coastal Hazards (including storm surge, wave energy and El Niño); (2) Geographic Exposure (including population, agriculture, and ecosystems); and (3) Vulnerability (including income inequality, infant mortality rate and malnutrition). This study identified hotspots of coastal vulnerability, the key drivers of coastal risk at each geographic location. Our results provide important

Current practice and future prospects for social data in coastal and ocean planning.

PubMed

Le Cornu, Elodie; Kittinger, John N; Koehn, J Zachary; Finkbeiner, Elena M; Crowder, Larry B

2014-08-01

Coastal and ocean planning comprises a broad field of practice. The goals, political processes, and approaches applied to planning initiatives may vary widely. However, all planning processes ultimately require adequate information on both the biophysical and social attributes of a planning region. In coastal and ocean planning practice, there are well-established methods to assess biophysical attributes; however, less is understood about the role and assessment of social data. We conducted the first global assessment of the incorporation of social data in coastal and ocean planning. We drew on a comprehensive review of planning initiatives and a survey of coastal and ocean practitioners. There was significantly more incorporation of social data in multiuse versus conservation-oriented planning. Practitioners engaged a wide range of social data, including governance, economic, and cultural attributes of planning regions and human impacts data. Less attention was given to ecosystem services and social-ecological linkages, both of which could improve coastal and ocean planning practice. Although practitioners recognize the value of social data, little funding is devoted to its collection and incorporation in plans. Increased capacity and sophistication in acquiring critical social and ecological data for planning is necessary to develop plans for more resilient coastal and ocean ecosystems and communities. We suggest that improving social data monitoring, and in particular spatial social data, to complement biophysical data, is necessary for providing holistic information for decision-support tools and other methods. Moving beyond people as impacts to people as beneficiaries, through ecosystem services assessments, holds much potential to better incorporate the tenets of ecosystem-based management into coastal and ocean planning by providing targets for linked biodiversity conservation and human welfare outcomes. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

What was natural in the coastal oceans?

PubMed Central

Jackson, Jeremy B. C.

2001-01-01

Humans transformed Western Atlantic coastal marine ecosystems before modern ecological investigations began. Paleoecological, archeological, and historical reconstructions demonstrate incredible losses of large vertebrates and oysters from the entire Atlantic coast. Untold millions of large fishes, sharks, sea turtles, and manatees were removed from the Caribbean in the 17th to 19th centuries. Recent collapses of reef corals and seagrasses are due ultimately to losses of these large consumers as much as to more recent changes in climate, eutrophication, or outbreaks of disease. Overfishing in the 19th century reduced vast beds of oysters in Chesapeake Bay and other estuaries to a few percent of pristine abundances and promoted eutrophication. Mechanized harvesting of bottom fishes like cod set off a series of trophic cascades that eliminated kelp forests and then brought them back again as fishers fished their way down food webs to small invertebrates. Lastly, but most pervasively, mechanized harvesting of the entire continental shelf decimated large, long-lived fishes and destroyed three-dimensional habitats built up by sessile corals, bryozoans, and sponges. The universal pattern of losses demonstrates that no coastal ecosystem is pristine and few wild fisheries are sustainable along the entire Western Atlantic coast. Reconstructions of ecosystems lost only a century or two ago demonstrate attainable goals of establishing large and effective marine reserves if society is willing to pay the costs. Historical reconstructions provide a new scientific framework for manipulative experiments at the ecosystem scale to explore the feasibility and benefits of protection of our living coastal resources. PMID:11344287

Government conservation policies on Mexican coastal areas: is "top-down" management working?

PubMed

Nava, Héctor; Ramírez-Herrera, M Teresa

2011-12-01

Marine and terrestrial ecosystems are declining globally due to environmental degradation and poorly planned resource use. Traditionally, local government agencies have been responsible of the management of natural reserves to preserve biodiversity. Nonetheless, much of these approaches have failed, suggesting the development of more integrative strategies. In order to discuss the importance of a holistic approach in conservation initiatives, coastal and underwater landscape value and biological/environmental indicators of coral reef degradation were assessed using the study case of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero coastal area. This area shelters representative coral reef structures of the Eastern Pacific coast and its terrestrial biodiversity and archaeology enhance the high value of its coastal area. This study explored the landscape value of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems using the geomorphosite approach in two sites on the Zihuatanejo coastal area: Caleta de Chon and Manzanillo Beach. Sedimentation rate, water transparency, chlorophyll and total suspended solids were recorded underwater in each site for environmental characterization. 50 photo-quadrants on five transects were surveyed between 3-4m depth to record coverage (%) of living corals, dead corals, algae, sand and rocks. The conservation status of coral reefs was assessed by the coral mortality index (MI). Landscape values showed that both terrestrial and marine ecosystems had important scientific and aesthetic values, being Manzanillo Beach the site with the highest potential for conservation initiatives (TtV = 14.2). However, coral reefs face elevated sedimentation rates (up to 1.16 kg/m2d) and low water transparency (less of 5m) generated by coastal land use changes that have increased soil erosion in the adjacent coastal area. High coverage of dead corals (23.6%) and algae (up to 29%) confirm the low values in conservation status of coral reefs (MI = 0.5), reflecting a poorly-planned management

Analyzing coastal turbidity under complex terrestrial loads characterized by a 'stress connectivity matrix' with an atmosphere-watershed-coastal ocean coupled model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamamoto, Takahiro; Nadaoka, Kazuo

2018-04-01

Atmospheric, watershed and coastal ocean models were integrated to provide a holistic analysis approach for coastal ocean simulation. The coupled model was applied to coastal ocean in the Philippines where terrestrial sediment loads provided from several adjacent watersheds play a major role in influencing coastal turbidity and are partly responsible for the coastal ecosystem degradation. The coupled model was validated using weather and hydrologic measurement to examine its potential applicability. The results revealed that the coastal water quality may be governed by the loads not only from the adjacent watershed but also from the distant watershed via coastal currents. This important feature of the multiple linkages can be quantitatively characterized by a "stress connectivity matrix", which indicates the complex underlying structure of environmental stresses in coastal ocean. The multiple stress connectivity concept shows the potential advantage of the integrated modelling approach for coastal ocean assessment, which may also serve for compensating the lack of measured data especially in tropical basins.

Temporal Responses of Coastal Hypoxia to Nutrient Loading and Physical Controls.

EPA Science Inventory

The incidence and intensity of hypoxic waters in coastal aquatic ecosystems has been expanding in recent decades coincident with eutrophication of the coastal zone. Because of the negative effects hypoxia has on many organisms, extensive efforts have been made to reduce the size ...

Hexabromocyclododecane affects benthic-pelagic coupling in an experimental ecosystem.

PubMed

Bradshaw, Clare; Näslund, Johan; Hansen, Joakim; Kozlowsky-Suzuki, Betina; Sundström, Bo; Gustafsson, Kerstin

2015-11-01

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCDD) is an additive brominated flame retardant and a recognized PBT chemical. However, little is known about its effects on coastal species, and even less on ecosystem effects. We investigated the dose-response effects of HBCDD over 8 months in 1000 L experimental mesocosms assembled from coastal Baltic Sea ecosystem components. HBCDD was added via spiked plankton material and a range of structural and functional endpoints were measured during the experiment. Increasing HBCDD concentration decreased the biomass of large Macoma balthica, resulting in a decreased recirculation of nutrients to the water. Changes in plankton communities were also observed, either due to direct toxic HBCDD effects or indirect via changes in benthic-pelagic coupling of nutrients. Such complex ecosystem responses can only be quantified and understood by using realistic experimental set-ups, and including knowledge of system-specific ecological interactions. This is the first study of HBCDD effects on ecosystem level. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring the contribution of benthic ecosystem engineering species to the ecosystem services of an estuary: A case study of burrowing shrimps in Yaquina Estuary, Oregon

EPA Science Inventory

Burrowing shrimps are regarded as ecosystem engineering species in many coastal ecosystems worldwide, including numerous estuaries of the west coast of North America (Baja California to British Columbia). In estuaries of the U.S. Pacific Northwest, two species of large burrowing...

Quantifying the effectiveness of shoreline armoring removal on coastal biota of Puget Sound.

PubMed

Lee, Timothy S; Toft, Jason D; Cordell, Jeffery R; Dethier, Megan N; Adams, Jeffrey W; Kelly, Ryan P

2018-01-01

Shoreline armoring is prevalent around the world with unprecedented human population growth and urbanization along coastal habitats. Armoring structures, such as riprap and bulkheads, that are built to prevent beach erosion and protect coastal infrastructure from storms and flooding can cause deterioration of habitats for migratory fish species, disrupt aquatic-terrestrial connectivity, and reduce overall coastal ecosystem health. Relative to armored shorelines, natural shorelines retain valuable habitats for macroinvertebrates and other coastal biota. One question is whether the impacts of armoring are reversible, allowing restoration via armoring removal and related actions of sediment nourishment and replanting of native riparian vegetation. Armoring removal is targeted as a viable option for restoring some habitat functions, but few assessments of coastal biota response exist. Here, we use opportunistic sampling of pre- and post-restoration data for five biotic measures (wrack % cover, saltmarsh % cover, number of logs, and macroinvertebrate abundance and richness) from a set of six restored sites in Puget Sound, WA, USA. This broad suite of ecosystem metrics responded strongly and positively to armor removal, and these results were evident after less than one year. Restoration responses remained positive and statistically significant across different shoreline elevations and temporal trajectories. This analysis shows that removing shoreline armoring is effective for restoration projects aimed at improving the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems, and these results may be widely applicable.

Quantifying the effectiveness of shoreline armoring removal on coastal biota of Puget Sound

PubMed Central

Toft, Jason D.; Adams, Jeffrey W.

2018-01-01

Shoreline armoring is prevalent around the world with unprecedented human population growth and urbanization along coastal habitats. Armoring structures, such as riprap and bulkheads, that are built to prevent beach erosion and protect coastal infrastructure from storms and flooding can cause deterioration of habitats for migratory fish species, disrupt aquatic–terrestrial connectivity, and reduce overall coastal ecosystem health. Relative to armored shorelines, natural shorelines retain valuable habitats for macroinvertebrates and other coastal biota. One question is whether the impacts of armoring are reversible, allowing restoration via armoring removal and related actions of sediment nourishment and replanting of native riparian vegetation. Armoring removal is targeted as a viable option for restoring some habitat functions, but few assessments of coastal biota response exist. Here, we use opportunistic sampling of pre- and post-restoration data for five biotic measures (wrack % cover, saltmarsh % cover, number of logs, and macroinvertebrate abundance and richness) from a set of six restored sites in Puget Sound, WA, USA. This broad suite of ecosystem metrics responded strongly and positively to armor removal, and these results were evident after less than one year. Restoration responses remained positive and statistically significant across different shoreline elevations and temporal trajectories. This analysis shows that removing shoreline armoring is effective for restoration projects aimed at improving the health and productivity of coastal ecosystems, and these results may be widely applicable. PMID:29492331

Tampa Bay Ecosystem Services webpage

EPA Science Inventory

Public website describing research on the large-scale physical, chemical, and biological dynamics of coastal wetlands and estuaries, with emphasis on the Gulf of Mexico. Hyperlinks direct users to mapped ecosystem services of interest and value to Tampa Bay area residents, and i...

Atlantic tropical forest mapping in the northern coastal zone of Sao Paulo State, Brazil

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simi, R. Jr.; Almeida, S.A.S.; Manso, A.P.

1997-06-01

The northern coastal zone of Sao Paulo State includes the cities of Ubatuba, Caraguatatuba, Sao Sebastiao and Ilha Bela. Large development projects, such as road and highway constructions and joint real estate exploration of susceptible coastal ecosystems have threatened the harmony and ecological stability of these ecosystems. Recently, the Atlantic tropical rain forest has been the most destructed ecosystem in the coastal zone in response to real estate investments in urban areas along the main roads. In the northern coastal zone of Sao Paulo State, 80% of the counties are included in the State Park of Serra do Mar. Asmore » tourism is a strong growing economical activity, as well as coastal production, it should be of interest to create a plan for sustainable development. The objective of this study is to map and characterize land use cover changes with emphasis on the Atlantic tropical rain forest degradation using Landsat TM images. Preliminary results for land use cover changes indicate that the Atlantic tropical rain forest was reduced by 6.1 % during the period of July 1992 and October 1995.« less

Combined environmental stress from shrimp farm and dredging releases in a subtropical coastal lagoon (SE Gulf of California).

PubMed

Cardoso-Mohedano, J G; Páez-Osuna, F; Amezcua-Martínez, F; Ruiz-Fernández, A C; Ramírez-Reséndiz, G; Sanchez-Cabeza, J A

2016-03-15

Nutrient pollution causes environmental damages on aquatic ecosystems worldwide. Eutrophication produces impacts in coastal ecosystems, affecting biota and ecosystem services. The Urias coastal lagoon (SE Gulf of California) is a sub-tropical estuary under several environmental pressures such as nutrient inputs from shrimp farm effluents and dredging related to port operations, which can release substances accumulated in sediments. We assessed the water quality impacts caused by these activities and results showed that i) nitrogen was the limiting nutrient, ii) shrimp farm effluents increased particulate organic matter and chlorophyll a in the receiving stations, and iii) dredging activities increased nitrite and reduced dissolved oxygen concentrations. The co-occurrence of the shrimp farm releases and dredging activities was likely the cause of a negative synergistic effect on water quality which mainly decreases dissolved oxygen and increases nitrite concentrations. Coastal zone management should avoid the co-occurrence of these, and likely others, stressors in coastal ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Future riverine nitrogen export to US coastal regions ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Excess nitrogen (N) in the environment degrades ecosystems and adversely affects human health. Here we examine predictions of contemporary (2000) and future (2030) coastal N loading in the continental US by the Nutrient Export from WaterSheds (NEWS) model. Future output is from storylines of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) and two additional scenarios that reflect “business as usual” and “ambitious” approaches to nutrient management. Modeled total nitrogen (TN) export by rivers to US coastal areas ranged between 2.5 Tg N y-1 in 2000 and 1.9 - 3.0 Tg N y-1 in 2030, depending on scenario. Differences among scenarios reflect the interactions of increased food and energy demands associated with population growth and efforts to reduce losses of N to the environment. Depending on year and scenario, agriculture supplies 25-43% of coastal TN, atmospheric N deposition 6-8%, human sewage 6-12%, and natural and particulate N sources account for the remainder. Our analysis suggests that achieving reductions in coastal N loading will require aggressive management actions. Coastal TN export could be reduced 22% between 2000 and 2030 to 1.9 Tg N y-1 if currently available best management practices and technologies are fully implemented to control N from agriculture, fossil fuel emissions, and wastewater effluent. If N management capabilities do not improve by 2030, coastal N loads could increase 20% to 3.0 Tg N y-1, due primarily to increases in N from agricu

Will Global Change Effect Primary Productivity in Coastal Ecosystems?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rothschild, Lynn J.; Peterson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

Algae are the base of coastal food webs because they provide the source of organic carbon for the remaining members of the community. Thus, the rate that they produce organic carbon to a large extent controls the productivity of the entire ecosystem. Factors that control algal productivity range from the physical (e.g., temperature, light), chemical (e.g., nutrient levels) to the biological (e.g., grazing). Currently, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide surficial fluxes of ultraviolet radiation are rising. Both of these environmental variables can have a profound effect on algal productivity. Atmospheric carbon dioxide may increase surficial levels of dissolved inorganic carbon. Our laboratory and field studies of algal mats and phytoplankton cultures under ambient and elevated levels of pCO2 show that elevated levels of inorganic carbon can cause an increase in photosynthetic rates. In some cases, this increase will cause an increase in phytoplankton numbers. There may be an increase in the excretion of fixed carbon, which in turn may enhance bacterial productivity. Alternatively, in analogy with studies on the effect of elevated pCO2 on plants, the phytoplankton could change their carbon to nitrogen ratios, which will effect the feeding of the planktonic grazers. The seasonal depletion of stratospheric ozone has resulted in elevated fluxes of UVB radiation superimposed on the normal seasonal variation. Present surface UV fluxes have a significant impact on phytoplankton physiology, including the inhibition of the light and dark reactions of photosynthesis, inhibition of nitrogenase activity, inhibition of heterocyst formation, reduction in motility, increased synthesis of the UV-screening pigment scytonemin, and mutation. After reviewing these issues, recent work in our lab on measuring the effect of UV radiation on phytoplankton in the San Francisco Bay Estuary will be presented.

Cascading ocean basins: numerical simulations of the circulation and interbasin exchange in the Azov-Black-Marmara-Mediterranean Seas system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanev, Emil Vassilev; Grashorn, Sebastian; Zhang, Yinglong Joseph

2017-08-01

In this paper, we use the unstructured grid model SCHISM to simulate the thermohydrodynamics in a chain of baroclinic, interconnected basins. The model shows a good skill in simulating the horizontal circulation and vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and currents. The magnitude and phases of the seasonal changes of circulation are consistent with earlier observations. Among the mesoscale and subbasin-scale circulation features that are realistically simulated are the anticyclonic coastal eddies, the Sebastopol and Batumi eddies, the Marmara Sea outflow around the southern coast of the Limnos Island, and the pathway of the cold water originating from the shelf. The superiority of the simulations compared to earlier numerical studies is demonstrated with the example of model capabilities to resolve the strait dynamics, gravity currents originating from the straits, high-salinity bottom layer on the shallow shelf, as well as the multiple intrusions from the Bosporus Strait down to 700 m depth. The warm temperature intrusions from the strait produce the warm water mass in the intermediate layers of the Black Sea. One novel result is that the seasonal intensification of circulation affects the interbasin exchange, thus allowing us to formulate the concept of circulation-controlled interbasin exchange. To the best of our knowledge, the present numerical simulations, for the first time, suggest that the sea level in the interior part of the Black Sea can be lower than the sea level in the Marmara Sea and even in some parts of the Aegean Sea. The comparison with observations shows that the timings and magnitude of exchange flows are also realistically simulated, along with the blocking events. The short-term variability of the strait transports is largely controlled by the anomalies of wind. The simulations demonstrate the crucial role of the narrow and shallow strait of Bosporus in separating the two pairs of basins: Aegean-Marmara Seas from one side and Azov

Climate change and adaptational impacts in coastal systems: the case of sea defences.

PubMed

Firth, Louise B; Mieszkowska, Nova; Thompson, Richard C; Hawkins, Stephen J

2013-09-01

We briefly review how coastal ecosystems are responding to and being impacted by climate change, one of the greatest challenges facing society today. In adapting to rising and stormier seas associated with climate change, coastal defence structures are proliferating and becoming dominant coastal features, particularly in urbanised areas. Whilst the primary function of these structures is to protect coastal property and infrastructure, they inevitably have a significant secondary impact on the local environment and ecosystems. In this review we outline some of the negative and positive effects of these structures on physical processes, impacts on marine species, and the novel engineering approaches that have been employed to improve the ecological value of these structures in recent years. Finally we outline guidelines for an environmentally sensitive approach to design of such structures in the marine environment.

Allee effects may slow the spread of parasites in a coastal marine ecosystem.

PubMed

Krkošek, Martin; Connors, Brendan M; Lewis, Mark A; Poulin, Robert

2012-03-01

Allee effects are thought to mediate the dynamics of population colonization, particularly for invasive species. However, Allee effects acting on parasites have rarely been considered in the analogous process of infectious disease establishment and spread. We studied the colonization of uninfected wild juvenile Pacific salmon populations by ectoparasitic salmon lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) over a 4-year period. In a data set of 68,376 fish, we observed 85 occurrences of precopular pair formation among 1,259 preadult female and 613 adult male lice. The probability of pair formation was dependent on the local abundance of lice, but this mate limitation is likely offset somewhat by mate-searching dispersal of males among host fish. A mathematical model of macroparasite population dynamics that incorporates the empirical results suggests a high likelihood of a demographic Allee effect, which can cause the colonizing parasite populations to die out. These results may provide the first empirical evidence for Allee effects in a macroparasite. Furthermore, the data give a rare detailed view of Allee effects in colonization dynamics and suggest that Allee effects may dampen the spread of parasites in a coastal marine ecosystem.

The impact of submarine ground water discharge on a coastal ecosystem of the southern Baltic Sea: Results from the BONUS+ project AMBER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogler, Susann; Szymczycha, Beata; Gentz, Thorben; Dellwig, Olaf; Kotwiki, Lech; Endler, Rudolf; Pempkowiak, Janusz; Marcin Weslawski, Jan; Schlüter, Michael; Böttcher, Michael E.

2010-05-01

Besides direct surface water input of dissolved and particulate compounds (eg nutrients, metals) via rivers into coastal seas, submarine ground water discharge (SGD) is increasingly recognized to be an important factor. In spite of the recognition that many land-sea interfaces of the world are characterised by SGD, it is still unclear how important SGD via springs, seeps, or diffusive outflows is in terms of biogeochemical budgets for the Baltic Sea coastal regions. The main reason that this has not been caught up so far to a precision that is typical for other freshwater inputs is that direct discharge of groundwater into the coastal zone is often difficult to quantify. The influence of SGD is expected to be of particular socio-economic relevance as it influences eutrophication in near-coastal ecosystems and to be under pressure by anthropogenic activity and climate change. Therefore, the impact of near-shore submarine ground water discharge (SGD) on coastal ecosystems of the southern Baltic Sea is investigated as part of the AMBER project within the BONUS+ initiative. In AMBER, the quantitative importance of SGD on nutrient, metabolite, and trace metal budgets is investigated for parts of the Baltic Sea. Results will have implications to understand the role of SGD as a nutrient source and will provide data for further implementation into model environments for the prediction of scenarios of future environmental changes. Besides trace metals, nutrients, methane, DIC and metabolites species, a further focus forms the impact of SGD on biota. Stable isotopes (C-13, S-34, O-18) are planed to be used to identify sources, sinks, and abiotic and microbial conversions of dissolved and particulate compounds. Salinity and temperature profiles as well as Ra and Rn isotopes will help to identify and quantify SGD. Sediment structures potentially acting as aquifers are characterized by geochemical, sedimentological, and geophysical methods. During several sampling campaigns in

Challenges for Ecosystem Services Provided by Coral Reefs In the Face of Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikuchi, R. K.; Elliff, C. I.

2014-12-01

Coral reefs provide many ecosystem services of which coastal populations are especially dependent upon, both in cases of extreme events and in daily life. However, adaptation to climate change is still relatively unknown territory regarding the ecosystem services provided by coastal environments, such as coral reefs. Management strategies usually consider climate change as a distant issue and rarely include ecosystem services in decision-making. Coral reefs are among the most vulnerable environments to climate change, considering the impact that increased ocean temperature and acidity have on the organisms that compose this ecosystem. If no actions are taken, the most likely scenario to occur will be of extreme decline in the ecosystem services provided by coral reefs. Loss of biodiversity due to the pressures of ocean warming and acidification will lead to increased price of seafood products, negative impact on food security, and ecological imbalances. Also, sea-level rise and fragile structures due to carbonate dissolution will increase vulnerability to storms, which can lead to shoreline erosion and ultimately threaten coastal communities. Both these conditions will undoubtedly affect recreation and tourism, which are often the most important use values in the case of coral reef systems. Adaptation strategies to climate change must take on an ecosystem-based approach with continuous monitoring programs, so that multiple ecosystem services are considered and not only retrospective trends are analyzed. Brazilian coral reefs have been monitored on a regular basis since 2000 and, considering that these marginal coral reefs of the eastern Atlantic are naturally under stressful conditions (e.g. high sedimentation rates), inshore reefs of Brazil, such as those in Tinharé-Boipeba, have shown lower vitality rates due to greater impacts from the proximity to the coastal area (e.g. pollution, overfishing, sediment run-off). This chronic negative impact must be addressed

Physiological Ecology and Ecohydrology of Coastal Forested Wetlands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krauss, Ken W.

2007-01-01

The form, function, and productivity of wetland communities are influenced strongly by the hydrologic regime of an area. Wetland ecosystems persist by depending upon surpluses of rainfall, evapotranspiration, soil moisture, and frequency and amplitude of water-level fluctuations. Yet, wetland vegetation can also influence ecosystem water economy through conservative water- and carbon-use strategies at several organizational scales. Scientists have described leaf-level water-use efficiency in coastal mangrove forests as being among the highest of any ecosystem. These forested wetlands occur in intertidal areas and often persist under flooded saline conditions. Are these same strategies used by other types of coastal forested wetlands? Do conservative water-use strategies reflect a consequence of salt balance more than efficiency in water use per se? At what organizational scales do these strategies manifest? These are just a few of the questions being answered by physiological and landscape ecologists at the U.S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC).

The Ecosystem Approach for the design of compensation and mitigation measures on coastal marine environment: the case study of Civitavecchia harbour

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcelli, Marco; Scanu, Sergio; Piermattei, Viviana; Bonamano, Simone; Mancini, Emanuele; Madonia, Alice

2017-04-01

The coastal marine domain is characterized by physical and ecological conditions that favour and determine a spatial overlap between the different uses of natural resources. In this context, the coastal area of Civitavecchia houses important biodiversity hotspots as well as multiple human activities, being affected by potential conflicts. In particular, the works of expansion scheduled for the Port of Civitavecchia, one of the largest in Europe in terms of cruise and ferry traffic, could impact on two Sites of Community Importance (IT6000005 and IT6000006), for the presence of priority habitats (Posidonia oceanica meadows and reefs of rocky substrates and biogenic concretions) and species (Pinna nobilis and Corallium rubrum) according to Habitat Directive 92/43/EEC. Considering that the Natural Capital analysis is indeed a valid emerging management tool for marine conflicts resolution (Maritime Spatial Planning Directive 2014/89 / EU - MSP), this study aims to propose a methodology to quantify the compensation and mitigation measures, evaluating the ecosystem services of priority habitats and species impacted by harbour expansion activities. To evaluate the ecosystem services the benthic biocoenoses, analyzed in the study area over the past 35 years, were chosen as reference spatial unit. We present the results of the economic evaluation of the benefits produced by Posidonia oceanica meadows (Habitat 1120), and Reef (Habitat 1170). For Posidonia oceanica meadows we computed benefits in relation to carbon sequestration, erosion control, bioremediation, food production, recreational potential and O2 supply, for Reefs using the method proposed by De Groot et al. 2012. The results of the economic assessment of ecosystem services for Habitat 1120 are in agreement with literature data. The results for the services related to the Habitat 1120 are significantly lower because of the influence of the ongoing impacts of human activity. This study allowed to define a specific

Ecosystem-based management and refining governance of wind energy in the Massachusetts coastal zone: A case study approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumin, Enid C.

While there are as yet no wind energy facilities in New England coastal waters, a number of wind turbine projects are now operating on land adjacent to the coast. In the Gulf of Maine region (from Maine to Massachusetts), at least two such projects, one in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and another on the island of Vinalhaven, Maine, began operation with public backing only to face subsequent opposition from some who were initially project supporters. I investigate the reasons for this dynamic using content analysis of documents related to wind energy facility development in three case study communities. For comparison and contrast with the Vinalhaven and Falmouth case studies, I examine materials from Hull, Massachusetts, where wind turbine construction and operation has received steady public support and acceptance. My research addresses the central question: What does case study analysis of the siting and initial operation of three wind energy projects in the Gulf of Maine region reveal that can inform future governance of wind energy in Massachusetts state coastal waters? I consider the question with specific attention to governance of wind energy in Massachusetts, then explore ways in which the research results may be broadly transferable in the U.S. coastal context. I determine that the change in local response noted in Vinalhaven and Falmouth may have arisen from a failure of consistent inclusion of stakeholders throughout the entire scoping-to-siting process, especially around the reporting of environmental impact studies. I find that, consistent with the principles of ecosystem-based and adaptive management, design of governance systems may require on-going cycles of review and adjustment before the implementation of such systems as intended is achieved in practice. I conclude that evolving collaborative processes must underlie science and policy in our approach to complex environmental and wind energy projects; indeed, collaborative process is fundamental to

The emerging threats of climate change on tropical coastal ecosystem services, public health, local economies and livelihood sustainability of small islands: Cumulative impacts and synergies.

PubMed

Hernández-Delgado, E A

2015-12-15

Climate change has significantly impacted tropical ecosystems critical for sustaining local economies and community livelihoods at global scales. Coastal ecosystems have largely declined, threatening the principal source of protein, building materials, tourism-based revenue, and the first line of defense against storm swells and sea level rise (SLR) for small tropical islands. Climate change has also impacted public health (i.e., altered distribution and increased prevalence of allergies, water-borne, and vector-borne diseases). Rapid human population growth has exacerbated pressure over coupled social-ecological systems, with concomitant non-sustainable impacts on natural resources, water availability, food security and sovereignty, public health, and quality of life, which should increase vulnerability and erode adaptation and mitigation capacity. This paper examines cumulative and synergistic impacts of climate change in the challenging context of highly vulnerable small tropical islands. Multiple adaptive strategies of coupled social-ecological ecosystems are discussed. Multi-level, multi-sectorial responses are necessary for adaptation to be successful. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Limits on carbon sequestration in arid blue carbon ecosystems.

PubMed

Schile, Lisa M; Kauffman, J Boone; Crooks, Stephen; Fourqurean, James W; Glavan, Jane; Megonigal, J Patrick

2017-04-01

Coastal ecosystems produce and sequester significant amounts of carbon ("blue carbon"), which has been well documented in humid and semi-humid regions of temperate and tropical climates but less so in arid regions where mangroves, marshes, and seagrasses exist near the limit of their tolerance for extreme temperature and salinity. To better understand these unique systems, we measured whole-ecosystem carbon stocks in 58 sites across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in natural and planted mangroves, salt marshes, seagrass beds, microbial mats, and coastal sabkha (inter- and supratidal unvegetated salt flats). Natural mangroves held significantly more carbon in above- and belowground biomass than other vegetated ecosystems. Planted mangrove carbon stocks increased with age, but there were large differences for sites of similar age. Soil carbon varied widely across sites (2-367 Mg C/ha), with ecosystem averages that ranged from 49 to 156 Mg C/ha. For the first time, microbial mats were documented to contain soil carbon pools comparable to vascular plant-dominated ecosystems, and could arguably be recognized as a unique blue carbon ecosystem. Total ecosystem carbon stocks ranged widely from 2 to 515 Mg C/ha (seagrass bed and mangrove, respectively). Seagrass beds had the lowest carbon stock per unit area, but the largest stock per total area due to their large spatial coverage. Compared to similar ecosystems globally, mangroves and marshes in the UAE have lower plant and soil carbon stocks; however, the difference in soil stocks is far larger than with plant stocks. This incongruent difference between stocks is likely due to poor carbon preservation under conditions of weakly reduced soils (200-350 mV), coarse-grained sediments, and active shoreline migration. This work represents the first attempt to produce a country-wide coastal ecosystem carbon accounting using a uniform sampling protocol, and was motivated by specific policy goals identified by the Abu Dhabi Global

Measuring the contribution of benthic ecosystem engineering species to the ecosystem services of an estuary: A case study of burrowing shrimps in Yaquina Estuary, Oregon - April 2009

EPA Science Inventory

Burrowing shrimps are regarded as ecosystem engineering species in many coastal ecosystems worldwide, including numerous estuaries of the west coast of North America (Baja California to British Columbia). In estuaries of the U.S. Pacific Northwest, two species of large burrowing...

Ecosystem Services Linking People to Coastal Habitats

EPA Science Inventory

Background/Question/Methods: There is a growing need to incorporate and prioritize ecosystem services/condition information into land-use decision making. While there are a number of place-based studies looking at how land-use decisions affect the availability and delivery of coa...

Changes in ecosystem service values in Zhoushan Island using remote sensing time series data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaoping; Qin, Yanpei; Lv, Ying; Zhen, Guangwei; Gong, Fang; Li, Chaokui

2017-10-01

The largest inhabited island, Zhoushan Island, is the center of economy, culture, shipping, and fishing in the Zhoushan Archipelago New Area. Its coastal wetland and tidal flats offer significant ecological services including floodwater storage, wildlife habitat, and buffers against tidal surges. Yet, large-scale land reclamation and new land development may dramatically change ecosystem services. In this research, we assess changes in ecosystem service values in Zhoushan Island during 1990-2000-2011. Three LANDSAT TM and/or ETM data sets were used to determine the spatial pattern of land use, and previously published value coefficients were used to calculate the ecosystem service values delivered by each land category. The results show that total value of ecosystem services in Zhoushan Island declined by 11% from 2920.07 billion Yuan to 2609.77 billion Yuan per year between 1990 and 2011. This decrease is largely attributable to the 51% loss of tidal flats. The combined ecosystem service values of woodland, paddy land and tidal flats were over 90% of the total values. The result indicates that future land-use policy should pay attention to the conservation of these ecosystems over uncontrolled reclamation and coastal industrial development, and that further coastal reclamation should be on rigorous environmental impact analyses.

Development of a Coastal Drought Index Using Salinity Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Conrads, P. A.; Darby, L. S.

2014-12-01

The freshwater-saltwater interface in surface-water bodies along the coast is an important factor in the ecological and socio-economic dynamics of coastal communities. It influences community composition in freshwater and saltwater ecosystems, determines fisheries spawning habitat, and controls freshwater availability for municipal and industrial water intakes. These dynamics may be affected by coastal drought through changes in Vibrio bacteria impacts on shellfish harvesting and occurrence of wound infection, fish kills, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, and beach closures. There are many definitions of drought, with most describing a decline in precipitation having negative impacts on water supply and agriculture. Four general types of drought are recognized: hydrological, agricultural, meteorological, and socio-economic. Indices have been developed for these drought types incorporating data such as rainfall, streamflow, soil moisture, groundwater levels, and snow pack. These indices were developed for upland areas and may not be appropriate for characterizing drought in coastal areas. Because of the uniqueness of drought impacts on coastal ecosystems, a need exists to develop a coastal drought index. The availability of real-time and historical salinity datasets provides an opportunity to develop a salinity-based coastal drought index. The challenge of characterizing salinity dynamics in response to drought is excluding responses attributable to occasional saltwater intrusion events. Our approach to develop a coastal drought index modified the Standardized Precipitation Index and applied it to sites in South Carolina and Georgia, USA. Coastal drought indices characterizing 1-, 3-, 6-, 9-, and12-month drought conditions were developed. Evaluation of the coastal drought index indicates that it can be used for different estuary types, for comparison between estuaries, and as an index for wet conditions (high freshwater inflow) in addition to drought conditions.

Application of satellite infrared data for mapping of thermal plume contamination in coastal ecosystem of Korea.

PubMed

Ahn, Yu-Hwan; Shanmugam, Palanisamy; Lee, Jae-Hak; Kang, Yong Q

2006-03-01

The 5900 MW Younggwang nuclear power station on the west coast of Korea discharges warm water affecting coastal ecology [KORDI report (2003). Wide area observation of the impact of the operation of Younggwang nuclear power plant 5 and 6, No. BSPI 319-00-1426-3, KORDI, Seoul, Korea]. Here the spatial and temporal characteristics of the thermal plume signature of warm water are reported from a time series (1985-2003) of space-borne, thermal infrared data from Landsat and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellites. Sea surface temperature (SST) were characterized using advanced very high resolution radiometer data from the NOAA satellites. These data demonstrated the general pattern and extension of the thermal plume signature in the Younggwang coastal areas. In contrast, the analysis of SST from thematic mapper data using the Landsat-5 and 7 satellites provided enhanced information about the plume shape, dimension and direction of dispersion in these waters. The thermal plume signature was detected from 70 to 100 km to the south of the discharge during the summer monsoon and 50 to 70 km to the northwest during the winter monsoon. The mean detected plume temperature was 28 degrees C in summer and 12 degrees C in winter. The DeltaT varied from 2 to 4 degrees C in winter and 2 degrees C in summer. These values are lower than the re-circulating water temperature (6-9 degrees C). In addition the temperature difference between tidal flats and offshore (SSTtidal flats - SSToffsore) was found to vary from 5.4 to 8.5 degrees C during the flood tides and 3.5 degrees C during the ebb tide. The data also suggest that water heated by direct solar radiation on the tidal flats during the flood tides might have been transported offshore during the ebb tide. Based on these results we suggest that there is an urgent need to protect the health of Younggwang coastal marine ecosystem from the severe thermal impact by the large quantity of warm water discharged from

Science, society, and the coastal groundwater squeeze

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Michael, Holly A.; Post, Vincent E. A.; Wilson, Alicia M.; Werner, Adrian D.

2017-04-01

Coastal zones encompass the complex interface between land and sea. Understanding how water and solutes move within and across this interface is essential for managing resources for society. The increasingly dense human occupation of coastal zones disrupts natural groundwater flow patterns and degrades freshwater resources by both overuse and pollution. This pressure results in a "coastal groundwater squeeze," where the thin veneers of potable freshwater are threatened by contaminant sources at the land surface and saline groundwater at depth. Scientific advances in the field of coastal hydrogeology have enabled responsible management of water resources and protection of important ecosystems. To address the problems of the future, we must continue to make scientific advances, and groundwater hydrology needs to be firmly embedded in integrated coastal zone management. This will require interdisciplinary scientific collaboration, open communication between scientists and the public, and strong partnerships with policymakers.

Ecosystem services provided by Pacific NW estuaries: State of knowledge - March 3, 2011

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal regions in the United States are rapidly developing areas, with increasing urbanization and growing populations. Estuarine and nearshore coastal marine waters provide valuable ecosystem services to resident and transient human communities. In the Pacific Northwest (PNW) ...

Vulnerability of China's nearshore ecosystems under intensive mariculture development.

PubMed

Liu, Hui; Su, Jilan

2017-04-01

Rapid economic development and increasing population in China have exerted tremendous pressures on the coastal ecosystems. In addition to land-based pollutants and reclamation, fast expansion of large-scale intensive mariculture activities has also brought about additional effects. So far, the ecological impact of rapid mariculture development and its large-scale operations has not drawn enough attention. In this paper, the rapid development of mariculture in China is reviewed, China's effort in the application of ecological mariculture is examined, and the vulnerability of marine ecosystem to mariculture impact is evaluated through a number of examples. Removal or reduced large and forage fish, due to both habitat loss to reclamation/mariculture and overfishing for food or fishmeal, may have far-reaching effects on the coastal and shelf ecosystems in the long run. Large-scale intensive mariculture operations carry with them undesirable biological and biochemical characteristics, which may have consequences on natural ecosystems beyond normally perceived spatial and temporal boundaries. As our understanding of possible impacts of large-scale intensive mariculture is lagging far behind its development, much research is urgently needed.

USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

USGS Publications Warehouse

2011-01-01

Extreme storms, sea-level rise, and the health of marine communities are some of the major societal and environmental issues impacting our Nation's marine and coastal realm. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in St. Petersburg, Fla., investigates processes related to these ecosystems and the societal implications of natural hazards and resource sustainability. As one of three centers nationwide conducting research within the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program, the center is integral towards developing an understanding of physical processes that will contribute to rational decisions regarding the use and stewardship of national coastal and marine environments.

Economic Tools for Managing Nitrogen in Coastal Watersheds ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Watershed managers are interested in using economics to communicate the value of estuarine resources to the wider community, determine the most cost-effective means to reduce nitrogen pollution, and evaluate the benefits of taking action to improve coastal ecosystems. We spoke to coastal watershed managers who had commissioned economic studies and found that they were largely satisfied with the information and their ability to communicate the importance of coastal ecosystems. However, while managers were able to use these studies as communication tools, methods used in some studies were inconsistent with what some economists consider best practices. In addition, many watershed managers are grappling with how to implement nitrogen management activities in a way that is both cost-effective and achieves environmental goals, while maintaining public support. These and other issues led to this project. Our intent is to provide information to watershed managers and others interested in watershed management – such as National Estuary Programs, local governments, or nongovernmental organizations – on economic tools for managing nitrogen in coastal watersheds, and to economists and other analysts who are interested in assisting them in meeting their needs. Watershed management requires balancing scientific, political, and social issues to solve environmental problems. This document summarizes questions that watershed managers have about using economic analysis, and g

Behavioral self-organization underlies the resilience of a coastal ecosystem.

PubMed

de Paoli, Hélène; van der Heide, Tjisse; van den Berg, Aniek; Silliman, Brian R; Herman, Peter M J; van de Koppel, Johan

2017-07-25

Self-organized spatial patterns occur in many terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. Theoretical models and observational studies suggest self-organization, the formation of patterns due to ecological interactions, is critical for enhanced ecosystem resilience. However, experimental tests of this cross-ecosystem theory are lacking. In this study, we experimentally test the hypothesis that self-organized pattern formation improves the persistence of mussel beds ( Mytilus edulis ) on intertidal flats. In natural beds, mussels generate self-organized patterns at two different spatial scales: regularly spaced clusters of mussels at centimeter scale driven by behavioral aggregation and large-scale, regularly spaced bands at meter scale driven by ecological feedback mechanisms. To test for the relative importance of these two spatial scales of self-organization on mussel bed persistence, we conducted field manipulations in which we factorially constructed small-scale and/or large-scale patterns. Our results revealed that both forms of self-organization enhanced the persistence of the constructed mussel beds in comparison to nonorganized beds. Small-scale, behaviorally driven cluster patterns were found to be crucial for persistence, and thus resistance to wave disturbance, whereas large-scale, self-organized patterns facilitated reformation of small-scale patterns if mussels were dislodged. This study provides experimental evidence that self-organization can be paramount to enhancing ecosystem persistence. We conclude that ecosystems with self-organized spatial patterns are likely to benefit greatly from conservation and restoration actions that use the emergent effects of self-organization to increase ecosystem resistance to disturbance.

Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of Carbon Storage in California Coastal Salt Marshes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, L. N.; MacDonald, G. M.

2016-12-01

Coastal salt marshes rank as one of the ecosystems which sequester the most carbon (C) in the world (Chmura, 2003; Mcleod et al., 2011). California hosts multiple small marsh ecosystems outside of the San Francisco Bay that are limited in geographic extent but still contribute significantly to global soil C. We have collected over 100 sediment cores from 11 coastal marsh sites from Humboldt Bay to Tijuana River Estuary on the coast of California. Our 100 cm depth cores cover high, mid, and low elevations in the coastal salt marsh ecosystem, which are known to sequester carbon with varying rates. Approximately 40 cores of the 100 collected cores have been selected for detailed chronologic and stratigraphic analysis, 3 cores at each site minimum. Chronologies are established using 14C, 137Cs, and 210Pb. Our study estimates a carbon sequestration rate of 49 g C m-2 yr-1 for California over the past 100 years. These results are consistent with other long term estimates of soil C, which generally are lower because of natural decomposition of organic C, but also reinforces long-term persistence of soil C in salt marshes over time. These estimates provide valuable proof of the long-term capacity and spatial variability of C sequestration in coastal salt marshes of California.

Influence of glacier runoff on ecosystem structure in Gulf of Alaska fjords

USGS Publications Warehouse

Arimitsu, Mayumi L.; Piatt, John F.; Mueter, Franz J.

2016-01-01

To better understand the influence of glacier runoff on fjord ecosystems, we sampled oceanographic conditions, nutrients, zooplankton, forage fish and seabirds within 4 fjords in coastal areas of the Gulf Alaska. We used generalized additive models and geostatistics to identify the range of glacier runoff influence into coastal waters within fjords of varying estuarine influence and topographic complexity. We also modeled the response of depth-integrated chlorophyll a concentration, copepod biomass, fish and seabird abundance to physical, nutrient and biotic predictor variables. The effects of glacial runoff were traced at least 10 km into coastal fjords by cold, turbid, stratified and generally nutrient-rich near-surface conditions. Glacially modified physical gradients, nutrient availability and among-fjord differences explained 67% of the variation in phytoplankton abundance, which is a driver of ecosystem structure at higher trophic levels. Copepod, euphausiid, fish and seabird distribution and abundance were related to environmental gradients that could be traced to glacial freshwater input, particularly turbidity and temperature. Seabird density was predicted by prey availability and silicate concentrations, which may be a proxy for upwelling areas where this nutrient is in excess. Similarities in ecosystem structure among fjords were attributable to an influx of cold, fresh and sediment-laden water, whereas differences were likely related to fjord topography and local differences in estuarine vs. ocean influence. We anticipate that continued changes in the timing and volume of glacial runoff will ultimately alter coastal ecosystems in the future.

Archaeology Meets Marine Ecology: The Antiquity of Maritime Cultures and Human Impacts on Marine Fisheries and Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erlandson, Jon M.; Rick, Torben C.

2010-01-01

Interdisciplinary study of coastal archaeological sites provides a wealth of information on the ecology and evolution of ancient marine animal populations, the structure of past marine ecosystems, and the history of human impacts on coastal fisheries. In this paper, we review recent methodological developments in the archaeology and historical ecology of coastal regions around the world. Using two case studies, we examine (a) a deep history of anthropogenic effects on the marine ecosystems of California's Channel Islands through the past 12,000 years and (b) geographic variation in the effects of human fishing on Pacific Island peoples who spread through Oceania during the late Holocene. These case studies—the first focused on hunter-gatherers, the second on maritime horticulturalists—provide evidence for shifting baselines and timelines, documenting a much deeper anthropogenic influence on many coastal ecosystems and fisheries than considered by most ecologists, conservation biologists, and fisheries managers.

Archaeology meets marine ecology: the antiquity of maritime cultures and human impacts on marine fisheries and ecosystems.

PubMed

Erlandson, Jon M; Rick, Torben C

2010-01-01

Interdisciplinary study of coastal archaeological sites provides a wealth of information on the ecology and evolution of ancient marine animal populations, the structure of past marine ecosystems, and the history of human impacts on coastal fisheries. In this paper, we review recent methodological developments in the archaeology and historical ecology of coastal regions around the world. Using two case studies, we examine (a) a deep history of anthropogenic effects on the marine ecosystems of California's Channel Islands through the past 12,000 years and (b) geographic variation in the effects of human fishing on Pacific Island peoples who spread through Oceania during the late Holocene. These case studies--the first focused on hunter-gatherers, the second on maritime horticulturalists-provide evidence for shifting baselines and timelines, documenting a much deeper anthropogenic influence on many coastal ecosystems and fisheries than considered by most ecologists, conservation biologists, and fisheries managers.

NEP-ORD Collaborations on Quantifying the Ecosystem Goods and Services of Estuaries

EPA Science Inventory

Nature’s goods and services provided by estuarine ecosystems are integral to the economies and well-being of coastal communities. However, many valuable ecosystem goods and services (EGS), including their benefits to surrounding communities, are not explicitly considered i...

Life cycle strategies of copepods in coastal upwelling zones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peterson, W.

1998-06-01

Life cycles of copepods of coastal upwelling zones are of the multigenerational type—as many as 10 or more generations may be produced each year, depending upon water temperature, food concentration and length of the upwelling season. Abundant food resources and moderate temperature convey advantages to those copepods living in coastal upwelling zones, however, there is a clear disadvantage in that coastal upwelling zones are highly advective environments. Typically, water circulation patterns are such that surface waters are carried offshore, deeper waters carried onshore and most of the water column over the continental shelf is moving equatorward. The challenge to copepod species that inhabit upwelling systems is life cycle closure—how do eggs, nauplii, juveniles and adults avoid being swept out of these ecosystems in the face of persistent transport out of the system? In this review, I first list the species which dominate coastal upwelling ecosystems then discuss three variations on the multigenerational life cycle scheme that are observed in upwelling systems. The latter part of the review is devoted to discussion of how individuals are retained in the productive continental shelf waters within coastal upwelling ecosystems. The suggestion is made that the only copepod species that successfully achieve life cycle closure in such systems are those that are preadapted to upwelling circulation patterns. Our quantitative understanding of the relative importance of physical factors (such as advection) and biological factors (birth, growth, and mortality) on life cycle strategies and population dynamics is quite rudimentary. It would help our understanding if there were more field studies and more computer modeling studies that focused on seasonal cycles of abundance, development times and vertical distribution of life cycle stages, and measurements of water circulation patterns.

Carbon stocks of tropical coastal wetlands within the karstic landscape of the Mexican Caribbean.

PubMed

Adame, Maria Fernanda; Kauffman, J Boone; Medina, Israel; Gamboa, Julieta N; Torres, Olmo; Caamal, Juan P; Reza, Miriam; Herrera-Silveira, Jorge A

2013-01-01

Coastal wetlands can have exceptionally large carbon (C) stocks and their protection and restoration would constitute an effective mitigation strategy to climate change. Inclusion of coastal ecosystems in mitigation strategies requires quantification of carbon stocks in order to calculate emissions or sequestration through time. In this study, we quantified the ecosystem C stocks of coastal wetlands of the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve (SKBR) in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. We stratified the SKBR into different vegetation types (tall, medium and dwarf mangroves, and marshes), and examined relationships of environmental variables with C stocks. At nine sites within SKBR, we quantified ecosystem C stocks through measurement of above and belowground biomass, downed wood, and soil C. Additionally, we measured nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the soil and interstitial salinity. Tall mangroves had the highest C stocks (987±338 Mg ha(-1)) followed by medium mangroves (623±41 Mg ha(-1)), dwarf mangroves (381±52 Mg ha(-1)) and marshes (177±73 Mg ha(-1)). At all sites, soil C comprised the majority of the ecosystem C stocks (78-99%). Highest C stocks were measured in soils that were relatively low in salinity, high in P and low in N∶P, suggesting that P limits C sequestration and accumulation potential. In this karstic area, coastal wetlands, especially mangroves, are important C stocks. At the landscape scale, the coastal wetlands of Sian Ka'an covering ≈172,176 ha may store 43.2 to 58.0 million Mg of C.

Social-Ecological System in Seagrass Ecosystem Management at Kotania Bay Waters, Western Seram, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wawo, Mintje

2017-10-01

The concept of the Social-Ecological System (SES) of the coastal region, can be found in the seagrass ecosystem in the Kotania Bay Waters. Seagrass ecosystem as one of the productive ecosystem is part of an ecological system that can influence and influenced social system, in this case by people living around the seagrass ecosystem. This aim to estimating the socio-ecological vulnerability system of the seagrass ecosystem in the Kotania Bay Waters, the Linkage Matrix is used (de Chazal et al., 2008). This linkage matrix was created to determine the perception and understanding of the community on the ecosystem services provided by the seagrass ecosystem through the appraisal of various stakeholders. The results show that social values are rooted in the public perception of ecosystem goods and services, which are rarely considered. The ecological and economic value of natural resources is increasingly being used to determine the priority areas in the planning and management of coastal areas. The social value that exists in natural resources is highly recognized in conservation.

Carbon Sequestration in Wetland Soils of the Northern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Region

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal wetlands play an important but complex role in the global carbon cycle, contributing to the ecosystem service of greenhouse gas regulation through carbon sequestration. Although coastal wetlands occupy a small percent of the total US land area, their potential for carbon...

Compound-specific δ15N amino acid measurements in littoral mussels in the California upwelling ecosystem: a new approach to generating baseline δ15N Isoscapes for coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Vokhshoori, Natasha L; McCarthy, Matthew D

2014-01-01

We explored δ(15)N compound-specific amino acid isotope data (CSI-AA) in filter-feeding intertidal mussels (Mytilus californianus) as a new approach to construct integrated isoscapes of coastal primary production. We examined spatial δ(15)N gradients in the California Upwelling Ecosystem (CUE), determining bulk δ(15)N values of mussel tissue from 28 sites between Port Orford, Oregon and La Jolla, California, and applying CSI-AA at selected sites to decouple trophic effects from isotopic values at the base of the food web. Bulk δ(15)N values showed a strong linear trend with latitude, increasing from North to South (from ∼ 7‰ to ∼ 12‰, R(2) = 0.759). In contrast, CSI-AA trophic position estimates showed no correlation with latitude. The δ(15)N trend is therefore most consistent with a baseline δ(15)N gradient, likely due to the mixing of two source waters: low δ(15)N nitrate from the southward flowing surface California Current, and the northward transport of the California Undercurrent (CUC), with (15)N-enriched nitrate. This interpretation is strongly supported by a similar linear gradient in δ(15)N values of phenylalanine (δ(15)NPhe), the best AA proxy for baseline δ(15)N values. We hypothesize δ(15)N(Phe) values in intertidal mussels can approximate annual integrated δ(15)N values of coastal phytoplankton primary production. We therefore used δ(15)N(Phe) values to generate the first compound-specific nitrogen isoscape for the coastal Northeast Pacific, which indicates a remarkably linear gradient in coastal primary production δ(15)N values. We propose that δ(15)N(Phe) isoscapes derived from filter feeders can directly characterize baseline δ(15)N values across major biochemical provinces, with potential applications for understanding migratory and feeding patterns of top predators, monitoring effects of climate change, and study of paleo- archives.

Behavioral self-organization underlies the resilience of a coastal ecosystem

PubMed Central

de Paoli, Hélène; van der Heide, Tjisse; van den Berg, Aniek; Silliman, Brian R.; Herman, Peter M. J.

2017-01-01

Self-organized spatial patterns occur in many terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. Theoretical models and observational studies suggest self-organization, the formation of patterns due to ecological interactions, is critical for enhanced ecosystem resilience. However, experimental tests of this cross-ecosystem theory are lacking. In this study, we experimentally test the hypothesis that self-organized pattern formation improves the persistence of mussel beds (Mytilus edulis) on intertidal flats. In natural beds, mussels generate self-organized patterns at two different spatial scales: regularly spaced clusters of mussels at centimeter scale driven by behavioral aggregation and large-scale, regularly spaced bands at meter scale driven by ecological feedback mechanisms. To test for the relative importance of these two spatial scales of self-organization on mussel bed persistence, we conducted field manipulations in which we factorially constructed small-scale and/or large-scale patterns. Our results revealed that both forms of self-organization enhanced the persistence of the constructed mussel beds in comparison to nonorganized beds. Small-scale, behaviorally driven cluster patterns were found to be crucial for persistence, and thus resistance to wave disturbance, whereas large-scale, self-organized patterns facilitated reformation of small-scale patterns if mussels were dislodged. This study provides experimental evidence that self-organization can be paramount to enhancing ecosystem persistence. We conclude that ecosystems with self-organized spatial patterns are likely to benefit greatly from conservation and restoration actions that use the emergent effects of self-organization to increase ecosystem resistance to disturbance. PMID:28696313

Consumer diversity across kingdoms supports multiple functions in a coastal ecosystem

PubMed Central

Hensel, Marc J. S.; Silliman, Brian R.

2013-01-01

The global biodiversity crisis impairs the valuable benefits ecosystems provide humans. These nature-generated benefits are defined by a multitude of different ecosystem functions that operate simultaneously. Although several studies have simulated species loss in communities and tracked the response of single functions such as productivity or nutrient cycling, these studies have involved relatively similar taxa, and seldom are strikingly different functions examined. With the exception of highly managed ecosystems such as agricultural fields, rarely are we interested in only one function being performed well. Instead, we rely on ecosystems to deliver several different functions at the same time. Here, we experimentally investigated the extinction impacts of dominant consumers in a salt marsh. These consumers are remarkably phylogenetically diverse, spanning two kingdoms (i.e., Animalia and Fungi). Our field studies reveal that a diverse consumer assemblage significantly enhances simultaneous functioning of disparate ecosystem processes (i.e., productivity, decomposition, and infiltration). Extreme functional and phylogenetic differences among consumers underlie this relationship. Each marsh consumer affected at least one different ecosystem function, and each individual function was affected by no more than two consumers. The implications of these findings are profound: If we want ecosystems to perform many different functions well, it is not just number of species that matter. Rather, the presence of species representing markedly different ecologies and biology is also essential to maximizing multiple functions. Moreover, this work emphasizes the need to incorporate both microcomponents and macrocomponents of food webs to accurately predict biodiversity declines on integrated-ecosystem functioning. PMID:24297926

Genotoxicity Biomonitoring Along a Coastal Zone Under Influence of Offshore Petroleum Exploration (Southeastern Brazil).

PubMed

Gutiérrez, Juan Manuel; da Conceição, Moisés Basilio; Molisani, Mauricio Mussi; Weber, Laura Isabel

2018-03-01

Offshore oil exploration creates threats to coastal ecosystems, including increasing urbanization and associated effluent releases. Genotoxicity biomarkers in mussels were determined across a gradient of coastal zone influences of offshore petroleum exploration in southeastern Brazil. Coastal ecosystems such as estuaries, beaches and islands were seasonally monitored for genotoxicity evaluation using the brown mussel Perna perna. The greatest DNA damage (5.2% ± 1.9% tail DNA and 1.5‰  ± 0.8‰ MN) were observed in urban estuaries, while Santana Archipelago showed levels of genotoxicity near zero and is considered a reference site. Mussels from urban and pristine beaches showed intermediate damage levels, but were also influenced by urbanization. Thus, mussel genotoxicity biomarkers greatly indicated the proposed oil exploration and urbanization scenarios that consequently are genetically affecting coastal organisms.

Body-size spectra of biofilm-dwelling protozoa and their seasonal shift in coastal ecosystems.

PubMed

Zhao, Lu; Xu, Guangjian; Wang, Zheng; Xu, Henglong

2016-10-01

Community-based assessment of protozoa is usually performed at a taxon-dependent resolution. As an inherent 'taxon-free' trait, however, body-size spectrum has proved to be a highly informative indicator to summarize the functional structure of a community in both community research and monitoring programs in aquatic ecosystems. To demonstrate the relationships between the taxon-free resolution of protozoan communities and water conditions, the body-size spectra of biofilm-dwelling protozoa and their seasonal shift and environmental drivers were explored based on an annual dataset collected monthly from coastal waters of the Yellow Sea, northern China. Body sizes were calculated in equivalent spherical diameter (ESD). Among a total of 8 body-size ranks, S2 (19-27μm), S3 (28-36μm), S4 (37-50μm) and S5 (53-71μm) were the top four levels in frequency of occurrence, while rank S1 (13-17μm), S2 and S4 were the dominant levels in abundance. These dominants showed a clear seasonal succession: S2/S4 (spring)→S2/S4 (summer)→S4 (autumn)→S2 (winter) in frequency of occurrence; S1 (spring)→S4 (summer)→S2 (autumn)→S1 (winter) in abundance. Bootstrapped average analysis showed a clear seasonal shift in body-size spectra of the protozoa during a 1-year cycle, and the best-matching analysis demonstrated that the temporal variations in frequency of occurrence and abundance were significantly correlated with water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), alone or in combination with chemical oxygen demand (COD) and nutrients. Thus, the body-size spectra of biofilm-dwelling protozoa were seasonally shaped and might be used as a time and cost efficient bioindicator of water quality in marine ecosystems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Coastal Fog Sustains Summer Baseflow in Northern Californian Watershed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chung, M.; Dufour, A.; Leonardson, R.; Thompson, S. E.; Dawson, T. E.

2015-12-01

The Mediterranean climate of Northern California imposes significant water stress on ecosystems and water resources during the dry summer months. During summer, frequently the only water inputs occur as occult precipitation, in the form of fog and dew. In this study, we characterized the role of coastal fog, a dominant feature of Northern Californian coastal ecosystems and a widespread phenomenon associated with deep marine upwelling in west coast, arid, and Mediterranean climates worldwide. We monitored fog occurrence and intensity, throughfall following canopy interception of fog, soil moisture, streamflow, and meteorological variables, and made visual observations of the spatial extent of fog using time-lapse imagery in Upper Pilarcitos Creek Watershed (managed by San Francisco Public Utilities Commission as part of the San Francisco area water supply). We adopted a stratified sampling design that captured the watershed's elevation gradient, forest-edge versus interior locations, and different vegetation cover. The point-scale observations of throughfall inputs and transpiration suppression, estimated from the Penman equation, were upscaled using such watershed features and the observed fog "footprint" identified from the time-lapse images. When throughfall input and fog-induced transpiration suppression were incorporated into the operational watershed model, they improved estimates of summer baseflow, which remained persistently higher than could be explained without the fog effects. Fog, although providing relatively small volumetric inputs to the water balance, appears to offer significant relief of water stress throughout the terrestrial and aquatic components of the coastal Californian ecosystem and thus should be accounted for when assessing water stress availability in dry ecosystems.

Intensification and spatial homogenization of coastal upwelling under climate change.

PubMed

Wang, Daiwei; Gouhier, Tarik C; Menge, Bruce A; Ganguly, Auroop R

2015-02-19

The timing and strength of wind-driven coastal upwelling along the eastern margins of major ocean basins regulate the productivity of critical fisheries and marine ecosystems by bringing deep and nutrient-rich waters to the sunlit surface, where photosynthesis can occur. How coastal upwelling regimes might change in a warming climate is therefore a question of vital importance. Although enhanced land-ocean differential heating due to greenhouse warming has been proposed to intensify coastal upwelling by strengthening alongshore winds, analyses of observations and previous climate models have provided little consensus on historical and projected trends in coastal upwelling. Here we show that there are strong and consistent changes in the timing, intensity and spatial heterogeneity of coastal upwelling in response to future warming in most Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUSs). An ensemble of climate models shows that by the end of the twenty-first century the upwelling season will start earlier, end later and become more intense at high but not low latitudes. This projected increase in upwelling intensity and duration at high latitudes will result in a substantial reduction of the existing latitudinal variation in coastal upwelling. These patterns are consistent across three of the four EBUSs (Canary, Benguela and Humboldt, but not California). The lack of upwelling intensification and greater uncertainty associated with the California EBUS may reflect regional controls associated with the atmospheric response to climate change. Given the strong linkages between upwelling and marine ecosystems, the projected changes in the intensity, timing and spatial structure of coastal upwelling may influence the geographical distribution of marine biodiversity.

Hurricane Sandy science plan: coastal impact assessments

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stronko, Jakob M.

2013-01-01

Hurricane Sandy devastated some of the most heavily populated eastern coastal areas of the Nation. With a storm surge peaking at more than 19 feet, the powerful landscape-altering destruction of Hurricane Sandy is a stark reminder of why the Nation must become more resilient to coastal hazards. In response to this natural disaster, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) received a total of $41.2 million in supplemental appropriations from the Department of the Interior (DOI) to support response, recovery, and rebuilding efforts. These funds support a science plan that will provide critical scientific information necessary to inform management decisions for recovery of coastal communities, and aid in preparation for future natural hazards. This science plan is designed to coordinate continuing USGS activities with stakeholders and other agencies to improve data collection and analysis that will guide recovery and restoration efforts. The science plan is split into five distinct themes: coastal topography and bathymetry, impacts to coastal beaches and barriers, impacts of storm surge, including disturbed estuarine and bay hydrology, impacts on environmental quality and persisting contaminant exposures, impacts to coastal ecosystems, habitats, and fish and wildlife. This fact sheet focuses assessing impacts to coastal beaches and barriers.

Early results from the Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brock, John C.; Lavoie, Dawn L.; Poore, Richard Z.

2011-01-01

The northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region and its diverse ecosystems are threatened by population and development pressure and by the impacts of rising sea level and severe storms such as the series of hurricanes that has impacted the northern Gulf in recent years. In response to the complex management issues facing the region, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) organized a multidisciplinary research program to coordinate the activities of USGS and other scientists working in the northern Gulf of Mexico region (fig. 1). The Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project aims to develop a thorough understanding of the dynamic coastal ecosystems on the northern Gulf coast, the impact of human activities on these ecosystems, and the vulnerability of ecosystems and human communities to more frequent and more intense hurricanes in the future. A special issue of Geo-Marine Letters published in December 2009 is devoted to early results of studies completed as part of this project. These studies, which have been conducted at sites throughout the northern Gulf region, from the Chandeleur Islands to Apalachicola Bay, have focused on three themes: (1) The underlying geologic framework that exerts controls over coastal processes (2) The impact of human activities on nearshore water quality (3) Hurricanes and associated effects

Coastal Prairie Restoration Information System: Version 1 (Louisiana)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Allain, Larry

2007-01-01

The Coastal Prairie Restoration Information System (CPR) is a Microsoft Access database that allows users to query and view data about Louisiana coastal prairie species. Less than 0.1% of Louisiana's coastal prairie vegetation remains in a relatively undisturbed condition. Encompassing as much as 1 million hectares of land, coastal prairie is a hybrid of coastal wetlands and tall grass prairie. Over 550 plant species have been identified in Louisiana's coastal prairies to date. Efforts to conserve and restore this endangered ecosystem are limited by the ability of workers to identify and access knowledge about this diverse group of plants. In this database, a variety of data are provided for each of 650 coastal prairie species in Louisiana. The database was developed at the U.S. Geological Survey National Wetlands Research Center by Larry Allain, with software development by Myra Silva. Additional funding was provided by the biology department of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL), the ULL Center for Environmental and Ecological Technology, and the National Science Foundation.

Vegetation controls on the maximum size of coastal dunes.

PubMed

Durán, Orencio; Moore, Laura J

2013-10-22

Coastal dunes, in particular foredunes, support a resilient ecosystem and reduce coastal vulnerability to storms. In contrast to dry desert dunes, coastal dunes arise from interactions between biological and physical processes. Ecologists have traditionally addressed coastal ecosystems by assuming that they adapt to preexisting dune topography, whereas geomorphologists have studied the properties of foredunes primarily in connection to physical, not biological, factors. Here, we study foredune development using an ecomorphodynamic model that resolves the coevolution of topography and vegetation in response to both physical and ecological factors. We find that foredune growth is eventually limited by a negative feedback between wind flow and topography. As a consequence, steady-state foredunes are scale invariant, which allows us to derive scaling relations for maximum foredune height and formation time. These relations suggest that plant zonation (in particular for strand "dune-building" species) is the primary factor controlling the maximum size of foredunes and therefore the amount of sand stored in a coastal dune system. We also find that aeolian sand supply to the dunes determines the timescale of foredune formation. These results offer a potential explanation for the empirical relation between beach type and foredune size, in which large (small) foredunes are found on dissipative (reflective) beaches. Higher waves associated with dissipative beaches increase the disturbance of strand species, which shifts foredune formation landward and thus leads to larger foredunes. In this scenario, plants play a much more active role in modifying their habitat and altering coastal vulnerability than previously thought.

CLASSIFYING COASTAL WATERS:CURRENT NECESSITY AND HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal ecosystems are ecologically and commercially valuable, productive habitats that are experiencing escalating compromises of their structural and functional integrity. The Clean Water Act (USC 1972) requires identification of impaired water bodies and determination of the c...

Byers Peninsula: A reference site for coastal, terrestrial and limnetic ecosystem studies in maritime Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quesada, A.; Camacho, A.; Rochera, C.; Velázquez, D.

2009-11-01

This article describes the development of an international and multidisciplinary project funded by the Spanish Polar Programme on Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, South Shetlands). The project adopted Byers Peninsula as an international reference site for coastal and terrestrial (including inland waters) research within the framework of the International Polar Year initiative. Over 30 scientists from 12 countries and 26 institutions participated in the field work, and many others participated in the processing of the samples. The main themes investigated were: Holocene changes in climate, using both lacustrine sediment cores and palaeo-nests of penguins; limnology of the lakes, ponds, rivers and wetlands; microbiology of microbial mats, ecology of microbial food webs and viral effects on aquatic ecosystems; ornithology, with investigations on a Gentoo penguin rookery ( Pygoscelis papua) as well as the flying ornithofauna; biocomplexity and life cycles of species from different taxonomic groups; analysis of a complete watershed unit from a landscape perspective; and human impacts, specifically the effect of trampling on soil characteristics and biota. Byers Peninsula offers many features as an international reference site given it is one of the largest ice-free areas in the Antarctic Peninsula region, it has a variety of different landscape units, and it hosts diverse aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, the Byers Peninsula is a hotspot for Antarctic biodiversity, and because of its high level of environmental protection, it has been very little affected by human activities. Finally, the proximity to the Spanish polar installations on Livingston Island and the experience derived from previous expeditions to the site make it logistically feasible as a site for ongoing monitoring and research.

Circumpolar biodiversity monitoring program (CBMP): Coastal expert workshop meeting report

USGS Publications Warehouse

Anderson, Rebecca D.; McLennan, Donald; Thomson, Laura; Wegeberg, Susse; Pettersvik Arvnes, Maria; Sergienko, Liudmila; Behe, Carolina; Moss-Davies, Pitseolak; Fritz, Stacey; Christensen, Thomas K.; Price, Courtney

2016-01-01

The Coastal Expert Workshop, which took place in Ottawa, Canada from March 1 to 3, 2016, initiated the development of the Arctic Coastal Biodiversity Monitoring Plan (Coastal Plan). Meeting participants, including northern residents, representatives from industry, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academia, and government regulators and agencies from across the circumpolar Arctic, discussed current biodiversity monitoring efforts, key issues facing biodiversity in Arctic coastal areas, and collectively identified monitoring indicators, or Focal Ecosystem Components (FECs). On February 29, the day before the workshop, a full day was allocated to Traditional Knowledge (TK) holders to meet and elucidate how this important knowledge can be included in the process of building the Coastal Plan and monitoring biodiversity in Arctic coastal areas, along with scientific data and variables. This document provides 1) background information about the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Programme and the Coastal Expert Monitoring Group, 2) overviews on workshop presentations and breakout sessions, and 3) details regarding outcomes of the workshop that will inform the drafting of the Coastal Plan.

Ecosystem vulnerability to climate change in the southeastern United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Cartwright, Jennifer M.; Costanza, Jennifer

2016-08-11

Two recent investigations of climate-change vulnerability for 19 terrestrial, aquatic, riparian, and coastal ecosystems of the southeastern United States have identified a number of important considerations, including potential for changes in hydrology, disturbance regimes, and interspecies interactions. Complementary approaches using geospatial analysis and literature synthesis integrated information on ecosystem biogeography and biodiversity, climate projections, vegetation dynamics, soil and water characteristics, anthropogenic threats, conservation status, sea-level rise, and coastal flooding impacts. Across a diverse set of ecosystems—ranging in size from dozens of square meters to thousands of square kilometers—quantitative and qualitative assessments identified types of climate-change exposure, evaluated sensitivity, and explored potential adaptive capacity. These analyses highlighted key gaps in scientific understanding and suggested priorities for future research. Together, these studies help create a foundation for ecosystem-level analysis of climate-change vulnerability to support effective biodiversity conservation in the southeastern United States.

A Carbon Cycle Model for the Social-Ecological Process in Coastal Wetland: A Case Study on Gouqi Island, East China

PubMed Central

Xiong, Lihu; Zhu, Wenjia

2017-01-01

Coastal wetlands offer many important ecosystem services both in natural and in social systems. How to simultaneously decrease the destructive effects flowing from human activities and maintaining the sustainability of regional wetland ecosystems are an important issue for coastal wetlands zones. We use carbon credits as the basis for regional sustainable developing policy-making. With the case of Gouqi Island, a typical coastal wetlands zone that locates in the East China Sea, a carbon cycle model was developed to illustrate the complex social-ecological processes. Carbon-related processes in natural ecosystem, primary industry, secondary industry, tertiary industry, and residents on the island were identified in the model. The model showed that 36780 tons of carbon is released to atmosphere with the form of CO2, and 51240 tons of carbon is captured by the ecosystem in 2014 and the three major resources of carbon emission are transportation and tourism development and seawater desalination. Based on the carbon-related processes and carbon balance, we proposed suggestions on the sustainable development strategy of Gouqi Island as coastal wetlands zone. PMID:28286690

A Carbon Cycle Model for the Social-Ecological Process in Coastal Wetland: A Case Study on Gouqi Island, East China.

PubMed

Li, Yanxia; Xiong, Lihu; Zhu, Wenjia

2017-01-01

Coastal wetlands offer many important ecosystem services both in natural and in social systems. How to simultaneously decrease the destructive effects flowing from human activities and maintaining the sustainability of regional wetland ecosystems are an important issue for coastal wetlands zones. We use carbon credits as the basis for regional sustainable developing policy-making. With the case of Gouqi Island, a typical coastal wetlands zone that locates in the East China Sea, a carbon cycle model was developed to illustrate the complex social-ecological processes. Carbon-related processes in natural ecosystem, primary industry, secondary industry, tertiary industry, and residents on the island were identified in the model. The model showed that 36780 tons of carbon is released to atmosphere with the form of CO 2 , and 51240 tons of carbon is captured by the ecosystem in 2014 and the three major resources of carbon emission are transportation and tourism development and seawater desalination. Based on the carbon-related processes and carbon balance, we proposed suggestions on the sustainable development strategy of Gouqi Island as coastal wetlands zone.

Conserving intertidal habitats: What is the potential of ecological engineering to mitigate impacts of coastal structures?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perkins, Matthew J.; Ng, Terence P. T.; Dudgeon, David; Bonebrake, Timothy C.; Leung, Kenneth M. Y.

2015-12-01

Globally, coastlines are under pressure as coastal human population growth and urbanization continues, while climatic change leads to stormier seas and rising tides. These trends create a strong and sustained demand for land reclamation and infrastructure protection in coastal areas, requiring engineered coastal defence structures such as sea walls. Here, we review the nature of ecological impacts of coastal structures on intertidal ecosystems, seek to understand the extent to which ecological engineering can mitigate these impacts, and evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation as a tool to contribute to conservation of intertidal habitats. By so doing, we identify critical knowledge gaps to inform future research. Coastal structures alter important physical, chemical and biological processes of intertidal habitats, and strongly impact community structure, inter-habitat linkages and ecosystem services while also driving habitat loss. Such impacts occur diffusely across localised sites but scale to significant regional and global levels. Recent advances in ecological engineering have focused on developing habitat complexity on coastal structures to increase biodiversity. 'Soft' engineering options maximise habitat complexity through inclusion of natural materials, species and processes, while simultaneously delivering engineering objectives such as coastal protection. Soft options additionally sustain multiple services, providing greater economic benefits for society, and resilience to climatic change. Currently however, a lack of inclusion and economic undervaluation of intertidal ecosystem services may undermine best practice in coastline management. Importantly, reviewed evidence shows mitigation and even restoration do not support intertidal communities or processes equivalent to pre-disturbance conditions. Crucially, an absence of comprehensive empirical baseline biodiversity data, or data comprising additional ecological parameters such as ecosystem functions

The exploration of trophic structure modeling using mass balance Ecopath model of Tangerang coastal waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dewi, N. N.; Kamal, M.; Wardiatno, Y.; Rozi

2018-04-01

Ecopath model approach was used to describe trophic interaction, energy flows and ecosystem condition of Tangerang coastal waters. This model consists of 42 ecological groups, of which 41 are living groups and one is a detritus group. Trophic levels of these groups vary between 1.0 (for primary producers and detritus) to 4.03 (for tetraodontidae). Groups with trophic levels 2≤TL<3 and 3≤TL<4 have a range of ecotropic efficiency from 0 to 0.9719 and 0 to 0.7520 respectively.The Mean transfer efficiency is 9.43% for phytoplankton and 3.39% for detritus. The Mixed trophic impact analysis indicates that phytoplankton havea positive impact on the majority of pelagic fish, while detritus has a positive impact on the majority of demersal fish. Leiognathidae havea negative impact on phytoplankton, zooplankton and several other groups. System omnivory index for this ecosystem is 0.151. System primary production/respiration (P/R) ratio of Tangerang coastal waters is 1.505. This coastal ecosystem is an immatureecosystem because it hasdegraded. Pedigree index for this model is 0.57. This model describes ecosystem condition affected by overfishing and antropogenic activities. Therefore, through Ecopath model we provide some suggestions about the ecosystem-based fisheries management.

HABITAT FINGERPRINTS FOR LAKE SUPERIOR COASTAL WETLANDS DERIVED FROM ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF YELLOW PERCH OTOLITHS

EPA Science Inventory

Assessing the ecological importance of coastal habitats to Great Lakes ecosystems requires an understanding of the ecological linkages between coastal and offshore waters. . . . Our results suggest that otolith elemental fingerprints may be useful for quantifying the relative con...

Heavy metal fluxes at the sediment-water interface of three coastal ecosystems from south-west of the Iberian Peninsula

PubMed

Blasco; Saenz; Gomez-Parra

2000-03-20

Concentrations of the heavy metals Cr, Cu, Fe and Mn were measured in sediments and porewater samples collected in three coastal ecosystems southwest of the Iberian Peninsula: the Odiel and Barbate River Salt Marshes and the Bay of Cadiz. Both the sediment and the porewater metal concentrations in the Odiel River Salt Marshes are higher than the values found in the Bay of Cadiz and Barbate River Salt Marsh, particularly for copper, a metal associated with mining activity. In porewater, the profiles were not the same as those in the solid phase and reflect the different behaviours of the elements in relation to the redox conditions. The heavy metals Cr and Cu show a typical enrichment in the porewater of the oxic zone. The heavy metals Mn and Fe show an increase in the porewater at the depths where the maximum nitrate and phosphate concentrations occur, respectively. Significant differences between background levels for each heavy metal in the various studied zones exist. Iron and Cu showed larger background levels in the Odiel River Salt Marshes than those in the Cadiz Bay and the Barbate River Salt Marshes. In the Bay of Cadiz the background levels are also high, particularly for Cr. At the Odiel River Salt Marshes the diffusive flux of Cu is high (1.3-230.1 microg cm(-2) year(-1)), which suggests that the Odiel River Salt Marshes are subject to strong contamination by Cu, which is presumably introduced to the sediment in particulate form. In the Bay of Cadiz, Cr is the only metal with positive diffusive flux (2.15 microg cm(-2) year(-1)). It is higher than those obtained in other coastal ecosystems including the Odiel River Salt Marshes. The positive diffusive flux of Cr has been associated with the input of this metal by the naval industry and the manufacturing of car and aircraft components.

Assessment of ecosystem health disturbance in mangrove-lined Caribbean coastal systems using the oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae as sentinel species.

PubMed

Aguirre-Rubí, J; Luna-Acosta, A; Ortiz-Zarragoitia, M; Zaldibar, B; Izagirre, U; Ahrens, M J; Villamil, L; Marigómez, I

2018-03-15

This investigation was aimed at contributing to develop a suitable multi-biomarker approach for pollution monitoring in mangrove-lined Caribbean coastal systems using as sentinel species, the mangrove cupped oyster, Crassostrea rhizophorae. A pilot field study was carried out in 8 localities (3 in Nicaragua; 5 in Colombia), characterized by different environmental conditions and subjected to different levels and types of pollution. Samples were collected in the rainy and dry seasons of 2012-2013. The biological effects at different levels of biological complexity (Stress-on-Stress response, reproduction, condition index, tissue-level biomarkers and histopathology) were determined as indicators of health disturbance, integrated as IBR/n index, and compared with tissue burdens of contaminants in order to achieve an integrative biomonitoring approach. Though modulated by natural variables and confounding factors, different indicators of oyster health, alone and in combination, were related to the presence of different profiles and levels of contaminants present at low-to-moderate levels. Different mixtures of persistent (As, Cd, PAHs) and emerging chemical pollutants (musk fragrances), in combination with different levels of organic and particulate matter resulting from seasonal oceanographic variability and sewage discharges, and environmental factors (salinity, temperature) elicited a different degree of disturbance in ecosystem health condition, as reflected in sentinel C. rhizophorae. As a result, IBR/n was correlated with pollution indices, even though the levels of biological indicators of health disturbance and pollutants were low-to-moderate, and seasonality and the incidence of confounding factors were remarkable. Our study supports the use of simple methodological approaches to diagnose anomalies in the health status of oysters from different localities and to identify potential causing agents and reflect disturbances in ecosystem health. Consequently, the

Coastal groundwater discharge for the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts calculated with three-dimensional groundwater flow models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Befus, K. M.; Kroeger, K. D.; Smith, C. G.; Swarzenski, P. W.

2017-12-01

Fresh groundwater discharge to coastal environments contribute to the physical and chemical conditions of coastal waters. At regional scales, groundwater fluxes remain poorly constrained, representing uncertainty in both water and chemical budgets that have implications for downstream ecosystem health and for how human activities alter coastal hydrologic processes. Coastal groundwater discharges remain widely unconstrained due to the interconnectedness of highly heterogeneous hydrogeologic frameworks and hydrologic conditions. We use regional-scale, three-dimensional groundwater flow models with the best available hydrostratigraphic framework data to calculate the magnitude of groundwater discharging from coastal aquifers to coastal waterbodies along the eastern U.S. In addition, we constrain the inland areas that contribute to coastal groundwater discharges using particle tracking. We find that 27 km3/yr of groundwater enters coastal waters of the eastern U.S. and Gulf of Mexico and was over 175,000 km2. The contributing areas to coastal groundwater discharge extended kilometers inland and often were supplied by recharge occurring tens of kilometers inland. These results suggest that coastal groundwater discharges rely on larger contributing areas and potentially transport more dissolved constituents than previously calculated, which are important factors for constraining the role of groundwater in coastal chemical budgets and its impacts on coastal ecosystems.

Land crabs as key drivers in tropical coastal forest recruitment

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lindquist, E.S.; Krauss, K.W.; Green, P.T.; O'Dowd, D. J.; Sherman, P.M.; Smith, T. J.

2009-01-01

Plant populations are regulated by a diverse assortment of abiotic and biotic factors that influence seed dispersal and viability, and seedling establishment and growth at the microsite. Rarely does one animal guild exert as significant an influence on different plant assemblages as land crabs. We review three tropical coastal ecosystems-mangroves, island maritime forests, and mainland coastal terrestrial forests-where land crabs directly influence forest composition by limiting tree establishment and recruitment. Land crabs differentially prey on seeds, propagules and seedlings along nutrient, chemical and physical environmental gradients. In all of these ecosystems, but especially mangroves, abiotic gradients are well studied, strong and influence plant species distributions. However, we suggest that crab predation has primacy over many of these environmental factors by acting as the first limiting factor of tropical tree recruitment to drive the potential structural and compositional organisation of coastal forests. We show that the influence of crabs varies relative to tidal gradient, shoreline distance, canopy position, time, season, tree species and fruiting periodicity. Crabs also facilitate forest growth and development through such activities as excavation of burrows, creation of soil mounds, aeration of soils, removal of leaf litter into burrows and creation of carbon-rich soil microhabitats. For all three systems, land crabs influence the distribution, density and size-class structure of tree populations. Indeed, crabs are among the major drivers of tree recruitment in tropical coastal forest ecosystems, and their conservation should be included in management plans of these forests. ?? 2009 Cambridge Philosophical Society.

GIS coupled Multiple Criteria based Decision Support for Classification of Urban Coastal Areas in India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhiman, R.; Kalbar, P.; Inamdar, A. B.

2017-12-01

Coastal area classification in India is a challenge for federal and state government agencies due to fragile institutional framework, unclear directions in implementation of costal regulations and violations happening at private and government level. This work is an attempt to improvise the objectivity of existing classification methods to synergies the ecological systems and socioeconomic development in coastal cities. We developed a Geographic information system coupled Multi-criteria Decision Making (GIS-MCDM) approach to classify urban coastal areas where utility functions are used to transform the costal features into quantitative membership values after assessing the sensitivity of urban coastal ecosystem. Furthermore, these membership values for costal features are applied in different weighting schemes to derive Coastal Area Index (CAI) which classifies the coastal areas in four distinct categories viz. 1) No Development Zone, 2) Highly Sensitive Zone, 3) Moderately Sensitive Zone and 4) Low Sensitive Zone based on the sensitivity of urban coastal ecosystem. Mumbai, a coastal megacity in India is used as case study for demonstration of proposed method. Finally, uncertainty analysis using Monte Carlo approach to validate the sensitivity of CAI under specific multiple scenarios is carried out. Results of CAI method shows the clear demarcation of coastal areas in GIS environment based on the ecological sensitivity. CAI provides better decision support for federal and state level agencies to classify urban coastal areas according to the regional requirement of coastal resources considering resilience and sustainable development. CAI method will strengthen the existing institutional framework for decision making in classification of urban coastal areas where most effective coastal management options can be proposed.

Restoring the longleaf pine ecosystem: The role of container seedling technology

Treesearch

James P. Barnett

2004-01-01

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystems once occupied 90 million acres in the southern United States’ coastal plain. Restoration of longleaf pine ecosystems has been difficult because reestablishment of the species by either natural or artificial means has been problematic. The application of container seedling technology to longleaf pine...

CAN BIVALVES BE USEFUL INDICATORS OF ECOSYSTEM CONDITION?

EPA Science Inventory

Numerous management decisions are made to sustain multiple, and often competing, products and services from coastal ecosystems. Scientific support for these decisions emanate from environmental indicators or selected measurements used in a monitoring program. Indicators are surro...

Monitoring Environmental Impacts on Mangrove Ecosystem in the Indus Delta of Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siddiqui, Mehrun-Nisa

Monitoring Environmental Impacts on Mangrove Ecosystem in the Indus Delta of Pakistan The mangrove forests growing in intertidal region along the tropical coastlines form a unique ecosystem with rich floral species and marine resources. In Pakistan, large mangrove forests are found all along the muddy coast of Sindh province at Indus Deltaic region. These mangroves are threatened by a variety of environmental pollution, like: dumping of untreated industrial and urban waste, sewage water; hazardous chemical released during ship breaking, oil spills, mangroves cutting, over fishing, scarcity of fresh water, seawater intrusion and unplanned urban development, etc. Dams and barrages, constructed on the mighty Indus River have reduced the supply of freshwater into the delta and consequently, seawater intruding into the riverine tract. The Tidal Link, constructed in 1995 to drain the agriculture effluents of cultivated areas of Sindh to sea, has also greatly damaged the ecology of the area. This study is based on integrated use of RS & GIS techniques for monitoring environmental impacts on the mangroves ecosystem of Indus Delta, for management and planning of this coastal ecosystem. Temporal satellite remote sensing (SRS) data acquired between 1976 to 2005 have been analysed using image processing and GIS techniques and coastal landuse maps representing coverage of the deltaic region have been prepared, which enabled to monitor dynamic and geomorphological changes occurred in the area. The tidal boundaries derived from temporal SRS data have been integrated to understand the coastal processes and their impact on mangroves ecosystem, and on tidal / intertidal zones. From the analysis, it was observed that the surface salt accumulation and dryness in the deltaic region and waterlogging & salinity in inland areas have been increased over the last 30 years, indicate the intrusion of seawater in groundwater aquifers and reduction in over all biomass in the area. This study

Sea Grant Extension Crucial Link to Coastal Resources.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stumbos, John

1997-01-01

University of California Sea Grant Extension Program provides training and technical assistance to fishers, farmers, planners, and conservationists on projects such as coastal ecosystem health, marine environmental protection, fisheries management, aquaculture, salmon habitat restoration, and controlling nonpoint-source pollution; supports…

Integrated carbon budget models for the Everglades terrestrial-coastal-oceanic gradient: Current status and needs for inter-site comparisons

USGS Publications Warehouse

Troxler, Tiffany G.; Gaiser, Evelyn; Barr, Jordan; Fuentes, Jose D.; Jaffe, Rudolf; Childers, Daniel L.; Collado-Vides, Ligia; Rivera-Monroy, Victor H.; Castañeda-Moya, Edward; Anderson, William; Chambers, Randy; Chen, Meilian; Coronado-Molina, Carlos; Davis, Stephen E.; Engel, Victor C.; Fitz, Carl; Fourqurean, James; Frankovich, Tom; Kominoski, John; Madden, Chris; Malone, Sparkle L.; Oberbauer, Steve F.; Olivas, Paulo; Richards, Jennifer; Saunders, Colin; Schedlbauer, Jessica; Scinto, Leonard J.; Sklar, Fred; Smith, Thomas J.; Smoak, Joseph M.; Starr, Gregory; Twilley, Robert; Whelan, Kevin

2013-01-01

Recent studies suggest that coastal ecosystems can bury significantly more C than tropical forests, indicating that continued coastal development and exposure to sea level rise and storms will have global biogeochemical consequences. The Florida Coastal Everglades Long Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) site provides an excellent subtropical system for examining carbon (C) balance because of its exposure to historical changes in freshwater distribution and sea level rise and its history of significant long-term carbon-cycling studies. FCE LTER scientists used net ecosystem C balance and net ecosystem exchange data to estimate C budgets for riverine mangrove, freshwater marsh, and seagrass meadows, providing insights into the magnitude of C accumulation and lateral aquatic C transport. Rates of net C production in the riverine mangrove forest exceeded those reported for many tropical systems, including terrestrial forests, but there are considerable uncertainties around those estimates due to the high potential for gain and loss of C through aquatic fluxes. C production was approximately balanced between gain and loss in Everglades marshes; however, the contribution of periphyton increases uncertainty in these estimates. Moreover, while the approaches used for these initial estimates were informative, a resolved approach for addressing areas of uncertainty is critically needed for coastal wetland ecosystems. Once resolved, these C balance estimates, in conjunction with an understanding of drivers and key ecosystem feedbacks, can inform cross-system studies of ecosystem response to long-term changes in climate, hydrologic management, and other land use along coastlines

Ecosystems of the Great Land. Teacher's Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strom-Aronson, Melissa; Pohl, Janis

This is the Teacher's Guide for six video programs: "Introduction to Ecosystems"; "Tundra"; "Coastal Forest"; "Oceans"; "Impact of Human Habitation"; and "Taiga". The programs are designed to fit into courses for students from grades five through high school in which ecology is taught.…

NOAA Ecosystem Data Assembly Center for the Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parsons, A. R.; Beard, R. H.; Arnone, R. A.; Cross, S. L.; Comar, P. G.; May, N.; Strange, T. P.

2006-12-01

Through research programs at the NOAA Northern Gulf of Mexico Cooperative Institute (CI), NOAA is establishing an Ecosystem Data Assembly Center (EDAC) for the Gulf of Mexico. The EDAC demonstrates the utility of integrating many heterogeneous data types and streams used to characterized and identify ecosystems for the purpose of determining the health of ecosystems and identifying applications of the data within coastal resource management activities. Data streams include meteorological, physical oceanographic, ocean color, benthic, biogeochemical surveys, fishery, as well as fresh water fluxes (rainfall and river flow). Additionally the EDAC will provide an interface to the ecosystem data through an ontology based on the Coastal/Marine Ecological Classification System (CMECS). Applications of the ontological approach within the EDAC will be applied to increase public knowledge on habitat and ecosystem awareness. The EDAC plans to leverage companion socioeconomic studies to identify the essential data needed for continued EDAC operations. All data-management architectures and practices within the EDAC ensure interoperability with the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) national backbone by incorporating the IOOS Data Management and Communications Plan. Proven data protocols, standards, formats, applications, practices and architectures developed by the EDAC will be transitioned to the NOAA National Data Centers.

Buffer capacity, ecosystem feedbacks, and seawater chemistry under global change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jury, C. P.; Thomas, F. I.; Atkinson, M. J.; Jokiel, P. L.; Onuma, M. A.; Kaku, N.; Toonen, R. J.

2013-12-01

Ocean acidification (OA) results in reduced seawater pH and aragonite saturation state (Ωarag), but also reduced seawater buffer capacity. As buffer capacity decreases, diel variation in seawater chemistry increases. However, a variety of ecosystem feedbacks can modulate changes in both average seawater chemistry and diel seawater chemistry variation. Here we model these effects for a coastal, reef flat ecosystem. We show that an increase in offshore pCO2 and temperature (to 900 μatm and +3°C) can increase diel pH variation by as much as a factor of 2.5 and can increase diel pCO2 variation by a factor of 4.6, depending on ecosystem feedbacks and seawater residence time. Importantly, these effects are different between day and night. With increasing seawater residence time and increasing feedback intensity, daytime seawater chemistry becomes more similar to present-day conditions while nighttime seawater chemistry becomes less similar to present-day conditions. Better constraining ecosystem feedbacks under global change will improve projections of coastal water chemistry, but this study shows the importance of considering changes in both average carbonate chemistry and diel chemistry variation for organisms and ecosystems. Further, we will discuss our recent work examining the effects of diel seawater chemistry variation on coral calcification rates.

Understanding and Projecting Climate and Human Impacts on Terrestrial-Coastal Carbon and Nutrient Fluxes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lohrenz, S. E.; Cai, W. J.; Tian, H.; He, R.; Fennel, K.

2017-12-01

Changing climate and land use practices have the potential to dramatically alter coupled hydrologic-biogeochemical processes and associated movement of water, carbon and nutrients through various terrestrial reservoirs into rivers, estuaries, and coastal ocean waters. Consequences of climate- and land use-related changes will be particularly evident in large river basins and their associated coastal outflow regions. Here, we describe a NASA Carbon Monitoring System project that employs an integrated suite of models in conjunction with remotely sensed as well as targeted in situ observations with the objectives of describing processes controlling fluxes on land and their coupling to riverine, estuarine and ocean ecosystems. The nature of our approach, coupling models of terrestrial and ocean ecosystem dynamics and associated carbon processes, allows for assessment of how societal and human-related land use, land use change and forestry and climate-related change affect terrestrial carbon transport as well as export of materials through watersheds to the coastal margins. Our objectives include the following: 1) Provide representation of carbon processes in the terrestrial ecosystem to understand how changes in land use and climatic conditions influence the export of materials to the coastal ocean, 2) Couple the terrestrial exports of carbon, nutrients and freshwater to a coastal biogeochemical model and examine how different climate and land use scenarios influence fluxes across the land-ocean interface, and 3) Project future changes under different scenarios of climate and human impact, and support user needs related to carbon management and other activities (e.g., water quality, hypoxia, ocean acidification). This research is providing information that will contribute to determining an overall carbon balance in North America as well as describing and predicting how human- and climate-related changes impact coastal water quality including possible effects of coastal

LANDSCAPE-SCALE MONITORING OF AN OPPORTUNIST: PHRAGMITES AUSTRALIS (CAV) STEUDEL IN GREAT LAKES COASTAL WETLANDS

EPA Science Inventory

Coastal wetlands of the Laurentian Great Lakes (LGL) are among the most fragmented ecosystems in the world, with a long history of human-induced disturbances, primarily as a result of agricultural conversions and hydrologic changes. A substantial number of remnant LGL coastal wet...

Economic Tools for Managing Nitrogen in Coastal Watersheds

EPA Science Inventory

Watershed managers are interested in using economics to communicate the value of estuarine resources to the wider community, determine the most cost-effective means to reduce nitrogen pollution, and evaluate the benefits of taking action to improve coastal ecosystems. We spoke to...

Denitrification Rates in a Lake Superior Coastal Wetland

EPA Science Inventory

In recent years, nitrogen has increased substantially in the Nation’s aquatic ecosystems mainly due to the increased use of fertilizers and land use practices. Denitrification is a process that can potentially mitigate this increased influx of fixed nitrate. Coastal wetlands are ...

HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS AS INDICATORS OF ECOSYSTEM CONDITION

EPA Science Inventory

There are approximately 40 species of microalgae inhabiting coastal waters in the Gulf of Mexico that produce or potentially can produce biotoxins that negatively impact aquatic ecosystems, human health, and local economics. While nutrient enrichment and reduced water quality may...

Monitoring Coastal Marshes for Persistent Saltwater Intrusion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kalcic, Maria; Hall, Callie; Fletcher, Rose; Russell, Jeff

2009-01-01

Primary goal: Provide resource managers with remote sensing products that support ecosystem forecasting models requiring salinity and inundation data. Work supports the habitat-switching modules in the Coastal Louisiana Ecosystem Assessment and Restoration (CLEAR) model, which provides scientific evaluation for restoration management (Visser et al., 2008). Ongoing work to validate flooding with radar (NWRC/USGS) and enhance persistence estimates through "fusion" of MODIS and Landsat time series (ROSES A.28 Gulf of Mexico). Additional work will also investigate relationship between saltwater dielectric constant and radar returns (Radarsat) (ROSES A.28 Gulf of Mexico).

Vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to changes in harmful algal bloom distribution in response to climate change: projections based on model analysis.

PubMed

Glibert, Patricia M; Icarus Allen, J; Artioli, Yuri; Beusen, Arthur; Bouwman, Lex; Harle, James; Holmes, Robert; Holt, Jason

2014-12-01

Harmful algal blooms (HABs), those proliferations of algae that can cause fish kills, contaminate seafood with toxins, form unsightly scums, or detrimentally alter ecosystem function have been increasing in frequency, magnitude, and duration worldwide. Here, using a global modeling approach, we show, for three regions of the globe, the potential effects of nutrient loading and climate change for two HAB genera, pelagic Prorocentrum and Karenia, each with differing physiological characteristics for growth. The projections (end of century, 2090-2100) are based on climate change resulting from the A1B scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Institut Pierre Simon Laplace Climate Model (IPCC, IPSL-CM4), applied in a coupled oceanographic-biogeochemical model, combined with a suite of assumed physiological 'rules' for genera-specific bloom development. Based on these models, an expansion in area and/or number of months annually conducive to development of these HABs along the NW European Shelf-Baltic Sea system and NE Asia was projected for both HAB genera, but no expansion (Prorocentrum spp.), or actual contraction in area and months conducive for blooms (Karenia spp.), was projected in the SE Asian domain. The implications of these projections, especially for Northern Europe, are shifts in vulnerability of coastal systems to HAB events, increased regional HAB impacts to aquaculture, increased risks to human health and ecosystems, and economic consequences of these events due to losses to fisheries and ecosystem services. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Ecosystem Indicator Partnership shifts from ESIP 1.0 to ESIP 2.0

EPA Science Inventory

The Gulf of Maine Council’s EcoSystem Indicator Partnership (ESIP) was formed in 2006 to look at change in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem through the use of indicators. To date, ESIP has published 6 fact sheets on: aquaculture, aquatic Habitats, climate change, coastal develop...

Enlisting Ecosystem Benefits: Quantification and Valuation of Ecosystem Services to Inform Installation Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-27

human development and conservation of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. The InVEST toolset currently includes 17 distinct InVEST... Plateau to the north and the Coastal Plain to the south, which represent distinct features of topography, geology and soils, and vegetation communities...threatened by a complex of tree diseases and pine beetles that cause declines or mortality in loblolly pine, a dominant tree across the base. When loblolly

Characterization and evolution of the sediments of a Mediterranean coastal lagoon located next to a former mining area.

PubMed

García, Gregorio; Muñoz-Vera, Ana

2015-11-15

Coastal lagoons are ecosystems that are relatively enclosed water bodies under the influence of both the terrestrial and the marine environment, being vulnerable to human impacts. Human activities, such as mining extraction, are significant anthropogenic coastal stressors that can negatively affect ecosystems and communities. In light of the above, the objective of this research is to examine the influence of metal mining activities on the composition of sediments of a Mediterranean coastal lagoon, named Mar Menor. This paper presents a comprehensive characterization for grain size, mineralogy, geochemistry and organic matter of sediments of this coastal lagoon, investigating their variation along space and time. Sedimentation dynamics are ruling clearly the grain size predominant in each area of the Mar Menor coastal lagoon, determining the existence of entrainment, transport and sedimentation areas. For minerals, elements and organic matter, sedimentation dynamics are also determining their distribution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Environmental Quality Productive Ecosystem Guayas (Ecuador).

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pozo, Wilson; Pardo, Francisco; Sanfeliu, Teófilo; Carrera, Gloria; Jordan, Manuel; Bech, Jaume; Roca, Núria

2015-04-01

Natural resources are deteriorating very rapidly in the Gulf of Guayaquil and the area of influence in the Guayas Basin due to human activity. Specific problems are generated by the mismanagement of the aquaculture industry affecting the traditional agricultural sectors: rice, banana, sugarcane, cocoa, coffee, and soya also studied, and by human and industrial settlements. The development of industrial activities such as aquaculture (shrimp building for shrimp farming in ponds) and agriculture, have increasingly contributed to the generation of waste, degrading and potentially toxic elements in high concentrations, which can have adverse effects on organisms in the ecosystems, in the health of the population and damage the ecological and environmental balance. The productive Guayas ecosystem, consists of three interrelated ecosystems, the Gulf of Guayaquil, the Guayas River estuary and the Guayas Basin buffer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the environmental quality of the productive Guayas ecosystem (Ecuador), through operational and specific objectives: 1) Draw up the transition coastal zone in the Gulf of Guayaquil, 2) Set temporal spatial variability of soil salinity in wetlands rice, Lower Guayas Basin, 3) evaluate the heavy metals in wetland rice in the Lower Basin of Guayas. The physical and chemical parameters of the soils have been studied. These are indicators of environmental quality. The multivariate statistical method showed the relations of similarities and dissimilarities between variables and parameter studies as stable. Moreover, the boundaries of coastal transition areas, temporal spatial variability of soil salinity and heavy metals in rice cultivation in the Lower Basin of Guayas were researched. The sequential studies included and discussed represent a broad framework of fundamental issues that has been valued as a basic component of the productive Guayas ecosystem. They are determinants of the environmental quality of the Guayas

Ligophorus pilengas n. sp. (Monogenea: Ancyrocephalidae) from the introduced So-iuy mullet, Mugil soiuy (Teleostei: Mugilidae), in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea.

PubMed

Sarabeev, Volodimir Leonidovich; Balbuena, Juan Antonio

2004-04-01

The monogenean Ligophorus chabaudi was originally described on the gills of the flathead mullet, Mugil cephalus, and was subsequently reported on the So-iuy mullet, Mugil soiuy. However, the morphology of sclerotized parts and multivariate statistical analyses suggest that the form from the So-iuy mullet represents a new species. This study provides a description of the new species Ligophorus pilengas n. sp. and provides additional morphological data concerning the morphology of the ventral bar that might be useful for the diagnosis of Ligophorus. Ligophorus pilengas n. sp. is the second species of Ligophorus reported on the So-iuy mullet. Zoogeographical records indicate that L. pilengas n. sp. was probably introduced to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov from the western Pacific Ocean together with its host.

Global change impacts on mangrove ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

McKee, Karen L.

2004-01-01

Mangroves are tropical/subtropical communities of primarily tree species that grow in the intertidal zone. These tidal forests are important coastal ecosystems that are valued for a variety of ecological and societal goods and services. Major local threats to mangrove ecosystems worldwide include clearcutting and trimming of forests for urban, agricultural, or industrial expansion; hydrological alterations; toxic chemical spills; and eutrophication. In many countries with mangroves, much of the human population resides in the coastal zone, and their activities often negatively impact the integrity of mangrove forests. In addition, eutrophication, which is the process whereby nutrients build up to higher than normal levels in a natural system, is possibly one of the most serious threats to mangroves and associated ecosystems such as coral reefs. Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the National Wetlands Research Center are working to more fully understand global impacts on these significant ecosystems.Changes in climate and other factors may also affect mangroves, but in complex ways. Global warming may promote expansion of mangrove forests to higher latitudes and accelerate sea-level rise through melting of polar ice or steric expansion of oceans. Changes in sea level would alter flooding patterns and the structure and areal extent of mangroves. Climate change may also alter rainfall patterns, which would in turn change local salinity regimes and competitive interactions of mangroves with other wetland species. Increases in frequency or intensity of tropical storms and hurricanes in combination with sea-level rise may alter erosion and sedimentation rates in mangrove forests. Another global change factor that may directly affect mangrove growth is increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), caused by burning of fossil fuels and other factors. Elevated CO2 concentration may increase mangrove growth by stimulating photosynthesis or improving water use

Management-focused approach to investigating coastal water-quality drivers and impacts in the Baltic Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vigouroux, G.; Destouni, G.; Chen, Y.; Bring, A.; Jönsson, A.; Cvetkovic, V.

2017-12-01

Coastal areas link human-driven conditions on land with open sea conditions, and include crucial and vulnerable ecosystems that provide a variety of ecosystem services. Eutrophication is a common problem that is not least observed in the Baltic Sea, where coastal water quality is influenced both by land-based nutrient loading and by partly eutrophic open sea conditions. Robust and adaptive management of coastal systems is essential and necessitates integration of large scale catchment-coastal-marine systems as well as consideration of anthropogenic drivers and impacts, and climate change. To address this coastal challenge, relevant methodological approaches are required for characterization of coupled land, local coastal, and open sea conditions under an adaptive management framework for water quality. In this paper we present a new general and scalable dynamic characterization approach, developed for and applied to the Baltic Sea and its coastal areas. A simple carbon-based water quality model is implemented, dividing the Baltic Sea into main management basins that are linked to corresponding hydrological catchments on land, as well as to each other though aggregated three-dimensional marine hydrodynamics. Relevant hydrodynamic variables and associated water quality results have been validated on the Baltic Sea scale and show good accordance with available observation data and other modelling approaches. Based on its scalability, this methodology is further used on coastal zone scale to investigate the effects of hydrodynamic, hydro-climatic and nutrient load drivers on water quality and management implications for coastal areas in the Baltic Sea.

Human induced coastal changes and their impact on the coastal urban landscape. The case of Heraklion, Crete

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rempis, Nikolaos; Alexandrakis, George; Kampanis, Nikolaos

2017-04-01

Coastal zone is a vital part of human society due to sea activities. Α variety of activities and uses are present and are further developing in the coastal and marine are. Coastal ecosystems and landscape are under severe pressure due to population growth and continuous expansion of human activities and supplemented from the effects of climate change (e.g. coastal flooding, erosion). Heraklion is the largest urban center in Crete. Its suburban and coastal area receives intensive urban sprawl pressures, changing the urban landscape and resulting negative impacts on the human and natural environment. The saturation of coastal area of Heraklion creates the need for new development interventions (e.g. new marina, coastal protection, urban regeneration). This study examine the impacts of the new programmed coastal development intervention in the coastal landscape of Heraklion. A decision analytic approach was implemented, based on the need of stakeholders for the protection and further development of coastal area of Heraklion. In this direction, local authorities have proposed the realization of several development interventions which include a new marina, expansion of bathing beaches and coastal regeneration project in a large beach. The results indicate that the realization of any coastal development projects, also increases the negative effects that are related to land-sea interaction. The negative effects are a result of the interaction between different human activities but also between human activities and the environment. The development of the marina in the selected location, increases the pressure on the sea area as the navigation will increase, but also increases the pressure on land space, as traffic flows will change, creating new pressures in urban areas. The extension of bathing beaches implies larger number of bathers, thus creating greater needs for infrastructures in land area for their service. Coastal protection projects, as planned, will upgrade the

Rising synchrony controls western North American ecosystems

Treesearch

Bryan A. Black; Peter van der Sleen; Emanuele Di Lorenzo; Daniel Griffin; William J. Sydeman; Jason B. Dunham; Ryan R. Rykaczewski; Marisol García-Reyes; Mohammad Safeeq; Ivan Arismendi; Steven J. Bograd

2018-01-01

Along the western margin of North America, the winter expression of the North Pacific High (NPH) strongly influences interannual variability in coastal upwelling, storm track position, precipitation, and river discharge. Coherence among these factors induces covariance among physical and biological processes across adjacent marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we...

Predicting the persistence of coastal wetlands to global change stressors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Guntenspergen, G.; McKee, K.; Cahoon, D.; Grace, J.; Megonigal, P.

2006-01-01

Despite progress toward understanding the response of coastal wetlands to increases in relative sea-level rise and an improved understanding of the effect of elevated CO2 on plant species allocation patterns, we are limited in our ability to predict the response of coastal wetlands to the effects associated with global change. Static simulations of the response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise using LIDAR and GIS lack the biological and physical feedback mechanisms present in such systems. Evidence from current research suggests that biotic processes are likely to have a major influence on marsh vulnerability to future accelerated rates of sea-level rise and the influence of biotic processes likely varies depending on hydrogeomorphic setting and external stressors. We have initiated a new research approach using a series of controlled mesocosm and field experiments, landscape scale studies, a comparative network of brackish coastal wetland monitoring sites and a suite of predictive models that address critical questions regarding the vulnerability of coastal brackish wetland systems to global change. Specifically, this research project evaluates the interaction of sea level rise and elevated CO2 concentrations with flooding, nutrient enrichment and disturbance effects. The study is organized in a hierarchical structure that links mesocosm, field, landscape and biogeographic levels so as to provide important new information that recognizes that coastal wetland systems respond to multiple interacting drivers and feedback effects controlling wetland surface elevation, habitat stability and ecosystem function. We also present a new statistical modelling technique (Structural Equation Modelling) that synthesizes and integrates our environmental and biotic measures in a predictive framework that forecasts ecosystem change and informs managers to consider adaptive shifts in strategies for the sustainable management of coastal wetlands.

Nighttime dissolution in a temperate coastal ocean ecosystem increases under acidification

PubMed Central

Kwiatkowski, Lester; Gaylord, Brian; Hill, Tessa; Hosfelt, Jessica; Kroeker, Kristy J.; Nebuchina, Yana; Ninokawa, Aaron; Russell, Ann D.; Rivest, Emily B.; Sesboüé, Marine; Caldeira, Ken

2016-01-01